Men�s Basketball Back to No. 1 as Four Pointer Teams Remain Ranked High

     Four UW-Stevens Point athletic teams remain highly ranked in this week�s national polls.

     The men�s basketball team regained its No. 1 ranking after being ranked second the previous two weeks. The Pointers have been ranked No. 1 in 10 out of the 13 polls so far this year and have been in the D3hoops.com top 25 for 59 straight weeks. They currently have a 20-2 record with two games remaining in the regular season.

     The women�s basketball team moved up six spots to No. 19 following two victories last week.  The Pointers have been ranked for 53 of the past 59 weeks and currently have a 19-4 record.

     The women�s hockey team dropped two spots to number six following a 0-0 tie with Lake Forest on Saturday. They currently have a 19-2-1 record and conclude the season Tuesday at St. Olaf.

     The wrestling team is ranked 11th with a 13-7 record, however, all seven of the team�s losses this season have been to teams ranked in the top nine.

UW-Stevens Point Athletes Continue to Reap Conference Honors

     UW-Stevens Point continues to have multiple athletes named Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Athletes of the Week as four seniors were honored this week.

     Nick Bennett became the second straight Pointer to win the award in men�s basketball while Amanda Nechuta is the fourth women�s basketball player in the past six weeks to be honored. Megan Craig received the honor in women�s track and Cody Koenig is the third wrestler in four weeks to be honored.

     Bennett scored a season high 31 points against UW-Whitewater and followed that with a 19 point performance against UW-Superior. For the week, Bennett was 16-for-27, including seven-for-13 from the three-point line, and 11-for-12 on free throws.  It is the third time is his career that Bennett has been named Conference Athlete of the Week.

     Nechuta scored a season high 26 points against UW-Whitewater while also pulling down seven rebounds and adding six steals.  She then had 18 points and seven rebounds against UW-Superior. It is the second time this year and the fifth time in her career that Nechuta has earned Conference Athlete of the Week honors.

     Craig likely earned a spot in the NCAA Division III indoor championships with a high provisional qualifying mark at the Eastbay/Pointer Invitational. Craig won the 800 meters with a time of 2:14.84.  It is the fourth time in her career that Craig has earned Conference Athlete of the Week honors in indoor track and she has also won the award three times in cross country.

     Koenig won both of his matches last week to improve to 23-2 on the season. Koenig got one victory in a dual match with top-ranked Augsburg and the following day recorded a pin in the Pointers 35-7 victory over UW-Eau Claire.  It is the third time this year and the sixth time in his career that Koenig has been named Conference Athlete of the Week.

Men�s Basketball to Sign Autographs, Hold Postgame Senior Salute Wednesday

     The UW-Stevens Point men�s basketball team will remain on the court following Wednesday�s regular season home finale to salute its six seniors and sign autographs.

     It is the final home regular season game for Nick Bennett, John Gleich, Kyle Grusczynski, Jason Kalsow, Eric Maus and Tamaris Relerford, who will be honored in a postgame ceremony. The six players have combined to amass a 94-17 career record, winning the 2004 national championship and 2002 and 2003 WIAC championships.

     UW-Stevens Point can clinch another WIAC title on Wednesday in the game against UW-River Falls, which tips off at 7 p.m. at the Quandt Fieldhouse. It is the final game that player trading cards will be distributed and players will be seated at tables around the court to sign the cards and other memorabilia after the game.