NCAA Division II Championship: Minnesota-Duluth 20, Delta State 17

UMD wins national football title

Minnesota Duluth kicker David Nadeau knew it wasn’t a perfect kick, so he watched the ball for a moment before turning and running in celebration. But the kick was good as time expired, lifting the Bulldogs to their second national title and a 15-0 season.
By: Jon Nowacki, Duluth News Tribune
FLORENCE, Ala. — Minnesota Duluth kicker David Nadeau knew it wasn’t a perfect kick, so he watched the ball for a moment before turning and running in celebration.
UMD coach Bob Nielson wasn’t quite so confident, so he waited until the officials raised their arms indicating Nadeau’s boot was good and the Bulldogs were the NCAA Division II football champions for the second time in three seasons.
Nadeau’s 32-yard field goal as time expired lifted UMD to a 20-17 victory over Delta State on Saturday before 4,027 spectators at Braly Municipal Stadium, capping an improbable postseason run where the Bulldogs were behind in all four playoff games. It was only the second time in the
38-year history of the DII championship that the game ended on a kick.
“For a minute there, I think I was just a little bit stunned,” Nielson said. “That is a pretty special way to win. We always do a ‘kick for the game’ at the end of every practice. This time, it just so happened to be for the national championship.”
The top-ranked Bulldogs (15-0) got all they could handle from the unranked Statesmen (11-4), with five lead changes in an entertaining contest, the 10th straight DII title game decided by seven points or less. UMD had a series of mishaps and several calls went against them, but they prevailed with defense, a no-nonsense running game and a turnover margin of 4-1.
“If you look at the way that game went, all I can tell you is that I’m really proud of this group of guys,” Nielson said. “Not a lot went our way in that game, but they just kept playing and believing and somehow, when you do that, good things happen.”
Delta State was the first unranked team to advance to the final, but the Statesmen clearly belonged. Delta’s defense, in particular, was surprising, keeping quarterback Chase Vogler corralled and making senior running backs Brian Hanson of Proctor and Brad Foss earn their yards.
Vogler passed for 118 yards and a touchdown and added 21 carries for 83 yards. Hanson had 16 carries for 98 yards and three receptions for 54 yards, while Foss had 14 carries for 62 yards and a 12-yard touchdown run that put the Bulldogs ahead 17-14 with 8:20 to play.
“I know everyone in the media felt we were the underdog, but we felt we were going to beat them, and beat them pretty good,” Delta State coach Ron Roberts said. “The one thing I said was that we’ve got to score when we get our opportunities, and make sure we do not let them hang around. They were 14-0 coming in. They know how to win. Don’t make it close. But instead, we missed opportunities, we let them hang around and they found a way to win. Hats off to them. Great job on their part.”
Early in the game Delta State drove the ball to UMD 12 before fumbling. It was a sign of things to come. The Statesmen would drive to within 6 yards of the UMD end zone on three occasions but came away with only three points after turning the ball over on downs twice and kicking a field goal on the third occasion, tying the game at 17 with 2:22 to play.
The game-tying field goal came after the Bulldogs stopped Delta State quarterback Micah Davis on fourth and goal at the 1, but a false start allowed the Statesmen to kick the ball instead. Then Delta State’s field-goal attempt was blocked, but a delay of game call gave the Statesmen another chance. The second attempt sailed through the uprights.
“We’ve had our backs against the wall before, but somehow we find a way to win,” Vogler said. “I don’t know how much more can happen in two minutes. It was crazy football, back and forth until the end.”
Delta State had four field goals blocked this season and had four extra point attempts blocked in the playoffs alone, so the Statesmen were quick to go for it on fourth-and-short situations.
“I don’t think there is a decision I would have changed,” Roberts said.
Delta quickly got the ball back with 1:10 to play, but Davis threw behind his intended target and safety Cody Eich snared the interception and returned it 20 yards to the UMD 48. On second down, Hanson rumbled 25 yards on a screen pass up the middle to set up Nadeau’s heroics.
“When it came off my foot, I knew it was going to be close,” Nadeau said. “It wasn’t the best kick I ever hit in my life, by any means, but I saw it going up and I knew it was going in. So I just turned around and ran.”
“He was obviously more confident than I was,” Nielson said with a laugh.
BULLDOG BYTES
The Statesmen were used to performing well in close contests. Saturday was their seventh game decided by six points or less, with Delta State winning five of those.
UMD, meanwhile, dominated its regular before becoming battled-tested tough in the playoffs. The Bulldogs were a first down from having their season end against St. Cloud State before rallying to win in overtime. UMD’s average margin of victory in its four playoff games was five points, with three of the victories by four points or less.
UMD is now 41-2 during the last three seasons, with two national titles.

