College notes 3/15/07

Area basketball players off to national events

Saxony Lutheran graduate Lauren Lueders has had a memorable freshman season at Vanderbilt University, and now Lueders will get to experience an NCAA Tournament.

Vanderbilt grabbed a No. 2 seed in the tournament thanks to a win this past weekend against LSU in the Southeastern Conference tournament championship game.

The Commodores will face Delaware State at 11 a.m. Saturday in East Lansing, Mich.

During the season, Lueders, who played boys basketball at Saxony Lutheran, started 12 games and averaged 3.4 points and 11 minutes of playing time. Vanderbilt has been ranked in the top 25 throughout the season.

• Several former area players will also take part in the National Junior College Athletic Association tournaments which begin next week.

Kelly graduate Kendal Deason and Jackson graduate Aaron Redecker will both make the trip to Hutchison, Kan., with Three Rivers Community College.

Three Rivers will face Bevil State of Fayette, Ark., at 2 p.m. on Tuesday.

Deason, a sophomore, leads Three Rivers in 3-pointers with 76 and is shooting 38 percent from beyond the arc while averaging eight points a game. Redecker, a 6-foot-11 freshman, averages 3.8 points, 3.6 rebounds and is second on the team with 50 blocks.

Notre Dame graduate Amanda Essner has played sparingly for the Jefferson College women's team. The Hillsboro school will face Copiah-Lincoln of Mississippi on Tuesday in Salina, Kan.

Southeast transfer Chyterra Kitchen also is a member of the team at Jefferson, which is 30-3 this season.

Essner throws no-hitter

for UMSL softball

Kelly graduate Dana Essner hurled the first no-hitter for the University of Missouri-St. Louis' softball team since 1999 in an 8-0 victory against Southwest Baptist on March 7.

Essner struck out six in five innings of work. Essner, a junior, redshirted last year after playing two seasons at Meramec Community College. UMSL is 8-10, and Essner is one of the team's top hitters with a .405 average and a team-high 13 RBIs.

Wengert honored by Maryville soccer team

Notre Dame graduate Jacob Wengert was honored as the Newcomer of the Year by Maryville University after his freshman soccer season.

Wengert started 17 of 18 games he played in this past season for Maryville, which finished its season 7-11-1. Fellow Notre Dame graduates Tyler LeGrand and Andrew Buelow also finished their freshman seasons this past year.

Welker earns honors

in NAIA swimming

David Welker, a former member of the Gators Swim Team, recently wrapped up his freshman season at Lindenwood University in St. Charles by helping the Lions finish second in the NAIA national meet earlier this month in San Antonio, Texas.

Welker, from Cape Girardeau, finished seventh in the 1,650-meter freestyle (16:50.54), eighth in the 500 free (4:54.86) and 12th in the 200 backstroke (2:00.62).

He earned 28 team points for the Lions.

-- From staff reports