Wrestling: Big move up at Fargo

Taylor Venz 4th place finisher at 106 lbs.

Last holiday season the Tigers scored 24.5 points and finished in the bottom third of the team standings (52nd out of 64) at the Rumble on the Red in Fargo, North Dakota.

At last week's encore performance at one of the largest and most competitive tournaments in the Upper Midwest they racked up 69 points and place 27th among 66 entrants.

"We had a great tournament," coach Chad Olson said. "We had five guys make the second day. Last year we only had three get that far."

Leading the way for the Tigers was Taylor Venz who placed fourth in the 106-pound division and upped his season record to 17-2.

Both of Venz's losses came to high-ranked opponents. He lost a tough 6-5 decision to the No. 2 wrestler in Nebraska in the semifinals and then dropped another one-pointer (7-6) to Trevor Schultz, the No.1 (Class 2A) 106-pounder in Minnesota, in the third place bout.

Venz, a ninth-grader, posted his 50th career win at the meet.

"Taylor had a great tournament and proved he is capable of wrestling with the best," Olson said.

138-pounder Brayden Chapman entered the tourney with just four wins but finished his two-day stint 3-2.  Jacob Gabbard (113), Joe Hoeve (160) and Godfrey Mpetey (220) each split their four matches

Gabbard's effort was especially impressive as it came in his first mat action of the season. He missed the first part of the year to due to illness and injury.

"Jacob is a welcome addition to our lineup," Olson said.

Jacob Gabbard 2-2 in his 2012-13 debut (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Three other Tigers advanced to the finals of the junior varsity meet with Jamin LeDuc claiming the 106-pound championship with a perfect 6-0 record.

Victor Gliva was runner-up at 95 lbs. and John Walz took second in the 145-pound bracket. Each won five of six matches.

Logan Haakana advanced to the second day of competition at 171 lbs. and finished 3-2.

"The Rumble was a great experience for our team," Olson said. "We are looking forward to next year since we had only one senior wrestle in the tournament this year."

Friday night the Tigers entertain Faribault in a non-conference dual meet. The action starts at 5:30 p.m with a youth dual, followed by the middle school, junior varsity and varsity competitions.

The following day they host their annual Farmington Duals Tournament. The Tigers open the meet against ninth-ranked Lakeville North.

Girls BB: Consolation Champs!

Jordyn Homeier career-high 14 points (photo by Jim Lindquist)

What a difference three days can make.

The Tigers came into the Monticello Holiday Tournament winless in 10 games and left with two wins and the consolation championship.

Farmington defeated Becker 43-35 on Saturday afternoon to claim consolation honors. The Tigers downed Princeton in the consolation semifinals after dropping their opening round game to Watertown-Mayer.

"I was happy to come out of the tournament with two wins, especially considering we were shorthanded and it was very tiring for the kids to play three tough games in a row," Tiger coach Sondra Chadwick said.

"The girls looked fatigued today, but they put together another solid defensive effort."

The feisty Tiger defense allowed a total of just 67 points in the final two games of the eight-team tournament.

Alicia Hett scored the first basket of the afternoon and the Tigers stayed on top the rest of the way. They led 22-11 at halftime.

Jordyn Homeier and Sofia Chadwick led the Tigers in scoring with 14 and 13 points respectively.
Chadwick also had team-highs in rebounds (6) and assists (5). Hett had six points, five rebounds and three steals to go with a steady floor game.

Coach Chadwick was especially pleased with the play of Homeier who reached a career-high in points in the contest.

"Jordyn really had a breakout tournament," she said. "It is great to see her confidence grow with each game."

Sydney Speer also played a major role in the win, scoring eight points and spearheading the defensive effort. 

The Tigers jump into their Missota Conference schedule next Thursday when they host Shakopee at Tiger Gym.

"I believe our tough non-conference schedule has prepared us to start conference play," Chadwick said.. "The girls have shown they not only are competitive with some of the stronger teams in the state, but they now have the confidence to pull out the wins as well."

Girls Hockey: Irish prevail in 7th place game

Michaela Tonsager scored the Farmington goal (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Rosemount edged Farmington 2-1 in  the seventh place game of Louie Schmitz Holiday Classic Tournament Saturday morning at Schmitz-Maki Arena.

The loss capped a three-day stretch where the Tigers managed just two goals in losses to Mound-Westonka (5-1), Apple Valley (1-0) and the Irish.

Saturday's loss followed a familiar pattern that had the home team win the shots on goal battle only to lose the goal scoring war.

The Tigers managed a whopping 102 shots on net in the three games to the opposition's 81 but were outscored by an 8-2 count. Farmington outshot Rosemount 31-29 and came up empty on six power play opportunities in the seventh place contest.

" To wrap up our tourney play in a word, it would be 'frustrating', coach Jon Holmes said.

The team's were tied at 1-1 after the opening period with Michaela Tonsgaer (from Grace Gavin) providing the Farmington score.

The Irish scored the game winner in the second period before the teams skated through a scoreless third that saw Farmington pepper the Irish net with 15 shots.

Molly Singewald, who allowed just one goal in Friday's loss to Apple Valley, was back in goal and had another solid outing with 27 saves, giving her 52 in the two-day set.

The Tigers (1-12-1) will have less than a week to find the missing key to their scoring machine as they begin the 2013 portion of their schedule with a Missota Conference match-up with Holy Angels next Tuesday night at Richfield Arena.

"Our final half of the season will be determined on how much better we can get at shooting the puck," Holmes said. "With playing good defense zone and getting the puck to the net, the future could be bright...but we've got to get some zip on our shots."

Tiger Scoreboard: December 30, 2012

Girls Basketball
Monticello Holiday Tournament
Consolation Championship
Farmington 43 Becker 35

Girls Hockey
Louie Schmitz Holiday Classic
Seventh Place
Rosemount 2 Farmington 1

Boys Hockey: Tigers settle for tie at Red Wing

Dallas Tucker scored first goal of the season (photo by Jim Lindquist)

This time losing a third period lead didn't cost the Tigers a hockey game.

Red Wing came back from two one-goal deficits in the final frame to earn a 3-3 draw with Farmington in Friday's night's Missota Conference encounter at Prairie Island Arena.

The tie closed the books on the 2012 portion of the the Tiger schedule and left them with a 4-5-1 mark heading into the new year.

"We played well and  we played hard," Tiger coach Keith Revels said. "We have lost or tied six times, and in four of those we outshot our opponent.

"We have to be better at capitalizing on opportunities that we work hard to get and limiting the golden opportunities to opponents so they have to work harder to put a goal on the board."

