# MWC Champion; NCAA Tournament Qualifier

Monmouth College women’s basketball coach Melissa Jones and five of her players recently returned from a nine-day trip to Europe, where they played four exhibition games and toured sites in Italy, Croatia and Bosnia.

The Monmouth contingent was joined by a pair of players from the West Coast on the trip, which was offered by USA Athletes International. Jones was recruited by the organization to serve as a coach, and she opened the travel opportunity to her team. Taking her up on the offer were juniors Melissa Gorski and Apryl Wishecoby and sophomores Megan Baum, Lynsey Barnard and Libby White. Another Fighting Scot, senior Ashley Yeast, was part of a similar trip to Australia.

Ashley Sims (right) was named the assistant women's basketball coach at Knox on August 13.

Sims was a standout performer at Alexis High School, helping the team to two regional titles and three conference crowns. She was named to the all-Lincoln Trail Conference team after her junior and senior seasons. Sims earned Quad City all-area recognition as a senior.

Sims played basketball and softball at Lincoln College before earning her bachelor's degree in sport management from Monmouth College in 2005. She went on to receive a master's degree in sport management from Western Illinois University in 2007.

The Alexis, Illinois, native was the head seventh-grade girls basketball coach at United High School from 2004-06 and was the assistant varsity and junior varsity girls basketball coach at United from 2005-06.

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Lawrence Director of Athletics Robert Beeman announced Michelle Walsh (right) as the school’s new women's basketball coach on Wednesday (May 23).

Walsh replaces Amy Proctor, who resigned in April after coaching 19 seasons at Lawrence. Proctor compiled a record of 247-192 and won three conference championships.

Walsh comes to Lawrence from William Smith College in Geneva, N.Y., where she joined the staff in August 2006 to serve as the assistant basketball coach and head golf coach. The Herons basketball team finished 17-11 this past season and won the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Upstate championship. Walsh spent two years at Smith College in Northampton, Mass., as the assistant basketball coach before going to William Smith.

Walsh is a 1998 graduate of Swarthmore College, where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering. A three-sport standout in basketball, field hockey, and softball, Walsh served as captain of all three teams. An All-American in field hockey, Walsh also earned ECAC Player of the Year honors in softball.

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Grinnell junior women’s basketball player Hannah Wolf (right) has been recognized for her stellar play this season by being one of six athletes named to the 2007 Jewish Sports Review Women’s Basketball All-America First Team.

Wolf finished third in Division III in scoring this season (22.3 ppg), while finishing third in made three-point field goals per contest (3.5).  Her points per game average was tops in the Midwest Conference, as was her made three-point baskets.  She finished seventh in the league in assists per game (3.04) and three-point percentage (32.0 percent).  Her 80.6 percent free-throw shooting was fourth-best in the MWC, while her 1.40 assist-to-turnover ratio was second-best.  She also moved into third-place on the school’s all-time career scoring list with 1,203 points.

The NCAA released its annual improvement statistics that cite the Division III schools who made the greatest gains in the standings between the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons. Jackie Slaats’ Lake Forest squad was tied with Mt. St. Vincent for the 14th best improvement, having improved by eight games according to the NCAA’s formula. Lake Forest finished 14-9 in 2005-06, before recording a 24-3 mark in 2006-07 that included an MWC title and the school’s first-ever NCAA Tournament victory.

Amy Proctor (right) has resigned after 19 seasons as the Lawrence women's basketball coach, Director of Athletics Robert Beeman announced Wednesday (April 11).

Proctor's resignation becomes effective at the end of April. A national search for her successor will get under way immediately.

Proctor came to Lawrence in 1988 and resurrected the women's basketball program, which had seen its 1987-88 season canceled. In her first season, Proctor's team went 13-12 and won the 1989 Lake Michigan Conference championship. Lawrence went 18-6 the following season and won its first Midwest Conference championship. Proctor's Vikings also won the 1999 MWC title and made the program's only appearance in the NCAA Division III Tournament.

