By Joe Vanden Acker, Director of Athletic Media Relations
    APPLETON, Wis. -- We've reached the top 10 in the Greatest Moments in Lawrence Athletics History, and here are Nos. 6-10.

No. 10 Mike Gattnar wins NCAA title in epee
    Mike Gattnar had a stunning first year at Lawrence University and it culminated in a national championship.
    A native of Slovakia, Gattnar qualified for the NCAA Championships at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind. Gattnar put together a 23-5 record at the championships and won the national title in epee. 
    "I tried to make better decisions, to think much more," Gattnar told The Lawrentian. "I tried to be as smart of a fencer as possible."
    Gattnar put together a a 104-16 record for the season, and that still stands as the school season record for victories. Gattnar followed that up with an 86-21 record the following year for a career mark of 190-37. Gattnar placed fifth at the 1996 NCAA Championships and earned All-America honors for the second consecutive season.
    "It's quite an accomplishment for any freshman to go to the finals and win it," Lawrence coach Steve Amich told The Lawrentian. 
    Gattnar left Lawrence after the 1995-96 academic year and transferred to Harvard University. He was a two-time All-American for the Crimson and was inducted into Harvard Varsity Club Hall of Fame in 2013.

No. 9 A hat trick in record time
    Move over Abby Wambach, here comes Mallory Koula.
    On a sunny, breezy Oct. 15, 2011, Koula etched her named in the NCAA record book by scoring three goals in just 42 seconds. In the process, she broke the NCAA record for fastest hat trick held by the world-renowned star Wambach, who had the set the Division I record of 2:02 in her time at the University of Florida. Koula also passed the 2007 Division II mark of 1:09 of Grand Valley State's Ashley Elsass and the Division III record of 1:07 set by Jamie Sims of Otterbein College in 2002.
    The Vikings were up against Beloit College on Whiting Field West and had already grabbed a 2-0 lead on goals from Keli Muchowski in the 17th minute and Natalie Jin in 21st minute. Koula more than doubled the lead just a few minutes later.
    In the 27th minute, Koula, a senior forward from nearby Kimberly, Wis., took a pass from Cadence Peckham and sent the ball past Beloit goalkeeper Alex Spirov at the 26:36 mark for a 3-0 advantage. 
    Beloit took the ensuing kickoff and made one pass before the ball was picked off by the Vikings. It was Muchowski who sent a ball over the top to Koula, who beat Spirov with another left-foot rocket at 26:54, just 18 seconds after her first goal.
    The Buccaneers kicked off again and after a few passes, Lawrence quickly regained control of the ball. It was Muchowski again who found Koula on a through-ball. Koula's left foot proved deadly again as she beat Spirov for a third goal at 27:18, a mere 24 seconds after the second goal and 42 seconds after her first. 
    That gave Lawrence a 4-0 lead and Koula would go on to score a fourth goal in the 75th minute as part of Lawrence's 6-1 victory. In addition to Koula setting the NCAA record for fastest three consecutive goals, Lawrence grabbed the team record in the same category. 
    Koula also became Lawrence's most prolific goal scorer that day as she hit 56 goals to break the career record of Hall of Famer Megan Tiemann. In her three seasons at Lawrence, Koula scored 63 goals and finished with 142 points, both marks that still stand today.

Mallory Koula, right, scored three goals in an NCAA-record time of 42 seconds in 2011.

No. 8 Overcoming obstacles to go unbeaten
    Forty-three men barreling into history. Like a freight train knocking opponents out of the way on a weekly basis. For eight Saturdays in the fall of 1967, the Lawrence football team was perfect.
    The 1967 Vikings were led by captains and Appleton natives Chuck McKee and Gary Hietpas and had legendary coach Ron Roberts on the sidelines. The Vikings became the football team in school history to go 8-0 and just the third team in Lawrence history to post a perfect season. The 1942 team went 6-0 and the 1951 squad was 7-0.
    The Vikings started the season with four consecutive victories before earning a hard-fought 15-7 win over traditional rival Ripon College. Lawrence then rolled to easy wins over Knox College and Grinnell College to clinch a second consecutive Midwest Conference title. The Vikings then completed the perfect season with an 18-14 victory over Monmouth College, which was clinched by Dennis Kirchoff's late interception.
    In the wake of the perfect season, McKee and Hietpas both earned Associated Press All-America honors. McKee, the team's star quarterback, was a first-team selection. Hietpas, a stellar linebacker who guided a defense that allowed just 8.4 points per game, earned honorable mention on the All-America team.
    Lawrence had 11 players, more than one-quarter of the team, named to the All-Midwest Conference squad that season. McKee and Hietpas were joined on the all-conference team by defensive end Dale Schuparra, defensive tackle Dennis DeCock, defensive backs John Biolo, Ken Koskelin and Kirchoff, tackles Joe Patterson and Paul Henningsen and running backs Steve Figi and Dick Witte.
    A national ratings service ranked all the college football teams in the nation, from Alabama to Penn State to Wisconsin and all the schools, large and small, in between. Lawrence ranked in the top 90 in the nation.

