Big Ten Network : Big Ten Championships Top Stories

Top-seeded OSU beats PSU, wins Big Ten crown

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 17:15:00 +0000

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The Ohio State men's soccer team is making a case for the renaming of the Hoosier city to Bluem-ington. Head coach John Bluem and the No. 25-ranked and top-seeded Buckeyes captured the 2009 Big Ten Tournament title with a 1-0 win over Penn State Sunday afternoon on Yeagley Field at Armstrong Stadium. David Tiemstra scored the game-winning goal with 43 seconds remaining in regulation to give Ohio State its second tourney title in three years and its third overall, as well as the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Buckeyes are now 12-4-4 on the season, while Penn State drops to 12-7-2. "I am breathless. What a hard fought game," Bluem said. "We did not have a good first half today. Penn State, to their credit, were very good all day long today. They gave us fits. They shut us down completely. It took a great effort by Tiemstra to steal a win. I was already thinking about penalty kicks." Tiemstra, a native of Clarendon Hills, Ill., also scored the game-winner vs. Michigan to lead the Buckeyes to the regular-season championship Nov. 7. This is the first time in program history Ohio State has won both the regular-season and tournament championships. Tiemstra and Doug Verhoff were named to the All-Big Ten Tournament Team, while Verhoff earned Defensive Most Valuable Player honors. Penn State's Jason Hertzog was the offensive MVP after netting a hat trick to lead the Nittany Lions over Michigan State in the semifinal. The Buckeyes will find out their NCAA Tournament fate at 5:30 p.m. Monday. The selection show will air live on ESPNews. This will mark Ohio State's seventh appearance in the national tournament, all coming under Bluem's reign.

Penn State wins first Big Ten Championship

Sun, 1 Nov 2009 17:46:00 +0000

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.: – Propelled by an individual victory from senior Bridget Franek (Hiram, Ohio) the No. 18 Nittany Lion women's cross country team captured the program's first-ever Big Ten Cross Country Championship, Sunday at the Blue/White Golf Course. "Today was amazing," said Director and Head Coach of Track and Field/Cross Country Beth Alford-Sullivan. "You couldn't have scripted it any better. We came into this thinking that we had a shot at a championship but so did Minnesota and so did Illinois. We just knew that we had to execute at 100-percent." In a two-woman battle with NCAA 5,000-meter champion Angela Bizzari of Illinois for much of the race, Franek took full advantage of the challenging hills on the latter half of her home course, pulling away from her Illini foe and speeding down the home stretch to win her first career conference cross country title. Franek's winning time of 20:03 over the 6,000-meter race is the second-fastest time ever run on the Blue/White Golf Course. FINAL RESULTS 1. Penn State, 71 2. Illinois, 77 3. Minnesota, 80 4. Michigan, 122 5. Michigan State, 137 6. Iowa, 150 7. Indiana, 161 8. Ohio State, 164 9. Purdue, 204 10. Wisconsin, 254 11. Northwestern, 326 "It was awesome," said Franek. "It's truly amazing to be on the team that won, and win the individual race. I think it's a testament to being on our home course and knowing it really well, and feeling comfortable at home. I think that helped a lot." The standout senior, who also finishes with All-Big Ten First Team honors, is the second Nittany Lion to win the Big Ten individual crown along with Kim McGreevy – the 1996 Big Ten Champion and current assistant cross country coach at Michigan State. "Going into the race, I really tried to not focus so much on results but on just taking advantage of the competition and seeing what I could do against it,"" said Franek of her race plan. "I just tried to prepare myself for the race to the best of my ability, and hoped that that was enough to pull off the win." "Bridget was absolutely flawless today," continued Sullivan. "She set the tone for this championship drive, and everyone came out and the fought and it really did come down to a homestretch kick." Running second for the Nittany Lions was freshman Nicole Lord (Media, Pa.), who finished ninth overall in 20:52. Lord's impressive effort, which was the highest finish among rookies in the entire field, was good for second team All-Big Ten accolades. Classmate Brooklyne Ridder (Cincinnati, Ohio) was the next Lion finisher and the third freshman in the field, scoring a 16th-place effort in 21:16. "This group of freshmen and sophomores have been the spark that its taken for this team to really unite," said Sullivan of her contingent of underclassmen. "They really have a selfless confidence, and they're just a group of kids that love what they're doing, and they're committed to what they're doing." Closing hard down the homestretch as the Lions' fourth and fifth was sophomore duo Caitlin Lane (Greenwich, N.Y.) and Kara Millhouse (Boiling Springs, Pa.), who would wind up 22nd and 23rd, respectively. Lane would stop the clock at 21:24, while Millhouse finished right on her heels in 21:27. Freshman Natalie Bower (Pleasant Unity, Pa.) and senior Claire Berryman (Morgantown, W.Va.) rounded out the Nittany Lion top seven, turning in 39th and 41st-place finishes, running 21:48, and 21:50, respectively. The Nittany Lions totaled 71 points, edging out Illinois and Minnesota in the tightly contested top three. Illinois would take runner up honors with 77 points, while Minnesota would place third with 80. Michigan scored 122 for fourth, with Michigan State rounding out the top five with 137. Next up for the Nittany Lions is the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships on Nov. 14, at the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore, in Princess Anne, Md. The top two teams at the race will automatically advance to the NCAA Championships on Nov. 23, along with the top four individuals.

Ohio State earns first-ever No. 1 tourney seed

Sun, 8 Nov 2009 16:03:00 +0000

PARK RIDGE, Ill. - Ohio State captured the Big Ten regular-season Championship after defeating border-rival Michigan in front of a home crowd at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium on Saturday evening. With the win, the Buckeyes earn their first-ever No. 1 seed and an automatic spot in the semifinals in the 2009 Big Ten Men's Soccer Tournament. The postseason event will be held on the Indiana University campus in Bloomington, Ind., with opening round matchups slated for Thursday, Nov. 12, semifinals contested on Friday, Nov. 13, and the championship game played on Sunday, Nov. 15. The tournament champion will earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Championships. The Big Ten Championship is the Buckeyes' third overall and second in the past three seasons. The Scarlet and Gray complete the conference slate with a 4-2 ledger, leaping over Penn State in the Big Ten standings by virtue of its 1-0 victory over Michigan on Saturday to clinch the title outright. At 3-2-1 in the conference, Penn State and Northwestern finished in a tie for second place, earning No. 2 and No. 3 seeds, respectively in the conference tournament. NU will face defending Big Ten champion and sixth-seeded Michigan State in the tournament opener at 10 a.m. ET on Thursday. The contest will mark the second meeting between the two teams in as many weeks with the last matchup resulting in a 1-0 decision in favor of the Wildcats on Saturday. Tournament host Indiana occupies the No. 4 seed in the bracket and will face No. 5-seeded Wisconsin at 12:30 p.m. ET in Thursday's second quarterfinal matchup. The Hoosiers, who denied Penn State sole possession of the conference crown with a 2-1 triumph on Friday evening, proved victorious in their first meeting against the Badgers on Sept. 25. Quarterfinal action will conclude with second-seeded Penn State taking on No. 7 seed Michigan at 3 p.m. ET on Thursday. The two teams last faced off on the opening weekend of Big Ten play with the Nittany Lions coming away with a 2-0 victory. The top-seeded Ohio State Buckeyes will await the winner of the 4/5 matchup between Indiana and Wisconsin in Friday's first semifinal at 2 p.m. ET. The second semifinal will pit the winner of Northwestern-Michigan State and Penn State-Michigan at approximately 4:30 p.m. ET. The tournament championship game will be held at 2 p.m. ET on Sunday, Nov. 15. For the third-straight season, the semifinals and final will be televised live by the Big Ten Network. Tickets will be sold as day passes and are available for purchase the day of the game for $8 per day for adults and $5 for students and children.

