This meet allowed the younger wrestlers to have the chance to shine and develop their skills as nine of the 10 wrestlers made their Pioneer debut.

According to the Sports Information Web site, this was the team’s first shutout since the 41-0 win over Concordia on Jan. 22, 2000.

Photograph by Kate Olsen
Pioneer wrestler Chris Spaude grapples during warm-ups on the mats of Williams Fieldhouse Dec. 2.

The Pioneers prevailed over the Prairie Fire in every weight class making their record 1-1 while Knox College fell to 0-2.

UW-P then wrestled the UW-La Crosse Eagles Dec. 4 in the Williams Fieldhouse. The Eagles came to UW-P ranked fifth in NCAA Division III wrestling, and they proved their skills by defeating the Pioneers in a shutout dual 46-0, making UW-P 1-2 overall.

The Pioneers traveled to MSOE for a tournament Dec. 6 taking third place, losing only to Lakeland College and UW-Oshkosh.

Head wrestling coach Chris Walter believed the Pioneers could have placed higher if some matches went in UW-P’s favor. Having sophomore Cody Weber make his season debut at second place after coming back from the football season helped as well.

“Experience is the best teacher, and the younger wrestlers got the opportunity to show what they have and take pointers from the skills opponents have,” Walter said.

Once again, junior Brad Zellner came away with second place in the 184 pound weight class while Weber also took a second place finish in the 285 pound weight class. Taking fourth in their weight classes were freshman Matt Scott (197), freshman Shaun Flom (149) and sophomore Chris Spaude (133), helping the Pioneers secure their third place finish.

Freshman Alex LeRoy said that all the matches so far have been a learning experience for him and the team is doing as well as possible considering all the people that have been injured so far this season.

The Pioneers are set to dual the UW-Stevens Point Pointers at 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 11.

The Rangerette squad debuted in the fall of 1972 where they performed at the half-time shows during football games with the band.

“We received one credit for physical education because we were Rangerettes,” Deborah Rice, faculty adviser for the Rangerettes, said.

It wasn’t until the spring semester of 1976 that the Rangerettes performed at a few Pioneer basketball games.

The squad is currently not a sport but an organization, so funding for the organization comes from Segregated University Fee Allocation Commission, which allows them to get what they need right away instead of waiting a few years after other sports. Because they are not a sport, there are no coaches, just the captains who make up the different routines and credits can no longer be received.

“The girls work really hard, so we should be considered a sport,” Rice said. She said that because it takes a lot of physical work for the girls, it should be considered a sport.

The squad is made up of 18 dancers for the football and basketball season. Tryouts for the football squad are the first couple of weeks of school, while for the basketball season tryouts are the second week after the football season ends.

During the football season, the Rangerettes perform pom-style routines with the marching band. During the basketball season, they perform with the band pre-game and during half time with a routine that has a combination of funk, jazz and pom style routines.

Practice is from 4 p.m. until 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and usually consists of 10 to 15 minutes of stretching, then techniques, teaching, reviewing and cleaning of their routines. The dancers will then end with about five minutes of stretching.

“I like the people I get to meet through it, as well as the dancing,” Heather Pittz, senior communication technology major, business administration major and co-captain of the Rangerettes, said.

“We work really hard and have a lot of fun with it,” Miranda Hecox, sophomore biology major and co-captain of the Rangerettes, said. “We have improved a lot over the years.”

Pittz has been a Rangerettes for six seasons and has been co-captain for three seasons and Hecox has been on the squad for four seasons and three seasons as co-captain. Both women were voted in as captain and will remain captain until they step down.

The last performance for the Rangerettes this semester was at the Men’s basketball halftime show Dec. 10. The Rangerettes first performance of the spring semesters is Jan. 21 at the men and women’s basketball teams’ half-time shows.

“This Gala Concert is our musical gift to the campus and the community, and their generosity continues to help keep our music program one of the best in the state,” Daniel Fairchild, music department chair and the person in charge of this year’s performance, said.

Started in 1995, the Holiday Gala has assisted many students, not all of which are music major students, through scholarships. Every cent that is raised through the tickets sold is applied towards the music fund that UW-Platteville students can apply for.

“Our present and new students apply for the money, and our department scholarship committee awards the money,” Fairchild said.

