By Joe Vanden Acker, Director of Athletic Media Relations
    In celebration of Lawrence University's 175th anniversary, the Department of Athletics has chosen the top moments in Lawrence sports history. Over the next few days, the top 25 will be revealed.  
        
HONORABLE MENTION
    Since so many moments were deserving of inclusion, we've created an honorable mention for those that didn't quite reach the top 25.
    Defensive dominance ... In the final game of the 2021-22 season, the Lawrence women's basketball team outscored Monmouth College 24-1 in the fourth quarter to rally for a 68-54 Midwest Conference win at Alexander Gymnasium. Lawrence held Monmouth to 0-for-12 shooting from the floor in the final quarter, and the Vikings forced five turnovers over the final 10 minutes. The Vikings went 7-for-13 from the floor in the fourth quarter and hit both of their 3-point attempts. 
    A trio of no-hitters ... Lawrence pitcher Bob Mueller threw the first no-hitter in Lawrence baseball history with a 5-0 win over St. Olaf College on May 11, 1963. Mueller struck out three and walked two in the victory. Chris Olson posted the second no-hitter in school history when he blanked Beloit College 19-0, striking out nine and walking one, on May 13, 1967. Lawrence's Jon Tittle then no-hit Beloit 5-0 on April 27, 1968. Tittle, making his first career start, struck out eight and walked one. 
    Running rampant ... All-America running back and Appleton native Brad Olson set the Lawrence record with 331 rushing yards in a 53-50 win over Eureka College on Sept. 16, 1995. Olson ran 35 times and averaged 9.5 yards per carry while scoring a pair of touchdowns. Olson, who had a 74-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, led the nation in rushing that season at 195.6 yards per game. He finished with 1,760 yards and was a first-team All-American.    
    King Kong ... Men's basketball player Chris Page, affectionately dubbed "Kong" by his teammates, scored 48 points to set the Lawrence game record in a 109-106 Midwest Conference win at Grinnell College on Jan. 26, 2008. Page hit 20-of-24 shots from the floor and went 8-for-12 from the foul line in the contest. Lawrence would go on to win the league title in the first season under head coach Joel DePagter. 
    Oh, brother, what a touchdown! ... Brothers Luke and Isaac Barthelmess combined for a family memory of a lifetime against Knox College on Nov. 9, 2013. Trailing 20-17 when Lawrence got the ball back with 49 seconds left in the game, Luke, the team's senior quarterback, directed the Vikings down the field. He connected with Trevor Spina three times on the drive, the last time for a first down at the Knox 17 with three seconds left. On the final play, Luke was flushed from the pocket, rolled right, and heaved a pass to the corner of the north end zone. Isaac, a freshman running back, made a great catch, and the touchdown lifted Lawrence to a 23-20 victory while pandemonium reigned in the Banta Bowl.    
    Wild Whiting Field finish ... In the opening game of the 2022 Midwest Conference Tournament, the Lawrence baseball team won a wild game with Illinois College at Whiting Field. Lawrence led 8-1 early, but Illinois College scored 14 of the game's next 18 runs to take a 15-12 lead headed to the bottom of the ninth. With the bases empty and two outs, the next seven Lawrence batters reached base safely as the Vikings scored four times. Jacob Charon's infield single drove in Parker Knoll with the winning run to set off an epic celebration. The win propelled Lawrence to its first Midwest Conference Tournament title since 1980 and a spot in the NCAA Division III Championship.
    Records falling everywhere ... Lawrence quarterback Luke Barthelmess had the greatest passing day in school history, and receiver Tyler Mazur had a record day in a 62-42 victory at Knox College on Sept. 10, 2011. Barthelmess threw for school records of 549 yards and six touchdowns while completing 28-of-39 passes. Mazur caught eight passes for 220 yards and four touchdowns and ran for another score to set modern-day records with five touchdowns and 30 points. Mazur had TD catches of 92, 72, 14 and four yards on the afternoon.
    Headed to the Big Dance ... Lawrence women's basketball entered the 1999 Midwest Conference Tournament as the No. 2 seed behind Lake Forest College. When the Foresters were upset on their home court by Illinois College, Lawrence seized the opportunity. The Vikings beat St. Norbert College 65-56 in the semifinals and then knocked off Illinois College 61-53 in the championship game to win the league title and earn a berth in the NCAA Division III Tournament for the first time. 
    Senior Day power trip ... Senior shortstop Carrie Van Groll, playing in the final game of a distinguished career, saw her Lawrence softball team trailing 4-1 in the bottom of the seventh to the University of Chicago at Whiting Field. Van Groll was sitting in the dugout when Justine Garbarski walked. Cat Marinac followed with a single to bring Van Groll to the plate. Van Groll blasted a three-run homer over the center field fence to tie the game at 4-4. The Vikings sent four more batters to the plate before Chicago escaped to force extra innings. The game was still tied in the bottom of the eighth, but the Vikings had two on with two outs when Van Groll came to bat again. She launched another three-run homer, this blast going out in left-center, to finish her Lawrence career with a 7-4 victory. 
    Top 10 tough guys ... With just two wrestlers competing, Lawrence finished 10th at the NCAA Division III Championships in 2001. Andy Kazik placed third at 184 pounds and Ross Mueller was third at 174 as both men earned All-America status. Lawrence was the only team to finish in the top 10 with only two wrestlers in the tournament.
    Winning is golden ... The men's basketball team drew the unenviable task of traveling to Gustavus Adolphus College in the first round of the 2005 NCAA Division III Tournament. The Vikings shrugged off the tough assignment and posted a dominating 70-56 win over the Golden Gusties in St. Peter, Minn., on March 3, 2005. Chris Braier led the way with a double-double of 20 points and 14 rebounds as Lawrence built a 12-point halftime lead. The Vikings never led by fewer than 10 points for the entire second half.
    Making a point ... Lawrence women's basketball started the 2004-05 season by jolting the world of NCAA Division III women's basketball. Playing a highly-touted UW-Stevens Point squad on its floor at Berg Gymnasium, Lawrence pulled off a 59-56 upset of the fourth-ranked Pointers in the second game of the season. Playing in the championship game of the Pointer Tipoff Tournament, Lawrence got 20 points and five rebounds from Felice Porrata. Claire Getzoff added 18 points, six rebounds and three assists as the Vikings defeated the highest-ranked opponent in school history. Getzoff hit a pair of critical 3-pointers to give the Vikings the lead in the final two minutes, and Porrata hit three free throws in the final 10 seconds to seal the win.
    Frodesen's record-setting leaps ... Mark Frodesen didn't just win at the 1969 Midwest Conference Championships, he decimated the competition. Competing in foul weather at Beloit College's Strong Stadium, Frodesen set Lawrence records in the long jump and triple jump, also posting a conference record in the latter, and both of those school records still stand today. The sophomore from Superior, Wis., won the long jump on the opening day of the competition with a leap of 23 feet, 9.5 inches. He broke the Lawrence record in the process and won the competition by more than a foot. With a steady rain falling on the second day of the meet, Frodesen popped off a triple jump of 47-4, breaking both the Lawrence and league records. He broke the conference record by three feet, and the man who held the mark, Carleton College's Paul Dragsten, was there to see it. He finished second in the event at 44-8.75. For good measure, Frodesen teamed up with Jim Leslie, Rick Miller and Ron Messmann to win the 440-yard relay with a time of 44.2 seconds. 
 
