As we start the 2014-2015 seasons, I am looking forward to an outstanding year for all of our student-athletes in the classroom and in competition. This issue of Ski-U-Mah recognizes a student-athlete from every Gopher program, giving us the opportunity to celebrate the faces of Gopher Athletics as we enter the coming year. When we consider the faces of Gopher Athletics, no roundup of those who represent our department would ever be complete without mention of the great Bob McNamara, who passed away earlier this summer. Bob’s accomplishments as a Gopher studentathlete were superior. He was a four-time letterwinner for the Gopher Football team from 1951-1954, twice earning First Team All-Big Ten honors, as well as First Team All-America recog-
nition in 1954. He also played two seasons for the Gopher Men’s Basketball team, earning a letter in 1953. Beyond his accomplishments as a studentathlete, Bob became one of the greatest advocates the University of Minnesota has ever known. His fingerprints are all over this campus. He played a significant role in building TCF Bank Stadium, the Baseline Tennis Center, Siebert Field and many other facilities, both athletic and academic, on our campus. The McNamara Academic Center, used daily by Gopher studentathletes, was named for Bob and his brother, Pinky. More than anything else, Bob took incredible pride in being a Minnesotan, and in being a Gopher. He had a warm and welcoming person-
ality that enchanted almost everybody and his pride in the University was infectious. When it came to rallying support for a cause, I’ve never met anyone who was as genuine and as passionate as he was. For Gophers everywhere, I’d like to thank him for everything he did during his wonderful life on behalf of the University of Minnesota. There will never be another Bob McNamara. He is one of the true faces of Gopher Athletics. Thank you Bob, and go Gophers!
Norwood Teague, Director of Athletics
OCTOBER 2014 / SKI-U-MAH / 1
TABLE OF 6
7
BRANDON EGGUM T
H
E
13
8
DALY SANTANA F
A
C
E
S
14
9
WHITNEY TANEY O
F
G
15
10
CEDRIC THOMPSON O
P
H
E
R
16
11
MO WALKER A
T
H
L
E
17
12
BRAD FROST T
I
C
S
PAUL MONTAGUE JR. I
18
S
S
U
E
19
HALEY HELVERSON
BLAYNE DULIAN
TERRY GANLEY
JENNY HANSEN
ADAM WILCOX
KJERSTIN MEYER
MIKE GUENTZEL
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
MATHIEU FROMENT
STEFANIE GOLAN
2 / SKI-U-MAH / OCTOBER 2014
JESSICA PLANT
LOGAN STORLEY
TREVOR YEDONI
KAITLYN RICHARDSON
DARYL TURNER
CONTENTS 27
28
30
31
32 ERIC KLEIN
JESSICA MERCHANT
39
40
LAURA BUSH
RACHAEL BONA
GEOFF YOUNG
MADELINE HANLEY
CONNOR SCHAEFBAUER
34
35
36
37
38
BECCA DYSON
T
29
H
E
41
JON DuTOIT
F
A
C
E
S
RACHEL BANHAM
O
F
G
JESSIKA MOZIA
O
P
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE
4 5 44
H
E
R
STEVE PLASENCIA
A
T
H
L
33
AMANDA & ALEX BECKMAN
E
T
I
C
S
CARMEN LAGUNA
I
S
S
/
VOL.
