Chris Brooks
907-474-6805

A record five Alaska student-athletes were named to Capital One Academic All-District® At-Large Teams on Thursday afternoon, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America. Student-athletes are selected based on a combination of athletic performance as well as academics.

The selected Nanooks, which represent three separate at-large squads within the program were hockey senior Adam Henderson (Whitehorse, Yukon/Business Administration), sophomore shooter Ryan Anderson (Great Falls, Va./Biology), senior skier, Lex Treinen (Anchorage, Alaska/Northern Studies), sophomore swimmer Danielle Lyons (Prince Albert, Saskatchewan/Biological Sciences) and sophomore skier Alyson McPhetres (Chugiak, Alaska/Spanish & Geological Engineering).

Henderson, who just received his Master’s degree in business administration, was selected to the Region 8 Division I men’s team, and Anderson and Treinen were tabbed to the Division II men’s team while Lyons and McPhetres were put on the Division II women’s team.

“It is indeed an honor to have five student-athletes in our Alaska Nanooks athletics program recognized by receiving this prestigious award,” director of athletics Dr. Gary Gray said. “It demonstrates the high level of commitment our student-athletes have toward academic excellence.”

Henderson, who served as the hockey program’s captain this past season held a 3.86 cumulative grade-point average and received his post-graduate degree in just one year after claiming his Bachelor’s degree last spring in business administration. The CCHA Scholar-Athlete of the Year played in all 37 games as a senior and ranked 22nd in the country with 364 faceoff wins. He was part of nation’s fourth-best penalty kill squad and was a Senior CLASS Award nominee.

Anderson, who holds a 3.88 GPA, was a National Rifle Association First Team All-American for smallbore as well as a Second Team All-American in air rifle this past year. He led the team in both areas at the national match to lead the Nanooks to a fourth-place finish. Following the collegiate season, Anderson went on to take the gold medal in the three-position and prone smallbore events while also taking silver in the air rifle at the National Junior Olympic Shooting Championships.

Treinen, who had a 3.78 GPA as an undergraduate and holds a 4.0 in his graduate program, took runner-up in the 15-kilometer freestyle at the NCAA Central Region Championship to help the men’s skiing program take second. He was also third in the 20-kilometer classic at the conference championship to help the Nanooks to a third-place team finish. Prior to this year, Treinen was a two-time NCAA All-American and has qualified for the NCAA Championship three times. He was also a member of the U.S. U-23 World Championship Team in 2011.

Lyons, a 3.94 student, produced NCAA B-cut times in both the 100 and 200 freestyle events this year. She secured All-Pacific Collegiate Swim and Dive Conference status in the 400 and 800 free relays as well as the 400 individual medley at the 2013 conference meet and was a member of the 400 medley relay that set a varsity record during the season. She was a member of Alaska’s three All-America relays at the 2012 NCAA Championship and was part of the first group to be named Great Northwest Athletic Conference FAR Scholar-Athletes last summer. Despite battling mono and pneumonia during the season, she still won nine events during the dual-meet season.

McPhetres, a dual-sport athlete who double majors in Spanish and geological engineering, holds a solid 3.92 GPA. She was one of two women’s skiers for the Nanooks to qualify for the 2013 NCAA Championship after winning both events at the Central Region Championship to lead the Nanook women to the team title. She was also the conference champion in the 15-kilometer freestyle skate and was honored on the All-Central Collegiate Ski Association Second Team. As a member of the cross country program, she was a 2011 NCAA Championship participant and earned a spot on both the GNAC and USTFCCCA All-Academic Teams.

All five Nanooks now advance to the national ballots to determine this year’s Capital One Academic All-America At-Large Teams, which will be selected the first week of June.

Men’s At-Large Teams
Women’s At-Large Teams

For more information, contact Chris Brooks, Media Relations Assistant, at cpbrooks@alaska.edu.

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Photo by Todd Paris
Heller Continues Competition Swimming, Attempting to Make German National Team

Chris Brooks
907-474-6805

Junior swimmer Bente Heller (Hamburg, Germany/Psychology) captured the program’s first-ever national championship back in March when she won the 100-yard backstroke at the NCAA Division II Championship in Birmingham, Ala.

But a determined Heller is not satisfied with winning an NCAA title – she aspires for more in the pool, which is why she has continued her vigorous training since she returned from the NCAA meet. Head coach Scott Lemley has worked closely with Heller to help her prepare for what is to come during the summer months as she attempts the pinnacle of swimming in Germany.

The Hamburg native will compete in three big meets over the next month with the hopes of being named to the German National team and potentially qualify for this summer’s World Championships. In order for her to make the squad, she must be ranked in the top-10 in any single event among German swimmers and must have swum such event in a long-course meter pool. To make the World Championships, she must rank in the top two of any event. Currently, Heller’s times can only be converted from a short-course yard pool since that is the norm for collegiate swimming.

