SWIMMING AND DIVING

SEASON COMPLETE

UW-Stevens Point finished in sixth place at the NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championships held in Buffalo, NY last weekend. The Pointers accumulated 192 points. Kenyon College won its 22nd straight national title with 669 points.

Senior Randy Boelk (Embarass, MN) ended his career as a Pointer in style. Boelk recorded a top five finish in six of the seven events in which he participated. Individually, Boelk was second in the 100 yard backstroke (:49.85), second in the 200 yard backstroke (1:48.91), and fourth in the 200 yard individual medley (1:52.24).

All three of the four Pointer relays finished in the top five. The 200 freestyle relay team and the 400 freestyle relay team each placed second. The 200 freestyle relay team of Boelk, John Green, Eric Sands, and Nick Hansen was first after the preliminary race, and lowered their time in the final, but still placed second. The 200 medley relay placed fifth, while the 400 medley relay team was seventh.

Anthony Harris (St. Paul, MN) swam :51.51 in the final of the 100 yard butterfly and finished eighth. John Green (Madison, WI) was the last qualifier in the 50 yard freestyle, but bounced back to win the consolation final race in :21.02 and place ninth overall.

In diving, Chris Hansman (Neenah, WI) finished 14th in the three-meter event and 20th in the one-meter competition.

BASEBALL

at Fort Myers, Fla. (March 17-24, 12 games)

The Pointers are 2-2 in their first two days at the Gene Cusic Classic in Fort Myers, Florida.

The Pointers opened their season on Saturday with a 3-0 win over Bethel College (Minn.). Jeff Pieper, a sophomore, pitched a complete game, scattered seven hits while striking out one and walking one for his third career shutout. The Pointers scored in the first inning as Mike McCann led off the game with a double and scored when Matt Peetz reached on an error. UW-Stevens Point added two more runs in the second on a two-run single by Randy Reed through a drawn-in infield. Bethel earned a split in the second game with a 10-8 victory. Bethel scored six runs in the first inning and overcame an 8-6 Pointer lead for the win.

The Pointers also split a pair with Allegheny College, losing the opener 3-2, and winning a dramatic nightcap 7-6 in nine innings. In the opener, Troy Bielmeier surrendered just five hits, but four came in a three-run fifth inning as the Gators rallied from a 2-0 deficit for the win. Bielmeier struck out none and walked one in a complete game. Eric Bennett�s bases loaded walk with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning capped a second UW-Stevens Point rally and lifted the Pointer baseball team to a dramatic 7-6 victory in the second game. Each team scored four runs in the sevetnth inning to send the game to extras at 5-5. Allegheny regained the lead with a run in the top of the ninth, but Jared Barker drew a walk to lead off the bottom of the inning. Jagler then singled Barker to third and Paul Molitor hit a game-tying sacrifice fly. Pat McCann singled Jagler to second and Ryan Ivy singled to left, but Jagler was thrown out at the plate for the second out. Molski walked to load the bases and Bennett took a 3-2 pitch in the dirt to force in the game-winning run.

The Pointers' Monday games have been cancelled due to rain. The Pointers will play again on Tuesday with a doubleheades against Fontbonne (Mo.).

SOFTBALL

at Fort Myers, Fla. (March 19-24, 10 games)

Both of the Pointers' Monday games were rained out. The Pointers will open the season on Tuesday against Hillsdale (Mich.) and Keene State (N.H.). The Pointers enter the season ranked 22nd in the NCAA Division III preseason poll and open with 10 games in Fort Myers, Florida.

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