Tanner Grubb (from Kevin Olund) gave the visitors the lead with the only score of the first period and Grady Hauswirth's unassisted goal early in the second stretched the lead to 2-0. But Red Wing countered less than a minute later to make it a one-goal contest with a period to play.

The Wingers knotted the count early in the final period before Dallas Tucker's first goal of the season
on an assist from Jack Erickson put the visitors back on top with 10 minutes to play.

Red Wing's Nick Sammon notched the game-tying goal with just under five minutes to play in regulation.

Farmington finished the night with a 34-24 advantage in shots on goal and had four chances in the eight-minute overtime session but could not get the puck by Winger goalie Preston Blaney.

"We have never had much luck in that building," Revels said, "only one win since it opened a decade or so ago."

Austin Krause handled the goalkeeping chores for the Tigers, recording 21 saves.

Farmington , 0-1-1 in Missota Conference play, returns to action next Thursday when it entertains league favorite Holy Angels at Schmitz-Maki Arena.

Gymnastics: Falls hurt in loss at Rosemount

Kiana Lord 3rd place in all-around with 34.5 points (photo by Jim Lindquist)

The Tigers came within a fraction of a point of their highest point total of the season in Friday night's 139.9-133 dual meet loss at Rosemount but that number would have been significantly higher had it not been for a rash of costly falls.

"That's what we need to fix," coach Lynn Bauman said. "We counted 10 falls in our score last night. That is at least five points we gave away.

"The Tiger gymnasts have great talent. We just need to keep our heads up and stay on our feet."

Kiana Lord paced the Farmington effort, placing among the top three in two individual events and all-around.

Lord ranked second in floor exercise with a 9.05 mark and placed third in vault (9.15) and all-around (34.5). She also took fifth on the beam (8.4) and sixth on the uneven bars (7.9).

Tahra Eckert turned in a second place performance on the uneven bars with a score of 8.4 and also ranked fifth in all-around (33.5) and sixth in both vault (8.6) and balance beam (8.3).

Kathryn Beckett finished fourth in vault (9.05) and sixth on beam (8.3) and Kylie Wharton took third on the uneven bars (8.3).

Next Saturday the Tigers travel to Faribault for an invitational meet. The following Tuesday (Jan. 8) they host their first home meet of the season against Red Wing.

Boys BB: Zephyr rally foils Tiger upset bid

Zach Speikers team-high 13 points (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Once-beaten Mahtomedi (8-1) overcame a 10-point halftime deficit with aggressive defensive play and some clutch shooting to defeat the Tigers 62-57 Friday night in the championship game of the Hastings Holiday Tournament.

Farmington put together one of its better first half performances of the season to take a 38-28 lead to intermission but went without a field goal for the first 9:15 of the second. The Tigers had just five field goals in the second half.

The post-halftime meltdown looked very much like the opening half of Thursday's 72-65 semifinal win over Burnsville when the Tigers slogged through a sub-par 18 minutes to trail 28-26 at the break.

"We didn't learn anything from yesterday," Tiger coach Shane Wyandt said. "We were not mentally there in the second half.

"When the other team made a push or we didn't get a call, we started turning the ball over or throwing up hurried shots from the outside. We have some guys who have some range but we can't have those 15 and 20 second possessions that end up with bad shots and no rebounding."

Farmington (5-4) dominated most of the first half and led 35-23 on Darren Beenken's three-pointer with two and a half minutes to play. The long ball again helped the Tiger cause as the locals drained four in the opening period.

"When we take our time and run our stuff we get good shots," Wyandt said.

Mahtomedi took the lead at 43-40 and kept it in that range the rest of the way. Farmington cut the deficit to 58-57 on Zach Speikers' three-ball with 51.3 second to go in regulation but could nver regain the lead.

The key to Mahtomedi's comeback came on the offensive glass where 6'4" Zach Lindquist muscled his way to a game-high 24 points.

After hitting 15 of 31 their shots in the first half the Tigers made just five of 19 in the second.

Foul trouble also plagued Farmington as three starters--Alex Chadwick, Eli Rockett and Johnny Dittman--fouled out.

Speikers finished with 13 points to lead the Tiger scoring. Beenken had 11 and also grabbed a team-high 12 rebounds. Rockett scored six points and had 11 rebounds before fouling out.

"We as coaches have to find a way to get these guys playing better basketball," Wyandt said. "We've done it for stretches but not on a consistent basis."

The Tigers have a  little less than a week to find that complete game. They open the 2013 portion of their schedule Thursday night with a road game at Section 1 rival Owatonna.

Girls BB: Defense brings home first win

Alicia Hett 6 points, 6 rebounds (photo by Jim Lindquist)

A stingy defense allowed just nine second half points as the Tigers posted their first win of the 2012-13 season with a solid 48-32 effort over Princeton Friday afternoon in the consolation semifinals of the Monticello Holiday Tournament.

The win boosted Farmington (1-10) into  Saturday's consolation game against Becker (3-8), a 53-48 winner over Buffalo in its consolation semifinal.

Princeton carried a big size advantage into the contest but the Tigers more than held their own and took a 32-23 advantage to the halftime break.

"The girls put together a complete game," Tiger coach Sondra Chadwick said. "We kept a much bigger team off the boards and we did a great job of taking care of the basketball."

The Tigers committed a season-low eight turnovers in the contest.

Sofia Chadwick scored 15 points in the opening half and finished with a game-high 22. The sophomore guard made it a double-double with a career-high 16 rebounds and also came up with a trio of steals.

Alicia Hett, Chadwick's sidekick in the back court, added six points and six rebounds and freshman Jordyn Homeier chipped in with six points. Sophomore Kaitlin Gorden had five points and a team-high eight assists.

"Hopefully this boost of confidence will carry over into our game tomorrow against Becker," Chadwick said.

Tip-off is scheduled for 3:45 p.m. in Monticello.

Girls Hockey: Valley tames Tigers 1-0

Molly Singewald 26 saves (photo by Jim Lindquist)

For the third time in its last five games Farmington failed to score a goal as the Tigers saw their losing skid reach seven games in a 1-0 loss to Apple Valley Friday afternoon in the consolation semifinals of the Louis Schmitz Holiday Classic at Schmitz-Maki Arena.

With the loss Farmington (1-11-1) landed a spot in Saturday morning's seventh place game against Rosemount (3-9-1). The Irish lost to Hastings 3-2 in Friday's other consolation semifinal.

The loss to Apple Valley featured another case of missed chances as the Tigers came up empty on six power play opportunities.

The shot opportunities were even through most of the contest with the Eagles finishing with a 29-22 edge.

