News & Notes From Around PioNation

Anthony Maiani

Recently graduated DU forward Anthony Maiani shot a hole-in-one last week out on the golf course.  Maiani will play this season for the ECHL Colorado Eagles.  Hmmm .... Hole-in-one .... Eagle.

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Three former DU hockey players from the 1960's played in Snoopy's Senior World  Hockey Tournament in Santa Rosa last week.  John MacMillan (DU '60), Domenic Fragomeni (DU '62) and Wayne Smith (DU' 66) were among the dozens of former NCAA players in the tournament.  D.J. Powers has an article on the College Hockey Inc. website about the tournament.

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University of Denver men's golf coach Eric Hoos, who closed with a 4-under 68 to finish at 212, was the top low-amateur scorer at the HealthOne Colorado Senior Open at Green Valley Ranch. Hoos finished just five strokes behind the winner.

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You can purchase these cool Boone necklaces online from Anne Franklin Designs.  They are made out of repurposed Scrabble tiles and only cost $10-$15 each.  Besides looking great, they are awesome good luck charms during nerve wracking hockey games.

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Former DU goalie Pete LoPresti (DU '74) was named one of the Top 100 all-time Minnesota high school players as compiled by Minnesota Hockey Hub.  After just two seasons at DU, LoPresti went on to play six seasons in the NHL.

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DU Lacrosse star forward Mark Mathews won a club lacrosse championship up in Canada this summer.  Hopefully the experience is a sign of things to come this Fall for the DU Lacrosse team.

New & Notes From Around PioNation

Congrats to DU alum Charlie Soule who battled his way to a 9th place tie at the Colorado Open.  Charlie led after after the first round and never collapsed under the pressure.  He was under par all four rounds and his opening round 65 was the second best score of the Tournament.  The $3,383.33 paycheck probably won't cover a new set of custom golf clubs, but he has to be thinking of trying a few more events this year.

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LetsGoDU posted this info last month, but the University of Denver made it official yesterday and hired Matty Thomas as the volunteer assistant coach for the upcoming season. Thomas’ responsibilities at DU will include assisting in practice planning, breaking down and analyzing game video, individual teaching and on-ice skill development. A 2005 graduate of the Naval Academy, Thomas was commissioned as a Surface Warfare Officer in the United States Navy.

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Details are emerging for the Versus television coverage of college hockey next season. The coverage is slated to begin in January. Every Friday there would be a Game of the Week televised and each conference will have at least two contests broadcast.

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The University of Denver Athletic Department has formed a Social Media Committee to promote athletic events to students, alumni and fans.  Bringing blogs, websites, Twitter, Facebook, texting and other viral campaigns under one umbrella will be a positive development for DU sports fans.  If you have ideas, suggestions or thoughts on social media, post them in the Comments Section below and LetsGoDU will pass them along to the Athletic Department.

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The University of Denver has three head coaches on the payroll who have won multiple NCAA D-I national championships.  They also have a volunteer assistant coach who won a national championship as a head coach on board as well.  Excellence comes at a price, and now the Athletic Department must figure out how to pay for it all. Enter Scott Koskoski who will be in charge Development and Major Gifts [six & seven figure donations].

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.

Soule Just One Stroke Behind In Colorado Open

(above) DU alum Charlie Soule is tied for 2nd place in the Colorado Open

Colorado Open Live Leaderboard

From: Denver Post
by Lindsey McKissick

There are only so many clubs a golfer can keep in his bag, but Charlie Soule has a tool most can't buy.

Soule earned a graduate degree in performance psychology at the University of Denver, where he also claimed a share of the school's individual wins record. That education provides him with an insight to most golfers' biggest nemesis — their own mind.

"I love playing golf like this, but it comes and goes," Soule said. "I know all the good things that should happen when you take the stress out of it. You can just go out and perform, as opposed to worrying about every little shot."

The Denver-based golfer fell from the top of the leaderboard after the second round of the 2011 Health-ONE Colorado Open, finishing second behind Clay Ogden of Farmington, Utah, who leads at 8-under.

Soule carded a 1-under 70 after he posted a 6-under 65 in Friday's first round. He is tied for second with James Drew of Las Vegas and Nicholas Mason, also of Denver.

"I had it going, but I just couldn't get the putts to fall," Soule said. "I hit a lot of great shots, but the 15-footers just didn't want to fall. When they do, you go out and shoot great scores like a 65, and when they don't, you shoot a 70."

Soule took his lessons of managing stress and sharpening focus from DU and has directly applied them to each round he plays.

"It is about where my focus is and how I'm feeling that day," Soule said. "When the focus is great, you perform really well. Today the focus was not quite what it was yesterday. It is about the focus staying on each shot."

The hills and valleys of golf have been ever-present for Soule since he began testing his game competitively. After failing to make his Longmont High School or University of Denver golf teams the first time around, perseverance prevailed.

Now Soule is charging up his toughest challenge . . . finding his way onto the PGA tour.

Soule's four attempts at the PGA's Q-School (Qualifying School) have yielded advancement to the second of three stages needed to be admitted to the PGA tour.

"With high school and college, a lot of hard work will get you to a certain level," Soule said. "On this one (PGA), there is just as much hard work and talent involved. There are also how many thousands of guys who are trying to do the same thing."

Former DU Golfer Leads Colorado Open

Colorado Open Live Leaderboard

Charlie Soule

From: DailyCamera.com
by Gary Baines

Its been a huge summer for University of Denver golf alumni. C.J. Kim won the Colorado Public Links Championship in June and last weekend Patrick McCrudden won the North of Ireland Match Play Championship. Yesterday, Alum Charlie Soule shot a 65 to take the first round lead of the Colorado Open.

Soule estimates he`s played 200 rounds at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club, but none has been as good -- or as opportune -- as Thursday`s.