The Holiday Gala allows UW-P music groups, such as the UW-P Sax Quartet, UW-P Flute Choir, the University Symphony Orchestra and the UW-P Combined Choirs, to combine with community groups like the Platteville Chorale and the Platteville Children’s Choirs to provide cheer to Southwestern Wisconsin.

The community was able to take part in the performance by two sing-along parts with the combined choirs and the University Symphony Orchestra. Songs performed during both sing-alongs included White Christmas, Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman and Home for the Holidays.

That leads me to my proposal: If the university wants to develop a mascot, it truly needs to create its own. UW-P should follow the example of Webster University and create a fictional creature to be its mascot.

According to the Webster University Web site, the Gorlock is a creature that combines a cheetah, buffalo and Saint Bernard. But what would UW-P’s creature be? I suggest the Monadnock.

A monadnock is a hill or slope that rises above an otherwise flat landscape. For an example, look at the Platteville mound. Michael Viney, assistant chancellor for student affairs, said committees have looked at the possibility of a monadnock before, but not as a creature.

The closest the university came to a new mascot was in 1991 when the mascot selection committee selected a horse named Spirit to be adopted as UW-P’s mascot. However, students and alumni did not approve of the proposed mascot and Spirit was put to rest and buried in various filing cabinets and the Wisconsin Room.

Chancellor David Markee said that the creation of a mascot is “not a priority of any kind” but would consider it if students enthusiastically called for a mascot.
The Monadnock would not replace the “Pioneers” nickname and would only serve as a mascot to appear at campus events and for merchandising. The Monadnock would not have a gender and would not be human. It would be a creature that lived in the forest on top of the Platteville mound and acted as a guardian to the town and the university.

Students and alumni would be able to submit ideas for Monadnock designs and history. This process would give students and alumni a sense of inclusion, ownership and a connection with the mascot and make it easier to embrace. The creation of such a mascot would give the university the ability to craft a mascot that will represent the views and creativity of the campus community.

The tradition of the Pioneer would not change; there would just be a new addition to the UW-P family. Accept the suggestion. Embrace the Monadnock.

While this announcement may upset some people, I’m surprised that they hadn’t stopped production earlier. Digital photography has been the norm for so long, it’s amazing that the company has been producing it still up until this time.

I can see the allure of the instantly developed photography, but in this day and age, digital photography just makes more sense. It’s easy to upload photos onto your computer from a digital camera. If you want to put a Polaroid on your computer, you have to first buy a scanner and then scan it. Colors aren’t usually the same from the photograph to the scan and, let’s face it, unless you really need to make copies at home, scanners aren’t the most practical item to own.

We live in a world of Facebook, MySpace and Flikr. Internet photo galleries are easy to access and are available to a larger group of people. Digital photography goes hand in hand with these galleries. A few clicks and you can show relatives in different states pictures from family vacations or just silly moments in daily life. The best part about it is you can take thousands of pictures without having to change film. Polaroid pictures may be good for family scrapbooks that lie around and take up space but who wants to pay postage to send a scrapbook to Grandma?

Digital photography surpasses Polaroid in its color quality and range of settings. It can capture effortlessly any sort of scenery. This leads me to say farewell Polaroid, you served your purpose well but it’s time to move on to the old technology graveyard. Say hello to the telegraph for me.

Good Test Taking Strategies

• Get a good night’s sleep
• Arrive a few minutes early to avoid a rushed, stressed test taking experience
• Budget your time, but don’t watch the clock
• Look over the exam and answer the questions you know first
• Look for clues in the question
• Answer every question, even if you don’t know the full answer at least write what you know

Remember what Frankie said and RELAX

• Flex your muscles in your feet, hold for 10 seconds, and release
• Breathe deeply and slowly
• Loosen your clothing and get comfortable

Close your eyes, take a long, deep breath, let it out slowly and repeat

• Think positively, avoid negative notations
• If your stuck during an exam, concentrate on an object in front of you, count backwards from 10-0
• Put a rubber band around your wrist and snap it at every negative thought during the exam

Information gathered from Student Health Services and Counseling Services handouts.

