2012-13 statistics of the year, by the numbers

2012-13 statistics of the year, by the numbers

MEQUON, Wis. – The 2012-13 athletic year had many memorable performances, but none were more special than the next. Below is a number for each respective sport that has significance from this past year.

Baseball (34) – Taylor Buuck had the best of pitchers this season, as he set a new single season program record with 34 base on balls. The junior was fourth in the nation in base on balls and base on balls per game (0.89). Buuck (Hillsboro, Ore.) took a free pass to first base in 23-of-38 games played. Buuck had a streak of three games with two base on balls and set a career high with four in a victory over Lakeland College.

Men's Basketball (71) – Steve Zielinski dominated the paint defensively with 71 blocks, setting a new single season program record and leading the Northern Athletics Conference. The 6-foot-9 center also ranked 14th nationally with a 2.63 blocks per game average. It wasn't uncommon during the 2012-13 season to see Zielinski reject multiple field goal attempts, as he had 13 games with at least three blocks. He recorded a career-high nine blocks – an unofficial program record – in a win over Marian University. Zielinski (Brown Deer, Wis.) ended his career with 121 rejections, which ranks second all-time amongst NAC players.

Women's Basketball (13.4) – CUW was outstanding at taking care of the basketball in 2012-13, ranking sixth in all of NCAA Division III with a 13.4 turnovers per game average. The Falcons also ranked 22nd in assist-to-turnover ratio (0.99). A big reason for the Falcons being strong in both categories was the play of senior point guard Brittany Zietlow (Oak Creek, Wis.) who finished 42nd in the nation with a 1.67 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Men's Cross Country (26:34.10) – Andrew Coop saved his best for last, as the sophomore ran a 26:34.10 at the NCAA Division III Midwest Regional on Nov. 10, 2012. It was the fastest time of his career and 35 seconds faster than his first race of the season. Coop (Mora, Minn.) paced the Falcons for the majority of the season and sixth at the NAC Championships.

Women's Cross Country (5) – The Falcons had five runners earn All-Northern Athletics Conference Honorable Mention honors. The five runners placed between 15th and 23rd at the NAC Championships and were led by freshman Larissa Schlitz (DeForest, Wis.) who came in 15th with a time of 24:46.9.

Football (25) – Austin Damaschke avoided the 'sophomore slump' during the 2012 season and tossed a single season program record 25 touchdowns. The 6-foot-2 righty controlled the offense and led the Falcons to seven victories, the most since 2007. He threw multiple TDs in seven games and had 18 touchdown passes during a five-games stretch near the end of the season. Damaschke (Bristol, Wis.) was named the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association Private College Player of the Year for his outstanding season.

Men's Golf (73) – Chris Payne was feeling it on Apr. 15, 2013 as he carded a career-best 1-over-par 73 at the Marian University Spring Invitational at Morningside Golf Course. The sophomore from Waukesha, Wis., was 12 strokes better than the previous day and ended the season with three rounds in the 70s to lead the team.

Women's Golf (104) – The young and talented Women's Golf team dominated the NAC Championships in the fall of 2012. CUW won the three-round event by 104 strokes and placed four golfers on the All-NAC Team, including NAC Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year Jordan Osowski (Germantown, Wis.). That win allowed the Falcons to advance to the NCAA Division III Championships where freshman Nina Puch (Des Plaines, Ill.) tied for the lowest round of the tournament, carding a 72 on the third day of the event.

Men's Hockey (20.8) – Men's Hockey concluded the season under first-year head coach Jasen Wise with a 20.8 percent success rate on the power play, which ranked 20th in NCAA Division III. The Falcons tallied a power-play goal in 16 games during the 2012-13 season and had multi-power-play goals in eight contests. In all, three of CUW's seven victories during the season came on a power-play game-winning tally.

Women's Hockey (20) – Youth was the theme of the Falcons on the ice during the 2012-13 season, as 20 of their 23 players were sophomores or freshmen. The Falcons finished with five wins, which included a 2-1 victory in the season finale over UW-Eau Claire. The roster was the youngest since the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons when all players were underclassmen.

Men's Lacrosse (27) – Men's Lacrosse had their best offensive output since beginning play three years ago. The Falcons tallied 202 goals (12.62 per game) and a positive 81 goal differential. The three highest goal scoring games in history came this season, all of which were blowout victories. CUW set a program record with 27 scores in a win over MSOE at home after recording 22 goals in back-to-back dominating wins over Hanover College and Defiance College. The 2013 season saw 23 different players find the back of the net.

