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Volleyball

Despite some growing pains with four new starters on the floor, UNI once again had a successful season. A first-round tournament win over Creighton marked the eighth straight season and 19th time in the last 21 years that the Panthers scored 20 or more victories. They were 20-12 overall and 12-6 in the Missouri Valley Conference for fourth place.

The Panthers were one of the nation’s top blocking teams, ranking in the top five most of the season and entering the MVC tournament averaging 3.35 blocks per game. UNI had a balanced offensive attack, as all six primary hitters averaged better than 2.00 kills per game. Senior Stephanie Germann led the Panthers in hitting percentage (.283), while ranking third in kills and blocks.

Sophomore outside hitter Laura Rowen led the team with 14 double-doubles and ranked among MVC leaders most of the season in kills per game (3.55). Freshman Ashten Stelken, playing a variety of positions, earned MVC Freshman of the Week honors four times. Danielle Brazda, the reigning MVC Freshman of the Year, was among the national leaders all season in blocking, averaging 1.62 bpg.

Germann was named first team all-conference and Brazda took second team honors. Stelken became the 10th UNI player to earn all-freshman team accolades.

Sophomore outside hitter Laura Rowen led the team with 14 double-doubles and ranked among MVC leaders most of the season in kills per game (3.55).

Women’s Soccer

UNI was led by interim head coach Kathy Kakoyianni-Bering and picked up a 5-2 win over Minnesota State. The team was plagued by injuries throughout the season and lost three starting midfielders to season-ending knee injuries.

The Panthers were led by senior forward/midfielder Shanon Dechant with eight points, three goals and two assists. Dechant was named second team all-conference and placed on the MVC scholar-athlete team for the second consecutive season. Freshman Lindsey Daugherty made the Valley all-freshman team, leading the team with four goals and tying the UNI freshman record for season goals, set by Dechant (2002) and Sarah Lowe (2000).

Women’s Tennis

The Panthers were tough competitors at the MVC Individual Championships, coming up with multiple place-winners. Two UNI players won individual championships. Meghana Paritala, UNI’s number one, captured the Flight A title over Bradley’s Ashley Morris. Flight B of the championships saw Panther teammates Meredith Esbeck and Sara Kendall squaring off with Esbeck prevailing. Samantha Schnobel and Sara Kendall defeated Creighton’s Jodi Yanagida and Sarah Grawe for third place in doubles, and Carolina Hannes took fifth place by beating Veronkia Leszayoba of Drake.

Team members are confident the hard work done in the fall will lead the Panthers to success this spring. “We have definitely improved a lot from last year,” senior Meredith Esbeck said. “We still have some work to do, but we will definitely be in the running for first place in the Valley.”

Softball

The UNI softball team concluded its fall season in September with an overall record of 10-2-1, including wins over in-state rivals Iowa State and Drake, a win over South Dakota State, a tie with Purdue and two victories over Western Illinois. The Panthers got key contributions from seniors Rachael Rogers and Uju Ibekwe, sophomore Jamie Kelling, as well as from the team’s seven freshmen.

The Panthers began the fall campaign with a sweep of their own UNI Classic at Panther Park, Sept. 10-11. UNI beat Marshalltown Community College, Mount Mercy, Upper Iowa and Kirkwood to open the exhibition season 4-0. In all, the Panthers outscored their opponents 31-3 during the two-day event.

Freshman pitcher Monica Wright put together an impressive fall season in her first collegiate action. The Morrison, Ill. native threw 27 2/3 innings in five appearances, giving up only six runs and allowing 15 hits. She twice struck out six batters in a game, including the half-dozen punchouts she recorded in just three innings of work against Mount Mercy on Sept. 10. She capped the exhibition slate with a five-hit, complete-game shutout of Western Illinois Sept. 25.

Freshman pitcher Monica Wright put together an impressive fall season in her first collegiate action.

Cross Country

Freshman Caedryn Schrunk (Spirit Lake, Iowa) led UNI throughout the season. She helped lead the Panther women to a fourth-place finish at the MVC Championships. Schrunk’s 17:34.27 time in the 5K earned her a 10th-place finish and all-Missouri Valley Conference honors for the Panther women. She also was UNI’s top finisher at the Midwest Regionals, helping the women place 10th out of 23 teams and 161 runners.

The Panther men finished seventh at the MVC Championships and were led by sophomore Mike Clancy (Iowa City, Iowa), whose time of 25:37.86 in the 8K earned him a 29th-place finish. Senior Alex May (Dubuque, Iowa/Dubuque Senior) finished in 30th.

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Last Modified: January 25, 2006