The game was scoreless through two periods with Valley's Jordy Haupert providing the game-winner in the final frame.

Eighth-grader Molly Singewald worked the nets for the Tigers in the losing effort, stopping 26 of 27 shots in her best performance of the season.

The puck drops at 9:00 a.m. for Saturday's seventh place game with Rosemount.

Tiger Scoreboard: December 29, 2012

Girls Basketball
Monticello Holiday Tournament
Consolation semifinals
Farmington 48 Princeton 32

Boys Basketball
Hastings Holiday Tournament
Championship
Mahtomedi 62 Farmington 57

Girls Hockey
Louis Schmitz Holiday Classic
Consolation semifinals
Apple Valley 1 Farmington 0

Boys Hockey
Farmington 3 Red Wing 3 (OT)

Wrestling
Rumble on the Red at Fargo, North Dakota
Taylor Venz advances to semifinals of the 106 lbs. division

Gymnastics
Rosemount 139.9 Farmington 133

Boys Swimming: Tigers cruise by South 99-58

Evan Carufel 1st in diving and 200 medley relay (photo by Jim Lindquist)

The Battle of the Tigers turned out to be a mismatch as Farmington used its superior talent and depth to score a one-sided 99-58 non-conference dual meet win over Minneapolis South Thursday night at the Dodge Middle School pool.

"It was another good opportunity for our boys to compete in our pool," Tiger coach Ryan Hamen siid, "and fun to go up against another Tiger team....South doesn't have a very large team and has a lot of new swimmers."

Farmington put the meet away early by winning the first eight events and scoring 1-2-3 finishes in five of them. Farmington swam the last four eevnts of the night as exhibitions with no points earned.

Four Farmington performers were multiple winners: Oliver Chow, 200 medley relay and 100 butterfly; Evan Carufel, one-meter diving and 200 medley relay: Austin Kueck, 200 individual medley and 500 freestyle and Christopher Kirchmann, 50 and 100 freestyle.

Top three Farmington finishers versus Minneapolis South
200 medley relay: 1. Oliver Chow, Nick Stephan, Brandon Dion, Evan Carufel
200 freestyle: 1. Aaron Cochnauer; 2. Cameron Molnar; 3. Dan Berg
200 individual medley: 1. Austin Kueck; 2. Stephan; 3. Garrett Haugen
50 freestyle: 1. Christopher Kirchmann; 3. Eric Schimmel
One-meter diving: 1. Evan Carufel; 2. Jonathan Bovee; 3. Sean Dougherty
100 butterfly: 1. Chow; 2. Cochnauer; 3. Dion
100 freestyle: 1. Kirchmann; 3. Schimmel
500 freestyle: 1. Kueck; 2. Alex Garofalo; 3. Adam Dougherty

Boys BB: Second half surge carries Tigers past Burnsville in Hastings tournament

Eli Rockett 17 points, 11 rebounds (photo by Jim Lindquist)

The Tigers overcame a sluggish first half with some hot three-point shooting and strong defense to beat Burnsville 72-65 Thursday afternoon in the opening round of the Hastings Holiday Tournament.

"First of all, it was win," Tiger coach Shane Wyandt said. "The first half wasn't what we wanted but we had so many guys play so much better in the second half."

The win boosted Farmington's season record to 5-3 and set up Friday night's match-up with Mahtomedi in the tournament's title game. The Zephyrs routed host Hastings 76-40 in Thursday's other semifinal game.

The numbers told the story of Farmington's first half fortunes. The Tigers made just 10 of 26 shots from the field and turned the ball over 13 times.

"We missed a lot of bunnies early and that combined with the physical play got in our heads a little," Wyandt said. "It was a weird day for us. No school, a different starting time. We didn't adjust very well."

All of that changed after intermission as the Tigers roared to a 27-10 start and a 53-38 lead. During that stretch they canned five three-pointers, two by Mac Bassett and one apiece by Darren Beenken, Alex Chadwick and Zach Speikers.

Farmington still led 58-42 before the Blaze started converting at the foul line to pull back in it. Burnsville made 11 of 17 free throws in the second half.

The Blaze pulled to within 67-62 with 1:17 remaining and although the Tigers went cold (3-8) at the foul line the rest of the way, they managed to hold on for the win.

The Tigers put together a step ladder of a scoring effort with Eli Rockett leading the way with 17 points. Bassett had 16, Beenken 15 and Speikers 14.

Rockett made it a statistical double-double with a team-high 11 rebounds. Beenken added eight boards and also led in assists (4) and steals (3).

Friday's championship game with Mahtomedi (6-1) starts at 7:00. The Zephyrs beat the Tigers 73-49 in the same tournament last season.

Girls Hockey: Tigers fall to Mound in opener

Grace Gavin scored lone Farmington goal (photo by Jim Lindquist)

The Tigers peppered the net with a season-high 49 shots but only one got by Mound goalie Taylor Huesinkveld in a 5-1 loss in the opening round of the Louie Schmitz Holiday Classic played Thursday night at Schmitz-Maki Arena.

The one-goal effort was the latest in a long string of low-scoring effort for Farmington (1-10-1) who have netted just two scores in their last two outings.

"We had chance after chance, and the shots we had were high quality," Tiger coach Jon Holmes said.

"The difference in many of our recent games is the physical side of shooting. We have been getting into the right positions and even getting the puck to the net, but the shots are often not the hard, fast, shots to corners that we need to find the twine."

Mound led 1-0 on a power play goal after the opening period and then rattled off four straight in the seoncd stanza to put the game away.

Grace Gavin notched the Farmington score late in the second period.

The most frustrating stat of the night came in the shots on goal depeartment where the Tigers held a 49-25 advantage.

Sophomore Madison Bowe went the distance in goal for the Tigers and finished with 20 saves.

The Tigers don't have much time to think about the loss as they hit the ice this afternoon (Friday) at 3:00 to take on Apple Valley in consolation play. The Eagles lost to 5-3 to Park of Cottage Grove in yesterday's opening round.

Girls BB: Second half rally falls short

Sofia Chadwick 13 points, six rebounds, 4 assists (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Farmington wiped out a 14-point halftime deficit and eventually led by a point at 44-43 but when all was said and done, Watertown-Mayer 6-3) prevailed 58-51 in Thursday's opening round game in the Monticello Holiday Tournament.

The Tigers, playing without second leading scorer Abby Gallus (flu) and top reserve Chelsey Bruns (injury), got into early foul trouble and trailed 36-22 at the halftime break.

"Those two things  created some line-up challenges for us in the first half," coach Sondra Chadwick said, "but we came out very aggressively in the second half and kept it a one to three-point game down the stretch.

