EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (Blugolds.com) - Seven UW-Eau Claire Athletics teams were in action today, three at home and four on the road.
Men's Indoor Track & Field
Pointer Invite - 1st of 10
The men's indoor track and field team emerged victorious out of a 10-team field Saturday at the Pointer Invitational hosted by UW-Stevens Point. The Blugold men got five first-place finishes en route to 177 team points, 10 points better than host Stevens Point. Eau Claire finished with five event victories.
Women's Indoor Track & Field
Pointer Invite - 2nd of 10
The women's indoor track and field rode the momentum of Carly Fehler to a runner-up finish Saturday at the Pointer Invitational, hosted by UW-Stevens Point. Fehler won two events to help lead the Blugolds to 125 points. The host Pointers won the meet with 152.9 points.
Wrestling
Blugold Open
Hosting the 36th Annual Blugold Open, four Blugold wrestlers found their way into the top five in the McPhee Physical Education Center today. Two Blugolds finished in second place while two others took fifth.
Women's Hockey
UW-Stevens Point 4, UW-Eau Claire 0
The three previous times the UW-Eau Claire women's hockey team and UW-Stevens Point have squared off it was a one-goal game. The Pointers were victorious in all three, including a 4-3 overtime victory the first time around. With the Blugolds traveling to Stevens Point for the final time this year, they weren't able to keep it as close this time around, falling 4-0. The Pointers scored a goal in both the first and second period and added two more in the third period while outshooting the Blugolds 31-13.
Men's Hockey
UW-Eau Claire 6, UW-Superior 2
The fourth-ranked men's hockey team came from behind to defeat UW-Superior 6-2 at Hobbs Ice Center tonight. Superior scored a goal in the opening period, but the Blugolds added three in the second period to get up 3-1 after two periods. The Yellowjackets got back to within a goal early in the third period but the Blugolds then scored three unanswered to win by four. Eau Claire outshot Superior 55-44. The win also gave head coach Matt Loen his 100th career victory. He is the winningest coach in school history and now holds a 100-76-13 record in his seventh season.
Men's Basketball
UW-Eau Claire 73, UW-River Falls 65
The men's basketball team picked up 73-65 victory over UW-River Falls at the Karges Center tonight with Adam Hjelter scoring a career-high 39 points to lead the team. The game was close most of the way with 13 lead changes and seven ties, but over the final 12 minutes, the Blugolds began pulling away. After outscoring the Falcons 20-12 during a nine-minute stretch in the second half, Eau Claire led by eight points (60-52) and then got up by as many as 11 points with just over a minute left. The closest the Falcons got after that was five points, but the Blugolds hit six free throws in the final 25 seconds to win by eight. Hjelter went 10-for-15 from the field, including 6-for-10 from beyond the arc, while going 13-for-14 from the free throw line.
Women's Basketball
UW-River Falls 47, UW-Eau Claire 44
Despite the game being close the entire way, the women's basketball team came up just short in the end, falling 47-44 to UW-River Falls on Ken Anderson Court in Zorn Arena tonight. Eau Claire held a 26-24 lead at halftime and never trailed in the opening half. The game was tied seven times tonight but Eau Claire held a one-point lead with just over a minute to play. However, the Falcons were able to outscore the Blugolds 6-2 in the final minute to win by three. The Blugolds finished with just 18 points in the second half while River Falls had only 23. Teenie Lichtfuss led the game in scoring with 14 points, 11 coming in the opening half.
