Orange out set for Wednesday

Platteville, WIs.-The University of Wisconsin-Platteville students returned to campus on Monday to begin second semester just in time, as the Pioneer men's basketball team welcome league-leading and defending national champions UW Oshkosh to Bo Ryan Court on Jan. 29 for an "Orange Out" contest starting at 7 p.m.

Men split pair of games

The Pioneers (15-3, 5-2) split a pair of conference games this past week, defeating conference rival UW-Whitewater 77-56, before losing to UW-River Falls 74-68.   Senior guard Carter Voelker led the Pioneers in the victory with 18 points, while junior Justin Stovall pulled down a career high 13 rebounds.  Stovall recorded his first career double-double at UW-River Falls with a career-high 21 points and 12 rebounds.

Jeff Gard is in his 11th season as head coach, with a career record of 172-114.  The Pioneers are ranked #15 in the latest d3hoops.com poll.  The Pioneers used a big second half to earn a hard-fought victory against the Titans (12-6, 6-1) on Jan. 8.  Voelker scored 17 of his team-leading 21 points in the second half of the 74-70 victory.  Drew Gunnink scored a career-high 18 points.

The contest will feature the top offensive team and top defensive team.  UW Oshkosh leads the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in offense with 83.8 points a game.  The Pioneers are the top defensive team giving up 62.8 points per contest.  The Titans are led in scoring by Adam Fravert's 18.9 points a game, good for third in the WIAC.  Matt Lewis is in his second year as head coach of the Titans, serving the 2018-19 season as interim head coach.  His career record is 41-9.

Women win on Alumni day

The Pioneer women's basketball team picked up its second conference win on Jan. 25 in front of a crowd that included roughly 30 plus who returned for 'Alumni Day'.  The Pioneers knocked off UW-River Falls, 63-51.  Maiah Domask picked up her league-leading eighth double-double with 10 points and 11 boards.  Morgan Hortsman led the Pioneers in scoring with 17 points.  The Pioneers dropped a game Jan. 22, at UW-Whitewater 67-52.  Horstman led the way with 19 points and Domask recorded a double-double with 12 points and 11 boards.  Aspyn Stewart chipped in a career-high 10 points in the loss.

Head coach Kelly McNiff will return to a place she knows well, when the Pioneers travel to UW Oshkosh Jan. 29 for a 7 p.m. contest.  McNiff spent the previous six years as the lead assistant for the Titans.  The Titians defeated the Pioneers 63-45 on Jan. 8, as Allison Heckert led the Pioneers in scoring with 10 points.

Leah Porath is the leading scoring in the WIAC, averaging 19.1 points per a game.  Brad Fischer is in his eight-season as head coach of the Titians with a career record of 176-44.

The Pioneer men's and women's team will enjoy the rare weekend off with the conference-wide bye before returning to the court on Feb. 5.

Track and Field opens 2020 season

The Pioneer track and field programs opened up the indoor season at UW-Stevens Point Triangular.  Junior Gwen Orr won the women's 200-meter dash with a personal best 26.31.  Orr also placed second in the 60m dash in a time of 8.03.   Senior Johanna Meister placed first in the women's mile in a time of 5:16:96.

Senior Noah Steiner won the men's high jump with a jump of 2.05m (6-8.75 ft.) and junior Alex Girard won the weight throw with a toss of 16.95m (55-7.5 ft.). 

The Pioneers will host the Pioneer Open on Feb. 1 beginning at 11:00 a.m. 

Wrestling drops dual to UW-La Crosse

The No. 25 ranked Pioneers dropped a dual to No. 18 UW-La Crosse 26-14 on Jan. 24.   Sophomore Isaac Wiegel was named WIAC Kwik Trip Athlete of the week, Wiegel defeated 2019 NCAA qualifier and No. 9 ranked Sawyer Sarbacker 5-3.  Junior and No. 5 ranked Lucius Rinehart won by technical fall at the 4:31 mark by score of 17-0.  Sophomore Garrett Ruckdashel and freshman Nathan Wynsma also won by decision for the Pioneers

Coach Mike DeRoehn and the Pioneers return to the mat this weekend when they travel to Wheaton on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1 for the Wheaton Open as well as participating in the Loras Duhawk Open on Feb. 1.

The Pioneers' next home dual will be Feb. 7 when they host UW Oshkosh for the "Throwdown in the Theatre" match at 7 p.m.