"We eventually ran out of steam and they made some key free throws at the end, but our girls showed a lot of grit in making the comeback in the second half."

One of the bright spots for the Tigers was their balanced scoring. Three Farmington players finished in double figures with Sofia Chadwick leading the way with 13 points. Alicia Hett added 12 and Jordyn Homeier continued her recent strong play with 11.

Sydney Speer chipped in with six points and a team-high seven rebounds. Chadwick grabbed six rebounds and also led in assists with four.

Farmington (0-10) returns to Monticello today (Friday) for a second round match-up with Princeton (5-4). Princeton (5-4) fell to host Monticello 78-53 in opening round play.

Tiger Scoreboard: December 28, 2012

Boys Basketball
Hastings Holiday Classic
Farmington 72 Burnsville 65

Girls Basketball
Monticello Holiday Tournament
Watertown-Mayer 58 Farmington 51

Girls Hockey
Louie Schmitz Holiday Classic
Mound 5 Farmington 1

Boys Swimming
Farmington 99 Minneapolis South 58

Tiger Tales of 2012 (photos by Jim Lindquist)

                                     

Taylor Venz finished 2-2 at Class 3A state meet as an eighth-grader

Nadia Lorencz 2nd in Class AA state vault

Taylor Meyer 1,301 career points (third most in school history)

Boys swimmers broke school 400 free relay record at state meet

Jessica Erchul 1st in career minutes played, saves and save percentage 

Missota Conference, Section 1AA softball champions

Nadia Lorencz state long jump and 100-meter hurdles champion

 

Tommy May (with coach Jon Holmes) 35th in state golf meet 

Missota Conference football champions, Section 3 finalists

Darren Beenken broke or tied four school passing records 

Missota Conference girls' soccer champions, Section 1 finalists

Kaitlyn O'Reilly All-State 200 medley and 100 backstroke

Izzie Ferm 1st team All-State defender

Justin Hyytinen 29th at Class AA state cross country meet

Maricia Pacheco 1st Tiger girls state qualifier since 1998

Boys Hockey: Tigers lose a heart-breaker

Justin Novak 2 goals vs. New Prague (photo by Jim Lindquist)

For the second time in a week the Tigers saw a third period lead slip away, this time resulting in a 4-3 Missota Conference loss to New Prague Friday night at Schmitz-Maki Arena.

The Tigers led Rochester Mayo 2-1 heading into the third period last Saturday before falling by an identical 4-3 score.

" We seem to have the better of the play, but still have trouble putting away the puck," coach Keith Revels said. "I'm not sure why but we have had a couple of rough third periods in a row. Hopefully we can figure out how to close out games soon."

With the loss the Tigers dipped below the .500 mark at 4-5 and stand at 0-1 in conference play. New Prague is  3-3 overall but 2-0 in league action.

The Tigers outshot the Trojans 8-5 in the opening period but the only goal belonged to the Trojan's Nick Samspon who gave his team a 1-0 edge heading into the second.

The visitors' lead held up until the final two minutes of the second frame when Justin Novak (from Devin Bernu and Justin Hyytinen) knotted the game with a power play goal to set up a roller coaster final 17 minutes.

Things looked good for the home team early in third when Novak (from Jack Erickson) and Corey Rudrud (from Erick Holmstrom and Gardy Hauswirth) scored power plays to forge a 3-1 lead.

New Prague countered with a goal by Austin Kilian and another by Sampson to to tie the count at 3-3 with 3:23 to play in regulation.

The Trojans' Lucas Binger provided the game-winner with just 35 seconds to play.

The Tigers won the shots-on-goal battle in the defensive-minded game 21-18. Nick Schoening returned to the Tigers nets and finished with 14 saves.

Farmington doesn't play in a holiday tournament this season but resumes play Friday, Dec. 28, with a Missota Conference road game against Red Wing at Prairie Island Arena.

Gymnastics: A win and another season-high

Kylie Wharton 2nd place uneven bars (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Friday night's 133.075-130.175 dual meet win at Chaska/Chanhassen provided the best of both worlds for coach Lynn Bauman and her Tiger gymnastics team.

Not only did Farmington post its second Missota Conference win in three meets but it also raised its season-high team score by almost two points. The previous high of 131.90 was set last week against Northfield.

Kiana Lord continued to sparkle in her senior season, winning the vault (8.25); uneven bars (8.85), floor exercise (9.25) and all-around (34.75) and placing second on the balance beam (7.7).

The Tigers made it a clean sweep with Kathryn Beckett taking top honors on beam with a mark of 8.25.

Farmington took second in two more events. Kylie Wharton was runner-up on the bars (8.25) and Tahra Eckert ranked second in all-around (32.10).

Eckert also finished third in floor (8.85) and Beckett took fourth in vaulting (8.65). Three Farmington performers turned in fifth place efforts: Kenzie McCuddin, bars (7.825); Gina Mercurio, beam and Beckett, floor (8.5)

"We literally had some ups and downs, but the girls stayed positive," Bauman said. "We keep managing to improve our team score...I was very proud of our team spirit."

Farmington also won the junior varsity meet 113-80-80.05, placing first in all four events. McCuddin and Kendall Novak tied for the top spot in vault while Racquel Beckett ranked first on the uneven bars. Tori Sontag captured the balance beam and Taylor Schmaltz took first in floor exercise.

Farmington swings back into action on Friday, Dec. 28, when it travels to Rosemount for a non-conference dual meet.

Boys BB: Tigers rout Harding 87-48

Darren Beenken 20 points, six rebounds (photo by Jim Lindquist)

The Tigers gave themselves and their coach an early Christmas present with a 87-48 non-conference pounding of St. Paul Harding Friday night at Tiger Gym.

Thirteen players scored for the winners who snapped a two-game losing streak and raised their season record above .500 at 4-3. The loss dropped Harding to 2-4.

"We told the guys they would have to create their own intensity," coach Shane Wyandt said. "We knew with the holidays  there wouldn't be a lot of people in the gym.

"We were playing at a little different time and against a team that plays a completely different style than we have seen so far. It was a good learning experience for us"

The Tigers brought their intensity and then some, matching the Knights' up-tempo play while forcing the visitors into a rash of early turnovers on the way to a commanding 48-27 halftime lead.

The shooting numbers told the tale of the first 18 minutes. Farmington finished the opening period shooting a robust 60 percent from the field, including a blistering six from 10 from three-point range.

"The thing I liked about the three-point shots is they come out of our offense," Wyandt said. "At Century it was one pass and a shot. Tonight we reversed the ball and ran our stuff."

Darren Beenken had 14 points, Zach Speikers 12 and Alex Chadwick eight to lead the Farmington first half assault.

