FALL
the
2017
official
/
ISSUE
magazine
of
15
/
VOL .
Gopher
IV
Athletics
1 / S K I - U - M A H / F A L L 2 017
TA B L E O F 5 ZOE AVESTRUZ
6 TYLER SHEEHY
SAMANTHA SELIGER-SWENSON
12 CAITLIN REILLY
7
13 GLEN HAROLD
8 ALAN LEBLANG
14 RODNEY SMITH
CONNER McHUGH
CIARA GARDNER
20 FELIX CORWIN
2 / S K I - U - M A H / F A L L 2 017
EMERALD EGWIM
15
S K I - U - M A H
19
9
CATRINA THOMPSON
16 AMBER FISER
11 NATE MASON
17 RICHARD PITINO
18 LAURA KASEY
M A G A Z I N E
21 KEHINDE & TAIYE BELLO
10
22 KOSTYA KOLESNIKOV
23 TEMI OGUNRINDE
24 SARAH HOPKINS
CONTENTS 25 OBSA ALI
26 BRETT SCHULZE
32 RYLIE WARGO
39
SARA JOHNSON
33 RILEY JOHNSON
T H E
27
F A C E S
MEHVISH SAFDAR
34 HEATHER CISKOWSKI
O F
28
35 MADELINE STRANDEMO
G O P H E R
29 LUKE BECKER
30 TOMMY THORN
36 JUSTIN KARSTADT
31 NIKKI ALBRECHT
37 MICHELE REDMAN
A T H L E T I C S
38 DAN NICHOL
I S S U E
P R E S E N T E D
B Y
GOLDY GOPHER
3 / S K I - U - M A H / F A L L 2 017
LEADING OFF P
erhaps the strongest aspect of Ski-U-Mah and the one that hopefully makes our readers pick up an issue multiple times is the incredible photography. For this issue, we decided to depart from our usual format of several in-depth feature stories and important news items to put a different twist on telling the story of Gopher Athletics. We published a similar issue in the Fall of 2014 and received tremendous positive feedback. It was time to bring it back. In this issue, we photographed at least one student-athlete from each of our teams, nine head or assistant coaches and our famous mascot to allow you a chance to get to know a little bit more about each of them. Some of the individuals we chose are easily identifiable, while others may be new to the Gopher community or not as well-known. One of the primary goals of this publication has been to tell the hidden and sometimes behind-the-scenes stories of our Athletics Department. We hope you enjoy the stories we share in this issue. The task of assembling this issue of Ski-U-Mah was a labor of love. We are blessed to have wonderfully talented staff photographers in Eric Miller and Courtney Anderson. We completed 35 different photo shoots, in locations all over campus and beyond, in the span of about six weeks. We shot more than 10,000 frames. These photo shoots kicked off with volleyball All-American Samantha Seliger-Swenson at picturesque Wal-
Issue
ter Library on July 6. The list of photo shoots culminated with All-American track star Emerald Egwim on August 23 after she returned from the World Track and Field Championships. One of the truly awesome and unique aspects of collegiate athletics is the constant variety. Sports change with the seasons. Watching a gymnastics or swimming meet is a very different experience than taking in a football game. We have student-athletes who traveled thousands of miles to attend the U of M, while many are from just a few minutes away. In collegiate athletics, there is always something new and different on which to focus. Putting together this issue of Ski-U-Mah has captured that. It was so much fun meeting each of the student-athletes and watching them react to having a professional portrait session done, many for the first time. The same went for the shoots with our coaches, many of whom are not just co-workers, but good friends. We hope you enjoy “The Faces of Gopher Athletics.� Thank you for your continued support of our student-athletes and coaches!
Jeff Keiser Assistant Athletics Director for Creative Services
15
DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS Mark Coyle DEPUTY ATHLETICS DIRECTOR John Cunningham EDITOR-IN-CHIEF / ASSISTANT ATHLETICS DIRECTOR FOR CREATIVE SERVICES Jeff Keiser DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS / WRITER Jake Ricker DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY Eric Miller CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER Courtney Anderson 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.
