Ski-U-Mah: May/June 2016 Issue (Volume 12)

Improving lives for more than 100 years

Each week we share practical tips based on our leading research to improve lives of families and individuals and meet grand challenges. Topics range from autism to struggling readers to family resilience, healthy lives and women’s sports. Read more at improvinglives.org

MAY t he

o fficial

2016

/

m aga zine

ISSUE o f

12

Go pher

the elite eight

p

10

S a r a G ro en e we gen

/

VOL.

contents

II

At hlet ics

12

p

Jess Lehman

p

Yu Z h ou

16

14

p

L in d sa y M a bl e

22

p

18

S i m o ne Ko l and er

features

26

p

M at t Fi ed le r

p

20

Hannah Ta pp

p

Ra ch e l Ban h a m

24 p

H an n a h B r a n d t

additional content

32

p

2

2016 NCAA Women’s Hockey Championship

4

Broken Records

6

Credits

36

Student-Athlete Development

38

Charlie Nelson / KLN Family Brands

40

Business Elite package

44

Mark Coyle

Ro dney Sm i th / J onat han Cel e s t i n for these stories and much more, visit the home of Gopher Sports at gophersports.com.

MAY 2016 / SKI-U-MAH / 1

7

-TIME

NATIONAL CHAMPIONS Minnesota 3, Boston College 1 March 20, 2016 / Durham, N.H.

2 / SKI-U-MAH / MAY 2016

PHOTOS: ERIC MILLER

MAY 2016 / SKI-U-MAH / 3

2

Women’s Outdoor Track & Field claimed the Big Ten title for the second time in program history on May 15. The Gophers tied Michigan for the crown with 106 points. In an incredible display of depth, sixteen different Gophers scored points to guide Minnesota to the title.

18

Lindsay Mable accumulated a school-record 18 All-America honors during her career. She also won consecutive Big Ten Gymnast of the Year honors and was awarded the AAI Award, considered to be the Heisman Trophy of collegiate women’s gymnastics.

Sophomore Rúnar Arnórsson fired a school-record 10-under-par 62 in the first round of the Barona Collegiate Cup in Arizona. Arnórsson’s bogey-free, 10-birdie round broke the 17-year-old mark of 63 set by NCAA champion and All-American James McLean in 1999.

PHOTOS: ERIC MILLER (ARNORSSON), BRENDAN MALONEY (MABLE), JEREMY BUSS (TRACK)

62

4

Rachel Banham was selected with the fourth overall pick in the 2016 WNBA Draft by the Connecticut Sun.

60

3,093 Banham finished her career as the all-time leading scorer in Big Ten history and the sixth-highest scorer in NCAA history. She also set a Big Ten season record for points per game (30.5) in conference play.

Banham broke the school and Big Ten record for points in a game with 60 against Northwestern in Minnesota’s 112-106 double overtime victory on February 7. She also tied the NCAA’s all-time single-game record.

MAY 2016 / SKI-U-MAH / 5

SKI-U-MA H Issue

12

DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS Mark Coyle SENIOR ASSOCIATE ATHLETICS DIRECTOR FOR STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS Chris Werle EDITOR-IN-CHIEF / ASSISTANT ATHLETICS DIRECTOR FOR CREATIVE SERVICES Jeff Keiser EDITOR / WRITER Jake Ricker

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Justine Buerkle CONTRIBUTORS Paul Rovnak, Michelle Traen, Brian Deutsch, Dan Reisig, Mandy Hansen, Cody Voga, Erin Kunesh, Ryan Tibbitts DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY Eric Miller CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Christopher Mitchell, Courtney Anderson, Brace Hemmelgarn, Jim Rosvold, Walt Middleton Advertising: 612.626.2300 GOPHERSPORTS.com Ski-U-Mah is written and designed by University of Minnesota Athletics and is provided as a courtesy to our fans and may be used for personal and editorial purposes only.

Any commercial use of this information is prohibited without the consent of University of Minnesota Athletics. for questions about the editorial content in this issue of Ski-U-Mah, please email keiser@umn.edu.

6 / SKI-U-MAH / MAY 2016

Sco beats the odds as a pancreatic cancer survivor—umnhealth.org/Sco

CHEERING ON THE HOME TEAM AN ORDINARY MOMENT MADE POSSIBLE

BY EXTRAORDINARY HEALTHCARE.

How do you define a breakthrough? Is it always newsworthy? Does it have to change the course of history? What one person considers a breakthrough may simply be taking one less prescription.

Or being able to play with the kids.

Or cheering on the home team.

From checkups to transplants, the care team at University of Minnesota Health pays just as much a ention to making the breakthroughs that change our patients’ lives as they do to making the ones that change the world.

To find out more, or make an appointment, call 844-273-8383 or visit umnhealth.org today.

University of Minnesota Health represents a collaboration between University of Minnesota Physicians and University of Minnesota Medical Center.

THE GOLDEN AGE

More than any other time in its history, Gopher Athletics is home to a powerful collection of female stars

I

ndividual brilliance can be found throughout the more than centurylong history of women’s athletics at the University of Minnesota. To list each example would leave this issue of the magazine bulging from both covers. With that said, it’s impossible to cite any other time when those examples of individual brilliance overlapped as heavily as they have this year, with so many female

8 / SKI-U-MAH / MAY 2016

– by JAKE RICKER –

Gophers shining so brightly across a wide swath of Gopher programs.

Five of Minnesota’s women’s teams reached the NCAA postseason this season, with softball likely to become the sixth later this spring. Three others sent individual competitors to compete in national meets. As of April 21, Gopher Athletics has racked up the fourth-most points in the Learfield Directors’ Cup standings from its women’s program, a

number driven, in part, by the success standings from of its women’s programs. This is just one measure indicating what fans already know – women’s athletics at Minnesota are among the nation’s best, this year more than perhaps any other.

“It’s just an unbelievable time here for the female sports,” said Hannah Brandt, captain of the national champion women’s hockey team. “So many teams did amazing things

this year. It’s awesome to see.”

Results like these from its women’s teams are not foreign to the Gophers. Success in women’s athletics has been a staple of the University’s athletics department for years.

What makes this season different than so many that preceded it is the luminous collection of standout student-athletes that contribute to these teams’ achievements.

There are 25 female student-athletes who competed for Minnesota this academic year who have been an All-American at some point in their careers. Within this impressive class of nationally recognized athletes is yet another tier of radiant talent, a select few who have achieved at unprecedented levels during their Gopher careers.

This tier includes the second-most prolific scorer in NCAA women’s basketball history (Rachel Banham), the second-greatest pointscorer in NCAA women’s hockey history (Hannah Brandt), the most decorated gymnast to

ever compete for Minnesota (Lindsay Mable) and the first Gopher to win the conference’s Freshman, Player and Pitcher of the Year awards during her career (Sara Groenewegen).

“When you’re around a lot of people doing amazing things you just want to be up there with them,” noted Mable, a two-time Big Ten Gymnast of the Year. “I know how amazing [these other women] are – not only amazing athletes, but amazing people. They represent this university so well. … It is inspiring to be among that group.”

The current class of great female athletes isn’t powered solely by this foursome. There’s All-American Hannah Tapp, a key contributor to a Big Ten title and Final Four run for women’s volleyball. Jess Lehman (formerly Herauf), not only set the program record in the pentathlon, but broke her own record twice during her Big Ten championship season. NCAA champ Yu Zhou earned Big Ten

Diver of the Year honors for a second consecutive year this winter and Big Ten Forward of the Year Simone Kolander scored the gamewinning goal in an upset over No. 4 Penn State to help key the soccer team’s run to the national tournament.

That easily, four more great female student-athletes emerge. Without investing much more time, the list could seemingly go from eight to eighty.

Because that collective is so large and so successful, it is becoming self-sustaining. The greatness of one inspires greatness for two more. Success begets success, pouring over the boundaries between programs and electrifying each of the hundreds of female student-athletes competing for Minnesota.

Zhou succinctly said what all the studentathletes interviewed for this piece said, either direct or subtly: “When I see others win championships, it keeps reminding me that if they can do that, I can do that.”

I know how amazing [these other women] are – not only amazing athletes, but amazing people. They represent this university so well...It is inspiring to be among that group.

— LINDSAY MABLE

PHOTOS: ERIC MILLER

SARA GROENEWEGEN SOFT BA LL

J U N IOR / WHIT E ROCK, BRI T I SH COLU MBI A

10 / SKI-U-MAH / MAY 2016

N BIG TEN PLAYER OF THE YEAR

N BIG TEN PITCHER OF THE YEAR N ALL-AMERICAN

W

hether she’s stepping into the circle wearing the Maroon and Gold for Gopher Softball or red and white for her national team – she’s Canadian, after all – Sara Groenewegen is a winner. She’s done little else for either team over the past several years.