A native of Green Bay, Proctor is a 1986 graduate of St. Norbert College, where she was an All-America basketball player for the Green Knights and also starred in volleyball and softball. Proctor coached volleyball at Lawrence from 1988-92 and had a record of 56-82.

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Carroll junior guard Crystal Hoewisch (right) was selected as a First Team All-American by D3Hoops.com. Hoewsich was a D3hoops.com Honorable Mention All-American a year ago and could match Lake Forest’s Allison Grubbs by becoming a three-time All-American next season. Hoewisch was also named an Honorable Mention All-American by the WBCA.

Hoewisch led the Lady Pioneers to a 15-1 mark in conference play and a second consecutive NCAA tournament berth during the 2006-07 season. She finished second in the league in scoring (22.0 ppg), while also ranking among the league’s best in field-goal percentage (.520), assists (101), free throw percentage (.848), steals (48) and three-point field goal percentage (.354).

Hoewisch was a second-team pick on D3Hoops.com’s Preseason All-American Team this season.

D3Hoops.com All-American Team

Carroll junior guard Crystal Hoewisch (right), the 2006-07 MWC Player of the Year, was named to the DHoops.com All-Central Region Team First Team and will now be placed on the ballot for the DHoops.com All-American Team. Hoewisch earned Honorable Mention All-American honors from D3hoops.com a year ago.

DHoops.com All-Central Region Team

Lake Forest head coach Jackie Slaats (right) was named the 2007 Russell Athletic/WBCA Regional Coach of the Year in Region 7 by The Women’s Basketball Coaches Association on March 12.

Slaats led Lake Forest to a program-best 24-3 record in 2006-07. The Foresters were also 15-1 in Midwest Conference play, hosted and won the MWC Championship Tournament, and hosted the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament. The team’s victory in round one was the first NCAA Tourney triumph in the program’s history. Lake Forest fell in the second round, ending the squad’s school record 18-game winning streak.

The conference title was the sixth for Slaats and the Foresters and she earned her sixth MWC Coach of the Year award in the last 10 seasons. She is now 365-129 in 21 years at the College.

The Regional Coach of the Year honor ensures Slaats a spot on the Russell Athletic/WBCA National Coach of the Year ballot.

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Carroll junior guard Crystal Hoewisch (right) was named to the WBCA Region 7 All-Region Team and is now eligible for to be selected to the Kodak/WBCA All-America Basketball Team. Hoewisch was named the 2006-07 MWC Player of the Year after averaging 19.8 points per game, shooting .593 from the field, handing out 3.74 assists per game and making .848 of her shots from the foul line. Hoewisch and the Lady Pioneers finished 15-1 in MWC play and won a first round NCAA Tournament game over Illinois Wesleyan this season.

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The 2006-07 basketball season came to an for Carroll and Lake Forest on March 3, as the Lady Pioneers and Foresters both dropped games in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Lake Forest fell to Washington (MO) 58-47 on it home court, while Carroll lost on the road at Luther 74-50.

Lake Forest opened its contest on a 14-4 run, but Washington chipped away at the lead and eventually took a 23-21 lead into halftime. Washington opened the second half with a 14-4 run of its own and never allowed the Foresters to get closer than nine points from then on. Senior guard Andrea Durante (14 points) and senior guard Beth Lucas (10 points) led Lake Forest.

Luther opened the game on a 17-4 run and never looked back, as Carroll shot 28.8 percent from the field and trailed by 18 point at halftime. Junior guard Crystal Hoewisch and junior center Kim Wickert paced the Lady Pioneers with 13 and 10 points, respectively.

2007 marked the first time that two MWC women’s programs advanced to the second round of NCAA tourney in the same season.

Carroll opened the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament with a victory for the second season in a row, as the Lady Pioneers scored a convincing 86-59 victory over top 25 squad Illinois Wesleyan at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa.