“It would mean the world to me,” Heller said. “It would be a big deal, it’s the highest goal [for Germans]. It would be great to make the German team and then still be here to swim for Scott [next season].”

This isn’t Lemley’s first go-round training into the summer months with a Nanook swimmer. Last year, Lemley worked with Heller’s teammate, Margot Adams (Anchorage, Alaska/Political science), in her attempt to make the U.S. Olympic Trials. The two traveled to California and trained extensively for the butterfly trying to make the trials’ cut.

“Depending on their level of ambition, it’s important for me to mirror that,” Lemley said. “If they want to train up to conference, which is the natural ending point for most, that’s easy to do. If they make it to nationals, that extends my focus another month. In the rare cases where they have concrete goals and a real purpose to train, I’ll mirror that too. Bente’s goal is the highest goal of an athlete I’ve ever coached.”

This weekend, Heller, along with Lemley, will travel down to Federal Way, Wash., and she will compete in four events at the Sockeye Spring Open, hosted by the Issaquah Swim Team, at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center.

“I’m training for the 100 backstroke right now and we do a lot of 125-yard sprints to prepare for the meter pool,” Heller said. “Aside from that we haven’t changed much [in my training] because I’m in shape.”

Heller is no stranger to this venue and she has produced much success when the Nanooks have raced there for the annual Husky Invitational. This past December, she turned in a runner-up finish in the 100 freestyle with a varsity-record time and took top-10 in two other solo races while being a part of the sixth-place 800 free relay and three other top-15 relay tandems.

“It’s a pool we know is fast, not just fast by reputation,” Lemley said. “She’s swum a lot of her best times there. There’s a certain level of confidence knowing that it’s a world-class facility.”

She will compete in the 50 and 200 frees on Saturday and will be entered in the 100 free and 100 back on Sunday.

Following her trip to Federal Way, Heller will return home to Hamburg, Germany, and continue training for her other two meets, both of which will be held in her home country. On May 31 and June 1, she will compete in the North German Championships in Hanover and will then head to Berlin for the German Championships from June 12-16.

“It’s every athlete’s dream to go as far as they can with the time they have,” Lemley said. “For most European swimmers, unless they swim in college in the United States or swim for their national team, their career is done. Bente is somewhat unique because she fully realizes that this is a unique opportunity and she’s taking full advantage of it.”

Should everything align and it be that Bente is one of the top two in a single event following the German Championships, her summer competition will continue into late July, early August, as she would then travel to Barcelona, Spain, for the 15th FINA World Championships, held July 28 – August 4.

For more information, contact Chris Brooks, Media Relations Assistant, at cpbrooks@alaska.edu.

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Chris Brooks
907-474-6805

Head coach Cody Burgess-Bench announced that the women’s basketball team’s first signee of the spring period as Autumn Childers (Dewey, Ariz.) has signed a National Letter of Intent to play for the Nanooks next season.

“Adding Autumn to the team brings another great combo guard,” Burgess-Bench said. “She is versatile as she can score, make plays and defend. She’s a hard worker and full of energy; ready to step up and contribute. I look forward to watching her grow and as she adjusts to the college game and our style of play, she will only improve on her natural ability.”

Childers, a 5-9 guard hailing from Dewey, Ariz., comes to Fairbanks following a successful four-year basketball career at Prescott High School. As a senior, she was named Most Valuable Player of the Scorpion Shootout and tabbed to the All-Prescott Courier First Team. She helped her Badgers finish 21-9 and reach the second round of the playoffs.

She was also honored on the All-Courier First Team her sophomore and junior seasons and was All-Area the final three years of her prep basketball career. After her sophomore season, she was put on the All-Conference Second Team and holds a career-best outing of 28 points and 15 rebounds.

Off the court, she was an Academic Scholar with a 4.0 grade-point average in 2012. She has also been a member of Key Club (2011-12), Math Club (2012-13) and has been a volunteer since 2009 for the Special Olympics. She intends to major in engineering when she enrolls next semester.

Childers joins the list of Josie Broderick (North Pole, Alaska/North Pole), Kaillee Skjold (Kasilof, Alaska/Soldotna) and Jordan Wilson (Henderson, Colo./Prairie View) who have signed NLI’s to play for the women’s basketball program next year.

For more information, contact Chris Brooks, Media Relations Assistant, at cpbrooks@alaska.edu.

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Photo by Paul McCarthy

Chris Brooks
907-474-6805

Alaska Nanooks head coach Dallas Ferguson announced the upcoming Alaska hockey schedule Tuesday afternoon, which is highlighted by four matchups against NCAA Tournament teams, including one with last year’s national runner-up, a four-game conference season series for the Governor’s Cup with Alaska Anchorage and the full 28-game Western Collegiate Hockey Association slate.