The junior pitcher became just the third player in the history of the Big Ten to earn the conference’s Pitcher of the Year and Freshman of the Year awards in the same season following her rookie campaign in 2014.

“I knew I wanted to have an impact right away,” Groenewegen remembered from her first year on campus. “It meant a lot for me to be able to make [that] big impact.”

Groenewegen – who is known by the shorter moniker of “G” among her teammates – followed up on her first impression with an equally impressive sophomore season, receiving the Big Ten Player of the Year award. She was the first Gopher to earn that distinction in more than 20 years and became the first Minnesota player (and just the third in conference history) to ever earn all three awards, reaching that unprecedented level just halfway through her collegiate career.

After her Player of the Year season last spring, Groenewegen won the gold-medal game at the Pan American Championships, pitching Canada to a 4-2 win over the USA and snapping the U.S.’s 28-year stranglehold on the tournament’s top spot.

“I get chills every time I put on the Maple Leaf,” she said. “I get feelings of pride getting to represent [my] country. There’s no other feeling like it.”

The gold-medal performance took long-time runner-up Canada, which had brought home silver from the tournament the past four times – and put them on the top of the podium. The team’s victory drew attention across the nation, attention that included coverage of its star pitcher and her ties to collegiate softball in the U.S. Groenewegen hopes all that positive focus makes a difference in how young athletes in her home country look at playing softball.

“It helps grow the game and that’s all we can really ask for, just growing the game locally and at the national level,” she said. “I know there are a lot more kids from Canada looking to go to the NCAA in the States.”

From her hometown of White Rock, B.C., to Dinkytown and beyond, Groenewegen sees not only her success – but the success of all female studentathletes at the U of M – as a way to grow their favorite sports.

“Our women’s sports here at Minnesota are doing so well and it’s really an honor to be a part of it,” she said. “We’re just hoping we continue to build that legacy for women’s sports here at Minnesota … we’re doing whatever we can to get people out and for people to enjoy our sports.”

PHOTO: COURTNEY ANDERSON

JESS

LEHMAN T R ACK & FIELD / H EPTATHLON

SEN I OR / DI CK INSON, NORT H DAKOTA

12 / SKI-U-MAH / MAY 2016

N FIRST TEAM ALL-AMERICAN

N THREE-TIME BIG TEN CHAMPION

N ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICAN

J

ess Lehman, formerly Herauf, really isn’t a sprinter, nor is she a true mid-distance runner. She’s not a jumper or a thrower in the traditional sense either. Instead, she’s a bit of all of these things. As a multi-eventer for Gopher Women’s Track & Field, Lehman is her sport’s equivalent of a five-tool player in baseball, one who is asked to showcase skills from a disparate set of events throughout a typical meet.

During the indoor season, Lehman shows off her versatility in the pentathlon, a five-event test that features the 60-meter hurdles, an 800-meter race, high jump, long jump and shot put. When the team moves to the outdoor season in the spring, she’s asked to excel at an even greater number of disciplines in the heptathlon, which includes the 100-meter hurdles, a 200-meter race, an 800-meter race, high jump, long jump, shot put and javelin.

“It started in high school where I was a three-sport athlete,” said Lehman, who was a four-time letterwinner in basketball and volleyball in addition to earning six letters in track and field. “My track coaches just kind of threw me into any event. We experimented a lot.”

That experimentation had Lehman competing in an odd combination of events, ranging from mid-distance hurdles, to long jump, to javelin and the 800 meters, the latter two a particularly odd combination for any high school athlete.

“I think [Gopher head coach Matt] Bingle saw that and saw the three-sport athlete,” said Lehman when asked how anyone becomes a collegiate multi-eventer. “I think it’s just being a multi-eventer in high school.”

By accident or by design, Lehman’s foray into the world of multieventers has been a very successful experiment. Her sophomore season she was named Second Team All-American in the pentathlon, followed by earning Second Team All-Big Ten honors in the heptathlon that spring. As a junior, Lehman ruled multi-events at the conference level, sweeping both titles at the Big Ten indoor and outdoor meets that season and earning First Team All-American distinction by placing fifth in each during the NCAA Championships that year. In the process, Lehman has set – and in the case of the pentathlon set several times over – the program’s record scores in the events.

“That means a lot,” she said. “The first time I broke [a school record], it was really exciting. Hopefully it stays for a couple years.”

Rightly so, Lehman is proud of all that’s she’s accomplished during her time at Minnesota, but her pride doesn’t focus as much on her numbers as it does on her experience.

“Being a proud female athlete is really important right now, especially for younger athletes to see their role models,” she said. “It means a lot that I can be a role model to younger female athletes.”

While she stands out within her own program, Lehman sees herself among many when it comes to being a role model for the next generation of Gophers.

“The group of female athletes that are [at] the U, in this story or not, are just incredible people and athletes. More importantly, they’re great people.”

PHOTO: WALT MIDDLETON

I

n one of the most challenging events across the sports world, one in which even the biggest errors can be measured in mere centimeters, Yu Zhou has been a model of consistency. As one of the nation’s premier diving talents, she has made a splash, figuratively speaking, by creating very little splash as she has entered the water the past two years.

Known as Shelly to her teammates, Zhou competes in all three diving disciplines (one-meter, three-meter and platform). That means she has had six chances to win conference titles and AllAmerica honors during her two seasons with Minnesota. In both cases, she’s made good on five of those six opportunities, highlighted by the 2015 national title in the three-meter.

“I feel like last year [winning the national title], I was so lucky,” said Zhou. “For diving, the one thing is, even if you train for a long time and day-by-day, there is still 1,000 possibilities of what will happen at the meet.”

Her thoughts on her national championship performance reflects the nature of the sport. A diver can do the same dive exactly the same 999 times, but the slightest error on the thousandth attempt could be the difference between finishing first at the NCAA Championships and not even finishing as an AllAmerican.

The training for a sport with microscopic winning margins can be grueling – “sometimes it’s boring and sometimes it’s really hard,” said Zhou – the latter a reflection of the sport itself. Zhou’s attitude toward training offers clues as to her amazing execution when her dives count for points.

“You have to push your limit [and then] push harder, because everyone has a chance to be a champion,” Zhou said about her training mindset. “Being the NCAA champion is always my goal.

One-meter, three-meter, platform, I always think I have a chance.

[At] every day’s practice, I’m thinking about these goals … you have to keep those goals in mind so you can push harder.”

She’s once reached that NCAA championship goal, adding silver- and bronze-medal performances as well (2016 platform and 2015 one-meter, respectively). Taken together, Zhou has reached the medal stand in each diving discipline at NCAAs. Meanwhile, at the conference level, she has been virtually unbeatable. She took home two of the three diving titles at last year’s Big Ten meet (she finished as the runner-up on platform) before sweeping all three crowns at this year’s event. In both seasons, Zhou has been honored at the Big Ten Diver of the Year, as well as the Big Ten Diver of the Championships.

The five-time Big Ten champion and five-time All-American sees her success, and the success of other female Gopher student-athletes, as a chance to be recognized as athletes equally talented as their male counterparts, or maybe even better. “[Our success] can help female athletes to be recognized,” Zhou said. “People always think of female athletes [like] they are weaker. But the thing is … we can do better. Sometimes we can beat the men.”

PHOTO: WALT MIDDLETON

14 / SKI-U-MAH / MAY 2016

YU

ZHOU DIVING

JUNIOR / WUHAN, CHINA

N NCAA DIVER OF THE YEAR

N FIVE-TIME BIG TEN CHAMPION

N NCAA CHAMPION

N TWO-TIME BIG TEN GYMNAST OF THE YEAR

T

N 18-TIME ALL-AMERICAN N AAI AWARD WINNER

he Gophers women’s gymnastics team reached the NCAA Championships at the end of Lindsay Mable’s freshman season, its last appearance as a full team at the national meet until this April, when Mable (now a senior) helped lead her squad back to the NCAAs. Plenty happened in between, especially for Mable as an individual performer.

Including that freshman campaign – one which earned her the conference’s Freshman of the Year award – Mable has been one of the most dominate gymnasts in the country, piling up 96 individual event titles, 26 all-around crowns and 18 All-America honors during her Gopher career. She’s added to her trophy case with two Big Ten Gymnast of the Year awards and the AAI Award, given to the nation’s most outstanding senior gymnast.

With all of that on her resume, qualifying for nationals with her team earlier this spring in front of the home crowd at the Sports Pavilion is still one of the more breathless moments of her career.

“It’s something we’ve been working so hard for,” said Mable. “It has consumed our thoughts and our minds for the whole year. For it to become a reality, there are no words to really describe how special it is to all of us to have all the hard work come to fruition and come together in a special place, at home in the Pavilion.”

