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Hats Off To The B1G Champs
- The Gopher women absolutely destroyed all opposition at the B1G Swimming & Diving Championships this past weekend:
Like last year, there wasn’t much suspense in the team competition, as the Gophers racked up 760 points, well ahead of second-place Indiana (649) and third-place Penn State (484).
"We’ve been fortunate," the Gophers’ Kelly Kremer said shortly before being named Big Ten Coach of the Year. "I had a couple coaches come up and say, ‘To do this three times in this conference is really incredible.’"
The Gophers won 10 of 21 events last year to win the event by 160 points. This year, they won just five events but pulled away with their depth.
The title was the teams third in a row, and it included some great individual performances:
Kierra Smith grew up in Canada, paying little attention to Big Ten sports, so it’s taken her a while to grasp the significance of the recent Gophers swimming and diving accomplishments.
...
The sophomore from Kelowna, B.C., won the 200-yard breaststroke Saturday after winning the 100 breaststroke one night earlier.
"This is the most pride I’ve ever felt," Smith said. "I’m so happy to be a Gopher. I’m so glad I had the team and the hometown crowd here."
Besides Smith, the Gophers took home titles in 3-meter diving (Maggie Keefer), platform diving (Sarah McCrady) and the 800 freestyle relay (Tori Simenec, Lauren Votava, Jessica Plant and Kiera Janzen).
Keefer was named Big Ten Co-Diver of the Championships, along with Purdue’s Casey Matthews.
HATS OFF to the Gopher Women on their 3-peat!
Links Roundup
- Speaking of conference champions, the Gopher women dominated Duluth to close out the WCHA regular season. 6-0 wins on both Friday and Saturday extended the Gophers' unbeaten streak to 20 games and gave the team 3 consecutive shutouts.
Yet the WCHA regular-season champions enter next weekend's conference tournament believing they can shift into an even higher gear in their quest for a third straight national championship.
"We are definitely up there, but we have another notch we can push a little bit further here," said junior defenseman Rachel Ramsey, who had a goal and two assists Saturday. "We are really excited to see where that is once playoffs start next weekend."
- It's NFL Combine week and the Gophers are represented by RaShede Hageman and Brock Vereen. Brock is looking to make a name for himself in the league, one that might allow him to meet up with his brother:
If New England selects Brock in this year’s draft, it’d make for a nice reunion — you’d think.
"The biggest part of me just wants to hit him," Vereen said. "I just can’t wait until we meet on the field."
Maybe "nice" isn’t the best term.
I guess maybe he's hoping Denver selects him?
Brock Vereen's picture via Gopher FB Facebook
- Gopher Wrestling closed out the dual season strong with a dual win over #15 Iowa State.
- Gopher Softball is off to their best start ever.
- It takes a look of work to make Coach K look like a calm and composed individual, but Jim Boeheim is always happy to help.
Make sure to click through to see how the tantrum led to some fun photoshops.
- These guys know how to tailgate:
Dubbed the "Kentucky Boys," Denny and Greg (who asked we not use their last names) have for the 11th consecutive year erected a full-scale bar alongside their campsite. Though they technically don't sell liquor -- that would require a license and who has time to apply for one of those? -- what Denny and Greg do have is a seemingly endless supply of booze that they are happy to share with whomever stops by wanting to partake.
And with satellite TV, a stereo system, good company, an excellent view of Turns 1 & 2, and even a disco ball hanging from above, there really isn't anything the "Kentucky Boys" bar doesn't offer.
"This is a way to meet people," Denny said. "People show up, we toss them a beer, ask them if they want another one and we become friends. People used to come out and they'd start hangin' and it just grew and grew.
Through the course of five days the "Kentucky Boys" will go through upwards of 130 cases of beer. And if beer isn't your thing, Denny and Greg's establishment has a fully-stocked bar complete with assorted liquor -- including, of course, homebrewed moonshine.
As one can imagine as day turns to night and the alcohol flows, the shenanigans increase.
On occasion a NASCAR driver or two will make an appearance, and it isn't an uncommon sight to see a topless woman dancing on the bar, which Clint Bowyer gleefully tweeted about last year.
Another driver was kicked out by Denny and Greg after becoming unruly. He showed up the following year to make amends by dropping off a pallet of a certain beverage that he endorsed.