Big Ten announces sportsmanship awards

Thu, 4 Jun 2009 10:02:00 +0000

Park Ridge, Ill. – The Big Ten today announced the 22 student-athletes named Outstanding Sportsmanship Award winners for the 2008-09 academic year. These individuals were chosen from a group of 276 student-athletes honored throughout the academic year who had displayed positive sportsmanship. One member of each varsity sports team on every campus was chosen by his or her institution as a Sportsmanship Award honoree. From each university's list, two Outstanding Sportsmanship Award winners were then selected. All of the Sportsmanship Award honorees have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. In addition, these student-athletes must be in good academic standing and must have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting. The 22 Outstanding Sportsmanship Award winners include 14 Academic All-Big Ten honorees and 11 All-Big Ten selections from the 2008-09 season. In addition, Illinois' Angela Bizzarri, Indiana's Jorge Campillo, Michigan State's Javon Ringer, Minnesota's Ladia Albertson-Junkans and Penn State's Gayle Hunter have each earned All-America honors during their careers. The 2009 Big Ten Outstanding Sportsmanship Award winners appear below, and the complete list of Sportsmanship Award honorees for all sports from each school is attached as a PDF. 2009 Outstanding Sportsmanship Award Winners Illinois: Trent Meacham, Sr., Men's Basketball, Angela Bizzarri, Jr., Women's Track & Field Indiana: Jorge Campillo, Sr., Men's Golf, Ashley Rhoades, Jr., Women's Track & Field Iowa: Christian Bierich, Sr., Men's Tennis, Wendy Ausdemore, Sr., Women's Basketball Michigan: C.J. Lee, Sr., Men's Basketball, Teddi Ewing, Sr., Softball Michigan State: Javon Ringer, Sr., Football, Lisa Senakiewich, Sr., Women's Track & Field Minnesota: Jamal Abu-Shamala, Sr., Men's Basketball, Ladia Albertson-Junkans, Sr., Women's Track & Field Northwestern: Eric Peterman, Sr., Football, Annie Bosslet, Sr., Field Hockey Ohio State: Taylor Candella, Jr., Men's Cross Country, Alyssa Meyer, Sr., Women's Gymnastics Penn State: Gerald Cadogan, Sr., Football, Gayle Hunter, Sr., Women's Track & Field Purdue: Andre Koop, Jr., Men's Swimming and Diving, Kristen Phillips, Jr., Women's Cross Country Wisconsin: Nate Larkin, Jr., Men's Track & Field, Audra Jeffers, Sr., Women's Volleyball

Big Ten releases baseball all-tournament team

Sun, 24 May 2009 11:19:00 +0000

Indiana won its first Big Ten Tournament crown since 1996 and will be making its first NCAA Championship appearance since that same year after beating Minnesota, 13-2, on Saturday night. The 2009 Big Ten Baseball Tournament drew a total of 12,219 fans over a four-day period, marking the conference's highest overall attendance number in at least the past decade. The previous high in that span was 6,728, set in 1999 when Ohio State hosted the tournament at Bill Davis Stadium. The single-day high for the 2009 event was 4,575, set on Thursday, marking the largest total in at least the past decade. The single-day mark exceeds the previous high of 3,012, also set in 1999. 2009 Big Ten Baseball All-Tournament Team P – Eric Arnett, Indiana P – Matt Bashore, Indiana P – Tom Buske, Minnesota C – Dan Burkhart, Ohio State 1B – Nick O'Shea, Minnesota 2B – Derek McCallum, Minnesota 3B – Vince Gonzalez, Indiana SS – Jake Dunning, Indiana OF – Pete Cappetta, Illinois OF – Kipp Schutz, Indiana OF – Eric Decker, Minnesota DH – Alex Dickerson Most Outstanding Player: Matt Bashore, Indiana

Nothing new: UW men claim 11th straight crown

Sun, 1 Nov 2009 13:29:00 +0000

MADISON, Wis. -- Winning never gets old. For the 11th-consecutive season, the Wisconsin men's cross country took its rightful place atop the podium as Big Ten Champions. The Badgers extended their own conference record for consecutive championships in dominating fashion, placing five of their runners among the top eight finishers. Wisconsin has now won 43 Big Ten team titles, an incredible 31 more than Michigan State, which owns the next-most championships with 14. The Badgers' recent domination of the Big Ten has resulted 28 team championships in that last 33 years. FINAL RESULTS 1. Wisconsin, 26 2. Ohio State, 91 3. Minnesota, 97 4. Indiana, 106 5. Michigan, 117 6. Iowa, 149 7. Illinois, 166 8. Michigan State, 188 9. Penn State, 232 10. Purdue, 279 The UW posted a team score of 26, the lowest score since 2005 when the Badgers won the title with only 16 points. Ohio State finished in a distant second place with a team score of 91. They were followed by Minnesota with 97 points and Indiana with 106 points. "There was a lot of pressure on our guys going into the Big Tens," head coach Mick Byrne said Sunday morning from University Park, Pa. "But they responded well and won the conference meet. We're really proud." Sophomore Elliot Krause was the first to cross the finish line for the UW, finishing in second place in a time of 25:05, earning first team All-Big Ten honors in the process. This race marks the first time that Krause was the top finisher for the Badgers. Last season it was teammate Landon Peacock who took the runner-up spot at the Big Ten Championship race. For the second-straight year, Minnesota's Hassan Mead took the individual title. Redshirt freshman Maverick Darling was the next Badger runner to cross the line Sunday, claiming a fourth-place finish in a time of 25:16, also earning first team All-Big Ten Honors. Darling has now finished among the top seven in all three races he has run in the 2009 season. True freshman Mohammed Ahmed finished in fifth place in a time of 25:21, earning first team All-Big Ten honors. Ahmed was the first freshman to cross the finish line, adding Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors to his resume. Ahmed is the seventh Big Ten Freshman of the Year in UW history and the first since Brandon Bethke claimed the award in 2006. Wisconsin senior Craig Miller finished in 7th place with a time of 25:29, earning his first career first-team All-Big Ten honor. That gave UW four runners on the Big Ten's first team, the most since placing four on the first team in 2006. Last year, Miller finished in 14th place in a time of 25:01 and earned a second-team All-Big Ten bid. A 2008 first-team all-Big Ten selection, Peacock rounded out the scoring for Wisconsin, earning second-team All-Big Ten honors with his eighth-place finish in a time of 25:34. Senior Ryan Gasper finished in 12th place in a time of 25:41, earning his first second-team All-Big Ten bid. At the 2008 Big Ten Championships, Gasper just missed the podium by finishing in 16th place in a time of 25:06. Junior Jack Bolas finished in 16th place in a time of 25:50, true freshman Reed Connor finished in 32nd place in a time of 26.16 and sophomore Phil Thomas finished in 33rd place in a time of 26:18. "The guys were packed real well," explained Byrne. "It was a great team race. The guys fed off each other and it led to a great race." The Badgers will now enjoy a weekend off before competing in the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championship hosted by Indiana on Nov. 14. The 8k race is set to start at 11 a.m. (central). "This is the time of year we train for and love," Byrne added. "We're looking forward to Regionals and the NCAA championships."