U
E
CREDITS EDITOR’S LETTER OUTTAKES
S KI -U -M A H OCTOBER t he
2014
of ficial
/
ISSUE
m agazine
of
7
Gop her
II
Athlet ic s
GOLDY GOPHER
OCTOBER 2014 / SKI-U-MAH / 3
SKI- U -MAH Is sue
7
DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS Norwood Teague SENIOR ASSOCIATE ATHLETICS DIRECTOR FOR STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS Chris Werle EDITOR-IN-CHIEF / ASSISTANT ATHLETICS DIRECTOR FOR CREATIVE SERVICES Jeff Keiser EDITOR / WRITER Jake Ricker
CONTRIBUTORS Maddie Greene, Justine Buerkle, Michelle Traen DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY Eric Miller STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Courtney Anderson CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER Jim Rosvold SPECIAL THANKS Tony’s Diner Luke Day, University Aquatic Center Putt’er There Mini Golf Marty Moen, Bell Museum The Institute of Child Development Phil Platt, Campus Club Mark Engebretson, Walter Library 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 / SKI-U-MAH / OCTOBER 2014
LEADING OFF A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
O
ne of my favorite aspects of Ski-U-Mah 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 photographed one student-athlete from each of our teams and 12 head or assistant coaches and allow you a chance to get to know a little bit more about 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. I hope you enjoy the stories we share in this issue. 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 had 39 different photo shoots, in locations all over campus and beyond, in the span of about one month. We shot nearly 10,000 frames. These photo shoots started with Director of Athletics Norwood Teague, whom we drove all over campus in a golf cart, including a stop at TCF Bank Stadium to climb on to the roof, where we found out that Norwood is a bit skittish with heights. The list of photo shoots culminated with sophomore swimmer Daryl Turner, who muscled through a two-hour shoot at the Aquatics Center. It was perhaps the most dramatic one of all, with photographer Eric Miller floating out to the middle of the 50-meter pool with a lifeguard buoy and his camera to capture the perfect reflection off the water. Ultimately, it ended up being one of my favorite photos, which you can see on page 26. 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 this issue of Ski-U-Mah together 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. I 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
OCTOBER 2014 / SKI-U-MAH / 5
BRANDON EGGUM
Wrestling | Head Assistant Coach In the late 1990s, Brandon Eggum racked up 115 victories, earning three All-America awards and two Big Ten individual titles for Gopher Wrestling. Now as the program’s head assistant coach, almost everything about him is still instantly recognizable when he steps on to the mat. Broad shoulders, square-jawed, face showing the single-minded focus on winning‌ but he certainly dresses differently. The style of Eggum and his fellow coaches often stands out at any meet as the result of a friendly rivalry between them to see who can dress the best at every event, further evidence that true competitors never lose that need to compete. photo by Eric Miller | taken at rail yards behind TCF Bank Stadium
6 / SKI-U-MAH / OCTOBER 2014
DALY SANTANA Volleyball | Junior
While many Gophers have competed for their national teams at some points in their careers, Daly Santana is one of the few to do before their playing careers at Minnesota. Santana, a former captain of the Youth National Team in her native Puerto Rico, joined the national team in 2012 for the Pan American Cup and the World Grand Prix. Those experiences helped Santana earn a unanimous selection to the Freshman All-Big Ten team, an accolade that cemented her as a leader for the Gopher Volleyball team. photo by Eric Miller | taken in Southwest Minneapolis
OCTOBER 2014 / SKI-U-MAH / 7
WHITNEY TANEY
Women’s Tennis | Associate Head Coach Whitney Taney knows a thing or two about winning. A historic career at Edina High School yielded a record of 166-0 and five individual state championships. In fact, she only lost two sets in high school. The winning continued at the University of Michigan, where she graduated in 2011 with the school record for career doubles victories and three All-Big Ten honors in tow. In just her second season on the Gophers’ staff in 2012-13, the team achieved its highest win total in more than a decade. photo by Courtney Anderson | taken at Baseline Tennis Center
