The Northwest Missouri State men’s and women’s teams were well represented Thursday as the International Tennis Association (ITA) released its 2013 regional award winners as four Bearcats were honored.

The Bearcat men saw Guilherme Narducci named the Arthur Ashe Leadership and Sportsmanship Award winner after a solid season at No. 2 doubles and No. 5 singles. Freshman Sergio De Vilchez was tabbed the Central Region Rookie of the Year after posting a 22-6 record, while assistant coach Trevor Conner was named Assistant Coach of the Year for the Central Region.

On the women’s side, Alexis Bartek was named the Central Region Arthur Ashe Leadership and Sportsmanship Award winner for her play this season at No. 1 doubles and No. 3 singles.

The Northwest men will open action at the NCAA tournament Wednesday, May 8, in the Round of 16 from Surprise, Ariz. The Bearcats will take on Concordia (N.Y.) starting at 8 a.m. (CST) as the winner will advance to the national quarterfinals May 9. The national championship is set for May 11 from the Surprise Tennis and Racquet Complex.

— Northwest Sports Information —

After a stellar final week of the season, Northwest Missouri State centerfielder, Ryan Abernathy, was tabbed as MIAA hitter of the week.

In five starts Abernathy saw 20 at bats this week and hit in ten of those at bats. With six extra base hits, two doubles, one triple, and three home runs, Abernathy gathered a 1.150 slugging percentage on the week. In the last three games at Pittsburg State Abernathy hit one home run in each game. He batted in seven runs in the three game series against Pittsburg State, while also crossing the plate seven times for the week. In game one against Pittsburg State, he went 3 for 3 in the 11-6 loss.

Abernathy struck out once in the week, and walked twice. He totaled an on base percentage of .565. He stole successfully on one attempt in the third game against Pittsburg State. Abernathy fielded perfectly with eight putouts, one assist, and no errors.

Abernathy hit his sixth home run of the year in the final game of the season, a 17-6 victory over Pittsburg State.

— Northwest Sports Information —

If you win, you’re in, described the final series for the Northwest Missouri State softball team as they took on Lincoln University with a shot at the MIAA tournament on the line, and win they did winning game one 13-2 and taking game two 6-5 on Tuesday.

The Bearcat offense opened up the first game with nine run first inning to get on top early.

Kylie Cantrell added an RBI in the second inning to go up 10-0. Lincoln battled back to score two runs of their own in the top of the third.

Kristine Labertew added another insurance run in the third when she knocked in Hailee Hendricks from second to move the score to 11-2.

Northwest added two more runs in the bottom of the fourth before Jenna Creger shut the door in the top of the fifth to secure the 13-2 run rule victory.

Creger received the victory in the complete game giving up only three hits and striking out two.

Going into game two the Bearcats needed one more victory to get into the postseason tournament.

The Blue Tigers came out swinging in the first, going up on Northwest 2-0. Kristen Uthe hit a two out double to score Jordan Ereth from second to bring her team within one in the bottom half.

The Bearcats tied the game in the bottom of the second on a solo home run off the bat of Kylie Cantrell. Maddie Jones then stepped up and hit her first triple of the season. Tori Beckman was installed as a pinch runner and was knocked in by Ereth who singled through the left side to take the lead 3-2.

Lincoln came back to take the lead in the top of the third scoring two to go up 4-3.

In the bottom of the third inning Cantrell stepped back up to the plate with the tying and go-ahead runs on with Hendricks on third base and Uthe at second. Cantrell proceeded to hit her second home run of the game giving her team a 6-4 lead.

“Before this year I’d never hit two home runs in a season let alone in one game,” said Cantrell of her two home run day. “I’m just excited to be heading back to the conference tournament.”

The Blue Tigers were able to scratch across one more run but the Bearcats pitchers thwarted any idea of a comeback and sealed the 6-5 victory.

Abbie Vitosh got the win in game two going 5.2 innings giving up five earned runs and striking out four. Jenna Creger got her first save of the season as she went the final 1.1 innings surrendering only one hit.

Head Coach Ryan Anderson will be taking his team to their fourth consecutive trip to the MIAA conference tournament. Northwest finishes the regular season 27-17, 15-13. The Bearcats will meet up with No. 1 seed Central Oklahoma in the first round of the tournament Thursday in Kansas City, Mo. with first pitch scheduled for 6 p.m.

— Northwest Sports Information —

Sophomore Steph Charteris is making history for the Northwest Missouri State women’s golf team. Charteris will represent the Bearcats in the NCAA Central Region Championships May 5-7 at the St. Joseph Country Club.

Charteris has been the stroke leader for Northwest with a 79.8 average in 16 rounds. The Ontario, Canada, native won three tournaments this season and only finished outside the top 10 twice. She finished tied for 19th at the MIAA Championships last week after the championships were canceled due to snow after the first round of play.