The Nanooks, who finished their final season in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association in March, went 17-16-4 overall with a 12-13-3-1 record in conference play to finish sixth in the CCHA standings.

Following the Blue-Gold intrasquad scrimmage on Sept. 28 and an exhibition Oct. 5 with the University of British Columbia (Canada), the regular season gets underway when Alaska treks to Anchorage for the Kendall Hockey Classic, Oct. 11 and 12, at Sullivan Arena.

The season opener will feature the Nanooks and Air Force, followed by their second game of the tournament against the defending national runner-up and top seed from the 2013 NCAA Championship, Quinnipiac.

The ensuing weekend, Alaska will look to defend its team title when it hosts the Brice Alaska Goal Rush, Oct. 18 and 19, at the Carlson Center. Joining the ‘Nooks and Seawolves at the annual event will be the former WCHA member Denver and former CCHA member Western Michigan.

“It’s something that’s been advantageous of our program to have the tournaments at the beginning of the season to get non-conference games before you start conference play,” Ferguson said. “This year falls in suit with the teams we have coming up to our tournament as well as the Kendall [in Anchorage].”

The non-conference slate rounds out Oct. 25 and 26 as the Nanooks welcome in Mercyhurst for a two-game set to be played in a rare location. Due to conflicting events at both the Carlson Center and the Big Dipper Ice Arena, both games will be played on campus at the Patty Ice Arena.

“The dynamics of playing on campus is unique because we haven’t played a regular-season series there for a while,” Ferguson said. It will be a good environment at the Patty Ice Arena, a full house and an exciting venue for fans to watch us play in.”

Alaska’s venture into the WCHA begins with six straight games against three familiar opponents formerly of the CCHA. On Nov. 1 and 2, the Nanooks play their first WCHA games ever at home against Northern Michigan. The following two weekends, Alaska hits the road at Lake Superior State (Nov. 8-9) and Ferris State (Nov. 23-24).

Following a home series versus Michigan Tech during Thanksgiving weekend (Nov. 29-30), games one and two of the Alaska Airlines Governor’s Cup will take place Dec. 6 and 7 at Alaska Anchorage. The 2013 calendar year wraps up the following week at Bemidji State (Dec. 13-14).

Alaska begins 2014 with a home weekend against NCAA participant Minnesota State (Jan. 3 and 4), which marks a string of five straight weekends the Nanooks will be on the ice. Four of the final five series, including the last two of the season, will be played at the Carlson Center as the Nanooks will not have to travel after Feb. 15. The slate wraps up March 7 and 8 at home with games three and four of the Governor’s Cup series against UAA, with Alaska attempting to win a fifth straight title in the now 21-year history of the event.

“The way it works out at the end is we have a couple weeks off but having four games at home before we start the playoffs is good for our team,” Ferguson said. “The Governor’s Cup to end the season like that is a special thing. That’s how it’s been for us since I’ve been here that you end the season against Anchorage before conference playoffs. It’s an exciting way to finish the season and will be good for our fans.”

Ferguson added, “Anytime you can play your rival more is good for your fans, for the rivalry and good for the state of hockey in Alaska. We travel well to Anchorage so it works for the fans that they can go down and see two games as opposed to just one. I think having them on the schedule four times versus two times is real beneficial to the league because it adds another strong rivalry built within the WCHA.”

The WCHA playoffs kick off March 14-16 with the top eight teams advancing to a best-of-three series at the top four seeds with the winning squads advancing to the WCHA Final Five on March 21 and 22 at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Mich.

“We have three new teams we haven’t really played before, so that will be exciting for fans to see new teams and for our players to travel into new buildings,” Ferguson said. “I think it’s a challenging schedule. If you look at the teams moving over with us, we always have competitive series with them. It’s going to be hard-nosed hockey and the team has to be ready for that. I’m excited about the season, about the new conference and also the team we have coming back and the players we have coming into our program.”

For more information, contact Chris Brooks, Media Relations Assistant, at cpbrooks@alaska.edu.

2013-14 Alaska Hockey Schedule

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Photo by Paul McCarthy
Matt Emmons, the 2013 commencement speaker and former Nanook shooter, takes a photo with several graduating Nanooks outside the Carlson Center.

Jamie Foland
907-474-6807

Several Nanooks student-athletes took the final step toward earning their degrees as more than 500 University of Alaska Fairbanks students walked across the stage at the 91st commencement ceremony and were declared graduates on Sunday afternoon at the Carlson Center.

