Laura Ruf

The UMR women's cross country and track programs will look to continue moving up the ladder in the Great Lakes Valley Conference in the 2006-07 season after posting some solid efforts in the teams' inaugural year in the league. The cross country team will bank on returners Laura Ruf, Katy MacMann and Wendy Moore to lead the way, while freshmen Kierra Handley and Silvey Britton hope to fortify the Lady Miners' top five this fall.

Handley was one of the top cross country runners in the high school ranks last season. UMR will host its annual cross country meet Sept. 9 at the UMR Golf Course.

In the track season, the Lady Miners will have two returning conference champions in Becca Kueny -- who also earned All-America honors in the javelin throw -- and Sarah Zaremba in the pole vault. UMR had several other high finishers at the GLVC meets last season, which included Jamie Statler and Taylor Hahn in the pole vault, Beverly Ruedy in the middle distance events and Alycia Mordaunt in the throws.

UMR's lone home meet of the 2007 track season will be the Dewey Allgood Invitational on April 21.

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Tyrone Davidson

UMR brings back its top scorer from a year ago in Tyrone Davidson, who averaged 12.1 points and 6.3 rebounds per game, the latter figure putting him among the leaders in the GLVC. He hopes to get some offensive help from newcomers Joe Shardo, a transfer from Edison State Community College in Ohio, Yamani Ball, a former teammate at Southeastern Illinois College, and freshman guard Justin Taylor, a highly-regarded prospect from Webster Groves, Mo.

In addition, the Miners will also gain the services of redshirt freshman Casey Noll, who missed all of last season while recovering from an injury suffered prior to the season. UMR will face one NCAA Division II Tournament team in its pre-season schedule in Truman State University and then squares off with five conference foes who advanced to the post-season a year ago, beginning with its Nov. 30 GLVC opener at home against defending league champion Saint Joseph's. The balance of the Miner schedule will be released later this summer.

Posted by UMR Miner Sports at 09:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Thomas McCormick

The team's most valuable player in each of the last two seasons has been a freshman -- catcher Colby Wilson in 2005 and outfielder Thomas McCormick last spring. McCormick, the GLVC's "Freshman of the Year", returns to anchor an outfield that also returns productive performers in Joe Montgomery and Nick Zurweller. Pitching-wise, the Miners will return solid starters Tavish Hill and Matt Campbell, with promising sophomore Mark Phillips being in the mix as well as newcomers Brandon Cogan and Brian Rickert.

The Miners won a series last season over GLVC Tournament qualifier Indianapolis and split four games against conference runner-up Quincy, as well as playing a tight series at the close of the year against GLVC champion Northern Kentucky, with three of the four games being decided by one run.

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Joe Winters

UMR quarterback Joe Winters, who established a new school record Saturday for the most passing yards by a quarterback in his first game as a Miner, was named as the D2Football.com "Offensive Player of the Week" for his performance in the Miners' game against Tiffin Saturday.

In the loss, Winters completed 25 of 43 passes for 402 yards and four touchdowns, while leading the Miners to five straight possessions with points in the middle of the contest. The 402 yards passing eclipsed the total of 374 accumulated by Brandon Landry in the 2004 opener against Upper Iowa; Landry, now a wide receiver for the Miners, caught two of Winters' four scoring passes.

Winters is a graduate student from Jacksonville, Fla., who came to UMR via Columbia University. He is also the first student to be admitted to UMR's master of business administration degree program.

Posted by John Kean at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Beth Babb

Adrienne Johnson got free and blasted home a shot from just inside the 18-yard line 24:07 into the game to give SBU the only goal it would need. The Lady Miners outshot the Lady Bearcats in the first half, but managed to get only four shots at the net in the final 45 minutes at SBU goalkeeper Kelsey Lueckenhoff. The best chance came when Danielle Lyman hit a shot off the post with just over 15 minutes to play. UMR goalkeeper Brittany Parker was credited with seven saves in the contest. The Lady Miners (0-2), who had allowed two goals on penalty kicks in their opening game loss, will try to break into the win column Friday night when they host Saginaw Valley State in a 7:30 p.m. game at the UMR Soccer Complex.

