SWAC champ Cardinals win, gear up to host regionals

VOLLEYBALL

EPHRAIM, Utah - North Idaho College, ranked No. 6 in the NJCAA, celebrated its Scenic West Athletic Conference championship by beating No. 18 Snow College 25-22, 15-25, 28-26, 25-19 on Saturday in the SWAC and regular season finale for both teams.

Tina Strahinic had 14 kills and 10 digs for NIC (24-6, 9-1 SWAC). Kaylee Ponce added 10 kills and 10 digs, Fei Gao had nine kills, 13 digs and two aces, Gabriella Rifilato had 25 assists and three aces, Brenna Peterson 18 assists, Kyona Hunt 11 digs and Danielle Hodge three blocks.

"I'm just proud of how gritty my team was today," NIC coach Colleen Frohlich said. "This was a tough road trip (losing at Salt Lake on Friday night). We were behind and we battled back; we were not going to be denied. Snow had a lot riding on this match."

NIC will host the Region 18 tournament this weekend at Christianson Gym. The top-seeded Cardinals will play Friday at 7 p.m. in the semifinals vs. the winner of the 1 p.m. match between No. 4 Snow (17-13) and No. 5 Eastern Utah (8-14). The winner of the 7 p.m. match qualifies for nationals.

Salt Lake (25-5), the No. 2 seed, plays at 4 p.m. in the semifinals vs. the winner of the 10 a.m. match between No. 3 Southern Idaho (22-10) and No. 6 Colorado Northwestern (2-24). The winner of the 4 p.m. match also qualifies for nationals.

The semifinal winners play Saturday at 1 p.m. for the regional title.

WRESTLING

North Idaho 25

Great Falls 11

GREAT FALLS - Redshirt sophomore Jeremy Bommarito, who won by pin Friday night, capped a strong weekend with a major decision Saturday as the second-ranked Cardinals defeated the Argos, ranked sixth in NAIA.

"We looked like we were in much better shape than Great Falls," NIC coach Pat Whitcomb said. "I don't know if that had to do with us having a match (Friday) night. I was real pleased with the two wins (this weekend) against quality teams on the road to start the season. Great Falls put a beating on us last year at our place."

NIC faces Boise State, ranked No. 2 in the NCAA, on Saturday at Mead High in Spokane.

125 - Kyle McCrite, NIC d. Brian Borst, 19-4. 133 - Brock Banta, NIC, d. Akmal Adilov, 7-1. 141 - Braden Mowry, NIC, md. Scott Schlosser, 11-3. 149 - Myles Mazurkiewicz, GF, md. McKray Jones, 14-1. 157 - Jeremy Bommarito, NIC, md. Michael Hader, 8-0. 165 - Ross Mosher, GF, md. Jake Mason, 13-3. 174 - Jesse Nielsen, NIC d. Noah Hatton, 10-4. 184 - Michael French, GF, d. Claude Young, 10-4. 197 - Jamelle Jones, NIC, md. Levi Morgan, 15-6. 285 - Marcel Dubose, NIC, d. Juan Enriquez, 4-3.

MEN'S SOCCER

North Idaho 2

Whatcom 0

BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Nate Baldwin scored on an assist from Scott McMurdie in the 31st minute to give the Cardinals a nonconference win over the Orcas in their regular season finale.

"It was a great way to end the regular season," NIC coach Scott Moorcroft said. "Everyone did a good job. It was a good way to go into the playoffs next week."

NIC (9-7-2) will face Otero Junior College of La Junta, Colo., in the district semifinals Friday at Arizona Western Community College in Yuma.

First half - 1, NIC, Nate Baldwin (Scott McMurdie), 31:00. Second half - 2, NIC, Jamil Lawyer (unassisted), 56:00.

Shots on goal - NIC 9, WCC 13.

Saves - NIC, Alex Olmos 4, Alex Watson 3. WCC, Carlos Alvarez 2, Kyle Keller 3.

WOMEN'S SOCCER

North Idaho 0

Whatcom 0

BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Allysa Howell had five saves for the Cardinals in a draw with the Orcas in their regular season finale.

"Neither team seemed willing to take a risk to score," NIC coach Dan Hogan said. "Playing on turf definitely made it more difficult for the NIC women to feel comfortable playing."

NIC (10-4-3) will face Laramie County in a district semifinal game on Friday at noon MDT in Cheyenne. The winner advances to Saturday's championship game, where the winner advances to nationals.

First half - none. Second half - none.

Shots on goal - NIC 6, WCC 6.

Saves - NIC, Allysa Howell 5, Lauren Gibson 1. WCC, Taylor Dillard 2.