SMSU Athletics

May 5, 2011 – Hoof Prints Article
 
Hello Mustang Fans!

Congratulations to Ken Mukomela, a long time member of the Mustang Booster Club, who is one of three recipients of the Noel Olson Volunteer of the Year Award this year. The award is given to individuals who have made significant contributions to the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.

Mukomela, along with Paul and Barb Halstenson from Augustana College, will be honored with the award during the 12th annual NSIC Hall of Fame Banquet on Wednesday, July 13, at the Best Western Kelly Inn in St. Cloud, MN. Please go to SMSUmustangs.com to see the full press release.

Today will be an exciting day for SMSU as our Interim President Ron Wood will be formally announced at 3:00 pm in the Upper Level of the Student Center. The session will be open to the public and campus community. I was able to spend time with President Wood last week, and we had an enjoyable conversation about Mustang Athletics. He shared his passion for athletics from both his personal and professional experiences. I would also like to mention, Ron and his wife were the first to register for the Mustang Golf Classic.

The Mustang Booster Club will host the 2011 Mustang Golf Classic featuring a change in the format for this year’s event. The Golf Classic will become a two-day event this year with the traditional 18 hole, 5-person scramble golf tournament on Friday, June 24 at the Marshall Golf Club (MGC). On Friday night following the golf tournament, the Mustang Booster Club will host a social at MGC open to golfers and community members with entertainment, appetizers, beverages, a silent auction and concluding the programming with a live auction.

Saturday, June 25, the Mustang Booster Club will host a second 18 hole, 5-person scramble golf tournament at the Tyler Golf Club in Tyler, MN. Both tournaments are tentatively scheduled to have a shotgun start beginning at 11:00am. Please save the dates on your calendar and be looking for more information in my future Hoofprints articles as well as at SMSUMustangs.com.

Also on tap, SMSU Football this spring is the 7th Annual SMSU Football Alumni & Friends Golf Tournament which will be held on Saturday, May 14, at the Tyler Golf Club in Tyler, MN starting with a shotgun start at 11:00 am.

The cost is $100 per person and includes gift and team photo, box lunch, refreshments, hole prizes, silent auction, raffle and dinner. Registration and the driving range will open at 10:00 am, followed by a four-person scramble starting at 11 am  Social, dinner and awards will held following the tournament at 4:30 pm. All proceeds from the event will go toward upgrading SMSU uniforms, on-field practice equipment, travel expenses and operating budget.
For more information, please contact Christian Guenther at 507-537-7097.

The Mustang Booster Club will be starting its Annual Membership Drive in May. We are always looking for passionate members of the Mustang Family to participate on one of our three membership drive teams. It is a fun event to take part in with lots of laughter, camaraderie and competitive spirit amongst the teams. If you are interested in finding out more about how to join a membership drive team, please contact Tim Steinbach at 507-537-7204.

The SMSU Baseball team (10-22 overall, 6-15 NSIC) rallied from two runs down in the ninth inning to send the game to extra innings and eventually earn a 6-5 victory in 10 innings over Bemidji State in game two of a doubleheader in Marshall. BSU pushed across three runs with two outs in the top of the seventh to earn a 3-0 victory in game one.

The Mustangs will close out the 2011 season this weekend with a four-game series at Wayne State College (22-16, 15-9 NSIC) in Wayne, NE. Saturday’s doubleheader begins at 1:00 pm and Sunday’s contests will begin at noon. The Wildcats have won 10 straight games following two victories on Tuesday.

The SMSU Softball team (28-17, 16-9 NSIC) earned the No. 6 seed in the NSIC Softball Tournament and will face No. 3 seed Minnesota Duluth (29-13) at 10:00 am this morning. The tournament is being hosted by regular season champion and No. 1 seed Augustana College. Games will be played at Sherman Park and Bowden Field in Sioux Falls, S.D. Good luck to the Mustang Softball team this weekend! 

The SMSU Women’s Golf team shot a final round score of 353 (+65) and finished in seventh place at the nine-team, 54-hole NCAA Central Region Championship at the par-72 Hillcrest Golf Club in St. Paul, Minn. SMSU finished with a three-round score of 1,040 (+176).

Augustana won the region championship convincingly finishing with a final three-round score of 967 (+103). Concordia finished in second place with a 1,004 (+140), while Western New Mexico earned third place with a 1,012 (+148). All three teams will advance to the NCAA Championships next week in Allendale, Mich.

Allie Ostrander shot a 3-over-par 75 today; the championship’s lowest round and won the individual title at +19 (235), two shots better than teammate Maggie Leland.

SMSU, which began the day in fifth place, shot its worst round of the three-round championship. It’s the third straight season SMSU has finished seven in the NCAA region championship. Freshman Marissa Campeau was SMSU’s highest individual, carding a 36-over-par (252) to finish in a tie for 11th place. Campeau recorded a round of 85 on Tuesday. Rachel Patnoe also shot an 85 on Tuesday and finished in a tie for 31st at +50 (266). KC Kane finished in a tie for 21st at +46 (262), after a round of 94 on Tuesday. Krista Weiszhaar shot a 92 on Tuesday and finished 35th at +52 (268), while Sarah Baukol, the lone SMSU senior, wrapped up her career with a 91 and finished in a tie for 36th at +54 (270). Congratulations to the SMSU Women's Golf team on a great season!

Good luck to all of our Mustang Teams this week.

Go Mustangs!

Congratulations to Greg Debrenski, who provided the correct answer to last week’s Mustang Hoofprints Trivia Question: How many former Marshall High School graduates are members of the SMSU Athletics Department staff and can you name them? Head Volleyball Coach, Terry Culhane, Assistant Volleyball Coach, Raftyn Rignell and Assistant Athletic Director, Rolly Muller, are all graduates of Marshall High School.

Hoofprints Trivia Question (please put this in a box with the title on top)

How many years has SMSU been a member of NCAA Division II?

The first person to email me at MustangHoofPrints@SMSU.edu with the correct answer to this question will receive an SMSU t-shirt.