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Danielle Lyman

Saturday night's season opener for the Lady Miners was just another example of how cruel of a game soccer can be at times. Despite controlling play for much of the night and holding a whopping edge in shots, UMR was only able to score once and it wasn't enough to overcome two penalty kick goals for Central Methodist as the Eagles came away with a 2-1 overtime win at the UMR Soccer Complex.

The Lady Miners had a 27-7 advantage in shots for the game, including 16 on goal, but only one of the shots on goal got into the net. That came when Janine Einhellig headed in a cross from Danielle Lyman 12 minutes into the second half to tie the game at one. CMU had taken the lead when Natalie Rolph made a penalty kick after a UMR foul. The Lady Miners had several good scoring opportunities but were turned away by Eagle goalkeeper Megan Shelley as she finished with 14 saves. Brittany Parker, who started the game in goal, had the best chance to win the game in overtime when her shot hit the crossbar three minutes into the second extra period. The Eagles won the game on a penalty kick after UMR was called for hand ball in the box with just 1:13 left in the contest; Heather Case converted the attempt to end the game.

UMR will return to action Wednesday when it hosts Southwest Baptist in a 7 p.m. game at the UMR Soccer Complex.

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Andy Held

JOPLIN, Mo. -- For the second day in a row, the Miners were in a position to win in the second half, but couldn't come away with a win as Christian Brothers rallied for a 2-1 overtime victory over UMR on the second day of the Missouri Southern Soccer Classic.

CBU grabbed the lead in the first half when Brad Whitsett scored on a penalty kick in the 39th minute of play. The Miners drew even at the 50:54 mark when Andy Held converted Adam Daniel's corner kick in the early moments of the second half. The game remained tied for the balance of regulation time until the Buccaneers -- who had routed the host school 5-0 Friday night -- scored on the only shot of the overtime period. Whitsett took a pass from Brian McNamara and converted it into the game-winner only 1:59 into the extra period to send the Miners to 0-2 on the season.

UMR will open its home schedule Friday night with a 5 p.m. game against Missouri Southern at the UMR Soccer Complex. The Miners will then open Great Lakes Valley Conference play two days later against Quincy University.

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Joe Winters

TIFFIN, Ohio -- Tiffin's offensive forte proved to be better than the Miners' Saturday night, as the Dragons rolled up 406 yards on the ground and pulled away from UMR in the final 15 minutes for a 58-32 win in the season opener for both teams. While Miner quarterback Joe Winters threw for 402 yards -- the most ever by a UMR signalcaller in his first game as a Miner -- UMR was playing from behind all night and couldn't establish its running game against the Dragons as it had only 33 yards on the ground.

Tiffin scored on its first two possessions to grab the lead and while the Miners were able to answer scores for much of the night, they couldn't overtake the hosts. UMR got on the scoreboard when Winters connected with Ashton Gronewold for an 11-yard scoring pass early in the second quarter, then after Austin Clopton scored the first of his four touchdowns on the evening to make it 21-7, Winters hit Brandon Landry for a 22-yard scoring pass. The teams traded scores again before the end of the half, with Landry -- who had seven catches for 129 yards on the night -- hauling in a 29-yard scoring reception with 22 seconds to play in the half to make it 28-21. UMR drove 76 yards to the Tiffin four-yard line to open the second half, but had to settle for a 21-yard field goal from Tim Valencia to trim the margin to four. Tiffin went back up by 11 on another score by Clopton, then the Miners cut the lead the three at 35-32 when Winters hit Gronewold on a nine-yard scoring pass and Mike Greaving with a pass on the two-point conversion. However, those would be the last points the Miners would score as the Dragons rattled off 23 unanswered points to pull away.

Quarterback Donnie Johnson, who had 185 yards rushing (Clopton added 120), scored from 31 yards away to make it a 10-point game, then a fumble on the ensuing kickoff led to a 22-yard field goal. Winters threw an interception on the first play of the next possession, allowing the Dragons to put some space between themselves and UMR when Cloptop scored from three yards away. Freshman wide receiver Nathan Binder also went over the 100-yard mark in receptions Saturday with 109 on seven catches, while Gronewold caught five balls for 82 and the two scores.

