Ski team finishes sixth
Special to The Observer
The ski club's season came to a premature end this weekend as the team fell .03 seconds short of qualifying for the national championships.
The sixth-place Irish finish at Regionals was the best in school history. Five varsity programs edged the Irish, with national NCAA power Northern Michigan winning the tournament. St. Olaf and St. Thomas, ranked first and third nationally by the USCSA, placed second and fifth, with Minnesota and Minnesota Duluth finishing third and fifth, respectively.
Senior Nikki Douillet completed a standout career, ranking 13th in the slalom and 12th in the giant slalom. Molly Munsterer capped her breakout season with a sixth-place slalom run and an 11th place in the giant slalom, .04 seconds ahead of Douillet.
Ellen Block moved to third in the line-up, replacing skiers attending Parents' Weekend, and rose to the occasion with a very respectable 32nd in the slalom. Kate Ryan, Elisha Hines, Katy Vossvinkel and Randi Sliva rounded out the strongest contingent in school history.
Mike Ryan's 18th in the slalom highlighted the men's competition, as the club finished 15th, in the middle of the pack.
Equestrian
The equestrian club earned Reserve High Point honors with a second-place finish behind Illinois at Purdue's IHSA show last weekend.
Diana Mastej's first place in her open flat class, Jackie Nesson's first in intermediate flat and Suzy Weber's second in novice fences qualified all three for Regionals at Taylor University on April 22. Sheridan Griffin, who also placed first in an open flat class and Laura Anderson had already qualified.
Bowling
The toughest lane conditions of the season at the ACUI Regional 9 tournament at Indiana University, coupled with the annual loss of members for Junior Parents' Weekend resulted in the lowest averages of the year for the bowling club.
Dan Buttke's 178 average paced the club while Jason Pawlak's 166, Kevin Gertken's 146 and Colin Boylan's 139 — all about 30 pins below their season average — rounded out the team scoring.
The featured Irish performance belonged to Anne Deitch, who rolled a 172 average, to place fourth among the top 50 women.
The club will return to action in two weeks at Ohio State's Buckeye Classic.
Rodeo
The rodeo club opened its competitive season at the Michigan State University Rodeo Championships.
Neal Driscoll, club president, teamed with Brent Cherry to claim seventh place in the team roping competition with a 17.9 second average. Driscoll also paired with Adam Smith of Abraham Baldwin for a 27.5 second showing, good enough for 25th place in the event.
Karoline Pershell competed in two events for the Irish, bull riding and barrel racing, finishing 21st in the latter, in 15.18 seconds.
Men's volleyball
The volleyball club, also undermanned because of Junior Parents' Weekend, posted a 2-3 record at the Midwest Regionals at Marquette. Two victories over Calvin were offset by losses to Marquette, Iowa State and University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.
All Sports Stories for Tuesday, February 22, 2000