Women's Lacrosse (7) – The Falcons won a program-record seven games in 2013, which also was enough for the team's first Midwest Women's Lacrosse Conference Tournament appearance. CUW finished 7-8, which included a 5-3 record in league player. What was even more impressive was the Falcons accomplishing all of this without one of its top players, sophomore Sammi Reiter (Stillwater, Minn.) who was sidelined for much of the season with an injury.

Men's Soccer (5) – Kyle Sytsma shined when the game was on the line, as the senior tallied five-game winning goals to lead the NAC. His performances helped him earn All-NAC First Team recognition – the third of his career – for the 2012 season. Two of his five game-winners were of the unassisted variety. Sytsma (Antioch, Ill.) ended his career ranked tied for first all-time in NAC history with 12 game-winning goals.

Women's Soccer (3.85) – CUW had little trouble scoring goals in 2012, as it finished eighth in the country in scoring offense, tallying 3.85 goals per game. Freshman Brittany Klump (Rubicon, Wis.) ranked 34th in the nation in goals per game (0.95) and 49th in points per game (2.1), while freshman Emily Ciesielczyk (Waukesha, Wis.) was fourth in the country with 0.85 assists per game average.

Softball (6.91) – The Falcons finished the 2013 season as the 19th ranked team in Division III in runs scored per game (6.91). CUW did so with a potent offense, led by senior Cara Landerr (Waukesha, Wis.) and junior Stephanie Kramer (Fond du Lac, Wis.). Landherr led the NAC in RBIs (57) and home runs (13) and was the school's first National Fastpitch Coaches Association First Team All-Great Lakes Region selection, while Kramer became the first NFCA Second Team All-Great Lakes Region player in program history. The Falcons also finished 30th in home runs per game (0.76).

Men's Tennis (27) – Men's Tennis continued their reign over the NAC and pushed their unbeaten winning streak with 27 matches. Three-consecutive undefeated seasons has led to three regular season league titles and subsequently given the Falcons three opportunities to capture the NAC Tournament title and advance to the NCAA Division III Championship, which they have done. The 2012-13 season also featured the NAC Player of the Year (Russell Johnson, Monticello, Minn.) and NAC Coach of the Year (Tom Weber).

Women's Tennis (6) – In 11 conference matches this season the Falcons won by a score of 9-0 on six different occasions. CUW started the season with a 9-0 win over Concordia University Chicago and also swept Marian University, Rockford College, Alverno College, Benedictine University and MSOE.

Men's Track & Field (7.01m) – Tyler White recorded a career-best 7.01m long jump during the NAC Indoor Championships to earn first place. He also finished second in the triple jump (13.86m) to propel himself into NAC Indoor Field Athlete of the Meet and NAC Co-Freshmen of the Meet honors. The freshman from Milwaukee, Wis., had never competed in the long jump or triple jumper before and improved one meter over a month's time.

Women's Track & Field (26.25) – At the NAC Indoor Championships junior Emily Mauermann (Janesville, Wis.) put on a strong showing for the Falcons, as she scored 26.25 points. Mauermann finished second in the high jump (1.51 meters), and also had runner-up finishes in the 200- and 400-meter dashes with school-record times of 26.8 and 1:01.2, respectively. She also was on the fourth-place 4x400-meter relay team.

Volleyball (1.93) – The Falcons finished 66th in the country in blocks per set, averaging 1.93. That number also ranked fifth in the NAC as the Falcons totaled 206 blocks over 107 sets in 2012. Sophomore Britta Duchow (Potter, Wis.) led CUW in blocks per set, averaging 0.88, recording 91 blocks over 104 sets played.

Wrestling (1) – Greg Sanders had a season he will never forget and many involved in wrestling will be talking about for a while. The sophomore won the NCAA Division III 149-pound title to become the first national champion in program history. Sanders (San Antonio, Texas) earned All-American honors, was named National Wrestling Coaches Association Outstanding Wrestler honors at the national tournament, won a single season program record 40 matches – 16 by fall, also a program record – took first place in four tournaments and concluded the 2012-13 season with 33 wins in his last 34 bouts.