4 / S K I - U - M A H / F A L L 2 017
ZOE AVESTRUZ women’s swimming | junior There's a rhythm to the every stroke in swimming. Three-time All-American Zoe Avestruz understands those rhythms, particularly in freestyle and the backstroke, the strokes she has swam for the Gophers the past two years. She knows those rhythms and keeps those rhythms in the pool. Outside the water, she’s mastered the rhythms and techniques of several instruments. Whether she is picking out notes on guitar strings, pounding out chords on the piano, or logging endless lapse to shave another split-second off her splits, Avestruz has always had the right rhythm. p h o t o by E r i c M i l l e r • l o c a t i o n : Va n C l e v e Pa r k
5 / S K I - U - M A H / F A L L 2 017
TYLER SHEEHY men’s hockey | junior In any era of Gopher men’s hockey, accomplishing something no one else has in more than a decade is extraordinary. Last season, Tyler Sheehy did that by recording 53 points, the most by a Gopher in 11 years. The list of Minnesota natives to shine in the Block M sweater is expansive and always-growing. Sheehy is the latest addition to that register. Originally from Burnsville, Minn., just a short drive south of campus, Sheehy racked up a series of accolades recognizing his extraordinary sophomore season, including First Team All-America, Big Ten Player of the Year, and being named a Hobey Baker Award finalist. As a junior, he'll join another extraordinary list, Minnesotans to wear the "C" as the team's captain. photo by Eric Miller • location: 3M Arena at Mariucci
6 / S K I - U - M A H / F A L L 2 017
SAMANTHA SELIGER-SWENSON volleyball | junior Gopher Volleyball has been a premier program since before Samantha Seliger-Swenson was born. Her fate to be a part of that tradition also seemed to be set by birth. The daughter of a high school volleyball coach in Hopkins, Minn., just west of Minneapolis, Seliger-Swenson was destined to be a great volleyball player, and her long-standing love for the University made her a natural fit as a Gopher. After a lifetime building toward a seemingly inevitable Gopher debut, Seliger-Swenson did not disappoint, earning Big Ten Setter of the Year honors last season as a sophomore and her second All-America accolade. p h o t o by E r i c M i l l e r • l o c a t i o n : Wa l t e r L i b r a r y 7 / S K I - U - M A H / F A L L 2 017
ALAN LEBLANG men’s swimming & diving | junior The first time Alan LeBlang ever peered over the 10-meter platform and dove into the water more than 33 feet below was at the Jean K. Freeman Aquatics Center on the University of Minnesota campus. It takes a different kind of athlete to ignore the part of the brain that insists jumping from that height is a bad idea, and embrace the challenge and thrill of high diving. Needless to say, LeBlang is different. A supply chain and operations management major – something that also makes him different from almost all other Gopher student-athletes – LeBlang will fearlessly dive into the professional world after two more seasons diving at Minnesota. photo by Eric Miller • location: Jean K. Freeman Aquatics Center
8 / S K I - U - M A H / F A L L 2 017
EMERALD EGWIM women’s track & field | senior Each step has brought Emerald Egwim closer to her goals. First, it was walking on to the University of Minnesota track & field team. Then it was running on an All-American relay team as a freshman. Last year, as a junior, she took another step by becoming an All-American as an individual in the 400 meters. Then, last summer, another step when she ran at the World Championships on the Nigerian 4x400-meter relay team. Her biggest steps still lie ahead. She will graduate and then either accept a professional position grown out of a college internship, or train in the hopes of running down a spot in the 2020 Olympics. photo by Courtney Anderson • location: Coffman Memorial Union
9 / S K I - U - M A H / F A L L 2 017
CATRINA THOMPSON women’s tennis | head coach Freshmen living on the University of Minnesota campus often find themselves crossing one of a collection of bridges to get to class, whether it’s a bobbing suspension bridge over railroad tracks in Dinkytown or the iconic Washington Avenue Bridge crossing the Mississippi River. Though she spent her freshman season – and entire collegiate career – racking up a program-record 104 double victories at Notre Dame, Catrina Thompson is a freshman of sorts this year, her first at Minnesota. She’s also a freshman head coach, taking the reins of the Gopher program after spending seven years building her resume and collecting accolades as one of the fastest rising assistant coaching talents in the nation. photo by Courtney Anderson • location: Minneapolis
10 / S K I - U - M A H / F A L L 2 017
