Mar 25, 2008 - 04:05:05 CDT
The fun part of the offseason begins today for the University of Mary football team.Gone for a few weeks, anyway are the routine indoor weight lifting sessions and agility, conditioning and speed running.
The Marauders will switch gears to spring football. U-Mary will hold 15 full-squad practices. The final day of spring football is April 16.
Of the 15 practices, the first two will be helmets-only before going full pads for the final 13 practice sessions.
Ten football practices are scheduled for the Bismarck Community Bowl. Three practices are planned for the Golf Dome and two set for the U-Mary practice field.
"The guys are excited to go out and be a football player instead of doing conditioning all the time,"U-Mary coach Myron Schulz said. "It's fun to switch gears."
The Marauders return almost their entire offense with quarterback Blair Sandy departing because of graduation.
Running back Bayland Rippenkroeger was also a senior, but backup Jamal Lomax received one start and a good number of carries.
"We will have to develop a new quarterback and some depth," Schulz said. "We don't have a lot of depth right now at running back. Some people who are going to play running back for us probably aren't going to be in spring football. It's a good opportunity for our in-house people to step up."
The Marauders return three people on defense Shawn Melland (linebacker), Chris Moody (linebacker) and Pierre Atkinson (defensive lineman).
"We have a lot of new faces on defense,"Schulz said. "The big thing is staying healthy. We've always had a good tradition on defense."
U-Mary opens the 2008 season on Aug. 28 against Chadron State at the Community Bowl.
VerDouw closes career
Former St. Mary's basketball standout Tom VerDouw finished his basketball career with Augustana.
The 6-foot-8 center helped guide the Vikings to a 22-9 record and to the NCAA regionals for the first time in 19 years. The Vikings won a game at the regional tournament for the first time since 1978.
VerDouw averaged 9.1 points and 5.1 rebounds a game as a senior. He shot 58.8 percent from the field and averaged 23.7 minutes a contest.
VerDouw led Augustana in scoring twice and 11 times in rebounds. He had three double-doubles on the season.
One of his shining moments came against Missouri Southern on Dec. 1. He pulled in a long offensive rebound and put the ball back at the buzzer for the 79-77 victory.
VerDouw will complete his business administration degree this spring.
Kielpinski to play
in Elite Eight
A Kielpinski-led team is still alive in the NCAA basketball tournament.
Jessica Kielpinski's New Mexico Lobos lost out of the first round of the Division I tournament to West Virginia.
Older sister, Rebecca, will pilot the Alaska-Anchorage Seawolves into the Elite Eight of the Division II tournament.
No. 9 Alaska-Anchorage (29-4) matches up with No. 18 Franklin Pierce (27-5) on Wednesday in Kearney, Neb.
It's the Seawolves' first-ever Elite Eight appearance. Kielpinski, of Mandan, played a huge role in helping the Seawolves advance deep into the postseason.
She defended her 2006-07 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Player of the year honor, sharing the 2007-08 award.
She's averaging 12.1 points and 8.8 rebounds a game and has blocked 63 shots.
This year's team has also made school history, winning 29 games for the first time. Alaska-Anchorage reached the 20-win plateau for the seventh time in the program's 31-year history and it's just the second time the Seawolves have won 20 or more games in back-to-back seasons.
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