The top-ranked men’s lacrosse club team downed No. 3-ranked St. John’s 11-7 behind midfielder Will Hersman’s four goals to win its second consecutive Upper Midwest Lacrosse League title Sunday.

The win punched the club’s sixth consecutive ticket to Nationals. The Tommies (13-0, 5-0) have won three of the last four Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association Division II national titles.

St. Thomas started the weekend conference tournament with a 28-4 semifinal drubbing of Bethel Saturday morning. Midfielder Joe Palermo’s four goals propelled the Tommies to their sixth straight conference title game.  

The second meeting between the Tommies and the Johnnies lived up to the billing with St. Thomas nursing a 5-3 lead at the break. The Tommies found their groove offensively and defensively in the third quarter, scoring three and letting in one. Goaltender Steven Bang stopped five of 12 shots.

Hersman said the Tommies have a “good” chance to repeat as champions but must put in the hard work in the two weeks leading up to the National Championships.

“It is important to play with confidence and expect to win every time you step on the field, but that certainly does not mean we are overconfident,” Hersman said. “There are a number of other quality teams out there that we have a great deal of respect for, and would all love nothing more than to upset our perfect season. All we can do is control our own preparation, and remain focused on our ultimate goal of another ring.”

The Tommies will defend their national title at the 2013 MCLA National Championships beginning May 13 in Greenville, S.C.

Softball pushes win streak to 19 games, claims MIAC title

All-American second baseman Kimmy Hassel’s strong weekend (10-for-15, three RBIs) helped the No. 11-ranked St. Thomas softball team sweep doubleheaders against the College of St. Benedict and Hamline University this weekend at the South Campus Athletic Fields.

With the victories at the weekend, St. Thomas claimed its 12th MIAC title in the last 14 years and 14th consecutive 30-win season.

Due to bad field conditions in St. Joseph, Minn., Saturday’s twinbill between the Blazers and the Tommies (31-5, 18-0) was moved to St. Paul. St. Thomas collected 22 combined hits in the sweep (4-1, 9-4). Pitcher Kendra Bowe allowed just one run in 8 2/3 innings of work. In game two, catcher Emily Gregory went 3-for-4 with four RBIs.

Sunday brought more of the same for St. Thomas, posting 7-1 and 8-4 victories over the Pipers at Hamline. In game one, Gregory picked up four RBIs on two hits. Game two went to extra innings before the Tommies broke the game wide open with a four-run ninth inning, sparked by first baseman Erin Mussett’s two-RBI double.

After winning 19 straight, right fielder McKenzie Wergin said the fun this team is having is “unmeasurable.”

“The willingness from each and every teammate to work hard and push through those times that may not always seem so ‘fun,’ defines this season,” Wergin said. “It is fun to watch everyone succeed and continue to fight for our dream.”

St. Thomas ends the regular season Monday afternoon in home doubleheader action against Gustavus before opening MIAC tournament play Friday in Mankato, Minn.

Baseball sweeps Scots, Oles

The No. 4 Tommie baseball team used an offensive explosion Saturday, courtesy of catcher J.D. Dorgan, and strong pitching Sunday to pull off twinbill sweeps of Macalester and St. Olaf at Koch Diamond.

Saturday was all about the offense for the Tommies (20-4, 8-0), posting 19-6 and 11-3 victories over the Scots. In game one, St. Thomas scored in every inning it batted, including two, five-run innings (third, sixth). Dorgan powered two homers in the opening game. Third baseman Jack Hogan’s 2-for-5 afternoon with three RBIs provided enough insurance for pitcher Josh Kubitscheck to pick up his second win of the season.

Solid pitching, combined with strong offense propelled the Tommies past St. Olaf 8-0 and 16-1 Sunday at Koch Diamond. In game one, left fielder Tim Kuzniar went 2-for-3 with a homer and three RBIs. Pitcher Colin Wendinger went six innings strong, fanning five batters. Ten different Tommies collected at least one RBI in game two. First baseman Tyler Peterson’s 2-for-3 afternoon with two RBIs was more than enough for pitcher Zach Franz, who won his second outing of the season.

