University of Nebraska Curling Guild

Last updated
Nebraska Cornhuskers
Location Lincoln, Nebraska

The University of Nebraska Curling Club is the collegiate curling team that represents the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. They are an officially recognized organization on the campus in Lincoln, and are affiliated with the Aksarben Curling Association. Their home arena is Baxter Arena in Omaha, Nebraska. The team, founded in late 2007, practices at the Breslow Ice Hockey Center near main campus. They are coached by Nancy Myers and led by president Olivia Schuster and vice president Seamus Hurley.

Contents

History

Club formation and growth (2007–2012)

The Nebraska Curling Club began its history as the University of Nebraska Curling Guild in 2007. Prior to being an official registered student organization (RSO) at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, a group of friends, who all attended UNL, participated in an Aksarben Curling Club open house in October 2007 in Omaha, Nebraska. Matt Gibney, one of the team's founding fathers, said, "I saw it in the 2006 Olympics and I thought I kind of want to try this out so a couple of us came up here, tried it out a few times and then once on the way home we said this is a lot of fun, we want to keep doing this." [1]

Erik Mellgren, another founding father who had prior experience setting up a RSO as a part of the UNL Lumberjack Club, suggested that the group pursue making a recognized curling organization through the university to obtain additional funding. Before long they were an RSO as a club sport through the university's recreational center. The team would travel to Omaha to compete in the Aksarben Curling Club's weekly league on Sundays between October and March. The team was forced to travel due to the lack of available ice and competition in Lincoln.

The team officially began competition in January 2008, joining the Aksarben Curling Club League at mid-season. The team consisting of Joel Schulte, Jason Grant, Erik Mellgren, and Matt Gibney went on to finish league play at 3–3. The Aksarben Curling Club provided a scholarship to the team to compete in the club's end of season bonspiel, the Irish Open. Nebraska wound up going winless in the bonspiel.

After league play had wrapped up, the team traveled to Chicago to compete in the annual College Curling Championship against 32 other colleges and universities. Nebraska, who many considered an underdog going into the championship tournament, earned the bronze after going 4–1 and beating Michigan Tech in the bronze medal match. [2]

The 2008–2009 season marked the first full season for the Nebraska Curling team. With all of the members of the bronze medal team returning, expectations were high. They participated in the Aksarben Curling Club's league and finished in the middle of the pack. The team also entered the College Curling Championship bonspiel, again hosted in Chicago. The team finished a disappointing 0–3.

The club saw its first real increase in members during the 2009–2010 season. Nebraska fielded two teams in both the Aksarben Curling Club league play and in the College Curling Championships.

With all of the founding team members having graduated, the 2010–2011 team came into the season relatively untested. The inexperience showed, with both teams posting the worst Aksarben Curling Club league play record in UNL Curling Club history finishing the season with a combined 3–23 record. Despite the poor league play showing, Nebraska entered two teams to compete in the National Championships in Chicago, IL. The two teams continued to struggle in the event posting a combined 1–5 record, with the lone win coming against Washington University in St. Louis.

Again two teams competed for the Huskers in the Aksarben Curling Club League during the 2011–2012 season. They showed significant improvement over the past year and looked ready to make some noise on the national stage. Additionally, the Huskers sent one team to compete in the Rice Lake Bonspiel. This marked the first time in club history the team competed in an intercollegiate bonspiel outside of the national championship.

The 2011–2012 season was a transition year for college curling. The national championship event that had been hosted in Chicago in previous years was not scheduled to take place and the USA Curling College Championship was in its early stages and had yet to establish a national championship event. Instead Regional Championships where hosted. Schools could sign up to participate in the events. The Nebraska Curling Club chose to participate in the Midwest Regional Championship hosted at the Kettle Moraine Curling Club in Hartland, Wisconsin. They went on to win the Division III silver medal. [3]

USA Curling College Championship Era (2012–present)

In 2012, the USA Curling College Championship was created and established a true national championship event for collegiate curling. The event also eliminated the divisional tiers based on experience, leaving all team to compete against each other. The support of USA Curling gave the USA Curling College Championship credibility and helped to promote the growth of college curling through the United States. Under the guidelines and requirements of the USA Curling College Championship, teams earn a berth to the championship event by accumulating merit points during the curling season. Schools with the highest number of merit points receive an invitation to compete for the national championship: the five regional winners and eleven at large bids. [4]

Nebraska was placed in Region 5. [5] Region 5 is currently considered an emerging region by the USA Curling College Championship due to the lack of relative competition in the area and mostly consists of school located outside of the northeast; This allows for merit points to be earned by competing in community leagues and non-college specific bonspiels.

