Oct. 6—Wisconsin-Superior held on for a six-stroke victory in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference men’s golf championship, which ran Thursday through Saturday, Oct. 2-4 at Pebble Creek Golf Club in Becker, Minnesota.
Superior led after all three rounds, carding a team total of 301 on Thursday, expanding the lead from one to four on Friday and then again to six at the finish.
It’s the Yellowjackets’ third league title in the last four years and sixth overall and qualifies UWS to play in the Division III men’s golf NCAA championships in May in Florida.
Individual honors came down to a three-man playoff after UWS’s Andrew Slatten and Andrew Rude tied with Bethany Lutheran’s Keaton Ginter at 7-over, with Slatten claiming the top prize.
UWS finished second in the women’s meet to Northwestern with a team total of 1,043, which was 57 behind the winners but 58 ahead of third place.
Olivia Weyenberg and Abby Schintz of UWS finished fourth and fifth individually.
Wisconsin-Superior recovered from losing the first two sets clearly to defeat Bethany Lutheran 3-2 (16-25, 14-25, 25-18, 25-14, 15-10) in UMAC play at Mertz Mortorelli Gym on Friday.
Bethany had 14 kills in each of the first two sets to take control early but the Yellowjackets slowed them down from there, outhitting the Vikings in each of the last three sets capped by a .350 in the fifth set.
A four-point run in the decider gave UWS an 11-8 lead and three straight Makenna Hohbein kills finished off the match.
Hohbein led UWS with 15 kills, while Sidney Bader added 13.
Defensively, Savanna Hering piled up 29 digs, while Katlyn Jones added 18 and Hohbein 13.
On Saturday, UWS had a much easier time with Martin Luther, sweeping the visitors 3-0 (25-17, 25-12, 25-21) in Superior.
UWS had a more-than 2-to-1 advantage in kills and aces.
Hohbein finished with 14 kills and Bader 10, while Colleen Claude was the team leader in both assists (20) and digs (16).
UWS (14-7, 3-1 UMAC) is off until an Oct. 17 road match at Crown.
UWS struck first against a Bethany Lutheran squad that has often been its stiffest competition in the UMAC, defeating the Vikings 3-0 in Mankato on Saturday.
UWS held Bethany to just two shots on target, both saved by Patrick Sessions.
Offensively, the Yellowjackets opened the scoring in the 10th minute on a goal from Seth Davidson.
The game remained tense until Jake Kidd doubled the lead in the 53rd minute and Freddy Watson finished it off in the 71st.
Ten yellow cards were handed out, eight of them in the game’s last half-hour.
UWS had a much easier time of it on Friday in New Ulm, Minnesota against a winless Martin Luther side, which the Yellowjackets dumped 7-1, scoring six times in the first half.
Elijah Aultman (Cloquet-Esko-Carlton) had the last two goals in the flurry and Bryce Boldt also finished with a two-goal day.
UWS (8-3, 6-0 UMAC) will host Augsburg in a nonconference game on Tuesday.
Wisconsin-Superior allowed just one off-target shot attempt and strolled to a 6-0 UMAC women’s soccer win at Martin Luther on Friday in New Ulm, Minnesota.
UWS had 33 shot attempts, 22 on the frame. Lilly Klocker had two of the Yellowjackets’ five first-half goals.
On Saturday, UWS knocked off Bethany Lutheran 4-0 in Mankato. Niamh Larson scored twice in the win, including a third-minute goal that opened the scoring. Julia Lindow scored a penalty kick in the 38th minute to make it 2-0.
Quinn Clark (Duluth East) made five saves for UWS (5-4-2, 5-0-1 UMAC), which will play at St. Scholastica on Wednesday.
