Oct. 11, 2005

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INDIANAPOLIS -- Defending champion University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee has been picked to defend its Horizon League men's basketball crown, according to the results of the League's official preseason poll announced Tuesday (Oct. 11).

The survey of League coaches, sports information directors and media members places the Panthers as a near-unanimous choice to win the League title next March, with UW-Milwaukee atop 37 of the 43 ballots cast. The Panthers garnered 379 points, well ahead of second pick University of Detroit Mercy's 326-point total featuring four first-place nods. UW-Milwaukee defeated Detroit, 59-58, in the championship game of the League tournament last March, starting a run which ended in the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16.

Loyola University Chicago finished third in the voting with the remaining two first-place votes and 269 points, followed by Wright State University (226 points). Butler University (206) edged the University of Illinois at Chicago (199) for fifth place in the survey, while the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay (159), Cleveland State University (120) and Youngstown State University (51) rounded out the poll.

Oct. 11, 2005

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INDIANAPOLIS -- For the Horizon League, the latest Soccer America national rankings mark a case of "win some, lose some." While Butler University fell from the publication's national top 25, the League still has representation in the rankings. The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee begins the week ranked 25th in the nation, according to the results of the latest poll released Tuesday (Oct. 11).The Panthers entered the rankings on the strength of a 7-2-3 overall ledger which includes three consecutive victories. UWM defeated the University of Wisconsin, 2-0, last Tuesday (Oct. 4) and posted identical-score triumphs over League foes Wright State University on Friday (Oct. 7) and Butler on Sunday (Oct. 9). The latter triumph bumped BU from the top 25.

UW-Milwaukee finished 2004 ranked 24th in the nation after reaching the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Panthers defeated the University of San Francisco, 3-2, before falling, 2-1, in overtime to then-top-ranked Santa Clara University. This year's edition features the current Horizon League Player of the Week in freshman goalkeeper Grant Fernstrum, who posted 12 saves in recording the three shutouts. In addition, junior midfielder Craig Mallace shares the League scoring lead with 15 points (three goals and nine assists).

The University of Akron took over the top spot in both polls after the University of New Mexico tied the Air Force Academy, 0-0, on Friday. That blemish leaves the Zips as the nation's only unbeaten and untied team at 11-0-0 while UNM drops to second in both polls at 9-0-1. St. John's University is third in the SA listings at 7-1-3, followed by the University of Virginia (8-1-2) and the University of Connecticut (9-2-1). The National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) has Old Dominion University (8-1-2) third, ahead of St. John's and the University of North Carolina (8-2-1).

Oct. 11, 2005

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INDIANAPOLIS -- It's not often when someone can improve his situation by not competing. Butler University men's soccer goalkeeper Frank Peabody is the exception to that rule, though, based on the latest national statistical rankings released by the NCAA on Monday (Oct. 10).

The senior sat out his team's two matches last week, but moved up to claim the nation's best goals-against-average through Sunday (Oct. 9).The Bulldog netminder owns the top mark in all of Division I, a 0.250 goals-against average, having allowed only two goals in 720 minutes of action. He has six shutouts already this season, and took over the top spot on the GAA charts when San Diego State's Tally Hall allowed three goals in two matches last week. UCLA's Eric Reed is now second in the country at 0.341, followed by Hall (0.346), Jason Landers of St. John's (0.346) and Evan Bush of top-ranked Akron (0.374).

Peabody appeared in five matches last fall, posting two shutouts and posting a 0.82 GAA as a back-up to then-senior Evan Reinhardt. He played in only three matches in 2003.

Oct. 11, 2005

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INDIANAPOLIS- Two Horizon League softball teams were named to the All-Academic Top Ten by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association as announced Monday, Oct. 10.

The University of Detroit Mercy posted the highest grade point average in the country among NCAA Division I universities with a cumulative GPA on 3.591 on a 4.00 scale. NAIA leader Iowa Wesleyan College posted the nation's highest GPA for all levels with a 3.650 average. Lynn University topped NCAA Division II at 3.552, while Hartwick College paced Division III with a 3.596 cumulative mark.

