The Northwest Missouri State University men’s tennis team finished the season ranked No. 18 in the final Intercollegiate Tennis Association national rankings which were released on Thursday. The Bearcat men were also ranked No. 1 in the Central Region rankings. The women’s team was ranked No. 8 in the Central Region to end the year.

In addition to the national team ranking, the doubles team of Sergio De Vilchez and Lluis Altimires were ranked No. 12 nationally. The duo went 20-5 overall, were ranked No. 3 in the Central Region and were the MIAA No. 1 doubles champions. De Vilchez was also ranked individually, finishing the season as the nation’s No. 37 ranked player and region’s No. 4 ranked player. The sophomore went 15-6 on the year, all at the No. 1 singles position. Also earning regional rankings were Romain Boissinot (No. 9 singles), Alvaro Riveros (No. 12 singles) and Altimires (No. 15 singles). The doubles team of Riveros and Julien Couronnefinished the year ranked No. 8 in the region.

On the women’s side, Lorena Jarolim finished the year ranked No. 12 in the central region and Alexis Bartek was ranked 18th regionally. The duo also finished the year ranked fifth in the Central Region.

The Bearcat men’s team advanced to the program’s first elite eight at the NCAA Championships, defeating Northwood (Mich.) in the first round. Northwest finished 19-4 overall and were the MIAA regular season and tournament champions.

— Northwest Sports Information —

Northwest Missouri State had two individuals compete on day one of the 2014 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Grand Valley State University on Thursday.

Ashton Nibert finished 12th in the 400 meter dash prelims, running 55.26. She finished fourth in the first heat of the prelims. Anne Herbert ran the steeplechase on Thursday as well in the preliminary heats. She was listed as a disqualification on the final results.

Northwest will have three more individuals and one relay compete later this weekend. John Petroff is scheduled to throw tomorrow at 1 p.m. CST in the discus finals. The 4×400 relay team of Nibert, Alexis Boyd, Haley Manning and Audrey Bolinger will run in the qualifying heats at 7:05 p.m. On Saturday, Will Haer will compete in the pole vault at 1:30 p.m. and Lekiesha McKnight will be in the shot put finals at 4:05 p.m.

— Northwest Sports Information —

Northwest Missouri State University football players Jordan Harold (St. Louis, Mo.), Nicholas Turner (St. Louis, Mo.) and Myles McIntyre (St. Louis, Mo.) have been named to the U.S. Under-19 National Team. All three players were redshirt-freshmen on the Bearcats’ 2013 NCAA Division II National Championship team.

The team, which was assembled by USA Football, will compete in the 2014 International Federation of AmericanFootball Under-19 World Championships. The eight-nation tournament will be held in Kuwait City, Kuwait, on July 7-16.

IFAF is composed of 64 nations spanning six continents that possess a national federation dedicated solely to American football.

The U.S. Under-19 National Team includes athletes representing 20 states and will compete in a field against national teams from Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Kuwait and Mexico. The United States won the inaugural IFAF Under-19 World Championship in 2009 in Canton, Ohio. Canada claimed the 2012 gold medal in Austin, Texas.

The International Olympic Committee granted IFAF provisional IOC recognition during its December meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland. A vote on football could take place as early as 2017. If approved, football would join the Summer Olympics lineup in 2024 at a host city yet to be determined. USA Football is the United States’ delegate to IFAF.

U.S. players and coaches will take part in a training camp June 25 to July 1 at Shenandoah University in Winchester, Va. The team departs for Kuwait on July 2. The United States’ pool play schedule is:

Tuesday, July 8 – 1 p.m. (ET) vs. Mexico
Friday, July 11 – 4 p.m. (ET) vs. Germany
Sunday, July 13 – 4 p.m. (ET) vs. Japan

Games begin at 8 and 11 p.m. local time. The gold medal game is 4 p.m. (ET) Wednesday, July 16, between pool winners.

A national team exemption granted by the NCAA allows current college players to take part and for high schoolseniors to play for USA Football and not have their participation count among their two permitted all-star game appearances. The IFAF Under-19 World Championship is recognized as a national team competition.

USA Football is the sport’s national governing body in the United States.

