Girls golf: Barrington's Ciskowski has her target: Wisconsin
When she was in eighth grade, Nicole Ciskowski began getting serious about the game of golf, which she had started a few years earlier.
“That's when I thought I could improve enough and get coaches to start looking at me,” she said. “It was then that I thought I could get to this point.”
This ‘point' is a verbal commitment to Wisconsin, as the Barrington junior has become one of the top girls golfers in the state.
Ciskowski won a sectional crown while wearing the Fillies' red colors and she will stay in those same colors in Madison.
“I get to rock red for the rest of my life,” said Ciskowski, who fired a 73 to lead the Fillies to their fifth sectional title in school history last week at Makray Memorial. “I love the idea of being a student-athlete in college.”
Barrington girls golf coach Jodi Schoeck thinks it's a great fit for her talented junior.
“Wisconsin has a great women's golf tradition and Nicole will be a great addition to their roster,” Schoeck said. “Coach Todd Oehrlein recruits top quality players who play a very competitive fall and spring schedule.”
Playing in Madison was always on the radar for Ciskowski, who sister Heather earned her way to play at Minnesota.
“Wisconsin was always there and a couple of other Big Ten school,” Nicole said. “But I always wanted to be close to home and it kind of worked out with Wisconsin.”
“It's a beautiful campus and a beautiful city. The golf facilities are outstanding and the course they have is outstanding. The coaching staff is phenomenal. They really know how to improve players and get girls to the best level, possibly playing in te LPGA.”
Ciskowski will probably study business.
“The school is also very academically challenging, which I wanted along with a good degree,” she said. “My sister, who had an influence on me wanting to play in the Big Ten, studies business and I think that major works well with golf. And I'm kind of a people person and I want to be able to be interacting with people.”
Although she still has the fall season of 2018 remaining in high school, Schoeck believes Ciskowski is ready for the next level.
“Nicole's game is ready for college play,” Schoeck said. “She is super long off the tee and can hit every club in her bag. She can shape her shots and has an outstanding work ethic. Nicole is confident in her abilities and is a tough competitor.
“The best part is that she still has a year of high school golf left to play. Her future is bright.”
Women's volleyball
Occidental College (Los Angeles) freshman Maddie Sellegren (Rolling Meadows) enjoyed the best game of her young career with 9 kills, 5 digs and a crucial ace in the fifth set of a 3-2 comeback victory over visiting Pomona-Pitzer.
Women's golf
Seniors Ally Scaccia and Kiley Walsh were once for the top two golfers for Prospect coach Jim Hamann.
Now they are the top two golfers in the Missouri Valley Conference rankings.
Scaccia heads the list with 70-1 record with Walsh right behind at 69-1. Scaccia own an ‘adjusted scoring vs. par' mark of 2.41 while Walsh stands at 2.79.
Women's soccer
DePaul senior midfielder Alexa Ben (Schaumburg) is one of twenty NCAA men's and women's soccer student-athletes selected as finalists for the 2017 Senior CLASS Award in collegiate soccer.
To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition.
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
Ben has been part of DePaul's success for four seasons.
Her achievements for hard work in the classroom include selections to the 2016 NSCAA Scholar-Athlete All-America Second Team, 2016 NSCAA Scholar-Athlete All-Region First Team and 2015 CoSIDA Academic All-District second team.
She also earned Big East All-Academic Team honors on three occasions.
On the field, Ben has received almost every award possible during her career at DePaul. She was the conference's freshman of the year, midfielder of the year (2016), first-team all-conference (2015, 2016), NSCAA all-Northeast Region (first team in 2016, second team in 2015, third team in 2014) and NSCAA all-American third team (2016) and contributed to a conference tournament title in 2014 and a regular-season title in 2016.
To date, Ben is fourth all-time in goals (24) at DePaul and is second in assists with 22. She carries a 3.711 grade-point average, majoring in public relations and advertising.
Nationwide fan voting has begun to help select the winner, and fans are encouraged to vote on the Senior CLASS Award website through November 20.
Fan votes will be combined with media and Division I head coaches' votes to determine the winner.
The winners will be announced during the 2017 NCAA Men's and Women's College Cup championships this fall.
• Winona State freshman Georgette Topalis' first collegiate goal was the game winner goal in a 3-1 victory over Southwest Minnesota State at Altra Federal Credit Union Stadium.
The Warriors improved 5-1 (5-3-1 NSIC).
Abby Bohanski retrieved a deflected shot and fed freshman Topalis, who was racing past the Southwest defenders for the second goal of the game.
Women's lacrosse
Augustana junior midfielder Emily Lucnik (Schaumburg) has been named a co-captain for the Vikings.
She has been a major contributor as the Vikings compiled a 29-10 overall record and a 12-0 mark in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin over the past two seasons. She helped Augustana win league titles in both 2016 and 2017 and take the CCIW Tournament and subsequent NCAA bid that goes with it in 2016 as a freshmen.
Lucnik has played in 28 games so far in her career and has totaled 14 goals with four assists, 30 ground balls and 13 caused turnovers. She also has won 11 draw controls. She was an academic all-conference selection in both 2016 and 2017.
• Email Sports Notes items to jleusch@dailyherald.com