The top ranking marked the fifth straight year the Detroit softball program has ranked in the top five in terms of its classroom work. The Titans, led by head coach Bob Wilkerson, also earned the top ranking in 2002.

Oct. 11, 2005

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Horizon League Men's Athlete of the Week

Oct. 10, 2005

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Horizon League Player of the Week

Grant Fernstrum
Freshman * Goalkeeper * Green Bay, Wis.
Fernstrum posted the first three shutouts of his collegiate career with 2-0 victories over Wisconsin, Wright State and #25 Butler. The freshman netminder stopped 12 shots in those three outings, running his scoreless streak to 302:44. He has a season GAA of 0.37 and has not allowed a goal other than two penalty kicks in his five starts.

Other Top Performances for the Week Ending October 9
Vahid Assadpour, Detroit
Junior * Midfielder * Richmond Hill, Ontario
Assadpour scored a pair of goals in Detroit's only action of the week, a 3-2 overtime victory at IPFW which extended UDM's winning streak to four consecutive matches. The junior opened the scoring and added the match-winner with a free kick from 19 yards out eight minutes into overtime.

Oct. 10, 2005

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Horizon League Player of the Week

Emily Peick
Loyola
Junior, Goalkeeper
Mendota Heights, Minn.
After sitting out a match the previous week due to injury, Peick came back to record two shutouts with 12 saves in a 2-0 week for the Ramblers. The junior co-captain tallied five saves in a 1-0 win at Youngstown State Oct. 6 as Loyola captured its first League win of the season. She then stopped seven shots in a 2-0 victory over Mid-Continent Conference-leading Valparaiso Oct. 9.

Other Top Performances for the Week of October 10

Oct. 10, 2005

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Horizon League Offensive Player of the Week

Katarina Nedeljkovic

Oct. 9, 2005

MILWAUKEE (Oct. 9, 2005) - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's soccer team will continue their tradition of charity this Wednesday afternoon when they take to the field to play UIC. The team will be wearing special commemorative American Red Cross Puma jerseys that they will be auctioning off afterwards to help support the ongoing hurricane relief efforts.

"This type of charity game is something that we try to do as often as we can," UWM head coach Louis Bennett said. "With the events that have occurred, it seems only fitting that we do something with the Red Cross."

The Panthers started the tradition in 2001 to honor the September 11th tragedy. They wore special one-time kits again in 2003 to raise money for the MACC fund. The team will hold the Hurricane Katrina benefit match on Oct. 12 against UIC in a Horizon League contest at Engelmann Field. The game is scheduled for a 3 p.m. start and will see the Panthers wearing a red, white and blue jersey with the logo of the American Red Cross appearing on the front.

According to the Red Cross website, Hurricane Katrina relief efforts will exceed $2 billion, meeting the urgent needs of nearly one million families in three key areas -- food and shelter, emergency financial assistance to disaster survivors, and physical and mental health services.

Oct. 5, 2005

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INDIANAPOLIS -- Two Horizon League men's soccer players earned special recognition Wednesday (Oct. 5), drawing spots on the Soccer America National Team of the Week. Sophomore midfielder Keum Sung Kim of Loyola University Chicago and junior goalkeeper Frank Peabody of Butler University are both members of the 11-player honor roll for the week ending Sunday (Oct. 2).

Kim scored four goals with one assist in three matches last week, helping the Ramblers to a pair of victories. Kim had two markers in each triumph and also added an assist as he figured in all three LU tallies in a 3-2 win over DePaul last Wednesday (Sept. 28). His first collegiate goal turned into the eventual match-winner and he added an insurance tally in that contest. He followed up with a pair of goals including the overtime winner to lift the Ramblers past Bowling Green, 3-2, on Sunday.

With his nine points last week, Kim has taken over the team scoring lead and has climbed to third place on the League charts with 12 points (four goals, four assists) this season.