Former Alaska shooter and Olympic gold medalist Matt Emmons (Class of 2003) delivered the commencement address and in his speech, urged all of the graduates to “dare to be legendary.” Emmons was not the only former Nanook to get behind the microphone to address the audience as hockey senior Kaare Odegard (Red Deer, Alberta/Business Finance) was the Class of 2013 speaker.

Following the speeches and after each student from all the colleges within the university walked across the stage, each student was declared graduates of the university.

Student-athletes, representing all 10 sports, as well as one cheerleader, one student assistant coach and one staff member, graduated Sunday and the names of all the Nanooks (courtesy of the Commencement program) is listed below, along with their sport, years played and degree.

Taylor Altenburg, women’s basketball (2011-13) – B.A., Justice
Erica Gage, women’s volleyball (2007-10) – M.Ed., Counseling: School Counseling Elementary
Chad Gehon, hockey (2009-13) – B.B.A., Business Administration: Finance
Jarret Granberg, hockey (2009-13) – B.B.A., Business Administration: Management
Adam Henderson, hockey (2010-13) – M.B.A., Business Administration: Capital Markets
Anna Hjelmevoll, rifle (2010-13) – cum laude, B.A., Political Science
Charlie Hill, compliance (2012-13) – B.B.A., Business Administration: Management and Organizations
Sophia Holton, cheerleading (2011-13) – B.A., Journalism
Rebecca Konieczny, women’s cross country & skiing (2008-13) – B.S., Biological Sciences
Tyler Kornfield, men’s cross country & skiing (2009-13) – B.S., Mechanical Engineering
Nico Matthews, men’s basketball (2010-12) – B.A., Psychology
Sarah Meierotto, women’s swimming (2009-13) – magna cum laude, B.S., Biological Sciences
Jarrett Miller, men’s basketball (2010-12) – B.B.A., Business Administration: Marketing
Zach Ngawaka, men’s basketball (2012-13) – B.A., History
Meghan O’Leary, women’s swimming (2009-13) – B.S., Biological Sciences
Kaare Odegard, hockey (2009-13) – B.B.A., Business Administration: Finance
Allison Oddy, women’s volleyball (2009-12) – B.A., Social Work
Ondrej Palecek, men’s basketball assistant (2011-13) – summa cum laude, B.B.A., Business Administration: Finance
Crystal Pitney, women’s cross country & skiing (2008-13) – B.B.A., Business Administration: General Business
Marit Rjabov, women’s cross country & skiing (2009-13) – B.A., Psychology
Andy Taranto, hockey (2009-13) – B.A., Communication
Steve Thompson, hockey (2009-13) – magna cum laude, B.S., Psychology
Ian Wilkinson, men’s cross country & skiing (2008-13) – cum laude, B.F.A., Art: Ceramics
Nik Yaremchuk, hockey (2009-13) – B.B.A., Business Administration, Management

Congratulations to our newest graduates, the Class of 2013! Go Nooks!

Photo Gallery

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Jamie Foland
907-474-6807

Head coach Scott Jerome announced Wednesday that the men’s cross country team has signed Keegan Rankin (El Paso, Texas) to a National Letter of Intent and he will enter the program as a freshman with four years of eligibility this fall.

“Keegan is very familiar with Fairbanks having attended Lathrop High School before heading to Texas with is family for his senior year,” Jerome said. “He will be a solid addition to our team with the ability to score points immediately. Keegan is another important runner in our ongoing effort to build the men’s running program. We are excited that he has chosen to be a Nanook and study at Alaska.”

Formerly a local from Fairbanks and Lathrop High School, Rankin was a four-year letter winner in cross country. He spent his first three years attending Lathrop in town prior to spending his senior year at Austin High School in Texas. He helped the AHS Panthers to the district title last fall as the team’s No. 2 runner. His best five-kilometer performance was at the Adidas Cross Country Classic in Portland, Ore., where he ran the race in 16 minutes, 19 seconds.

A tri-sport athlete, he also ran four years of track and field and was a three-year cross country skier. On the track, his personal bests included a 4:38 in the 1,600-meter run at the 2012 Alaska state meet and a 9:56 in the 3,200-meter race at the 2013 area meet in El Paso, Texas. Upon enrolling, he intends to major in geological engineering in the fall.

Rankin is the third to sign with Alaska’s men’s cross country team this spring, joining Mitch Burgess (Temecula, Calif.) and Tal Norvell (Juneau, Alaska) on the list of runners  to signed a National Letter of Intent.

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Photo by Scott Jerome
Ross MacDougall (left) and Alyson McPhetres (right) were both named Most Valuable Runners for the Alaska cross country teams.

Jamie Foland
907-474-6807

Head coach Scott Jerome announced the men’s and women’s cross country teams’ competition schedule for the upcoming 2013 season on Tuesday afternoon, which includes its annual home meet, a trip to Hawaii and a few trips to Great Northwest Athletic Conference schools.

