In the midst of a recent bicycle death near the University of Minnesota campus, Bike Enthusiasts at St. Thomas, also known as BEAST, is repairing bikes to keep students safe.

This is Sports in :60 for Wednesday, May 11, 2011.

This is News in :90 for Friday, April 15, 2011.

As part of the final series of the St. Thomas Narrative and History Art Lecture Series, freelance type designer Kent Lew spoke about the history and adaptation of font styles April 14 at the Minnesota Center for Book Arts in Minneapolis.

Lew, who specializes in book typography, compared the evolution of font styles to classical music.

“It gave it a different element. It gave it a sound element that kind of helped explain it a little better,” said Lauren Greer, first-year graduate student.

Lew compared the adaptation of classical pieces from Igor Stravinski, Johann Sebastian Bach and Johannes Brahms to typefaces such as Vendetta, Garamond and Nexus.

He said fonts that have recreated a variation of older, metallic fonts “honor the past, but give original expression.”

Kristine Habverstock, a second-year graduate student, said, “I liked the juxtaposition between his old faces, the metal type that he showed us and then digital types that he created based on those. It was interesting.”

Lew created a font called Whitman, an adaptation of the font Caledonia, which has been used in novels and in the Star Tribune’s newspaper. The Type Directory Club also awarded Whitman a Certificate of Excellence in Type Design in 2002.

Michael Ewen can be reached at mtewen@stthomas.edu.

The St. Thomas men’s tennis team defeated Bethel University 7-2 Saturday night at the University of Minnesota Baseline Tennis Center.

“I think the biggest strength of our team is that we’re really deep,” senior captain Andy Michels said. “We have 10 players [who] can go out and compete against any team in the conference or in the nation.”

St. Thomas started the match strong by winning all three doubles matches.

Junior Dan Cooper and senior captain Kevin Walker were aggressive at No. 3 doubles, beating their opponent 8-3.

“We were both returning really well. We were both tearing it up at the net, easy holes,” Walker said. “They were struggling with their serve, and we held every time.”

Bethel was strong in the top singles positions. The Tommies lost at No. 1 and No. 2 singles, but they were able to pick up wins in the other four singles positions.

Michels had a convincing 6-1, 6-1 win against his opponent at No. 3 singles.

“It was important for me to get balls back in play and not to give away any easy points. Just trying to hit the ball down the line so he couldn’t get a rhythm,” Michels said. “If I could give him different balls every time, he couldn’t adjust.”

With only three matches left in the regular season, the Tommies have the third-best record in the MIAC behind Carleton and Gustavus.

“We have to continue to play well and compete in practice and get better,” Michels said.

The team will clinch the third seed in the MIAC playoffs if it beats Hamline at the Pipers’ home courts Saturday, April 9, Walker said.

Michael Ewen can be reached at mtewen@stthomas.edu.

The men’s basketball team presented its NCAA Division III national championship trophy Tuesday afternoon in Schoenecker Arena. The team also revealed the championship banner that will be displayed on the east wall of the arena.

Michael Ewen can be reached at mtewen@stthomas.edu.

The winter season won’t stop the Rollerblading Club from lacing up its blades. The new club, which started last fall, is rollerblading in the Metrodome to stay active.

Michael Ewen can be reached at mtewen@stthomas.edu.

This is News in :90 for Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2011.

TommieMedia will be publishing a series of profiles of past Tommie Award winners this week, leading up to Friday’s announcement of the 2011 Tommie Award recipient.

Alumni Systems Director Liz Zupfer, formerly Liz Baniak, was the recipient of the 1991 Tommie Award. This year’s recipient will be the 81st in school history.

Michael Ewen can be reached at mtewen@stthomas.edu.

This is Sports in :60 for Friday, Feb. 11, 2011.