UCM ATHLETICS

Mules & Jennies Highlights

In a trying year that saw Mules Football canceled, Jennies Soccer and Volleyball postponed until spring and a number of spring games called off, the Mules and Jennies kept their competitive edge. For the fourth time in five years and the second consecutive year, UCM Athletics took home the MIAA Commissioner’s Cup as the top overall athletic department in the conference. Here are some highlights from UCM’s spring comeback, when fans had much to celebrate!

Jennies Basketball made it to their second Final 4 in the past four years, finishing second in the MIAA and winning their eighth NCAA Division II Central Region Championship. For the Mules, Cameron Hunter earned All-MIAA honorable mention, and six of his teammates were named to the MIAA Academic Honor Roll.

Mules Baseball earned the title of NCAA Division II Central Region Champion at a tournament hosted in Warrensburg. The team made it all the way to the NCAA Division II National Championships, finishing in second place.

Jennies Golf won two tournaments this spring and advanced to the NCAA Central Region Tournament for the fifth straight year. Rosie Klausner qualified for the National Championship Tournament as an individual.

Mules Golf won the MIAA Championship for the 23rd time in the team’s history and finished the season as NCAA Region Champions, a first since 2017. Matt Hoemann was crowned the individual NCAA Central Region Championship.

Jennies Bowling finished the year ranked No. 3 in NCAA Division II/III by the National Tenpin Coaches Association. They made the inaugural Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament finals and placed four Jennies on the All-Conference team: Paytynn Kuhns, Tatum Ruffalo, Cayla Bortz and Sydney Miller.

Jennies Softball made their furthest run in the NCAA Central Region since 2015, finishing the season as MIAA Tournament Champions.

Jennies Track and Field won the indoor MIAA Championship, and the outdoor team took second. The Mules finished fourth in the outdoor conference. In Mules and Jennies Track and Field, 10 student-athletes earned All-American honors at the 2021 NCAA Division II National Championship meet: Ashlan Burton, Cassie Jennings, Destiney Nash, Hope Thiel, Kayla Goodwin, Laia Gonzalez, Rachael Molloy, Alisha Straws, Madi Wulfekotter and Garret Francis.

Mandee Berg Holeyfield, ’97, Eric Czerniewski, ’10, and Scott Loveland, ’85, are the latest UCM athletes to be inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame. Czerniewski, a star Mules Football quarterback, was inducted with the Class of 2020. He won the 2010 Harlon Hill Trophy as the top player in Division II, the only player in UCM history and from the state of Missouri to win the award. Holeyfield, a famed Jennies Softball pitcher, was inducted with the Class of 2021. When she graduated, she held 10 records. Loveland, inducted in October 2021, was the first Mule quarterback to throw for 5,000 career passing yards, still holds UCM’s record for all-time attempts and is among the Top 5 for his 32 touchdown passes.

Holeyfield, Czerniewski and Loveland join a dozen past Missouri Sports Hall of Fame inductees from UCM: Kim Anderson, Kathy Anderson, Mildred Barnes, Jerry Hughes, Lynn Nance, Emmitt Thomas, Jim Crane, Kip Janvrin, Kirk Pederson and Tom Smith, as well as the Sandbothe family.

While the Jennies Volleyball team did not compete in the fall season, they did play in the spring, advancing to the spring tournament’s semifinals. Two student-athletes made the All-Tournament team: Audrey Fisher and Kersti Nix. Hannah Engelken and Ally Offerdahl were selected for the All-MIAA Team.

Mules Football did not compete in a formal season due to the pandemic but saw the program’s 12th player, Zach Davidson, drafted into the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings. He is the 67th Mule to sign a professional contract. The 2021 season, which started Sept. 2, is in full swing.

Jennies Soccer did not compete in a formal fall season but faced MIAA competition in a nontraditional spring season. Caroline Cole and Kassie Newsom were selected for the All-MIAA spring team.