Gophers advance to final after 9-6 win over Ohio State

Sat, 23 May 2009 20:27:00 +0000

The 20th-ranked Minnesota baseball team (38-16) defeated No. 23 Ohio State (40-17) 9-6 to eliminate the Buckeyes from the Big Ten Tournament on Saturday, May 23. Ohio State was the third team that the Golden Gophers eliminated from the tournament. With the win, the Golden Gophers advanced to the Big Ten Championship game to face Indiana at 7:30 p.m. It marks the eighth time in Minnesota's last eight Big Ten Tournament appearances that the Golden Gophers have advanced to the championship game. Minnesota was led by junior Eric Decker (Cold Spring, Minn.) who reached base all five times he came to the plate, and was 4-for-4 with a home run, two runs and a career-high four RBI. Senior Matt Nohelty (Rothschild, Wis.) went 3-for-6 with two runs and a stolen base. On his third hit of the day, Nohelty became the third Golden Gopher in school history to reach the 300-hit mark in his career, joining Robb Quinlan (1996-99) and Sam Steidl (2001-04). He also stole his fifth base of the Big Ten Tournament to set a new tournament record. Junior Derek McCallum (Shoreview, Minn.) was also 2-for-5 with a double and two RBI, while redshirt freshman Nick O'Shea (Blaine, Minn.) was 2-for-5 with a double, a run and two RBI. Kyle Knudson (Maple Grove, Minn.) reached base three times, and was 2-for-4 with two runs. Freshman Justin Gominsky (Mahtomedi, Minn.) also went 2-for-5 with an RBI. Sophomore Scott Fern (Eau Claire, Wis.) gave up eight hits, four runs, walked two and struck out two, as he pitched a career-high 4.1 innings to get Minnesota into the fifth inning. Luke Rasmussen (Northfield, Minn.) picked it up from there as he got the Golden Gophers into the eighth inning, going 2.2 innings, giving up five hits, two runs, no walks and collecting two strikeouts. Rasmussen picked up the win to move to 4-0 on the season. Scott Matyas (North Prairie, Wis.) picked up his 14th save of the year, as he pitched two innings, gave up two hits and struck out three batters. It was Matyas' second two-inning save in as many weeks. Ohio State starter Eric Best gave up nine hits, five runs, walked one and struck out two in 3.2 innings to take the loss to fall to 7-4. Minnesota also got to Drew Rucinski who gave up six hits, four runs and walked two batters. Minnesota jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead in the top of the first inning as it batted around. Nohelty led off with a single, and moved to second on an errant pickoff throw. Two batters later, McCallum crushed a one-out RBI double to right center field to put the Golden Gophers ahead 1-0. Kvasnicka reached on an fielder's choice, when McCallum was thrown out at third. Knudson followed with a single to make it first and second, and O'Shea plated both Kvasnicka and Knudson to put Minnesota ahead 3-0. Decker followed with a bloop RBI single to plate O'Shea to give the Golden Gophers a 4-0 lead. Ohio State got three runs back in the bottom of the first to cut the Minnesota lead to 4-3. Zach Hurley led off the inning with a single and moved to third on a hit-and-run single by Cory Kovanda to make it first and third. Michael Stephens followed with an RBI single to cut the lead to 4-1. Dan Burkhart and Ryan Dew followed with a pair of RBI singles to make it 4-3. Fern settled down to retire the next three batters to keep the Golden Gophers' one-run lead intact. The Buckeyes tied the score at 4-4 in the bottom of the second when Cory Kovanda had a two-single, stole second and came home to score on an RBI single by Stephens to tie the game. Minnesota took a 5-4 lead in the top of the third inning when Decker crushed a pitched over the wall in right center field. The Golden Gophers pushed the lead to 6-4 in the top of the fifth inning. With one out, Decker singled and stole second to get things started. Gominsky brought him home with an RBI double to right center field to give Minnesota a two-run lead. Minnesota scored two runs in the top of the sixth inning to take an 8-4 lead. With two outs, Kvasnicka singled and moved to second on a Knudson walk. O'Shea hit a chopper to the shortstop who stepped on second base at the same time that Knudson arrived to load the bases. Decker followed with a two-out, two-run single to put the Golden Gophers ahead 8-4. The Golden Gophers pushed their lead to 9-4 with a single run in the top of the seventh inning. Nohelty got things started with one-out single, stole second base and moved to third on a bunt single by AJ Pettersen (Minnetonka, Minn.). McCallum plated the ninth run when he drove in Nohelty with a sacrifice fly to right field. Ohio State cut the lead to 9-5 in the bottom of the seventh when Dan Burkhart hit a home run that skipped off the top of the fence. The Buckeyes put runners on first and second in the bottom of the eighth inning on back-to-back singles by Michael Arp and Tyler Engle. Matyas struck out the next two batters, before Cory Kovanda delivered an RBI single to cut the Minnesota lead to 9-6. Matyas struck out Stephens to get out of the inning. In the ninth, Matyas retired the first two batters before Justin Miller reached on a double. Matyas got Arp to pop up to second base to give Minnesota the victory. Ohio State was led by Stephens who was 3-for-5 with two runs and an RBI, while Burkhart was 2-for-5 with a home run, two RBI and a run. Dew was also 2-for-5 with an RBI.

Minnesota eliminates Illinois with 13-4 win

Fri, 22 May 2009 19:14:00 +0000

After scoring three runs in the first game of the Big Ten Tournament against Indiana, the 20th-ranked Minnesota baseball team's (37-16) bats woke up in a big way as they pounded out 25 runs and 29 hits on the way to defeating Purdue (25-26) 12-3 and Illinois (34-20) 13-4 on the third day of the Big Ten Tournament on Friday, May 22 at Huntington Park in Columbus, Ohio. With the pair of victories, the Golden Gophers eliminated both Illinois and Purdue, and set up a matchup on Saturday, May 23 at 2:35 p.m. (CT) against the loser of tonight's Ohio State-Indiana matchup. "This tournament is all about starting pitching and we had a pair of great performances today from Tom (Buske) and Seth (Rosin)," said Minnesota Head Coach John Anderson. "I was worried after all the traveling we had done in the past two weeks and yesterday's game that our team was lacking some energy. We talked about that after yesterday's game, and I thought our team came and responded in a big way this afternoon." Minnesota has now won two or more games in its last eight Big Ten Tournament appearances, and in 19 of John Anderson's trips to the Big Ten Tournament. The bats weren't the only thing working for the Golden Gophers, as Minnesota's starting pitchers each pitched career-highs in innings and ate up 17 of the 18 innings in the two games for the Golden Gophers. In the first game, Golden Gopher starter Tom Buske (Apple Valley, Minn.) pitched the first complete game of this career as he gave up seven hits, three runs, walked two and struck out four to pick up his ninth win of the season. In the second game, Minnesota starter Seth Rosin (Shoreview, Minn.) tossed a career-high eight innings, gave up six hits, four runs, walked two and struck out three. Rosin won his sixth game in a row to move to 7-1 on the season. Offensively, Minnesota was led in the second game by sophomore Michael Kvasnicka (Lakeville, Minn.) who was 3-for-4 with a home run, scored three runs and tied a career-high with five RBI. In the two games, Kvasnicka went 5-for-10 with two home runs and six RBI. Nick O'Shea (Blaine, Minn.) also was 2-for-4 with two home runs and four RBI, and narrowly missed a third when he crushed a potential grand slam foul in the sixth inning. O'Shea finished the day 5-for-10 with two home runs and five RBI. Golden Gophers senior Matt Nohelty (Rotschild, Wis.) also reached base four times, and was 2-for-4 with three runs and two stolen bases against Illinois. Overall, Nohelty reached base eight times, went 4-for-8, scored six runs and stole four bases. Junior Derek McCallum (Shoreview, Minn.) also was reached base four times against Illinois, and went 1-for-2 with two runs. AJ Pettersen (Minnetonka, Minn.) reached base twice, and went 1-for-4 with two runs on the day. Eight of the nine Golden Gophers collected hits on the afternoon, as Minnesota collected five home runs and eight stolen bases in the two games. The Golden Gophers got on the board quickly with three runs in the bottom of the first to take a 3-0 lead. For the second straight game, Nohelty led off with a single and stole second base. Pettersen dropped down a sacrifice bunt, and the second baseman's throw sailed past first base to allow Nohelty to score to make it 1-0. Two batters later, Kvasnicka crushed his second home run of the day to right center field to put Minnesota ahead 3-0. Illinois scored a single run in the top of the third on an RBI single by Brandon Wikoff to cut the Golden Gopher lead to 3-1. Minnesota pushed its lead to 6-1 with three runs in the bottom of the third inning. With one out, McCallum and Kvasnicka delivered back-to-back singles to make it first and second. After Illini starter Bryan Roberts recorded the second out, O'Shea crushed a three-run homer to left center field to put the Golden Gophers ahead 6-1. Illinois cut the Minnesota lead to 6-2 on a solo home run by Willie Argo to left field in the top of the fourth. O'Shea answered quickly with a solo home run in the bottom of the fifth inning to put the Golden Gophers back up 7-2. In the bottom of the sixth inning, Minnesota blew the game open as it sent 10 hitters to the plate and scored five runs to push its lead to 12-2. Nohelty started things with a one-out walk, and moved to second on a Pettersen single. McCallum was hit by a pitch to load the bases, and Kvasnicka followed with a two-run single to move the score to 9-2. Both runners moved up on a wild pitch, and Kyle Knudson (Maple Grove, Minn.) drew a walk to load the bases. O'Shea hit a slow grounder to the third base, who threw the ball away trying to get McCallum on the force at home. Kvasnicka and McCallum both scored on the play to move the score to 11-2. Knudson followed by coming around to score on a wild pitch to make it 12-2. Illinois scored two runs in top of the seventh on an RBI triple by Pete Cappetta and a sacrifice fly by Josh Parr to cut the lead to 12-4.Minnesota finished the scoring when Kvasnicka was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh. Golden Gopher reliever Tim Ryan (Eagan, Minn.) pitched the only inning by a Minnesota reliever on the day, as he tossed a scoreless ninth inning to close out the game. Illinois was led by Argo who went 2-for-4 with a home run and an RBI, while Wikoff was also 2-for-4 with an RBI. Cappetta also went 1-for-3 with a run and an RBI.

