Around Sports

CLUB HOCKEY

Seniors say goodbye, sweep Illinois State

Finishing up the home portion of the schedule with two wins against Illinois State, No. 23 IU club hockey is surpassing expectations in its first year playing in Division-I.

Friday’s game honored eight seniors in front of a packed house at Frank Southern Ice Arena before a back and forth contest ensued. IU (14-18) was able to hold on for the 8-6 victory.

“We had some lapses here and there, we scored a few then stepped back,” senior goalie Sal Calace said. “I think we scored more than we were trying to play ‘D.’ Sometimes when it gets into a shootout like that, the team who wants it more is going to take it home. I think we just wanted it more.”

Eight unanswered goals in the second period Saturday proved to be too much for ISU once again, as IU impressed yet another big crowd. Led by senior forward Mike Vaughan’s hat trick, the team came away with a thrilling 13-3 win.

After starting the season at a slow pace against teams like Illinois and Oklahoma, the Hoosiers have picked it up recently, winning 10 out of 15.

“Everybody needed a little time to gel, and now that we’re on a little roll here, we can keep it up for the rest of the year,” Calace said.

The Hoosiers face a rough road trip next weekend with three games at Pittsburgh, Duquense and Washington and Jefferson before finishing the season at Illinois.

“We are really exited to go out there and hopefully get those three wins and raise some eyebrows,” head coach Thomas Orr said. “Out of the 55 teams in our division, a lot of them are out there, so it would be nice to go out there and turn some heads.”  

— Pat Manaher

MEN'S GOLF

Hoosiers drop all 3 in match play tourney

When the NCAA changed the format of the men’s golf National Championship from stroke play to match play last spring, coaches all around college golf knew there would be plenty of upsets.

Upsets were once again in play at the 2010 Big Ten Match Play Championship this past weekend in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

The IU men’s golf team saw it firsthand, losing all three of its matches in its opening tournament of the 2010 spring season.

“Match play lends itself to upsets and I don’t think the best team always wins,” IU coach Mike Mayer said. “You have to be a little lucky, and not only do you have to make some shots, but you have to have your opponents miss some shots.”

The No. 5 ranked Hoosiers lost 3.5 to 2.5 to Minnesota in the quarterfinal round Friday morning, and three of the six matches came down to the Hoosiers’ inability to capture the final hole.

“I wasn’t displeased because those things happen in match play, but I really thought we were going to win that match,” Mayer said.

No. 1 ranked Illinois fell with IU into the consolation bracket, after having been upset by No. 9 Purdue.

The Fighting Illini had their way with the Hoosiers, defeating IU 4-2 on Saturday morning.

The Hoosiers then lost a 5-1 match to No. 7 Ohio State to close the tournament. Of the four semi-finalists, all were seeded No. 4 or lower and No. 6 Northwestern and No. 9 Purdue were the two finalists.  

The Hoosiers’ eighth-place finish was a far cry from 2009, when they captured the Big Ten Match Play Championship title.

“One year makes a little difference, I guess,” Mayer said. “But I feel like if we got by Minnesota, we could have beaten Purdue and we could be talking a whole different tune here.”

— Kevin Bowen

WOMEN'S TENNIS

Close matches cost IU against DePaul

In its third-straight match against a higher-ranked opponent, the No. 45 IU women’s tennis team suffered its first home loss of the season, dropping a 4-2 decision full of close matches to DePaul.

In the opening doubles matches, IU was competitive in all three matches, but ultimately only the No. 2 team of senior captain Lindsey Stuckey and sophomore Evgeniya Vertesheva managed a win. They improved to 8-1 on the spring season.

Stuckey said she believes that dropping the doubles point cost the team in ways beyond simply putting them at a disadvantage in the score.

“We need to get off to a better start,” Stuckey said. “We didn’t win the doubles point. We just need to get off on a better foot, especially the doubles points. It sets the momentum for the match.”  

Down 1-0 in the team score entering singles play, Stuckey quickly evened the score with a 6-1, 6-2 win against Depaul’s Gia McKnight at No. 5 singles.

DePaul took two of the next three matches, meaning a Hoosiers’ victory would require wins from freshman Leslie Hureau at No. 1 singles and junior Charlotte Martin, playing despite lingering effects from a wrist injury, at No. 6.