8 / SKI-U-MAH / OCTOBER 2014
CEDRIC THOMPSON Football | Senior
By graduating high school in 2011, Cedric Thompson became the first in his family to own a diploma. Now a senior captain on the Gopher football team, Thompson will become the first college graduate in his family this spring. Thompson’s father said something poignant to his son when he graduated high school, something Thompson cherishes to this day. He told him he was now the lion of the family – the leader – and to embrace that destiny. A tattoo on Thompson’s left arm and a charm on his necklace serve as constant reminders of his emotional connection to the “King of the Jungle.” photo by Courtney Anderson | taken at the Bell Museum of Natural History
OCTOBER 2014 / SKI-U-MAH / 9
MO WALKER
Basketball | Senior Mo Walker stands out in a crowd, towering over most people at just shy of seven-feet tall. What’s equally striking about Walker is the grace with which he controls that unwieldy frame, pivoting and pirouetting around opponents near the basket to slide into prime scoring positions and rack up points two at a time. After recovering from a serious knee injury and dropping more than 70 pounds, the Toronto, Ontario native emerged last year as a major inside scoring threat for the Gophers, contributing mightily to the team’s NIT Championship run. photo by Courtney Anderson | taken at Van Cleve Park
10 / SKI-U-MAH / OCTOBER 2014
BRAD FROST
Women’s Hockey | Head Coach No one in athletics ever wants to be “the guy that follows the guy” or, in the case of Head Women’s Hockey Coach Brad Frost, “the guy that follows the woman,” Laura Halldorson, three-time National Champion and matriarch of the Gopher program. Modest, at times overwhelmingly so, Frost portrays himself as a caretaker when he is, in fact, a masterful leader in his own right. Under his guidance, the Gophers have amassed a record of 224-38-17, won two National Championships and ran off an incredible 62-game winning streak, an NCAA record. photo by Courtney Anderson | taken at Ridder Arena
OCTOBER 2014 / SKI-U-MAH / 11
PAUL MONTAGUE JR. Gymnastics | Junior
Paul Montague, Jr. grew up between Madison and Milwaukee, an area of the country heavily populated by Badger fans. After a decorated high school career that included Wisconsin state championships in three different events and runner-up finishes in two others, Montague made the unlikely choice to attend Minnesota and has since established himself as one of the Gophers most dedicated gymnasts. Montague earned the team’s Spirit of Gopher Gymnastics award as a freshman, the team’s Most Improved Gymnast Award as a sophomore and will enter his junior season as a team captain. photo by Eric Miller | taken at Northrop Memorial Auditorium
12 / SKI-U-MAH / OCTOBER 2014
HALEY HELVERSON Soccer | Junior
Whether she is scoring game-winners for the Gopher Soccer team or watching her father, Scott, officiate NFL games, Haley Helverson has always been drawn to the sports world. An aspiring sports administrator with a competitive drive and a stunning personality, she has proven to be an asset on and off the field for the Maroon and Gold. Leading her team to victory is nothing new for Helverson. She scored the game-winners against Wisconsin and No. 7 Penn State last season and helped the Gophers earn numerous shutouts in 2014. photo by Courtney Anderson | taken at Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium
OCTOBER 2014 / SKI-U-MAH / 13
BLAYNE DULIAN
Cross Country . Track & Field | Junior With his tall and lanky build, Blayne Dulian looks the part of a Division I cross country runner. While perfect for long-distance running, simply having the natural frame to run is far from sufficient to succeed at the collegiate level. Greatness demands a relentless focus on racking up miles, up to 90 miles weekly at peak training times, something he references in a casual tone not befitting the incredible nature of those numbers. That type of work burns an extraordinary amount of energy, so Dulian’s routine requires both hours of training and a careful eye toward regularly replenishing thousands of calories. photo by Eric Miller | taken in Dinkytown
14 / SKI-U-MAH / OCTOBER 2014
TERRY GANLEY