The women didn’t leave Texas without a victory, however, after they defeated host Texas-Tyler 80-74. Junior guard and forward Stacia Nemitz led all scorers with 19 points, and Lisa Grantman chipped in 18 points for the Pioneers, who left Texas with a 2-1 record. The win proved costly, however, as junior guard Vanessa Nemitz suffered a knee injury in the game against Texas-Dallas and has not played since the injury.

After the tournament in Texas, the Pioneers prepared for a 16-hour bus ride back to Wisconsin for their home opener. Junior forward Dru Schneider said the team manages to pass the time on the long bus trips to tournaments and away games, “We try to study on the bus trips, but we also watch movies sometimes. If we can get enough people for a game of Euchre, we can play for hours.”

The Pioneers faced Coe College in their home opener on Nov. 25. Coe College defeated the Pioneers on their own court by a score of 72-59. The Pioneers were held to a field goal percentage under 31 percent while Coe shot 8-15 from behind the arc, according to the Sports Information Web site.

After a single home game, the women got set to travel again, this time to Storm Lake, Iowa to compete in the Buena Vista Classic on Nov. 28 and 29. The Pioneers lost the first game, 85-66, to host Buena Vista University. Cold shooting again hampered the Pioneers, who shot just under 31 percent from the field.

In the second game of the tournament, the Pioneers suffered a loss against undefeated and 11th ranked Simpson College, 89-54. Simpson’s bench outscored UW-P’s, 51-20, and the Storm were able to score 29 points off of 32 turnovers committed by the Pioneers, who dropped to 2-4 overall.

Grantman figures the bench scoring is a key reason for the team’s struggles.

“One of our problems is bench scoring,” Grantman said. “Our bench isn’t scoring as much as the other teams’.”

The Pioneers opened their conference season on the road against the UW-Superior Yellowjackets on Dec. 6. According the Sports Information Web site, the Pioneers trailed by as much as ten points in the first half, but the women rallied and left with a 76-70 victory, to begin their conference season at 1-0.

Junior guard Charity Stotmeister, who scored 15 points and pulled down six rebounds, led the Pioneers. Stotmeister said that the week off before the game against UW-Superior helped propel the team to victory.

“We were really prepared, because we had a week for Superior,” Stotmeister said. “I think we all knew what to expect.”

The Pioneers continue their conference play by traveling to River Falls to take on the UW-RF Falcons at 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 13.

Photograph submitted by Barb Daus
Professors, industry leaders and guests gathered at the Inaugural event of the Nanotechnology Center for Collaborative Research and Development at UW-P on Dec. 6.

Presentations were given by professors from UW-P, UW-Stevens Point, UW-River Falls, UW-Oshkosh, UW-Stout, UW-Milwaukee, UW-Eau Claire and independent businesses. Topics ranged from “Tissue Engineering, Stem Cells and Nanotechnology in Western Wisconsin” to “Remote Sensing with Optical Fibers and Nanoparticles.”

According to the National Nanotechnology Initiative, Nanotechnology (or Nanotech) is the study and control of matter than is between one and 100 nanometers thick. To put that into perspective, a nanometer is a millionth of a millimeter. A sheet of paper is about 100,000 nanometers thick. Being able to work with matter on this scale would allow doctors to detect and treat diseases at their earliest state and develop even smaller, more efficient computer technology.

The Nanotechnology Center for Collaborative Research and Development at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville will be located in the new engineering building located near Southwest Hall. The building will be opening next semester.
“The name of this Center was chosen very carefully,” Barb Daus, special assistant to the chancellor, said. “This is not the UW-Platteville Nanotechnology Center. It is the Nanotechnology Center at UW-Platteville. You’ll note that its mission is to foster collaboration across many campuses.”

Representative Phil Garthwaite, the state representative from the 49th district that includes Platteville attended the event.

“From a scientific, economic and local standpoint, to have UW-Platteville at the forefront of this is great,” Garthwaite said. “Jim Hamilton is a textbook example of what can be done at state universities like Platteville and it is people like him that are going to move our country forward. Research at universities like UW-Platteville can help push research in new technologies and renewable fuels that will make the U.S. less reliant on outside sources.”

The alumni meet is held as an open meet so it does not reflect any athletes’ eligibility. The meet is also held to determine what male athletes make the cut for the Pioneer team and it serves as a yardstick to see how the team’s training has been going since starting practice Oct. 20.