Wyandt said he shouldn't have needed to remind his team that despite the huge lead the game wasn't necessarily over.

"Last year we had them down by 27 and had to scramble at the end to win by three," he said. "They have a lot good athletes who can score in a hurry."

But this time it was the Tigers who filled the basket. Farmington kept attacking the rim as it built its lead to 74-39 to kick in running time. From then on the reserves owned the floor.

Farmington finished the night shooting a gaudy 65 percent (34 of 52) from the floor, including a seevn-of-12 night (58 percent) from behind the arc.

Of the 13 players who scored three finished in double figures, including Beenken who netted a season-high 20. Speikers tallied 16 and Chadwick added 10. Beenken also led in rebounds (6) and steals (3). Jordan DeCroock had a team-high five assists.

The Tigers limited their turnovers to 15 in the fast-paced game while forcing 26 by the visiting Knights, including several leading to easy baskets.

The Tigers hope to build some momentum heading into the Missota Conference season when they take on Burnsville in the opening round of the two-day Hastings Holiday Classic on Dec. 27.

Other teams in the four-team tourney include host Hastings and Mahtomedi.

Farmington Scoring: Beenken 20, Speikers 16, Chadwick 10, Rockett 7, Bassett 6, Dittman 5, Guyot 4, Anderson 4, DeCroock 4, VanWinkle 4, Ferm 3, Hinks 2,  Beschorner 2

Girls Hockey: Nothing in the net

Once again the Tigers put the puck on the net but couldn't get on the scoreboard in a 5-0 Missota Conference Thursday night loss at New Prague.

Putting the puck away continued to be a problem for Farmington in a 5-0 Missota Conference loss Thursday night in New Prague.

The shutout was the second in three contests for the Tigers who have managed just one goal during the stretch.

The loss dropped the Tigers' season record to 1-9-1 and 0-4 in the Missota Conference.

Thursday's contest was decided in the opening period when the Tigers spent six minutes in the penalty box that resulted in a pair of power play goals for the Trojans. A third score late in the period put the visitors in a three-goal hole heading to the first break.

Brittany Sticha made it 4-0 for the Trojans just eight seconds into the second period and although the Tigers played New Prague evenly the rest of the period, they could not dent the scoreboard.

New Prague added a goal late in the final period to add a cherry to the top of the victory cake and stretch the Tiger's winless streak to nine games.

New Prague outshot its guests by a final 34-19 count with Trojan goalie Sophie Puente regisetring the shutout.

Maddie Bowe worked the Farmington nets and recorded 29 saves.

The Tigers will try to break their scoring drought at their annual Louie Schmitz Holiday Classic scheduled for Dec. 27-29 at Schmitz Maki Arena. Other teams in the eight-team tourney include Eastview, Hastings, Mound. Rosemount, Apple Valley, Shakopee and Park of Cottage Grove.

Wrestling: Venz, LeDuc continue to roll

Taylor Venz owns a perfect 11-0 record (photo by Jim Lindquist)

The Tigers came up on the short end of the score against Lakeville South and Bloomington Kennedy in Thursday night's triangular at Kennedy but Taylor Venz and Jamie LeDuc continued their dominant seasons.

Venz scored a pin and a technical fall in the 113 lbs. division to run his season record to a perfect 11-0. LeDuc upped his season mark to 12-1 with a technical fall and a three-point decision.

Int he team competition, South downed Farmington 42-29 in the opener and the Tigers fell 36-24 to Kennedy in the nightcap.

"We did not wrestle up to our abilities against South," coach Chad Olson said. "They came after us and we didn't answer back. We wrestled much better against Kennedy."

"We still have not put our full lineup on the mat yet. The flu is making its way through the team. We have had 12 wrestlers with the flu over the last 10 days."

Jamin LeDuc 12-1 season mark

In addition to the perfect 2-0 showings by Venz and LeDuc, two other Tigers went unbeaten in the triangular. Joe Hoeve scored back-to-back pins at 160 pounds and Matt Rustad scored a fall and a decision in the 126-pound bracket.

Mason Hawkins (120) and Brian Caravantes  (132) each won decisions against South. John Walz (145) won a four-point major decision and Godfrey Mpetey (220) scored a pin in the loss to Bloomington.

The Tigers now have a few days off before getting back on the mat to prepare for the 64-team Rumble on the Red meet Dec. 28-29 at the Fargo Dome in Fargo, North Dakota.

Girls BB: South a tall order for Tigers

Jordyn Homeier 8 points off the bench (photo by Jim Lindquist)

The young Tigers put together one of their better efforts of the season against a bigger, more experienced Lakeville South team but it wasn't enough to produced the season's first victory.

The Cougars used their superior size inside to post a 60-53 non-conference win Thursday night at Tiger Gym.

"We challenged the girls after Tuesday night’s loss to pick up the intensity and play to their potential," coach Sondra Chadwick said, "and they did exactly that.  Our young girls came in prepared, focused and ready to redeem themselves."

The first half was a nip-and-tuck affair with South taking a 27-24 lead to the break thanks a long three-pointer at the buzzer. Rochester Century also drained  a buzzer-beater in Tuesday's defeat.

Farmington stayed in the hunt through the second period but could never quite take control of the contest.

"Last year they essentially had the same players and they beat us by 30," Chadwick said. "When we started this season, we said we were going to measure our success game by the game, and tonight we proved we have made significant progress."

There were several bright spots for the home team. The backcourt duo of Sofia Chadwick (15 points) and Alicia Hett (11) combined for 26 points and did a solid job against South's full-court pressure.

Sydney Speer had nine points and eight rebounds and Kaitlin Gorden added seven points and five steals. Jordyn Homeier had her most productive night of the season with eight points, including a couple of second half three-pointers, off the bench.

The Tigers resume play on Thursday, Dec. 27 with a quarterfinal game in the three-day Monticello Holiday Invitational tournament.

Tiger Scoreboard: December 22, 2012

Boys Basketball
Farmington 87 St. Paul Harding 48

Gymnastics
Farmington 133.075 Chaska/Chanhassen 130.175

Boys Hockey
New Prague 4 Farmington 3

Tiger Scoreboard: December 21, 2012

Girls Hockey
New Prague 5  Farmington 0

Girls Basketball
Lakeville South 60 Farmington 53

Wrestling
Bloomington Kennedy Triangular
Lakeville South 43 Farmington 29
Bloomington Kennedy 36  Farmington 24

Boys BB: Cold and flat in Rochester

Alex Chadwick 12 points (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Farmington dug an early hole and never quite recovered in a disappointing 63-56 loss Tuesday night at Rochester Century,

The loss was the second straight for the Tigers who dropped to 3-3 overall; Century improved to 2-3.