Mable earned the last four All-America nods of her collegiate career at this year’s NCAA Championships, picking up First Team recognition on bars, floor and all-around, adding a Second Team honor on vault. With a pile of plaudits that makes her the most decorated gymnast in program history, Mable hopes it’s the work done away from competition, the work that led to those accomplishments, that people remember about her years from now.

“Hopefully we are inspiring [younger athletes] to want to work hard … every day and leave their own legacy,” Mable said. “When you step into your competition arena, that’s where everyone sees the hard work you put into practice every day, but hopefully all the people who we’re inspiring know that every day in practice you have to put in the work, put in the hours, for it to show.”

In a season where Gopher women won a national championship, collected conference player of the year honors in multiple sports, broke records and produced numerous highlights, Mable may have been the single most impressive performer of the bunch. When presented with this idea, Mable instead opts to talk about what’s going on throughout the athletics department.

“When you’re around a lot of people doing amazing things, you just want to be up there with them,” she said. “When people say to me, ‘You’re in the field with Rachel Banham and Amanda Kessel,’ that’s such an honor for me because I know how amazing they are, not only amazing athletes, but amazing people.

“Women’s athletics at the U is becoming so much bigger and to be a part of that movement and going forward for future generations means a lot to me and our whole team.”

PHOTO: CHRISTOPHER MITCHELL

16 / SKI-U-MAH / MAY 2016

LINDSAY

MABLE

GYM N A ST ICS

SENI OR / AU ROR A, COLORA DO

SIMONE

KOLANDER SOCCER

J U NI OR / LAK EVILL E, M I NNESOTA

18 / SKI-U-MAH / MAY 2016

N ALL-AMERICAN

N BIG TEN FORWARD OF THE YEAR

A

s the daughter of two former Gophers – dad a basketball player and mom a soccer player – it might have appeared Simone Kolander was destined to be a Gopher from the moment of conception. She grew into an athletic standout at Lakeville North High School, just a short drive south of the Twin Cities, but her talent was apparent from an early age. Minnesota coaches first contacted her about playing soccer for the Gophers when she was 14.

At that time, an understandably excited Kolander received a bit of advice from her father, who told her that the recruiting interest was great but the coaches were recruiting her potential. They didn’t want her as she was that day when she was 14, they wanted the player they felt she could become with four more years of hard work.

That’s something that stuck with Kolander, and something she would pass along to any young girl who asks how they could become the next great soccer player at the U of M. “There are plenty of people who are good enough to play at this level, but they don’t have that passion to work hard, day in, day out,” said Kolander. “If you have the passion and you really love something … just go for it.

“That’s what I did and I’m happy every single day, whether I have a bad practice or a bad game or anything like that,” she added. “It’s just that love for the game and remembering why you started playing in the first place.”

She may be happy even if she has a bad game, but Kolander hasn’t had many of those in her Minnesota career. Last season, Kolander scored a team-high 10 goals and led the conference with six game-winners, accolades that earned her the Big Ten Forward of the Year award. She appeared on almost every list of the nation’s top players, earning an All-American nod from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.

Just like that first contact with the Gopher coaches many years ago, those accomplishments are nice, but Kolander’s sights are set to the future.

“For myself and for the other five seniors [on the soccer team], this [season] is our last chance,” said Kolander. “Taking that motivation [from losing in the second round of the NCAA Tournament] and trying to spark the younger players to come along, I think this could be a very special year for us.”

While much of that motivation comes from within her, Kolander isn’t shy about praising other female student-athletes at Minnesota and discussing how they push her and her teammates to achieve more.

“You look at a few women’s programs here and girls that I’m friends with, girls that I’ve known since we first got on campus, they are achieving huge things with their teams,” said Kolander. “[They’re] winning Big Ten championships [and] national championships, and that’s really awesome for women’s sports.

“It lights a fire under the Gopher women’s soccer team because we want to be a great women’s program just like all those other teams. … We want to get that trophy. We want our names in the record books.”

PHOTO: CHRISTOPHER MITCHELL

HANNAH

TAPP VOL L EYBA LL

J U N IOR / ST EWART VI LL E, M I NN ESOTA

20 / SKI-U-MAH / MAY 2016

N FIRST TEAM ALL-AMERICAN

N FIRST TEAM ALL-BIG TEN

n tandem with the breakout season for her team last fall, junior Hannah Tapp broke through in a major way as an individual performer. Tapp had been named to the conference’s All-Freshman team two years ago and was a preseason pick to be All-Big Ten as a sophomore but it was last season, marked by her 365 kills (second on team) and 140 blocks (third) that led to her unanimous selection to the All-Big Ten squad and her first career All-America nod, also a first team selection.

“I was very fortunate to be in the spot that I had and the role that I took this season, being more of a contributor [to] point-scoring,” said Tapp as she reflected on the best statistical season of her career. “We also had a lot of great improvements around me that helped my job and made my job a lot easier. … As the whole team improves, the rising tide lifts all boats.”

Last fall, that tide reached its high-water mark since current head coach Hugh McCutcheon took over the program in 2012. The 2015 edition of Gopher Volleyball marched through the Big Ten season with a 18-2 mark to claim the program’s first conference championship since 2002. As their region’s top seed in the NCAA tournament, the Gophers won the regional title and reached the Final Four for the fourth time in the past 13 seasons.

“It was a great step for the growth our program is trying to have,” said Tapp, who has witnessed that growth firsthand during her time at Minnesota. “We made these little incremental changes throughout [the year] which really got us to where were at the end of the season. It was amazing to make it to a Final Four.

“We still have big dreams and goals. We’re working hard again to hopefully make it farther [next season].”

Working hard to achieve her goals is nothing new to Tapp.

Going back to her freshman year of high school, Tapp wasn’t selected for the varsity team at Stewartville High School in southern Minnesota. She settled for playing the role of team manager until making the team as a sophomore. By the time she graduated from Stewartville, Tapp was on her way to the U of M, where the hard work and the help of her teammates has helped her grow into an All-American talent.

“We obviously try to portray what it means to work hard, what it means to go out there and battle every day,” Tapp said.

“We try to be this female warrior when we’re on the court that little girls, or even older girls, can aspire to be like.”

When Tapp uses “we” in this specific case, she’s talking about her volleyball teammates, but she’s also quick to point out that volleyball players aren’t the only athletes at Minnesota putting in hard work every day.

“Being a Gopher women’s athlete is just amazing,” she said. “The support is great. All of the other athletic programs are doing their part. We’re all working hard trying to make Gopher sports something to be proud of.”

I

PHOTO: CHRISTOPHER MITCHELL

T

N BIG TEN PLAYER OF THE YEAR N FIRST TEAM ALL-AMERICAN

N BIG TEN ALL-TIME LEADING SCORER

here was a time in her life when Rachel Banham was just like the throngs of adoring young girls who hold her up as their hero on the basketball court. Thinking back to that scene, there’s nothing about it that stands out as extraordinary, nothing that would indicate this young girl would grow into one of the greatest scorers in NCAA history.

We’re in the Twin Cities suburb of Lakeville and a young Banham has a passion to play and brothers who are merciless during basketball games played on the family’s driveway. On a summer day in Minnesota, this exact vision can be found in almost any neighborhood. But somehow, Banham starts from this common place and ends up somewhere just the opposite.

“My brothers pushed my growing up … my parents constantly pushed me at every level. I definitely give them a lot of the credit for getting me to where I am,” said Banham.

That alone can’t explain how Banham ended up crushing the program record for career points on her way to the sixth-highest total ever by any NCAA women’s basketball player. Maybe it’s misguided to focus on what can be seen. The difference may be something internal.

“Just keep working hard,” Banham said, reflecting on advice she would give others who hope to achieve what she has. “No matter what you face, you can get through it.”

Banham has faced and overcome adversity at the U of M. Last season, in what would have been her senior year, a torn ACL sidelined her in the 10th game of the year. She would spend nearly a year rehabbing her knee and working her way back on to the court. Returning to the lineup this year thanks to a medical hardship waiver from the NCAA that granted her another season of eligibility, Banham made the most of her second-chance season.

Banham earned Big Ten Player of the Year and First Team AllAmerica after setting the program’s per-game scoring record (28.6 points/game). She dropped an NCAA record-tying 60 points on Northwestern to go with outbursts of 52 and 48 and seven other games of at least 30 points. She also buried clutch shots, including a buzzerbeater to defeat Iowa at Williams Arena.

“It’s really unreal. I think right now it hasn’t fully hit me,” Banham said when asked to reflect on both her senior season and her prolific career. “It’s been an honor to play here and achieve a lot of my goals.

I just love the University.”

Thinking about her own success also got Banham thinking about her fellow female student-athletes and women’s athletics.

“I think women’s sports don’t get enough love [from the public] sometimes and we have really good teams here,” she noted. “Seeing how well [those teams] do really makes me want to play well and I think also pushes our team.”