Now...will the men follow suit?

Four-Peat! Women's volleyball beats Cal, 3-0, for NCAA title

Saturday, December 18, 2010
The Penn State women's volleyball team celebrated its fourth consecutive national championship and fifth overall with a sweep of Cal Saturday in Kansas City, Mo.Credit: GoPSUsports.comThe Penn State women's volleyballteam celebrated its fourth consecutive national championship and fifth overall with a sweep of Cal Saturday in Kansas City, Mo.
• Video: Follow the team's journey from the pre-match pep rally to the celebration on the floor after the victory
• 
Video: Post-match press conference
• 
Listen to the radio call of the championship point
• 
Photo gallery



Kansas City, Mo. — The fourth-seeded Penn State women's volleyball team made history one more time winning the 2010 NCAA National Title with a 3-0 (25-20, 27-25, 25-20) sweep of California. The Nittany Lions became the first team in Division I women's volleyball to win four consecutive national championships.
This is the fifth NCAA championship of Coach Russ Rose's career, the most national championships ever for a Division I volleyball head coach. He joins Doug Dannevik of Division III UC San Diego and Teri Clemens of Division III Washington-St. Louis as the only collegiate volleyball coaches to have ever won at least five national championships.
Senior Blair Brown (Purcellville, Va.) led all players with 18 kills, while freshman Deja McClendon (Louisville, Ky.) tallied 16 and senior Arielle Wilson (Broadview, Ill.) posted 12. Sophomore setter Kristin Carpenter (Mechanicsville, Va.) dished out 46 assists and freshman Ali Longo (Littleton, Colo.) led all players with three aces. Senior Alyssa D'Errico(Byron, N.Y.) led the team with 13 digs, while Brown contribute 10. Freshman Katie Slay (Raleigh, N.C.) had a match-high seven total blocks and Brown was second on the team with four.
Penn State hit .276 for the match and held the Bears to .182 hitting. The Nittany Lions totaled 54 kills, four aces, 52 digs and 8.0 total team blocks. California finished the match with 37 kills, three aces, 45 digs and 11.0 team blocks.
NCAA Championship members included Penn State's Brown, Wilson, Carpenter, California's Carli Lloyd and Tarah Murrey, and Texas' Julianne Faucette. McClendon was named the championship's Most Outstanding Player. McClendon joins Stanford's Kerri Walsh as the only freshmen to win Tournament Most Valuable Player honors. 
The Nittany Lions opened the match taking a 3-1 lead, but the Bears fought back and tied it at 4-4. Back-to-back kills by Scott put Penn State back in the lead, 6-4. Penn State maintained the lead and was leading by five, 12-7, when Cal called its first timeout. The Bears came within one, 12-11, but kills from McClendon, Brown and Wilson and a D'Errico ace moved PSU up by four, 16-12. A 3-0 Cal run had the Bears trailing by one, 16-15, but two Cal errors and a Wilson putdown kept the lead out of Cal's reach. McClendon pounded a kill to give PSU a 21-17 lead and send Cal to the bench for a second timeout. A PSU service error and a kill by Tarah Murrey had the Bears within three, 22-19, but two Brown kills and one from Scott closed out set one for PSU, 25-20.
The second frame was close from the start with neither team able to develop any momentum to take a strong lead. It was until midway through the set that Cal took a 14-10 lead on two kills and a PSU error. A Wilson kill cut off the Cal run and Brown followed it up with one of her own to move Penn State within two, 14-12. Despite a Cal kill, a Wilson kill and a huge block by Slay had Penn State behind by only one, 15-14. Cal's lead grew to three, 17-14, but a net violation, a joint stuff by Brown and Slay and a McClendon kill had the score knotted at 17-17. After a timeout, another block by Brown and Slay put the Lions in the lead, 18-17. Penn State moved ahead by two, 19-17, but a kill by Cal kept the Bears just behind. McClendon gave PSU some breathing room with a kill, but Cal used another kill and a block to tie it up at 20-20. A Scott kill edged PSU ahead, but Cal was right there with a kill of its own to make it 21-21. The score tied twice more before two straight Bear kills put Cal in the lead, 24-23. After a timeout by the Nittany Lions, Brown and Wilson joined forces for a block to tie the set at 24-24. However, Cal's Carli Lloyd tallied a kill to put Cal at set-point for a second time. Penn State burned its second time out. Carpenter and Slay teamed up for a block to tie the set at 25-25. Brown pounded a kill to give Penn State the lead and put down another to secure set two for Penn State, 27-25.
The third set started out close until a 4-0 Cal run gave the Bears a 7-4 advantage. Wilson cut off the run with a kill, but a PSU error and a Cal block moved the Bears ahead by four, 10-6. Penn State called a timeout and used a 7-2 run to take a slim 13-12 lead forcing the Bears to call a timeout. The Nittany Lions followed the break with a 4-0 run, including two Longo aces for a 17-12 lead. Cal burned its second timeout. Murrey followed the timeout with a kill, but Brown fired back with her own to keep PSU up by five, 18-13. Two consecutive Cal points had the Bears within three, 18-15. The teams each registered a point before a 4-0 PSU run had the Lions leading by seven, 23-16. Cal cut off the PSU run with a block before a Wilson kill put Penn State in match-point position. The Bears held Penn State to three match-points before the Lions took a timeout. Slay closed out the set and the match with a kill.

