Athletes of the week

Peter Emery: Hockey

What has contributed to your team’s success this season?

The key parts to our team’s success this year have been our pride, passion and purpose to get up and practice at 6:30 a.m. every day — and Matt Hughes scoring key goals.

What are your team’s goals for upcoming conference play?

We have many goals including sticking to our team’s systems and playing our game. If we can have Adrian play our game, we will return to Lawrence with four huge points.

You are one of many new players on the team this year. How has that affected your team?

All of the new guys have really gotten along with the upperclassmen, and our team bond has been growing closer and stronger every day. Some guys on the team, like senior Matt Hughes, have brought us into the Lawrence hockey family, and we’ve been playing great hockey.

Tell us a little about your position.

The hardest part about being a goalie is how you can be one of the reasons why your team wins a game or why your team loses a game. The easiest part about the position is stopping Matt Hughes in practice. My favorite part about the position has to be making big saves that can preserve our win. Also, water break.

Do you have a pre-game routine? What gets you and the rest of team pumped up?

“Levels” by Avicii gets our team pretty pumped up. My pregame routine is to usually kick a soccer ball around. I also like juggling with Brad Scurfield and the Swedes.

So far, what is your favorite memory from this season?

I would have to say my favorite memory is sprinting towards Matt Hughes after he scored the overtime winner against Augsburg on New Years Eve after the first shutout of my career.

Conor Klusendorf: Basketball

Your team takes a trip to Florida every winter break. What is that like?

I don’t know if words could honestly describe the Florida trips, or if the words I could use should be printed in the school paper! It really is just an amazing trip. We get to play teams that are usually either in the top 25 in Division III or in a higher division, so it is a great experience to see how and where they play. This last year, my favorite memory had to be the night in which we rode The Slingshot and The Skycoaster, and sweet-talked our way into free t-shirts.

Can you elaborate on what it means to be in the #LUBBallFam?

The #LUBballFam really is what it says. We are truly a family. We have “family” printed on our practice shorts this year. I know that I can count on every single member of this team and they can count on me, just like a family. We all enjoy spending time with each other because we have a great group of guys and we all gel.

What are your team’s goals for the season?

Every year we have the same goals: win the MWC, get into the national tournament and win the whole thing. I know these may seem unreachable, but if that is not the goal for any team on any level, then that team will never achieve that goal.

Do you have a pregame routine? What is it? What pumps both you and the team up before games? Any big post game celebrations or traditions?

I always take a pregame shower, followed by shaving and brushing my teeth with Chris Siebert. Drew Shaw was doing it when I was a freshman, so I tried it once and had a great game, so it has stuck with me since. As he would tell you, look good, smell good, play good!

I just want to take this opportunity to say to all of the fans, teachers, faculty, staff, trainers, managers, friends, coaches, teammates and my family, who have made this experience worth so much, thank you.