PHOTO: ERIC MILLER

22 / SKI-U-MAH / MAY 2016

RACHEL

BANHAM

BASK ETBA L L

SEN IOR / LA K EVI LLE, MI N NESOTA

N THREE-TIME FIRST TEAM ALL-AMERICAN N THREE-TIME NATIONAL CHAMPION

N TWO-TIME WCHA PLAYER OF THE YEAR

H

annah Brandt is a star among stars on the Gopher women’s hockey team. This season’s squad featured three All-Americans, as well as the National Rookie of the Year, a strong foundation that helped the program win its fourth national championship in the past five seasons. No other Minnesota program – men’s or women’s – has ever won four national titles in five years.

Even on a high-profile team loaded with talent, Brandt stands out.

Her position at or near the top of the record books, both at Minnesota and nationally, makes it impossible for her to blend in even as she’s dressed head-to-toe in gear that matches her teammates.

She is one of just four, three-time All-Americans in Minnesota history and the only three-time First Team All-American in program history.

She graduates as the program’s all-time leader in assists (170) and points (285). Her 285 points ties her for the second-most in NCAA Division I history.

Even when prompted, Brandt doesn’t get into what she’s accomplished, instead focusing on everything around her.

“It’s been an unbelievable time to be a member of the Gopher women’s hockey team. It’s been an honor to be a part of it,” said Brandt when asked about the legacy she is leaving at Minnesota.

“Great coaching. Great teammates. Great fans. A great time.”

Brandt has seen success, personally and with her hometown team, that exceed the limits of her imagination and that can be difficult to capture in words. Her time at Minnesota has transformed her from a person who looked up to Golden Gopher stars on the ice to being that person for so many young hockey players around the state.

“When I was a little kid I always dreamed of being a Gopher, so it’s crazy that I was able to live out that dream,” she said. “We obviously looked up to the Gophers when we were young … [so] being a role model for those kids is something none of us take lightly.”

When it comes to women’s hockey, that role-modeling from standout players on the most accomplished team in the country continues to contribute to the growth of the sport.

More than 15 percent of all female collegiate hockey players on NCAA Division I rosters during the 2015-16 season hail from Minnesota – 139 in all (a number which includes Brandt, who hails from Vadnais Heights, a St. Paul suburb). That number is driven by the growing popularity of the women’s game in a state so fiercely dedicated to hockey that it has developed the moniker “The State of Hockey.” As of 2016, more than 12,000 girls played youth hockey in Minnesota. Those numbers aren’t lost on Brandt.

“It’s great to see women’s hockey taking off like it has, especially here in Minnesota,” she said. “But I think it’s getting to expand more throughout the country.”

She’s right about that, with national youth participation numbers skyrocketing from fewer than 10,000 in 1990 to nearly 70,000 today. “[I’m] looking forward to see that [growth] continue,” she added.

“And to seeing Minnesota hockey continuing to dominate.”

PHOTO: ERIC MILLER

HANNAH

BRANDT

H OCK EY

SENI OR / VA DNAI S HEI GHT S, MI N NESOTA

MAY 2016 / SKI-U-MAH / 25

O

n a cool evening in Orem, Utah, Matt Fiedler did something it appears even Baseball Hall of Famer and fellow Minnesotan Dave Winfield never did as a Golden Gopher.

The junior registered a win as the starting pitcher, hit a home run and stole a base all in the same March 18 game against Utah Valley.

On the mound, Fiedler followed a two-run first inning with five shutout frames. He scattered three hits over his last five innings and struck out five batters. At the plate in the third, he drew a walk and stole second. After belting a solo homer in the fifth, he would pitch two more innings before moving to the designated hitter spot.

That’s a typical stat line for Fiedler these days as one of the Gophers’ leaders on both sides of the ball. The Friday starter as a pitcher also bats third in the lineup. For the second straight year he has been named to the John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award Watch List. This 5-foot-9 baseball player from

that I thought about a difference between hitting and pitching. I just knew that it was all baseball.”

Fiedler’s Eagan teams kept a core group growing up. The talent level of the team was good, so he wasn’t stuck in any one key position, like shortstop.

“I was still playing a lot of different positions until I was probably 14 or 15,” he said.

“Then some coaches pointed out that I had a good arm, so I pitched a little bit more, but it didn’t really stop me from playing in the field.

No coach tried to get me to specialize.”

As a senior at St. Paul Academy, Fiedler was a Mr. Baseball finalist after batting .439 and holding a 0.52 ERA. But during the college recruiting process he found some coaches had different attitudes than his own when it came

ter during the games he doesn’t start on the mound, he spends less time on outfield drills than he used to.

Things didn’t always run as smoothly as they do during Fiedler’s third season in the Maroon and Gold. Though more common than in Major League Baseball, two-way players are still a rarity at the modern college level. Some examples in Gophers program history include Dave Winfield in the 1970s before Anderson’s coaching days, Doug Kampsen in the early 1980s and future All-Star catcher Dan Wilson in 1988. Due to the amount of throwing involved in both pitching and catching, Anderson had Wilson choose one after his freshman season.

Fiedler and fellow junior Tyler Hanson are the most recent Gophers to take on the chal-

DUAL THREAT Matt Fiedler is one the Big Ten’s most dangerous hitters, while leading off Minnesota’s pitching rotation.

BY JUSTINE BUERKLE

a soccer family has emerged as a star for a team engineering one of the nation’s biggest turnarounds from last year.

The full baseball experience

Both of Fiedler’s parents played soccer at Middlebury College. One of his grandfathers was a long-time soccer coach. His younger sister, Molly, was a freshman on the Gopher soccer team last fall. Matt also played soccer through most of high school but a neighbor in Eagan, Minn., Garrison Draves, helped him get hooked on a different sport.

“He was four or five years older than I was, and he got me into baseball from a really early age, just playing wiffle ball, playing stickball, all sorts of different baseball games in the front yard,” Fiedler said. “From there I just kind of fell in love.”

He was a two-way player right from the start.

“We just played one-on-one in the front yard for the first however many years I played,” Fiedler said. “So you did everything. Once you start playing when you’re 9 or 10, you just play all the positions. I was able to throw strikes at that age, so I pitched some, too. I don’t think PHOTOS: ERIC MILLER

to playing both ways.

“I had a lot of coaches tell me that it wasn’t something that they liked to do or it wasn’t something they thought was possible,” he said.

“So I started kind of believing that a bit more.

But then I came here and (associate head coach Rob) Fornasiere told me that not only did he like doing that, but he wanted to pursue it as long as we could here.”

“I tell anyone that’s approached me in the recruiting process, if they want to try to be a two-way player, we’ll give them that option and eventually they’ll know and we’ll know whether it’s doable or not,” head coach John Anderson said.

The Gophers coaching staff likes to recruit multi-sport athletes, and a similar attitude of flexibility within the sport of baseball helped seal Fiedler’s commitment to Minnesota.

Making adjustments

Fiedler finds time for both pitching and hitting in every practice. He throws every day and does whatever other work is needed on his arm.

Once a week he participates in pitchers’ fielding practice. The rest of the time he spends on hitting. Since he is primarily a designated hit-

lenge of doing two. Hanson has since turned his focus solely to pitching. Without older teammates or other recent examples, they and the coaches learned by trial and error.

“When I first came here I tried to do everything,” Fiedler said. “I tried to not miss a single rep at any position. I overworked myself a little bit. It’s impossible. You’ve got to be willing to make a sacrifice here or there. You’ve got to listen to your body and know when enough’s enough. That was for sure the biggest learning process with me.”

Fiedler played in 21 games as a freshman, including some time at third base, and made eight relief appearances. As he tried to figure out a balance between pitching and hitting, he was also getting used to college academics and the baseball team’s rigorous travel schedule.

Fiedler’s playing time and production made a jump the next season as he played in all 51 games, many as an outfielder. He batted .310, hit four home runs and stole 18 bases. On the mound he held a 2.86 ERA in 15 appearances, including one start late in the season.

“I think it was just a natural growth process,” Fiedler said. “A lot of guys come in MAY 2016 / SKI-U-MAH / 27

P H O T O S : W A LT M I D D L E T O N

and they’re just not ready for the demands of college baseball freshman year, and I don’t think I was, physically or mentally. It just took me a year to really develop and grow into my skills.”

He credits increased strength, the coaching staff’s patience and guidance, and assistant Pat Casey’s work with his swing for helping him contribute more as a sophomore. The 2015 season also helped him learn to better prioritize practice time.

“You have to be extremely internally motivated, self-motivated,” Anderson said. “I told him at the beginning, ‘You’re the one who’s going to have to put in the extra time to do both and it’s going to be up to you and no one can make you do it.’ He knows the level of time he has to spend at both to be a Division I athlete and to hit third in the lineup and be a Friday starter. …It takes a special individual to be highly motivated. And that’s Matt.”