“It’s a good schedule, we like having a meet every other weekend,” Jerome said. “We have back-to-back at the beginning of the year but that’s not a big deal for us. It’s a real advantageous schedule for training, travel, class work and missed school time, so I think it’s a really good schedule for the student-athletes.”

The Nanooks will once again host the Alaska Nanooks Cross Country Invitational on Sept. 5 and 7 at the West Ridge Trails on campus as GNAC foes Montana State Billings and Seattle Pacific will join host Alaska in the meet. Day one will see the women’s six-kilometer and men’s eight-kilometer races and both runs on the final day are four-kilometer races.

Alaska will trek to the tropics on Sept. 14 when it competes in the Big Wave Invitational, hosted by the University of Hawaii in Kaneohe. Two weeks later, the ‘Nooks will once again return to the Saint Martin’s University Cross Country Invitational in Lacey, Wash. The regular-season slate concludes Oct. 12 in Bellingham, Wash., for the running of the 40th annual Western Cross Country Classic.

“It’s fun to go back to places we’ve been before like Lacey and Bellingham,” Jerome said. “It’s good to go places you’ve run before where some of the older team members will have a feel for the course and instruct the younger teammates on it a little bit. We like to adventure to new places too, which is why we’re going to the Big Wave Invitational. We’ve been to Hawaii but haven’t done the University of Hawaii meet, so we’re looking forward to seeing a new course over there.”

The 2013 GNAC Championships is back in Monmouth, Ore., at the Ash Creek Preserve cross country course as Western Oregon will once again host the conference meet. The NCAA West Region Championships is set for Nov. 9 at the Plantes Ferry Sports Complex in Spokane, Wash.

The top four west region programs and other select individuals will return to Spokane on Nov. 23 to battle the best around the country at the NCAA Championships. The last time both the region and national races were held in Spokane, which was 2011, Alaska’s runners finished fourth at the West Region race and qualified for the NCAA meet as a full team for the first time in program history.

“There are a few women on the team who have experienced that,” Jerome said of the 2011 NCAA Championship. “Alyson McPhetres, leading the way, was a freshman when they qualified, so I know she’ll be excited to be back there and has good memories of that course.”

“We’re taking this season one race at a time,” Jerome said. “We have new recruits coming in and some quality runners returning. We’ll train well and not get ahead of ourselves.”

Men’s Schedule
Women’s Schedule

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Jamie Foland
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Head coach Mallory Larranaga announced Tuesday that the Alaska volleyball program has signed Madeleine Davis (Puyallup, Wash.) and Janelle Feller (Anchorage, Alaska) to National Letters of Intent and both will join the team as freshman with four years of athletic eligibility in the fall.

“Maddie Davis is a solid and versatile six-position athlete,” Larranaga said. “She is strong and poised on the court and adds a lot of value to our team both offensively and defensively. I expect Maddie to make a big impact early in her career and look forward to watching her growth.”

“I’m pleased to add another Alaskan to our roster,” Larranaga said. “Janelle comes from a family of Nanook alumnus. The pride she has for Alaska and Nanook athletics is evident and her perseverance has paid off. Janelle is a great example of the student-athletes we want here at the university. She is a UA scholar and an Alaskan state champion.”

Madeleine Davis (Outside Hitter, 6-0)

Davis, a three-year letter winner at Puyallup High School in Washington, was named the South Puget Sound League Co-Most Valuable Player as the senior captain led her team to a sixth-place finish at the state tournament and a fifth-place showing in the West Central District. She was also a Tacoma News Tribune All-Area Team member and tabbed to the Capital Invitational All-Tournament Team.

As a junior in 2011, she was also an All-SPSL First Team honoree after helping her team to a SPSL South Championship title and a fifth-place finish at states. In addition, she was a SPSL Honorable Mention selection as a sophomore. The outside hitter’s career-best performance as a prep was when she recorded 26 kills in a single match.

At the club level, she played for such programs as Puget Sound, Lake Tapps, Puyallup Junior and Above the Net. As a member of the Puget Sound Volleyball Academy, she led her team to the region title in 2012 and more recently a runner-up finish this year. Davis intends to major in Wildlife Biology in the fall.

Janelle Feller (Setter/Right Side, 5-7)

Feller, hailing from Anchorage, was a four-year letter winner at Dimond High School. As a senior, she was named an Alaska School Activities Association All-State honoree after leading the Lynx to a 34-3 record, a perfect 14-0 league mark and a state championship. She helped DHS to the Cook Inlet Conference title and was an All-Conference Team member and named “Best Server” at the state tournament.

She accrued just shy of 5.0 assists per set, including a season-best 31 against Chugiak on Sept. 19, 2012. She also had 270 digs, 161 kills and 54 service aces in 91 sets played. Other senior-season highlights included 15 kills, five aces (twice) and 24 digs.