Hooisers stomp Buckeyes 13-3

Fri, 22 May 2009 22:45:00 +0000

COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Indiana bats continued to sizzle, bashing 16 hits in a 13-3 victory over top-seeded and 27th-ranked Ohio State on Friday night at the Big Ten Tournament. The Hoosiers will now play in the championship game at 7:05 on Saturday night against the winner of Saturday afternoon's Ohio State-Minnesota contest. Tyler Rogers and Alex Dickerson had three hits each, while Jerrud Sabourin, Josh Phegley, Kipp Schutz and Jake Dunning posted a pair of safe knocks apiece. Rogers drove in four runs, including a bases-loaded double, while Sabourin and Phegley scored three runs each for Indiana. Blake Monar picked up the win for Indiana, allowing just five hits and five walks in 6 2/3 innings for the Hoosiers. He surrendered three runs, two earned, in improving to 5-3 on the season. Matt Igel and Joey O'Gara combined for 2 1/3 of one-hit, shutout relief to close out the game for IU. The Hoosier bats have been scorching hot in the tourney, scoring 34 runs with a .392 average on 49 hits. Indiana has already broken the Tournament record with 15 doubles. IU's pitchers have an ERA of 2.00 and have just a .188 average against. They have allowed just seven runs. Ohio State struck the opening blow in the game with a run in the top of the first. Zach Hurley led off the game with an infield single to deep short and he moved to second on a wild pitch. After a strikeout and a groundout moved the leadoff hitter to third, Big Ten Player of the Year Dan Burkhart came up and laced a single to center field to score Hurley and make it 1-0. In the second, the Buckeyes drew a leadoff walk and took advantage of an Indiana miscue to score another solo run. Justin Miller drew a leadoff walk and moved to second on a groundout. That brought Tyler Engle to the plate with one down. Engle chopped a ball down the third base line and Monar handled it, but his throw to first went wide and Miller came around to score to push OSU's lead to 2-0. Indiana finally began to figure out Dean Wolosiansky in the bottom of the fourth, sending nine men to the plate and scoring three runs. Sabourin led things off with a single through the left side and Phegley followed by doubling down the left field line to put two runners in scoring position. Dickerson followed by lacing a ball into left field to score Sabourin and make it 2-1. Kipp Schutz followed with an RBI fielder's choice to plate Phegley and tie the score. Vince Gonzalez followed with a walk and a single by Brian Lambert loaded the bags, and two batters later Jake Dunning picked up an RBI infield single to give IU a 3-2 lead. That's when Indiana's defense picked up Monar. The freshman hit a batter, surrendered a single and gave up a walk to load the bases with nobody out. Cory Kovanda then hit a hard grounder to third, and Vince Gonzalez came home to Phegley for one and the catcher fired on to first for a 5-2-3 double play. Monar then gave up a flyout to right off the bat of Michael Stephens to end the inning with no damage. IU refused to keep the game in doubt any longer, striking for seven runs on six hits to make it 10-3. IU started with five straight singles to score two runs with the bases loaded and chase Wolosiansky from the game. Jared Strayer came on and hit Brian Lambert to bring in another run to bring Rogers to the plate with the bases still packed. Rogers crushed a 1-0 pitch deep into the gap in left center to clear the bases and make it a 9-3 ballgame. He scored with Dunning delivering a sac fly for Indiana's 10th run of the contest. Monar surrendered his final run in the seventh before giving way to Igel. The lefthander came on and got a flyout to left off the bat of Dan Burkhart to end the inning. IU tacked on three insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth on three this and an error to result in the final score. IU is seeking its first championship since 1996 and an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament. IU can win either Saturday night's contest or a Sunday afternoon game at 12:05 p.m. contest to win the conference tournament. Fans can watch Saturday's game on the Big Ten Network or listen to Matt Brady and Jeremy Gray on WHCC 105.1 FM in the Bloomington area or worldwide on XM/Sirius Channel 196. Live audio and GameTracker will be available for the Indiana game at IUHoosiers.com.

Buske leads Gophers to win over Purdue

Fri, 22 May 2009 16:47:00 +0000

Senior Tom Buske (Apple Valley, Minn.) pitched his first career complete game, as he led the Minnesota baseball team (36-16) to a 12-3 victory over Purdue (25-26) in its second game of the Big Ten Tournament at Huntington Park in Columbus, Ohio. Buske saved Minnesota's bullpen for the second game of the day, as he went a career-high nine innings, gave up seven hits, three runs, walked two and struck out four. Buske picked up the win to move to 9-3. The nine wins were the most by a Golden Gopher pitcher since 2003 when Glen Perkins had the same total. The win for the Golden Gophers gave them at least one win in their last 15 Big Ten Tournament appearances. John Anderson has led Minnesota to at least one victory in 23 of his 25 Big Ten Tournament appearances. Offensively, the Golden Gophers were led by Derek McCallum (Shoreview, Minn.) who was 3-for-5 with a home run, two runs and four RBI. With the four RBI, McCallum moved his total to 76 RBI, which is fourth on the Minnesota single-season list. McCallum's home run was the 16th of the season moving him into a tie for fifth on the Golden Gopher single-season list. The 16 home runs are also the most by a Minnesota player since 1999. Junior Eric Decker (Cold Spring, Minn.) also reached base five times, and was 4-for-5 with two runs and an RBI, while senior Matt Nohelty (Rothschild, Wis.) reached base four times, and went 2-for-4 with three runs, an RBI and two stolen bases. AJ Pettersen (Minnetonka, Minn.) also went 2-for-5 with two runs and two RBI, while Michael Kvasnicka (Lakeville, Minn.) finished 2-for-5 with a home run, a run and two RBI. Nick O'Shea (Blaine, Minn.) also collected three hits, as he went 3-for-6 with a run and an RBI. All nine Gopher hitters reached base on the day, and six players had multi-hit games.Purdue starter Matt Morgan took the loss to fall to 6-5, as he gave up eight hits, six runs, walked four and struck out four in 4.2 innings. Minnesota got on the board first with a single run in the top of the first inning to take a 1-0 lead. Nohelty led off with a single, stole second and moved to third on a bunt by Pettersen. McCallum plated Nohelty with an infield RBI single to get the Golden Gophers on the board first. Purdue pushed two runs across in the bottom of the first to take a 2-1 lead. Brandon Haveman led off double off the glove of O'Shea, and moved up to third reached first on an error. John Cummins plated Haveman with a fielder's choice RBI ground out to tie the game. The next two Boilermakers drew walks to load the bases, and Eric Charles plated Cummins with an RBI single to give the Boilermakers a one-run lead. The Boilermakers moved their lead to 3-1 in the bottom of the third on a solo home run by John Cummins.Minnesota reclaimed the lead in the top of the fourth with three runs to make it 4-3. Nohelty drew a one-out walk, advanced to second on a wild pitch and moved up on a single by Pettersen that dropped in when Purdue outfielder lost his balance. McCallum followed by lining a three-run homer to right center field to give the Golden Gophers a one-run lead back. The Golden Gophers added two runs in the top of the fifth to take a 6-3 lead. O'Shea led off with a single, and Decker plated him with an RBI triple to center field to give Minnesota a 5-3 lead. Morgan retired the next two hitters to keep Decker at third, but Nohelty came up with a clutch RBI double against Purdue reliever Connor Sestak to give the Golden Gophers a three-run lead. Minnesota pushed a single run across the plate in the top of the sixth to give the Golden Gophers a 7-3 lead. McCallum led off the inning with a walk, and moved to second on a single by Kvasnicka. After a double play, McCallum moved to third and came home to score on an RBI single by O'Shea. In the bottom of the fifth inning, Purdue loaded the bases for Eric Charles with two outs. Charles hit a soft ground ball to third base, but Geason barehanded the ball and made a great off-balance throw to get the third out. The Golden Gophers added three runs in the top of the seventh to push the lead out to 10-3. After reaching on a fielder's choice, Nohelty stole second and moved to third on a throwing error by the catcher. Nohelty came home to score on an RBI single by Pettersen to make it 8-3. Two batters later, Kvasnicka crushed a two-run homer off the scoreboard to put Minnesota up 10-3. Minnesota added a pair of runs in the top of the eighth to make it 12-3, when Kyle Geason (Eden Prairie, Minn.) brought home a run on an RBI ground out and Justin Gominsky (Mahtomedi, Minn.) when Pettersen reached on an error by the shortstop. Purdue was led by Haveman who went 3-for-5 with a run, while Cummins was 1-for-4 with a home run, two runs and two RBI.

