A look back at 2020: March
MEQUON, Wis. – Over the next few weeks, we will be taking a look back at 2020. Through all of the ups and downs, there has been a lot to cheer about in 2020 at CUW. We continue our series today with March.
March 12, the day the NCAA canceled the remaining 2020 winter and spring competitions and the final athletic contest of the year for the Falcons. The CUW acrobatics & tumbling team shined as they closed the athletics year with a season-high score of 242.625 points in a victory over East Texas Baptist.
The CUW men's basketball team opened the month in the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament, where they battled with the eighth-ranked Pioneers of Wisconsin-Platteville. On March 5, Jordan Johnson (Cedarburg, Wis.) and Jared Jurss (Sheboygan, Wis.) were voted All-NACC First Team selections.
The Falcons of the CUW baseball team warmed up under the Florida sun and closed the year on a three-game winning streak with a sweep over Penn State-Altoona and a victory over Grove City.
The CUW women's basketball program earned two All-NACC selections on March 3. Emily Hafemann (Hales Corners, Wis.) was named to the All-NACC First Team, while Clara Chambers (Mineral Point, Wis.) earned All-NACC Second Team honors.
The Blue and White secured four NACC Player of the Week selections on March 4. Nicki Becker (Brodhead, Wis.) was the NACC Pitcher of the Week and Krystal Cortes (Aurora, Ill.) was the Position Player of the Week selection for softball. Nolan Rademacher(Monument, Colo) earned the Men's Tennis Student-Athlete of the Week honor and Jordan Johnson was the Men's Basketball Player of the Week.
The track & field teams competed in last chance qualifiers in March. Samual Spranger (Fond du Lac, Wis.) recorded the 43rd-fastest time in NCAA Division III at the UW-Stevens Point Final Qualifier in the 400-meter dash at 49.88. Megan Curran (Spring Grove, Ill.) also competed in the weight throw and shot put at Carthage.
The men's volleyball program played three matches in March, including two against top-15 teams.
The women's lacrosse team was also able to get three games in during the month, including two MWLC games.
The Falcons won two men's lacrosse games to start the month with victories over Carroll and Benedictine. For their effort in the two victories, Alex Loding (Mundelein, Ill.) was named the Defensive Player of the Week and Keijo Day (Esko, Minn.) was named the Offensive Player of the Week for the MLC on March 10.
The men's wrestling program was awarded for its success in the classroom with Merrick O'Donnell (Huntington Beach, Calif.) and Marco Padilla (Elmwood Park, Ill.) being named NWCA Scholar All-Americans. Three Falcons also earned CCIW Academic All-Conference honors.
On March 13, Jasen Wise stepped down as the head coach of the men's hockey program after eight seasons. He became the winningest coach in program history with 84 victories. On March 31, Bill Horton was named the interim head coach, after being the assistant coach for the past two seasons.
We will continue our series tomorrow with the month of April.