UMR will be idle until Sept. 9, when it travels to Cape Girardeau to face NCAA Division I-AA Southeast Missouri State in a 6 p.m. game.

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Derek Pelate

JOPLIN, Mo. -- Things started out well for the Miners in their season opener Friday night, but they didn't finish well as St. Mary's posted three second half goals to come away with a 3-1 victory over the Miners.

UMR broke a scoreless tie near the end of the first half when Derek Pelate scored an unassisted goal with 2:03 to play in the period. But after the intermission, the Rattlers took charge of the contest, outshooting UMR 9-3 and scoring three times. The game-tying goal came at the 56:37 mark off the foot of Raul Davira, then the Rattlers took the lead nearly eight minutes later when Scott Kilpatrick scored. St. Mary's scored an insurance goal at the 73:44 mark when Kris Sumpter knocked in Jonathan Gray's corner kick. UMR was outshot 16-8 in Friday's contest, with goalkeeper Mike McNamee being credited with four saves.

The Miners will face Christian Brothers Saturday evening in their final game before next Friday's home opener against Missouri Southern.

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Ashton Gronewold

The latest honor came from Don Hansen's Football Gazette, which selected Gronewold as one of 10 wide receivers to its pre-season squad. That comes on the heels of being named to pre-season All-America teams by Street and Smith's and Lindy's Football magazine that have already appeared on newsstands. Gronewold finished the 2005 season by setting new single-season records at UMR for receptions (75), yardage (1,080) and touchdowns (17 receiving, 18 overall), earning honorable mention All-America honors as well as being named to the by the Independent Football Alliance. Gronewold also led the team with 1,288 all-purpose yards and his 17 receiving touchdowns also tied the national high in Division II last year during the regular season. He was one of two receivers on both of the earlier pre-season All-America squads as he was joined by East Stroudsburg's Evan Prall; Prall's quarterback, Jimmy Terwilliger, was also named to the pre-season All-America team by both publications.

The Miners had the fourth-rated passing offense in NCAA Division II in the 2005 season and Gronewold was among the national leaders for receptions, receiving yards and points scored. A native of Carthage, Ill., Gronewold also garned second-team all-region laurels from Football Gazette and Daktronics in 2005.

The Miners will report August 5 for the beginning of pre-season drills in preparation for the August 26 season opener at Tiffin.

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Keri Hessel

Keri Hessel has spent the last two seasons working with the University of Missouri-Rolla women's basketball program as a student assistant and then a graduate assistant coach following her days as a Lady Miner player. Hessel will now move into a full-time role as a coach as she has been named as the new assistant coach for the Lady Miner basketball program.

She takes over for Marcus Payne, who resigned recently to accept a coaching position at Austin Peay State University. "I am pleased, as I know Coach Eads is, to have Keri joining us as a full-time member of our outstanding coaching staff," said UMR director of athletics Mark Mullin. "In her position as a graduate assistant she made many contributions to the program. She will be an excellent team member in our department. As the full-time assistant, I am confident her experience, dedication, and work ethic will allow her to make a significant impact on the future success of our women's basketball program."

"We were fortunate to have Keri here and available to take this position," said Lady Miner head coach Alan Eads. "She has been a part of our staff for the last two seasons and has been involved with our team this summer in terms of recruiting, which will also be good for us as she will continue with the recruiting of those players. Keri has a good basketball background as she played and her father is a high school coach," Eads added. "I think she is real excited about the opportunity and is comfortable with moving into this full-time role."

Hessel, a native of Kearney, Mo., spent three years as a player for the Lady Miners, appearing in 45 games in that span. She played as a point guard for UMR and recorded 22 assists in those three seasons before becoming a student assistant coach in her senior year.
Upon earning her bachelor’s degree in mathematics from UMR in 2005, Hessel served as the team’s graduate assistant during the 2005-06 season when the Lady Miners finished with a 17-11 record.
As a high school player at Kearney High School, Hessel scored more than 1,000 points and set the school record for career assists.

