Busy week ahead for the Pioneers

Platteville, Wis.- The University of Wisconsin-Platteville will have a busy athletic week ahead.  The men's and women's basketball team will face two conference foes; wrestling will travel to UW-La Crosse for a dual; and the indoor track and field teams will participate in its first meet of the year.

Men's face conference rival UW-Whitewater in "Garding Against Cancer" game

The Pioneers (14-2 overall) are currently ranked #11 in the latest d3hoops.com poll, dropping four spots after splitting a pair of two-point contest.  The Pioneers will welcome UW-Whitewater to Bo Ryan Court on Wednesday, Jan 22 for the annual "Garding Against Cancer" game at 7 p.m.  The Pioneers will travel to UW-River Falls on Saturday, Jan. 25 for a 5 p.m. contest to close out the first half of the conference schedule.

"Garding Against Cancer" was created in memory of Glen Gard, the father of head basketball coach Jeff Gard.  Glen passed away in October of 2015 after a six-month battle with brain cancer.  Jeff, along with his brother Greg, the head basketball coach at UW-Madison, have raised over $4 million in three years.  Through the generosity of donors and friends, "Garding Against Cancer" has seen impact on the fight against cancer in research breakthroughs and advancements in patient care.  All funds raised through "Garding Against Cancer" stay in the state of Wisconsin.

The Pioneers dropped its first conference game against UW-Stevens Point 66-64.  Carter Voelker recorded a double-double while leading the Pioneers in scoring with 24 and rebounding with 13.  Alex Ranney dished out four assists and chipped in 10 points.

On Saturday Jan. 18, the Pioneers over-came an 18-point half-time deficit to defeat UW-La Crosse 69-67 on a Voelker last-second shot that propelled the Pioneers into first place in the WIAC.  Once again Voelker lead the Pioneers with his WIAC-leading fourth double-double, scoring 21 points and 10 rebounds.  Kyle Tuma (14), Drew Gunnink (10) and Justin Stovall (10) scored in double digits in the victory.

The Warhawks (6-10 overall) are coached by Pat Miller.  Miller is in his 19th season with a career record of 392-133.  Equan Ards leads the WIAC in scoring with 22.0 points per game.

The Falcons' (9-7 overall) head coach is Jeff Berhof.  Berhof is in his 14th season with a career record of 187-172.  The Falcons are led in scoring by Julian Jackson at 16.1 points per a game.  The Falcons host UW-Eau Claire on Jan. 22nd.

Pioneers get first WIAC victory of year

The Pioneer (9-7 overall) women picked up its first conference win of the year and of coach Kelly McNiff's career as the Pioneers knocked off UW-Stevens Point in overtime 65-62.  Maiah Domask continued to rack up double-doubles as she picked up her fifth of the year with 26 points and 11 rebounds.  Morgan Horstman scored 16, including two big free throws in overtime to push the lead to three.  Rachel Emendorfer had eight steals and three assists in the victory.

The Pioneers were defeated on Jan. 18 by #21 ranked UW-La Crosse 53-48.  Domask picked up her sixth double-double of the year, scoring 17 points and pulling down 11 rebounds.  Domask leads the WIAC in rebounding with 8.4 boards a game and second in scoring with 16.1 points a game.  Horstman is forth in scoring with 14.5 points per a game.  Emendorfer leads the league with 2.69 steals per contest.

The Pioneers will travel to #7 UW-Whitewater (15-1 overall) on Jan. 22 for a 7 p.m. contest.  Keri Carollo is in her 18th year as head coach of the Warhawks and has a career record of 347-149.  Becky Raeder leads the Warhawks in scoring with 13.5 points per game.

On Jan. 25 the Pioneers will host their annual Alumni game as they welcome UW-River Falls (4-11 overall) to Bo Ryan Court for a 3 p.m. tip.   The Pioneer Alumni game will be played at 11 a.m. on Bo Ryan Court.  To register for Alumni Day please follow this link.   Blake DuDonis is in his first season as head coach of the Falcons, who are led in scoring by Brianna Koop with 12.1 points per game.

The Pioneers have faced four teams currently ranked in the d3hoops.com poll and have a 2-2 mark, having defeated #7 Wartburg and #16 Chicago.

Wrestling finishes second at Cornell Invite

The #25 ranked Pioneer wrestling team finished second at the Cliff Keen-Mike Duroe Invitational hosted by Cornell College on Jan 18. Freshman Nathan Wynsma and Junior Lucius Rinehart each won individual titles for the Pioneers.

Wynsma dominated the 165-pound class, winning all four matches easily.  Wynsma started the initiation out by pinning his opponent in 2:22 before picking up an 18-0 technical fall victory.  Wynsma moved to the finals with another pin, this time in 1:16, before finishing off the impressive weekend with his third pin of the day at the 3:45 mark.

Rinehart, ranked indivuidually at #5 picked up another individual title at 285.  Rinehart won the opening match with a pinfall at the 1:21 mark.  Rienhart's semi-final match went to tie breaker one, where the Pioneer won 9-2.  In the championship match, Reinhart won by decision 3-1.

Junior Luke Pradel, Junior Chase Katzenmeyer and Junior Max Schmitz picked up second place finishes at the invitational. 

The Pioneers will travel to face #18 ranked UW-La Crosse on Friday, Jan. 24.  The Pioneers' next home dual will be Feb. 7 when they host UW Oshkosh for the "Throwdown in the Theatre" match.

Indoor track and field open at UW-Eau Claire Triangular

The Pioneer track and field teams will open its 2020 season with an indoor triangular at UW-Stevens Point on Jan. 25 at noon.  UW-Eau Claire will be the third team to participate in the triangular.

The Pioneers will host the first of three home meets on Feb. 1 with the Pioneer Open, beginning at 11 a.m.