Around Sports

ROWING

Hoosiers advance to Big Ten Championships

Coming off a strong showing at the Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Championships, the IU rowing team eyes the prize in the Big Ten championships this weekend.

The races take place Saturday on Lake Ovid at Sleepy Hollow State Park in Laingsburg, Mich., with No. 8 Michigan State playing host.

In addition to the Big Ten championship, the results of this weekend’s regatta determine the placement for the 2010 Aramark NCAA South/Central Region Sprints on May 15-16.

“It’s really important for us to establish ourselves in the Big Ten,” sophomore Alex Burkle said. “We need to see how we stack up in our conference. This determines how we go into South Central, giving us a better chance for nationals.”

Michigan State isn’t the only team standing in the Hoosiers’ path to victory. Other ranked teams, such as No. 11 Michigan, No. 13 Wisconsin and No. 15 Ohio State, look to claim the prize as well.

However, the race has not deterred the Hoosiers from continuing their tough training regimen.

“We have started to taper a little bit,” Burkle said. “We have taken it a little easier, but it’s the same intensity, just not as long. That can be just as hard, and it prepares us better.”

 — Kyle Abrell



WOMEN'S WATER POLO

Hoosiers ready for Eastern championships

One year ago, the Brown University women’s water polo team upset IU 8-7 in the Collegiate Water Polo Association Eastern Championship.

Now the Hoosiers are ready to come back and take the challenge with seven other teams.

The No. 14 Hoosiers begin CWPA Eastern Championship play Friday in College Park, Md., seeking the invitation to the NCAA championship in the summer.

IU will play Brown in the first round. The No. 3 seed in the tournament, the Hoosiers won the automatic bid to the Eastern championships by defeating Mercyhurst 11-1 last week at the CWPA West Championships before losing to top-seeded Michigan 5-3 in the final.

Last year, the Hoosiers finished fifth in the Eastern Championship. Returning with a 19-10 record this year, IU coach Barry King said the Hoosiers underperformed in the postseason play the last couple of years but are now more confident about what they can accomplish.

“We are better than we were,” King said. “We have been playing water polo consistently throughout the season, so our chance is there.”

King said the memory of the loss to Brown is still fresh, and the Hoosiers should know what to do this year.

“We were very tentative last year for some reason,” he said. “But we have a better sense of what we are supposed to do this year, and I see a better result coming.”

King said at this time of the season, the team needs a strong finish.

“We have been gearing up towards the tournament for the whole season, and you will just see a lot more different competitiveness than the regular season,” he said.

King said while the Hoosiers have been on the road the last couple of weekends, he is not that worried about the team’s physical condition.

Sophomore attacker Jakie Köhli, who is tied for second in the CWPA in scoring this season, injured her shoulder in last week’s loss to Michigan. But King said even though he is still not sure whether Köhli would play Friday, her teammates would play as hard as usual to win every game.

“In that Michigan game after she got injured, we had some people who really stepped up and grinded and battled,” King said. “When you lose your best scorer, I’m proud of the rest of the girls who maintained the contest and made it a game.”

King said the valuable thing for the Hoosiers was to know when to step up and fill in the roles.

The Hoosiers would face either Maryland or Hartwick on Saturday, and should they win the Eastern crown, they will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Championship.

 — Kevin Wang


TRACK AND FIELD

Hoosiers face 1 more test before finals

Whoever said being a Division I athlete was easy never had to go to an away meet the weekend before finals.

The Hoosiers travel to Columbus, Ohio, on Friday to compete in the Jesse Owens Classic.

Coach Ron Helmer said his student athletes will not be under any more stress than any other IU student taking final exams next week.

“Kids that have stayed on top of their academics from the beginning of the semester are in good shape, and it’s not a huge issue for them,” Helmer said. “But those people who are playing catch-up with their studies are going to go through a bit of stress. That pressure would be there whether they were traveling or not, though.”

Helmer does not believe this pressure will interfere with his team’s performance as they take to the track at Owens’ alma mater, Ohio State University.

The team is coming off a week of recognition as two more Hoosiers were named Big Ten Athlete of the Week for their performances at the Penn Relays last weekend.
Sophomore Derek Drouin cleared 2.22 meters to win the high jump, and junior Sarah Pease won the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 10:16.51.

The Jesse Owens Classic will begin Friday and conclude Saturday.

 — Avi Zaleon


WOMEN’S TENNIS

IU opens conference tourney against Iowa

In their Friday rematch with Iowa, the No. 42 Hoosiers are hoping reshuffled lineups will allow them to this time deal the No. 26 Hawkeyes a defeat.

The two teams met April 11 with the Hawkeyes prevailing 4-3 thanks to narrow victories at No. 1 doubles, 8-6, and No. 4 singles, 6-1, 5-7, 6-3.

IU coach Lin Loring cited home-court advantage as a factor that contributed to the Iowa win in the first meeting between the teams.

This matchup between the two teams features only one repeat contest, junior Katya Zapadalova versus Merel Beelen. Zapadalova won 5-7, 6-3, 6-2 the first time around.

Each team boasts players on the Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings. In singles, the Hawkeyes’ Sonja Molnar is No. 62. The Hoosiers’ pair of seniors, captain Lindsey Stuckey and sophomore Evgeniya Vertesheva, are ranked No. 82 in doubles, but they will face the No. 15 pairing of Molnar and Beelen.

 — Max McCombs


SOFTBALL

Hoosiers travel to Wisconsin for weekend set

The IU softball team (11-32, 3-10) travels to Madison, Wis., this weekend for two games against the Wisconsin Badgers (16-28, 1-10).

“We are definitely going to work on what we learned from Northwestern and Illinois, but to us, all Big Ten teams are the same,” freshman outfielder Kelsey Brannon said.

IU is currently riding a five-game losing streak, and the Badgers lead the all-time series 18-13.

Wisconsin freshman infielder Molly Spence is first on the team with a .381 batting average, seven home runs and 33 RBI.

On the pitching side, senior Letty Olivarez (10-21) leads the team with a 3.52 ERA and 150 strikeouts.

Pitching consistency is the main problem hurting the Hoosiers lately, as they gave up four runs in the first inning of the second game against No. 18 Illinois on Wednesday.

“If we can capitalize on getting the first three outs in the game, we should be able to get some hits and put pressure on the other team,” Brannon said.

The Hoosiers have received consistency on the hitting end from senior outfielder Jennifer Glueckert, who leads the team with a .345 batting average and is second with 41 hits. 

 — Aaron Siegal-Eisman