Ohio State rallies to beat Illinois 7-4

Thu, 21 May 2009 22:56:00 +0000

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Two weeks after Ohio State and Illinois played a thrilling game in front of more than 5,000 fans at Illinois Field, the two teams hooked up for another tense and terrific ball game at the Big Ten tournament at Huntington Park. This time, Ohio State pulled out the win, 7-4, to remain in the winner's bracket of the tournament and face Indiana Friday night at 7:05 p.m. Unlike two weeks ago, when Ohio State lost its only game of the season when leading after the seventh inning, the Buckeyes came from behind with two runs in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings, respectively, to come back from a 4-1 Illinois lead and improve to 40-15 on the season. ""I thought our hitters did a good job battling back,"" Ohio State head coach Bob Todd said. ""This was a good team effort, though, with good pitches when we had to have them and a good job by our hitters."" Three consecutive singles to open the Ohio State half of the sixth led to two Buckeye runs and a tightening of the score, to 4-3. Michael Stephens, Dan Burkhart and Ryan Dew singled to load the bases. Stephens scored on Justin Miller's sacrifice fly and Burkhart scored on Michael Arp's fielder's choice. An Ohio State error put the leadoff Illini on board in the seventh. After an infield pop-out, Brandon Wikoff doubled to right to put men on second and third. Ohio State starter Alex Wimmers was replaced at that point by Drew Rucincki, who perhaps saved the game by getting the final two outs of the inning on a fly to right - followed by a strong throw home by Arp to keep the runner from advancing - and a lineout to short. Rucinski's effort in the seventh gave the Buckeyes and their partisan crowd a lift and the team capitalized on it. Matt Streng and Zach Hurley drew walks to open the inning and Cory Kovanda laid down a perfect bunt single to load the bases. A couple RBI ground outs - by Stephens and Dew - would be the extent of the Buckeyes' scoring, but the two runs gave the Scarlet and Gray its first lead of the game at 5-4 and, more importantly, the lead after the seventh inning and in those situations, Ohio State is 33-1 this season. Make that 34-1. After a perfect, 1-2-3 inning by Rucinski in the eighth inning, the Buckeyes added two insurance runs in the eighth. Matt Streng singled home Arp, who took a fast ball in the back and then stole second to get into scoring position. Zach Hurley tripled to deep center field to score Streng. Hurley attempted an inside the park home run as he was waved home by third base coach Pete Jenkins, but two perfect strikes from center to second and then home got Hurley, who admitted afterward that he ""ran into some quicksand rounding third."" Ruckinski's performance, which earned him his 10th win of the season in relief against two defeats, and a 7-4 lead set the stage for the ninth inning and the introduction of the best closer in the nation, according to Ohio State coach Bob Todd: Jake Hale. The big man from Albany, Ohio, didn't disappoint. After giving up a leadoff single, he sent the next three batters down in order – strikeout, groundout and strikeout – to extend his school record saves total this season to 16. ""The bullpen rose to the occasion,"" Todd said. ""Illinois is an outstanding hitting ball club."" Wimmers went 6.1 innings, scattered six hits, gave up three earned runs, walked four and struck out nine. Illinois starter Will Strack suffered his first loss of the season (6-1) with 6.0 innings of work. He allowed 10 hits and five earned runs. Illinois jumped on top in the top of the second, Aaron Johnson hitting his 10th home run of the year with a man on for a 2-0 Illinois lead. Figures that Miller, who hit .680 the last two weeks of the season, would be in the middle of an Ohio State run in the second to cut the lead to 2-1. He walked, moved to second on a wild pitch and scored on Arp's double to right center. Ohio State had runners on in the next three innings, including two in the fourth, but could not tie the score. Illlinois right fielder Pete Cappetta threw out a Buckeye going to third with one out in that inning to help calm a minor uprising by Ohio State in the fourth. Illinois added to its lead in the sixth. Brandon Wikoff walked to lead off the inning and scored on another Johnson hit, this one a double laced into left center field. Two batters later and with men on first and second, Cappetta singled to right center to drive in Johnson and give the Illini a 4-1 lead. This Ohio State team has been through a ton the past two weeks –peaks and valleys and emotions and quiet contemplation and waiting and wins (four consecutive now and six in its last seven games) – that something like a 4-1 deficit wasn't going to stop this team. And it didn't. Game Notes and Random Thoughts from the Press Box: - What a crowd. What a wonderful, wonderful Big Ten touranament crowd that came out to watch the Friday night game between Ohio State and Illinois. Final tally: 4,575 fans. Thank you Columbus sports fans...Buckeye fans. Thank you very much. (Think Elvis Presley impersonation with that "thank you, thank you very much.") - Great news: the crowd Friday surpassed the conference average for overall tournament attendance over the last five years. - The great Steve Arlin has owned the top two single season strikeout totals in Ohio State history for over 40 years: 165 in 1965 and 129 in 1966. Alex Wimmers moved into Arlin's rare air by striking out nine batters to take over second place with 131 strikeouts this season. - Ohio State's only loss this season when leading after seven innings occurred two weeks ago at Illinois. The Illini scored three unearned runs in the ninth to win, 5-4, in front of an Illinois record crowd of 5,214 fans. - Eight of nine Ohio State starters had hits including two apiece by Zach Hurley, Cory Kovanda, Ryan Dew and Matt Streng. Arp had two RBI and Streng two runs scored. - Hurley's triple was the 25th triple of the season for this team, tying the school single season record of 25 set by the 1991 team and tied by the 2006 team. - The schedule tomorrow: Purdue vs. Minnesota at 12:05 p.m.; the winner will play Illinois at 3:35 p.m.; Indiana and Ohio State meet at 7:05 p.m.

Bashore hurls Hoosiers to Big Ten semifinals

Thu, 21 May 2009 19:58:00 +0000

COLUMBUS, Ohio - A day after Eric Arnett shut down Purdue to the tune of seven shutout innings, teammate Matt Bashore matched his cohort's effort, allowing just two hits and two walks, while striking out nine in seven innings of scoreless baseball as the Indiana baseball team (30-25) rocked second seed and 21st-ranked Minnesota (35-16) to the tune of a 12-3 win. Brian Lambert, Tyler Rogers and Jake Dunning each had three hits in the game as the Hoosiers jumped out to a 6-0 lead and never looked back. Indiana advances to the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament, where it will take on the winner of tonight's Ohio State/Illinois game at 7:05 p.m. Earlier in the day, Purdue knocked off Michigan State in the loser's portion of the bracket, and the Boilermakers will take on the Gophers at 12:05 p.m. in an elimination game. The Hoosier offense smashed 18 hits in the game, 10 in the first three innings, en route to the nine-run win. Every member of the starting lineup hit safely in the contest, with Josh Phegley, Alex Dickerson and Kipp Schutz also tallying multi-hit games. Dickerson drove in three runs for Indiana, while Jerrud Sabourin scored a trio of runs in the victory as well. IU got out to a hot start with two runs on three hits. Lambert led the game off with a first-pitch single up the middle, and Sabourin was then hit by a pitch to put two runners on with nobody out. That brought Phegley to the plate, and the catcher ripped a single to center field on a hit and run that plated Lambert and moved Sabourin to third. After a Dickerson strikeout, Schutz ripped a single through the right side to make it 2-0 Indiana in the top of the first. Bashore had a rough bottom of the first for the Hoosiers, as he issued consecutive one-out walks to A.J. Pettersen and Derek McCallum. But the junior bounced back with a strikeout and a groundout to end the inning with IU still ahead by a pair of runs. Those would be the only two walks that Bashore would surrender in the contest. In the top of the second, Indiana plated four insurance runs of Chauncy Handran. With one down, Dunning got the rally started with a double to left field and he was followed by an RBI double off the bat of Lambert to make the score 3-0 in favor of Indiana. A single by Sabourin and a double by Phegley scored another run and Dickerson followed with a line-drive double to right center that plated two more to push the edge to 6-0 Hoosiers. After that it was all zeroes until the sixth inning. Handran settled in well and kept IU off the scoreboard for the next three innings, and Bashore continued his dominant performance for the Hoosiers. The Tipp City, Ohio, native did not surrender a hit until the fifth inning, when he gave up a leadoff single off the bat of Nick O'Shea that fell just in front of Evan Crawford to put a tally in the hit column. Two batters later, Justin Gominsky reached on an infield single, but Bashore got a flyout and a strikeout to end the inning with the shutout still in tact. After the Hoosiers got a run on an RBI single from Schutz in the sixth, they plated a trio of insurance runs in the seventh. Dunning brought home the first two runs with a single up the middle to make it 9-0 and Dickerson put IU into double digits with a single to left center that made it 10-0. Bashore finished off his stellar outing with a 1-2-3 inning, striking out Gominsky on a 3-2 pitch to end the seventh. The junior struck out nine in the game to put his season total at 101, just two behind Arnett on the year. They are just the fourth and fifth Indiana pitchers to post triple digits in Ks in a year. Bashore also lowered his ERA to a season-low 3.57. After Indiana scored a solo run in the eighth, the Gophers got their first scores with three runs off reliever Drew Leininger in the bottom of the eighth. With one run on the board and the bases loaded, Matt Carr came on and surrendered a two-run double, but he put out the fire with a pair of strikeouts to end the inning with IU still ahead 11-3. The Hoosiers tacked on a tally on a Crawford RBI double in the top of the ninth to result in the final score. Stay tuned to IUHoosiers.com to find out who Indiana will take on in the semifinal matchup. The contest will be carried live on WHCC Hoosier Country 105.1 FM in Bloomington and worldwide on XM/Sirius Satellite Radio on channel 196. Live audio and GameTracker will also be available for the game at IUHoosiers.com.

