Marengo grad catches on at SW Minnesota

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Strength wasn’t Amanda Voss’ biggest asset when she first stepped onto campus last fall at Southwest Minnesota State University.

“I could barely even bench [press] the bar,” said Voss, a freshman softball player from
Marengo.

After months of weight workouts, Voss has developed her muscles.

“Now I can bench about 90 [pounds],” the 5-foot-4 Voss said.

The work ethic that helped Voss get stronger also made her one of the team’s biggest contributors this season.

After seeing little playing time early in the season and starting the year as the team’s fourth-string catcher, Voss earned a spot in the lineup on a March trip to Florida and never left.

She helped the Mustangs (32-23) rebound from an 8-14 start to win their fourth consecutive Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference regular-season title and advance to the NCAA Division II regionals.

“I loved our season,” said Voss, who batted .290 with 11 RBIs. “The girls on the team were all so welcoming. Being out there with them was great.”

Voss was especially welcomed by Southwest’s pitchers.

With Voss starting behind the plate, the Mustangs had a 24-11 record. She allowed four passed balls and committed only one error for a .996 fielding percentage.

In the 20 games Voss didn’t catch, Southwest catchers had seven passed balls.

Voss said her work with graduate assistant coach Erin Dickhausen, a four-time All-NSIC first-team catcher, was invaluable.

“My defensive skills have gotten a lot better,” Voss said. “Working with her definitely paid off.”

Voss said she is getting plenty of work this summer as the only catcher for the Aurora Raiders’ 18-and-over team.

Along with continuing to improve her strength, Voss is focused on “being a more selective hitter.”

Court thrives at ISU: Dundee-Crown grad Ryan Court was named to the 12-member Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete first team this spring.

Court, a sophomore third baseman for D-I Illinois State, batted .323 for the Redbirds this spring and drove in a team-high 41 runs. He also ranked second on the team with five homers and 40 runs scored.

A business teacher education major, Court has a 3.82 cumulative grade-point average and twice has achieved a perfect 4.0 GPA for a semester.

Court is spending his summer playing for the Vienna Senators, a team in the Clark Griffith Collegiate Baseball League, which is based in Virginia.

Top notch at Knox: Junior catcher George Nicholson earned a spot on the All-Midwest Conference South Division first team in baseball this spring.

Nicholson, a Marengo grad, hit .342 and drove in 19 runs for Knox this season. Nicholson also was voted by teammates as a captain for next season.

As a linebacker on the D-III Knox football team, Nicholson had 39 tackles and a team-high three fumbles recovered last fall.

Blazing brothers: McHenry East grads Matt and Mark D’Angelo posted two of the top 10 400-meter dash times in D-III Elmhurst College’s history last month.

Matt, a senior, finished sixth in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin finals in 49.55 seconds, which ranks fifth all time. Mark, a freshman, was seventh in 49.99 for the ninth-best time.

The brothers also helped Elmhurst place fifth in the 4x400-meter relay in 3:24.64 at the CCIW meet. That time ranks 10th-best in Elmhurst history.

• Barry Bottino writes a weekly column and a blog about local college athletes for the Northwest Herald. Write to him at BarryOn
Campus@hotmail.com and check out his On Campus blog at www.McHenryCountySports.com/blogs/oncampus.