Volleyball defeats St. Olaf 3-0, giving Pham 300th win

St. Thomas volleyball coach Thanh Pham reached his 300th career win when the Tommies defeated the St. Olaf Oles 3-0 Saturday in Northfield.

The No. 3-ranked Tommies (13-1 overall, 4-0 MIAC) extended their winning streak to 13 matches while hitting at .253 percent. Middle blockers Paige Brimeyer and Kelly Foley combined for 19 kills on the night.

Pham, in his 11th season with the Tommie women, said this milestone victory was “quite an honor.”

“It’s not done without all the great athletes, the coaches and everyone supporting the program,” Pham said.

St. Thomas will have a tough test Tuesday when it travels to St. Joseph, Minn. to play St. Benedict.

Freshman gives women’s soccer boost over St. Mary’s

Midfielder Camille Horne, a freshman, scored her first collegiate goal in the first half of Saturday’s game against St. Mary’s to help give the St. Thomas women’s soccer team a 2-0 victory on the road.

Forward Jenna Savino pulled ahead in the second half of the game to score a second goal for the Tommies (5-4 overall, 2-1 MIAC) with 10 minutes left on the clock.

Midfielder Taylor Sabrowski thought the team came into the game a “little too confident” because it defeated St. Mary’s 6-0 last year.

“It was really rainy and windy, so that’s an equalizer for teams because a fluke goal can happen,” Sabrowski said. “We were even with them for the first half until we scored, which gave us a little momentum. The second half was a lot better for us, but the weather really played into how we played.”

Sabrowski said the team is going to practice at game tempo this week.

“We need to win our MIAC games from now on, so we have to have a high intensity practice that comes onto the field on Wednesday,” Sabrowski said.

The women play Bethel University at 4 p.m. Wednesday on the road.

Men’s soccer shuts out St. Mary’s

The St. Thomas men put together a 2-0 victory over St. Mary’s at home Saturday as forward Justin Baker scored his first career goal.

“I got my chance to go in, and I wanted to make the most of it,” Baker, a freshman, said. “Ryan Bernhardt crossed it in. I saw the ball and just thought to myself, ‘You better put this in the back of the net.’”

Baker said the win put the Tommies (7-1-2 overall, 2-0-1 MIAC) back on track after a frustrating game against Concordia-Moorhead last week, despite a 2-1 win for St. Thomas.

“We were happy with the result. Everybody did well; everybody played their part,” Baker said. “It helped us with conference play. It was good to get three points.”

The men’s team will travel to Arden Hills at 4 p.m. Tuesday to play Bethel.

Gapinski leads women’s cross country to 13th at Griak Invite

Sophomore Emily Gapinski led the women’s cross country team to a 13th-place finish at the University of Minnesota Roy Griak Invitational Saturday, finishing in the top 40. There were 29 teams in the race.

“I did better than I thought I would do with the intensity of the course,” Gapinski said. “It was a tough race, but I was pleased with how I finished.”

Coach Joe Sweeney hopes for improvement from the team before MIAC competition begins.

“We have a few weeks here before conference,” Sweeney said. “I think we are capable of moving up and improving and doing better than where we are at right now.”

Gapinski said the team has some intense practices scheduled in preparation for its next meet.

“We are also going to really try and work together more at our meets so there won’t be as much distance time between our runners,” Gapinski said.

Football retains No. 6 ranking

D3football.com polls released Monday kept the St. Thomas football team at No. 6 after a bye week.

No. 5 Bethel (3-0) is the only conference opponent ranked higher than St. Thomas, while Concordia-Moorhead (3-0) rounds out the MIAC representatives in the top 25 list at No. 22.

St. Thomas (2-1) will take on Carleton (2-1) at 1:10 p.m. in Saturday’s homecoming game.

Basketball’s DeBerg signs to play in France

Former St. Thomas guard Will DeBerg is continuing his basketball career in France, where he signed to play professionally.

DeBerg, who is fluent in French, heard about the opportunity through an agent in France and was offered a contract to play overseas.

“I got a contract with one of the teams, and I’m leaving (Monday) to go play,” DeBerg said.

After finishing his senior year with the Tommies last winter, DeBerg saw basketball as an opportunity to try things he missed out on while at St. Thomas.

“I wanted to see and live in a different part of the world. Since I played basketball first semester, J-term and second semester, there wasn’t ever an opportunity for me to go abroad,” DeBerg said. “So I’m using basketball as a window to see a different part of the world and continue to play.”

Coach John Tauer said the chance to play professionally is a “great opportunity” for DeBerg, and he is proud of his former player.

“We’re always excited when our grads achieve success after leaving St. Thomas,” Tauer said. “He went … to a French immersion school, so that helps him as well.”

Tauer said DeBerg’s professional opportunities go beyond basketball at St. Thomas.

“He serves as a tremendous role model for all our young players,” Tauer said. “You hope the skills our kids learn at St. Thomas translate into bigger things.”

DeBerg also said he hopes his chance to play in France will benefit the St. Thomas basketball program.

“Coach Tauer and (Steve) Fritz have really helped me get to where I am today, and hopefully future recruits see that St. Thomas not only gives you a great education, but it can give you these kinds of opportunities,” DeBerg said.