State Sports Roundup: Kenseth struggles in the first event in the NASCAR Chase

Talk about it

JOLIET, Ill. - Matt Kenseth of Cambridge had car trouble, as he finished 18th in the first event in NASCAR’s Chase for the Sprint Cup.

Kenseth dropped three places to 11th in the point standings, after he lost a shock absorber late in yesterday’s Geico-400 near Chicago. It dropped Kenseth 26 points behind first-place Brad Keselowski with nine races left in the Chase. Keselowski won the race by more than three seconds over Jimmie Johnson. Paul Menard of Eau Claire placed 15th. Beloit-born Danica Patrick took 25th, her best showing in six Sprint Cup races. And Travis Kvapil of Janesville took 31st. Only Kenseth is among the 12 drivers still in the running for the Sprint Cup Championship. The rest are competing only for points and money. Menard rose one place in the season point standings to 16th. Kvapil remained 30th. Patrick has spent most of her time in the Nationwide Series this year, and is not eligible to get Sprint Cup points.

__________________________________________________________________________

Rhinelander native Dan Forsman tied for 54th place at the Pacific Links Hawaii tournament on the PGA Champions Tour. Forsman shot a one-under-par 71 in his third-and-final round yesterday, to finish at one-over-217 for the 54-hole event. Willie Wood won the tournament at 14-under-202. Forsman remains at Number-26 in the Charles Schwab Cup season point standings. Tom Lehman is in first.

_________________________________________________________________________

The University of Wisconsin women’s soccer team lost its Big Ten Conference opener at Penn State yesterday, 2-1. The Nittany Lions took a 2-0 lead over the Badgers after 47 minutes. Freshman Lexi Peterson scored her first goal of the season for Wisconsin, which fell to 6-2 overall.

_________________________________________________________________________

The Marquette University women shut out George Mason at home, 2-0. Ally Miller and Taylor Madigan scored for the Golden Eagles, who have improved to 5-2-1. Marquette out-shot George Mason 22-to-3, and all five of the Eagles’ victories have been shutouts.

_________________________________________________________________________

UW-Milwaukee lost at Iowa State, 2-1. Kelly Lewers prevented a shutout by scoring for the Panthers with just four seconds to play. UWM lost its fifth straight match, and is now 1-5-1. Iowa State improved to 7-3.

__________________________________________________________________________

Marquette University's men soccer team remains undefeated after a 2-1 victory at Michigan State in double overtime. Redshirt freshman Axel Sjoberg scored the game-winner for the Golden Eagles in the 108th minute. Marquette is 7-0 on the year, and has won eight straight regular season matches dating back to last year.

__________________________________________________________________________

Wisconsin blanked IUPU-Indianapolis 2-0 at the Illinois-Chicago Soccer Classic. Anders Kristensen and Nick Janus scored for the Badgers. They had two wins and a tie in Chicago during the weekend, and they’re now 2-2-3 on the year.

__________________________________________________________________________

UW-Milwaukee was shut out at Northwestern 2-nothing in the title match of the Lakeside Classic in Evanston. Milwaukee was without three starters due to injuries, and they fell to 4-and-3 on the season.

__________________________________________________________________________

The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers won their first Midwest League championship yesterday, with a 4-2 victory at Fort Wayne. Nick Ramirez broke a tie with a two-run double in the seventh inning, as the Timber Rattlers won the best-of-five title series three-games-to-one. Chad Thompson got the win, giving up two runs in six innings on five hits, a walk, and three strikeouts. Wisconsin won its first league crown in its 18-year history. The Rattlers replaced the Appleton Foxes, who won the city’s last baseball crown in 1984 as an affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. The Rattlers have been the Brewers’ lower Class-“A” affiliate for the last several years.

Tags: wisconsin sports, sports, proam