NCAA Division III Championship: Wisconsin-Whitewater 31, Mount Union 21

Whitewater celebrates second consecutive national title

By ANN MARIE AMES Contact )   Monday, Dec. 20, 2010

By the numbers


6

Number of years UW-Whitewater has played Mount Union in the Stagg Bowl. Each team has won three times.
30

Consecutive wins for the Warhawks, the longest streak in NCAA football.
10

Points by which Whitewater has beaten Mount Union in each of its three wins.
3.875

The highest GPA of any player in the Stagg Bowl. The honor went to UW-Whitewater junior Jared Kiesow, an elementary education major, who was awarded Friday with the Elite 88 award. He is the first Warhawk to win the Elite 88 award.
 — No matter how excited you are, don't plan to bump fists with UW-Whitewater Chancellor Richard Telfer anytime soon.
He's proudly sporting two NCAA Division III championship rings—rings so large they can probably be seen from space.
"I had to work out for two weeks just to be able to lift my arms," the UW-Whitewater administrator said Sunday afternoon during a welcome-home ceremony for the reigning champions.
When Telfer walked onto the Williams Center gym floor to speak to the team Sunday afternoon, he held his fists up for the players to see.
"I've got room for more," Telfer said. "And, by golly, you earned it."
This is the second straight year—and the third time in four years—that the university has held a welcome-home party for its national championship football team. The Warhawks on Saturday beat Mount Union, 31-21, in the 2010 Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl in Salem, Va.
Head coach Lance Leipold said this year's seniors are responsible for maintaining motivation through four trips to the bowl.
"They kept up that hunger, that work ethic, that special effort," Leipold said.
Athletic Director Paul Plinske said the seniors can be confident that their group is "one of the best that's ever walked on to this campus."
Janesville Parker High graduate Matt McCulloch was one of those seniors, although his big sisters, Kallie and Amanda, remember when the cornerback wasn't so big.
"Who played knee football with you when you were tiny?" Kallie McCulloch asked.
The siblings' grandmother, Ann McCulloch, was grinning from ear to ear at her tall grandson, who had two interceptions in Saturday's title win.
"It's a good way for a senior to go out," she said.
Matt McCulloch gave Parker coach Joe Dye and his coaching staff the credit for "setting the foundation" of his successful college football career.
His advice to high school football players who want to be repeat national champions in college? Do what your coaches tell you, even your summer drills, McCulloch said.
"Follow their lead," he said. "They'll point you in the right direction."

2010 NAIA Championship: Carroll 10, Sioux Falls 7


Wagner, defense lead Carroll over Sioux Falls for NAIA national title



    buy this photoDylan Brown Independent Record Dylan Brown Independent Record - Carroll College running back John Camino, center, and fellow teammates react after winning the 2010 NAIA National Championship game against Sioux Falls University, Saturday, in Rome, Ga.