Hogan said with the amount postponements this spring, the team has been able to catch up on other things to prepare for its busy stretch at the end of the year.

“We’ve kind of had a little break here to catch up on our health, sleep, and homework which isn’t always bad,” Hogan said.

St. Thomas hosts Concordia-Moorhead Tuesday in twinbill action at Koch Diamond.

Women’s relay teams excel at Drake Relays

The 4×800 meter women’s relay team of Megan Terukina, Emily Gapinski, Kayla Goeman and Taylor Berg led the way on Saturday at the Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa.

The relay team finished fifth in a time of 9:09.57. The shuttle hurdle relay team of Mallory Burnham, Katie Ryan, Meredith Rothstein and Abby Baier took 11th out of 17. Eyo Ekpo produced an outdoor season-best 48-1 3-4 leap to place 16th out of 22 entrants in the triple jump.

While some men’s track and field athletes competed in the Drake Relays, others participated in the Gustavus Alternative meet Saturday. Cody Jerabek posted MIAC season-bests, taking first in the 100-meter dash (10.91) and second in the 200-meter dash (22.16). The 4×100 meter relay team took second (42.35). Doug Thoresen took home a fourth-place finish in the 400-meter run (49.75). Aba Omot finished fourth in the discus (156-3).

The men will travel to the Concordia-St. Paul Twilight meet Wednesday. The women next compete at the Tommie Twilight Wednesday at O’Shaughnessy Stadium.

Men’s and women’s golf hit the links, take fifth and fourth respectively

Strong performances from Alex Kapraun and Doyle O’Brien helped the St. Thomas men’s and women’s golf teams in outdoor action.

The No. 6-ranked men’s golf team, lifted by Kapraun’s 75 and 69, pushed St. Thomas to a fifth-place finish out of 16 teams at the two-day St. John’s Winter Invite in Monticello, Minn. St. John’s (576), St. Cloud State (581), Gustavus (588), UW-Eau Claire (593) and St. Thomas (596) took the top five finishes. St. Thomas shot a 306 Saturday but came back with a 290 score Sunday.

Senior Michael Mortenson it was “great” to finally get back out on the course.

“It was awesome to get into a competitive mode again, especially with the great weather,” Mortenson said.

O’Brien’s 77 and 82 assisted the No. 21-ranked St. Thomas women’s golf team’s fourth place finish out of seven teams at the two-day Carleton Invite in Northfield, Minn. St. Olaf (645), UW-Eau Claire (658), Gustavus (672), St. Thomas (680) and St. Ben’s (702) had the top five places. The Tommies shot a 343 Saturday but finished strong Sunday, posting a 337. O’Brien finished fourth (159) individually.

The men’s team heads to LeSeuer, Minn., May 3-4 for the Gustavus Invite, while the women’s team participates in the Eau Claire Invite in Eau Claire, Wis., the same weekend.

Men’s and women’s tennis fall to Carleton

Brendan O’Connell and Kara Lefsrud posted wins in singles for the men’s and women’s tennis teams in matching 2-7 losses to Carleton during the weekend.

Lefsrud collected wins at No. 4 singles (6-1, 6-1) and No. 2 doubles (9-7) with partner Bridget Noack for the only two Tommie points Friday night in Northfield, Minn. Rachel Wright and Claire Elkin lost 8-7 at third doubles. St. Thomas finished the regular season 12-5 (7-3).

O’Connell won at No. 1 singles (6-4, 6-1) for the men’s team (10-5, 7-2). No. 3 doubles tandem Allen Michael-Muench and Steven Skanse came out in the ascendency 8-5. Brian McCarthy fell at No. 2 singles in three sets (3-6, 6-1, 10-1) while No. 1 and No. 2 doubles lost by a combined five games (7-9, 5-8).

Both the men’s and women’s teams have clinched berths to the six-team conference tournaments held May 3 and 4. Both tournaments are held in St. Peter, Minn. The women will be the fourth-seed while the men’s seed is to be determined.

Ross Schreck can be reached at schr8250@stthomas.edu.