Lindenwood Magazine - Spring 2022

18 19 SPRING 2022 EDITION SPRING 2022 EDITION THE LINDENWOOD THE LINDENWOOD LINDENWOOD ATHLETICS LINDENWOOD ATHLETICS JULIA RUZEVICH Julia Ruzevich of Lindenwood women’s basketball was named GLVC Player of the Year for her outstanding play on the court. Ruzevich was named to the D2CCA all-region first-team and claimed All-American honors. The graduate student-athlete finished the season with 20.0 points per game and 11.4 rebounds per game. Ruzevich scored her 1,000th- career point this past season, during just her third year in a Lindenwood uniform. FOOTBALL The Lindenwood football team finished the 2021 season with its second-consecutive GLVC Championship. The Lions earned a spot in the NCAA Division II Playoffs for the second season since joining the NCAA. Lindenwood concluded the season with an overall record of 9-3, while winning all seven conference games during the year. The Lions garnered 21 all-conference selections including four major award winners. Head Coach Jed Stugart was named GLVC Coach of the Year, while Drew Seers was named Defensive Player of the Year. Spencer Redd claimed Special Teams Player of the Year recognition, while Robert Giaimo earned Freshman of the Year honors. Seers collected numerous awards this past fall, as he was named first-team All-American, first-team all-region, and earned the title of D2Football.com Defensive Player of the Year. Seers was a Harlon Hill nominee and a finalist for the Cliff Harris Award. TRACK & FIELD Behind four individual conference championship titles, the Lindenwood men’s team won the GLVC Indoor Track and Field Championship. Graduate student Samuel Yaro continued his dominance on the track this year by winning the 200 meters, the 400 meters, and running the anchor leg on the winning 4x400 meter relay team. Yaro, a returning All-American, was named GLVC Male co-Track Athlete of the Year following the meet. Logan Kulinski won the weight throw for the Lions, the other individual champion. The women’s team had two individual champions as Olivia Alexandre won the 400 meters, and the Lions won the 4x400 meter relay to vault them to a fifth-place team finish. Head Coach David Nicholson was named GLVC Men’s Coach of the Year, and Maxime Touron was named GLVC Male Freshman of the Year. Rachael Morrison set a new school record in the women’s mile at the NCAA Division II National Championships. Morrison finished in fifteenth place with a time of 4:52.28, shaving over 12 seconds off her previous career best this year. SWIMMING & DIVING The Lindenwood men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams each finished seventh at the NCAA Division II National Championships. The women’s 200 free relay team finished in second place for the best finish for Lindenwood. The same four swimmers of Stephanie Marks, McKayla Siemiller, Joselle Mensah, and Lexie Winnett earned a fourth-place finish in the 400 free relay. Jerry Brown and Matheo Mateos-Mongelos each took fourth in their respective competitions for the highest individual finishes for the Lions. Brown posted a time of 1:56.79 in the 200 breaststroke, while Mateos-Mongelos posted a time of 1:46.19 in the 200 IM. WRESTLING Colby Smith earned a sixth-place finish at the NCAA Division II National Championships to earn his third All-American honor in his career. Smith won the regional championship at 141 pounds two weeks prior, as he was joined by Isaac Jacquez, Tanner Hitchcock, and Nate Trepanier as NCAA Qualifiers. OLYMPICS Josh Pauls captained the 2022 USA Sled Hockey team for his second-straight Paralympic Winter Games, as Team USA claimed its fourth-consecutive gold medal. A 2016 graduate of Lindenwood University, Pauls set an American record for playing in 27 Paralympic games. The New Jersey native captured his fourth gold medal at the Paralympic Winter Games, and a total of seven medals from World Championship competition. Nicole Hensley and Team USA won silver at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, China. Hensley made six saves in a shutout over the Russian Olympic Committee in a preliminary round victory. She earned her second medal as a member of Team USA. Hensley has collected three other medals (2 gold, 1 silver) at the IIHF Women’s World Championships during competition in international play. WOMEN’S LACROSSE 2022 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP Lindenwood hosted the 2022 NCAA Division II Women’s Lacrosse National Championship at Hunter Stadium May 20–22. Lindenwood has been the site of numerous events on the national stage during its time in the NCAA. Lindenwood was selected to host the 2020 NCAA Division II National Championship, which would have featured five national championships, but was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The women’s lacrosse program has hosted a bevy of regional championships in St. Charles, Mo., which has shown to be the perfect site to crown a championship team. NOTABLE SPORTS NEWS Photo Credit: Don Adams Jr. Photo Credit: Don Adams Jr. Photo Credit: Don Adams Jr. Photo Credit: Don Adams Jr. Photo Credit: Team USA/Joe Kusumoto Photo Credit: USA Hockey