Bondi, Huppenthal Earn NAIA Scholar-Athlete Honors
A pair of Purdue University Northwest women’s cross country runners have earned Daktronics-NAIA-Scholar Athlete accolades, as Abigail Bondi and Shyla Huppenthal received the honors, announced by the NAIA recently.
Bondi (Whiting, Ind./Whiting) and Huppenthal (Boulder, Colo./Northglenn) both helped the Pride finish ninth at the CCAC Championships and playing a large role for the Black and Gold all season.
Bondi set a season-best time of 24:48 at the St. Francis Invitational on Sept. 2, finishing 65th overall, while Huppenthal notched a career-best time of 23:13 at the Bethel Invitational on Oct. 7.
This marks the second consecutive year Bondi has received this award, and the first year for Huppenthal.
In order to be nominated by an institution's head coach or sports information director, a student-athlete must maintain a minimum grade point average of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale and must have achieved a junior academic status to qualify for this honor.
Purdue Northwest Kids & Alumni Day Set for Dec. 3 in Hammond Purdue University Northwest will host its annual Kids Day and Alumni Day on Saturday, Dec. 3, at the PNW Hammond Campus Fitness and Recreation Center.
PNW invites the community and all PNW students, staff and alumni for a day of fun as the Pride men’s and women’s basketball teams host Trinity International (Ill.) in a Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader. The 13th-ranked women’s team will take on the Trojans beginning at 1 p.m. CT, followed by the men’s game at 3 p.m.
Sponsored by Buffalo Wild Wings and the Purdue Northwest Alumni Organization, PNW will offer free admission to all kids ages 17 and under as well as to all PNW alumni. Doors open at noon, and bouncy houses, face painting, coloring areas and more will be set up for the kids, plus free t-shirts and mini-basketballs to the first 100! A post-game autograph poster signing will also take place for all to attend.
Buffalo Wild Wings will also be in attendance with its mascot, Blazin’ Bill, with giveaways of its own, and PNW fans are invited to attend a special post-game reception at the Buffalo Wild Wings Hammond location (2942 Carlson Drive, Hammond, IN) to meet both Pride hoops teams. Those interested in attending the post-game event should RSVP by contacting Brandon Swanson at bmswanson@pnw.edu.
General adult admission for non-PNW alumni (ages 18 and up) is $6. The Fitness and Recreation Center is located at 2300 173rd Street, Hammond, IN 46323. Parking is free and located next to the FRC.
For more information on the event, call PNW athletics at (219) 989-2540 or email bmswanson@pnw.edu.
For complete schedules, news, info on season passes, and more on all Pride Athletics, check out PNWathletics.com!
PNW Falls to Sixth-Seeded Davenport, 3-1, in NAIA Opening Round The Purdue University Northwest men’s soccer team saw its season come to an end with a valiant effort against sixth-seeded Davenport University, as the Pride fell, 3-1, in the opening round of the NAIA Men’s Soccer National Championships Saturday.
PNW’s (11-6-4) defense did the job in the first half against the high-powered offense of the Panthers (18-2-2), but DU’s early cross from Tyler Collishaw found teammate Brogan Shrimpton on the left side of the box, as his header was able to find the back of the net in just the 10th minute at DU’s Farmer Insurance Athletic Complex.
Purdue Northwest junior Chris Rassel (St. John, Ind./Lake Central) gave the Pride new life early in the second half, though, delivering a stellar strike from 25 yards out on a free kick to tie the game and score a goal against his former team.
But the Panthers, who netted 65 goals during the regular season in 2016, would respond, as Shrimpton finished a rebound off Collishaw’s direct kick to give Davenport back the lead with 14 minutes to play. DU would add the insurance goal seven minutes later on a Jordan Van Oostenbrugge 18-yarder to make it 3-1 for the home team.
The Pride were held to just three shots for the game – Rassel’s score was the lone one on goal – compared to 12 shots for Davenport, five of them on goal.
PNW’s Miguel David (Spring Valley, Calif./Bonita Vista) finished the game with two saves in the setback.
The nationals appearance marked the second-straight for PNW, who fell to Davenport in the NAIA Opening Round for the second-straight season. Both teams will meet again in regular-season play next year, as Davenport and Purdue Northwest begin Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play as NCAA Division II provisional members.
Davenport advances to the Round of 16 in Delray Beach, Fla., where the Panthers will take on the winner of Midland (Neb.) and Baker (Kan.). That match is set for Nov. 29 at the Seacrest Soccer Complex.