No. 25 Live from the Banta Bowl!
    Lawrence football made its television debut on Sept. 13, 1980, when one big, literally, sports figure came to Appleton. As part of its contract to broadcast college football, ABC was required to broadcast regional games, and Lawrence's game vs. Cornell College in the Banta Bowl was seen in Wisconsin, Michigan and Iowa. 
    The ABC affiliate in Green Bay at the time was WLUK (now a Fox affiliate), and the network brought in towering Hall of Fame pitcher Don Drysdale to be part of the broadcast team. He was paired with WLUK Sports Director Bob Schulze for the broadcast. One of the ABC crew members pestering Sports Information Director Rick Peterson constantly in preparation for the game was production assistant Jimmy Roberts. Yes, NBC's Jimmy Roberts, a 40-plus year veteran of network sports and winner of 11 sports Emmys.
    The young Vikings, fresh off winning the league title in 1979, took on a veteran Cornell squad and built a 13-7 halftime lead. Jeff Ropella caught a five-yard scoring pass from quarterback Dean Walsh in the first quarter, and Dan Hunt caught a six-yard scoring pass from Walsh in the final minute of the second quarter. 
    It was a defensive struggle in the second half, and Lawrence stymied the Rams with four interceptions and a pair of fumble recoveries on the afternoon. Cornell quarterback Matt Dillon, pulled from the contest in the second half, came back for the game's final drive and moved the Rams to the Lawrence eight-yard line. With three seconds left and time for one last play, Dillon found an open John Bryant for a touchdown and a 14-13 Cornell victory.
     Lawrence running back and Appleton native Scott Reppert was named the Chevrolet Player of the Game after running 21 times for 96 yards. 
    That was Lawrence's only loss of the season, and the Vikings tied Cornell for a share of the Midwest Conference title at 7-1. 