Each came down to a decisive third set, but Anna Redesci took the deciding set against Hureau to clinch a win for DePaul.

Martin’s match was subsequently called, leaving the final team score at 4-2 in favor of the Blue Demons. Martin was down 3-4 in the final set at the time.

IU coach Lin Loring said Martin is not expected to be at full strength for the Hoosiers until late March at the earliest but will continue to be in the lineup.

“We have to keep getting Charlotte a lot of matches so we can get her up in the line-up where she belongs,” Loring said. “Today was only the second match she’s played since Oct. 10. It’s one thing hitting in practice, it’s another thing hitting in a match.”

— Max McCombs

SOFTBALL

Hoosiers falter in 1st weekend

IU’s first two games on Saturday were canceled due to snow in Georgia, but the next two matchups of the season served as a learning tool for the young team.

As the games were tough because of the cold weather, two leaders of the Hoosiers stepped up: junior pitcher Sara Olson and senior outfielder Kelli Ritchison.

“It was our first time playing outside, but I thought we were nervous and excited for it,” IU coach Michelle Gardner said.

In the first game, IU lost to Wright State 5-3 because of two late runs by the Raiders.

“We came out a little shaky and nervous in our first game on the dirt,” Ritchison said.
Olson pitched a complete game with seven strikeouts and also hit two homers from the plate, which was the first multi-home run game of her career.

“I was in the right spot and I was just trying to do my part,” Olson said.
Less than an hour later, the Hoosiers played against Jacksonville State, who had a 43-16 record last year.

Though they fought hard against the Gamecocks, the Hoosiers lost 7-6.

“I think we played OK. We need to work on a few things in the upcoming practices,” Olson said.

IU almost came back with two runs in the final inning, but it was not enough to overcome the early deficit.

Ritchison led IU with two hits and four RBI’s in the game.The Hoosiers also doubled their hit total from four in the first game to eight in the second game.

The biggest issue this weekend for IU was errors, as the Hoosiers had seven in the two opening games.

“We have to learn to play cleaner defense, but I thought our offense was good at points,” Gardner said.

These two games are important for a young Hoosier team that has three freshmen in its starting lineup, Ritchison said.

“We need to work on our routine and work on the necessary things in the upcoming practices,” she said.

— Aaron Siegal-Eisman

WOMEN'S WATER POLO

Hoosiers dominate Bison Invitational

IU women’s water polo head coach Barry King said there was no “warm-up” for the upcoming road trips before the season kicked off in January.

Indeed, it took some time for the No. 19 (7-4, 0-0 CWPA West) Hoosiers team to get over that process.

And now the Hoosiers are ready to come home as they wrapped up the Bison Invitational games in Lewisburg, Pa. with four straight wins.

IU started the weekend by rolling over Marist University 9-3 on Saturday morning. The Hoosiers defeated the Marist 8-6 last weekend at Triton Invite. Attacker Jakie Köhli led IU in scoring with four goals, three of which all came at the beginning of the game. Goalkeeper Cassie Wyckoff had 10 saves in the cage.

In the afternoon’s match-up against Villanova University, IU played an all-around defense that committed a season-high 17 steals. Goalkeeper Katie Carson had 12 saves in the game. The intensity on the IU defensive end, which held Villanova scoreless in the second half, translated to a productive offense. The Hoosiers benefited opponent’s turnovers that created opportunities for outlet passes in the transition. Köhli led the team with four goals.

Attacker Nicole Redder scored a team-high five goals, which gave IU a 6-5 tiny lead at halftime during the game against Siena College on Sunday morning. The Hoosiers did not leave any chance for Siena in the second half, netting 10 consecutive goals without letting the opponent add any figure in the scoring sheet. Freshman attacker Katie Black had a career-high three goals in the competition, in which the Hoosiers dominated 16-5.

In the final showdown over the weekend against host Bucknell University, IU utility player Lauren Wyckoff contributed a versatile performance with three goals and a tied career-high four assists. Her younger sister Cassie played the full game and finished with 12 saves out of 26 Bison’s shot attempts. The Hoosiers won 13-7.

IU will return home to prepare for the Elite Eight tournament which is on March 6-7, at IU Cousilman-Billingsley Aquatic Center.