SMSU Athletics

September 18, 2014 – Hoof Prints Article
 
Hello Mustang Fans!
 
We would like to say thank you to our SMSU Students who have come out in full support of our Mustang Athletics teams this fall. The passion and excitement you have brought to our game-day environment has been impactful. The Mustang Maniacs have led this charge and make their presence known at all our athletic events, and we are very thankful for your support.
 
At Mustang Football, Soccer and Volleyball this past week, our teams saw great support from the Marshall Community and Mustang Fans from southwestern Minnesota and the five-state region surrounding Minnesota. We very much appreciate the support and want you to know it creates a positive buzz and energy around game-day on SMSU’s Campus and the City of Marshall. It has been an exciting start to the fall athletic season and we just wanted to let you know your attendance and support of SMSU Athletics makes a difference.
 
SMSU Department of Athletics and the Mustang Booster Club have a full schedule of events for you and your family on the campus of SMSU. Next Saturday, September 27, SMSU Athletics will host the 8th Annual Ag Bowl brought to you by Ralco Nutrition, Inc. The festivities will begin at 2:30 pm in the R/A Facility parking lot and continue up to the start of the SMSU Football game versus Northern State at 6:00 pm. We will have entertainment and activities for all who attend the game-day activities.
 
The mission of the Ag Bowl...
 
• Celebrate Minnesota Agriculture
• Showcase SMSU’s Agricultural education programs
• Raise scholarship dollars for SMSU
• Enjoy food, friends, entertainment, kid’s activities and Mustang Volleyball and Football
• Enhance civic engagement
 
Southwest Minnesota State University is proud of the fact that it is located in southwest Minnesota, a region where agriculture provides the foundation for the economy.

SMSU’s educational programs in agriculture, environmental science and food arts & sciences develop young people who spend their careers working to grow the economic success of the agricultural industry. In acknowledgement of these efforts, the University has been the recipient of three NCAA Civic Engagement Awards.

Proceeds Fund Scholarships...
Proceeds generated by the Ag Bowl will fund scholarships and programming for worthy student-athletes and young people who will dedicate their careers to business success in agriculture, environmental science and the food industries.
 
For all your information on Ag Bowl and Mustang Athletics, please go to SMSUmustangs.com.
 
This Week in SMSU Athletics
SMSU Women’s Soccer team (2-2, 1-0 NSIC) went 1-1 this past week losing to #1 Grand Valley State 1-3 at a match held on the campus of MSU Mankato last Friday. On Sunday, the Mustangs beat the University of Sioux Falls 6-1 at the Schwan Regional Event Center posting their first NSIC win of the season.
 
SMSU will be at home this weekend hosting two NSIC opponents. On Saturday, Concordia St Paul (0-3, 0-1 NSIC) will be in Marshall to take on the Mustangs as our soccer team hosts Parents Day with kick-off at 1:00 pm. On Sunday, MSU Mankato (4-0, 1-0 NSIC) comes to town looking to avenge last year’s regional loss to the Mustangs earning SMSU a spot in the NCAA Sweet Sixteen Regional Championship game. SMSU will be sponsoring a “Whiteout” at the game on Sunday with the Women’s Soccer team selling white SMSU Women’s Soccer Adidas t-shirts for $5 at the entrance to the Schwan Regional Event Center.
 
The Mustang Football team (1-1) had an impressive final three quarters outscoring the University of Minnesota, Crookston, 51-11, earning a 56-31 victory in their home opener. SMSU heads on the road this week competing at the University of Minnesota, Duluth (2-0) this Saturday with game time at 6:00 pm. Congratulations to Mike Wenk, who was named the NSIC Player of the Week on Special Teams going 3-3 on field goal attempts, converted five PATs and averaged 45 yards per punt in the contest.
 
The #8 SMSU Volleyball team (6-3, 1-0 NSIC) went 4-1 on the week going 3-1 in the Premier Challenge in Denver, Colorado last weekend. The Mustang beat #2 Tampa 3-1, Metro State (CO) 3-0 and Regis (CO) 3-2 while suffering their only loss to Colorado Mesa 1-3 in the tournament. On Tuesday, SMSU hosted the University of Sioux Falls in the Mustangs first NSIC match of the season. The Cougars fell to the Mustangs in three straight sets to earn its first NSIC victory of the young season.
 
