Minnesota’s volleyball team announced its 2005 schedule June 1, and it features eight teams that appeared in last year’s NCAA Tournament.

The Gophers will play their Alumni Match at 7 p.m. on Aug. 27 to kick off the year.

The regular season will begin Sept. 2-3 when the Gophers host the Diet Coke Classic with a field consisting of Central Florida, North Dakota State and Xavier.

Minnesota returns six letter winners from last year’s national runner-up team that finished 33-5 overall and 17-3 in the Big Ten.

Incoming Gophers train
The Gophers had two incoming freshmen selected to the U.S. Junior National A-2 Training Team.

Middle blocker Kelly Schmidt and outsider hitter Katie Vatterodt were each picked to play for the team.

Schmidt, who attended Centennial High School in Champaign, Ill., was named second-team all-state in 2003 and was the 31st-ranked senior in the nation, according to prepvolleyball.com.

Vatterodt was the 18th-ranked senior in the nation and played on the U.S. A-2 National Team in the summer of 2004.

La’Cassie is all-region
Minnesota men’s golf team member Bronson La’Cassie was named to the Ping All-Midwest Region Team on June 1 by the Golf Coaches Association of America.

La’Cassie, a junior, was awarded the distinction for a second straight year.

He was named first-team All-Big Ten in May and was ranked as high as No. 29 on the Golfweek College Individual Rankings.

La’Cassie led the Gophers with a 72.11-stroke average and finished the season 13-over par in 12 tournaments.

Safratowich to worlds
Minnesota wrestling redshirt freshman Tyler Safratowich was selected to the United States World Team on June 1.

The eight-member team will represent the United States at the 2005 FILA Junior Greco-Roman World Championships in Vilnius, Lithuania, July 5-10.

Safratowich was named the most outstanding wrestler at the FILA Junior Greco-Roman National Championships in Las Vegas last month when he claimed the title at 145.5 pounds with a win over Jade McCammon.

Gophers junior heavyweight Justin Bronson will serve as an alternate for the U.S. World Team.

“M” Club Hall of Fame
The University “M” Club Hall of Fame, in conjunction with WCCO Radio, will announce its 2005 Hall of Fame inductees Thursday.

Dave Lee, of “Morning News with Dave Lee,” will announce the 16-member class at 8:10 a.m.

Selected inductees will be interviewed on the program afterward, starting at 8:20 a.m.

The 2005 class will be inducted into the Hall of Fame at the annual banquet Sept. 22.

Celebrity golf tourney
The University’s department of intercollegiate athletics announced Saturday plans for the Sid Hartman Close Personal Friends Celebration that will be held August 7-8.

The event, sponsored by Denny Hecker’s Auto Connection and WCCO Radio, will feature a banquet and auction Aug. 7 at the Minneapolis Marriott followed by a celebrity golf outing at Town and Country Club in St. Paul on Aug. 8.

Proceeds from the event will go toward scholarships for student athletes at the University in Hartman’s name.