NATE MASON men’s basketball | senior Moving away from home and settling into the bustling urban campus of the University of Minnesota can be a large transition for some student-athletes. That could have been the case with Nate Mason, who came to Minneapolis from Decatur, Ga. but the transition to life in the Twin Cities was never too big for him. Nor was the transition to Big Ten basketball. He has emerged as an All-Big Ten point guard with a certain flair on the floor. He also brings a certain flair outside the lines, where his unique personal style makes him a seamless fit under the lights of downtown Minneapolis. photo by Eric Miller • location: Hennepin Avenue, Minneapolis
11 / S K I - U - M A H / F A L L 2 0 1 7
C A I T L I N R E I L LY women’s hockey | senior Minnesota is home to hosts of prodigious hockey families. Surnames known from Austin to Warroad stretch across the history of the high school, collegiate and professional ranks in the state of hockey. The Reilly family, well into its second generation of producing talented Gophers, has a claim to be remembered among those names. Senior forward Caitlin Reilly is the first Reilly to play on the Gopher women's team; however, she's actually the fifth Reilly to wear the Maroon and Gold. Her father, Mike, played for the Gophers and her three older brothers – Ryan, Connor and Mike – played for the men’s program as well. photo by Eric Miller • location: Ridder Arena
12 / S K I - U - M A H / F A L L 2 017
GLEN HAROLD men’s track & field | senior Not everyone can pole vault. Glen Harold certainly can, having cleared bars hanging more than 17 feet off the ground during his career at Minnesota and finishing as high as third at the Big Ten Championships. Not everyone can build computers. Harold can do that as well. A personal passion of sorts, Harold’s current home computer is one born of his own hands, assembled from components he selected, fashioned specifically to what he needs. Not everyone can do all this while holding a 3.0-plus GPA in the Carlson school, majoring in Management Information Systems, but Harold does that, too. photo by Eric Miller • location: Bierman Field Athletic Building 13 / S K I - U - M A H / F A L L 2 017
RODNEY SMITH football | junior After piling up more than 2,000 yards rushing during his time at tailback for the Gophers, including a team-high 1,158 and 16 touchdowns last season, it’s hard to imagine Rodney Smith would want to change much of anything. Though his running style was working perfectly, he changed up his personal style and dropped the dreadlocks he had worn throughout his sophomore season. After a year without a haircut, Smith now stops by a local barbershop with the same discipline he shows on the field, sitting down every two weeks to keep his hair looking as a tight as his signature spin move. photo by Eric Miller • location: World Class Barbers, Minneapolis
14 / S K I - U - M A H / F A L L 2 017
CIARA GARDNER women’s gymnastics | senior The daily routine of a collegiate gymnast is one that doesn’t offer a lot of down time. Ciara Gardner, a Texas-born senior who often posts scores on the beam and floor almost as big as her home state, lives that life. She has since she was barely old enough to go to school, excelling in a sport where athletes often begin tumbling as soon they can walk without stumbling. As Gardner grew into gymnastics, she also grew into roller skates, a favorite pastime she indulges when she has those rare, free moments; one that still demands the balance and grace she shows every time on the competition floor. photo by Eric Miller • location: Stone Arch Bridge, Minneapolis
15 / S K I - U - M A H / F A L L 2 017
AMBER FISER softball | sophomore Becoming a successful softball pitcher in the Big Ten requires discipline, precision, commitment and impeccable technique. Amber Fiser is certainly that by almost any definition, coming off a freshman year where she was a perfect 14-0 and a key piece to one of the nation’s toughest pitching staffs. Those same traits that help her toss aside hitters also helped her toss aside opponents as she practiced Taekwondo for much of her life. As a martial artist, Fiser is also an exceptional talent, earning the rank of first-degree black belt. While her fastball is intimidating enough, the black belt certainly doesn’t hurt. photo by Eric Miller 16 / S K I - U - M A H / F A L L 2 017
• location: Jane Sage Cowles Stadium