In addition to competing in league play with the Aksarben Curling Club in Omaha, NE during the 2012–2013 season, the UNL Curling Club added several collegiate bonspiels to their schedule to help earn merit points towards the USA Curling College Championship. Bonspiels included the Tennessee College Bonspiel, the Rice Lake College Bonspiel, Carroll College Bonspiel, and the Jonniespiel. Based on merit points accumulated, they finished the 2012–2013 season tied for 5th in the nation and runner-up to Tennessee in Region 5, earning a berth to nationals hosted in Duluth, MN. The team went 0–3 and was swept during the round robin portion of the event, eliminating them from contention. The University of Minnesota went on to win the 2013 USA Curling College Championship. [6]

The 2013–2014 season saw a change in leadership, with Cameron Binder taking the role of club president (formerly Viceroy). With new leadership and a solid recruiting class, Nebraska competed in league play with the Aksarben Curling Club in Omaha, NE and several collegiate bonspiels. Thanks to the 2014 Winter Olympic Games Nebraska saw a growth in the amount of media attention they received. At the end of the season, they finished 10th in the nation and once again runner-up to Tennessee in Region 5. Nebraska received a berth to nationals hosted in Blaine, MN. Nebraska finished 2–1 in round robin, but lost the warm draw tie breaker to Carroll University. The University of Wisconsin - Green Bay went on to win the 2014 USA Curling College Championship. [7]

During the 2014 off season, significant changes were made to the clubs constitution to reflect a more traditional organization. Among the changes where the renaming of organizational positions, newly introduced positions, and an organizational name change; the curling team would now be the University of Nebraska Curling Club (UNCC) instead of the University of Nebraska Curling Guild (UNCG).

With recent national success and media coverage, the University of Nebraska Curling Club saw a large growth of interest in the team in 2014. This resulted in the club expanding its roster to accommodate a third team in the Aksarben Curling Club's league, which had moved from the Tranquility Iceplex to the Ralston Arena.

To start the 2014–2015 season, they sent two teams to compete in the Butler Bulldog Bonspiel; both teams played well winning both champion and runner-up of the event. They also sent teams to the Rice Lake College Bonspiel and the Carroll College Bonspiel. In February, Nebraska hosted and won the Big Red Bonspiel at the Ralston Arena in Omaha; this marked the first time that the Nebraska Curling club had ever hosted its own college bonspiel. During the 2014–2015 season, Nebraska earned its highest ranking in club history by holding the number one ranking multiple times throughout the season. [8]

Rivalries

University of Tennessee

Historically, the Nebraska-Tennessee rivalry has carried regional championship and national championship implications. In 2014, it was announced that a traveling rivalry trophy would be established and exchanged each time the two teams competed head-to-head. The trophy to be exchanged will be called The Tennebraska Cup. [9] This would be College Curling's first rivalry trophy. The trophy will represent the pride and history of two strong programs in areas where curling is still emerging.

Wayne State College

With the formation of the Wayne State Curling Club in 2014, the in-state rivalry was born. Both the UNL Curling Club and the WSC Curling Club had one twin, and so the rivalry was based on beef from birth but has since evolved into not-nice strife on the ice. Since 2014 the UNL Curling team has attempted to keep up with WSC in national rankings, to little success.

Results by season

SeasonEventsNational Championship [note 1] Final Ranking [note 2]
2007–08Aksarben Curling League
Irish Open (0–3, 12th)
4–1 (3rd, Division IV)
2008–09Aksarben Curling League0–3 (Division III)
2009–10Aksarben Curling League*N/A (Division III)
N/A (Division IV)
2010–11Aksarben Curling League*0–3 (Division III)
1–2 (Division IV)
2011–12Aksarben Curling League*
Rice Lake College Bonspiel (1–3, 7th)
3–1 (2nd, Division III)
2–2 (Division III)
2012–13Aksarben Curling League*
Tennessee College Bonspiel (1–2, 4th)
Rice Lake College Bonspiel (1–4, 8th)
Carroll College Bonspiel* (2–2, 4th; 1–3, 8th)
Johnniespiel (2–2, 4th)
0–3 (Eliminated in Round Robin)13th Nationally
2nd Region 5
2013–14Aksarben Curling League*
Rice Lake College Bonspiel* (2–2, 7th; 2–1, N/A)
Carroll College Bonspiel* (2–2, 4th; 1–3, N/A)
2–1 (Eliminated in Round Robin)5th Nationally
1st Region 5
2014–15Aksarben Curling League**
Butler Bulldog Bonspiel* (5–0, 1st; 3–2, 2nd)
Rice Lake College Bonspiel (2–2, N/A)
Carroll College Bonspiel* (2–2, 7th; 1–3, 8th)
Big Red Bonspiel* (4–0, 1st; 2–2, 4th)
Irish Open (1–2, N/A)
1–2 (Eliminated in Round Robin)1st Nationally
1st Region 5

* Indicated that two UNL teams competed in the event.
** Indicates that three UNL teams competed in the event.
Bold Indicates weekly league competed in.

