Ally Voss - May Female Student-Athlete of the Month

Ally Voss - May Female Student-Athlete of the Month

Ally Voss – May Female Student-Athlete of the Month – Junior, Track & Field

Gustavus junior pole vaulter Allyson Voss claimed the MIAC title in the pole vault and achieved All-America honors at the NCAA Championships. For her outstanding performances to finish the season, the Office of Sports Information has named Voss May Female Student-Athlete of the Month, presented by Thrivent Financial.

Ally Voss

Voss, a Wausau, Wis. native, kicked off the month at Hamline University’s Meet of the UnSaintly with a first place finish in the pole vault. She tied three other competitors from both NCAA Division I and II schools, clearing a height of 11-11.75.

The following weekend in Moorhead, Minn., Voss matched her height from the Meet of the UnSaintly, claiming the pole vault title at the MIAC Championships. Her height of 11-11.75 was 1-7.5 higher than the second place vaulters. After taking third place in both her first and second year, Voss became the first Gustie to take the gold in the pole vault since Shanna Dawson did so in 2008.

As a precursor to the month of May, Voss concluded April with a record-setting performance. Voss cleared a height of 12-4.5 at the 12th Annual Drake Alternative held in St. Peter, Minn. Her mark broke the school record held by Dawson (12-2.5) since 2008. She tehn entered the NCAA Championships ranked 11th among Division III pole vaulters.

At the national meet last week, Voss earned All-American honors in the pole vault, finishing seventh in the competition after clearing 12-7.50.  Voss is Gustavus’ first ever All-American in the outdoor pole vault and her mark at the NCAA Championships broke he own school record.

“Leading up the NCAA’s, Ally kept getting bumped down and she found herself at tenth going in,” Head Coach Dale Bahr said. “She had to make her personal record to stay in the competition and she did. She did that using a brand new pole that we got for her a couple weeks earlier, which she obviously had never used. If you PR at the national meet, what else can you ask for? She was then still sitting ninth and they moved the bar up to 12-7. She got on yet another new pole, cleared the bar on her third attempt and ended up seventh, which is All-American. It was great to see her rise to the occasion, stay composed, make some great attempts and PR twice.”

Steve Groskreutz - May Male Student-Athlete of the Month

Steve Groskreutz - May Male Student-Athlete of the Month

Senior track athlete Steve Groskreutz capped his career at Gustavus by finishing ninth at the 2012 NCAA Championships last week in Claremont, Calif. For his outstanding finish to his career, the Office of Sports Information has named Groskreutz Male Student-Athlete of the Month for May, presented by Thrivent Financial.

Steve Groskreutz

The Faribault, Minn. native started the month at Hamline’s Meet of the UnSaintly on May 6. Groskreutz competed in one event, the 110-meter hurdles, and placed third with a time of 15.35. The following weekend at the MIAC Championships, Groskreutz claimed the 400-meter hurdles title with a time of 53.51. He also took fifth in the 110-meter hurdles, crossing the line in 15.60.

As a precursor to the national meet, Groskreutz participated in the University of La Crosse’s Last Chance Meet on May 11-12. The senior hurdle specialist set a career-best in the 400 with a time of 53.41, which also propelled him into the Top-20 in Division III.

Groskreutz entered the NCAA Championships seeded 20th in the 400-meter hurdles and climbed the ladder in the preliminaries. He ran a career-best 53.37 and qualified for the finals with an eighth place finish. In the finals, Groskreutz ran a 53.56 for a ninth place finish in Division III.

“It was a windy and cooler day, so he used the advantage of living in the Midwest to make it to finals where he was the twentieth person going in,” Head Coach Dale Bahr said of the NCAA Championships. “He definitely rose to the occasion. Being a bigger, stronger guy he could run through the wind pretty easy. He got into the final when just a week earlier he wasn’t supposed to be there because he was actually twenty-first on the list and only twenty make it in. One person didn’t declare, he made it in and he took advantage of it. He ran a faster time than he did at conference and set himself up for finals where he ran against the best in the country. To be able to have that opportunity was good for him.”

Earning All-American honors in the pole vault on Saturday was Allyson Voss, finishing seventh in the competition after clearing 12-feet 7.50-inches.  Voss is Gustavus’ first ever All-American in the outdoor pole vault.

After making the finals of the 400-meter hurdles on Thursday after running a 53.37, Steve Groskreutz ran a 53.56 on Saturday to finish ninth in the nation.

Rounding out Gustavus’ competitors was Josh Owens in the pole vault.  Owens’ went over the bar at 15-feet 7-inches to finish 17th.

Final Results

Donkena and Smith-Dennis advanced to the title match with a 6-4, 7-6 (7-5) victory over Mary Washington’s Evan Charles and Donato Rizzolo earlier in the day. National champion Amherst reached the finals with a 6-7 (7-5), 6-4, 6-4 win over Johns Hopkins.

In the title match, Gustavus took the first set 6-4 and led the second 5-3 before Amherst claimed the ensuing four points to win 7-5. Amherst kept it rolling in the third as it took the first three to cruise to the 6-3 win and claim the Division III title.

Donkena and Smith-Dennis, who earn All-America honors by virtue of finishing second at the NCAA Championships, finish the season with an overall record of 31-5. They also become the first Gusties to finish runner-up at the NCAA Doubles Championships since Andy Bryan and Charlie Paukert did so in 2008.

Box Scores

NCAA Championships website

Donkena and Smith-Dennis enter Saturday’s semifinal match-up with a 30-4 record and will take on Evan Charles and Donato Rizzolo of Mary Washington. Charles and Rizzolo defeated the Redlands duo of Mark Bloom and Patrick Lipscomb 7-6 (8), 3-6, 6-4.