    Related Video

    Grading the Saints

    RUSH OFFENSE – Carroll pounded its way to 174 yards, thanks to the extra efforts of senior running back John Camino and the fleet feet of senior quarterback Gary Wagner. They finished with 81 and 75 yards, respectively, while much of Wagner’s came on an 83-yard touchdown run. Chance Demarais also finished with five carries for 10 yards, but it was a new wrinkle in the Saints offense that got a lot of attention. Senior tight end Bubba Bartlett rushed five times for 12 yards. It wasn’t much, but it kept Sioux Falls on its toes and solidified the belief that Bartlett could turn out to be an NFL fullback after all.
    Grade: A
    PASS OFFENSE– Wagner didn’t throw the ball a lot, and really didn’t have to. He completed 12 of 21 passes, but in a game of field possession it was more important to finish without a turnover, and that’s exactly what the Saints did. Still, the 107 yards through the air were way under the team’s average,

    NAIA Championship Games

    2010 Carroll 10, SIoux Falls 7
    2009 Sioux Falls 25, Lindenwood 22
    2008 Sioux Falls 23, Carroll 7
    2007 Carroll 17, Sioux Falls 9
    2006 Sioux Falls 23, St. Francis (Ind.) 19
    2005 Carroll 27, St. Francis (Ind.) 10
    2004 Carroll 15, St. Francis (Ind.) 13
    2003 Carroll 41, NW Oklahoma St. 28
    2002 Carroll 28, Georgetown (Ky.) 7
    2001 Georgetown (Ky.) 49, Sioux Falls 27
    2000 Georgetown (Ky.) 20, NW Oklahoma St. 0
    1999 NW Oklahoma State 34, Georgetown (Ky.) 26
    1998 Azusa Pacific 17, Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) 14
    1997 Findlay (Ohio) 14, Willamette (Ore.) 7
    1996 Southwestern Oklahoma 33, Montana Tech 31
    1995 Central State (Ohio) 37, NE State (Okla.) 7
    1994 Northeastern State (Okla.) 13, Ark.-Pine Bluff 12
    1993 East Central (Okla.) 49, Glenville St. (W.V.) 35
    1992 Central St. (Ohio) 19, Gardner-Webb 16
    1991 Central Arkansas 19, Central St. (Ohio) 16
    1990 Central

    NAIA Players of the Game

    2010 Carroll 10, SIoux Falls 7
    2009 Sioux Falls 25, Lindenwood 22
    2008 Sioux Falls 23, Carroll 7
    2007 Carroll 17, Sioux Falls 9
    2006 Sioux Falls 23, St. Francis (Ind.) 19
    2005 Carroll 27, St. Francis (Ind.) 10
    2004 Carroll 15, St. Francis (Ind.) 13
    2003 Carroll 41, NW Oklahoma St. 28
    2002 Carroll 28, Georgetown (Ky.) 7
    2001 Georgetown (Ky.) 49, Sioux Falls 27
    2000 Georgetown (Ky.) 20, NW Oklahoma St. 0
    1999 NW Oklahoma State 34, Georgetown (Ky.) 26
    1998 Azusa Pacific 17, Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) 14
    1997 Findlay (Ohio) 14, Willamette (Ore.) 7
    1996 Southwestern Oklahoma 33, Montana Tech 31
    1995 Central State (Ohio) 37, NE State (Okla.) 7
    1994 Northeastern State (Okla.) 13, Ark.-Pine Bluff 12
    1993 East Central (Okla.) 49, Glenville St. (W.V.) 35
    1992 Central St. (Ohio) 19, Gardner-Webb 16
    1991 Central Arkansas 19, Central St. (Ohio) 16
    1990 Central