The one-two punch of junior guard Crystal Hoewisch and junior center Kim Wickert was too much for the Lady Titans, as Hoewisch tallied a game-high 28 points and Wickert added a career-high 27 points, nine rebounds and six blocks. Amy Fleming also scored in double-digits for Carroll with 10 points.

Carroll led by six points at halftime, before shooting 17-of-21 (81%) from the field in the second half to break the game open. Illinois Wesleyan entered the contest averaging over nine made three-pointers per game, but were held to 1-for-14 shooting from downtown by the Lady Pioneers.

Carroll faces NCAA Tournament Regional host, Luther, at 7 p.m. on Saturday, March 3.

Lake Forest notched its first-ever NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament victory, as the Foresters held off Maryville (MO) 65-61 at home.

Lake Forest junior center Nicole Baich scored 12 points, grabbed 12 rebounds, recorded five steals and blocked two shots in the game. Lizzy Bauer scored a team-high 15 points, including 3-of-4 shooting from three-point range, while senior guard Andrea Durante added nine points.

The Foresters led by seven points at halftime and stretched their lead to double-digits early in the second half. Maryville (MO) refused to go away quietly, even after Lake Forest took a 61-52 lead with under five minutes remaining, as the Saints rallied to tie the game at 61-61 inside the final minute. Bauer followed with a tough jumper on the ensuing possession and Baich stole the ball as Maryville looked to tie or take the lead. Rivera hit 3-of-4 free throws to close the game’s scoring.

Lake Forest will host Washington (MO) on Saturday at 5 p.m. The Foresters edged Washington 83-81 in overtime in late November. The rematch will be webcast free of charge on MWCTV.

Eight of the ten spots on the 2006-07 Midwest Conference Women’s Basketball All-Conference first team were occupied by juniors, including Carroll guard Crystal Hoewisch (right), the Midwest Conference Player of the Year. Lake Forest head coach Jackie Slaats (left) was named Coach of the Year after leading the Foresters to a 23-2 record and the sixth MWC Championship in school history.

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Carroll’s women’s basketball team was selected as a Pool C at-large team in the 2007 NCAA Division III Women’s Basketball Tournament. Kris Jacobsen’s Lady Pioneers entered the weekend ranked second in the NCAA Central Region rankings and advanced to the MWC Tournament title game, where they fell to Lake Forest, the top team in the Central Region and the MWC’s automatic qualifier for the NCAA tourney. Carroll becomes the first MWC team to receive an at-large berth since Beloit in 1996 and is in the NCAA tourney field for the second straight year after winning the league’s automatic qualifier a year ago.

The NCAA Tournament brackets, featuring first round matchups and game sites will be released on Monday.

The seeds held true at the 2007 Midwest Conference Women’s Basketball Championship Tournament, as top-seed and host Lake Forest held off No. 2 seed Carroll 64-56 to claim the 2007 MWC Championship and the conference’s automatic berth to the 2007 NCAA Division III Tournament. The Foresters have won six MWC titles overall, with all coming under head coach Jackie Slaats. This season marked Lake Forest’s first MWC title since winning three straight from 1999-2002.

The Foresters will find out their postseason fate on Monday when the NCAA Tournament brackets are announced. The NCAA will release the names of all teams who qualified for the tourney on Sunday and Carroll remains in the mix. The Lady Pioneers closed the regular-season ranked second in the Midwest in the NCAA Regional rankings, trailing only Lake Forest. The last MWC women’s squad to receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament was Beloit in 1996.

The 2007 Midwest Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament will play out on the campus of Lake Forest College in Lake Forest, Ill., on Friday and Saturday, February 23-24. The winner of the tournament will be named MWC Champion and receive the conference’s automatic berth to the 2007 NCAA Division III Tournament. The Foresters had qualified for the four-team conference tourney in eight consecutive seasons, including three MWC titles during that span, before finishing fifth a year ago. Lake Forest returned with a vengeance this season, rattling off a 15-1 conference mark en route to the top seed and hosting duties.