"We had no energy and showed no toughness getting the ball inside or cutting to the basket," Tiger coach Shane Wyandt said. "They packed it in a zone and we just forced up outside shots all night even though they weren't falling."

Century raced to a 10-0 early lead and although the visitors came back to make it a game they could never quite get over the hump. In the opening half Farmington cut the lead to two or three points several times only to see it bounce back to seven or eight.

Alex Chadwick canned three three-pointers in four possessions midway through the second half to pull his team even but Century countered with a mini-run of its own to take back the momentum.

Wyandt said that a play with a little over two minutes to play in regulation summed up his team's night in Rochester.

"We had cut the lead from 11 to six points and had a breakaway," he said. "We were intentionally fouled so we got two free throws and the ball with a chance to erase almost all of the lead. We ended up with no points."

Farmington shot just 35 percent from the field and an even lower 29 percent (8 for 28) from behind the three-point line. Century, meanwhile shot 48 percent overall and 43 percent from long range. The Panthers aslo made 18 free throws to 10 for the Tigers.

Chadwick finished as the top Tiger scorer with 12 points. Zach Speikers and Darren Beenken each tallied 11 and came up with three steals apiece. Beenken had a team-high eight rebounds and Johnny Dittman chipped in with three assists.

"In the end, they (Century) wanted to win the game and we just showed up expecting to," Wyandt said.

The Tigers get a chance for redemption Friday night when they host St. Paul Harding (3-2) of the St. Paul City Conference at Tiger Gym.

Wrestling: Tigers win one at Richfield quad

Chris McCue scored a pair of pins at Richfield (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Farmington won one match, lost another by a point and fell far short in another at Tuesday night's quadrangular meet in Richfield.

In their opening 48-21 victory over Richfield/Edina the Tiger points came in bundles of six, five pins and three forfeits.

Jamie LeDuc (106), Joey Liden (145), Joe Hoeve (160), Chris McCue (182) and Godfrey Mpetey (220) scored the falls while Skylar Raymond ( (113), Angel Anorve (132) and Trevor Frost (170) each won via forfeit.

The match with Chaska/Chanhassen finished in a tie with the Stormhawks getting the win 34-33 on a tie-breaker for having more pins (4-3).

"It was another great learning experience for the boys to understand how important bonus points are," coach Chad Olson said.

LeDuc and Taylor Venz got the Tigers off to a fast start with dominating wins in the first two bouts. Mason Hawkins followed with a pin at 120 lbs., his first varsity win, for a 12-0 lead before the Stormhawks battled back.

McCue scored another pin, Jake Rudeen (152) rang up a technical fall, Kyle Benjamin (138) recorded a three-point decision and Sam Kealy won by forfeit (195) to account for the other Farmington points.

In the meet finale the Tigers started fast against Missota Conference power Shakopee before falling 52-19.

LeDuc and Venz opened the match with respective three and four-point wins but the Tigers won only two bouts the rest of the way, pins by Hoeve and Mpetey.

LeDuc's 3-0 night raised his season mark to a lofty 10-1 while Venz went 2-0 and remained unbeaten at 9-0.

Next up for the Tigers is a tough trianagular Thursday night against Bloomington Kennedy and Lakeville South in Bloomington.

 "We know when everyone is in our line up and we compete to our ability we can wrestle with the best," Olson said. "The goal now is to get everyone in our line up and wrestle to our ability."

Gymnastics: Season-high at Northfield

Tahra Eckert 2 third place finishes in return (photo by Jim Lindquist)

As expected defending state Class A champion Northfield dominated in its win over the Tigers Tuesday night in Northfield, but the Tigers won a moral victory of sorts, registering their highest team score of the year in the 142.35-131.9 Missota Conference loss.

"We're on our way back," coach Lynn Bauman said. "The girls are really pulling themselves together.... Fun, fun, fun! That's what it's about. We need to keep it fun! This seems to relax the girls and helps them perform well."

The meet was also a welcome back party for Kylie Wharton and Tahra Eckert who returned to the lineup after suffering early season injuries.

"It was nice to see Kylie and Tahra back in the line-up," Bauman said. "We're still waiting to get Kylie in a full line-up."

Kiana Lord again led the Farmington effort, placing among the top four individuals in all four evenst all-around.

Lord took second in vault (9.35), third in floor exercise (8.475) and fourth on both the balance beam (8.5) and the uneven bars (8.65). Her all-around score of  35.475 ranked fourth.

Eckert took third in both vaulting (9.275) and floor exercise (8.8) and Wharton placed  fifth on the uneven bars (8.25). Kathryn Beckett finished fifth in vault (9.05).

Friday the girls close out their pre-holiday schedule with a road dual meet with Chaska/Chanhassen.

Girls Hockey: No.2 Red Wing tops Tigers 6-1

Halea Wright (No. 10) scored her first varsity goal (photo by Jim Lindquist)

The Tigers had their chances against No. 2 (Class A) Red Wing but in the end the Wingers lived up to their ranking with a 6-1 Missota Conference win Tuesday night at Schmitz-Maki Arena.

Red Wing won for the 12th time in 13 games and moved to 3-0 in conference play while Farmington fell to 1-8-1 and 0-3.

The Wingers led 2-1 after the first period, and although Farmington came back to outshoot  their guests 14-9 in the second, they added two more for a commanding four-goal lead with 17 minutes to play.

"The difference in every period was their shooting ability versus ours." Tiger coach Jon Holmes said. 

"We did hit our fair share of posts and cross bars that really could have changed the game early, but they have a couple snipers on their team that when they shoot, they shoot hard and accurate. That was the single biggest difference."

Halea Wright (from Rachael Peroutky) tallied the lone Farmington goal in the third period but the Wingers' all-Missota Conference forward Nicole Schammel responded with two of her own to account for the final score.

Wright's goal was the first of her varsity career.

Schammel had an outstanding night for Red Wing, finishing with a hat trick and a pair of assists.

Red Wing outshot Farmington 32-28 but the Tigers managed to get just one shot by the Wingers Ashley Corcoran who ironically served as Farmington's back-up goaltender during the 2011-12 season.

The Tigers continued their scoring drought. They have averaged 1.25 goals in eight games since beating Rochester Mayo 7-0 on Nov. 15.

Eighth-grader Molly Singewald drew her second start in goal for the Tigers, stopping 26 of 32 shots.

"I was very pleased with our ability to control the puck and the pace of the game," Holmes said, " but we must get over the small breakdowns in our defensive zone that led to a couple of their goals....Hopefully we can get back on the winning track Thursday and take that into our holiday tournament.