Each super regional will consist of both team and individual competition conducted concurrently with nine teams and four individuals from non-qualifying teams with Central Region action taking place at the St. Joseph Country Club.

All participants will compete throughout the 54 holes of competition. The top three teams along with the top three individuals not with a team from each super regional will advance to the championships.

The Bearcats who were ranked 10th as a team and likely fell one spot shy of qualifying for the nine team regional field. Northwest started NCAA competition in 2007-08 season and has never appeared as a team in the NCAA Regional, while Charteris becomes the first Bearcat to do so as an individual.

MIAA Champion, Central Oklahoma, earned the top seed while runner-up Northeastern State was the only other MIAA team to earn a NCAA bid. Three teams from the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference and four teams from the Great American Conference round out the field.

— Northwest Sports Information —

The Northwest Missouri State men’s basketball team has added Zach Schneider, a 6-7 forward from Shawnee Mission East (Kan.) High School, announced by the Bearcats Monday.

Schneider was named the Sunflower League Player of the Year in for the 2012-13 season averaging a team-high 15 points per game. He pulled in 8.0 rebounds per game and added 3.0 assists per contest helping his team set a school records for wins (21) and finishing with a four place finish at the Kansas 6A State Championship. He was also named all-state by the Wichita Eagle and was a DiRenna Award finalist – given to the top player in the greater Kansas City metro area.

“We are thrilled to have Zach join our program. He has a very high basketball IQ and comes from a very solid high school program coached by Shawn Hair,” said Head Coach Ben McCollum. “Zach shoots the ball well from the three-point line, he is capable of scoring off the dribble and he can score in the post. His size, coupled with his guard skills can make him a tough match up in our league. He has won at every level and obviously we want those kids in our program.”

“Zach is a tremendous young man and comes from a great family,” McCollum continued. “He will only add to our family atmosphere we have here at Northwest. His GPA was 3.89 in high school and we expect him to get the job done in the classroom here as well.”

Schneider joins early signee Brett Dougherty (6-7, Omaha, Neb.) as current members of the Bearcats’ 2013 recruiting class.

— Northwest Sports Information —

The Northwest Missouri State baseball team split with Pittsburg State in the final double-header of the regular season Sunday losing game one 5-3 and winning game two 17-6.

Pittsburg State scored one run in the bottom of the second inning then added two runs in the third to go up 3-0.

The Northwest offense was able to get on the board in the sixth inning when Ryan Abernathy hit a two run home run to left field to bring his team within one.

The Gorillas answered back in the bottom half with two runs of their own to take a 5-2 lead.

Charlie Krueger singled in Tyler Durant in the top of the seventh but could not complete the comeback as they dropped game one 5-3.

Marcus Garrett was tagged with the loss moving his record to 3-3. Garrett went 5.0 innings giving up three earned runs and striking out four.

PSU scored first in game two, getting a run across in the bottom of the first inning to take an early 1-0 lead.

Northwest answered with two runs in the top of the second inning. The Gorillas took the lead back in the bottom half of the inning getting two runs of their own.

The Bearcat offense then went on a tear scoring two runs in the third, four runs in the fourth, two in the fifth and two more runs in the sixth. PSU could only add one more run through the sixth as Northwest took a 12-4 lead.

Pittsburg State added two runs in the seventh while the Bearcats added one in the eighth and four more in the ninth to take home the 17-6 victory.

Blane Reutter grabbed his third win of the season to move his record to 3-3 on the year.

Ryan Abernathy took full advantage of the final series of the season going 8 for 13 in the three games with seven RBIs, five runs, two doubles, one triple and three home runs.

The Bearcats finish their season with a record of 22-27 and 19-24 in the conference.

— Northwest Sports Information —

The Northwest Missouri State softball team will have to fight to get into the MIAA tournament after dropping two games to Central Oklahoma Sunday losing game one 5-3 and game two 5-4 in extra innings.

Central Oklahoma went up early in game one scoring one run in the first inning and three runs in the third to go up 4-0.

Northwest plated their first run of the game in the top of the fifth inning on a Rachael Schmitz solo home run to left center making the score 4-1.

One inning later, Kristine Labertew hit a sacrifice fly to center field that was deep enough to bring in Candace Miller from third. In the bottom half of the sixth inning the Bronchos were able to get one run back to take a 5-2 lead.

Maddie Jones led off the seventh inning with a double and was pinch ran for by Sara Krysl. Jordan Ereth singled up the middle knocking in Krysl from third for her 14th RBI of the season. That would be it for the comeback as the Bearcats fell 5-3.

Jenna Creger was in the circle for Northwest and was tagged with the loss going 6.0 innings, giving up five earned runs and striking out seven.

The Bearcat offense was off to a quick start in the second game as Ereth scored in the first inning off a fielding error by UCO to go up 1-0.The Bronchos tied it up 1-1 after getting a run across in the bottom of the second.

