Senior Milan Rakvica's two convincing wins this past weekend earned the Hoosier a share of the Big Ten's weekly Athlete of the Week for the men's tennis team.
The final score might not show it, but IU's women\'s tennis team gave seventh-ranked Notre Dame quite a scare Wednesday evening at the IU Tennis Center.
With a seven-run outburst in the first inning, the men's baseball team took command Wednesday afternoon at Sembower Field and never looked back in a 10-1 shelling of Indiana State.
Sophomore Irina Kharun -- in only her second week of competition this season --was named the Big Ten Conference Player of the Week. Her winning javelin throw of 153 feet, 10 inches at last weekend's Florida Relays marked her second consecutive victory.
Even Cam Cameron admits it's no secret that the IU football team's downfall last season was its defense. The Hoosiers allowed 39 points per game and more than 40 points in seven of their eight losses.
The men's lacrosse team said its four-game losing streak was enough. Illinois didn't oblige.
The women's tennis team puts its four-match winning streak on the line when it plays host to No. 7 Notre Dame at 3 p.m. today at the IU Tennis Center. IU (11-6, 2-2 Big Ten) has been a one-team wrecking crew, winning the last four matches with a combined 25-3 record, including a perfect 14-0 two-match weekend at home.
Crew team battles windy conditions, altered courses Windy weather forced the crew team to deal with delayed and re-routed race courses at the Jayhawk Invitational in Lawrence, Kan., Saturday and Sunday. But the Hoosiers handled Mother Nature and the rest of the six-team field by capping off their weekend with a first-place finish in the novice four boat competition.
For three and a half innings Saturday, Minnesota and IU engaged in a pitching dual between the Golden Gophers' Piper Marten and the Hoosiers' Alison Cooke, a junior. The game was scoreless heading into the Hoosiers' half of the fourth when a two-run home run by sophomore third baseman Stormy Hanson gave IU (11-22, 1-3) a 2-0 lead they would not relinquish.
Freshman leftfielder Kevin Mahar entered the Hoosiers' lineup when freshman-slugger Brian Bucciarelli was sidelined with a broken right hand. Mahar's first assignment: Register hits and drive in runs against Big Ten-defending champions Minnesota. Mahar got the job done, going 6-for-14 with two doubles in four games against the Gophers. But his teammates weren't as successful as the Hoosiers lost three of four games to Minnesota at Sembower Field this weekend.
Coach Diane Stephenson has spent the entire season preaching to her team about the importance of intensity, claiming extra effort will be the determinant in whether the Hoosiers reach their goal of getting into the Big Ten tournament. But it was No. 23 Wisconsin (19-12, 2-0) that came out with the needed intensity Friday. The Badgers used a three-run first inning to propel themselves to a 5-4 win in the first game of the doubleheader at Softball Field. The Hoosiers lost the second game to the Badgers 2-0.
Junior Susan Woessner, IU's top backstroker, earned a ticket to the World University Games with her personal best time of 1:3.25 minutes Saturday in the 100-meter backstroke at the U.S. Nationals. Woessner will represent the U.S. team when it travels to compete in China later this year.
The Indiana Invitational ended on a sour note for the water polo team, as the Hoosiers dropped another close battle with arch-rival Michigan 8-6 at Counsilman Billingsley Aquatic Center Sunday. The two-goal margin is the largest point differential between the two teams in four matches. The first contest between the two resulted in a tie, and the last two went to Michigan in overtime.
IU's 86-68 victory against Michigan in the NCAA championship game was the third time the Hoosiers bested the Wolverines that season. The teams first met in Ann Arbor January 10 where IU pulled out an 80-74 win. The second meeting in Assembly Hall Feb. 7 was a bit closer. Trailing by two with just seconds to go, center Kent Benson tipped-in an IU miss to send the game into overtime. The controversial play was disputed by the Michigan bench, as coach John Orr said he felt the tip occurred after the buzzer had sounded.
Tonight's NCAA national championship game marks the 25th anniversary of IU's undefeated season. Twenty-five years and teams have passed, but none of them duplicated the feat of that Hooiser squad. A perfect 32-0 season culminated March 29, 1976 with an 86-68 win against Michigan in the national championship game. After trailing by six at halftime, the Hoosiers dominated the second half, outscoring the Wolveriness 57-33.
The crew team might have something going against it this weekend at the Kansas Invite in Lawrence, Kan. Of the six teams that will travel to the contest, only Massachusetts and IU didn't make the trip to Austin, Texas, for the March 16 and 17 Longhorn Invitational. The other four teams at the invitational tournament will be Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa and Tulsa. Instead of trekking to Texas, IU opened its season last weekend with two victories against Louisville, winning both the varsity A race and the novice contest.
As spring nears, the men's track team begins the exciting change of atmosphere. The indoor season was successful, but most of the Hoosiers are excited to be outdoors again. "I like the outdoor track scene better, because it is an all-around nicer environment, and it seems like the competition is better outdoors," sophomore long jumper Hasaan Reddick said. "Though you have tail wind and head wind at times outdoors, I still like it better."
A glance at last season's statistics shows the 2001 IU football team will lack experienced receivers. Senior Antwaan Randle El, who switched from quarterback to receiver this spring, said otherwise.
For the second consecutive weekend, the IU women's indoor track team will travel to a non-scored meet. The only difference is that seven athletes trek to compete in the Florida Relays at the University of Florida, while everyone else journeys north to the Purdue Open. After scorching the track at Arizona State last weekend, the seven athletes headed to Gainsville, Fla., plan to improve on their NCAA provisional qualifying marks in seven events against some of the toughest competition in the nation.
After a brief yet successful stint at home, the women's tennis team travels to West Lafayette to challenge Purdue at 10 a.m. Sunday at the Lafayette Sports Center. IU (10-6, 1-2 Big Ten) brings the momentum of a three-game winning streak to a series that has never been overly competitive. Purdue (3-10, 0-3 Big Ten) has been on the losing side 40 out of the 41 times the Hoosiers and Boilermakers have tangled.
