Opinion
UWRF Falcon athletic update
September 30, 2011
The fall athletic season is well under way. For those who are new to campus, or those who have never been, I encourage all of you to attend some upcoming Falcon athletic events. UW-River Falls competes in one of the toughest conferences in the country for Division III.
As a member of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, the Falcons are more than likely either a part, or playing against a nationally ranked team. And the best part, all it takes to get into any athletic regular season game is your student ID and you get into the games or matches for free.
As homecoming fast approaches, the first event I would encourage attendance for is the football game on Saturday, Oct. 8. The Falcons will host the 2x defending national champions, UW-Whitewater, starting at 1 p.m. at Ramer Field. The Falcons are ripe and ready for an upset as new Head Coach Matt Walker leads the way.
Another exciting team to keep an eye on this season is the volleyball team. UWRF is coming off an impressive win on the road against UW-La Crosse. With a 9-5 start, and conference play just getting underway, the Falcons are looking to move up the conference standings, where they have finished in the middle of the pack for the last couple of years. Their next home game is also on Oct. 8 starting at noon as they host UW-Stevens Point at the Karges Center. During their next match, on Oct. 12 against rival UW-Stout, the Falcons will host the Dig For the Cure event where they raise money for breast cancer. Fans that attend are encouraged to wear pink.
The women’s soccer team, while off to a tough start, will look to take the conference by surprise. The Falcons have lost seven of their 10 games by one goal. But with the heart of their season still ahead, the best may be yet to come. You can catch the Falcons in action on Oct. 1 starting at 2 p.m. The will host UW-Stevens Point.
Although it may be hard, it is not impossible to see the golfers in action. Back on Sept. 11, the golf team set a school record at the Wartburg Invitational. As a team, they golfed 345 to set an all-time record for UWRF. Their next competition is at UW-Stevens Point on Oct. 1.
The women’s tennis team is also looking to make some noise on the courts. They are under a new head coach, Paul Mitchell, and will be wrapping up their fall season in the upcoming weeks. The last chance to see them in action will be on Oct. 1 as they too, host UW-Stevens Point. The match is set to get underway at 9 a.m.
Both the men’s and women’s cross country teams have been moving up in the national spotlight. The men’s team took fifth out of 19 teams at the Luther Invitational. Senior Jared Brandenburg turned in a time of 20:43 to take fourth place individually. This performance also garnered him WIAC runner of the week honors. The following week, Brandenburg placed eighth overall at the prestigious Roy Griak Invitational held at the University of Minnesota.
Katie Rydeen has led the women’s team. She placed 27th out of 385 runners at the Roy Griak Invitational.
So when looking for something to do this homecoming weekend and for the remainder of the fall season, come out and show your Falcon pride as our Falcon athletes compete with the best of the best. Go Falcons!
Ashley Goettl is an alumna of UW-River Falls. She was editor of the Student Voice from fall semester 2011 to spring semester 2013.