“The real deal”

Unfortunately, while Fiedler turned in impressive numbers last year, the Gophers endured a 21-30 season in which they missed the Big Ten Tournament. This year, Minnesota has come together as a team to capture national attention, top-25 rankings and a lot more victories.

“Guys want the best for each other,” Fiedler said. “Combining that with a strong culture that we have, that 14 (Anderson) has set up from the top, I don’t think any of us are surprised with the successes we’re having so far this season.”

The Maroon and Gold surpassed last year’s win total on April 19, and surpassed last year’s conference win total on April 22. As the No. 1 starter and one of the Big Ten’s top hitters, Fiedler has played a leading part in the turnaround.

Around the end of the 2015 season, the coaches told Fiedler he might join the starting

rotation for 2016. He worked on building up innings over the summer playing for the Northwoods League’s Rochester Honkers.

“It was kind of an up-and-down summer pitching-wise,” Fiedler said. “Just a huge learning curve, but one that I was glad I went through in the summer and not here so much.”

He enjoys the structure provided by a spot in the rotation, which he has held all season.

“Part of the reason they wanted me to start was so we could develop a routine,” he said. “Almost every day of the week now, we have what I need to do, what’s planned, whereas out of the ’pen you just never really know whether you’re going to throw Friday, Saturday or Sunday.

That’s difficult for anyone, and it definitely made my situation more difficult when I was hitting all the time, too.”

Fiedler has thrived in his third year, even receiving the nickname “Dave Winfieds” from

“I tell anyone that’s approached me in the recruiting process, if they want to try to be a two-way player, we’ll give them that option and eventually they’ll know and we’ll know whether it’s doable or not.” — head coach JOHN ANDERSON teammates in a nod to two-way great Winfield. They admire his work ethic as well as his talent.

“He’s always very analytical about everything he does,” Hanson said. “Always wanting to improve. If something’s not going right, he has to change it. …

This guy is like no one I’ve ever dealt with before on the baseball field. He’s a pleasure to be around.”

“He’s the real deal, both on the mound and at the plate,” said Austin Athmann, who catches for Fiedler and bats behind him in the lineup. “We always talk back at our apartment about how he did on the mound and how we did in the game at bat together, and then also what we’d like to do in the future. It’s really cool to be on both sides of the ball together.”

Being one of the Gophers’ best players on both sides puts Fiedler in a unique position in which he could bridge the gap between pitchers and hitters should either group feel frustrated with the other. This hasn’t been a problem this season with a tight-knit and successful ball club.

Fiedler loves pitching, but said he likes hitting better because he can do it every day. His success on both sides comes more because of, rather than in spite of, doing both.

“I think when you’re a pitcher you have a plan and understand how to get hitters out, and I think he can apply some of that knowledge to helping him become a better hitter,” Anderson said.

“Also as a hitter, because he understands pitching and pitching strategy, I think his baseball IQ both from a pitching and hitting standpoint has improved because he’s on both sides of the ball.”

MLB’s National League pitchers must pitch and hit, but they usually only bat on their pitching days and don’t devote much practice time to it. Other than the occasional impressive performance, like a Madison Bumgarner homer off Clayton Kershaw, Fiedler doesn’t enjoy watching pro pitchers try—and usually fail—to hit. He does like to see his fellow collegiate two-way players going through the same challenges he faces.

“It’s always fun when I play a team and I see somebody else doing it,” Fiedler said. “You kind of feel like you have an immediate connection with them just because it’s not something you see every day. You kind of feel like you have this little bond with somebody else on a random team.”

Fiedler used to look to other Big Ten two-way players to learn from their routines. He hasn’t seen as many this year, but by now he’s comfortable with his own routine.

“I hope if somebody else comes in in the next couple years they can maybe use me as an example to avoid some of the mistakes that I’ve learned [from],” Fiedler said. “I would love to be able to help them find their own way here and find what’s best for them, because it’s really rewarding doing both.”

Justine Buerkle is an assistant athletic communications director for Gopher Athletics.

Contact her at jbuerkle@umn.edu.

Fiedler Family Connection

Molly Fiedler stayed with her family’s traditional sport of soccer. As her recruiting process progressed, she felt she wanted to come to the U of M. “At first I was a little nervous because I didn’t want to step on (Matt’s) toes and follow him to college and everything, but I asked him if it was okay and he said, ‘Of course,’” she said.

“I saw how excited he was being here and that helped a lot.”

Matt and Molly used the exact same words (“We’re super close”) to describe their sibling relationship. Molly said she “basically grew up at a baseball field” tagging along to her brother’s games, and the two still attend as many of each other’s games as possible.

Matt’s knowledge of the university and ability to relate to challenges studentathletes face has helped Molly adjust during her first year of college.

Matt gave up soccer his senior year of high school, but still participates in extended family pickup games.

“I can no longer use my size to equal out their Molly Fiedler started all 22 games as a skill,” he said. “They just freshman on the Gopher Soccer team. have way more skill than me.”

Molly, a midfielder, started every game for the Gophers during her rookie campaign last fall. In addition to the tutelage of coach Stefanie Golan and her staff, she can rely on added perspective from her parents and grandfather.

With two teams to support, Matt and Molly’s parents have built up a collection of Gophers apparel over the past several years. They had a larger amount of baseball gear with Matt’s twoyear head start, but “I hope it’s similar at this point,” Molly said.

MAY 2016 / SKI-U-MAH / 29

We W e came as a company compa

and le left eft as a TEAM. TEAM

Deacon’s Lodge Golf G Course

You’re on the right cou urse ffor or a great meeting by planning your next xt QIIXMRK EX &VII^] 4SMRX 6IWSVX &VII^] 4SMRX 6IWSVX TVSZMHIW ¾I\MFPI meeting and event spacce, healthy cuisine, teambuilding activities,, and d free for you! enhanced wireless. Lett us build a custom meeting package for ( (800) 432.3777

www www.br .breezypointresort.com

Want to stay tuned into what’s happening in your industry?

Then get CONNECT-ed.

A leading publication specifically for the marketing community.

Scan the code or visit connect.dpicrossmedia.com to subscribe to Connect Daily today.

the

JONESBORO GOPHERS

W

Minnesota coaches traveled to the small Georgia town and found themselves on the receiving end of a recruiting pitch.

by JAKE RICKER

hen Gopher football coaches visited Jonesboro, Ga., three years ago, they arrived hoping to persuade a young running back to join them more than 1,000 miles away at the University of Minnesota. What they found instead on that trip was they were the ones being persuaded, their prospect urging them to look at his long-time friend and teammate. The unsolicited pitch was persistent and, eventually, the salesmen were sold.

That 2013 trip to Jonesboro, a town of about 5,000 located just a short drive down Interstate 75 from Atlanta, was one of several intended to build a relationship with Rodney Smith and his family. Coming off an injury-shortened junior season, Smith rebounded to have a monstrous senior year at Mundy’s Mill High School, rushing for more than 2,200 yards at an average of more than eight yards-per-carry. A back with the talent of a power conference player, Smith found himself holding scholarship offers from mostly mid-major schools like East Carolina and Southern Mississippi when Minnesota came to visit.

“If he wouldn’t have got hurt his junior year, he would have been an SEC-recruited back,” said Gopher wide receiver coach Brian Anderson, who was coaching Minnesota’s running backs while he was recruiting Smith. “[Bigger] schools started coming in on him late his senior year because he had rushed for … some crazy number, but I just stayed on him.

He trusted the process with me and us.”

That process led to Smith committing to play for Anderson and the Gophers. It also led to Smith flipping the process around and asking the Minnesota coaches to trust him as he continued to sell them on his teammate.

“Once we offered [Smith], I went back for a pracPHOTOS: BRUCE KLUCKHOHN tice during our bye week and he kept telling me 32 / SKI-U-MAH / MAY 2016

about Jonathan and I was like, ‘Eh, I don’t know if we’re looking for a linebacker,’” recalled Anderson.

Smith certainly wasn’t the first high school player to push the skills of a teammate on college recruiters and, like many similar situations before, this seemed like an unlikely sale. Minnesota had not shown any interest in recruiting his teammate to that point and, as Anderson told Smith then, it wasn’t a position of need.

That linebacker was Jonathan Celestin. Growing up in Jonesboro – a place where “everybody pretty much knows everybody and everybody’s real friendly,” according to Celestin – he and Smith had known each other for some time. Neither recalls exactly when they met, but both tell the story of a friendship that grew through middle school and high school. They played baseball and football together and often found themselves in the same classes.

“We were always pretty close,” said Celestin. “He always pushed me and gave me that extra edge and I’d push him to give him that extra edge, to be better people.”