Head Coach | Women’s Swimming Most current Gopher student-athletes struggle to even imagine collegiate athletics not including women’s sports. For current Head Women’s Swimming Coach Terry Ganley, that hardly imaginable idea was the reality of her childhood but, fortunately, not for her collegiate career. In 1974, Ganley (pictured in Cooke Hall Pool where she competed as a collegian) became the first female All-American from the U in any sport. Since that time, Ganley has coached nearly 100 different All-Americans while leading the Gopher program for which she once competed at an elite level. photo by Courtney Anderson | taken at Cooke Hall Pool OCTOBER 2014 / SKI-U-MAH / 15
JENNY HANSEN
Women’s Gymnastics | Associate Head Coach With the exception of one season, Jenny Hansen has been with Gopher Women’s Gymnastics since her freshman year on the team in 2000. As a gymnast for the Gophers, Hansen served as team captain and registered what were, at the time, top-ten performances in the program’s history in balance beam, floor exercise and vault. In her role as associate head coach, she’s passing along her experience and expertise in those events, focusing her time on teaching those skills to current Gophers. photo by Eric Miller | taken at the M Bridge on the East Bank campus
16 / SKI-U-MAH / OCTOBER 2014
ADAM WILCOX Hockey | Junior
Less than 15 miles from Mariucci Arena, in South St. Paul, Adam Wilcox spent his childhood dreaming of pulling down the mask and defending the net for the Golden Gophers. While that’s certainly a big dream for any young goalkeeper, Wilcox’s performance the past two years supercedes big dreams and borders on the absurd. As a freshman, Wilcox posted a single-season school record .921 save percentage, a prelude to a sophomore season when he broke his own record with a .930 save percentage and led the Gophers to the national championship game. photo by Eric Miller | taken at Mariucci Arena
OCTOBER 2014 / SKI-U-MAH / 17
KJERSTIN MEYER Rowing | Junior
As a sophomore last season, Kjerstin Meyer competed on both the first and second varsity four teams and tasted victory at three different meets. That kind of success early in a rowing career demands endless hours at the University of Minnesota Boathouse, working on rowing machines and dropping boats into the Mississippi River for training sessions as the sun rises over the river’s east bluffs. For Meyer though, there’s no more beautiful place on the campus. photo by Courtney Anderson | taken at Mississippi River Flats by the U of M Boathouse 18 / SKI-U-MAH / OCTOBER 2014
MIKE GUENTZEL
Men’s Hockey | Associate Head Coach If hockey is the quintessential Minnesota sport, Mike Guentzel may very well be the quintessential Minnesotan. Guentzel grew up on the state’s Iron Range, earned First Team All-State honors as a high school senior and joined the Gophers as a defenseman in 1981. He contributed to a WCHA Regular Season Championship the following season, the first of 12 banners – conference regular season or tournament championships or National Championships – Guentzel has helped the Gophers raise as either a player or a coach. These represent more than one-third of the 34 such banners hanging in the Mariucci Arena rafters. photo by Eric Miller | taken at Mariucci Arena
OCTOBER 2014 / SKI-U-MAH / 19
MATHIEU FROMENT Tennis | Senior
Nationally ranked NCAA doubles tennis player, finance and risk management insurance major, self-taught piano player and violinist – Mathieu Froment is something of a renaissance man. Froment hails from a town nestled into the last few kilometers of France near the Belgium and Luxemburg borders, an inconspicuous place that produced an equally quiet, yet accomplished, young man. That quiet nature despite strong abilities has been recognized by the team as well, which has awarded him the Bob McNamara Unsung Player of the Year award each of the past two seasons. photo by Eric Miller | taken at Campus Club, Coffman Memorial Union
20 / SKI-U-MAH / OCTOBER 2014
STEFANIE GOLAN Soccer | Head Coach
Soccer is a heavily nuanced game. It demands incredible attention to detail and the ability to execute subtly to create something dynamic and beautiful. For Head Soccer Coach Stefanie Golan, these elements of soccer intersect with her other great passion, illustration and drawing. Entering her third season at the helm of Gopher Soccer, Golan’s knack for embracing tiny details with a bigger picture in mind led the team to its third NCAA Tournament appearance in the past 15 years last season, setting the frame for what could one day be a masterpiece. photo by Eric Miller | taken at Weisman Art Museum
OCTOBER 2014 / SKI-U-MAH / 21
JESSICA PLANT