SMSU heads on the road this weekend to Duluth, MN, to compete against the #3 ranked UMD Bulldogs (8-1, 1-0 NSIC) at 7:00 pm Friday evening. The Mustangs will complete the two game road trip by taking on St. Cloud State (6-3, 1-0 NSIC) at 4:00 pm. SMSU Volleyball will be at home for the next five matches beginning September 23 against Augustana College for Faculty Appreciation Night with the contest starting at 7:00 pm.
 
The SMSU Women’s Golf team finished in eighth place at 17-team Northeastern State Classic at Cherokee Springs Golf Course. The Mustangs were in 10th place after shooting an opening round 330 on Monday, but rebounded with a 320 on Tuesday to finish with a score of 330-320—650, 74-over-par.
 
Central Oklahoma won the team title with a 28-over 604, with Marla Souvannasing from Central Oklahoma and Megan Jeffery from Arkansas Tech earning co-medalist honors with scores of 3-over-par 147. Ashley Bixby (80-81—161) led SMSU tying for 31st place, while Lauren Kerr tied for 37th (82-81—162). Alax Floyd and Dana Wagner both shot the lowest rounds of the day for the Mustangs, carding 7-over-par 79s on Tuesday, with Floyd finishing tied for 43rd (86-79—165) and Wagner tying for 52nd (89-79—168). Becky Koepp rounded out SMSU's team scoring tying for 50th (82-85—167).
 
SMSU Women’s Golf will be at home this weekend hosting the 17th annual Mustang Invitational this Saturday and Sunday at the 5,935-yard, par 72 Marshall Golf Club. The 36-hole invite begins with a shotgun start on Saturday at 1:00 pm and will conclude with the final round beginning on Sunday with a shotgun start at 9:00 am.

More than 80 golfers are expected to compete from 12 teams including Southwest Minnesota State; Augustana; Bemidji State; Central Missouri; Minnesota State; Minnesota Crookston; MSU Moorhead; Minot State; Northwest Missouri State; Sioux Falls; Upper Iowa and Winona State. SMSU finished third in last season's 14-team invite, has won the team title twice (2000 & 2005) during the 16-year history of the invitational.
 
The SMSU Women’s and Men’s Cross Country teams had an impressive meet last Saturday at the Border Battle hosted by Viterbo University at Pettibone Park.
 
The Mustang Men earned a second place finish out of 10 teams, while the SMSU women's team finished fourth out of 11 teams. St. Ambrose (Iowa) won the men's race with 42 points, while SMSU finished with 45 points. St. Ambrose also won the women's race with 21 points with the SMSU women earning 108 points.
 
The Mustang men were led by Alejandro Sanchez who finished the 8k race with a time of 27:04 to finish in second place. Evan Bonneson crossed the finish line in third place with a time of 27:08, while Blake Wooten earned a fifth place finish with a time of 27:33.
 
Savannah Ramirez paced the SMSU women's squad with a 14th place finish in the 5k race with a time of 20:23. Amanda Grengs earned an 18th place finish with a time of 20:43, followed by Paige Yi, who crossed the line with a time of 20:50 to finish in 21st place. The Women’s and Men’s teams both have the next three weeks off with their next competition being the South Dakota State Invite on October 4 in Brookings, SD.
 
Also in action on Sunday, the SMSU Softball team will host North Iowa Area Community College in a tripleheader as part of the team’s non-championship season. The first game will start at 11:00 am at the SMSU Softball Field with games two and three scheduled to start at 1:00 pm and 3:00 pm.
 
I would like to wish all of our teams the best of luck this week!
 
Go Mustangs!
 
Congratulations to Tyler Bowen, who provided the correct answer to last week’s Mustang Hoofprints Question: Who is the all-time sack leader for the SMSU Football program? Dan Lee (1978-81) recorded 30 sacks in his career wearing the brown and gold of SMSU.
 
Hoofprints Trivia Question (please put this in a box with the title on top)
 
Who is the all-time leader in points scored for the SMSU Women’s Soccer program?
 
The first person to email me at MustangHoofPrints@SMSU.edu with the correct answer to this question will receive an SMSU t-shirt.