The Tigers close out the pre-holiday portion of their schedule with a road game Thursday night at New Prague. They host their annual holiday tournament Dec. 27-29 at Schmitz-Maki Arena.

Molly Singewald makes one of her 26 saves (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Boys Swimming: Lakers blow by Tigers 100-86

Christopher Kirchmann 2 first place finishes (photo by Jim Lindquist)

A strong Prior Lake team won eight of 12 events on the way to a 100-86 dual meet win over the Tigers Tuesday night at the Dodge Middle School pool.

"We had a lot of our boys swim close to their best times and we lost a lot of close races at the finish," coach Ryan Hamen said. "But our divers won three of the top four places so that helped us."

Christopher Kirchmann was in on two of the Farmington firsts, winning the 50 freestyle and teaming with Dahlton Bell, Dan Berg and Eric Schimmel to take top honors in the 200 freestyle relay. Kirchmann also took second in the 100 freestyle.

Evan Carufel easily won on the one-meter board with teammates Jonathan Bovee and Sean Dougherty taking second and fourth respectively.

Aaron Cochnauer supplied the other Tiger first place finish with a winning effort in the 100 butterfly.

Three other Farmington entrants scored second place points: Cochnauer, 200 freestyle; Austin Kueck, 500 freestyle and Nick Stephan, 100 breaststroke.

Four more Tigers combined for five third place finishes, including, Oliver Chow, 200 individual medley and 100 backstroke; Spencer Kabran, 100 breaststroke; Cameron Molnar, 200 freestyle and Schimmel, 100 freestyle.

Next up for the Tigers is date with Rochester Century Thursday night in Rochester.

Girls BB: Cold Tigers fall to Panthers

Sydney Speer 6 first half points (photo by Jim Lindquist)

A cold-shooting second half and Rochester Century's ability to hit from the perimeter made the difference in the Panthers 53-40 win over Farmington Tuesday night at Tiger Gym.

The loss was the eighth straight for the young Tigers who had showed promise in their previous two games against Apple Valley and Red Wing.

"Tonight was disappointing because we had been playing better," coach Sondra Chadwick said. "We had some defensive breakdowns and offensively we need to run our offense all the way through. We get impatient and take poor shots.

"We are ahead of where I thought we'd be at this point but we can't get comfortable with that. The girls need to show more aggressiveness and maturity if we are going to get that win."

Century got off to an early 9-4 lead but the Tigers battled all the way back and took their only lead of the night at 13-12 on Abby Gallus' short jumper with 6:10 remaining in the half.

The lead lasted all of one possession as the Panthers responded with one of their five three-pointers of the half to pull back ahead. Another long range basket, this one from 40 feet, gave the visitors a 23-20 halftime edge.

"I thought Sydney Speer had a really good first half tonight," Chadwick said, "and Aly Grebner came in and gave us a spark in the second half."

Speer had all six of her points in the opening period.

Gallus scored the first basket after intermission but Century countered with an 18-8 spurt that put the game away.

Farmington made just nine of 39 shots (24 percent) in the second half and at one point trailed by a 52-35 margin. Century outscored the Tigers 21-6 from behind the three-point line.

"We have to find away to get Abby (Gallus) and Sofia (Chadwick) better shots," coach Chadwick said. "Most of the shots they got tonight were contested."

Chadwick was the only Tiger scoring in double digits with 15 points. Gallus had eight and Speer six. Kaitlin Gorden had a big night on the boards with 11 rebounds.

Things don't get any easier for the Tigers on Thursday when Lakeville South invades Tiger Gym for a non-conference game.

"Things are not going to get any easier for us with this schedule so we need to show some motivation to take things to the next level," Chadwick said.

Tiger Scoreboard: December 19, 2012

Girls Basketball
Rochester Century 53 Farmington 40

Boys Basketball
Rochester Century 63 Farmington 56

Girls Hockey
Red Wing 6 Farmington 1

Boys Swimming
Prior Lake 100 Farmington 86

Gymnastics
Northfield 142.45 Farmington 131.9

Wrestling
Farmington 48 Edina/Richfield 21
Farmington 34 Chaska/Chanhassen 34
Shakopee 53 Farmington 12

Boys Hockey: Spartans tame Tigers 4-3

Alex Aubrecht scored first period goal (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Rochester Mayo edged the Tigers 4-3 in a match-up of Section 1AA rivals Saturday afternoon at Schmitz-Maki Arena.

The loss dropped Farmington back to .500 at 4-4 and marked the first loss in four games against section competition for coach Keith Revels' team. With the  win, Mayo upped its season record to 5-1.

"I'd put Mayo right up near the top of the big Nine Conference," Revels said. "It would have been nice to have a clean sweep of the section games, but 3-1 is pretty solid."

Defenseman Alex Aubrecht (from Corey Rudrud and Tanner Grubb) got the Tigers off to to a good start with the game's only goal of a tightly contested opening period.

Mayo drew first blood in the second period but Grant Hauswirth put the Tigers back on top with an end-to-end rush off a rare assist by goalie Austin Krause.

Austin Krause 21 saves, assist (photo by Jim Lindquist)

The visitors scored twice in the first six minutes of the third  period but once again Farmington countered, this time on Benton Olson's first career varsity goal. Chris Fitzgibbon recorded an assist on the score.

Max Whitney's goal just eight seconds later proved to be  the game-winner.

"Giving up three goals in third period really hurts," Revels said, "especially at home."

Krause went the distance in the nets for the Tigers, finishing the afternoon with 21 saves. Mayo won the shots on goal battle by a 25-22 margin.

The Tigers have just one more game on the schedule before Christmas, next Friday's Missota Conference opener with New Prague at Schmitz-Maki Arena.

Girls Hockey: No home ice advantage for Tigers

Maddie Bowe 28 saves (photo by Jim Lindquist)

A week before Christmas the Tigers are still looking for an early present, namely their first home win of the season.

Amy Menke scored the game's only goals, one midway through the second period and the other early in the third, to lead Shakopee (4-6-1) to a 2-0 Missota Conference win Friday night at Schmitz-Maki Arena.

Farmington, 1-7-1 for the season, is winless in four tries at Schmitz-Maki this season. The Tigers are 0-2 in Missota Conference play.

The Sabers outshot the Tigers 30-19 with Farmington sophomore goaltender Maddie Bowe finishing the night with 28 saves.

"We played pretty well overall," coach Jon Holmes said. "We knew we had to go in and limit their first line which has two of the top scorers in the state, and we held them to two which is good.