    2010 NAIA playoff results

    First Round
    Saturday, Nov. 20
    Sioux Falls 33, Northwestern Oklahoma State 14
    Carroll 35, Azusa Pacific 21
    Saint Xavier 66, Cumberlands 19
    MidAmerica Nazarene 27, Georgetown, Ky. 21
    Morningside, Iowa 38, Dickinson State 17
    Marian, Ind. 35, Ottawa, Kan. 20
    Saint Francis, Ind. 46, Lindenwood 38
    McKendree 38, McPherson 14
    Quarterfinals
    Saturday, Nov. 27
    Saint Xavier 40, Saint Francis, Ind. 21
    Sioux Falls 27, McKendree 7
    MidAmerica Nazarene 34, Morningside, Iowa 10
    Carroll  38, Marian, Ind. 6
    Semifinals
    Saturday, Dec. 4
    Sioux Falls 38, MidAmerica Nazarene 0
    Carroll 27, Saint Xavier 5
    Championship
    Saturday, Dec. 18
    At Barron Stadium
    Rome, Ga.
    Carroll 10, Sioux Falls 7

    Carroll vs. Sioux Falls summary

    CARROLL 10, SIOUX FALLS 7
    Carroll 0 7 0 3 — 10
    Sioux Falls 0 7 0 0 — 7
    Second Quarter
    CC—Wagner 83 run (Yaremko kick), 8:47.
    USF—Taylor 1 run (Wieking kick), 3:02.
    Fourth Quarter
    CC—FG Yaremko 22, 7:47.
    A—6,000.
                    CC                 U SF
    First downs 16 13
    Rushes-yards 47-174 25-35
    Passing 107 172
    Comp-Att-Int 12-21-0 18-33-0
    Return Yards 0 (-5)
    Punts-Avg. 6-30 6-38
    Fumbles-Lost 0-0 1-1
    Penalties-Yards 7-45 6-60
    Time of Possession 34:26 25:34
    INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
    RUSHING—Carroll, Camino 24-81, Wagner 12-75, Bartlett 5-12, Demarais 5-8, team 1- —2). Sioux Falls, Walker —25, Porter —14, Hicks —8, Taylor —1, team ——2), Eastman ——11).
    PASSING—Carroll, Wagner 12-21-0-107. Sioux Falls, Eastman 18-32-0-172, team 0-1-0-0.
    RECEIVING—Carroll, Bartlett 5
    ROME, Ga. — It couldn’t have been more perfect.
    In a game built up by two of the country’s elite programs and solidified by a rivalry that has resulted in nine combined titles since 2002, Saturday’s NAIA national championship football game was so close, it came down to a single play.
    With 8.4 seconds left on the clock, University of Sioux Falls kicker Braden Wieking had the chance to tie the game with a 46-yard field goal attempt. But with the title on the line, the kicker sent the ball wide left and the Carroll College football team won its sixth title with a 10-7 win on the turf at Barron Stadium.
    “The score tells it all,” Saints head coach Mike Van Diest said, whose team entered the contest ranked second in the nation, but finished the season 14-0. “It was going to be a great battle.”
    The victory snapped Sioux Falls’ NAIA record-tying 42-game winning streak and denied the top-ranked Cougars (13-1) a third straight championship.
    Carroll senior quarterback Gary Wagner — who took a medical redshirt in 2008 and had to watch from the sidelines as the Cougars pounded then-true freshman Matt Ritter in a 23-7 title-game loss — finished  his sixth and final season by kneeling with the ball.
    “I can’t really even put it into words,” said Wagner, who rushed for 75 yards and the team’s lone touchdown to win the Offensive Player of the Game award. “There’s a reason everyone was here; there’s a reason everyone come back.”
    For Wagner, it wasn’t just to run off the field toward a raucous crowd of Carroll supporters, football in hand and trophy soon to follow. It was to be with the young men that carried him through the good times and bad. He was able to pay them back with a 12 for 21, 103-yard passing performance and one amazing run, while sophomore Tom Yaremko went from possible scapegoat to hero with a kick that won it all.
    In a still-scoreless game highlighted by one big defensive play after another, Wagner hit paydirt with 8:47 left in the first half. On third-and-8, the quarterback tucked the ball on a draw and broke away from USF defensive lineman Jordan Carlson’s shirt tackle to run for 83 yards and a touchdown, snaking his way past the Cougars secondary all the way.
    “We schemed up on that draw play for the last two weeks, and we felt like we were all right there,” said USF senior linebacker Eric Anderson, who finished with a game-high 17 total tackles and the Defensive Player of the Game award. “I even heard somebody yelling ‘Draw, Draw, Draw.’ ”
    But no matter what they did, the Cougars couldn’t stop Wagner.
    Nor could they stem the tide of the Saints’ experienced offensive line as it and seniors John Camino and Bubba Bartlett – the All-American tight end who had run just once from the backfield all season but finished the game with 12 yards on five carries – blasted their way downfield with one bruising run after another.