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Lake Forest and Carroll, who enter this weekend’s Midwest Conference Women’s Basketball Championship Tournament as the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds, respectively, received the same rankings in the NCAA Central Region Rankings. The regional rankings, which are used to help seed qualifiers and select at-large teams for the NCAA Tournament, were released on February 21 and are the final regional rankings of the season.

The rankings indicate the strong possibility that one of the squads could be chosen as an at-large NCAA team if they do not receive the automatic qualifier given to the MWC Champion. The last MWC team to receive an at-large bid was Beloit in 1996.

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The Lake Forest women earned the top seed and will host the 2007 Midwest Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament after defeating Knox 98-55 at home on Saturday, February 17. The MWC Tournament, which crowns the MWC Champion along with giving the title squad the conference’s automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament, will play out on Friday and Saturday, February 23-24. No. 2 Carroll will face No. 3 St. Norbert at 5 p.m. on Friday, with No. 4 Lawrence matching up against Lake Forest at 7 p.m. Saturday’s MWC Championship game will unfold at 2 p.m.

The women's tournament is available live on MWCTV

The Grinnell men have clinched at least a share of their sixth MWC Championship in school history, but Carroll can still steal a share of the title and hosting rights for the MWC Tournament. Meanwhile, Lake Forest and Lawrence will be playing for the fourth and final tourney spot this Saturday.

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St. Norbert senior center Bianca White (right) eclipsed the 1,000-point mark in her career and now has 1,003 career points after netting 16 points in the Green Knights 70-68 win over Lawrence on February 15. White became the 13 th player in school history to score 1,000 career points.

Monmouth junior center Ashley Yeast (right), the NCAA Division III rebound leader at 13.8 rebounds per game, set a pair of school rebounding records in the Fighting Scots 71-55 home victory over Knox on February 7. Yeast hauled in a single-game school record 21 rebounds in the game and also surpassed the school’s single-season rebounding mark of 275, which she set a year ago, in the contest. Yeast has 304 rebounds entering the final game of the season.

Carroll junior center Kim Wickert (right) was named to the D3Hoops.com National Team of the Week after strong performances in a trio of Carroll wins last week. She averaged 20.6 points per game and eight rebounds per game as Carroll defeated Beloit (64-46), Grinnell (75-55) and Monmouth (80-77, OT). Wickert, who scored eight of her team’s 11 points in overtime against Monmouth, also tallied 11 blocks, seven steals and six assists in the three victories.

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With eight points in Lake Forest’s 85-54 win at Knox on January 27, Forester senior guard/forward Andrea Durante (right) eclipsed 1,000 points for her career. Durante scored 493 points in two years at the University of Missouri-Rolla, led Lake Forest with 293 points last season, and is atop the team’s scoring list again this season.

The Carroll men turned the battle for the 2007 MWC Championship and MWC tourney hosting rights into a three-team race for the time being, as the Pioneers avenged a trio of losses to Lawrence from a year ago with a 72-45 home victory over the Vikings on Saturday (Jan. 27).

Meanwhile on the women’s side, Carroll, Lake Forest and St. Norbert can all clinch conference tourney berths as early as this weekend.

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MWCTV men’s and women’s basketball single-team season passes ($34.95) and league-wide packages ($44.95) are now available for purchase on the MWCTV website or by clicking here. Team season passes and league-wide packages both include the respective men’s or women’s 2007 MWC Tournament games on February 23rd and 24th free of charge.

Viewers should be aware that play-by-play may not be available at all venues this weekend, but is expected to featured conference-wide in the coming weeks.

Illinois College’s home MWC contests will be available before their next home games on January 27.

