VH's Rowland leads Towson to league title

Former Vernon Hills standout swimmer Melanie Rowland was the Colonial Athletic Association swimming scholar-athlete of the year in 2013.

Now, as senior for Towson University, she is still making big waves.

In the 2014 CAA swimming championships at the University of Maryland swimming complex, Rowland and her teammates won the team title over James Madison University.

Rowland won the 200 butterfly in 1:56.36, setting a CAA record in the event and putting her in position to receive an NCAA championship invitation. She also was part of the winning and conference record-setting 800 freestyle relay which was clocked in an NCAA consideration time of 7:11.56.

Additionally, Rowland swam lifetime bests to finish third in the 200 freestyle (1:48.48) and fourth in the 100 butterfly (54.44).

The NCAA women's swimming championships will be held at Minnesota March 20-22.

Women's soccer

Millikin junior Ashley Flores (Grant), a junior majoring in chemistry, was named to the 2013 Fall Sports College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin all-academic all-conference team.

Women's track

Carthage junior Becca McMullin (Grant) won the weight throw (53-2¼) and finished third in the shot put (41-8¾) at College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Indoor Track and Field Championship in Bloomington, Ill.

Men's tennis

Wheaton College senior Ryan Kreis (Fremd) was named the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin men's tennis player of the week. Kreis posted a 3-0 record at No. 1 singles for the Thunder.

He earned a 6-4, 6-4 victory against Ben Shklyar of UW-Whitewater, the ninth-ranked player in the ITA's Central Region for Division III.

He followed that with a 7-5, 6-2 win against Bobby Brooks and a 6-1, 6-0 victory against Lake Forest's Anthony Warren.

Then on Saturday, Kreis paired with teammate Josh Ward at No. 1 doubles to earn wins against UW-Oshkosh (s8-5) and Lake Forest (8-3).

The duo dropped an 8-6 decision to the regionally-ranked number-one doubles team from UW-Whitewater on Saturday.

Men's hockey

Franklin Pierce freshman forward Aaron Blaker of Rolling Meadows has been named to the Northeast-10 Conference All-Rookie Team.

Blaker played in 22 of the team's 24 games during his first season in Rindge.

Along the way, he scored 5 goals, including a pair of power-play markers, and added 7 assists to total 12 points.

Twice he scored the game-winning goal, including in his most-productive outing of the season, when he scored twice and added an assist for a 3-point day at Assumption.

Women's track

Augustana's Becca Sund was part of the winning distance medley relay team that recorded a time of 12:30.23 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Indoor track and field championship in Bloomington, Ill.

Arlington Stallions

Tony Lapiana (Fremd) and Spencer Krueger (Hersey) of the Arlington Stallions Rugby Club have been named to the 2014 Illinois All-State team's Great Britain Tour.

Departing on July 23, the squad will play four games in England and Wales. "This is a great opportunity for not only these two players, but their home clubs as well," said Stallions coach Paul Bergman "When your club's leading players get a chance to play against the kind of competition our boys will see this summer, they bring valuable experience back to their teammates that cannot be duplicated in domestic matches."

Lou Raymond, the Illinois All-State U17 coach, added how pleased he was that the two Stallions have joined the tour.

"Tony and Spencer come to us well trained and have the attitude and work ethic required to be successful," Raymond said. "Tony's experience, cerebral approach to the game and defensive tenacity always raises the performance of those around him.

"And Spencer, while only a sophomore, is already bigger and stronger than most of his peers on the pitch. He plays with great intensity and total fearlessness. We are looking forward to seeing him make great strides with this touring opportunity."

The selection process for this tour began in December and will continue through the Illinois competitive season, due to kick off during the first week in April.

The majority of the squad has been selected, with a few final choices set to be determined by the State Championship on Memorial Day.

For more information about rugby in this area, go to www.arlingtonstallionsrugby.com or www.palatinepioneers.org.

• Please email Sports Notes items to jleusch@dailyherald.com.