Posted by UMR Miner Sports at 03:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Don Kennedy, who has spent 11 of the last 12 seasons assisting the successful softball team at Central Missouri State University, has accepted the head coaching position of the softball program at University of Missouri-Rolla.

Kennedy is taking over for Ryan Anderson, who left UMR last month to become the head coach at Northwest Missouri State University.

"I am extremely pleased to have Don joining us," said UMR director of athletics Mark Mullin. "His experience, work ethic, and personable nature will all be attributes that will help to bolster our program. I am confident he will be an exceptional leader for Lady Miner softball and an excellent member of our outstanding coaching staff."

Kennedy, a 1993 graduate of CMSU with a bachelor's degree in physical education, joined the Central staff as a volunteer assistant with the women's basketball program, then started working with the softball team in the 1995 season. He did the bulk of his work with the catchers and outfielders.

During his 11 years at Central, the Jennies posted a record of 369-208 (.640 winning percentage) and four regular season titles in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association.

CMSU also won the MIAA Tournament in 1995 and 1997 and went on to a second place finishes in the NCAA regional tournament in each of those years. Central also finished second in two other MIAA Tournaments, including the 2004 event where it eliminated UMR in an 18-inning classic to reach the championship game.

Kennedy spent the 2001 season as the head coach at Hutchinson Community College before returning to CMSU in 2002,where he assisted Rhesa Sumrell for her final five seasons as head coach before she retired following the 2006 season.

In addition to his coaching duties at Central, Kennedy was also in charge of the daily maintenance of the school's South Recreation complex where CMSU's home field was located.

Kennedy, who has several years of experience as a player in men's fastpitch softball, also earned his master's degree atCMSU in 1999.

For more information, contact John Kean at (573) 341-4140

Posted by Mark Remer at 03:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Jordan Henry	Heath Groom
	Ryan Vessell

Three members of the 2006 UMR men's track and field squad have been selected to the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association's all-academic team. Freshman pole vaulter Jordan Henry and sophomores Heath Groom and Ryan Vessell were among the 129 selected to the team, which consists of individuals who have a minimum grade point average of 3.25 and met an NCAA qualfiying standard in his event.

Groom earned All--America honors in the javelin with a seventh place finish at the NCAA Division II Championships as he set a new school record in the event at 210-4. Henry also competed in the national meet in the pole vault and won the Great Lakes Valley Conference title in the event with a clearance of 15-9; later in the year, Henry cleared 16-1 1/4. Vessell was part of the Miners' 4x100-meter relay team that set a new school record with a time of 41.13 seconds during the Dewey Allgood Invitational.

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If the Great Lakes Valley Conference pre-season coaches polls are any indication of how the upcoming 2006 season is going to play out, the UMR men's and women's soccer teams will have some work to do to prove the coaches wrong and earn a playoff berth in the process.

The Miners were tabbed for a ninth place finish in the GLVC in the upcoming year, while the Lady Miners were picked to finish 13th in the 14-team league. The men's squad, which earned a berth to the GLVC Tournament in its first year in the league with a seventh place showing, was in a tight pack of teams between seventh and tenth that was separated by only nine points.

Defending regular season champion Southern Illinois Edwardsville received 12 of the 14 first place votes to get the top spot in the poll, followed by 2005 tournament champion Rockhurst; Quincy and Wisconsin-Parkside were separated by just three points for third and fourth, respectively. Lewis, Northern Kentucky, Drury and Indianapolis were slated for the next four positions ahead of UMR, which received 78 points in the poll to put it four points ahead of Bellarmine and well ahead of the other four league teams.

Meanwhile, the Lady Miners were picked ahead of Kentucky Wesleyan -- the only team UMR beat last year in GLVC play -- in the women's poll that was led by defending league champion Northern Kentucky. SIU Edwardsville was picked to finish second, followed by Wisconsin-Parkside and Rockhurst.

UMR's men will start the soccer season August 25 with a game against St. Mary's, while the Lady Miners kick off the 2006 campaign August 26 at home against Central Methodist. Conference play begins for both teams at home Sept. 3 against Quincy.

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