MWCTV (www.midwestconference.tv) debuted on Friday and Saturday (Jan. 12-13) with the live internet webcasts of eight men’s and eight women’s Midwest Conference basketball contests. Seven of the 16 total contests were decided by three points or less and viewers were treated to plenty of late-game heroics, including Paul Wise’s buzzer-beater that lifted Ripon to a 73-72 win over Lake Forest, Nicole Rivera’s lay-up with four seconds on the clock that pushed Lake Forest past St Norbert 70-68 and John Grotberg’s three-pointer as time expired that forced overtime en route to a 142-130 Grinnell victory over Lawrence.

This Friday and Saturday (Jan. 19-20) offer a second consecutive weekend with a full slate of league doubleheaders, as action shifts to the MWC North schools.

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During Carroll’s 77-60 victory at Knox on January 12, Lady Pioneer junior guard Crystal Hoewisch (right) became the 10th player in Carroll women’s basketball history to reach 1,000 career points. She hit the 1,000-point mark on a three pointer with 15:28 remaining in the contest.

Hoewisch, who became the third player in Lady Pioneer history to record her 1,000th point during her junior season, currently ranks ninth on the school’s all-time scoring list and needs 11 points to pass Crystal Grosskopf for eighth place.

In addition to reaching the scoring milestone, Hoewisch was named to the D3Hoops.com National Team of the Week after averaging 22 points, grabbing 12 rebounds, handing out 10 assists and making seven steals in a trio of conference victories.

MWCTV (www.midwestconference.tv) debuted on Friday and Saturday (Jan. 12-13) with the live internet webcasts of eight men’s and eight women’s Midwest Conference basketball contests featuring full video and audio.

Seven of the 16 total contests were decided by three points or less and viewers were treated to plenty of late-game heroics, including Paul Wise’s buzzer-beater that lifted Ripon to a 73-72 win over Lake Forest, Nicole Rivera’s lay-up with four seconds on the clock that pushed Lake Forest past St Norbert 70-68 and John Grotberg’s three-pointer as time expired that forced overtime en route to a 142-130 Grinnell victory over Lawrence.

This Friday and Saturday (Jan. 19-20) offer a second consecutive weekend with a full slate of league doubleheaders, as action shifts to the MWC North schools. The final technical phases and testing at this weekend’s host venues are expected to be completed by Thursday, with many contests likely to be available for purchase on the MWCTV website by Tuesday or Wednesday.

Continue to check the MWC homepage and the MWCTV website for up-to-the-minute information on MWCTV in the coming days and weeks.

The Midwest Conference is pleased to announce that the league will offer, in conjunction with media technology firm Penn Atlantic, live internet broadcasts of all men’s and women’s conference basketball games during the remainder of the 2006-07 season beginning January 12th. The pay-per-view broadcasts will feature live video and audio and will be available at www.midwestconference.tv when it launches next week.

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Carroll junior guard Crystal Hoewisch was named to the D3Hoops.com National Team of the Week days after being named the Midwest Conference Performer of the Week. Hoewisch averaged 28.7 points per game in three Lady Pioneer victories last week, including a 2-0 start in conference play. She scored 26 of Carroll’s 40 points in a 40-26 non-conference victory at Lakeland, netted a career-high 37 points in a 66-51 win over Grinnell and added a team-high 23 points in a 65-61 triumph against Monmouth. She also recorded seven rebounds, 11 assists and three steals for the week.

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On November 25, the Lake Forest women’s basketball team upset then No. 10 Washington (MO) in dramatic fashion on its home court in St. Louis, Mo. A day later the Foresters defeated No. 17 Williams (75-63) to win Washington’s Thanksgiving Tournament, a win that would vault the Foresters into the Top 25 in the D3Hoops.com and WBCA weekly polls.

Lake Forest rallied from a 16-point second half deficit against Washington and cut the Bears’ lead to 75-74 on a Lizzy Bauer three-pointer with three seconds remaining in regulation. Lake Forest fouled immediately and Zoe Unruh sank both free throws for Washington, making the score 77-74, while setting the stage for heroics from senior guard Nicole Rivera (right). Watch the play here…

Nicole Rivera's Shot (windows media file)

Lake Forest went on to edge Washington 83-81 in overtime.