During her junior season, she was also a part of Dimond’s state runner-up team that went 28-9 overall and 11-3 in Cook Inlet action. She dished out 3.0 assists per set while also contributing 173 digs, 81 aces and 23 terminations in 101 sets played. Feller will enter the general studies program when she enrolls this fall.

Davis and Feller are the first two recruits to sign this spring and join Cassidy Brewer (East Wenatchee, Wash./Eastmont), Tessa Butterfield (Grass Valley, Calif./San Diego City College) and Lilah Hudson (Seattle, Wash./Kennedy Catholic), who all signed NLI’s during the early signing period back in November.

Larranaga inherited a Nanooks squad that was 6-18 overall in 2012 and 4-14 during Great Northwest Athletic Conference play to finish eighth in the league standings.

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Photo by Paul McCarthy

Jamie Foland
907-474-6807

Alaska men’s basketball seniors Dominique Brinson (Juneau, Alaska/Accounting) and Zach Ngawaka (Keysborough, Australia/History)  had final collegiate seasons to remember as the duo weren’t just a part of this so-called rebuilding process but were instrumental in surprising the conference, region and country with one of the biggest single-season turnarounds in college basketball.

But what made Brinson’s and Ngawaka’s final year playing college ball more special includes the two coming from two entirely different places up until this year. Born and raised in Juneau, Alaska, Brinson was a member of the 2011-12 team that went 5-23 overall and finished last in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference  standings at 2-16 while Ngawaka spent that year 3,000 miles away in Honolulu, Hawaii, at Brigham Young University-Hawaii as a backup post player seeing limited minutes.

“I gave myself a week after season to just relax, then I got back to work,” Brinson said. “It was my goal to have a winning record and to not have a season like my junior year. Getting in the weight room was a huge step for me because at the end of that season, I felt I wasn’t strong with the ball.”

“I came from a team that was pretty loaded with talent and I was playing behind a couple of guys that were 6-foot-8,” Ngawaka said. “I knew I was never going to get the minutes I wanted.”

Brinson made a commitment to come back his senior year and to be better and lead a team that would return only three players, as Sergej Pucar (Belgrade, Serbia/Business administration) and Stefan Tica (Belgrade, Serbia/Business administration) were the only others retained by head coach Mick Durham.

Ngawaka sought a new home and one of the few to actually pick up the phone was Alaska. He not only brought himself here but also his wife Heather up to Interior Alaska for one final season of collegiate hoops. Durham completely revamped the program and along with Ngawaka were 10 other newcomers to make up this past season’s roster.

Picked eighth in the GNAC Preseason Coaches’ Poll, no one outside of the team knew what they were about to get with the newest-looking squad in one of the toughest leagues in the country. In the season opening win against Colorado State-Pueblo, Brinson scored 20 points while Ngawaka posted a double-double with 12 points and a season-best 16 rebounds and made a crucial block in the closing seconds of regulation to force overtime.

A week later, the Nanooks captured the GCI Alaska Invitational team title with three convincing victories to get off to a 4-1 start. Jumping ahead to conference play, after falling in the GNAC opener to nationally-ranked Seattle Pacific, the ‘Nooks downed Montana State Billings at home for GNAC win No. 1 – and there were plenty more victories to be had.

Following winter break, a rare road sweep at Northwest Nazarene and Central Washington gave way for Alaska being honored by the conference with player and team of the week awards. The Nanooks started 5-1 in the GNAC and were the talk of the league but three straight defeats on the road put Alaska at 5-4 at the halfway point – still in fourth and a surprise to everyone besides the team.

Three wins in the next four allowed for Alaska to sit at 8-5 in conference play and after a second straight loss in season to rival Alaska Anchorage, the defending national champions, Western Washington, came to town on Feb. 21 for a game no Nanook will ever forget.

The Vikings, ranked second in the country at the time, were riding a nation’s-best 30-game win streak and Western probably figured this would be the 31st in a row. Little did the Vikings nor anyone else in the gym that night know that Alaska had something different in mind. A hot start for the Nanooks, due in large part to consistent perimeter shooting and WWU’s inability to find a rhythm offensively, put Alaska up early.

WWU closed the gap and took a brief lead but the ‘Nooks answered back and as it went down to the wire in the second half, Brinson made a huge three pointer, the team made its free throws and the champs were stunned by Alaska, thus ending the streak.

“It was a huge win,” Ngawaka said. “It’s something I’ll always remember as one of my highlights in my career. Everyone knew how good they were. That night we beat them, it showed anyone can beat anybody on any given night. It was one of those nights everyone got off to a great start. The refs let a lot go so we could play very physical and I think that suits us because we’re a tough defensive team. It was a memorable night, my parents were there watching and they loved it and it’s a night you’ll never forget.”