“We have a roster limit of 55 and currently we have about 90 men trying to make the team,” head track and field coach Jim Nichasch said.

It also allows the athletes a chance to compete in a low-key environment. The competition serves as a motivation for the athletes to continue to train while home on semester break, head cross country coach Tom Antzack said.

The alumni meet is an opportunity for the track alumni to come back to campus and reconnect with the program.

“Our current athletes see how much the program means to the alumni and how the alumni feel about their past involvement with the program, and their desire to stay connected,” Antzack said.

Nickasch also feels it’s a great opportunity to stay in touch with the Alumni Track and Field family.

“We generally have about 50 people come back and compete at the meet and then we do a social after the meet where about 150 people attend,” Nickasch said. “It’s great for our alumni to meet the current team members and to have them see our progress.”

Cody Helgeson, Pioneer track and field high jumper alumni, said the meet gives former athletes the chance to come back and compete again as well as to visit with old friends.

The Pioneers take off running in their season home opener Saturday, Jan. 17 in the Williams Fieldhouse as they host the Nike Impact Sports Platteville Open.

The Pioneers jumped out to a 9-2 lead in the opening five minutes of the game, but the Yellowjackets pulled to within two at 19-17 with just under seven minutes to play in the first half. A pair of free throws from UW-P’s junior guard Mike Shaw gave the Pioneers a 36-26 lead at half-time.

Photograph by Jessica Stoppelmoor
Bo Richter handles the ball during the Dec. 4 win against Clarke. The Pioneers will be watching the numbers during the season as they compete for a WIAC title. Three WIAC teams are currently ranked in the top ten nationally according to d3hoops.com.

A 3-pointer from Pioneer junior Curt Hanson in the first two minutes of the second half gave the Pioneers their biggest lead at 43-28. The Yellowjackets didn’t go away, however, as they crawled their way back to within four with just under nine minutes left in the game. A foul by UW-P sophomore forward Eric Wall with 5:15 left on the clock would send UW-Superior’s Shane Manor to the line to close the gap to 60-59. Senior guard and forward Charlie Lohoff then hit a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws to give the Pioneers a 72-67 lead with 58 seconds left to play. The Pioneers kept the lead to end the game with a final score of 76-69.

“Charlie Lohoff showed great senior leadership on offense and defense which helped will us to a victory,” head coach Paul Combs said. “He had two big threes and great strength on defense.”

According to the Sports Information Web site, senior Jeff Skemp made 13 of 17 shots for 27 points, while Hanson added 18, Lohoff 13 and Shaw 12. Lohoff grabbed a team-high eight rebounds for the Pioneers, who led 36-26 at the half.

“Our goal was to play good solid basketball and start WIAC play on the right foot,” Combs said.

The Pioneers will try to keep their winning streak alive when they take on UW-Eau Claire Dec. 10 before traveling to UW-River Falls Dec. 13. UW-EC defeated the Pioneers in their last game of the 2007-08 seasons in the WIAC tournament.

“We need to work on our rebounding, post defense needs to improve and we need to become more consistent as a team offensively and defensively,” Skemp said.

The Pioneers are currently undefeated with an overall record of 7-0.

“The upperclassmen look forward to Wednesday night’s game; we spent almost two weeks away from home and it’ll be good to be back in front of the student section and home crowd protecting our home court,” Combs said.

The Pioneers schedule doesn’t get any easier during the winter break as they start off with a non-conference home game against Dubuque Dec. 20.

“Obviously the student section is a huge part of our home game atmosphere, but we need to bring our own energy and still play as hard as we always do during winter break,” sophomore forward Eric Wall said. “It’s a little disadvantage because of the smaller crowd, but it’s no different than playing on the road.”

They will then participate in the St. Norbert tournament Dec. 29-30. The team returns to Bo Ryan Court for two weeks of WIAC action against UW-Stout, UW-Oshkosh and UW-Stevens Point in January. The Pioneers will then travel to UW-La Crosse on Jan. 14 for a match-up against the Eagles.

“We want to play in front of our fan base whether the stands are full or its winter break,” Combs said. “We as a team need to bring energy and enthusiasm to the games.”

“During the winter break schedule, we don’t have to worry about classes and tests and it gives us more time to focus on basketball,” Skemp said. “We still need to be on top of our game and continue to keep winning.”