Stevens Point Journal from Stevens Point, Wisconsin • Page 11

teuens itoittt ountnl VJfl -ip) a MCj2' I I I sx7i 1 Sports in Brief Men's hockey in national rankings It didn't take long for UW-Stevens Point to turn heads among voters in the NCAA Division III men's hockey polls as the Pointers surged to ninth in this week's rank Switch from quarterback to receiver beneficial for UWSP women hold own vs. UW MADISON It's the oldest trick in the book. Some in our business of sports reporting call it coach-speak. It's the science of coaches doing their best to lower expectations, or at the very least give the impression his or her team has no chance to win a certain game. University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point coach Shirley Egner was crying to anyone who would listen that her team would be lucky to survive an exhibition game with Big Ten Conference member Wisconsin on Nov.

2. The company line went something along the line 0 4 7- Dickert, Pointers A V- Pointers with 47 receptions for 786 yards a 16.7 yards per catch average and four touchdowns as a junior. "It has not been a surprise," said Miech of Dickert's production at receiver. "It's been a smooth transition because he knew what a receiver is supposed to do. Jake's a student of the game and he's one of those players 111 listen to when he suggests something." While not blessed with blazing speed or quickness, Dickert demonstrated a nose for finding the open seams in secondaries.

Entering the final week of the regular season, he leads the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference with an average of seven receptions per game. He ranks fourth in yards at approximately 70 a game. Sounds like the prototypical "possession" receiver. "The big joke around the team is I call myself a possession receiver," Dickert said. "Most receivers want to turn 6-yard passes into 16 yards.

My goal is to turn six yards into seven." By Sanr Wdjavms Journal staff sc0n.wiluamscwnews.net Like most athletes, Jacob Dickert is use to having butterflies before a game. So when Dickert came down with an upset stomach several days before a game with Trinity International on Sept. 30 he thought it was no big deal. The pain, however, gradually became unbearable, and the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point senior wide receiver soon learned he was suffering from appendicitis. He was rushed into surgery at 3 a.m.

on the day of the game. "I just thought it was a little stomachache. I was like, Til get But then I struggled at practice that Friday and could barely run," said Dickert. "My sister had the same thing almost exactly a year ago," he added. "I had the same symptoms, but I was like, 'I can't have that." What followed was an emotional roller-coaster for Dickert.

The original diag Jacob Dicker! nosis given to Dickert was that his football season and perhaps career was over. The normal recuperation time is four to six weeks. A nurse helping to cart him out had a son go through the same operation recently, and had some advice for his mom. "She was like, "You're not going to let him play again, because that would be really said Dickert. On the bright side, only three games into the season, Dickert had the option to receive a medical redsMrt.

But UW-Stevens Point coach John Miech quickly learned Dickert had other ideas. Dickert missed the Trinity International and Whitewater games, but was back practicing with the permission of the training staff in time to make the trip to River Falls on Oct. 14 exactly two weeks after undergoing an appendectomy. "What spurred on his rehab was a certain quarterback (Ben THOMAS KLUAWSKISTEVENS POINT JOURNAL ball to gain a first down against Piatteville on Saturday. UWSP's Jacob Dickert extends the Roethlisberger) from Pittsburgh," said Miech.

"He was like, 'If Roethlisberger can do it, I can He really wanted to go out with this group of seniors." Dickert didn't just come back. He came back better and more productive than ever. In a 20-17 loss to River Falls, Dickert finished with six receptions for 56 yards only 14 days removed from an operation room. "I might have pushed the envelope with it a little bit," Dickert said. "I saw the team doctor, and he said if I had no pain, to go ahead and start practicing." Not bad for a quarterback turned wide receiver.

Dickert was recruited to UW-Stevens Point as a quarterback out of Kohler High School. He spent his first year as an understudy to all-conference pick Scott Krause, who went on to play in the Canadian Football League. Just when he thought his time to line up behind center might have come, Brett Borchart trans-, ferred in and the competition for the starting quarterback job was thrown up for grabs. Borchart won the battle, leaving Dickert as the backup his sophomore season. "It was a situation after his sophomore year where a young man wanted to play, so we agreed it was time for a move," Miech said.

"Kids want to know where they can play the most." Graduation losses after the 2004 season left playing time open at wide receiver. While tough to accept, Dickert grudgingly made the move to get on the field and help the team. "It was tough to let go of something you've done your whole career," acknowledged Dickert, who played quarterback at every level of football. "I didn't want to give up my dream of playing college football." A gifted athlete, Dickert made the switch to receiver prior to the 2005 season. His thorough understanding of the passing game through his time at quarterback, enabled Dickert to catch on to the nuances of the position almost immediately.

Dickert wound up leading the ings with a w3L. victory over previously eighth-ranked St Thomas on Saturday. The Pointers did not receive a vote in the preseason poll, but picked up 89 points in this week's poll from U.S. College Hockey Online on the heels of a 2-0 start. This is the first time UWSP has been ranked since Nov.