RICHARD PITINO men’s basketball | head coach Changing hats from Big Ten Coach of the Year to Father of the Year isn’t easy, but it’s something Richard Pitino does on a daily basis. Still one of the youngest head coaches in Division I basketball despite five years leading college programs, Pitino manages a daily routine familiar to most 30-something professionals, one that tries to balance work with a family that includes three young kids. These relatable challenges play out on a highly public stage, of course, one in which performance is front page news. Last year, it was all good news. Pitino welcomed his youngest daughter and the Gophers put together one of the best seasons in program history. photo by Courtney Anderson • location: Edina 17 / S K I - U - M A H / F A L L 2 017
LAURA KASEY volleyball | assistant coach Every college coach understands the challenge of trying to unify young student-athletes from diverse backgrounds and perspectives and mold them into a cohesive team. Laura Kasey has been doing that on college volleyball coaching staffs for the past 12 years, including the last three at Minnesota. Bringing together a team requires fostering trust and communication, but it’s not required that a team function like a family. And at least they’re all human beings. That’s not true of the other group Kasey is responsible for keeping together – an eclectic collection of household pets that includes dogs, cats and a pet turtle. photo by Courtney Anderson • location: South Minneapolis 18 / S K I - U - M A H / F A L L 2 017
CONNER McHUGH men’s swimming | senior There are few places that hold as much fresh water as the Land of 10,000 Lakes, but senior swimmer Conner McHugh is no stranger to lake-laden terrain. McHugh grew up in Door County, Wisconsin, an area known for its stunning natural aesthetics and its expansive shorelines along the Great Lakes. Against this backdrop, McHugh learned to swim at his parents’ request not necessarily for recreation, but for safety. Those early lessons kept his head above water long enough to ultimately develop into a national-level collegiate swimmer. McHugh has twice qualified for the NCAA Championships in the breaststroke while also earning multiple Academic All-Big Ten recognitions. photo by Courtney Anderson • location: Lake Nokomis, Minneapolis 19 / S K I - U - M A H / F A L L 2 017
FELIX CORWIN men’s tennis | senior It didn’t take long after arriving in the biggest and busiest city in the Upper Midwest for Felix Corwin to make an impression. Less than a year after coming to the University of Minnesota from Elm Grove, a sleepy but picturesque Milwaukee suburb, Corwin stood as tall as the Minneapolis skyline on April 19, 2015 when his three-set, tiebreaker singles victory clinched the Gophers’ first Big Ten title since 1995. That win as a true freshman is one of Corwin’s 62 singles victories, to go along with 58 doubles wins in a career where the senior has won more than two-thirds of his matches. photo by Courtney Anderson
2 0 / S K I - U - M A H / F A L L 2 017
• location: Aquatennial Court, Downtown Minneapolis
TAIYE & KEHINDE BELLO women’s basketball | sophomores Every women’s basketball coach in America is looking for six-foot, two-inch forwards who can score, rebound or play defense. Finding one is great, but finding two is always better. The Gophers found that in Taiye and Kehinde Bello, twin towers – and twin sisters – from Michigan who are preparing for their sophomore seasons for the Maroon and Gold. It’s fitting that the pair ended up at Minnesota. With part of its flagship campus in Minneapolis and the rest a few miles east in St. Paul, the Bellos go to a school known, of course, as the Twin Cities campus of the University of Minnesota system, an aptly named collegiate home for the sisters. photo by Eric Miller • location: Bierman Field Athletic Building
21 / S K I - U - M A H / F A L L 2 017
KOSTYA KOLESNIKOV men’s gymnastics | assistant coach While the move from the former Soviet Union to the United States came with a fair amount of culture shock, gymnastics was universal for Kostya Kolesnikov. His abilities as a gymnast and, for the past two decades as a coach, have opened up opportunities around the globe, including the chance to compete for the Soviet national team from 1991 to 1995. Entering his 12th season as an assistant coach for the Gopher men’s team, Kolesnikov’s passion for the sport doesn’t stop when practice is over at Cooke Hall. Kolesnikov is the proud patriarch of a family of gymnasts, including his wife, Stefny, and his two children Nikolai and Meela. p h o t o by C o u r t n ey A n d e r s o n • l o c a t i o n : Me d i c i n e La ke Pa r k , P l y m o u t h
2 2 / S K I - U - M A H / F A L L 2 017
TEMI OGUNRINDE women’s track & field | junior When she walked on to the Gopher Track & Field team, Temi Ogunrinde was a sprinter. She had always been a sprinter and wanted to keep sprinting. Her coaches saw a different path, sending Ogunrinde off the track and into the throwing events, believing her future was in the hammer throw. Reluctant at first, Ogunrinde embraced an entirely new event and a completely new training model, and she’s been rewarded. Her hard work transformed her into a Big Ten champion and NCAA qualifier in just two years – a rise that seemed to happen even faster than the sprint events Ogunrinde once ran. photo by Courtney Anderson • location: Carlson School of Management