Purdue drops Michigan State to advance

Thu, 21 May 2009 16:44:00 +0000

COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Purdue baseball team left a season-high 15 runners on base but survived to live another day at the Big Ten Tournament with a 12-9 win over Michigan State in the first elimination game at Huntington Park on Thursday. The victory improved the Boilers to 25-25 for the season and extended their stay in the conference championship tournament, while the Spartans dropped to 23-31 in their final game of the year. The Boilermakers scored at least one run in eight of their nine turn's at bats, including a crucial game-high three in the ninth to help ward off a late Spartan comeback attempt. Purdue scored single runs in the first, second and fourth innings, and tacked on two runs each in the third and fifth to cruise out to a 7-2 lead through four and half frames. The resilient Spartans responded with back-to-back solo home runs in the bottom of the fifth by Eli Boike and AJ Shindler to cut the advantage to 7-4, and a double by Eric Roof and a fielding error by first baseman John Cummins later in the stanza forced Boiler starter Matt Jansen from the game with runners on the corners, one out and the tying run at the plate. Reliever Drew Wurdack entered and got out of the jam on a nice double play started by Eric Charles at second and completed by shortstop Barrett Serrato and Cummins to quash the rally and end the frame. Purdue plated a single run in the top of the sixth on a bases loaded walk to Alex Jaffee, but MSU answered back with a two-run homer by Seth Williams to edge closer at 8-6. After swapping zeros in the seventh, the only inning in which the Boilers did not score, Purdue and MSU exchanged single runs in the eighth to a head into the final frame with the Boilers leading 9-7. In a scene eerily familiar from a conference game in the regular season series in which Purdue and MSU plated five runs each in the ninth in 9-8 Boiler win, the Boilermakers extended the advantage to 12-8 on a two-run double by freshman Barrett Serrato and an RBI double by senior Alex Jaffee. MSU rallied to pull within three on a one-out, two-run triple by Jeff Holm and could have brought the tying run to the plate, but Kevin Cahill entered for Wurdack and retired Jeff Roof on strikes and Williams on a grounder to second to nail down his sixth save of the season and send Purdue deeper into the league tournament. Wurdack (4-1) picked up his fourth win of the season with four innings of work out of the bullpen. The right-hander allowed five runs on six hits with two walks. MSU starter AJ Achter (3-6) was charged with the loss after allowing five runs on seven hits in 3 2/3 innings pitched. The right-hander struck out four and walked three. Offensively, Purdue rapped out 15 hits to Michigan State's 14. Purdue's Brandon Haveman continued his torrid senior season by going 4 for 6 with two doubles, three RBIs and a run scored to lead the way individually. The effort improved the Boilers' leadoff hitter's Big Ten-leading batting average from .408 to .417 for the year. Haveman's classmate Cummins chipped in with a 3 for 5, two-run day, and junior Dan Black hit his team-leading 15th home run of the season, a two-run shot in the third, and finished the contest 2 for 3 with two RBIs and a pair of runs scored. Serrato, making his first career start in a Big Ten Tournament game, went 2 for 5 with the key two-run double in the ninth for his two RBIs and two runs scored. Senior classmates Jaffee and Eric Nielsen rounded out the bottom of the order 1 for 2 and 2 for 6, respectively. Jaffee drove in one and scored twice, while Nielsen added a triple, an RBI and two runs scored. The Boilermakers, who lost to Indiana 9-1 on Wednesday to drop into the loser's bracket, will return to action on Friday at 12:05 p.m. to face the lowest-seeded loser of the No. 2 Minnesota-No. 3 Indiana and No. 1 Ohio State-No. 4 Illinois matchups which are currently on going.

Arnett baffles Purdue in IU's opening-round win

Wed, 20 May 2009 18:47:00 +0000

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Eric Arnett allowed just four hits and one walk, striking out 10, to lead the Indiana baseball team to a 9-1 victory over Purdue on Wednesday in the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament. The Hoosiers (29-25) will now take on No. 2 seed Minnesota (35-15) on Thursday at 3:35 p.m. in the second round of the postseason. Arnett lowered his team-leading ERA to 2.58 on the season and now has 103 strikeouts on the campaign. He also improved to 12-1 on the season, matching the school record for wins, set by Brian Partenheimer in 1997. He is just six strikeouts away from matching Indiana's single-season strikeout record as well. Offensively, IU got three hits from Kipp Schutz and Chris Hervey went 2-for-4 with his third home run of the season, as the senior led off the game with a longball over the left field wall. The Hoosiers also got multi-hit games from Jerrud Sabourin, Vince Gonzalez, Tyler Rogers and Brian Lambert. After the Hoosiers got ahead 1-0 on Hervey's leadoff bomb, the Boilers threatened Arnett in the second. Dan Black got a leadoff single, but Arnett helped his own cause by delivering a good pickoff throw to catch the junior leaning. After striking out Drew Madia, Arnett surrendered consecutive hits to Eric Charles and Nick Overmeyer, but the junior used his awareness on the mound to catch Charles off second base to end the inning. The three hits were the only three that Purdue would muster until the seventh off Arnett, and the Hoosier bats struck with solo runs in the third and fourth to boost their lead to 3-0. Hervey got a one-out single in the third and IU used a single up the middle from Sabourin to move him to third. Josh Phegley then brought Hervey home on an RBI fielder's choice to score IU's second run. In the fourth, Gonzalez got a leadoff single to right and two batters later, it was Lambert bringing him home with a smash double to right center to push IU's lead to 3-0. In the bottom of the fifth, the Hoosiers opened the floodgates with five runs and five hits to make it an 8-0 ballgame. Phegley reached on an error to start the inning, and then three straight doubles by Schutz, Michael Earley and Gonzalez plated three runs. After a Rogers groundout moved Gonzalez to third, the freshman came home on a single that Jake Dunning ripped up the middle. Lambert followed with his second double of the game, the fourth of the inning for IU, to score Dunning for the final run of the frame. Arnett finished off his day with a pair of strikeouts in the sixth and two more in the seventh, as he recorded four straight outs via the K. His day came to an end after retiring catcher Eric Charles on a lineout to right to end the seventh. Arnett needed just 95 pitches to get through the game. IU scored its only other run with an unearned tally in the bottom of the sixth, as Schutz scored his second run of the game on a throwing error by Charles. The Boilers got on the board with a tally in the eighth, as Brandon Haveman hit a leadoff double and two batters later he came home on a John Cummins sac fly to right. Joe Vicini pitched a third of an inning in relief for the Hoosiers, while Joey O'Gara threw the final 1 2/3 of the game to seal the deal. The Hoosiers and Gophers will face off in the second of three games at Huntington Field tomorrow. Purdue and Michigan State will go head-to-head in the first elimination game of the tournament at 12:05. Illinois, which defeated the Spartans 16-5 in the first game on Wednesday, will take on No. 1 seed Ohio State in the nightcap in Columbus at 7:05. Live audio and GameTracker will be available for the Indiana game at IUHoosiers.com.

