A to Z: fall sports teams preview

The following consists of players, coaches, and teams to watch this Fall as all look to lead their teams to a conference title this year.

A – Aaron Nixon (Football): Nixon is the only QB returning from last year's team and is the favorite to take the helm at quarterback and lead the Falcons' offense. Nixon (North Prairie, Wis.) made one start last season where he passed for 252 yards and one touchdown and also rushed for 136 yards and two touchdowns. In that one start Nixon was named the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Offensive Player of the Week following his outstanding performance.

B – Bethany Coop (Women's Cross Country): Coop had a stellar freshman campaign in 2014 where she finished first of all CUW runners in all six of the teams meets. Coop (Mora, Minn.) recorded her personal record of 23:05.70 at the NCAA Division III Midwest Regional on November 15th. She finished five of the six races in, under 24 minutes. Coop was named the NACC Freshman of the Year and was also named to the First Team All-NACC in her freshman campaign.

C – Carley Pfannerstill (Women's Soccer): Pfannerstill enters her senior campaign with 100 career points, scoring 39 goals and adding 22 assists. Pfannerstill (Grafton, Wis.) became the first Falcon ever to be awarded as a NSCAA First Team All-Region selection in 2014. She scored 15 goals and added eight assists in 2014 and was named to first team All-NACC in 2014.

D – Derrick Estfan (Football): Estfan took some big strides in 2014 after only having one reception in 2013, Estfan went on to lead the Falcons in receptions in 2014 with 66. Estfan (Phoenix, Ariz.) finished his sophomore campaign with 712 receiving yards and four touchdowns. The Falcons have a young receiving core and look for Estfan to continue to take strides going into his junior season

E – Evan Rabas (Men's Golf): Rabas had a breakout sophomore season being named the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Player of the Year and All-NACC First Team in 2014-15. Rabas (Sherwood, Wis.) helped lead the Falcons Golf Team in a massive turnaround season finishing second in the NACC Tournament. Rabas and the Men's Golf Team look to take the next step and bring home the NACC Championship this year.

F – Fell, Bernau, Rosenau (Men's Cross Country): Seniors Adam Fell (Mundelein, Ill.), Stephen Bernau (Courtland, Minn.) and Alex Rosenau (Van Dyne, Wis.) will look to close out their Cross Country careers with their personal best times and finishes as they look to help their team improve from last year's event results. The Men's Cross Country team finished fourth in the NACC Championship last year and hope to finish better this fall behind the leadership of these three seniors.

G – Greg Etter (Football Coach): Head Football Coach, Greg Etter enters his eighth season as the Head Football Coach of the Falcons. Currently he is second on the CUW Football all-time wins list. Etter has an overall conference record of 31-16. Etter has a challenge ahead of him as he looks to replace a handful of seniors that had a big impact on last year's squad.

H – Homecoming Weekend: On October 10th come out to Tomasini Stadium as the Falcons football team takes on Aurora at 1 pm for this year's Homecoming Game. Come out and cheer on the Falcons, reconnect with some alumni, and have some fun.

I – Instincts: When you play cornerback in football you need great instincts especially when your back is to the ball and senior cornerback, Aaron Krapfl had the best instincts in the conference last season as a junior, when he led the conference in pass break-ups with 16. This year Krapfl (Anamosa, Iowa) will look to build upon those impressive instincts as he matches up against opposing teams top receivers.

J – Jacobsen, Sabine (Women's Tennis): As a freshman last year Jacobsen was named All-NACC for doubles as she and her partner, Elizabeth Carroll, finished with an 8-5 overall record. Jacobsen (Palatine, Ill.) is the only returner to finish with double-digit wins in singles matches from last year. She played really well against conference opponents finishing 6-4 in singles and finishing 8-2 in doubles during conference play.

K – Klumpp, Brittany (Women's Soccer): Ever since Klumpp stepped on the field as a freshman in 2012, she has made a huge impact on the CUW Women's Soccer program. From being named to the All-NACC First Team as freshman as well as earing the conference Freshman of the Year. As a sophomore Klumpp (Rubicon, Wis.) was Second Team All-NACC and then last year as a junior she led the team in goals and earned received her second First Team All-NACC award and was also named to the All-Region Second Team. Expect another great and impactful season from the senior as she tries to help lead her team to a NACC Championship.

L – Luis Loya (Men's Soccer): As a Freshman Loya was named to Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference All-Freshman Team. Loya (Bolingbrook, Ill.) led the team with six assists and added three goals. Loya added another weapon to the Falcons front line and with a year under his belt, look for Loya to make an even bigger impact to the Falcons offense.

M – Middendorf, Ryan (Women's Soccer Coach): The all-time winningest coach in program history, Middendorf returns a very talented and experienced team led by seniors Carley Pfannerstill, Brittany Klumpp, and Emily Ciesielczyk. Middendorf coached the Falcons to the NACC Championship game in 2014 and hopes to return to NACC Championship game in 2015 and bring home his second conference title since his first back in 2004.

