Gophers' Murray, Boddy-Calhoun on watch list for Bednarik Award

Gophers senior cornerbacks Eric Murray and Briean Boddy-Calhoun were among 80 players named Tuesday to the watch list for the Bednarik Award, given annually to the nation's best defensive player.

In all, 13 cornerbacks are on the list, and the only other one from the Big Ten is Maryland's Will Likely.

Boddy-Calhoun had 51 tackles, two tackles for a loss, five interceptions and nine pass breakups last season, which earned him first-team All-Big Ten honors from the media and second-team from the coaches.

Murray had 69 tackles, one interception and seven pass breakups, along with two blocked kicks, which earned him second-team All-Big Ten honors from the coaches and honorable mention from the media.

The last time the Gophers had a player named to the Bednarik Award preseason watch list was defensive tackle Ra'Shede Hageman in 2013.

JOE CHRISTENSEN

The Gophers women's basketball team's 11-game nonconference schedule will be highlighted by the San Juan Shootout in Puerto Rico and trip to Duke for the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, the team announced on Tuesday.

A four-game road trip starts with Kent State on Nov. 24 and includes games against Stetson and Auburn at the San Juan Shootout, Nov. 27-28, and a stop at Duke on Dec. 3.

The nonconference schedule wraps up with five consecutive home games against Towson (Dec. 6), Memphis (Dec. 12), New Mexico (Dec. 16), North Dakota (Dec. 23) and the New Jersey Institute of Technology (Dec. 28).

The Big Ten Conference schedule has yet to be released.

JASON GONZALEZ

Carter Haley of Terrace View Golf Club in Mankato got a birdie on the first playoff hole to beat Ethan Kraus of New Ulm Country Club in the 89th Minnesota Junior Boys Championship. Both shot 1-under 71s Tuesday for 36-hole totals of 141 at Eagle Creek Golf Club in Willmar. Haley had seven birdies — three on the first four holes — and four bogeys and one double bogey during his second round.

"I felt like I played really well on the front and birdied the last hole so that got me going for the second nine, but I made some bogeys — it was a little rough but I kept it in there," Heck said.

• Concordia (St. Paul) had four players named Women's Golf Coaches Association All-America Scholars. They are junior Rachel Gray, sophomores Brittany Neff and Savannah Stone and freshman Kari Opatz. All had cumulative GPAs of at least 3.50.

• Three Minnesotans are among North Dakota's incoming freshmen class of 10 hockey players. They are forward Brock Boeser of Burnsville — a first-round draft pick of Vancouver last month — forward Shane Gersich of Chaska and defenseman Hayden Shaw of Woodbury. Gersich is the nephew of former Gopher greats Neal, Aaron and Paul Broten. Shaw's father, Matt, is a UND assistant coach.