Hall of Fame baseball pitcher Don Drysdale, left, with Lawrence Sports Information Director Rick Peterson in 1980.

No. 24 1986 Midwest Conference Championship Game victory
    With a superlative passing performance from Hall of Famer Bill McNamara and some late-game heroics, Lawrence beat Coe College 14-10 in the 1986 Midwest Conference Championship Game in the Banta Bowl. 
    Lawrence's 16th Midwest Conference title was a hard-fought struggle not decided until the final minute on a chilly November afternoon.
    McNamara completed 35-of-65 passes for 466 yards, all of which set school records, and two touchdowns. Steve Johnson caught 10 passes for 179 yards and a touchdown, and Gary Just had seven catches for 123 yards and a touchdown.
    Coe led 7-0 entering the fourth quarter, and the Kohawks had a golden opportunity to double that margin. Brad Wimmer intercepted McNamara at the Coe 43-yard line and had a clear path to the end zone. In a stunning turn of luck, Wimmer dropped the ball and it bounced out of bounds at the Lawrence 36. The Vikings got the ball back and the teams traded possessions until Coe's Frank Gaffney fumbled and Dave Fries recovered at the Lawrence 40.
    Two completions to Just and a 15-yard run by McNamara put the ball at the Coe 16. McNamara hit Just with a scoring pass on the next play, and the game was tied 7-7 with just 2:44 remaining.
    Coe grabbed the lead right back after a long pass put the ball at the Lawrence 15. The Kohawks settled for a 23-yard field goal and a 10-7 edge with 1:03 remaining.
    "We had too good a year to fold it up with one minute left," McNamara told the Appleton Post-Crescent.
    After the kickoff, Lawrence took over at its own 30 with just 58 ticks left. Reserve receiver Tim Whitcomb made his first catch of the season on the first play for a first down at the Lawrence 42. Just then grabbed a 14-yard pass to move to the Coe 44 on the next play. McNamara then hit Johnson for 26 yards to the Coe 18 on the following play.
    McNamara then completed his fourth pass in a row as Johnson grabbed the ball over the middle for a touchdown and a 14-10 lead with 28 seconds remaining.
    "We dedicated ourselves to that drive. We've been coming back all year. It felt good to do it one more time. It was a good way to close out my career," Johnson said.
    Coe's first play from scrimmage after the Lawrence touchdown was a completed pass, but the receiver fumbled and Lawrence's Mike Podpora recovered to seal the victory.
    