Roster

All-time roster

NameHometownYears
Adams, TimCanistota, SD2012–2015
Binder, CameronMequon, WI2011–2015
Bretschnieder, AveryBemidji, MN2009–2010
Briggs, DanielElkhorn, NE2013–2015
Connell, KitPapillion, NE2011–2015
Cournoyer, CourtneyPapillion, NE2013–2015
Creeger, AliWoodburry, MN2013–2015
Densberger, JohnSt.Helena, CA2010–2013
Eicher, MattOmaha, NE2009–2011
Fuhrman, IssacCanistota, SD2013–2015
Gibney, MattLincoln, NE2007–2010
Grant, JasonLincoln, NE2007–2009
Kent, JoeOmaha, NE2009–2010
Lerwik, KaraChugiak, AK2009–2010
Lips, NatalieLincoln, NE2009–2011
Manchester, WalterBlair, NE2014–2015
McEnry, MichaelPapillion, NE2010–2013
Mellgren, ErikGrand Rapids, MI2007–2010
Mikulak, HaylieEast Brunswick, NJ2013–2015
Mitenko, KathrineOmaha, NE2010–2015
Mueller, JoshPapillion, NE2013–2015
Rempe, TySuperior, NE2013–2015
Richards, AshleyUnknown2009–2010
Rixen, RachelBismarck, ND2010–2014
Rose, AustinBroken Bow, NE2014–2015
Rose, MorganBroken Bow, NE2010–2013
Rosenbaum, CarrieAshland, NE2014–2015
Schulte, JoelLincoln, NE2007–2010
Turley, ChrisMillard, NE2009–2013

See also

Notes

  1. The National Championship Event became an invite only event during the 2012–13 Season, which required teams to accumulate merit points to earn a National Championship berth. Prior to that, all clubs could participate in the national event; teams were divided into divisions based on each team's cumulative curling experience.
  2. Rankings are based on merit points earned during the regular season. Merit Points are assigned for participating, winning, and hosting college curling events.College Curling Rankings did not exist prior to the 2012–13 season.

In the news

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ottawa Curling Club</span>

The Ottawa Curling Club is an historic curling club located on O'Connor Street in the Centretown neighbourhood of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is the oldest curling club in Ottawa, established in 1851 by Allan Gilmour as the Bytown Curling Club. The Club first played on the Rideau Canal until 1858. It subsequently moved to different locations around the city until finally settling at its current location on O'Connor in 1916. In 1931 the club was expanded to the current capacity of 5 curling sheets. Artificial ice was also installed at that time.

A bonspiel is a curling tournament, consisting of several games, often held on a weekend. Until the 20th century most bonspiels were held outdoors, on a frozen freshwater loch. Today almost all bonspiels are held indoors on specially prepared artificial ice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Nebraska Omaha</span> Public university in Omaha, Nebraska, US

The University of Nebraska Omaha is a public research university the central United States, located in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded in 1908 by faculty from the Omaha Presbyterian Theological Seminary as a private non-sectarian college, the university was originally known as the University of Omaha. Originally meant to provide a Christian-based education free from ecclesiastical control, the university served as a strong alternative to the city's many successful religiously affiliated institutions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ak-Sar-Ben (arena)</span>

The Ak-Sar-Ben Race Track and Coliseum was an indoor arena and horse racing complex in the central United States, located in Omaha, Nebraska.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plainfield Curling Club</span>

The Plainfield Curling Club is a nonprofit curling club located in South Plainfield, New Jersey. It owns and operates the only dedicated curling facility in New Jersey. It was founded in 1963, with the members initially using rented ice and curling outdoors. The current two-sheet structure was completed in 1967.

The Knights of Ak-Sar-Ben Foundation is a 501(c)(3) civic and philanthropic organization in Omaha, Nebraska.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nebraska Cornhuskers baseball</span> NCAA Division I college baseball team

The Nebraska Cornhuskers baseball team competes as part of NCAA Division I, representing the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in the Big Ten Conference. Nebraska plays its home games at Hawks Field at Haymarket Park, built in 2001 to replace the aging Buck Beltzer Stadium. The program began intercollegiate play in 1889 and has been coached by Will Bolt since 2020.