Northwest answered in the top of the third when Hailee Hendricks was hit by a pitch with bases loaded to put her team back up 2-1. Ereth scored later in the inning off a fielder’s choice by Kristen Uthe to increase their lead to 3-1.

Central Oklahoma was able to tie the game up in the fourth inning with a two run home run. Neither team was able to score as the game went into extra innings.

Kristine Labertew was walked to leadoff the top of the eighth inning and later scored on an error by the shortstop putting her team on top 4-3. Northwest was unable to plate anymore runs in the inning and left the bases loaded.

Kacie Edwards came up in the bottom of the eighth, for the Bronchos, with one out and a runner on first and hit her third home run in two games to give UCO the 5-4 victory.

Abbie Vitosh threw a complete game in a losing effort giving up five hits, five earned runs and striking out four.

The Bearcats went into the double-header Sunday tied for seventh in the MIAA standings and ended the day a half game behind Pittsburg State for the eighth seed. The top eight teams go to the Conference tournament on Thursday in Kansas City, Mo.

Due to rainouts earlier in the season, the Bearcats have a home series against Lincoln Tuesday with first pitched scheduled for 2 p.m. and game two set to follow. Pittsburg State will play their final series Monday against Central Missouri.

— Northwest Media Relations —

The Northwest Missouri State baseball team ledoff the game with a home run Saturday night, but could not hold onto the lead dropping game one of the series to Pittsburg State 11-6.

The Bearcats first batter of the game, Ryan Abernathy, hit his fourth home run of the season on a 2-0 count to go up early 1-0 in the top of the first. Pittsburg State added three runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning to take the lead 3-1.

The Gorillas added two more runs in the second inning and one run in the fifth while holding the Northwest offense silent until the sixth.

Steven Garber grabbed two RBIs when he knocked in Cam Bedard and Eric McGlauflin with a double down the left field line to bring his team within three at the end of the sixth inning. PSU was able to plate across five runs in the bottom of the sixth to take an 11-3 lead.

Tyler Durant was able to bring in Abernathy from third on a single in the seventh inning. Later in the same inning MacGlauflin singled through the left side to bring in Brandon Huske making the score 11-5.

Northwest was unable to complete the comeback scoring one more run in the eighth inning off the bat of Abernathy. Ryan Abernathy finished the day a double shy of the cycle going 3-3 with two RBIs, two runs scored and a walk.

Ryker Fox was tagged with the loss in the 11-6 defeat.

The Bearcats move to 21-26, 18-23 on the season. Games two and three of the series will be played Sunday with game one slated to start at 1 p.m. and game two set to follow.

— Northwest Sports Information —

For the first time since 2007 the Northwest Missouri State men’s tennis team returns to the Round of 16 after a 5-1 win Saturday over Washburn in the NCAA Central Region first round.

The Bearcats – making their eighth straight NCAA tournament appearance – improved to 20-3 on the season. The 20-wins mark the sixth time Northwest has won 20-matches in a season – the school record of 22 was set in 2010.

Northwest started the day off with an 8-4 win by Lluis Altimires and Sergio De Vilchez at No. 1 doubles.

The Bearcats would also pick up a huge tie break win at No. 3 doubles from Rafael Bugiga and Dylan Bernatzky in a match that saw the Bearcats earn 4 straight tie break points to secure the win 8-4.

Northwest saw a second doubles match go into a tiebreak at No. 2 doubles with Alvaro Riveros and Guilherme Narducci. Riveros had a spectacular hit between his legs to extend the Bearcat lead to 5-4 but it wouldn’t be enough as the No. 2 doubles pair dropped just their second match all season.

At the end of doubles play Northwest had an early 2-1 lead over the Ichabods.

Needing just three more wins heading into singles action, the Bearcats made quick work of Washburn.

Riveros had a very impressive first set, winning 6-0 at No. 4 singles. In the second set he started right where he left off jumping out to a 2-0 lead. He would surrender a point but closed out the match with four straight points winning the second set 6-1 and the match.

Riveros increased his singles recorded to 19-2. He is currently on a 13-match win streak.

The Bearcats were able to ride the momentum from early on and secured the final two wins needed from No. 2 and No. 3 singles. Rafael Bugiga knocked off Thilo Schlenker at the No. 2 position 6-0, 6-1, while Altimires won at No. 3 singles, 6-3, 6-1.

Northwest will take on the winner of the East 1 Regional that will conclude Monday. Queens (N.Y.) and District of Columbia will battle in the regional semifinal Sunday as the winner advances to take on Concordia (N.Y.).

The winner of the East 1 Region and the Bearcats will meet in Surprise, Ariz. May 8 in the Round of 16. It is the fifth time the Bearcats have advanced to the Round of 16. Northwest has never faced any of the three teams that could advance from the East Region.

— Northwest Sports Information —