— Northwest Sports Information —

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. – The No. 18 ranked Northwest Missouri State University men’s tennis team fell to No. 5 ranked Armstrong Atlantic State on Thursday evening in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division II Championship tournament at Sanlando Park, 5-1. The Bearcats finish the year at 19-4 overall. The top-eight national finish is the highest placing in program history for Northwest.

Lluis Altimires and Sergio de Vilchez picked up the Bearcat’s only point of the evening. The duo won at No. 1 doubles, defeating the nation’s No. 7 team, 8-6. In singles, Northwest fell at No. 2, No. 1 and No. 4 positions.

Northwest beat Northwood University on Wednesday in the round of 16, 5-2.

No. 5 Armstrong Atlantic 5, No. 18 Northwest Missouri 1
May 15, 2014, Altamonte Springs, Fla. (Sanlando Park)

Singles competition
1. Pedro Scocuglia (ARM) def. DeVilchez,Sergio (NW), 1-6, 2-6
2. Jaan Kononov (ARM) def. Boissinot,Romain (NW) , 0-6, 0-6
3. Riveros,Alvaro (NW) vs. Ignacio Hernandez (ARM), unfinished
4. Pablo Gor (ARM) def. Altimires,Lluis (NW), 2-6, 4-6
5. Couronne,Julien (NW) vs. Luca Cerin (ARM), unfinished
6. Glowick,Fin (NW) vs. DamianOkrutny (ARM), unfinished

Doubles competition
1. Altimires,Lluis/DeVilchez,Sergio (NW) def. Jaan Kononov/Pedro Scocuglia (ARM), 8-6
2. Ignacio Hernandez/Damian Okrutny (ARM) def. Riveros,Alvaro/Clews,Amery(NW) 5-8
3. Luca Cerin/Pablo Gor (ARM) def. Boissinot,Romain/Couronne,Julien (NW), 3-8

— Northwest Sports Information —

Northwest Missouri State golf coach Pat McLaughlin announced his retirement on Thursday morning. McLaughlin has been with the Bearcat golf program since its inception in 2006.

“As I retire from the coaching ranks, I want to give a sincere ‘thanks’ for the honor and privilege of being the inaugural head coach of the Bearcat women’s golf team,” said McLaughlin. “I want to thank the athletic department, our Northwest family and the community as a whole for their support, not only of our golf team, but also for me individually. Best wishes to the team and their continued future success!”

During his nine seasons with the Bearcats, McLaughlin has coached Northwest to 57 total top-five finishes, including 16 tournament victories and 16 runner-upfinishes. Northwest finished in the top-five in 81.4 percent of the 70 tournaments he coached in. In addition, the Bearcats finished in the Central Region top 12 the past two seasons and were in the top five of the MIAA standings every year under McLaughlin.

He was named the 2012 MIAA Coach of the Year and has led the Bearcats to three consecutive top-three finishes at the MIAA Championships. Cassie Lowell andSteph Charteris were each named the MIAA Freshman of the Year and both advanced to NCAA Championship play during their careers at Northwest. In 2012, Lowell was named the MIAA Player of the Year. In addition to strong play on the course, the Bearcats have also earned 13 NGCA academics awards since 2010.

“We appreciate coach McLaughlin’s commitment to Northwest women’s golf,” said Northwest Director of Athletics Mel Tjeerdsma. “He started our program nine years ago, culminating this season with a third place finish in the MIAA. He has consistently recruited young women who were outstanding golfers as well as first-class student-athletes. Thanks to coach McLaughlin efforts, we are pleased with where our women’s golf program is today and we look forward to watching their progress as they remain a consistent contender for the MIAA title.”

— Northwest Sports Information —

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. – The No. 18 ranked Northwest Missouri State University men’s tennis team defeated No. 30 Northwood University, 5-2, on Wednesday evening at Sanlando Park in the opening round of the 2014 NCAA Division II Men’s Tennis Championship. The Bearcats move on to the quarterfinals, the furthest any Northwest team has advanced in the NCAA Tournament. The Bearcats are now 19-3 on the year.

Northwest opened the match with a victory at No. 3 doubles as Julien Couronne and Romain Boissinot defeated Northwood’s Austin Woody and Salikh Gilmutdinov, 8-6.