    “We came into this game knowing that we were going to be coming up against one of the top rushing defenses in the nation,” Camino said of the Cougars, who allowed just 86.8 yards rushing per game but gave the Saints’ top running back 81 to cap his 1,000-yard season. Carroll finished with 174 as a team.
    The Saints wanted to wear the Cougars down like they had all their other opponents, and for the most part, the strategy worked. They trudged their way into scoring range three times before the No. 1 scoring defense held them out of the end zone and forced Yaremko to kick. Twice, both in the first quarter, he had the chance to boot the go-ahead points, and both times the ball nailed an upright, dropping to the ground with a thud.
    Yaremko, who was 7-of-11 heading into the matchup, would get his final chance at redemption when the Saints drove 53 yards to start the fourth quarter. Camino converted on fourth-and-1 with a blast up the middle and Wagner put the Saints on the 3-yard line when he converted on third-and-5 with a leap over the defensive line.
    Three straight run plays later, however, and Carroll looked to go for it on fourth down from just inches away. When an illegal substitution penalty sent them back five yards, it might have been the best thing the Saints could’ve asked for.
    Van Diest sent out the special teams, without saying a word to Yaremko.
    “I didn’t say anything for the third try. I was still angry with him for missing the first two,” Van Diest said.
    Yaremko lined up the kick and made the 22-yarder look easy as Carroll scored the final points with 7:47 left on the clock.
    “He’s never had to win a football game and today he did, and he deserved it because I’m pretty hard on kickers,” Van Diest said. “He’s a hero back in Portland.”
    And a hero back in Montana, too.
    The Saints’ best defense had been their ability to run the ball, but with half a quarter left they knew it was plenty of time for a top-notch offense and the NAIA Player of the Year in senior receiver Jon Ryan to score.
    It hadn’t taken the Cougars long to answer Wagner’s touchdown run earlier, moving 67 yards on the subsequent drive and scoring on a 1-yard run by Jordan Taylor. Senior quarterback Jon Eastman began that drive with three straight pass completions, but by the fourth quarter Carroll’s defense was tuned in.
    After Eastman overthrew his receiver in the end zone on a first-down attempt, Carroll sent junior Brian Strobel on a safety blitz, and the team’s leading tackler this season drove the quarterback face first into the black rubber pebbles of the turf. Eastman finished with an incomplete pass on fourth down to end the drive.
    “That’s a big play (by Strobel),” said Saints senior linebacker Thomas Dolan, who finished with a team-high five unassisted tackles (six in all), including two for a loss. “I’m glad (the defense) slid to me because he’s a little faster off the edge.”
    It was the first time Eastman saw Strobel come barreling toward him on the blitz, as the Saints preferred to play straight up more than with exotic schemes.
    “We did a lot of three-man fronts, and for the last three games it’s been really successful,” said Van Diest, whose defense finished with three sacks in the game and a nation-high 43 on the season. “We decided we were either going to rush three or blitz five, we didn’t have a lot of four-man rushes.”
    It paid off on that drive, but with the Saints running three straight times to go three-and-out on the next one, the Cougars put together one last attempt for the win.
    “I knew things were going to work out for us to get the ball back,” said Eastman, who finished 18 for 32 in the game for 172 yards. “The offense was rallying together and were saying ‘We’re going to get another shot.’”
    That shot blew left of the uprights and sent the Saints into a frenzy on the sideline.
    Van Diest searched to hug his son, Shane, who graduated from the team after last season’s semifinal finish and was on the sidelines Saturday, while Ritter — who found his own redemption in a five-catch, 39-yard performance — leapt into the arms of offensive tackle Connor Goudreau.
    “I was kind of speechless,” said Bartlett, who finished with five receptions and a team-high 45 receiving yards in his final game before a possible career in the NFL. “I was hugging everyone, I didn’t even know who I was hugging half the time.
    “I am just all together very proud of the guys, of this team. And to the guys back in Helena, this wasn’t just the guys down here. They helped us prepare.”
    Those players will get their chance to hold the trophy soon.
    Jeff Windmueller: 447-4065 orjeff.windmueller@helenair.com