CC-DU to Take Coors Field in ‘Battle on Blake’

The 302nd meeting between in-state rivals Colorado College and the University of Denver will certainly be unlike any other in the 65-year history of the series. The schools announced they will play an outdoor hockey game at Coors Field in Denver on Saturday, Feb. 20, 2016. Dubbed the “Battle on Blake,” this will be the first collegiate hockey game ever played at Coors Field and marks the first time that CC and DU have faced off in an outdoor match.

“We are thrilled to be taking our rivalry with the University of Denver outside in 2016,” CC Athletics Director Ken Ralph said. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for our players and we are grateful to the Colorado Rockies, the Coors Field staff, and the University of Denver for making this a reality for our team. We are looking forward to a large crowd in a beautiful setting as our teams display that college hockey is indeed thriving in the state of Colorado.”

The game will be played one week prior to the Colorado Avalanche hosting the Detroit Red Wings at Coors Field as part of the Coors Light NHL Stadium Series.

The two schools first played on Jan. 6, 1950 and have battled for the Gold Pan Trophy since 1993. The Tigers have hoisted the hardware 12 times in 22 years.

Find the complete hockey schedule: 2cc.co/CCTigerHockey and details about purchasing season tickets: 2cc.co/TigerHockeyTix

Six Inducted Into CC Athletics Hall of Fame

Six individuals were inducted into the Colorado College Athletics Hall of Fame on May 30 at the Cheyenne Mountain Resort in Colorado Springs. Pictured below, left to right: Scott Robertson ’89 (football/baseball), Rob Doyle ’87 (hockey), Philip “Flip” Naumburg ’75 (lacrosse), Laura Luckett ’84 (diving), and Jason Valant ’93 (basketball). Sog Panter ’42 (football/track) was awarded posthumously. All were enshrined as the Class of 2015.

Robertson, widely regarded as the best linebacker in the history of CC football, was a Division III All-America selection and named the Small College Defensive Player of the Year by the Denver Post as a senior in 1988 when he led the Tigers with a school-record 183 tackles. He also holds the school record for solo tackles (372), assisted tackles (300), total tackles (672), and fumble recoveries (9) in a career. His 672 total tackles are 252 more than second place on the school’s all-time list. Robertson also lettered two years in baseball at CC.

A three-time MVP of the hockey team, Doyle scored 51 goals and added 151 assists in his four years at CC. His 202 career points lead all defensemen and are fifth overall on the school’s all-time scoring list. He led the Tigers in scoring as a sophomore in 1984-85 with 55 points (11g,44a) and tied for the team lead the next season with 59 points (18g,41a). Doyle was a three-time all-WCHA performer, earning first-team honors as a senior and selection to the second-team as a sophomore and junior. He played nearly 1,000 games as a professional player in the U.S. and Europe and represented Austria in the 1994 Olympic Games.

Naumburg racked up 35 career points (31g,4a) in his four-year career at CC, but made his name in the lacrosse world following graduation. During his time at CC, he co-founded the Vail Lacrosse Shootout, then served as head coach at Colorado State University for 14 seasons. Naumburg led the Rams to a 208-52 overall record, five Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association national championships, and six Rocky Mountain Lacrosse Conference titles. He was inducted into the Colorado Lacrosse Foundation Hall of Fame in 2006.

Luckett was CC’s first female diver to earn All-America honors, earning that status on the 3-meter board in both 1983 and 1984. She advanced to the national championships each season, placing ninth as a junior in 1983 and sixth as a senior in 1984. She qualified for nationals as a sophomore in 1982 but did not place. Following her graduation, Luckett returned to CC as the diving coach from 1986-88 and was named the Division III Coach of the Year in 1987.

Valant, a three-time team captain at CC, is third on the school’s career scoring list with 1,899 points and the school-record holder with 315 made three-pointers. He was instrumental in the Tigers winning a school-record 22 games and advancing to the round of 16 at the NCAA Division III Tournament in 1992, their first appearance since 1960. Valant is No. 1 in program history with 103 games played, seventh with 124 steals, and 14th with 200 assists.

Panter was a two-time all-conference selection as a center for the Tigers in 1940 and 1941. Following his graduation, he was highly regarded by a number of NFL teams, but he rejected professional football and instead joined the U.S. Navy during World War II.

Men’s Lacrosse Finishes Season 12-4

Colorado College earned its third consecutive postseason appearance in the NCAA Division III Men’s Lacrosse Championship, where it dropped a 12-6 decision at No. 9 Endicott College.

Goaltender Chase Murphy ’16, who earned honorable-mention All-America accolades from the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association for the second time, tied his career high with 18 saves as CC held the Gulls to more than four goals below its season average.

Murphy also stopped 18 shots during a 9-3 victory at Whittier College on April 10 as the Tigers maintained possession of the Locker-Stabler Cup for the fifth year in a row. Defender Tim Jenkins ’16, who was named an honorable-mention All-America for the first time, recorded a career-high seven caused turnovers against the Poets.

Midfielders Henri Halle ’15, Dylan Davie ’15, and Taylor Paul ’15 combined for seven goals and four assists to lead CC to a 10-6 win over Whittier on April 24 at Washburn Field, which gave the Tigers seven consecutive victories against their West Region rivals.

Halle, an honorable-mention All-American who also was selected to play in the 74th Annual USILA/LaxWorld North-South All-Star game, led the Tigers with four goals against the Poets. CC finished the season with a 12-4 record.

Tennis Earns Two Awards

2015 SCAC WOMEN’S TENNIS COACH OF THE YEAR: Anthony Weber

Colorado College Tennis Coach Anthony Weber and Fiona Cerf ’18 were honored by the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) last spring as the Women’s Coach and Newcomer of the Year.

Weber earned his first Coach of the Year award after leading the Tigers to a second-place finish at the 2015 SCAC championships, falling to nationally ranked Trinity University in the title match. Competing with a roster that listed four of its top six singles players as either freshmen or sophomores, Weber guided his squad to its first conference final since joining the SCAC in 2007 and a season-ending West Region ranking of No. 16.

2015 SCAC WOMEN’S TENNIS NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR: Fiona Cerf

Cerf, meanwhile, posted an 11-4 singles mark at the No. 1 position for the Tigers with her only losses in Division III competition coming at the hands of two regionally ranked players. In doubles, Cerf paired with Mary Edman ’15 to post a 14-4 at No. 1 doubles and the duo won 10 of their last 12 matches during the season.

Cerf also received all-SCAC honors and was joined on the team by Edman and Natalia Dellavalle ’18. Edman, who earned all-SCAC honors for the second time (2013), finished the season with a 10-8 singles record, while Dellavalle led the squad with 12 singles victories.

Track and Field Runners Excel

Rebecca Lavietes ’15 (below) became the first Colorado College female to win an individual title at the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Track and Field Championships by capturing the 10,000-meter race last spring in San Antonio, Texas.

Lavietes finished the race in 39 minutes, 34.23 seconds, more than 41 seconds faster than teammate Katie Sandfort ’17, who finished second with a personal-best time of 40:15.26. Sandfort finished 56 seconds ahead of the third-place runner. Lavietes, who broke the school record in the 10K earlier in the season, and Sandfort each earned all-SCAC honors.

The next day, Leah Wessler ’17 won the 5,000-meter race at the SCAC Championships. Wessler, who captured the SCAC Cross Country title last fall, won the race in a time of 18 minutes, 51.02 seconds. Lavietes finished just behind Wessler with a time of 18:56.16. CC secured third place at the meet, its best finish since joining the conference in 2007.