Swimming & Diving | Senior A 4.0 GPA basically since the nursery, Jessica Plant studies Classical Civilizations and Art History at the U of M. She recently completed a field school in Italy where she participated in an archeological dig examining Roman artifacts, the latest in a series of major life events that included her earning an endorsement from the U of M as a finalist for the Canadian Rhodes Scholarship (Plant is originally from Winnipeg). She’s equally prolific in the pool, where she’s earned four All-America honors during her career, including two First Team All-America nods. photo by Eric Miller | taken at Walter Library
22 / SKI-U-MAH / OCTOBER 2014
LOGAN STORLEY Wrestling | Senior
It would be easy to fall into culture shock moving from tiny Roslyn, S.D. (pop. 180) to the Twin Cities. Though his surroundings may have changed, Logan Storley looks completely at ease in his new home, especially when he steps onto the wrestling mat. A six-time letterwinner in high school, Storley not only stepped in and immediately competed for the Gophers – a rarity in collegiate wrestling – but has been an All-American all three years he’s been on campus. photo by Courtney Anderson | taken on East Bank Campus OCTOBER 2014 / SKI-U-MAH / 23
TREVOR YEDONI
Track & Field | Sophomore For track and field athletes, knee injuries lurk out of sight but never completely forgotten, like a distantly howling wolf. When competition means leaping, tearing an ACL can forever change an athlete’s future. Suffering a second tear to the same ligament is virtually synonymous with career-ending. Then there’s Trevor Yedoni, who overcame two ACL tears to not only don the Maroon and Gold, but win the 2014 Big Ten Outdoor Long Jump Championship, Minnesota’s first men’s long jump conference championship since 2006, and the Big Ten Freshman of the Year Award, the first Gopher to earn that distinction since 1997. photo by Eric Miller | taken at Bierman Track & Field Stadium
24 / SKI-U-MAH / OCTOBER 2014
KAITLYN RICHARDSON Softball | Senior
When she left Arizona four years ago, Kaitlyn Richardson (Katie as she introduces herself) knew things in Minnesota would be a little different than living in the desert. She’s come to appreciate that Minnesota experiences all four seasons more than any of the other differences, but there’s really only one season that matters to Richardson – softball season. Following her junior season, Richardson became just the third player in program history to earn two All-America honors. photo by Eric Miller | taken in Dinkytown
OCTOBER 2014 / SKI-U-MAH / 25
DARYL TURNER
Swimming & Diving | Sophomore Amid high expectations – he was a four-time All-American and Colorado State Swimmer of the Year in high school – Daryl Turner made a splash as a freshman on the Gopher Men’s Swimming and Diving team. In his first collegiate dual meet against Arizona State, Turner took first in all four events in which he swam (two individual, two relays). He went on to earn the conference’s Freshman of the Week four different times, score points in all five of his events at the Big Ten Championships and become an AllAmerican for his work on Minnesota’s 200-yard freestyle relay team at the NCAA Championships. photo by Eric Miller | taken at University Aquatic Center
26 / SKI-U-MAH / OCTOBER 2014
LAURA BUSH
Volleyball | Associate Head Coach The road to the highest levels of collegiate women’s volleyball started in the small farm town (pop. 450) of Strasburg, Illinois for Laura Bush. Emerging from a sea of towering corn stalks and billowing wheat, Bush grew into an All-American for Illinois, a successful assistant at Michigan State and then a head coach leading programs at both Marquette and Auburn. She’s among a select group which have both played and coached in the NCAA Women’s Volleyball Final Four, a stage she reached twice while at Illinois, once with Michigan State and once with the Gophers, in 2009. photo by Courtney Anderson | taken on St. Paul Campus OCTOBER 2014 / SKI-U-MAH / 27
RACHAEL BONA Hockey | Senior
Rachael Bona has played in the National Championship game each of her three seasons as a Gopher, winning two national titles. She’s also played on the top line in each of those games, a position she assumed in the middle of her freshman year and has not conceded since. Bona piled up 61 points in 41 games last season, third-best in the entire country, and earned an invitation to the prestigious USA Hockey Festival to try out for the USA 22-and-under squad. photo by Jim Rosvold | taken on East Bank campus
28 / SKI-U-MAH / OCTOBER 2014
GEOFF YOUNG