No. 23 Women's soccer wins in NCAA Tournament
    The Lawrence women's soccer team broke new ground for the Midwest Conference when it defeated Aurora University 2-1 in the opening round of the NCAA Division III Tournament at Whiting Field West on Oct. 31, 2001.
    Lawrence became the first Midwest Conference school to win an NCAA Tournament game, and it got stellar performances from two of its stars to claim the victory. A pair of Midwest Conference Players of the Year, Megan Tiemann and Katie Wilkin, provided the boost the Vikings needed. Tiemann, the star forward, scored both Lawrence goals, and Wilkin, the great goalkeeper, was superlative in net. 
    Wilkin piled up 10 saves in the opening half to preserve a scoreless tie at the break, but it didn't stay that way for long. Just 1:23 into the second half, Tiemann took a short pass from Sara Compas and sent the ball sailing past Aurora keeper Michelle Lexow for a 1-0 lead. The Spartans tied it at 1-1 on Tara Utrata's goal at the 67:30 mark. 
    It looked like the game was headed to overtime when Tiemann struck again. Lawrence's Alyssa Spyksma won the ball from a pair of Aurora players and sent a pass to the far side of the field to Tiemann. She took a few dribbles and blasted the ball past Lexow with just 1:56 remaining for a 2-1 lead.
    Wilkin was forced to make one more great save in the final minute to preserve the victory. 
    Lawrence, which played in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 2000, finished the season with a 13-6-1 record.

Megan Tiemann, right, scored both goals in Lawrence's NCAA Tournament win over Aurora.
 
No. 22 Aljay Wren and Nick Maxam team up for NCAA record
    The Vikings scored just one touchdown at Monmouth College on Sept. 9, 2006, but it was a doozy. 
    Trailing 28-0 at halftime to a powerful Scots squad at Bobby Woll Field, Lawrence was pinned deep by a Monmouth punt and took over at its own five-yard line on its first possession of the third quarter. After Aljay Wren ran for a yard on first down, Wren was tackled for a five-yard loss on second down to set up third-and-14 at the Lawrence one-yard line.
    Just looking to get some breathing room for a possible punt, Lawrence quarterback and Appleton native Nick Maxam hit Wren with a swing pass in the flat. Wren caught the ball near the goal line, eluded several Monmouth defenders and his speed took over from there. Wren raced 99 yards for the touchdown to tie the NCAA record for the longest pass play.  
    Wren and Maxam are one of 42 duos to have connected for the longest pass play in NCAA history at the Division III level. 
    Wren finished that season with 13 catches and a healthy 21.2-yard average per catch. He also led the team in rushing yards with 587 and averaged 5.6 yards per carry.
    Lawrence seems to have a knack for hitting on big plays against the Scots. Of the 10 longest plays from scrimmage in Lawrence history, four of them have taken place against Monmouth.   

No. 21 Remarkable turnaround for women's basketball
    At the start of practice for the 1987-88 Lawrence women's basketball season, the team was in chaos. The players decided they no longer wanted to play for coach Cathy Gotshall and the season was canceled. The following winter Lawrence's new coach, Amy Proctor, led the Vikings to their first conference championship.
    With Lawrence Hall of Famers Gina Seegers, Sarah O'Neil and Tracie Spangenberg leading the way, Lawrence posted a 13-12 overall record while playing in both the Midwest Conference and the Lake Michigan Conference. The Vikings closed out the regular season with a pair of losses but rebounded to win four straight and capture the 1989 Lake Michigan Conference Tournament championship.
    Lawrence was tied with Silver Lake College and Marian College in the LMC's Northern Division and forced to play in a three-way tiebreaker. Lawrence knocked off Marian 70-62 in the first game and then downed Silver Lake 66-58 to earn a spot in the LMC Tournament.
    The Vikings defeated Concordia (Wis.) College 65-63 in the semifinals and faced Lakeland, a team Lawrence had lost to twice in the regular season, in the championship. Seegers poured in 20 points and grabbed 19 rebounds as Lawrence downed Lakeland 72-70 in overtime to take the conference title. Holly Skaer added 18 points and five assists for the Vikings, and Spangenberg had 15 points, eight rebounds and six assists. 
    "We knew we had to play a lot of games, but we didn't want to use it as an excuse," Proctor told the Appleton Post-Crescent after the season. "We didn't talk a lot about it. We felt like if we could do that, we could do anything."
    The momentum from that season carried over into next year when the Vikings went 18-6 and won the 1990 Midwest Conference title with a 53-50 victory over Grinnell College in the conference tournament championship game.

    The next group of top athletics moments, Nos. 16 through 20, will be revealed on Aug. 10.