2 3 / S K I - U - M A H / F A L L 2 017
SARAH HOPKINS women’s cross country | head coach The transition from athlete to coach isn’t always a smooth one, but Sarah Hopkins hasn’t had much trouble taking on the role of cultivating future Gopher stars. A two-time cross country captain during her running career at Minnesota, the Minneapolis native is in her 13th season coaching Gopher women’s cross country, her fifth leading the program. During that time, she’s helped coach 36 all-conference and 31 NCAA-qualifying distance runners. At home, Hopkins is also cultivating a future Gopher, where she spends most of her time along with her husband, Chris (a youth basketball coach), trying to keep up with their young son, Jack. photo by Courtney Anderson • location: Roseville 2 4 / S K I - U - M A H / F A L L 2 017
OBSA ALI men’s cross country, track | junior Without a doubt, Obsa Ali has already run thousands of miles in his life. A seven-time Minnesota state cross country and track and field medalist and 2014 Minnesota state cross country champion in high school, Ali has been racking up mileage in long training runs and competitive races since he was just a kid. All that running led him to a destination that was just 10 miles from his hometown of Richfield, Minn., the U of M campus. From the heart of Minneapolis’ oldest neighborhoods, Ali’s passion and abilities as a runner have taken him to conference and national recognition as an All-Big Ten honoree, an All-American and a two-time NCAA All-Region performer. photo by Eric Miller • location: Minneapolis Sculpture Garden 2 5 / S K I - U - M A H / F A L L 2 017
BRETT SCHULZE baseball | sophomore Sophomore pitcher Brett Schulze wants to be a baseball coach one day and there’s no reason to think he won’t be. It may seem like a distant goal today, but he’s shown that he can cover those distances. As a high school player in Maple Grove, Minn., just northwest of Minneapolis, Schulze built a foundation of all-conference seasons before emerging as an all-state player his senior year. That caught the attention of Gopher coaches and earned him a scholarship offer from Minnesota. Though it seemed unlikely just two years ago, he’s now at the University of Minnesota, where he is learning how to build quality ballplayers and a strong program from one of the sport’s legendary coaches. photo by Courtney Anderson • location: Siebert Field 2 6 / S K I - U - M A H / F A L L 2 017
SARA JOHNSON soccer | director of operations The journey for Sara Johnson came full circle from her freshman season of college soccer to this fall, when she returned to the pitch on which she once competed as the Gopher Soccer program’s director of operations. After making Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium her home for four years, Johnson graduated in 2008 and went on to coach local youth clubs before soccer brought her to Bloomington, Ind., where she spent two years as the director of operations at Indiana. She’s always thinking about those two key stops in her journey, accompanied by her two best friends, pups appropriately named Minny and Indy. photo by Eric Miller • location: Sunset Ridge, Maplewood
2 7 / S K I - U - M A H / F A L L 2 017
MEHVISH SAFDAR women’s tennis | senior For Minnesota-born Gophers, getting involved in the local community is a natural fit. They’re giving back to the people and places that helped them become Big Ten student-athletes. While that’s always commendable, it’s extraordinary to see out-of-state student-athletes working just as hard to make Minnesota a better place. Mehvish Safdar is the perfect example. The Ohio native can be a strong presence on the tennis court, but she’s been a constant presence in the community. She has volunteered numerous hours with multiple (mostly youthfocused) organizations and local elementary schools. Safdar has also shared her expertise as a tennis player with InnerCity Tennis, helping urban youth fall in love with her favorite sport. photo by Eric Miller • location: East Bank campus
2 8 / S K I - U - M A H / F A L L 2 017
LUKE BECKER wrestling | head assistant coach For the past 30 years, Luke Becker has lived the wrestling lifestyle. It’s one that helped him become Minnesota’s all-time winningest high school wrestler, and one of Gopher Wrestling’s first four-time All-Americans to also win a national title. That wrestling lifestyle involves tremendous discipline and a great deal of routine. For many wrestlers, part of that routine is hitting the sauna, a cornerstone of many offseason training regiments. After workouts or early in the morning it is not uncommon to find Becker, now the head assistant coach at his alma mater, emerging from the sauna’s heat. photo by Eric Miller • location: Gibson-Nagurski Building
