Gophers men’s swimmer Alex Massura won the silver medal in the 100-meter backstroke at the Pan American Games last weekend in Winnipeg, Canada.
Massura qualified for the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia and will represent his native Brazil. He set a new South American record with his time of 55.17, which was the fourth fastest time in the world this year.
Massura was also a part of the gold-medal winning 400-medley team that beat the U.S. team at the Pan American Games. The team’s time of 3:40.27 broke the U.S. record of 3:40.42 set in 1983.
The All-American Massura will return to the Gophers this fall as a junior and already holds several school records.
Men’s track hires new coach
Mario Sategna, throws coach for Wichita State last year, will take the same position with the Gophers men’s track team this season.
Sategna qualified a freshman in the javelin competition for the NCAA Championships while at Wichita. He volunteered as a coach at Louisiana State the previous year.
An NCAA Champion in the decathlon at LSU during his college days, Sategna qualified for the Olympic Trials in 1996.
Bowden represents
Gophers women’s basketball player Moneeke Bowden is the leading scorer after three games for the Big Ten Women’s All-Stars, who are touring Europe.
The senior forward led the team with 16 points in its first win this week over a collection of German all-stars. Bowden hit a crucial three-pointer down the stretch to help the Big Ten team clip Bonn BBC 83-82.
Bowden is also the leading rebounder on the team, which ends a five-game tour in Germany and Belgium this week.
Big Ten champs send three to Worlds
Gophers wrestlers Garret Lowney, Mitch Marr and Mike Cuperus will compete this weekend in Bucharest, Romania at the Fila Junior Greco-Roman World Championships.
Lowney, a redshirt freshman of Appleton, Wisc., will wrestle at 213.75 pounds; Marr, a redshirt freshman of Wyoming, Minn., will wrestle at 152 pounds; and Cuperus, a sophomore of Worthington, Minn., wrestles at 187.25 pounds. The Greco-Roman championships finish on Sunday.
Gophers Leroy Vega, Jared Lawrence and incoming freshman Damion Hahn wrestle Aug. 19-22 in Sydney at the Fila Junior Freestyle World Championships.
Big Ten men’s hoops team gets first win
The Big Ten Men’s Foreign Team defeated Montan 64-51 this week in Kapfenberg, Austria for its first tour win.
The 1-2 Big Ten team was led by Purdue sophomore guard Maynard Lewis, who netted 15 points. Andy Kowske leads the team in scoring with a 12-points-per-game average after three games. Lewis is second.
Hockey star commits to U
Elk River senior and one of the stars of last year’s state high school tournament Paul Martin has committed to the Gophers.
Martin is a 6-foot, 1-inch, 170-pound defenseman who scored 10 goals and had 25 assists as a junior. His Elks finished third in the state tournament en route to posting a 24-4 record.
Gophers football ranked No. 40 by SI
In the annual Sports Illustrated College Football Preview issue on stands this week the Gophers are ranked 40th.
Penn State is ranked No. 1 with five other Big Ten teams ranked ahead of the Gophers. Ohio State is No. 5, Wisconsin No. 11, Michigan No. 15, Purdue No. 21, and Michigan State is No. 33.
Also in the issue, three Big Ten players — Purdue quarterback Drew Brees, Wisconsin running back Ron Dayne, Penn State Linebacker LaVar Arrington — were named among the 10 most wanted college players by NFL teams. SI calls Arrington the nation’s best linebacker.