In singles, Couronne led things off with a win at No. 5 singles, followed by Fin Glowick’s win at No. 6 singles to give Northwest a 3-2 advantage in the match. Lluis Altimires captured a win at No. 4 singles to increase the Bearcats’ advantage to 4-2. With the deciding point on the line, Sergio De Vilchez defteated Jen Menard at No. 1 singles, 6-2, 6-4, to give Northwest the 5-2 decision.

This is the fifth time Northwest has appeared in the championship round of the NCAA Tournament. Northwest is now 1-4 all time after last appearing in 2013 in Surprise Ariz., where the Bearcats lost to Concordia.

In the quarterfinals on Thursday, Northwest will play No. 5 ranked Armstrong Atlantic State, who defeated NYIT 5-1. The match is scheduled to begin at noon CST.

No. 18 Northwest Missouri 5, No. 30 Northwood University 2
May 14, 2014, Altamonte Springs, Fla. (Sanlando Park)

Singles competition
1. DeVilchez,Sergio (NW) def. Jean Menard (NU), 6-2, 6-4
2. Boissinot,Romain (NW) vs. Lorenzo Montegiorgi (NU), no result
3. Riveros,Alvaro (NW) vs. Salikh Gilmutdinov (NU), no result
4. Altimires,Lluis (NW) def. Konstantin Zhukov (NU), 6-3, 6-3
5. Couronne,Julien (NW) def. Austin Woody (NU), 6-1, 6-2
6. Glowick,Fin (NW) def. Felipe C. Bastistella (NU), 6-2, 6-0

Doubles competition
1. Jean Menard/Lorenzo Montegiorgi (NU) def. Altimires,Lluis/DeVilchez,Sergio (NW), 6-8
2. Samual Walendowsky/Konstantin Zhukov (NU) def. Riveros,Alvaro/Clews,Amery(NW), 8-9 (2-7)
3. Boissinot,Romain/Couronne,Julien (NW) def. Austin Woody/Salikh Gilmutdinov (NU), 8-6

— Northwest Sports Information —

The Northwest Missouri State University track and field teams will be sending five individuals and one relay team to the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships on May 22-24 in Allendale, Mich.

Anne Herbert qualified in the 3,000 steeplechase after improving her time last weekend to 10:46.10 at the NCC Dr. Keeler Invitational. She was the MIAA champion in that event. Lekiesha McKnight qualified in the shot put with a mark of 49’ 3.5” at the MIAA championships. Ashton Nibert’s time of 54.36 at the MIAA championships has qualified her for the 400 meter dash. The 4×400 meter relay team of Nibert, Alexis Boyd, Haley Manning and Audrey Bolinger also qualified after running 3:45.32 at the MIAA championships.

On the men’s side, John Petroff has qualified in the discus. His best throw of 174’2” came at the MIAA championships. Will Haer qualified in the pole vault, clearing 16’ 4.75” at the Missouri Relays.

The 2014 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships will be held at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Mich., on May 22-24.

— Northwest Sports Information —

Five members of the Northwest Missouri State University track and field teams have earned U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Region honors. The top five individuals in each event from each region earned the All-Region distinction, in addition to each of the members of the regions’ top three relay teams.

For the women, Anne Herbert earned honors in the 3,000 steeplechase, Lekiesha McKnight was honored in the shot put and Ashton Nibert garnered distinction in the 400 meter dash. For the men, John Petroff was honored in the discus andRyan Cox earned the award in the 1,500 meter run.

Northwest will now await selections for the 2014 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships. This year’s championships will be held at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, MIch., on May 22-24.

— Northwest Sports Information —

The Northwest Missouri State University softball freshman Chantel Adams earns NCAA Division II All-Central Region softball honors on Monday.

Adams was named the MIAA Freshman of the Year while also earning second team All-MIAA honors. During the 2014 season, Adams led all freshmen in the MIAA in hitting and RBI, as she posted a .378 batting average with 42 RBI. The shortstop started in all 48 games for the Bearcats this season and finished the regular season tied for team lead in home runs with 10.

Thirteen other MIAA softball players earned NCAA Division II All-Central Region softball honors.

— Northwest Sports Information —