Senior Night: Skippers defeat Hopkins Royals

The Skippers fastpitch softball team outscored the Hopkins Royals on Senior Night last Wednesday, improving their record to 11-8 overall. Senior outfielder Madison Fisher touched home plate in the bottom of the 1st, giving the Skippers an early edge. Lauren Slater singled to left and was later driven in by Sarah Peka’s solid single to right in the 3rd inning. In the field, pitcher Sarah Peka gave a dominating performance against Hopkins with 8 strikeouts and only 2 hits allowed. Minnetonka’s strong defense shut down the Royals. The Skippers added the final tally in the bottom the 6th to make the final score 3-1.

Before the win, parents and players relived their favorite softball moments in a heartfelt celebration. Each junior on the team created a poster for a senior player comprised of pictures that captured their personality and softball memories. After the victory, Skipper teammates honored last year seniors with a baserunning ceremony. At the following potluck dinner, they shared what each senior brought to the team and what they will miss about the player.

Minnetonka fell to the Waconia Wildcats at home this past Friday 2-0, ending their regular season. However, there is still a chance to watch them play yet; sections start 5pm on Tuesday, May 24th at Miller Park in Eden Prairie. 

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By Ari Kirk

Skipper Lacrosse Sweep the Trojans

This past Thursday night, the girls’ Skipper lacrosse team held to their home-field advantage by defeating Wayzata 16 to 8. This game was visibly different than past games this season. The Skippers were sharp and fast last week.

Four-year varsity returner and senior captain Maddie Hawley talked with us about her thoughts on the game. “We worked together as a team which we haven't done very well in past games...We connected our passes and really played a team game, rather than an individual game, which put us above Wayzata,” said Hawley. Hawley says that junior midfield Ellie Dulac and sophomore attack Avery Wolf were both crucial parts in last night's victory. “Ellie was a leading force on transition and Avery was leading on attack, both of them scored multiple times,” Hawley shared.

With a 6 and 4 record, the Skippers look forward to hosting Blake tonight, and hope to hand them their second loss of the season. “We will need to continue to play as a team with extra discipline and composure to dominate [each] possession of the game,” Hawley says in preparation for tonight’s game.

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By Mimi Marion

2010 Minnetonka Football Star Goes Pro

In an era where the term student-athlete is shoved down the throats of collegiate athletes, Beau Allen is a blast from the past. Beau Allen was the starting nose tackle as a freshman at Minnetonka High School. He played four years of varsity football and excelled academically at one of the toughest schools in Minnesota. Beau had numerous offers coming out of high school, but choosing Wisconsin wasn't too tough of a decision.

"I have a lot of family ties there. My uncle played football [at Wisconsin], so I watched a lot of Badgers games growing up...Also I really liked the business school...[and I] wanted to go into business after high school so that was a big factor as well," Beau explains.

When Beau stepped on campus at the University of Wisconsin, he was a student who happened to play football. He was admitted to the School of Business at Madison, a feat not achieved by many. Beau's attention was focused primarily on school his first three years, but he said "I didn't realize until after my junior year that [The NFL] was a possibility." His discipline learned in the classroom was transferring over to the field, and he was flourishing in both. Shifting some of his free time from
school to football, Beau was able to position himself nicely to be drafted after his senior season.

In order to do that, Beau decided to forgo his last semester at Madison to prepare for the NFL draft. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 7th round of the 2014 draft. Now entering his third year with the Eagles, Beau continues to grow into his role at nose tackle.

Beau is also taking online classes offered by Wisconsin from his home in Philadelphia. He will eventually need to return to Madison to finish up a few classes not offered online, but he will get his degree. Beau took an old-school path to the pros by focusing on his studies first, the way you're supposed to. His discipline in the classroom will pay off after his playing days are over, and the reward will be plentiful. 

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By Brady Halbmaier

Skippers Tennis Rolling

The Minnetonka Boys Tennis team beat Lake Conference rival, Eden Prairie on Friday. The Skippers, who are sitting at 4-1, played a great match, just sneaking past the Eagles. The #2 doubles team of Brent Maghan and Jacob Stork played a close match, winning 7-6, 7-5. That win keeps them undefeated. Brent and Jacob just started playing together, but their chemistry has helped them run through all of their opponents so far, making them a very exciting pair to watch. Minnetonka heads to Rochester Mayo on Friday to take on the Spartans.

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By Max Cooper

Skippers trounce Eagles 7-2 in first matchup of the year

As the Minnetonka Skippers got ready to take on their Lake Conference rival Eden Prairie Eagles last Friday night, Fox Leum took the mound at 4:30pm the first pitch. The bats got going early for the Skippers, as Jimmy Ramsey crushed a solo shot in his first at-bat to give Tonka an early 1-0 lead. Ben Livorsi drove in another run in the 2nd inning to make it 2-0. Later, in the 4th, the Skippers gave Leum some insurance by adding five runs to make it a blowout of 7-0. The Eagles battled back in the bottom of the 4th scoring two runs off of Leum before head coach Paul Twenge gave the ball over to Mitchell Oehme. Oehme was able to get out of a bases-loaded jam with the help of his shortstop Jack Kuzma making a fantastic double play ending the threat. Oehme pitched a scoreless 6th with a couple of strikeouts. Luke Wade came on to close the door in the 7th, giving Tonka its fifth straight win and a 6-1 start to the year. The Skippers have impressed early this season stumbling only once to Champlin Park on a sub 40-degree day. Jake Raether will start on the hill Monday against Blaine 7:00pm first pitch at Veterans field.

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By Brady Halbmaier