on the SIDELINES
Track teams place in NCAA's Baseball team undefeated in trip Women's tennis wins Big Ten game
Track teams place in NCAA's Baseball team undefeated in trip Women's tennis wins Big Ten game
SACRAMENTO - Sophomore A.J. Moye was shouting. Senior Dane Fife was joking about how close his college career almost ended. And junior Kyle Hornsby was talking about how good it feels to be going where no IU team has been since 1994. The Hoosiers are going to play in the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament, and an excited locker room after a 76-67 win Saturday night against UNC-Wilmington couldn\'t contain its excitement. \"When the game was over me and (junior Tom Coverdale) went over to (IU coach Mike Davis) and had a great hug. It feels good,\" Moye said. \"Tears almost came to our eyes, but the win said it all. We\'re just happy to win. \"It\'s beautiful to be in the Sweet Sixteen.\" IU was a fifth seed in 1994 and after beating Ohio and Temple in the first two rounds, the Hoosiers lost to ninth-seeded Boston College in the Sweet Sixteen in Miami. Hornsby can\'t believe it has been that long.
SACRAMENTO - Jerry Wainwright isn\'t afraid to admit it. His players are here to play basketball, but they are enjoying the glitz that comes with being one of the early darlings of the NCAA Tournament this year. That\'s probably because North Carolina-Wilmington is used to being in North Carolina\'s shoes- out of the Tournament before it starts. But after the upset of fourth-seeded USC Thursday night, Wainwright said his team is enjoying the attention, even if it\'s in the Seahawks\' own way. \"National spotlight, do I enjoy what\'s happening? In all honesty, we know what I do for a living is very temporary,\" Wainwright said. \"The only thing that matters is the people. We\'re old school. We represent a team. It\'s nice to see them be successful. This is great to see the kids enjoy it.\"
SACRAMENTO - IU coach Mike Davis saw the highlights from IU\'s win Thursday night on Sportscenter, brief as they might have been. And he also heard what the anchor had to say. \"She said that my critics can leave me alone now because I\'ve won a game in the NCAA (Tournament),\" Davis said, smiling. Several people are saying that same thing in Sacramento this weekend, and that might include some Hoosier fans who still might not believe Davis is the best man to coach IU. With two regular seasons gone and one first round tournament loss, Davis said he felt the pressure Thursday night, probably the same pressure he has felt everyday since he was given the job at an interim level in September 2000.
SACRAMENTO - Junior Tom Coverdale remembers San Diego. He remembers what happened to him there. He remembers Kent State. And he remembers the final score and what happened to his team in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last year. Sporting their highest seed in eight years, the fourth-seeded Hoosiers lost to Kent State, 77-73, after holding an eight-point lead at halftime. Coverdale suffered a hip pointer at the end of the first half and was limited to 8 points, four assists and three turnovers in 29 minutes. This time around, Coverdale and IU jumped out a nice lead in the first half once again, this time a 42-27 lead on Utah. And Coverdale again went into the break with another injury, this time his left ankle. Naturally, IU coach Mike Davis was concerned.
After a successful showing at the Big Ten Championships, the IU women divers return to action March 15-16 at the NCAA Zone Diving Championships. The Hoosiers regional zone is competing at Purdue's Boilermaker Aquatic Center. At the Big Ten Championships, the Hoosiers had all six of their competitors score team points on both the one- and three-meter boards. Junior Sara Reiling finished first-place in the 1-meter and platform events. The IU divers compiled 131 team points in the two scored events at Big Tens -- the one- and three-meter springboards.
The first time the two teams met was early in the regular season, but it was still an important game. The second encounter was more relevant, with Big Ten title implications involved. The third takes place today. The Hoosiers beat Michigan State by 18 in January at Assembly Hall, but the Spartans rallied to beat IU 57-54 at the Breslin Center last month, wiping out a chance for the Hoosiers to grab a lead in the Big Ten.
A pair of relays could open a number of doors for the men's swimming team this weekend at the Indiana Open at the Counsilman Billingsley Aquatic Center. "We need to have two relays swim better times to advance further and qualify for the NCAAs," Swimming coach Kris Kirchner said. "If that happens, it frees up a lot of people to swim individual events, and then we're good -- we're great. But it's contingent on those relays getting there. "Sunday is the absolute last day to qualify for men's NCAAs. It's kind of like the final hour, the final shot -- you've got one bullet left and where are you going to put it?"
For those who put any credence into superstition, seven is a significant number -- as in seventh place, where the Hoosiers have finished their past three tournaments. It's said that good things come in threes.
The IU water polo team will have a busy break. It heads to Pennsylvania this weekend for a series of matches before heading out to California for several more competitions. This weekend the Hoosiers compete in the Collegiate Water Polo Association Conference Weekend. They travel to Grove City, Penn., Saturday to take on Grove City College, Mercyhurst and Washington & Jefferson.
The IU women's tennis team seeks to rebound after a disappointing loss to Iowa last Sunday and will get a chance to accomplish the task by returning to its home court. The weekend begins Saturday when IU faces league-leader Northwestern, who is undefeated in the Big Ten. Sunday, the Hoosiers face Illinois, who has a Big Ten record of 2-0.
A second-inning explosion helped the IU baseball team get a 14-4 victory over DePauw Thursday at Sembower Field. The victory was sparked by seven runs scored in the second inning. The offensive attack was led by senior first baseman Gibran Hamdan. Hamdan, who started the second-inning attack with a single, was 4-for-5 for the Hoosiers (5-3) and added a home run in the fourth inning. By the end of the game, Hamdan batted in three runs and scored three of his own.
The IU men's tennis team's next three matches are against highly ranked teams, but IU welcomes the challenge. The Hoosiers (6-4, 0-1 Big Ten) play a trio of matches over spring break. These matches are against Clemson, South Alabama and Kentucky. The Hoosiers play in Mobile, Ala., at the University of South Alabama Invitational versus the Tigers (7-4) Sunday and against the host Jaguars (7-5) Tuesday.
In the first day of their three-day road trip to Fresno, Cal., the IU softball team faced opposition they have seen all year: Rain. Eight of the Hoosiers first thirteen scheduled games were canceled because of wet weather conditions.
Two IU players finished in the top ten at the Emerald Coast Collegiate at Tiger Point Golf & Country Club in Pensacola, Fla. However, the individual efforts of junior Ben Davidson and freshman Heath Peters were not enough to prevent IU from finishing seventh in the 11-team tournament.
It's crunch time for the Hoosiers and they know it. They begin their post-season starting with the Big Ten Championships this weekend in Champaign, Ill. The event will be held March 9-10 at Assembly Hall. The Hoosiers know they have to perform well in order to continue their seasons. Only the top four places in each weight class advance to the National Championships March 21-23.
Looking to improve on its 1-3-1 record in the young spring season, the IU softball team is heading to Fresno, Calif., to play six games in three days at the Hedrick's Hallowell Chevrolet Classic hosted by Fresno State.
With Jared Jeffries' ankle slowly on the mend and Tom Coverdale's back spasms gradually cooperating, IU prepared for the Big Ten Tournament Wednesday. The nagging injuries to IU's top two scorers forced the Hoosiers to do so lightly.
Sophomore left fielder Mark Calkins' three-run home run in the eighth inning capped a dramatic come-from-behind victory as the Hoosiers downed Xavier 10-9 in a slugfest Tuesday.
After posting both season-high and season-low rounds during its spring tournament, the women's golf team played more consistently Monday and Tuesday at the "Mo" memorial in Houston, Texas. But that consistency didn't mean the Hoosiers played well. They shot rounds of 323 and 319 to finish in sixth place.