Some Great School Spirit Photos

(above) We totally agree

(above) Wham Bam Thank You Ma'am

(above) DU Swim Team supporting our Hoopsters

(above) Basketball Cheerleaders

(above) No wonder lacrosse attendance is way up

photo credits: All photos by Tracy Ostrofsky

 

See Entire Photo Gallery

DU Starts Strongly At SBC Championships

(above) The University of Denver are heavy favorites to win the SBC Swimming & Diving Championships this week

SBC Championships - Live Results

From: DU Athletics Website

The University of Denver started off strongly at the Sunbelt Conference Swimming & Diving Championships on Wednesday. In the first session, the Crimson and Gold scored gold in the final two events of the night.

DU is looking to defend its sweep of the conference championships from a season ago as the Pioneers compete in their last SBC Championships as a member of the league. In 2011, DU won it’s first-ever women’s team title while the men claimed their second overall team title and first since 2009. 

"Closing the evening with two wins is always a great way to leave the building," head swim coach Brian Schrader said. "I thought our women's 800 Free Relay was great. To break a conference and school record on the first night of the meet was fun. Our men's 800 Free Relay led start to finish and Clay Myers' lead-off effort was outstanding."

The Pioneers' 800 Freestyle Relay team of freshman Anna Labozan, junior Rachel Burns, freshmen Bridgette McNally and Drew Matthews finished over two seconds faster than second-place Florida Atlantic with a time of 7:16.10. Labozan's lead leg of 1:48.76 set the tone for DU, on their way to collecting a new SBC record previously set by DU in 2009.

Not to be outdone, the men's 800 Freestyle Relay team matched their counterpart's results. Senior Clayton Myers paced the team with a lead leg of 1:36.67. Junior Jorge Palma, senior Jay Giddens and junior Cole Worsley kept up the pace helping the team to a time of 6:30.04.

The Pioneer men currently sit tied atop the team standings with 74 points. The women recorded 101 points on the night, placing them in second after the night's events.

"I thought our sprint relays were good, and I'm definitely happy to be just off of our school records in those events," Schrader commented. "Kyle and Bailey both did a great job with their lead legs. I'm really excited to see what the whole team brings in the preliminaries tomorrow. All of our relays hit NCAA standards and that is always the goal."

News & Notes From Around PioNation

University of Denver freshman swimmer Samantha Corea was named to the Canadian national team for the Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico. She will compete in the 100 meters Butterfly.

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President Barack Obama is returning to the University of Denver in two weeks. The president will make a campaign stop that will include a fundraising reception and discussion at the Ritchie Center.  The president last spoke at Magness Arena while he was a candidate seeking the Democratic nomination.

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Mike Chamber's Blog has the latest on the four players who missed last week's exhibition game against McGill.  Highly touted local product, Josiah Didier, is expect to make his University of Denver debut tonight against the US National Development team.

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Alums on the east coast who want to attend the DU hockey games in Boston, the Alumni Association is hosting pregame drinks & hors d'oeuvres on October 14. You must RSVP. Game ticket info is also available on the DU Alumni website.

DU Alumni Event In Boston
Friday, October 14 
Union Street Restaurant [5:00 to 7:30 pm]

107 Rear Union Street

News & Notes From Around PioNation

The Schenectady Daily Gazette mentioned that Versus is discussing the possibility of televising regular-season college hockey games on cable, beginning in January. What conferences would be involved, or what night the games would be shown (either Friday or Saturday) is unclear right now. Versus, part of the NBC Sports Group, is the cable home of the NHL. Versus has been prominently mentioned as a cable partner for the National Collegiate Hockey Conference that DU will join in 2013.

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DU alum Charlie Soule is hanging in there at the Colorado Open.  After Saturday's play he was tied for 5th place. Colorado Open Live Leaderboard.

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Congrats to the University of Denver men's swimming and diving team who collectively posted a 3.44 grade-point average, the best of all NCAA Division I swimming programs.  The 3.44 GPA was .04 better than Harvard and Boston College. Sixteen Pioneers, men and women, were honored by the CSCAA as honorable mention Scholar All-Americans. The DU women's 3.43 GPA was good for a tie for 24th place. 

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The Bleacher Report has named the University of Denver the 3rd greatest college hockey program of all-time.  DU was ranked behind #2 North Dakota and #1 Michigan, but ahead of such schools as Wisconsin and Minnesota.

Lax Magazine Features Full-Page Boone Photo

(above) Boone appears in a full-page photograph in the July issue of Lacrosse Magazine

Lacrosse Magazine's DU Photos

The July, 2011 issue of Lacrosse Magazine [Page 67] features a full-page photo of DU's unofficial mascot Boone and DU Sophomore Sam White. The photo was taken during DU's thrilling 13-10 victory over Villanova in the NCAA Tournament. Lacrosse Magazine is the official monthly publication of U.S. Lacrosse and has a circulation of over 300,000 players, coaches, parents and fans.

It was a pretty incredible year for DU's unofficial mascot Boone.  He flew to Minnesota twice in hockey related activities.  Boone met hundreds of alumni and their children at the NCAA Lacrosse Final Four in Baltimore.  He followed the DU swimming and diving team to the Sunbelt Championships in Denton, Texas.  He also appeared at DU's introduction to the WAC at Magness Arena.  And performed a skit with the Pioneer Dance Team during halftime of a DU basketball game

Boone was featured on two ESPN telecasts of DU lacrosse playoff games as well as an ESPN lacrosse music video promo.  DU's mascot was interviewed during a timeout on the Jumbotron of the Baltimore Ravens Stadium during the Lax Championships.  He also appeared on Coors Field with other Colorado mascots before a Rockies baseball game.

Most important, the student who ran the Boone Program flew to Minneapolis to deliver a giant Get-Well Card to injured hockey player Jesse Martin, signed by thousands of DU hockey fans, students and players. Martin had suffered a catastrophic neck injury that required surgery.  Miraculously Martin recovered from the injury.

Boone Was In Texas This Weekend

(above) Boone was supporting the University of Denver Men's & Women's swimming and diving teams at the SBC Championships in Rockwall, Texas this weekend. DU won both divisions.

DU Wins Men And Women's SBC Swimming Titles

(above) Congrats to DU's men/womens swimming & diving teams who won Sunbelt Conference titles on Saturday

From: DenverPioneers.com

Denver won its first-ever women's Sunbelt Conference team title with 924.5 total points while the men claimed its second overall team title and first since 2009 with 1009 total points.

"I couldn't be more excited about our kids' performances over the last four days," said head coach Brian Schrader. "Both the men's and women's teams posted some incredible finishes, turning in NCAA B cut times, conference records and new DU records. It's fun that both of our teams were able to win the title in the same year."

Schrader was tabbed the women's SBC Coach of the Year, while junior Clayton Myers was named the men's Swimmer of the Year. Second-year diving coach Aaron D'Addario was named the men's Diving Coach of the Year, while senior Seth McNew was named the men's Diver of the Year. The Pioneers were also honored with a team academic award [read entire article].