Sun Star | Story

	Nanooks look to continue tradition of excellence
	by Jamie Schanback UAF Sports Information Director

	UAF Athletics upheld its tradition of excellence during the 2004-05 school year as a record-high six teams participated in postseason competition, five of which reached national tournaments in their respective sports. The Nanook hockey team reached the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) Super Six tournament for only the second time ever and captured third place, the highest finish in program history. Men's basketball made its second consecutive Sweet 16 appearance, and the men's and women's rifle and skiing teams had multiple student-athletes represent UAF in the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) Championships. The 2005-06 season is going to be just as exciting as the Nanooks aim to take their success to the next level. First-year Head Rifle Coach Dan Jordan, an All-American UAF Rifle alumnus and three-time medalist at the 2004 Paralympics will look to lead his squad to UAF’s eighth overall national title. Vying for a record seventh consecutive NCAA national championship last season, the Nanook rifle team fell just three points short of its record title behind NCAA champion Army at the NCAA Rifle Championships in March. UAF had won six consecutive championships to tie the all-time mark held by West Virginia. Coach Jordan’s squad returns All-American shooters, Jamie Beyerle, Matt Rawlings, Kim Harris and John Hogle. Newcomers Levi Geurts of Buffalo, North Dakota, the top high school shooter in the nation, Chrisitan Lejon of Umea, Sweden, and Matthias Dierolf of Schwabisch Hall, Germany will fortify the Nanook shooters’ artillery. This year UAF Athletics reintroduces women's swimming as a varsity sport in NCAA Division II competition. With first year head coach Scott Lemley, a UAF swimmer and coach before the program was eliminated in 1987, at the helm, the UAF swim team will compete in the Pacific Coaches Swim Conference. They will host an intra-squad swim meet Saturday October 8, and then host their first collegiate and only home meet when Loyola Marymount University visits Hamme Poole in Fairbanks October 21 and 22. The men’s basketball team finished the 2004-05 season 21-9 for their second best overall record, was crowned GNAC Champions for the second consecutive year, and made a second consecutive Sweet 16 appearance. After graduating All-American Brad Oleson, head coach Frank Ostanik will look to his veterans, a solid senior class of Justin Bourne, Ivan Miskovic, and Andrew Smith and the returning underclassmen, to set the tone for the Nanooks. The seven new additions to the team; Auston Autry, Chaun Ballard, Jon Osborne, Jeff Sullivan, Alec Von Tellrop, Evan Skinner, and Tyrome Flowers, will be called upon to support and challenge the veterans in their quest for a third GNAC title and NCAA Division II championship title. The 10th Annual BP Top of the World Classic Division I basketball tournament takes place November 17 to 20 at the Carlson Center. This year’s field includes Montana State, Kennesaw State, Lamar, Illinois-Chicago, San Diego State, Southern Mississippi, Denver and UAF. UAF Skiing has a bright outlook after finishing 15th overall at the NCAA Championships in March. With the loss of All-American Jed Kallen-Brown, Head Skiing Coach Scott Jerome will count on All-American Johanna Turunen to lead the returning skiers back to the championships. The newcomers Jerome has brought in will also help the ski team make strides. They are Anders Gillis of Fairbanks, Elisabeth Habermann of Soldotna, and twins Julia and Anna Coulter from Traverse City, Michigan. The Nanook Hockey team made history last year, when it earned its way to Joe Louis Arena for the Central Collegiate Hockey Association’s Super Six Championship and won two out of three games, good for third place. The all-alumnus coaching staff, composed of Head Coach Tavis MacMillan, and assistants Wade Klippenstein and Dallas Ferguson, led the Nanook skaters to their first and second victories at “the Joe” and the best post-season finish in program history. This year MacMillan and the Nanooks hope that another strong infusion of talent, coupled with their trademark work ethic, propels them farther than they’ve ever gone before. The rookie skaters include Brandon Cross, Chad Johnson, Zach Geiszler, Kyle Jones, Braden Walls, Steve Vanoosten, Trevor Hyatt, Adam Naglich, and Justin Binab. The blend of upperclassmen, Kelly Czuy, Curtis Fraser, Jordan Hendry, and Nathan Fornataro, and sophomores, Kyle Greentree, Ryan McLeod and Wylie Rogers, will set the standard for the Nanooks, who are set to continue living up to last year’s “Proud Tradition, New History,” team motto.
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August 30, 2005