"We just weren't able to capitalize on our own chances. We hit some posts and had some very near misses that we just needed to bounce our way.... Games like this against we classify as toss-up games; it would just be extremely helpful to grab one or two of them."

Next Tuesday the Tigers get another opportunity to find success at Schmitz-Maki when Red Wing comes to town for a Missota Conference game. Friday they travel to New Prague for another league contest.

Boys BB: North rains on Tiger parade

Zach Speikers season-high 14 points (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Beating two state-ranked teams on the road in one week proved too tall of a task for the Tigers.

After edging Spring Lake Park (No. 10 Class 3A) in overtime Tuesday, Farmington was no match for Lakeville North (No. 10 Class 4A) Friday night in an 84-63 loss.

The win was unbeaten North's fourth straight. The loss snapped the Tigers' three-game win streak and left them with a 3-2 mark.

"When we ran our stuff we did some things offensively," Farmington coach Shane Wyandt said, "but the disappointing thing was how we let them dictate the flow of the game.

"When North  would get on a little run, we would start jacking up three's with no rebounders in sight. We talked before hand about not playing their game and we did exactly the opposite."

North, behind the brilliant play of senior PJ Macura (18 first half points), jumped to an early 24-16 lead before three-pointers by Zach Speikers and Mac Bassett and baskets by Speikers, NIck Varner and Eli Rockett pulled the visitors even at 28-28 with 5:39 to play.

Th rest of the half was a nightmare with the defending Section 1AAAA champions, forcing a rash of Tiger turnovers in an 18-6 run that all but put the game on ice. Farmington finished the half with a telling 15 turnovers.

Rockett scored two early baskets in the second half to get the visitors within eight at 46-38 but then Macura, a NCAA Division I recruit, went on a personal 10-2 run to extend the Panther lead. North's final 21-point bulge was its biggest of the night.

"They (North) have a very good basketball team with some outstanding individuals," Wyandt said. "When you get down to the difference in the two teams, they have been in and won a lot of big games and we are in the process of learning how to do that.

"We have to get back to work and from the looks of things, get healthy for our next two games before the holidays."

Wyandt was referring to the status of Bassett and Varner, both of whom left the floor with injuries. Bassett hurt his elbow early in the second half and did not return; Varner appeared to suffer a shoulder injury late in the contest.

Macura was a one-man wrecking crew for the Panthers, scoring 36 points in a variety of ways, including long three-pointers, mid-range jumpres, deft post moves and acrobatic tip-ins.

Rockett put together an 18-point, 11-rebound night to led the Tiger effort. Speikers had his best scoring night of the season with 14.

The Tigers make it three road games in a row Tuesday when they travel to Rochester Century before returning home Friday to entertain St. Paul Harding.

Tiger Scoreboard: December 15, 2012

Boys Basketball
Lakeville North 84 Farmington 63

Girls Hockey
Shakopee 2  Farmington 0

Girls BB: Buck too much for Tigers

Sofia Chadwick 23 points, 8 rebounds (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Red Wing's Tesha Buck blitzed the Tigers for 41 points as the Wingers beat Farmington 80-66 Thursday night in Red Wing.

The win raised the Wingers' season record to 7-2 and 1-0 in Missota Conference play. Farmington is 0-6; 0-1.

"Without a doubt, she (Buck) is the best player we will face this season," Tiger coach Sondra Chadwick said,  "and whenever we started to make a little run, she’d be right there with a key steal or basket."

Buck wasn't always dominant though. Midway through the first half the Tigers were up 14-10 before Buck began to light things up. She scored Red Wing's final 12 points of the half as the Wingers hit the break with a 36-29 lead.

"They (Red Wing) are currently ranked No. 5 in Class AAA.," Chadwick said. 'They are a very tough team but we came out with a lot of intensity and our girls were hitting their shots."

Red Wing came our hitting on all cylinders after intermission building an 18 point-lead before the feisty Tigers fought back to cut the deficit back to 69-59 with a little over four minutes to play.

Buck's blockbuster performance overshadowed quality outings by several Tiger players. Sofia Chadwick canned six three-pointers on the way to a team-high 23 points. Abby Gallus and Alicia Hett each reached career-highs in scoring with 20 and 16 points respectively.

Alicia Hett career-high 16 points (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Chadwick had eight boards and Hett seven to pace the rebounding effort. Gallus had three assists and Chadwick came up with a pair of steals.

Coach Chadwick said there were many pluses to take away from the road loss, including the team's balanced scoring, its six-for-eight three-point shooting, and its ability to handle the ball against Red Wing's full-court pressure.

"The things we need to continue to focus on are our execution on offense, rebounding and defensive intensity," she said.

"These girls have had a steep learning curve this first part of the season and they are now beginning to look like an experienced varsity squad. They did not back down in this game and kept in it until the end. For us to start with a lead, and play with the level of intensity that we did until the end, I am very proud of these young girls."

Next Tuesday the Tigers host section rival Rochester Century in a non-conference game at Tiger Gym.

Boys Swimming: Tigers depth beats Hopkins

Evan Carufel won one-meter dive (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Hopkins finished first in seven of 12 events but Farmington piled up the points in places two through five to roll past the Royals 95-89 in a non-conference dual meet Thursday night at the Dodge Middle School pool.

"The boys really stepped up," Tiger coach Ryan Hamen said. "Our top swimmers swam at least one off-event and still finished strong. I'm very proud of how our guys swam."

The Farmington 200 freestyle relay team of Eric Schimmel, Christian Bell, Dan Berg and Christopher Kirchamann was a winner as were four Farmington individuals: Schimmel, 50 freestyle; Kirchmann, 100 freestyle; Evan Carufel, diving and Austin Kueck, 500 freestyle.

The Tigers scored second place points in four events, including Oliver Chow in the 200 individual medley and 100 backstroke; Kirchmann in the 100 breaststroke and and Berg in the 50 freestyle.

No fewer than eight Farmington entries contributed thrid place efforts in the victory: Molnar, 200 freestyle and 100 backstroke; Kueck, 200 individual medley; Nick Stephan, 100 breaststroke; Tyler Lerbakken, 50 freestyle; Dahlton Bell, 100 freestyle; Jonathan Bovee, diving and Aaron Cochnauer, 100 butterfly.  

"Tonight was also a real learning night for many of our swimmers," Hamen said. "We have 63 guys on the team and about 25 of them are new to the sport.

 "They had a lot of butterflies and nerves working against them but they now know what competitive swimming is about. It got rowdy and there were a lot of cheers for everyone."

Next Tuesday the Tigers host Prior Lake in another non-conference dual at the Dodge pool.