25, 2002, and the highest ranking since Feb. 5, 2001 when the Pointers were seventh. UW-Stevens Point has two home games this weekend, including a matchup with 15th-ranked Bethel on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Willett Arena. The Pointers will also host Hamline on Friday at 7:30 p.m.

Women's hockey still No. 6 in poll With two victories to open the season, UW-Stevens Point's women's hockey team remained ranked sixth in the NCAA Division III rankings heading into a showdown with third-ranked Gustavus Adolphus on Saturday. The Pointers beat the Golden Gusties 2-0 in last year's national third place game and the teams will meet again at 2 p.m. at Ice Hawks Arena UW-Stevens Point opened the year with a 2-1 win at previously eighth-ranked St. Thomas on Friday and then rolled past St.

Olaf 7-1 on Saturday. Grossmann NCHA Player of Week UW-Stevens Point women's hockey player Nicole Grossmann has been named the first Northern Collegiate Hockey Association women's hockey Player of the Week of the season for her performances in the Pointers' first two games. Grossmann, a sophomore from Nicole Grossmann Iindstrom, scored the game-winning goal with 3:42 left in Friday's 2-1 win over eighth-ranked St. Thomas and then had her first career hat trick along with two assists in a 7-1 victory at St. Olaf on Saturday.

It is the second career Player of the Week award for Grossmann. Groos earns soccer honors Stevens Point Pacelli's Andrew Groos was a unanimous first-team selection to the all-Mid-State Soccer Conference team. Groos was joined on the first team by teammate Philip Smith. Matt Weishan and Chris Droske were second-team picks for Pacelli, and Matt Lopas was named an honorable mention Journal staff -t. Direct sa 1 i LS.

Zl the of and boys get was SPASH a game away of, Ve hope we can just be competitive, and not embarrass ourselves." Yeah, and I whooped LeBron James SCOTT in a game of Williams one-on-one. No need to cry the Pointers or Egner a river of tears this season. Instead, college women's basketball fans might want to save their sympathy cards for Wisconsin coach Lisa Stone, whose team received a huge reality check in the opening 20 minutes of the exhibition game. Showing no signs of intimidation or first-game nerves, the Pointers made themselves right at home in the Kohl Center. With Wausau East product Haley Houghton draining everything in sight, UWSP got the Badgers' attention by grabbing an early 19-6 lead.

When the final first-half horn sounded, UWSP held a 34-32 advantage. Those poor Pointers. Woe is me. How could they possibly compete with a Division I program? The Pointers eventually came crashing back down to See WILLIAMS3B Randall Stadium in Madison at 4 p.m. for the state title.

The Panthers are coming off a huge victory last See SPASH2B Ik) Bi. i I I i Winter sports open practices I 'i i I i A' i JIT BvX.uvVixe Journal Staff NSTriAN.VItCWS.NET The Stevens Point Area Senior High football team finds itself just one game short playing for its ultimate goal. The Panthers (11-1), the sixth-ranked team in the state, travel to the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh on Friday to face top-ranked Homestead (12-0) in a state Division 1 semifinal matchup at 7 p.m. The winner meets the winner of third-ranked Arrowhead (11-1), a 36-21 winner over Fond du Lac, and llth-ranked Milwaukee Riverside (11-1), a 24-22 winner over the players, but also for a pair of first-year coaches. Canyon Schultz is taking over the reigns as the Panthers' new girls basketball coach.

With about 38 players showing up for practice, Schultz had the players pin numbers to their shirts to keep track of them throughout the workout. The Panthers will go through two practices a day for three days before Schultz and his staff make out varsity and junior varsity rosters. "It's been fun to get out and finally get started," Schultz See PRACTICE2B THOMAS KUJAWSKI STEVENS POINT JOURNAL SPASH's Danny Maultra stops a Chippewa Falls ball carrier as Ryan Pearcy is in pursuit. Milwaukee which will be played this Saturday at Germantown at 4 p.m. Those teams will meet next Friday at Camp THOMAS KUJAWSKI STEVENS POINT JOURNAL SPASH's Brittany Burant, from right, Mackenzie Minch and Brittany Studinski dribble during tryouts for the girls basketball team Monday.

By Nathan Vine Journal Staff nathan.wecwnews.net Fall sports may be reaching end, but that doesn't mean there is a rest for area prep athletes. Monday marked the first day practice for several winter prep sports, including girls basketball, gymnastics and boys girls hockey. Next week, boys basketball, swimming and wrestling underway. At the SPASH Fieldhouse, it a fresh start for not only 71 r-23SCG kl) 1 (iujL Kiipifimi(if saunas 1 I Toyota Only gfjff Express Lube $25'" No appointment necessary. Ployer, wvm.markmbtorsicom "The Mark of Excellence1'.