Football: The Vikings look to improve on last year’s two-win season. Lawrence is returning 13 starters, including junior Tyler Mazur. Mazur ended last season throwing for 1,255 yards and 10 touchdowns. He also led the team in rushing with 362 yards on 60 attempts.
Sophomore Luke Barthelmess will be targeting senior Jon Bruehl (26 rec, 352 yards, 4TD). For the fifth-ranked pass defense, senior safety Robbie Ulloa (47 tackles, 6.5 for loss, 2 sacks), and sophomore Darvis PridGeon (33 tackles, 1 INT) will return to the field. Linebacker Luke Galle had a strong freshman campaign with four interceptions and 30 tackles.
The Vikings hosted St. Scholastica for their first game of the season. Despite a disappointing 34-21 loss, the Vikings look to build as the season goes on, working towards more highlights like Barthelmess’ pass Bruehl down the left sideline against Scholastica. Bruehl went 94 yards for the touchdown, the third-longest touchdown pass in Lawrence history.
Women’s Tennis: The women’s tennis team is off to a strong start, winning their first three competitions. The Vikings defeated Carthage College last Thursday 5-4 by winning four of their six singles matches. Beth Larson won at No. 1 singles, Gayatri Malhotra won at No. 3, Christina Schaupp won at No. 4 and Hannah Geoffrey won at No. 5.
Lawrence followed this win with two shutout victories against Monmouth College and Knox College. Look for Lawrence to be a strong contender in the Midwest Conference this season.
Cross Country: With several strong returners, the men’s side looks to be a strong contender in the MWC, coming off a second place finish last season. Junior Sam Stevens took first place at the St. Norbert College Tom Barry Invitational last Saturday. Curran Carlile, another returner, finished eighth, helping to pace the team to third in the standings.
The women are looking to improve on their seventh-place finish in the MWC last season. At St. Norberts, Emily Muhs posted a fifth place finish, coming in at 20:13.6. The women placed fourth in the team standings.
Volleyball: Despite losing all four matches at the UW-Eau Claire Labor Day Classic last week, the Vikings are expected to finish fifth in the MWC, thanks to a strong returning class. Lawrence returns first-team All-MWC selection Clare Bohrer, who finished in the top 10 of the conference in blocks per set and kills per set, and was also named to the Labor Day Classic all-tournament team.
Junior Shannon McLain posted 2.49 kills per set and a .199 hitting percentage, while junior Jenna Picha lead the entire conference with a .298 hitting percentage. Sophomore Kathleen Rowland finished third in the MWC in digs per set, and junior Emma Kane placed 10th in service aces per set.
Men’s Soccer: The Vikings look to return to the MWC tournament for a second straight year. After graduating their two top scorers, the Vikings looked to senior captain Stephen Exarhos and senior Vince Butitta to provide an offensive threat. Unfortunately, Exarhos separated his shoulder in their 3-0 nonconference loss to Edgewood College.
Junior captain David Caprile looks to fortify the Viking midfield, along with junior Hashim Allah-Morad. Leading the defense is returning sophomore goalkeeper Steven Solomon (1.27 GAA), who will be assisted by sophomores Joseph Cullen and Charlie Mann.
Women’s Soccer: Lawrence looks to make its second consecutive appearance at the NCAA tournament. Despite graduating eight seniors, the Vikings were still picked to finish fourth in the MWC preseason poll.
The Vikings are returning of the top players in the conference, senior Mallory Koula. Koula led the conference in points (42), points per game (2.21), goals (19) and goals per game (1.00) while finishing second in game-winning goals (6) and shots (107). Providing additional offensive force will be freshman Sarah Tiano and senior Natalie Jin (3 goals, 2 assists).
Junior Eleanor Galvin (1 goal, 3 assists) will ground the midfield, rounding out a Lawrence offense that finished third in team points (105) and goals scored (38). Junior Elyse Daly and senior Alyssa Onan return with sophomores Natalie Wolf and Amanda Ollerer to provide a solid backline. Junior goalkeeper Cassandra Burke (1.66 goals against average, four shutouts) rounds out the defense in net.