SPORTS

VOLLEYBALL

DECEMBER 1, 2022 | NORTHERNIOWAN.COM | VOLUME 119, ISSUE 26

Petersen finishing career at home

MACKENZIE OLSON

Guest Writer

Sydney Petersen was a well decorated athlete at the University of Texas. She was part of four NCAA Tournament teams, earned the starting libero position as a freshmen, helped lead the Longhorns to four Big 12 championships, recorded 1,027 digs for the Longhorns and so much more.

However, after her final season at Texas, Petersen was set on not playing her final year of eligibility. “That is until I went without volleyball for a few weeks and I missed it! I then decided to put my name in the portal!” she said. In response to COVID-19, the NCAA granted 2020-2021 collegiate athletes an extra year of eligibility. Petersen entered the transfer portal and ended up making UNI her new home. “The transfer portal is an awesome thing! I think it is super helpful for those trying to find a home,” Petersen said.

Petersen was not only a standout athlete in college but also in high school at Dike-New Hartford. Going from high school athletics to collegiate athletics is a transition many underestimate. “The transition for me was extremely hard. Not only did I move away from home,

JORDAN JUNGE/NORTHERN IOWAN

Sydney Petersen smiles during warmups before UNI’s volleyball match against Missouri State on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2022. but the sport I love to play just got a lot harder. The pace of the ball, the lifting, the academics were all high level,” Petersen said.

Collegiate athletics are very demanding of the student athletes. “Your sport is your job. It is 365 days! You have in season, off season, and summer training. There is always something going on to help you in your sport,” Petersen said. “On top of all that is academics! I would say college sports are a lot more demanding than high school sports.”

Her first two years at Texas would be extremely hard on her not only as an athlete but as a student as well. “I was doing well in volleyball in the skill category but my mental side was horrible. My mentality and the way I thought about myself as an athlete was negative” Petersen said.

It would not be until her junior year when she felt like she began to thrive, not only physically, but also mentally. “I worked on and still do my self talk, I journal, I visualize, I even sometimes meditate. This allowed me to see things clearly and recognize that I am not only Sydney the volleyball player but I am Sydney as a person. It was the separation that allowed me to thrive,” she said.

Through the transfer portal she brought it back full circle by coming back home to finish out her final season. Petersen is the daughter of the Panthers head coach Bobbi Petersen, and chose to use her final year of eligibility to be with the Panthers. She’s not only rounding off her career with her mother, but also with her twin sister Baylee. This is the first time since high

COURTESY/UNI ATHLETICS

Sydney Petersen, alongside her mother, UNI volleyball Head Coach Bobbi Petersen, as well as her father, Duane Petersen, on Senior Night. school that the twins are be back on the same court playing together.

“It has really been amazing playing with Baylee again! When we were in high school I felt like I took it for granted all of the sports and things we did together. Now being back together again feels so surreal,” Petersen said.

With this transition she also is finishing off playing under her mom. Petersen was not sure what to expect. “When I was in Texas my mom was my person for everything. I literally think I called her everyday. She was my go to about life, school, and volleyball. Whenever I needed someone to talk to she was there. Now coming here, and having her as my coach has kind of changed that a little bit,” she said. Petersen said she is still getting used to calling her “coach” and not “mom.” However, in summation of her volleyball career ending back at home, Petersen said “I would not change this experience for the world! I am so grateful to be coached under my mom!”

NCAA BOUND

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Tjernagel had 13 kills in the semifinal game while Holterhaus followed closely behind with 12. Tayler Alden led the team in assists with 32 while Petersen notched 10 digs in the Panther win. Tjernagel also had the best attack percentage of her career with a .688.

The Panthers final challenge in this tournament were their in-state rivals, the Drake Bulldogs, in the championship match. The Panthers got to business right from the jump, boasting an 11-7 score early in the first set. However, the Bulldogs battled their way back and entrapped UNI into a very competitive set, tying the Panthers 19-19 going into the final stretch. Spies and Tjernagel worked together to give their team the lead and eventual 25-20 victory. The Panthers had a rough opening in the second set against the Bulldogs. They powered back to tie things up at 10-10 but it was not enough as the Bulldogs kept up the pressure for the remainder of the set. Drake captured the set 25-19 tying the game up at 1-1.