Men’s Tennis | Head Coach Tennis is life for ninth-year head coach Geoff Young. As a youth in Ohio, he claimed the top position in the Midwest section 18-and-under men’s tennis rankings in 1989, and then accomplished the feat again as a doubles player the following year. He went on to earn All-Big Ten honors twice at Northwestern before launching his coaching career. His wife, Dana (Peterson) was an All-Big Ten player and four-year letterwinner for the Gophers from 1992-96 and is currently the head pro at the Baseline Tennis Center. Young’s three kids are all active in tennis and two are nationally-ranked. photo by Eric Miller | taken at Van Cleve Park
OCTOBER 2014 / SKI-U-MAH / 29
MADELINE HANLEY Gymnastics | Junior
Being a gymnast has been a part of who Madeline Hanley is since she was three years old. It’s a unique sport with different demands than most, aspects that Hanley has always embraced. Prior to coming to Minnesota from her hometown of Danielsville, Pa., Hanley was a three-time qualifier for the Junior Olympic Championships competing in several events. Injuries have limited Hanley to uneven bars in her two season as a Gopher, but her abilities continue to shine through – she was named Second Team All-Big Ten in the event last year. photo by Courtney Anderson | taken at the Institute for Child Development, East Bank
30 / SKI-U-MAH / OCTOBER 2014
CONNOR SCHAEFBAUER Baseball | Junior
Whether a bat’s made of wood or aluminum, Connor Schaefbauer understands how to swing it. Last season he broke out for the Gopher Baseball team, leading the squad in batting average, multi-hit games, total bases, triples, stolen bases and runs. When the college baseball season ended earlier this summer, Schaefbauer joined the Rochester Honkers of the Northwoods League, a wood bat league that allows collegiate players to participate while maintaining NCAA eligibility. With the Honkers, Schaefbauer hit .307, racking up multiple hits in 14 of his 37 games. photo by Courtney Anderson | taken at Siebert Field
OCTOBER 2014 / SKI-U-MAH / 31
ERIC KLEIN
Football | Head Strength and Conditioning Coach Gopher Football’s Head Strength and Conditioning Coach Eric Klein joined Coach Jerry Kill two decades ago at Saginaw Valley State. His loyalty, and his undeniable success at building strength, agility and endurance in student-athletes, took him around the country with Kill, from Michigan to Kansas to Illinois and, eventually, back home. Klein, who graduated from Apple Valley High School in suburban Minneapolis, didn’t take the direct route back to Minnesota but now that he’s here, his home state school is benefitting from his experience and expertise. photo by Courtney Anderson | taken at Gibson-Nagurski Football Complex
32 / SKI-U-MAH / OCTOBER 2014
JESSICA MERCHANT Assistant Coach | Softball
As an assistant coach for the Gopher Softball team the past four seasons, Jessica Merchant has been instrumental in the program’s resurgence from a team that won just two conference games in 2010 to a team that’s won 30 or more games four straight years and qualified for the NCAA Super Regional last year, a first in program history. Merchant showed her ability to lead before she ever assumed a coaching position. In 2005, she captained a Michigan team that won the National Championship. photo by Courtney Anderson | taken at Jane Sage Cowles Stadium
OCTOBER 2014 / SKI-U-MAH / 33
BECCA DYSON
Cross Country and Track & Field | Junior Any time someone is competing at the collegiate level, he or she is an exceptional athlete. Becca Dyson is exactly that as a cross country runner for the Golden Gophers, but the sport was an afterthought for Dyson in high school, who didn’t begin distance running until her junior season. Dyson’s first endurance sport passion was Nordic skiing. In her younger years, she spent more time plotting her way down snow-covered trails than running over sun-speckled grass courses, but that aerobic training has helped her compete against more experienced distance runners throughout her cross country career. photo by Courtney Anderson | taken at Coffman Memorial Union
34 / SKI-U-MAH / OCTOBER 2014
JON DuTOIT Golf | Junior
Growing up in Chaska, Minn., Jon DuToit had the privilege of playing at nearby Hazeltine National Golf Club, a course at which he still caddies during the offseason. DuToit fell in love with the game trying to plot his way around that world-class course and its challenging design helped sharpen his skills. A six-time letterwinner and state champion in high school, DuToit has three top-10 finishes in two seasons with the Gophers and contributed all four of his rounds to the team score at last season’s Big Ten Championships, which Minnesota won for the first time since 2008. photo by Eric Miller | taken at Putt’er There, Como Park in St. Paul