2 9 / S K I - U - M A H / F A L L 2 017
TOMMY THORN wrestling | junior Generations of Gopher wrestlers have endured training sessions running up and down the stairs that slice up the steep Mississippi River bluffs on the edge of the U of M campus. No one understands that tradition better than Tommy Thorn. He became the 95th different All-American in program history last spring, and third Thorn on that list. While 10 brother combinations have been All-Americans in Gopher Wrestling history, the Thorns are now the first trio of brothers to all reach the NCAA podium, with Tommy joining older brothers Mike and David in leaving the Thorn family’s mark on the program. p h o t o by E r i c M i l l e r • l o c a t i o n : E as t R i v e r F l a t s Pa r k 3 0 / S K I - U - M A H / F A L L 2 017
NIKKI ALBRECHT soccer | sophomore The jump from high school to college – academically, athletically and socially – is significant. You wouldn’t know Nikki Albrecht felt any strain in that transition based on her performance on the field last season. The true freshman defender was voted the team’s Rookie of the Year and named to the Big Ten’s All-Freshman Team. Still, like any freshman working into the new routines and expectations of college life, Albrecht occasionally needs some time to herself. One of her favorite places to reflect is just steps away from the Bierman building, inside the historic St. Lawrence Church and Newman Center. photo by Eric Miller • location: The Newman Center
31 / S K I - U - M A H / F A L L 2 017
RYLIE WARGO rowing | junior The path Rylie Wargo took to last season’s Big Ten Championships winds along with more bends than the Mississippi River on which she and her teammates train almost every afternoon. Wargo’s introduction to rowing was only a fleeting workout on an erg machine in eighth grade. A three-sport athlete throughout high school, she never considered rowing for those next four years. Looking to remain a member of a team once arriving at Minnesota, she put her oar in the water for the first time. That was only two years ago. In that short time, Wargo has gone from a novice to an unlikely All-Big Ten rower. photo by Courtney Anderson • location: Mississippi River Flats
3 2 / S K I - U - M A H / F A L L 2 017
RILEY JOHNSON men’s golf | senior A slice is almost never a golfer’s favorite thing, but in the case of Riley Johnson, it’s pretty close. Johnson is a standout on the course, a two-time North Dakota state champion who has been recognized as the Gophers’ hardest worker at team award banquets and named a captain for his upcoming senior season. In this area of Johnson’s life, a slice can turn a round from great to average and derail what otherwise might have been a good day on the course. His life isn’t limited to golf though. Johnson is also a pizza aficionado, so he can appreciate a good slice at the right moment. photo by Eric Miller • location: Les Bolstad Golf Course
3 3 / S K I - U - M A H / F A L L 2 017
HEATHER CISKOWSKI women’s golf | senior Walking 18 holes is a chance to relax for most people, but any golfer will tell you that this relaxing stroll can transform into something a bit more stressful when it becomes competition. Any collegiate golfer understands that stress. Heather Ciskowski does. That competitive pressure is one of the reasons she took up cooking. Ciskowski wasn’t an aspiring chef growing up, but has developed a knack for her favorite stress-relieving pastime. Not only has she emerged as a golfer her teammates rely on to toss up strong scores in her first three seasons at Minnesota, she’s also someone they rely on to always bring a delicious dessert. p h o t o by E r i c M i l l e r • l o c a t i o n : Fo o d S c i e n c e B u i l d i n g , S t . Pa u l c a m p u s
3 4 / S K I - U - M A H / F A L L 2 017
MADELINE STRANDEMO women’s track & field-cross country | senior When she walked on to the Gopher women’s track & field and cross country teams, Madeline Strandemo had modest goals. Even if modest looking back on them now as she prepares for her senior season, her dream of competing at the Big Ten Championships seemed like a stretch when she arrived on campus for her freshman season. Now having that dream realized, her new dreams have grown even larger. Strandemo not only competed at both the Indoor and Outdoor Big Ten Championships last year, she won a conference title at each meet, taking the indoor mile title late last winter before adding a 3,000-meter steeplechase title at the outdoor event last spring. photo by Eric Miller • location: Northrop Mall
