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• In the Big Dance, SDSU earned a No. 13 seed and fell 71-56 to eventual runner-up and No. 4 seed Michigan in the second round of the South Regional in Auburn Hills, Mich.
• SDSU, which also won the Summit League tournament in 2011-12, posted a two-year record of 52-18 (28-6 Summit).
• Point guard Nate Wolters -- the school's all-time leader in points (2,363) and assists (669) -- was the Summit League Player of the Year and an AP All-America third-team selection; and was later selected in the second round of the NBA Draft.
• ___
• College Women's Athlete
• Between overcoming a pair of rather serious injuries and preparing for a summer wedding, Bethany (Buell) Firsick had plenty of real-life outlets this year for her pursuit of a psychology degree.
• It also helped her in winning a Division I national championship in pole vault.
• Firsick, a fifth-year senior at the University of South Dakota, became the school's first D-I national champion when she won the vaulting title at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in early June.
• ___
• College Women's Coach
• For only the second time in program history, Northern State qualified for the national volleyball tourney.
• NSU's Brent Aldridge was named the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference coach of the year. The third-year NSU coach guided the Wolves to a 22-8 season and their first top 25 ranking in program history.
• The Wolves reached No. 20 during the season and finished ranked 23rd in the nation. NSU also had its first-ever All-American in sophomore Kelsey Chambers.
• ___
• College Women's Team
• Dave Krauth had been coaching the Augustana women's basketball team for a quarter century, and despite getting the Vikings consistently into national contention and posting 20-win seasons with regularity, Krauth's teams had never won a conference title or a regional championship.
• In 2013, it finally happened.
• The Vikings had been the preseason favorites to win the league, but faltered after a hot start to finish third. That just seemed to light their fire come post-season, however, as Augie -- spurred by seniors Alex Feeney, Lydian Nelson, Faith Tinklenberg and Cami Koehn -- roared through the NSIC tournament, knocking off

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