UNI and Drake were locked in a sort of stalemate in the third set of play. The teams traded runs going all the way to the final stretch. However, the Bulldogs once again stole the set with another 25-19 game, gaining a 2-1 lead on UNI. The Panthers knew they were one loss away from losing the tournament, and they played like it. They shot out to an 8-2 lead. The Bulldogs climbed back, eventually tying the set at 22-22. In a must-win situation, the Panthers capitalized thanks to Inga Rotto’s late-set heroics, winning the set 25-22. In the final set, both teams played like it was win-or-go-home. While the two teams yet again traded leads and ties, it was another late-set effort by Rotto which gave UNI the edge and 15-13 victory and the tournament championship in the process. The Panthers earned the chance to compete in the NCAA National Championship Tournament. Their first game will be in Minneapolis, Minn. against the Florida State Seminoles who boast a 19-10 record and the #7 rank in the Texas Region of the tournament. The game will commence at 4:30 p.m. and the winner will face the victor of the game between the Minnesota Golden Gophers and the Southeastern Louisiana Lady Lions.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

DECEMBER 1, 2022 | NORTHERNIOWAN.COM | VOLUME 119, ISSUE 26

Panthers hold on, take down Huskies

DREW HILL

Sports Writer

The UNI men’s basketball team was at home in the McLeod Center for a game against the Northern Illinois Huskies on Saturday, Nov. 26. Despite a late rally by Northern Illinois, UNI held on for the 83-76 win, led by Bowen Born’s career-high 30 points.

Early in the game, both teams got off to a slow start, but UNI started to pull away after the first six minutes of the opening half. After Northern Illinois cut the UNI lead to one at 7-6, the Panthers went on a 14-0 run to take a 21-7 lead with just under nine minutes left. Northern Illinois slowly brought it back from that point. Despite UNI maintaining at least a six point lead for much of the remaining time in the first half, the Huskies had pulled within one at 32-31 to end the first half.

The momentum for the Huskies carried over into the second half as they took their first lead of the game early at 33-32. This eventually stretched out to a seven point lead at 43-36. UNI battled back to tie the game at 50. A Tytan Anderson layup gave UNI its first lead since the beginning of the second half at 52-50. UNI built up an eight point lead at 60-52. A quick 5-0 run drew Northern Illinois within three, but UNI managed to stretch the lead out again to eight at 67-59. Another late run with two minutes left got the Huskies within two at 74-72, but UNI converted free throws and locked down Northern Illinois to hold on for an 83-76 win.

UNI was led in scoring by Born, who put up a career-high 30 points, as well as leading the team with four assists. The Panthers were led in rebounding by Anderson with eight boards to go along with 16 points. Landon Wolf also contributed a career-high 19 points, and Michael Duax was the fourth Panther to score in double figures with 11. A key factor in UNI’s win was fouls and free throws. Northern Illinois had 25 fouls to UNI’s 18. This helped UNI get a resounding advantage at the free throw line. UNI shot 25 for 36 from the free throw line, while Northern Illinois made 16 out of 18 free throws. Other key advantages UNI had included winning the turnover and rebounding margins. UNI had 14 turnovers to Northern Illinois’ 19, and the Panthers outrebounded the Huskies 39-32, including a 15-9 victory on offensive rebounds.

UNI faced the Bradley Braves on Wednesday, Nov. 30, to open Missouri Valley Conference play. Their next game is in the McLeod Center against the Evansville Purple Aces on Saturday, Dec. 3, at 1 p.m. The game will be available to stream on ESPN+.

COURTESY/UNI ATHLETICS

Bowen Born (13) finished with a career-high 30 points on Saturday, helping lead UNI to a 83-76 victory over Northern Illinois.

WRESTLING Two Panthers earn championship at Cyclone Open

ADAM JOHNSON

Sports Writer

On Saturday, Nov. 26, UNI wrestling traveled to Ames, Iowa, to compete in the Harold Nichols Cyclone Open. UNI had 20 wrestlers compete on the day, and had many perform very well. Overall they had two first place finishes, four runner ups and several others that placed in their weight classes as well.