3 5 / S K I - U - M A H / F A L L 2 017
JUSTIN KARSTADT men’s gymnastics | junior Canadian born and half-Chinese by birth, Justin Karstadt’s heritage is uniquely him. His abilities are equally unique. Only a junior, Karstadt is already an All-Big Ten and All-American performer for the Gophers, one who earned Big Ten Co-Gymnast of the Year last season. He’s also a member of the Canadian senior national team. He’s uniquely versatile as well, displaying extraordinary abilities as a soccer player when he’s not in the gym. Karstadt played throughout his life and still owns a vast collection of jerseys from his favorite players around the world. photo by Eric Miller • location: Cooke Hall
3 6 / S K I - U - M A H / F A L L 2 017
MICHELE REDMAN women’s golf | head coach When she’s not worried about putts falling, head women’s golf coach Michele Redman is often putting around on her boat on the west side of the Twin Cities. An accomplished collegiate and professional golfer, the quiet of the golf course has been a place of intense competition for most of Redman’s life, a departure from the quiet she can find on the lake. A two-time All-American at Indiana, Redman was a 23-year LPGA pro and four-time member of the United States Solheim Cup team before taking the helm of the Gopher program in 2011. photo by Courtney Anderson • location: Lake Minnetonka
3 7 / S K I - U - M A H / F A L L 2 017
DAN NICHOL football | head strength & conditioning coach Around the racks and dumbbells of the Bierman weight room, Dan Nichol spends his day working through the established routines of his student-athletes, keeping a consistent beat driven by repetition and order. The predictability of the weight room doesn’t follow Nichols when he departs from Dinkytown each day. That sense of rhythm and order disappears when the barrel-chested strength coach with a sharp Boston accent leaves the weight room behind and heads home to a full house after work. That’s where the real heavy lifting begains as he and his wife, Suzanne, raise three young daughters, including a pair of twins. photo by Eric Miller • location: Gibson-Nagurski Outdoor Practice Field
3 8 / S K I - U - M A H / F A L L 2 017
GOLDY GOPHER mascot He’s a national champion. He’s a Minnesota icon. He’s mastered the world’s most requested act of mascot body contortion – the legendary head spin. Goldy Gopher is one of Minnesota’s most recognizable figures, and he’s been celebrated more than almost anyone else on the U of M campus. He is the proud subject of not one, but two statues on school grounds. On the steps of Coffman Memorial Union, a bronze Goldy leaning on the M has become one of the most common photo stops on campus. A lesser known likeness, a wood-cut Goldy, greets pedestrians as they walk through a small green space tucked behind historic Cooke Hall. photo by Eric Miller • location: Cooke Hall 3 9 / S K I - U - M A H / F A L L 2 017
We know a thing or two about getting behind the wheel(s) Whether you’re on four wheels or two, AAA Minneapolis will always help a member.
Discover all the benefits of membership. Including roadside assistance for your bike and member discounts at a dozen bike shops like Varsity Bike & Transit on campus. Explore all the ways membership pays for itself at AAA.com.
PROUD SPONSOR OF GOPHER ATHLETICS
AAA is There, Wherever Life Takes You. MEMBERSHIP
|
TR AVEL
AAA.com/Bike
|
INSUR ANCE
|
DISCOUNTS
|
AUTOMOTIVE
Flip the switch on your marketing strategy.
An educational and informational platform specifically for the marketing community. Bringing you world class content by partnering with Marketers, Educators and Influencers via our print magazine, E-zine and in person at Connect Daily Seminars.
Subscribe to Connect Daily by scanning the code or visiting us at: connect.dpicrossmedia.com Daily Printing, Inc. | 2333 Niagara Lane Plymouth MN 55447 | www.dailyprinting.com
/ / N AT E M A S O N
// SARA JOHNSON
/ / K O S T YA K O L E S N I K O V
// SAMANTHA SELIGER-SWENSON 4 2 / S K I - U - M A H / F A L L 2 017
/ / Z O E AV E ST R U Z
// CIARA GARDNER
// ALAN LeBLANG
// TYLER SHEEHY
/ / K E H I N D E & TA I Y E B E L L O
// LUKE BECKER
O U TTA K E S
// DAN NICHOL
A FEW OF OUR FAVORITES T H AT J U S T M I S S E D T H E C U T
// MADELINE STRANDEMO
4 3 / S K I - U - M A H / F A L L 2 017
At Carey Minneapolis / St. Paul, our mission is to provide the highest level of customer service in the chauffeured transportation industry by utilizing superior equipment and skilled team members to deliver flawless, seamless service.
CALL US AT: 612-623-0565 800-233-9029 Reservations at: reservations@careympls.com
Proud Partner of Gopher Athletics