Saturday’s match between the Gusties and Eagles begins at 10:00 a.m. EST and the championship match will start at 1:00 p.m.

Live Video

Live Scoring

Simon Erlandsson garnered Third Team PING All-America honors. Photo courtesy of Sport PiX

The Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) announced Thursday the PING All-America teams for Division III following the NCAA Championships. Gustavus sophomore Simon Erlandsson was named to the Third Team after placing 22nd at the national meet.

“Simon worked really hard this spring to get his game back after struggling a little bit in the fall,” Head Coach Scott Moe acknowledged. “It was great to see his talent finally shine through at the NCAA tournament. I knew he could play at that level and he was satisfied with how he was able to play and compete.”

Erlandsson, a Mjolby, Sweden native, had a one-stroke average drop from the fall season to the spring. He averaged 76.1 strokes per round in the fall compared to a 75.1 average in the spring.

At the Mission Inn Resort & Club in Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla. last week, Erlandsson shot four consistent days on the two courses. He tallied a 72-76-78-73 – 299 (+11), which was the best score among the five Gusties. The sophomore averaged 75.5 strokes per round this year with a low round of 68 at the Booby Krig Invitational in Le Sueur, Minn. on April 22-23. He placed second – his best finish of the year – at the Gusties’ home meet with a three-round total of 74-68-73-215 (+3), where the team also won the event.

As a team, the Gusties shot a 301-297-307-303 – 1208 (+56), tying Greensboro for 12th place at the NCAA Championships, their best finish since winning the national title in 2004.

GCAA Release

The tournament format will be determined by the field size.  As in the past, the event will feature many special contests and events stationed throughout the course.  These contests will challenge the golf (and non-golf) skills of the participants!

This year’s outing will also feature a wine tasting event courtesy of nearby Chankaska Creek.  The wine tasting will begin at 12:00 p.m., followed by lunch, a silent auction, golf, and a post-tournament hors d’oeuvre reception.

With the goal of celebrating the storied history of Gustavus women’s athletics amongst those who helped build it, the Gustavus coaches would like to extend an invitation to past Gustavus women’s athletes, friends, and family to this year’s Women’s Athletics Golf Tournament.

Attached below is a registration form for this year’s tournament, along with a hole sponsor/silent auction donation form.

For more information, contact:

Jeff Annis – 507-381-0633 – jannis@gustavus.edu

Registration Form

Hole Sponsor/Silent Auction Donation Form

Hurdle specialist Steve Groskreutz will placed eighth in the prelims of the 400-meter hurdles of the NCAA Championships on Thursday, earning a spot in Saturday's finals.

Hurdle specialist Steve Groskreutz will placed eighth in the prelims of the 400-meter hurdles of the NCAA Championships on Thursday, earning a spot in Saturday's finals.

Claremont, Calif. - Gustavus Adolphus senior track and field athlete Steve Groskreutz (Faribault, Minn.) is moving on to the finals of the 400-meter hurdles after placing eighth in the preliminaries of the 2012 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Thursday afternoon.  The NCAA Championships are being held on May 24-26 at Fritz B. Burns Stadium on the campus of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.

Groskreutz turned in a career-best time of 53.37 in heat one of the prelims on Thursday, earning a place in the top-nine and setting himself up for a chance to earn All-American status in the 400-meter hurdles.

The senior Faribault native came into the NCAA Championships ranked No. 20 in the nation with a qualifying time of 53.41.  The runner to beat on Saturday is Demetrius Rooks of Rowan who ran a top time of 51.79 on the opening day of the national meet.

Steve Groskreutz will run in lane nine in the finals set to take place on Saturday at 4:55 p.m.  For complete results and live updates from the 2012 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, please follow the link below.

Thursday/Live Results

Gustavus men’s tennis players Amrik Donkena and Mya Smith-Dennis both lost their singles match-ups in the first round of the NCAA Championships on Thursday morning in Cary, N.C., but bounced back as teammates with a close victory in the doubles draw. The top-seeded duo advances to the second round, which starts at 2:00 p.m. EST on Friday.

Making his third consecutive appearance at the national individual tournament, Donkena dropped his first round match against Tanner Brown of Johns Hopkins 2-6, 0-6. The Rochester, Minn. native finishes his singles season at 19-10.

Smith-Dennis put up a good fight against Rob Crampton of Bates, but fell in three sets 6-3, 3-6, 2-6. The Savage, Minn. native ends the season with a 22-7 record in singles.

Head Coach Tommy Valentini’s No. 1 doubles pair kept their season alive, though, by edging Texas-Tyler’s Kevin Singer and Ryan Spencer 7-6 (4), 7-5. With the win, Donkena and Smith-Dennis improve to 29-4 as teammates this year. Smith-Dennis now has the opportunity to get retribution against Crampton as the Gusties will take on Crampton and Matt Bettles of Bates in the quarterfinals Friday at 2:00 p.m. EST.

Live scoring and video will be provided for quarterfinal action.

Live Stats

Live Video

Check in will begin at 11:30 a.m. with a shot gun start at 12:30 p.m.  In addition to playing one of the finest 18-hole golf courses in the region, the tournament will feature events such as raffles, door prizes, and both a silent and live auction.

Cost in $120.00 per person, which covers green fees, cart, lunch, and dinner.

To register for this year’s baseball/women’s hockey golf outing, please go to www.gustavus.edu/go/basekey.  For more information on registration, hole sponsorship, and raffle donation forms, please follow the links below.  Registration, hole sponsorship, and raffle donation forms can be sent to Head Coach Mike Carroll.

More information on and directions to the Le Sueur Country Club can be found at
http://www.lesueurcountryclub.com

For more information, contact:
Mike Carroll – 507-933-6297 – mcarroll@gustavus.edu

Golf Tournament Registration Form

Hole Sponsorship Form