Smith agreed with Celestin’s assessment of what the two mean to each other. “We use each other as energy,” Smith said. “We feed off each other to compete. Having a guy like him up here (at Minnesota) is really beneficial for me.”

Smith may have ended up with a guy like Celestin with him in the Twin Cities but, if not for Smith’s persistence, it’s likely that guy would not have been Celestin himself.

“I felt like me and him were under recruited,” said Smith. When he received the offer from Minnesota, his first from a Power Five program, Smith “felt like it was only right to let them know that I had a friend who could play at the Big Ten level as well … so I let [Coach Anderson] know that I had a guy who could flat-out play.”

PHOTOS: ERIC MILLER

Whether or not the coaches felt Celestin could play, there was still the issue of available spots. Every recruiting cycle leaves talented players without scholarship offers. There are only a finite number of scholarships available each season and a team has to balance its many needs with the spots it has available. As Anderson had told Smith previously, Minnesota was not in the market for a linebacker at that time.

If nothing else, college football recruiting is tumultuous. Teams’ needs change. Recruits change their minds. Innumerable scenarios play out and shift a program’s recruiting strategy until National Signing Day, when recruits officially sign with their schools. One of those shifts changed Minnesota’s needs heading into the spring of 2014.

“It came to a point where we were looking for a linebacker” when they hadn’t been before, remembered Anderson. It was late in the process, meaning the coaching staff began culling over old leads, looking for value in someone who may have been overlooked earlier in the process. “I just broke out [Celestin’s] film and I was really impressed with it. So I had Coach Kill and Coach Claeys watch it and they really liked his video.

“It so happened that we were going to make a home visit to see Rodney – Coach Kill and myself – … and [Coach Kill asked], ‘Hey, is Jonathan around? Can we see him today?’” Anderson said. “So I called him and we went over to his house. Coach Kill sized him up and he came on a visit [to Minnesota] that weekend.

We offered him on that weekend visit and the rest is history.”

To that point, Celestin had planned to play at Valdosta State, a Division II powerhouse near the Georgia-Florida border. Both he and Smith assumed they would be going to different colleges and playing on separate teams for the first time since rec league football in elementary school, a possibility neither relished.

“Coming up to our senior year, we always dreamed that maybe somebody would offer [both of] us,” said Celestin. “When Minnesota came for him, I was thinking ‘Ok, maybe we’ll have to go our separate ways.’ It was kind of a dream come true that we would be able to go to the same school together.”

The fact that either Smith or Celestin was drawing recruiting interest from Minnesota was noteworthy around the Mundy’s Mill High School athletics department. In its brief history – the school opened its doors in 2002 – the football program had produced exactly one Division I player, Lamar Young, who played sparingly for Maryland.

“Going into the school our freshman year, we were told … we should take our talents to other schools, but we decided we were going to go [to Mundy’s Mill] and by the time it was our senior year, we’d set records and make the best history that we could,” said Celestin.

34 / SKI-U-MAH / MAY 2016

JON CELESTIN

RODNEY SMITH

“The football program is on the rise in that area,” said Smith. “We have some guys coming out that are Division I athletes (now). It slowed down for a while, especially my school, so us two coming out from that area, it was big.”

Smith and Celestin led the most successful teams ever at Mundy’s Mill, putting up big numbers in the ultra-competitive world of Georgia high school football. The winningest season in program history, and its deepest run into the postseason, came during their time with the team. The school’s athletic director Patrick Smith, who is also Rodney’s father, notes that their success left an impression on the program.

“A lot of the young kids look at their work ethic, how to work hard, what can happen when you put your mind to it. They want to be like Rodney and Jon,” he said. “That’s all I hear them say in the weight room. ‘I want to be like Rodney, I want to be like Jon, and I can do it.’”

In an ironic twist in the careers of the would-be role models, it was Celestin, the linebacker who only ended up at Minnesota be-

cause of Smith’s recruiting pitch to the Gopher coaches, who played as a true freshman while Smith took a redshirt season. Primarily contributing on special teams while seeing spot action with the defense, Celestin was getting noticed back home in Jonesboro while Smith waited to see the field.

“People would ask me, ‘We saw Jon on TV but we didn’t see you, where were you?’ I was like, ‘Aw man, I redshirted,’” Smith remembered, shaking his head and laughing before adding, “I knew I had an NFL-caliber running back in front of me and I just had to sit and wait my turn.”

Despite the significant difference in their freshman seasons, Celestin and Smith continued to show the type of support for each other as you’d expect from friends with their history.

“He supported me and I told him, even though he was redshirting, he needed to take this year seriously, get better and work on his craft,” said Celestin.

Smith took to heart Celestin’s advice. He proved that he had made the most of his redshirt season in his debut performance last September. Seeing action for the first time during the team’s Thursday night opener against second-ranked TCU, Smith rushed for 88 yards and a touchdown. By season’s end, he piled up 670 yards, one of the six highest totals for a freshman in program history.

Meanwhile, Celestin’s role shifted into more of a full-time defender last season. He made 43 tackles, including four tackles-for-loss, and also forced a fumble. He led the team in tackles in two different games, including the Gophers’ bowl win against Central Michigan.

Coming off the best seasons of their collegiate careers, both have high expectations for this coming fall.

“I’m excited to see him step up this year and take that starting [linebacker] job,” Smith said of his friend. “For myself, I want to try to reach 1,000 yards rushing. I feel like we can have two running backs reach 1,000 yards,” alluding to backfield-mate and another Georgian Gopher, Shannon Brooks.

“I expect a lot out of this season,” said Celestin. “I feel like we can make some history this season, but everybody has to be on one page, one team.”

Smith agrees, and sees a parallel between two of the young men with whom he and Celestin share a lot in common.

“David Cobb, Damien Wilson, those two cousins – sort of like me and Jon – those guys stepped up and made this program what it is and really turned the program back around.

We’re just working to fill their shoes.

“Let it be known that we’re a Big Ten school that can compete. We definitely plan on competing for the Big Ten championship this year.”

Jake Ricker is an associate athletic communications director for Gopher Athletics. Contact him at rick0127@umn.edu.

“It was kind of a dream come true that we would be able to go to the same school together.”

T

THE GA-MN CONNECTION

he talent pipeline from Georgia to Minnesota isn’t the largest The challenges of recruiting don’t end with simply identifying talent. out-of-state recruiting connection for Gopher Football, but it may Coaches also need to convince players who grow up more than 1,000 be the most consistent in terms of the quality of players it promiles from the University of Minnesota campus that coming to the Twin duces.

Cities will provide them the best opportunities, on and off the field.

This fall, six Georgia-born players will suit up for the Gophers, Rodney Smith admits he “had no clue” about Minnesota when the Goand it’s expected that all six will conphers first began recruiting him, which is tribute – three on offense and three on more common than not. During the recruitGeorgia Gophers on 2016 Roster defense. In the world of college recruiting process, however, Smith learned about Shannon Brooks RB Jasper, Ga. ing, where no coaching staff ever gets what would become his new home and he Vincent Calhoun OL Roswell, Ga. significant contributions from 100 perliked what he heard. “I was like, ‘Oh my, Jonathan Celestin LB Jonesboro, Ga. cent of the student-athletes recruited to this is a pretty prestigious university.’ I defDuke McGhee S Decatur, Ga. the program, how has Minnesota defied initely took pride in that and I wanted to Jalen Myrick CB Bloomingdale, Ga. the odds in Georgia? commit right away.”

Rodney Smith RB Jonesboro, Ga. “All those kids that we took from Glasscock confirms that Smith’s expeGeorgia were outstanding on game film,” rience is typical among Gophers from dissaid director of recruiting operations Billy Glasscock. “We did not make tant corners of the country, but he doesn’t mind. In fact, he says, the decision based on height, weight, the way they looked or the number misperceptions about Minnesota are often a positive during recruiting beof stars by their name. We made the decision based on their productivity cause “it seems that much greater (when recruits visit Minnesota) because as a player and that’s why they’re good now.” it’s not what they thought it would be.

The half-dozen Georgians on the roster prove that Minnesota’s staff isn’t “Coming up here with the Twin Cities and all the stuff there is to offer caught up in star-gazing when it comes to the recruiting rankings. Accordoutside of the University of Minnesota, that’s the biggest selling point for ing to one service, five of the six were two-star recruits coming out of high them. There’s the life after football and they see that big picture. … The school, the lowest rating the service assigns to recruits ranked on its fivenumber one thing we hear from people all the time when they leave here, star scale. The staff’s trust in their eyes, both on film and in live evaluathey say ‘Coach, I had no idea it was like this up here.’” tions, is the lone reason most of these young men are Gophers today.

