During her stellar high school volleyball career 2009 FHS female Athlete of the Year Kirstee Rotty never got to play on a championship team. Despite a couple of 20-win seasons, the Tigers were unable to carve out a Missota Conference title and twice they were stopped in the semifinals of the Section 1AAA tournament.
Rotty, a sophomore defensive specialist for nationally ranked St. Olaf College, can now cross the championship goal off her to-do list. The Oles (27-4), rated 11th in last week's NCAA Division III national poll, tied for the 2010 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) crown with the University of St. Thomas with a 10-1 league mark.
Rotty has played in all 31 matches in her first season with St. Olaf. The former Tiger, who piled up more than 2000 digs in her high school career, ranks second on the Oles team with 337, an average of 2.96 per game.
2009 Tiger graduate Danielle Dombeck, who recorded more than 1000 kills in her high school volleyball career, is a defensive specialist for the North Dakota State University women's team this fall.
Former Tiger Cody Eich ranks as the second leading tackler for the unbeaten University of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs who are the No. 1-ranked NCAA Division II football team in the nation. Eich has recorded 31 solo tackles, 18 assists, four pass break-ups and two tackles for a loss and in nine games.
2009 FHS male Athlete of the Year Derek Waldbillig, a sophomore running back at Bethel University, hasn't carried the ball too much (13 carries for 47 yards) in his first season with the Royals but is the team's second leading kickoff returner with 94 yards on seven returns, an average of 13.4 yards per try. Bethel is 7-1 this season and ranked 20th in the most recent NCAA Division III poll.
Former Tigers Wade Fischer and Jimmy Deegan continue to hold down starting lineman positions for William Penn University (7-1), currently 15th in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) rankings. Last week the former Tiger duo helped the Statesmen rack up an astonishing 607 yards rushing in a 70-6 win over Peru State (Nebraska).
Danny Tutewohl of the FHS class of 2009 was the leading tackler for St. Olaf College in its 42-10 win over Hamline last week with four solos and two assists...Another 2009 Tiger grad Drew Schaeppi, a redshirt freshman at Minnesota State, Mankato, has six tackles and two assists for the Mavericks this season.
Ex-Tiger Rachel Harstad is a midfielder on the University of Minnesota-Morris women's soccer team...2007 Tiger grad Erin Johnson has a goal and an assist in eight games for the Bemidji State University women's hockey team.
Former Tiger cheerleader Becca Doll is a senior on the cheerleading squad at St. Norbert's College in Wisconsin. In addition to performing at her school's games, the team also cheers at Green Bay Packer home games.
Former Tiger swimming and diving standouts Katrina Fitzgerald and Kristin Peters are members of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire women's swim team...Three former FHS swimmers are on the roster of the University of St. Thomas men's squad: Erik Huls, Taylor Trowbridge and Nick Haugen. Huls, a junior, won all-MIAC honors for the Tommies last winter.