Trever Anderson was the lone wrestler for UNI in the 125 pound class, and he came away with third place, going 1-2 on the day. The 133 pound class featured four different UNI wrestlers, and three of them finished in the top four. Garrett Funk went 3-2, with his final match being a loss against teammate Julian Farber, who went 4-1 for third place. Cory Smith won his first two matches by fall in less than a minute, before being defeated by Iowa State’s Ramazan Attasauov and receiving second place.

The 141 pound class had Connor Thorpe representing the Panthers. He won two close ones before getting second place after losing to Iowa State’s Jacob Frost, who defeated him 7-4. The 149 pound class had two more Panthers placing in the top four. Adam Allard went 3-2, with both of his losses coming in very close matches. He still did enough to earn fourth place. Ryder Downey went 2-1 for second place, with his only loss being to Iowa State’s Cameron Robinson.

In the 157 pound class, Evant Yant finished second, going 2-1 on the day, with his only loss being against teammate Dajun Johnson. Cayd Lara competed in the 165 pound class, going 3-1 and placing third. Parker Keckeisen dominated his two matches in the 184 pound class, winning by technical fall 20-4 and major decision 15-3. The 2-0 competition earned him one of the Panthers two first place finishes on the day.

Finally, in the 197 pound class, UNI had two guys finish inside the top three. Kalob Runyon placed third going 3-1. Wyatt Voelker started 2-0, and got the Panthers their second first place of the day after defeating Iowa’s Kolby Franklin in a close 3-1 match to finish 3-0 on the day.

It was a good day on the mat for the Panthers, and they will compete again this weekend, Friday, Dec. 2 and Saturday, Dec. 3 at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitatational.

DECEMBER 1, 2022 | NORTHERNIOWAN.COM | VOLUME 119, ISSUE 26 CROSSWORD SUDOKU

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Across

1 Crossed the mob, in a way 5 Insignificant points 9 When repeated, Second British Invasion band 14 Second person of old? 15 "No problems here" 16 "... the __ of defeat": "Wide World of Sports" phrase 17 Steaming flow 18 Casual eatery 19 One spun by a juggler 20 Deity worshiped by backyard chefs? 23 July 4th show failure 24 Attach, in a way 25 NFL scores 28 Underground support 31 "ASAP!" 36 7-10 split, to a bowler? 39 Exploring toon 40 Conceals 41 Support for driving and kicking 42 Flying toys 43 Dumbo's flying aids 44 Distiller Walker's treatise about a whisky grain? 46 Home of the Senators 48 Ruckus 49 Double curve 50 Two-time U.S. Open champ 52 Played the first card 54 Hester Prynne's trademark milk-producing farm? 62 So it could be heard 63 Where I-90 and I-79 meet 64 Rock's Bon __ 66 Fire sign 67 With 68-Across, words before "easy" 68 See 67- or 69-Across 69 With 68-Across, studied 70 Army installation 71 Loch with a legend

Down

1 Baseball Cards: Abbr. 2 Melville captain 3 1960s-'80s Chevy 4 Bank employee 5 Words to a growler 6 Apple on a desk 7 Vegan staple 8 Sport with disks 9 Togged out 10 Not-cute fruit 11 Large chorus of cheers 12 Opposition prefix 13 Duma "Don't think so!" 21 Uses for warmth, as wood 22 Dainty drinks 25 Cops as a unit 26 Marvelous 27 Get around 29 Eye-related prefix 30 Layers 32 Father of Thor 33 French possessive 34 Low cards 35 Relief providers 37 To whom Rick says, "We'll always have Paris" 38 Orderly 42 Divided land 44 Put a stop to 45 Least spicy 47 Tidied the garden 51 A lot to pay 53 Tangy mustard 54 Filing tool 55 Dagwood neighbor 56 Saloon __ 57 Third of four canonical gospels 58 Thus 59 Fixes on the sly 60 Wander 61 Part of YSL 65 April 15 org., or, as a plural, a hint to four long puzzle answers

ANSWERS