Illini blast Spartans, 16-5, to advance in Big Ten Tourney

Wed, 20 May 2009 16:06:00 +0000

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Right fielder Pete Cappetta (Lisle, Ill.) tied the Big Ten Tournament record with three doubles and Illinois scored its most runs in a conference tournament game as the Illini smashed fifth-seeded Michigan State, 16-5, Wednesday at Huntington Park to win their third-straight opening game in the Big Ten Tournament. Cappetta finished 4-for-5 with three doubles, three RBIs and four runs, and second baseman Josh Parr (Chillicothe, Ill.) tied his career high with four hits and set a new career best with four RBIs. The Illini will face Big Ten champion and top-seeded Ohio State Thursday at 6:05 p.m. (CDT) in the tournament's second round. "That's a good way to start off a tournament," Illinois head coach Dan Hartleb said. "We got a very well-pitched game by Phil (Haig). We started off a little rougher and had some missed opportunities, but if you look at our box scores, we've come from behind several times this season, so our guys are used to coming from behind." After needing only seven pitches in the second inning, Illinois starter Phil Haig (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) gave up a two-out grand slam home run to Spartan catcher Eric Roof after surrendering consecutive base hits and a hit batter to load the bases as MSU took a 4-0 lead. The Illini had a pair of base runners in the third after two-out walks by left fielder Casey McMurray (Willow Springs, Ill.) and shortstop Brandon Wikoff (Peoria, Ill.), but Moody recorded his fifth strikeout of the game to dodge the threat. But after Haig worked a 1-2-3 fourth, Illinois broke out the bats in the bottom half. Johnson started the inning with an infield hit and Argo smoked a double to the wall in left-center. One out later, right fielder Pete Cappetta (Lisle, Ill.) stayed hot with a double to the gap in right-center to drive home both runners. Second baseman Josh Parr (Chillicothe, Ill.) legged out a single to shortstop and beat the double-play turn on his grounder to third, leaving men at the corners with two out. McMurray lined a first-pitch single to right-center, driving home Cappetta and moving Bonadonna to third, and Wikoff laced a single to right to score Bonadonna and move McMurray to third. Altobelli came through with a single through the right side to drive home McMurray and finish the five-run inning, posting the Illini to a 5-4 lead. Haig allowed a leadoff walk in the fifth but erased it with a double-play before striking out MSU third baseman A.J. Shindler looking. In the bottom half, Argo drew a leadoff walk and first baseman Matt Dittman (Libertyville, Ill.) hit a blooper to shallow right-center, which was nearly caught by second baseman Chris Roberts. The ball fell out of his glove as he tumbled over right fielder Eli Boike, but Roberts was able to throw to second and get Argo on the force play as he was forced to hold up on the pop-up. But it was no matter as Cappetta singled up the middle and Parr doubled to the left-field corner to bring in Dittman. Center fielder Joe Bonadonna (Buffalo Grove, Ill.) lifted a sacrifice fly to drive in Cappetta for a 7-4 lead. Haig worked around a one-out walk and a bunt single by getting consecutive groundouts, allowing his offense to go back to work in the bottom of the sixth. That's when the Illini broke the game open with a seven-run frame on five hits and two errors. Wikoff reached on an error to start the inning and, one out later, Johnson reached on another error. Argo singled to left to bring in Wikoff and Dittman smacked a double to the wall in right-center to plate Johnson and Argo. Cappetta followed with his second double of the day, scoring Dittman, and Parr singled to right to drive in Cappetta. Bonadonna walked and McMurray singled up the middle to plate Parr. Wikoff brought home Bonadonna with a groundout to finish the scoring as Illinois jumped out to a 14-4 advantage. The Illini left-hander went back out for the seventh inning and needed only five pitches to set down the Spartans, inducing a come-backer to the mound, a grounder to Parr and a lazy pop-up to Altobelli. Illinois added two more runs in the bottom half, with Johnson leading off with a single before being put out on Argo's grounder. One out later, Cappetta tied the Big Ten Tournament record with his third double and Parr drove in two more runs with his single to right, making the Illini lead 16-4. Illini reliever Aaron Martin (Georgetown, Ill.) entered in the eighth and gave up a run after three singles to start the inning. But the run scored on a double play and Martin got out of the inning with another groundout. Martin struck out the first two hitters he faced in the ninth before allowing a walk. But he coaxed a grounder to Parr to end the game as Illinois won, 16-5. Cappetta had a career day, going 4-for-5 with three doubles, three RBIs and four runs. Parr tied his career high with four hits and his four RBIs were a new career best, as he went 4-for-5 with a double, four RBIs and a run. Argo was 3-for-4 with a double, an RBI and three runs, reaching base in all five plate appearances. McMurray was 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a run, and Wikoff was on base four times while driving in two runs. Johnson also was 2-for-5 with two runs scored. Haig finished his day with seven solid innings, allowing four runs on four hits and two walks with four strikeouts to improve to 7-3 on the year. The Fighting Illini will square off with Big Ten Champion Ohio State Thursday at 6:05 p.m. CT, with Illinois' Will Strack facing Ohio State's Co-Big Ten Pitcher of the Year Alex Wimmers.

Gophers claim Big Ten men's crown

Sun, 17 May 2009 16:52:00 +0000

Final Standings 1. Minnesota 130 2. Ohio State 103 3. Michigan 100 4. Purdue 81 5. Penn State 80 6. Wisconsin 76 7. Iowa 69 8. Michigan State 62 9. Illinois 60 10. Indiana 58 Minnesota used a 21-point performance, including a title run by Hassan Mead, in the 5,000-meter run to secure the team crown at the 2009 Big Ten Outdoor Track & Field Championships on Sunday at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. The Golden Gophers, who also won the Big Ten indoor team title, compiled 130 points, 27 better than runner-up and host Ohio State. Mead added his fifth Big Ten individual title to his spectacular sophomore season. The Minneapolis native won the individual cross country crown last fall, the 3,000 and 5,000-meter races at the indoor Big Ten track championships and then the 5,000 and 10,000-meter events this weekend. Mead was the headliner in the 5,000 meters, crossing the finish line in 14 minutes, 20.75 seconds, but the Gophers once again displayed the team depth that made the difference in so many events. Junior Chris Rombough finished third in a time of 14:25.98, while Ben Blankenship placed fourth in 14:26.15. "I can't say enough good things about Hassan," said Golden Gopher Steve Plasencia. "But he certainly wasn't the only guy to step it up this weekend. We got points from the people who we expected we would and more from a lot of other events across the board." A Gopher who was expected to contribute big points and who delivered was junior Aaron Studt in the shot put. Studt landed the winning throw – 61-6 1/4 - on his fifth attempt after firing a long throw just outside the sector on her first throw of finals. Senior Ibrahim Kabia sprinted to runner-up honors in the 100-meter dash clocking a time of 10.44 seconds. Kabia added a sixth-place showing in the 200 meters in 21.44 seconds. The Gophers scored two runners in the 1,500-meter run. Blankenship finished fourth in a time of 3:58.48, while Andy Richardson placed seventh in 4:00.68. Joe McFarland chipped in a sixth-place effort in the 800 meters with a time of 1:51.44. Minnesota scored in both hurdles events. Mike Linnemann finished sixth in the 400-meter hurdles in 53.61 seconds and Sean Duling placed eighth in the 110-meter hurdles in 14.62 seconds. The Gophers scored in two of the three other field events contested on Sunday. Joe Plencner finished fourth in the pole vault clearing 16-10 3/4, while Raymond Blackledge placed seventh in the triple jump with a leap of 48-9 1/2. The next competition for Golden Gophers is the NCAA Midwest Region Championships on May 29-30 in Norman, Okla.