N – Nina Puch (Women's Golf): Puch had an incredible Fall and Spring last season as she was named the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Player of the Year for the second year in a row. She also earned a spot on the All-NACC Team for the third year in a row. Puch (Des Plaines, Ill.) won Medalist honors in NACC Championship last October. Look for Puch to have another impressive year on the golf course in both the Fall and the Spring.

O – Ortiz, Tabitha (Women's Soccer): As a freshman, Ortiz split time between the pipes, with Ariana Worthing as she started eight of 10 matches played in, posting a 7-3-0 record. Ortiz (Plainfield, Ill.) recorded five shutouts and ranked first in the NACC in goals allowed with eight only getting past her. With her stellar efforts Ortiz was named to the NACC All-Freshman Team in 2014. As a sophomore this year and a season under her belt, the future looks bright for Ortiz.

P – P.J. Clemins (Men's Golf): As a freshman Clemins joined the team in Spring portion of the season, missing out on the Fall, but what the impact he made on the team in the Spring was big. He helped lead the Falcons a first place tie in the NACC Championship, before losing in a one hole playoff. Clemins (Cedarburg, Wis.) set the program record shooting 2 under par 70 at the Lake Forest Spring Invitational in April. With his outstanding play Clemins was named the NACC Freshman of the Year and also received All-NACC honors as well. This summer Clemins tied for 8th at the Wisconsin State Amateur Championship.

Q – Q&A's: Tune into CUWFalcons.com for weekly Q&A's with coaches and players and find out their thoughts and reactions on their previous games and get to know more about you Falcon student-athletes with our new weekly Player Spotlight.

R - Rubek, Kelsa (Volleyball): Rubek is the lone senior on a very young team, but she is not shy of the leadership role. As a defensive specialist, Rubek (Eau Claire, Wis.) helps control the back line and keeps the ball alive on an opposing teams attack. She uses her experience, motivation, energy and leadership helps drive her team to the win. In 2014, Rubek recorded 19 service aces, 7 kills, 9 assists and 204 digs, which was good for fourth on the team. She also recorded double digit digs in 10 matches last season.

S – Saleska, Tom (Men's Soccer Coach): Tom Saleska will be entering his 23rd year as the Men's Head Soccer Coach. Saleska has a solid group of core players returning this year led by First Team All-NACC performer, Keegan Van Dusseldorp. He has amassed 274 wins at the helm of the Falcons and will look to add to that total as his team looks to bounce back after an early exit from the NACC Tournament last season.

T – Thomas, Bryan (Football): As a sophomore last year Thomas took a huge step earning 1st Team All-NACC honors after earning All-NACC Honorable Mention as a freshman. In his sophomore campaign, Thomas (Lowell, Ind.) led the team in tackles with 94, including 57 solo tackles. Thomas' 57 solo tackles ranked second in the NACC and his 94 total tackles were good for third in the conference last fall. Look for Thomas to make another big impact on the Falcons defense as they look to bounce back from a 5-5 record last season.

U – Upperclassmen (Women's Soccer): The CUW Women's Soccer team only graduated two seniors from last year's squad giving the Falcons a lot of returning experience to this year's team. The Falcons fell to Aurora in last year's NACC Championship game, but the barrage of returning upperclassmen look to take the next step and lead the Falcons to the NACC Championship and an appearance in the NCAA Division III Tournament.

V – Van Dusseldorp, Keegan (Men's Soccer): Van Dusseldorp was named to the First Team All-Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference in 2014 and was also named to First Team All-State. Van Dusseldorp (Burlington, Wis.) had an outstanding season for the Falcons, leading the way with 11 goals scored, his highest total in three years with the team. His 22 points led CUW, while he also totaled 94 shots, ranking first in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference. Van Dusseldorp is one of six seniors on this year's squad that will help lead the Falcons this fall each time they take the field.

W – Worthing, Ariana (Women's Soccer): Worthing split time between the pipes with Ortiz and she made the most of it when her name was called upon. Worthing (Saginaw, Mich.) posted a 7-3-0 record, which include three shutouts. She ranked third in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference with a 1.18 goals against average. Worthing allowed the second fewest goals among NACC keepers among qualified players and finished season with 43 saves. Worthing will be one of the many upperclassmen that the Falcons will lean on to help lead them back to the NACC Championship game and hopefully lead them to the NACC title.

X – X's and O's: Coaches stress the importance of X's and O's, teamwork and winning, but they also stress the important of academics. The members of the CUW athletic teams are students first and athletes second and these student-athletes really stuck out last year in the classroom as 90 Fall student-athletes were recognized as a Scholar-Athlete by the NACC in the 2014-15 academic year.

Y – Young and Hungry (Volleyball): The CUW Volleyball team set a program record last year with 24 wins, but were beat the NACC Tournament Semi-Final game at home against Edgewood. The Falcons graduated five seniors that were a huge part of that success but the Falcons return plenty of experience from last year's squad. The Falcons only have one senior on their roster, in Kelsa Rubek, but return a multitude of young talent that will look to build upon an impressive 2014 season. The Falcons are young and hungry to get back at it and make another run at a potential NACC Championship.

Z – Zzzzzzz: Don't sleep on any of your Falcon fall sports teams as all have the talent and potential to make runs at conference title this fall.