MAY 2016 / SKI-U-MAH / 35

student-athlete development update

GOPHERS, SCHWAN JOIN TOGETHER FOR W.I.L.L. PROGRAM

STORY BY RACHEL TIMMERMAN

The Schwan Food Company is more than the food company with a fleet of yellow

mentoring through the W.I.L.L. program.

delivery trucks. The organization has subsidiaries that offers branded foods in

Fleischhacker Quigley, a former Gopher captain and letter winner for the

grocery stores, restaurants, convenience stores and just about everywhere peo-

women's cross-country and track team, can feel good about giving back to a

ple eat.

community to which she once belonged.

The company and the Schwan's Corporate Giving Foundation also have ded-

"It's definitely extra special for me because I am a former student-athlete,"

icated time and money to various resources at the University of Minnesota, in-

Fleischhacker Quigley said. "But, I know all the women [from Schwan] involved

cluding undergraduate and graduate scholarships for students in the College of

like coming back and paying it forward to other women who are trying to break

Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences, and sponsorship of the nutri-

into the industry. Women are the ones who tend to want to get involved in ac-

tion center in the Center for Excellence within the Athletes Village.

tivities like this, so to be resources for other women is awesome."

Recently, Schwan decided to sponsor Women Invested in Leadership and

Fleischhacker Quigley has another unique tie to Gopher Athletics -- she was

Learning (W.I.L.L.), a program for the women's soccer, cross-country, and gym-

current women's cross-country head coach Sarah Hopkins' former college room-

nastics programs. The student-athlete development initiative aims to foster em-

mate and teammate.

powerment and the education of young women through a heightened sense of

of her student-athletes. She's excited to see that her athletes are involved and

self for personal and professional excellence.

W.I.L.L. conducts monthly events, ranging from etiquette dinners to Gallup Strength Finder sessions, all to help student-athletes develop leadership and

that she trusts the person that they're sitting with."

Haley Helverson, senior defender on the soccer team, has already taken countless pieces of advice away from the W.I.L.L. program.

brand management skills.

The program also allows for Schwan to build visibility on campus.

"We have the opportunity to get to know potential candidates on a more intimate level, and help them get to know Schwan," said Melissa Vit, who oversees

"It's everything that you wished you would have learned before coming to college," Helverson said.

One of her favorite W.I.L.L. programs was learning how to dress appropriately for interviews.

college recruiting at the Schwan Food Company.

Vit has represented Schwan at every W.I.L.L. event.

"I was really fortunate to take the Strengths Leadership training I do at Schwan and bring it to the W.I.L.L. platform," Vit said. "I'm so passionate about championing young talent so, for me, W.I.L.L is a top priority and something I want to continue to sustain. I think it's really important for the same students to see the same faces, to showcase our dedication to the organization and the

"There are so many little things that go into a woman's outfit, and learning how to put it all together to make it professional but also the right look for your body type was very interesting," Helverson said.

As for what W.I.L.L. can provide her with in the future, Helverson is looking at the big picture.

"I hope that it gives us all the opportunity to get an internship or job in a field that we are excited about," Helverson said. "That way we can apply the

cause."

Former Gopher athlete and current Schwan employee Tracy Fleischhacker Quigley, who manages the nationally known Red Baron pizza brand, also enjoys ÂŽ

36 / SKI-U-MAH / MAY 2016

"We're still super good friends," Fleischhacker Quigley said. "I've had several

skills we have acquired in W.I.L.L. and put them to good use!"

University of Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletics held the 10th-annual Golden Goldys, a student-athlete awards gala, at TCF Bank Stadium on Monday, May 2. This year's Golden Goldys was held in conjunction with the scholar-athlete banquet. The event, similar to ESPN's ESPYS, featured the U of M student-athletes in formal attire, walking down the 'maroon' carpet.

During the ceremony, the athletics department recognized studentathletes and their athletic accomplishments throughout the season.

Awards were handed out, including the male and female athlete of the year, the male and female rookie of the year, male and female breakthrough performances, men's team coach of the year and women's team coach of the year. The voting included spring sports of 2015 (baseball, men's and women's golf, rowing, softball, men's and women's outdoor track & field and men's and women's tennis) and the fall and winter sports of the 2015-16 athletic year. Along with the athletic accomplishments, the department also honored and recognized the academic achievements of the department's 750 student-athletes.

Female Athlete of the Year: Rachel Banham, Basketball

Temi Ogunrinde accepts the Female Team Community Service Award on behalf of the Women’s Track & Field/Cross Country teams.

Male Athlete of the Year: Luca Wieland, Track & Field Female Rookie of the Year: Samantha Seliger-Swenson, Volleyball Male Rookie of the Year: Justin Karstadt, Gymnastics Female Breakthrough Athlete of the Year: Sam Macken, Softball Male Breakthrough Athlete of the Year: KJ Maye, Football Men’s Team Coach of the Year: Mike Burns, Gymnastics Women’s Team Coach of the Year: Hugh McCutcheon, Volleyball Women’s Team of the Year: Hockey Men’s Team of the Year: Tennis Female Team Community Service Award: Cross Country/Track & Field Male Team Community Service Award: Swimming & Diving Teammate of the Year: Bob Swoverland, Printing Consultant

ACADEMIC / LEADERSHIP AWARDS Outstanding Achievement Award in Leadership and Service:

Lee Stecklein and Anna Barlow speak on behalf of the Women’s Team of the Year recipient, women’s hockey.

Julia Courter, Women’s Tennis Ben Bravence, Men’s Swimming & Diving Gladys Brooks and Norman Borlaug Commitment to Academic Excellence Award: Women’s Track & Field, Baseball Richard “Pinky” McNamara Student-Athlete Achievement Award: Gaelin Elmore, Football Amanda Kessel, Women’s Hockey Outstanding Student-Athlete Achievement Award: Jon Christenson, Football Lindsay Mable, Women’s Gymnastics MAY 2016 / SKI-U-MAH / 37

A GOPHER

FOR LIFE

38 / SKI-U-MAH / MAY 2016

His athletic talents and business career have taken Charlie Nelson all around the country, but he’s never forgotten the people who helped him along the way.

BY JAKE RICKER

Loyalty defines Charlie Nelson in many ways.

He’s loyal to his hometown, to his alma mater and to those who have helped him through life. That feeling, a sense of responsibility

to support the people who have supported him, has shaped Nelson as a businessman and as a donor to Gopher Athletics.

Nelson grew up in Perham, a typical westcentral Minnesota town almost exactly halfway between Minneapolis and Grand Forks. A decade before he was born his father, Kenny, returned to Perham after finishing his business degree at Notre Dame. Back in his hometown, Kenny partnered with his father, Darrell (Nelson’s grandfather), to grow Pine Lakes Feed, Darrell’s feed company. That growth came quickly as the business became Tuffy’s Pet Food Company. Shortly after Nelson was born, his family opened Barrel O’Fun snack foods, later adding Kenny’s Candy in the 1980s before forming KLN Enterprises – now KLN Family Brands – as an umbrella company to house all these different entities. Today, Nelson is the third-generation leader of the Perham institution, serving as the company’s president.

“I’m reminded weekly, if not daily, of the things my grandfather and father did before me,” said Nelson. “When I made my decision 15 years ago to get involved with the family business, I was anxious and excited about it.”

At that time, Nelson was almost always on the road somewhere, working in sales for another company. Coming home to Perham would be a big change of pace for someone who had spent most of his adult life traveling, whether as a minor league baseball player with the Dodgers organization or as a salesman. His excitement to contribute to the family business outweighed the anxiety that can come with a change like that. As Nelson says, it felt like the right time.

“It was a big deal moving back to this community. It’s always been home,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of pride in this community so to be able to come back… I couldn’t imagine raising a family elsewhere.”

For a young man who had the aspiration – and the ability – to play professional baseball, raising his family outside of Perham was a likely reality for Nelson earlier in his adult life.

After honing his skills on the town balls fields throughout rural Minnesota and emerging as a four-sport standout at Perham High School, he was faced with a critical decision when college recruiters came calling. Nelson held offers to play baseball at schools of all sizes, including larger schools like the University of Minnesota. Many smaller schools, like Concordia College in Moorhead, also offered the opportunity to play football, along with baseball. His dreams of big league ball eventually guided him to the Twin Cities.

“I’m reminded weekly, if not daily, of the things my grandfather and father did before me. When I made my decision 15 years ago to get involved with the family business, I was anxious and excited about it.”

“It came down to realizing that I had a dream of playing professional sports and felt like my opportunity was in baseball,” recalled Nelson. “I thought (playing at Minnesota) gave me the best opportunity to play after college.”

His performance at the Big Ten level established him as a viable major league prospect.

To this day, Nelson’s name is sprinkled throughout Minnesota’s record book. His 93 career stolen bases are still the most-ever by a Gopher, while his 156 career walks and 224 career runs both rank second. In total, the two-time All-Big Ten performer is among the program’s 10 best in seven career record categories.