The Longmont High School graduate calls GVR his home course, and he does some instruction work there, as well as at Twin Peaks and Ute Creek golf courses in Longmont.

Soule put his local knowledge to good use Thursday as he shot a 6-under-par 65 and gained the lead outright after the first round of the HealthOne Colorado Open.

"This is one of the best rounds of golf I think I`ve played," Soule said following an afternoon that featured plenty of wind. "There were a few little mistakes in the beginning -- some missed short putts -- but overall I`ve shot 10 under (par) before and this felt just as good. Tee to green was solid and the putter started working after nine holes. It just caught fire."

Particularly impressive was a back nine where Soule carded a 5-under 30 while battling stiff winds. Overall, he posted eight birdies.

Soule finished the first round with a one-stroke advantage over fellow pros Nick Mason of Denver and James Drew of Las Vegas, Nev. On a day when 36 players shot under par, seven golfers trail by two, including defending champion Nathan Lashley of Scottsdale, Ariz., and former University of Colorado golfer Scott Petersen, the 2000 Colorado Open champion who bogeyed his final hole.

Soule is no stranger to strong showings in the Colorado Open, having placed fourth in 2005 -- when he was the low amateur -- and eighth in 2008. But even in those years, he never shot a 65.

But seeing how familiar he`s gotten with Green Valley Ranch, he`s become even more comfortable competing there.

"It`s like perfect" for me, said the 27-year-old. "The greens are in great shape and you`ve got to hit just about every club in your bag. And I`ve been striking the ball pretty well for a while. It`s my home course. What can you say?"

Ironically, as Soule has been competing less, he seems to be performing better. He`s putting more time and emphasis on doing golf instruction and, barring qualifying for the PGA Tour in the fall, that will likely continue.

"I`ve been relaxed and enjoying myself and it`s paid dividends on the golf course," he said. "I`m not putting so much pressure on, training every day as hard as I used to, and every shot caring so much as I used to. Now it`s a little more relaxed and kind of fun. And I`ve started coming up with these rounds that seem like they`re great but I`m just out having fun."

New & Notes From Around PioNation

Mike Chambers Blog points out that the new NCHC format will allow DU and CC to play Air Force twice a year in a home and home series.  Twice as many games against Air Force will  be very popular with Front Range hockey fans.  Air Force coach Frank Serratore had some interesting comments about the changing college hockey landscape.

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University of Denver Athletic Director Peg Bradley-Doppes wrote an open letter to fans, students and alumni thanking them for a fantastic year of DU Athletics.  Besides pointing out all of DU's success on the field and DU's many great athletes and coaches, she noted that the administration was thrilled with the uptick in school spirit.  We agree.  Go DU.

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The University of Texas-Arlington is joining the WAC along with DU in 2012.  The 2012 WAC will have 10 members: Denver (non-football), Idaho, Louisiana Tech, New Mexico State, San Jose State, Seattle (non-football), Texas State, Texas-Arlington (non-football), Texas-San Antonio and Utah State.

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DU Alum Patrick McCrudden defied some atrocious weather conditions and the weight of history to win the North of Ireland Match Play Championship at Royal Portrush yesterday. The 25-year-old, who graduated from the University of Denver in 2009, became the first ‘home’ player since David Young in 1977 to win the title and he did it the hard way. He trailed by two holes at the 12th but ‘gained a second wind’ and showing great composure, clawing his way back into a marathon match which lasted five hours 10 minutes.

Slow Play Penalty Strokes Leads To DU Victory

(above) DU golfer C.J. Kim won the Colorado Public Links Championship by one stroke after his closest rivals were penalized for slow play

From: Denver Post

University of Denver golfer C.J. Kim shot a 2-under-par 70 on Sunday and won the Colorado Golf Association's Public Links Championship by one stroke after his two closest competitors were assessed one-shot penalties for slow play at Buffalo Run Golf Course in Commerce City.

Kim finished the tournament at 6-under 210.

CU golfer Derek Fribbs and Colorado State's Zahkai Brown held the lead during the final round. But their over-par rounds, combined with the penalties, left them in second and third place, respectively.

Fribbs (76—211) ended up a stroke behind Kim, and Brown (74—212) was another shot back.

"I understand they were going for the championship, but they're held to the same standard as every other group out there," Pete Lis, the CGA's director of rules and competitions, said of his decision to penalize the group.

Former DU Golfer On The Nationwide Tour

(above) Boone is on professional golfer Danny Wax's bag

(above) Danny Wax

As a senior at the University of Denver in 2009, golfer Danny Wax worked on his game harder than ever before and it showed in his collegiate results. He was ranked 25th in the nation, won a tournament in Palm Springs, was selected Player of the Year in the Sun Belt Conference and made the All-Region team. It was then that he decided he would turn pro.

For the past two years he been playing on the Nationwide Tour while carrying a special character on his golf bag. Boone.

Rainstorm Gives DU Men SBC Golf Championship

DenverPioneers.com Tournament Recap

The third round of the 2011 Sun Belt Conference Men's Golf Championships in Muscle Shoals, Ala., was canceled due to severe weather on Wednesday, and scores from the first two rounds were used to determine the winner.

As a result, the University of Denver won the championship with a two-round score of 573.

1. Denver - 284 289 - 573
T-2. North Texas - 287 290 - 577
T-2. ULM - 291 286 - 577
4. Arkansas State - 293 291 - 584
5. Louisiana-Lafayette - 299 289 - 588
T-6. Middle Tennessee - 303 288 - 591
T-6. South Alabama - 298 293 - 591
8. UALR - 302 291 - 593
9. Troy - 301 301 - 602
10. Florida Atlantic - 315 295 - 610
11. WKU - 318 298 - 616