OCTOBER 2014 / SKI-U-MAH / 35
RACHEL BANHAM Basketball | Senior
Entering her senior season, Rachel Banham has entrenched herself in the conversation among the great players in the history of Gopher Women’s Basketball. Banham answered lofty expectations immediately when she stepped on campus as the defending Minnesota High School Player of the Year according to every major media outlet, earning Big Ten Freshman of the Year and team Co-MVP honors. In the years since, Banham has twice earned All-America recognition and is on pace to become the program’s all-time leading scorer. photo by Courtney Anderson | taken at Northrop Mall
36 / SKI-U-MAH / OCTOBER 2014
JESSIKA MOZIA Tennis | Junior
She was a prep tennis star from Colorado who declined scholarship offers to walk on at Minnesota. By her sophomore year, she had earned a scholarship. While that’s a wonderful story by itself, it’s only one chapter of who Jessika Mozia is. She’s a passionate writer who has been published several times. She’s a pre-med student with plans to become an orthopedic surgeon. She’s a concert violinist who earned honors for her abilities in high school. Mozia’s story is much more than that of a tennis player, but she’s pretty good at that, too. photo by Eric Miller | taken at Baseline Tennis Center
OCTOBER 2014 / SKI-U-MAH / 37
STEVE PLASENCIA
Men’s Track & Field and Cross Country Director To say Steve Plasencia was one of the great American distance runners of his generation requires no exaggeration. The Director of the Gopher Men’s Track and Field and Cross Country programs earned five AllAmerica honors during his running career at Minnesota before moving on to compete for the U.S. in four World Championships, two Olympic Games (1988 and 1992) and narrowly missing out on qualifying for a third. Plasencia, who continues to run avidly and has run over the Stone Arch Bridge that he is pictured on thousands of times, still owns four Gopher cross country records those he coaches every day are striving to break. photo by Courtney Anderson | taken at Stone Arch Bridge
38 / SKI-U-MAH / OCTOBER 2014
ALEX AND AMANDA BECKMAN Track & Field | Juniors
Since they were little, Amanda and Alex Beckman have navigated life together as twins. The unique situation of having a sibling so similar has advantages and drawbacks but when one of those similarities is exceptional athletic abilities, a twosome becomes formidable in competition. That’s the case for the Beckmans, who carted home piles of accolades in multiple events in high school before coming to the Gophers and competing in the heptathlon and pentathlon. Both placed in the top 10 at the Big Ten Indoor Track and Field Championships. In fact, they finished back-to-back. photo by Eric Miller | taken at Bierman Track & Field Stadium
OCTOBER 2014 / SKI-U-MAH / 39
CARMEN LAGUNA Golf | Senior
Carmen Laguna began playing golf in southern Spain, where she grew up in a town just outside Seville. Though no one will ever confuse Minnesota with the Mediterranean, the differences haven’t changed how Laguna plays the game. After a strong freshman season, Laguna had the secondbest season stroke average in program history as a sophomore (74.93), a number she bested last year when she set a new program record for stroke average (74.19), leaving her with two of the three best statistical seasons in Minnesota history as she enters her senior year. photo by Courtney Anderson | taken at Nicollet Island Pavilion
40 / SKI-U-MAH / OCTOBER 2014
GOLDY GOPHER Mascot
A fixture at all Gopher Athletics events since 1952, Goldy Gopher is one the nation’s most accomplished mascots, regularly placing among the top five at the Universal Cheerleaders Association Mascot National Championships. Goldy has claimed two National Championships – the first in 2011, then again in 2013 – and is a three-time Capital One All-American Mascot Team selection. photo by Eric Miller | taken at Coffman Memorial Union
OCTOBER 2014 / SKI-U-MAH / 41
$ Startting
277880 M Maappllew ew wooood D w Drriv ivvee, M Maappllew ew wooooodd, M MN pph hoon nee: 66511--4448833-226681 mercedesbenzofmaplew wood.com
33,300
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.
FOR MANY OF OUR FAVORITE PHOTOS THAT WE COULDN’T FIT IN THIS ISSUE, PLEASE VISIT GOPHERSPORTS.COM
OUTTAKES
44 / SKI-U-MAH / OCTOBER 2014
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