Carroll junior guard Crystal Hoewisch (right) was a second-team selection on the D3hoops.com 2006-07 Preseason Women’s All-American Team. Hoewisch was an Honorable Mention All-American pick by D3hoops.com a year ago when she finished fifth in the Midwest Conference in scoring at a 15.9 points per game clip. She ranked among the league’s top five players in assists (102), free throw percentage (.835) and three-point field goal percentage (.373)the as a sophomore, while also appearing in the top ten in MWC in steals (49).

Hoewisch guided the Lady Pioneers to their first MWC Championship in school history and an upset victory over Calvin in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Click here for D3hoops.com Preseason AA Team

Carroll, who has been ranked as highly as 10th in some NCAA Division III Preseason Women’s Basketball Top 25 polls, was ranked 24th in the WBCA’s 2006-07 edition. The Lady Pioneers, who are led by All-American junior guard Crystal Hoewisch (right), are the favorite to claim their second consecutive Midwest Conference Championship after edging St. Norbert in the 2006-07 MWC Coaches Poll. Carroll received five of the nine possible first-place votes in the poll.

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Carroll edged St. Norbert by a single point (57-56) in the Midwest Conference Championship game a year ago and the two teams were once again separated by a single point in the 2006-07 MWC Women’s Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll. The Pioneers prevailed for the second straight time over the Green Knights, receiving five first-place votes to St. Norbert’s four to take first in the poll.

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Carroll, who posted a 22-5 overall record and a 13-3 mark in MWC play a year ago, is ranked tenth in the DIII News poll. Kris Jacobsen’s (right) Lady Pioneer club edged St. Norbert 57-56 for the school’s first-ever conference title in women’s basketball, before upsetting No. 14 Calvin 64-57 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Carroll is expected to return four starters this season, including an All-MWC first teamer in junior guard Crystal Hoewisch (15.9 ppg, 102 assists, 49 steals).

Lawrence head coach John Tharp (left) guided the Vikings to magical 25-0 start last season, as the Vikings earned their third consecutive conference crown en route to the nation’s #1 ranking. Lawrence, who eventually fell in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament, enters the 2006-07 season ranked No. 17 in the DIII News Top 25 Poll. The Vikings are scheduled to return two starters, along with standout bench player Ryan Kroeger (10.5 ppg, 48 assists), a sophomore guard.

DIII News Top 25 Poll - Men - Women

The 2000 graduate of Galesburg High School was a four-year varsity letterwinner and a three-year starter at point guard for the Silver Streaks helping lead Galesburg to four straight state tournament appearances.  She was named second team All-State as well as a two-time All-Western Big Six Conference and Peoria Journal Star All-Area player.  During her senior season at GHS, she broke the career assist and made three-point records along with the single season three-point mark. 

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Carroll head coach Kris Jacobsen (right), the 2005-06 Midwest Conference Coach of the Year, led her squad to a 22-5 overall record and the Lady Pioneers first-ever MWC women’s basketball title a year ago. The Lady Pioneers made the fourth biggest improvement in NCAA Division III last season after finishing the 2004-05 campaign with an 8-15 mark. The NCAA determines improvement totals by adding the difference in victories between the two seasons to the difference in losses and then dividing by two. Carroll’s 12-game improvement in NCAA Division III last season was bested only by Johnson & Wales (13), Muhlenberg (13) and Immaculata (12.5).

Carroll could be in position to improve again in 2006-07 with four starters scheduled to return from last year’s squad, which upset No. 14 Calvin in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Tilley began coaching basketball at St. Norbert in 1976 and has coached a variety of sports during her tenure, ranging from women's golf to volleyball and softball. Tilley, who has won 450 games as the Green Knights women’s basketball coach, has amassed a combined 792-419 record as a head coach at St. Norbert.

Lee Remmel is the Green Bay Packers Team Historian and has worked in the Packers front office in some capacity for the past 32 years.

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