Evening State Sports Briefs: Brewers' Gamel tears ACL, will miss season

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PHOENIX - Milwaukee Brewers’ first baseman Mat Gamel will miss the entire season, after he tore a surgically-repaired ACL ligament in his right knee on Saturday.

The team confirmed Gamel’s injury, after manager Ron Roenicke said an MRI exam did not look good for the young first baseman. Gamel aggravated the injury during the Brewers’ first full Spring Training workout this past weekend. Assistant general manager Gord Ash said the tear was unusual, because it happened in the middle portion of where the original repair took place last spring. Gamel first tore the ACL last May, while going after a foul pop-up at San Diego. Corey Hart moved in from right field to take over the first base spot. But Hart is expected to miss the first six weeks of this season, after having knee surgery himself in January. Roenicke said the Brewers would look to the players they already have for a replacement.

Earlier this month, the Brewers re-signed veteran Alex Gonzalez with the hopes that he could play first if necessary. The team will also work with Bobby Crosby, Taylor Green, and minor league prospects Hunter Morris and Sean Halton as possible fill-ins to start the season. Meanwhile, Roenicke says he really feels for Gamel. He said the player’s rehab was quote, “hard work, boring at times – and now, to think you have to go through it all again, it’s pretty rough.”

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The Wisconsin and Marquette men’s college basketball teams both moved up in the national polls released this afternoon. The Badgers rose one place to 19th in the AP media survey – and they jumped two spots to 17th in the USA Today coaches’ poll. That was after the Badgers crushed Ohio State 71-49 yesterday. The loss by the Buckeyes’ dropped them five spots in the media poll to 18th. Wisconsin is 18-8 overall, and will play at Northwestern on Wednesday night. Marquette, meanwhile, is 18-6 overall after beating Pittsburgh on Saturday. The Golden Eagles jumped one spot to 17th in the AP poll, and they remain 20th in the coaches’ survey. Marquette will play at Seton Hall tomorrow night. Indiana is in the top spot in both polls, with Miami of Florida second.

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The UW-Green Bay women finally made the AP Top-25. After knocking on the door for several weeks, the Phoenix are 25th in the new media poll released this afternoon. Green Bay has won 16 straight games. And they remain unbeaten in the Horizon League, after crushing Cleveland State by 37 last week and Youngstown State by 14, both at home. Baylor remains at No. 1.

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UW-Green Bay men’s basketball guard Keifer Sykes was named today as the men’s basketball co-player of the week in the Horizon League. And Phoenix forward Jordan Fouse was named the league’s Newcomer-of-the-Week. Sykes, a sophomore, shares the league’s top weekly honor with Detroit forward Nick Minnerath. Sykes averaged 23-and-a-half points in Green Bay’s wins at Cleveland State and Youngstown State – and he scored 38 of his 47 points after halftime. Fouse, a freshman, had 10 points and 10 rebounds against Youngstown State. He has 206 boards this season, four away from breaking a 44-year-old Green Bay school record for rebounds by a freshman. Fouse is second overall in the Horizon League in rebounding with almost eight per contest. On the women’s side, Simone Law of Loyola-of-Chicago was named the Horizon player-of-the-week. Loyola guard Taylor Johnson was named the top newcomer.

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The University of Wisconsin men’s hockey team remains at No.18 in the new Division I poll released this afternoon by U.S. College Hockey Online. The Badgers split a weekend series with second-ranked Minnesota, including a 3-2 upset yesterday in an outdoor game at Soldier Field in Chicago. Wisconsin is now 13-10-7 overall. The Golden Gophers remain second in the men’s poll, with Quinnipiac still in first.

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Meanwhile, the Badger women rose one place to sixth in their College Online poll. Wisconsin improved to 19-9-2 after a home sweep of Minnesota-Duluth during the weekend. Unbeaten Minnesota remains at No. 1

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In Division III, the UW-Eau Claire men rose one place to second. The Blugolds had a bye this past weekend as the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association playoffs got underway. Saint Norbert remains at No. 5 in the new poll. The Milwaukee School of Engineering dropped two spots to 15th. River Falls and Stevens Point also received votes. Norwich of Connecticut remains the men’s No. 1. In the Division III women’s hockey poll, River Falls dropped one place to sixth, and Superior remains eighth. Plattsburg, N.Y. is still the women’s No. 1

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