The other neat aspect of that night was that Brinson’s mom, who lives in Juneau, saw Dom play for the first time live on the college hardwood while Ngawaka’s parents made the long trek up to Fairbanks from Australia to see Zach in his final two home games.

“I was glad my mom was there because she doesn’t get to travel much having to work as a single mother,” Brinson said. “It was a special night for me.  To compete with those guys says a lot about our team. Western could blow people out by 30 or 40 so to come out with that win is something I can’t explain.”

“My parents haven’t been able to see too many of my college games,” Ngawaka said. “They tune into the live broadcast but that’s the extent of it. To travel all this way, this is a pretty huge ordeal. Knowing they’ve supported me my whole life with practices every night, game every weekend, paying for me to be a part of clubs and to travel, for them to be there right at the end just as they were at the beginning is pretty special. I’m definitely grateful for that.”

Durham’s Nanooks entered the GNAC Championship for the first time in program history as the No. 4 seed after finishing 15-11 in the regular season with a 10-8 record in conference action. Arguably its best performance of the season, Alaska was a fraction-of-a-percent off the best shooting percentage in tournament history as the Nanooks cruised to an 87-73 quarterfinal win over fifth-seeded MSU Billings. The following night, the season ended at the hands of Western, which would eventually advance to the Division II Final Four a couple weeks later.

“It was very special to have a winning record my senior year,” Brinson said of the team’s 16-12 season. “We wanted to bring the program back to what it used to be by winning, making the GNAC tournament and it was just a fun experience to be a part of.”

Looking back on the season that was, Brinson was the veteran leader on this team and his team-best 12.4 points per game put him on the All-GNAC Second Team, along with Pucar. Pat Voeut (Bellingham, Wash./Communication) was also tabbed as an Honorable Mention selection.  Durham was honored as GNAC Co-Coach of the Year after guiding Alaska to one of the wildest turnarounds this year across college basketball.

“My goal was to be up there with the top players in the conference,” Brinson said. “To be considered with the best players [in the GNAC] is a great honor because there are a lot of great players in this league. It’s a lot on my team, they helped me get there in how we prepared and practiced as a team.”

For Ngawaka, this was his final chance to play, to lead and to win – he did just that – and he stated this year was not a failure despite not making the NCAA tournament like the entire team strived for all year, but rather a huge success. And anyone that knows Zach would see it as no surprise that he was grateful for the chance to come be a Nanook for his final go-round.

“To be able to come here and play under Coach Durham, be a starter, play significant minutes and have a significant role on the team, it was how I wanted to finish my basketball career,” Ngawaka said. “It was nice we could put together a good season with a whole bunch of new guys.”

Brinson was happy to play back in his home state and it is something he will hold near and dear to his heart for many years to come.

“I’m grateful for the opportunity I had to come back [to Alaska] to play,” Brinson said. “I saw Alaska on my chest every game and I knew this is where I was born and raised. It’s cool to play for a coach who knows so much and who can make players better when they come here. I was grateful to play here and to play in one of the best leagues in Division II.”

It’s not often basketball fans get to see this type of resurgence, going from the bottom of a league to being one of the premier teams in just one season. This year was special; it showed the rest of the GNAC that Alaska is back and that next year, as it will return the bulk of this year’s team, the rest of the conference better watch out because the Nanooks will be ready to roar come November.

The post Men’s basketball seniors reflect on special year on the hardwood appeared first on UAF Cornerstone news and information.

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Sophomore shooter Ryan Anderson (Great Falls, Va./Biology) and junior swimmer Bente Heller (Hamburg, Germany/Communication) were named the Alaska Nanooks’ Most Outstanding Athletes as the athletic department celebrated the 2012-13 year at its annual All-Sports Banquet Friday night at the Westmark Hotel.

“It was pretty exciting and kind of a surprise,” Anderson said after being named the department’s top male athlete. “I worked really hard this season so I’m pretty happy.”

“It means a lot, it means that I achieved something that I can be proud of as a swimmer,” Heller said following the banquet.

Anderson led the Alaska rifle team to a fourth-place finish at the 2013 NCAA Championship after leading the team in both smallbore and air rifle. He was a National Rifle Association of America First Team All-American in smallbore after placing fourth overall with a season-best score and was also a Second Team All-American in air gun with a 12th-place finish at the NCAA match.

The Great Falls, Va., native was also the gold medalist in the three-position and prone smallbore events and also took silver in air rifle at the 2013 National Junior Olympic Shooting Championship. As a rookie shooter, Anderson helped his team to a third-place finish at the NCAA Championship and was a NRA Honorable Mention All-American in the smallbore competition.