No. 7 Comeback at the Cornerstone
    The St. Norbert College men's hockey team was unbeatable with a third-period lead at home. The numbers were simply stunning, 237-1-2 when leading after two periods under head coach Tim Coghlin. The next setback for the Green Knights came at hands of the Vikings on Dec. 7, 2013, at the Cornerstone Community Center.      
    Riding a 40-game win streak when leading after two periods, second-ranked St. Norbert looked like it was on its way to No. 41 when it grabbed a 4-1 lead just 1:08 into the final period. 
    The Vikings then started their improbable comeback just 27 seconds later when Gustav Lindgren scored off assists from William Thoren and Ryan Eardley to cut the lead to 4-2. The Vikings edged even closer when Renato Engler scored off assists from Rudi Pino and Paul Zuke. Lawrence now trailed 4-3 with 8:36 left in regulation.
    Time was growing short as the clocked ticked below two minutes remaining when Matt Moore got loose in the St. Norbert zone. With passes coming from Ryan Rumble and Brandon Boelter, Moore beat St. Norbert star goaltender Tony Kujava with 1:28 left in regulation to tie the game at 4-4.
    With overtime looming, rookie forward Blake Roubos shook off the St. Norbert defense, corralling a pass from Boelter, and beat Kujava with just 22 seconds remaining in regulation for a 5-4 lead. The Green Knights pulled Kujava for the final 11 seconds in an attempt to get the equalizer, but Lawrence killed off the final few ticks for the historic victory.
    "I'm speechless right now," Lawrence coach Mike Szkodzinski said after the win. "Every program needs a victory to hang their hat on in order to move forward, and undoubtedly this is that win. I'm very proud of our young men and this program."
    Anton Olsson was in net for the Vikings and made 25 saves to earn the victory. 
    The victory still marks the highest-ranked team Lawrence has ever beaten, and it was the first win over St. Norbert since the Green Knights went to varsity status in 1988.

The Vikings celebrate the game-winning goal by Blake Roubos (16) against No. 2-ranked St. Norbert.

No. 6 Schye, Vikings deliver stunning NCAA Tournament victory
    The 1998 NCAA Division III Tournament was the first for the Lawrence softball team, but the Vikings didn't look like rookies at the Big Dance. Lawrence won its first two games at the West Regional and scored one of the great wins in school history against No. 2-ranked Chapman University at Hart Park in Orange, Calif.
    Lawrence had just won it second straight Midwest Conference title, and the Vikings got their first NCAA Tournament berth. The NCAA sent the Vikings 2,000 miles from home to southern California as second-ranked Chapman was set to host the regional tournament.  
   "We approached the games in a relaxed fashion," Lawrence Hall of Fame coach Kim Tatro told the Appleton Post-Crescent. "We felt nothing to lose, and as the innings went on we felt more and more confident. These two wins are great for the program."
    The Vikings opened regional play with the University of St. Thomas, and the game was scoreless heading to the seventh inning. With one out, Lawrence's Joy Rogatzki singled off St. Thomas starter Kelly Weyandt. After a bunt moved Rogatzki to second, Susie Svejda came up with a clutch single to center field to score Rogatzki and give Lawrence a 1-0 lead.
    Lawrence starter Sara Schye had blanked the Tommies for six innings, but St. Thomas had a runner on with one out in the bottom of the seventh. That's when second baseman Aly Martin made a great running catch in right field and doubled off the runner to end the game. Schye tossed a five-hit shutout, striking out four without walking a batter.
     That put Lawrence in a showdown against Chapman, who had a 31-6 record, two All-Americans in the lineup and an offense averaging more than six runs per game. Schye shut them out and scored both of Lawrence's runs.
    Schye got her team going when she led off the game with a single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. After Jenny Batog walked, Lisa Bryfczynski singled to load the bases. Rogatzki's sacrifice fly scored Schye, and the Vikings led 1-0. Schye singled again in the third and went to second on Batog's bunt, but the throw to second was wild. Schye came around to score, and Lawrence was up 2-0.
    Schye took care of the rest as the fireballing left-hander tossed a four-hit shutout. The Lawrence Hall of Famer struck out three and didn't walk a batter. 
    "I just took it one batter at a time and didn't let them intimidate me," Schye told the Post-Crescent. "I didn't give in to the hitter. I hit the corners and didn't give them real good pitches to hit."
    The dream of reaching the Division III World Series ended the next day after the Vikings suffered a tough 3-2, nine-inning loss to Buena Vista University. Chapman then eliminated the Vikings with an 8-0 victory. 
    The Vikings finished the season with a 25-12 record and would go on to win a third consecutive Midwest Conference championship in 1999 and play in the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year.

The Top 25 Countdown ...
No. 25 Lawrence football makes ABC-TV debut vs. Cornell in 1980
No. 24 Lawrence football beats Coe 14-10 in 1986 MWC Championship Game
No. 23 Lawrence women's soccer beats Aurora 2-1 for first NCAA Tournament win
No. 22 Aljay Wren and Nick Maxam team up for 99-yard touchdown pass
No. 21 Remarkable turnaround for women's basketball
No. 20 Jim Miller takes 12th at 1978 NCAA Cross Country Championships
No. 19 Basketball stars Kenya Earl, Brad Sendell chase scoring titles
No. 18 Cross country sweeps Midwest Conference titles in 2021
No. 17 Keven Bradley scores final 20 points for men's basketball in win over Ripon
No. 16 Men's basketball breaks 54-year drought by winning 1997 Midwest Conference title
No. 15 Football beats Ripon in final seconds to secure third straight Midwest Conference title
No. 14 Kate Leventhal runs to All-America cross country honors in 1981
No. 13 No. 1 Lawrence men's basketball team hosts NCAA Division III sectional
No. 12 (tie) Josh Janusiak runs to All-America honors/1950 cross country team eighth in nation
No. 11 Keven Bradley's buzzer-beater preserves perfect season and delivers Midwest Conference title

The countdown resumes with No. 5 on Aug. 15.