Those numbers provide a quantifiable reflection on his success as a Gopher. It’s a more qualitative reflection on his Minnesota experience that remains with Nelson to this day.

“I was very, very fortunate to play for John Anderson,” he said, a chorus he reiterates fre-

quently when talking about his years at the U of M. “I don’t know if I would have made it that first year or two without John Anderson being there for me through some ups and downs,” Nelson said. “You’re obviously a little nervous going from a town of 2,000 people to a campus the size of Minnesota. You’re trying to fit in academically. You’re trying to see if you can compete athletically.

“John was there for me when I had very little to offer the program. This wasn’t a case where I was a senior captain or anything like that. I was a freshman working through struggle. For him to be there for me … as I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized how impressive that was.”

That relationship with Anderson – the man Nelson feels is “a very good coach [but] a better person” – has continued for more than 20 years since Nelson graduated from the University and went on to play minor league baseball for six years. It’s been a guiding influence for Nelson and his decision to donate to his alma mater.

“It was an easy decision to get involved with the University,” said Nelson, though the phrase getting involved may be a bit of Minnesota modesty. He has owned season tickets to both football and baseball, as well as supporting the baseball booster group, the Dugout Club. For many years, he helped facilitate an annual fundraiser for the department on a Perham golf course. More than that, Nelson has made significant contributions to major projects that are reshaping the athletics department. This started with his father and him making a gift through KLN to the construction of the new Siebert Field, which opened for the 2014 season on the site of the badly outdated original stadium. Building the playing facility was only the first phase in addressing the facilities needs for the baseball program. Earlier this year, a new indoor facility began to rise on the stadium’s western side. Nelson was among the first in line to support his former coach and team financially to get this training space built.

Despite all this, Nelson feels there will be more he can do in the future, and he’s ready for that.

“I absolutely loved my experience at Minnesota,” said Nelson, reinforcing one of the reasons he gives back to the athletics department.

“We look forward to doing more going forward.”

MAY 2016 / SKI-U-MAH / 39

CREATING BIG DEALS

FOR SMALLER BUSINESSES

Gopher Athletics’ Business Elite Package offers organizations of all sizes opportunities to enjoy all 25 Gopher programs and the campus’ beautiful athletic venues.

by JAKE RICKER

That need led to the creation of the Business Elite Package, a product that combines tickets to games, use of event spaces in U of M facilities, and access to exclusive athletics-sponsored events.

“We wanted to look at a cost-effective way for these businesses to engage with Gopher Athletics while addressing some of their goals around creating value for their employees, customers and prospects,” said Holck.

With an alumni base north of 400,000, there are plenty of Gopher graduates working with and working for Minnesota businesses, something not lost on Holck. universities.

“This isn’t a corporate “A lot of those people are graduates of the U or are conWhile the dense population of Fortune 500 companies sponsorship or an advertis- nected to what the Gophers are doing, so it’s a natural relathroughout the state often receives the greatest public focus, Minnesota and the Twin Cities are home to a large ing package, and it’s not tionship.”

The Business Elite Package sets up partners with a set of contingent of small- and medium-sized businesses. Accordjust owning season tickets outdoor club season tickets for Gopher football, group ticket ing to Brent Holck, who runs the Gopher Sales and Service in our stadiums. It’s an packages for football, men’s basketball or hockey and the unit within Gopher Athletics, this was an area of the busiinclusive package that can ability to offer 20 percent off single game tickets to all home ness community that was underserved by the department in previous years. meet the diverse needs of Gopher events, all of which are time-tested business standards for rewarding employees or hosting clients.

“We weren’t doing a great job of providing small- and many different businesses.”

Partners also receive access to areas beyond the bleachmid-sized business with an option to engage directly with ers in TCF Bank Stadium and Williams Arena, as well as MarGopher Athletics in a way that supported their needs for iucci Arena. Suites and club rooms in all three facilities are available for employee perks and customer stewardship,” said Holck. “We needed to create corporate events, such as board meetings, providing a central location and something that fit their needs and do it in a way that was affordable and realistic beautiful setting for participating companies. for companies this size.”

T

he University of Minnesota is situated in one of the more unique atmospheres of any Power Five conference institution. While many of its peers rest in sleepy college towns, the modern skyline of Minneapolis dominates the horizon line looking west from the heart of the U of M campus and St. Paul’s sits just a few miles to the east. The Twin Cities – and the thriving business community is supports – create opportunities for Gopher Athletics that don’t exist at most comparable

PHOTO BY JIM ROSVOLD

40 / SKI-U-MAH / MAY 2016

BUSINESS ELITE PACKAGES MAROON PACKAGE • 2 Outdoor Club Season Tickets • $2,000 value in additional tickets to a football, men’s basketball, men’s hockey or women’s basketball game to entertain clients or employees • Host one event in President’s Suite or M Club Room at TCF Bank Stadium, Williams Arena Club Room or Mariucci Arena Club Room • Olympic Sports Pass • 20% off all Gopher tickets and event rentals • Annual subscription to Ski-U-Mah magazine

GOLD PACKAGE • 4 Outdoor Club Season Tickets • $4,000 value in additional tickets to a football, men’s basketball, men’s hockey or women’s basketball game to entertain clients or employees • Host two events in President’s Suite or M Club Room at TCF Bank Stadium, Williams Arena Club Room or Mariucci Arena Club Room or host one event in Indoor Club Room at TCF Bank Stadium • 4 pre-game field credentials for a football game • 1 football premium parking pass • Olympic Sports Pass

“This isn’t a corporate sponsorship or an advertising package, and it’s not just owning season tickets in our stadiums,” Holck added. “It’s an inclusive package that can meet the diverse needs of many different businesses.”

Unlike almost any other Power Five school, the U of M has teams from virtually every major professional league – NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, WNBA, MLS and more – in its backyard. Each of those organizations has just one team though, while Minnesota has 25. The Business Elite Package, by also including an Olympic Sports Pass for free admission to all of Minnesota’s Olympic sports competitions, welcomes partners to enjoy that variety of sports.

“Having the number of pro teams we have in the Twin Cities is a huge plus for everyone who lives and works here, but we are very different than the local professional teams from what we represent. We have a different message.” said Holck. “We offer diverse sports that they can’t offer. Whether you love football, volleyball or wrestling, we can give that to you.”

Companies with interest in discussing their options of partnering with Gopher Athletics can contact Gopher Sales and Service to get more information. As Holck points out, the ultimate goal is to create something that suits every business.

“We are the state’s flagship university. We value all types of businesses and want to strategically create products or programs where any of them can engage with us.”

• 20% off all Gopher tickets and event rentals • Annual subscription to Ski-U-Mah magazine

Raising Banners

Gopher men’s hockey won the Big Ten regular season title.

Minnesota has won five straight conference regular season titles. It marked a new school record and matches an NCAA record (Boston University [Hockey East], 1994-98) PHOTO BY JIM ROSVOLD

MAY 2016 / SKI-U-MAH / 41

oof Mapleewood Because it REA B ALLY matters w where you buyy your next carr.

New 2015 Merrcedes-Benz

G GLA250 4 4MATIC®

$ Sttarting

33,300

10 Minutes from Downtown St. Paul P | Personalized P d Service | Mercedees-Benz Quality 277880 M Maappllew ew wooood D w Drriv ivvee, M Maappllew ew wooooodd, M MN A Prouud Member of the pph hoon nee: 66511--44483 833-226681 mercedesbenzofmaplew ewood.com

We lo ove a go ood hottddish.

We e can also get you member m discounts on pierogies i i and d more!!

Discover all the benefits of membership.

P R O UD S P O N S O R O F G OP O HE R AT HL E TI C S

AAA is T Th here , W Wh h e r e v e r Li f e T Ta a k e s YYo ou.

MEMBERSHIP

AAA .co om

|

T R AV E L

|

INSUR ANCE

|

DISC OUNTS

|

AU TO M OT I V E

Welcome Home

As this issue of Ski-U-Mah was going to print, University of Minnesota President Eric Kaler named Mark Coyle as our new Athletics Director. Coyle, who served as Associate Athletic Director for External Relations at the U of M from 2001-05, comes to the Gophers from Syracuse University where he served as Athletics Director. Coyle was previously the Athletics Director at Boise State University after serving as deputy athletics director at the University of Kentucky.

PHOTOS BY ERIC MILLER

44 / SKI-U-MAH / MAY 2016

At Car C e y Min Mi neapolis li / St. t Pau P l,l our u mis i sion i is i to provid id de the h highes hi h t l evell of customer servic i e in the ch aufffeured transportation n industry by utilizing g superior equipmentt and skill ed team members to deliver flawl ess, se eaml ess service.

CALL US AT T: 612-623-0565 5 800-233-90 800 233 9029 9 Reservations at: reservations@ @care ympls.com

Proud u Partner of Gopher Athl etics