Heller repeated as the Alaska Female Athlete of the Year after making program history in March. She became the first Nanook swimmer to ever win a national championship as she captured the title in the 100-yard backstroke event with a varsity-record performance at the 2013 NCAA Division II Swimming and Diving Championship. In addition, she also tied for third in the 100 freestyle and was seventh in the 200 free to garner a total of three All-America accolades.

Now a nine-time All-American for her career, the Hamburg, Germany, native was also named a College Swimming Coaches Association of America Individual Academic All-American at the national meet. She set varsity records this season in the 100 back, 100 and 200 frees and the 400 medley relay.

The Intercollegiate Athletics Council Scholar-Athletes of the Year were awarded to hockey senior Steve Thompson (Anchorage, Alaska/Psychology) and women’s skiing senior Crystal Pitney (Fairbanks, Alaska/Business administration).

The IAC Male and Female Scholar-Athletes are selected based on a combination of their academic and athletic achievements as well as their on and off the campus leadership and activities, community service and character (sportsmanship, leadership, composure and self-control).

The Bart LeBon Humanitarian Award was presented to men’s skiing senior Ian Wilkinson (Fairbanks, Alaska/Art). Wilkinson constructed a bowl project called “Spheres of Influence” to benefit the food bank. He produced more than 1,200 bowls for a work of art with a pointed message about economic inequality and world hunger. Following a gallery which showcased the art project for his senior thesis, every bowl was sold at $15 apiece with all of the proceeds totaling $18,000 going to the food bank in town.

In addition to his IAC Scholar-Athlete accolade, Thompson also won the Harris Shelton Spirit of Competition Award. Throughout his four-year career, the Anchorage netminder played a backup role for the hockey team. He possessed a great and positive attitude all four seasons and was very supportive of his teammates and coaches, though he was rarely in the starting lineup.

Dr. Gary R. Gray, director of athletics for the Nanooks, handed out honors to the top staff and coach in the department. NCAA Compliance Assistant Charlie Hill was named Staff Member of the Year after stepping in as a student intern and running the operations of the compliance office since the Fall semester.

Men’s basketball head coach Mick Durham was tabbed Alaska’s Coach of the Year after guiding the Nanooks to one of the biggest turnarounds in all of college basketball. A year removed from a 5-23 record, the second-year head coach was named GNAC Co-Coach of the Year after leading Alaska to a 16-12 record with a fourth-place finish in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference with a 10-8 mark.

His season was highlighted by a shocking victory over previously unbeaten, No. 2 Western Washington in February. He had three players named to the All-GNAC Team and the program had numerous GNAC Red Lion Player and Team of the Week honors.

Gray also presented Peggy Birkenbuel with the Owen Tinker Fan of the Year Award.  Many know Birkenbuel simply as “Gramma Nanook” and she is seen at most every home event. Birkenbuel is a positive ambassador for athletics at Alaska as she always speaks positively and highly of all student-athletes, coaches, staff and other fans of the Nanooks.

Each team’s Dr. Wood Scholar-Athlete of the Year and Most Valuable Player were submitted by its coaches and this year’s winners included:

Men’s Basketball: Stefan Tica (Scholar-Athlete) & Dominique Brinson (MVP)
Women’s Basketball: Marissa Atoruk (Scholar-Athlete) & Taylor Altenburg (MVP)
Cheerleading: Lindsey Dudley (Scholar-Athlete) & Sophia Holton (MVP)
Men’s Cross Country: Kenneth Brewer (Scholar-Athlete) & Ross MacDougall (MVP)
Women’s Cross Country: Megan Thompson (Scholar-Athlete) & Alyson McPhetres (MVP)
Hockey: Adam Henderson (Scholar-Athlete) & Andy Taranto (MVP)
Rifle: Mats Eriksson (Scholar-Athlete) & Ryan Anderson (MVP)
Men’s Skiing: Logan Hanneman (Scholar-Athlete) & Michael Fehrenbach (MVP)
Women’s Skiing: Marit Rjabov (Scholar-Athlete) & Alyson McPhetres (MVP)
Women’s Swimming: Danielle Lyons (Scholar-Athlete) & Bente Heller (MVP)
Women’s Volleyball: Keri Knight (Scholar-Athlete) & Katlyn Mataya (MVP)

To conclude the evening, Dr. Cary S. Keller, M.D., FACSM, of Sportsmedicine Fairbanks Orthopedic Center honored Mike Curtin, who has served as head athletic trainer and strength coach for the Nanooks for the past decade and a half. A tribute video from past student-athletes was presented and Dr. Keller, along with former Nanooks Kevin Petovello and Tavis MacMillan made their way to the podium to make speeches in honor of “MC.”

The post Anderson, Heller named Nanooks’ Most Outstanding Athletes appeared first on UAF Cornerstone news and information.