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Sunday, more than 100 St. Thomas football players will be back on the field as the Tommies open their 2014 spring practice session. After missing out on the postseason in 2013, you can bet they'll be as hungry as ever to get back to work.
There were some anxious basketball players on the St. Thomas campus Monday morning as they waited to find out if they had a postseason coming. After losing 63-53 to St. Olaf in the MIAC Playoff championship game Sunday, The Tommies (22-5) left their fate in the hands of the NCAA Selection Committee where anything can happen.
A spot in the MIAC title game is on the line Friday night as St. Thomas (21-4) hosts Bethel. The Tommies ended the regular season with a 76-69 loss to St. John's in their final regular season home game.
The St. Thomas men's basketball team solidified a MIAC title Wednesday night, but the Tommies kept the postgame celebration in the locker room to a minimum. That's because St. Thomas still has one regular season game left Saturday, and it's against one of their biggest conference rivals.
Every game is big in conference play, but St. Thomas and St. Olaf meet Wednesday night for the biggest game the two teams have played in a long time. It's been a while since the Oles have been a relevant program in MIAC men's basketball. St. Olaf has made the playoffs twice in the last six seasons, losing in the quarterfinals both times. With a playoff spot locked up for both teams, St. Thomas needs a road win Wednesday to essentially clinch the regular season title and a No. 1 seed in the playoffs.
It's a safe bet that the St. Thomas football team will be a motivated bunch when the squad hits the football field in August for the start of the fall season. The Tommies entered the 2013 season a top-five ranked team and a contender to return to not only the NCAA Division III playoffs, but a possible return to the national title game.
He's less than a full year removed from college, in the real world and now has the chance to do something few small-college athletes get. So when St. Thomas graduate and NCAA champion Tommy Hannon got an offer to pursue a professional career overseas, it was an opportunity he couldn't pass up.
The hopes for an undefeated MIAC season came to an end for the St. Thomas men's basketball team on Monday with a 77-69 loss at rival St. John's. That loss ended a six-game win streak for the No. 11-ranked Tommies, but it didn't take long to get back in the winning column.
You can never be fully satisfied as a coach, but John Tauer has to be pretty happy with his squad over at St. Thomas. The Tommies beat Gustavus 61-50 Wednesday night, led by a 19-5 edge at the free-throw line, to improve to 8-0 in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
The St. Thomas men's basketball team is seven games into its season, but John Tauer will have a much better idea of the team he has this year after Saturday night. The Tommies, ranked No. 7 in Division III, head to No. 1-ranked UW-Steven's Point Saturday for their final game of 2013 before they enter the full grind of the MIAC season.
The pieces seemingly fell into place last Saturday as the St. Thomas football team put itself into position for an at-large NCAA berth. But instead of deciding its own fate, the Tommies had to leave it in the hands of a third party.
Most teams that lose four starters from a squad that was one game away from playing for a national title would consider the next season rebuilding. But the St. Thomas men's basketball program isn't like most squads. For coach John Tauer and the team, it's a program that's simply reloading.
The St. Thomas football team is practicing this week as if it's not the last game it will play this season. If you ask coach Glenn Caruso, he's confident the Tommies name will be called by the NCAA selection committee for a playoff berth on Sunday.
How gifted is Paige Brimeyer? Her hardware would tell you the senior's an All-American volleyball hotshot for St. Thomas, as her powerhouse volleyball program takes aim Thursday at a second-straight D-III championship, hosting the first-round NCAA Regional.
There were 21 seniors on the St. Thomas football team that left Palmer Field at O'Shaughnessy Stadium Saturday with both bittersweet and thrilled emotions. After giving up 13 early points, the Tommies outscored Concordia (Moorhead) 34-7 the rest of the game in a 34-20 victory to keep their playoff hopes alive.
It should be a playoff-like atmosphere in St. Paul Saturday when No. 18-ranked St. Thomas hosts No. 21-ranked Concordia (Moorhead) as both teams are fighting for their postseason lives. The Tommies (6-2, 4-2) will have their playoffs ended with a loss, less than a year removed from a run to the Division III national championship game.
The Tommies, ranked No. 18 in Division III, survived a sluggish offensive day that featured four turnovers and left Minneapolis with a 17-14 victory over the Auggies. They also got some help from Gustavus, who beat St. John's 23-20 in double overtime.
After handling Hamline 43-7 last week, the St. Thomas football team faces one of its tougher games of the 2013 schedule this Saturday. The Tommies (5-2, 3-2) face a must-win situation when they head to Minneapolis Saturday to face Augsburg (4-3, 3-3). Then again, when you have two MIAC losses and need to win out to have any shot at the NCAA Playoffs, every week is a must-win.
For the second time this season, the St. Thomas football team got a lopsided win on its home field the week after a tough loss in the MIAC. Back in Week 4, the Tommies crushed Carleton 65-6 one week after a devastating 20-18 loss to St. John's in their MIAC opener. St. Thomas suffered a tough 28-21 loss at Bethel last weekl, and it was followed by a dominating 43-7 win over Hamline on Saturday.
The St. Thomas football team knows it's probably on the outside looking in when it comes to earning a playoff berth this year. The Tommies, which dropped to No. 15 in the latest Division III poll after losing 28-21 at Bethel last week, need to win their last four games and have Bethel go undefeated and win the MIAC to have any chance at the postseason.
The Tommies lost at Bethel 28-21 Saturday to drop to 4-2 on the season, but more importantly 2-2 in the MIAC. The win for the Royals also gives them the inside track at a league title and the MIAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Playoffs.
The similarities between shifty St. Thomas wideouts – and close friends – senior Dan Noehring and junior Dan Ferrazzo are numerous. The Dan duo were both: -Captains of their high school football teams (Noehring hails from Lakeville South, and Ferrazzo's a Mahtomedi product).
If the St. Thomas football team has any hopes of playing in the NCAA Division III Playoffs, it knows winning out is pretty much the only option. That got a lot more difficult this week despite a 20-12 win at Gustavus last Saturday.
The excitement of a road win for the St. Thomas football team at Gustavus was a bit tempered Saturday as the Tommies headed back to St. Paul. St. Thomas, ranked No. 6 in Division III headed into the game, actually dropped three spots in the polls despite claiming a 20-12 win over the Gusties.
It's probably been a very, very long time since St. Thomas had to look up at Gustavus in the MIAC football standings, but that's exactly the case as the two teams square off Saturday afternoon in St. Peter. The Gusties have made quite a turnaround in the last year and are 3-1 entering Saturday's contest.