The San Francisco Bay Area Curling Club (SFBACC) is a non-profit corporation serving the needs for the play and development of the sport of curling in the San Francisco Bay Area and its surrounding outskirts. Headquartered in Oakland, California, it is the largest curling club in California as well as in the Mountain Pacific Curling Association.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sports in Omaha, Nebraska</span>

Sports in Omaha, Nebraska are supported by a high attendance at events and tax support from the City of Omaha. Omaha, Nebraska is home to several professional sports teams and modern sports venues.

College Curling USA is the governing body of collegiate curling in the US. The organization acts as the NCAA does in other college sports — setting game play, eligibility, and organizational rules. College Curling USA is affiliated with United States Curling Association (USCA), the organization responsible for organizing Olympic teams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders</span> Intercollegiate sports teams of Middle Tennessee State University

The Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders are the men's and women's athletic teams at Middle Tennessee State University, in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. MT athletic teams participate in NCAA Division I in Conference USA. MT competed in the Ohio Valley Conference until 2000, and the Sun Belt Conference until 2013.

The Potomac Curling Club is a curling club started in 1961 and currently curling in Laurel, Maryland. Operating out of the National Capital Curling Center, a dedicated curling ice facility at The Gardens Ice House operated under a long-term lease since 2002, the group maintains four sheets of dedicated curling ice, the only dedicated curling ice in the Washington, D.C., area. The club operates during the main curling season, although social events for the membership occur during the summer.

Paul Pustovar is an American curler from Hibbing, Minnesota. He is one of the most prolific curlers from the United States, with over thirty years of experience. He has earned two bronze medals at the World Curling Championships and has earned five gold medals, four silver medals, and one bronze medal in the twenty-five national championships that he has participated in. He is also a former world senior champion.

Monica Walker is an American curler originally from Brighton, Massachusetts. She is a three-time national champion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jordan Hooper</span> American basketball player

Jordan Renee Hooper is an American basketball player. She last played for the Atlanta Dream of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was an All-American forward at the college level for the University of Nebraska.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madison Curling Club</span> Wisconsin USA Curling Club

The Madison Curling Club (MCC) is a curling club located in McFarland, Wisconsin, United States. MCC was the third-largest curling club in the United States with 570 members as of February 2014. The club had 590 members for the 2019-2020 season.

Kelsey Elizabeth Rocque is a Canadian curler residing in Carberry, Manitoba. She currently plays third on Team Beth Peterson. She is a two-time World Junior champion skip.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 United States Mixed Doubles Curling Championship</span>

The 2020 United States Mixed Doubles Curling Championship was held from February 27 to March 1 at the Bemidji Curling Club in Bemidji, Minnesota. The twelve teams were divided into two pools of six teams each. Each pool played a full round robin with the top three from each pool proceeding to the playoffs. The winning team of Tabitha Peterson and Joe Polo was supposed to represent the United States at the 2020 World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship in Kelowna, Canada but the event got cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They will instead compete at the 2021 World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship in Aberdeen, Scotland as the 2021 U.S. Mixed Doubles National Championship was postponed due to the pandemic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cora Farrell</span> American curler

Cora Farrell is an American curler from Fairbanks, Alaska. She was a silver medalist at the 2016 Winter Youth Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway.

The 2021 NCAA Division I baseball tournament was the 74th edition of the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship. The 64-team tournament began on Friday, June 4, 2021, as part of the 2021 NCAA Division I baseball season and concluded with the 2021 College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska, which started on June 19 and ended on June 30. Mississippi State defeated Vanderbilt in the best-of-three final series to win their first national championship in program history.

References

  1. "Curling Cornhuskers". 10 11 News. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
  2. "New NU curling team takes home bronze". Daily Nebraskan. Retrieved February 11, 2015.
  3. "UNL curling team wins silver medal in regional tourney". UNL. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
  4. "USA Curling College Curling – Guidelines". USA Curling College Curling. Archived from the original on November 12, 2014. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
  5. "USA Curling College Curling – Club Links". USA Curling College Curling. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
  6. "USA Curling College Curling – Historical". USA Curling College Curling. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
  7. "USA Curling College Curling – Historical". USA Curling College Curling. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
  8. "UNL's curling club becomes No. 1 in country". Daily Nebraskan. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
  9. "Tennebrsaka Cup Announcement". facebook.com. Retrieved December 14, 2014.