PSU women hold off Michigan, claim second straight title

Sun, 17 May 2009 19:06:00 +0000

Final Standings 1. Penn State 139 2. Michigan 138.75 3. Minnesota 131.50 4. Illinois 100 5. Indiana 74.25 6. Purdue 64 7. Michigan State 57.25 8. Ohio State 45 9. Wisconsin 38.25 10. Iowa 31 COLUMBUS, Ohio - Heading into the last event of the championships, the 4x400 meter relay, the defending Big Ten champion Penn State women's track & field team couldn't have been any closer to successfully defending its title, trailing Michigan by less than a point. A third-place finish by the relay, edging out the fourth-place Wolverine relay team, was all it took for the Nittany Lions to be able to hold high their second straight Big Ten women's outdoor track & field title. In the final tally, every individual place from first to 10th counted in a big way as the Nittany Lions won by just .25 points finishing with a 139 to Michigan's 138.75. Sophomore Shavon Greaves (Lakewood, N.J.) was the highlight for Penn State and left the championships with a pair of Big Ten titles. Junior Fawn Dorr (Akron, N.Y.) also came up big for Penn State, finishing as the conference runner-up in the 400 meters and the 400-meter hurdles and then anchoring the relay to boost the Lions to the top. Greaves captured the 100 meters with a regional qualifying time of 11.49 to grab the title. In the 200, she posted a 23.35, out-running senior Gayle Hunter (Riverside, Calif.), who finished second for PSU and posted a time of 23.81. Hunter scored points for Penn State in the most events of any individual, scoring in three events in addition to the 200 meters while also running the 4x400 relay. Hunter posted points in the heptathlon after finishing third with a school-record 5730 points, finished the 100 meter hurdles with the fifth-place time of 13.58, and was fifth in the triple jump with a mark of 12.68 meters. Senior Emma Schmelzer (Bloomington, Ill.) was also exceptional for the Nittany Lions, posting two Big Ten runner-up finishes. She was second in the hammer throw (54.71 meters) and in the discus (49.74 meters), and also finished fourth in the shot put (15.33 meters). Competing in her home state, junior Bridget Franek (Hiram, Ohio) continued to be a stronger performer for the Nittany Lions, as she placed second in the 3000 meter steeplechase with a regional qualifying 9:58.27. She also placed third in the 5000 meter run, posting a 15:58.31. The 4x100 meter relay was the runner-up at the Big Ten meet, losing by a hair to Michigan, but posting a regional qualifying time of 45.62 doing it. The Nittany Lions collected 15 points in the javelin, led by a Big Ten runner-up finish from sophomore Karlee McQuillen (Johnstown, Pa.), who threw for 53.62 meters, which is an NCAA regional qualifying throw. Sophomore Kim Hansloven also posted a regional qualifying mark, finishing third with a throw of 48.55 meters. Mattie Pancoast (West Chester, Pa.) grabbed the Nittany Lions a point with her eight-place throw to round out the scoring in that event for Penn State. Other points scorers in the Nittany Lions' victory were: senior Aleesha Barber (Decatur, Ga.) placing seventh in the 100 meter hurdles; sophomore Gabriela Baiter (Greenlawn, N.Y.), placing eighth in the triple jump; sophomore Megan Duncan (North Huntingdon, Pa.), who finished fifth in the 400 meter hurdles; junior Caitlin Fairburn (Greenville, Pa.), who placed sixth in the pole vault; sophomore Bianca Fung (North Babylon, N.Y.), who was sixth in the long jump; and junior Brittany Maun (Greenville, Pa.), who finished fourth in the high jump. Penn State (139) and Michigan (138.75) went one-two on the women's side of the competition. Minnesota was third (131.5), followed by Illinois (100), Indiana (74.25), Purdue (64), Michigan State (57.25), Ohio State (45), Wisconsin (38.25) and Iowa (31).

Illinois runs away with Big Ten men's crown

Fri, 1 May 2009 11:21:00 +0000

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - Illinois men's golf has proven its ability to close out tournaments all season long. The 2009 Big Ten Championship was no different. The Fighting Illini, leaders by seven shots coming into the final round, extended that advantage and finished with a 13-stroke victory to capture the Big Ten title. "I told them we've done this all year," said head coach Mike Small of his words of wisdom heading in Sunday. "We've been able to close out tournaments. We're not going to do anything different. It's proven well all season and we wanted to keep the same mindset." For Small, who played on Illinois' last Big Ten title in 1988, it's a culmination of many close calls. In his previous eight seasons as head coach, the Illini have three seconds (in 2002, 2003 and 2004) and one third (in 2008). Illinois wins its seventh conference championship overall and do so without a senior on the squad. The Illini also won their seventh tournament of the campaign, not only a school record, but also the most of any top 25 team this season. "I got a little tired of all my colleagues putting on these shirts," Small said afterward pointing to the Big Ten championship T-shirts his squad received. "Our players have worked hard for it. When you surround yourself with seven quality guys and win seven times in one year, it's pretty special." "We came out with a strong desire," said sophomore Chris DeForest, who tied for third individually. "We knew if we played our game and stuck to our game plan we would have at least a chance to come out on top. I'm just glad for my teammates that we composed ourselves and came away with a championship." Illinois was eighth at +8 after the first round, but responded with the best score of anyone in both round two (four over par 288) and round four (one over par 285) and the second-best score in round three (even par 284). Illinois, ranked 12th in the latest Golf World/NIKE Coaches Poll, finished at 13-over par 1149, tying the second-best 72-hole score in school history and well ahead of second-place Minnesota (+26) and third-place and 10th-ranked Indiana (+31). Ohio State, who entered final round play just seven shots behind Illinois at +19, finished tied for fourth with host Penn State at +34 in head coach Jim Brown's 36th and final season. The victory, as it has been all season, was a total team effort. After a first round 76, DeForest put together rounds of 70, 69 and 71 on the 7,202-yard par 71 Blue Course to finish at +2 (286), just three shots behind individual medalist Eric Chun of Northwestern (-1) and two back of Penn State's Kevin Foley (E). "I got mentally focused for the last three rounds," DeForest said. "We're a tough team that loves to play no matter the conditions and love fighting to the end." Junior Matt Hoffman, whose 69 in round two was key for getting Illinois in position to make the charge, finished seventh at +4 (288). Freshman Luke Guthrie, whose tournament was highlighted by an eagle on nine in round three, tied for ninth at +6 (290) after a final round of even par 71. That gives Illinois three players in the top ten. Still it was the first player out Sunday that really set the tone. Junior Zach Barlow jumped 27 spots in the final day into a tie for 17th at +11 after a three-under par 68, which tied Chun for the best round of the tournament. "We couldn't have asked for a better guy to lead it off," Small said of Barlow. "We needed a catalyst today and he was it." "Coach gave me a huge confidence boost coming into today," Barlow said. "I got off to a good start and just kept it going throughout the round." Sophomore Scott Langley also finished in 17th at +11, giving Illinois all five guys inside the top 20. "It's unbelievable how we pick each other up and feed off each other," Barlow said. "That makes it even more special." On Monday, Illinois will find out which of the six NCAA Regionals it is headed to on May 14-16. The top five teams at each Regional qualify for the NCAA Championships May 26-30 in Toledo, Ohio. Small hopes his team can continue the same fight into the next few weeks. "I'm impressed with how we went out and won the tournament and didn't back into it," Small said. "We didn't hit it particularly well this weekend, but we competed well. We didn't putt well early, but we putted well at the end and took care of the par fives today and yesterday. That's the theme we want to have for our program -- that we just go get it."

MSU rowing wins second straight Big Ten title

Sun, 3 May 2009 12:20:00 +0000

Final Standings 1. Michigan State 137 2. Michigan 126 3. Ohio State 123 4. Wisconsin 113 5. Iowa 60 6. Minnesota 59 7. Indiana 24 COLUMBUS, Ohio - The No. 3 Michigan State rowing program claimed its second straight Big Ten title, and third in five seasons, after finishing with 137 points Saturday on Griggs Reservoir at the 2009 Big Ten Championships. The Spartans won both the varsity eight and second varsity eight races to complete the day, which accounted for 105 total team points, helping them edge second-place Michigan, who finished with 126 points. The Spartans become only the second team in Big Ten Championship history to win back-to-back team titles. The win by the varsity eight also marks the second-straight Big Ten title for that crew as well. The second varsity four and second varsity eight also earned medals on the day, each taking home the bronze in their events. "Clearly I am very proud of our team," head coach Matt Weise said. "We had not been in a whole lot of close races this season, and after losing the varsity eight heat this morning, I think that our focus got much better. It was a sort of a wake up call and they realized that they cannot race that way, so they came out in the final and both varsity eight boats I thought had their best races when we needed it. I am just really proud of our team." In addition, five Spartans were honored as All-Big Ten Team members. Three rowers, two the varsity eight boat - Sarah Schmidt (Grosse Ile, Mich.) and Lauren Gamble (Commerce Township, Mich.) - along with Amanda Dunnill (Flushing, Mich.) from the second varsity eight, were named to the first team. Both Ashley Peach (St. John's, Newfoundland) and Nancy Diehl (St. Clair Shores, Mich.) earned second team honors while senior Ashley Wenneman (Grosse Ile, Mich.) was honored as the Spartans' recipient of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award to round out the individual accolades. The Spartans opened the day by advancing five of their six boats to the Grand Finals in the afternoon session. Both the second varsity eight and the second varsity four won their respective heats while advancing to the Grand Finals. The second varsity four was in the most highly contested heat of the morning, edging Ohio State's crew by a photo-finish, just 0.01 seconds ahead of the Buckeyes. The top-seeded second varsity eight won its heat much more convincingly, topping second-place Michigan by three seconds with a time of 6:18.46. Also advancing to the Grand Finals were the Spartans' top-seeded varsity eight and both of the novice eight boats. Both Michigan and Wisconsin advanced all six of their boats to the Grand Final, setting up a close competition for the afternoon session. The novice boats began the competition in the afternoon session. The Spartans' second novice eight, racing in the third lane against crews from Michigan, Wisconsin and Indiana, finished the 2,000-meter trek in 6:47.92, placing them third and earning five points for the team. Wisconsin won the heat, giving the Badgers the early lead in the competition. The MSU novice eight placed fourth in its Grand Final, earning eight points for the team, pushing the team-total to 13 points through the novice races. Wisconsin led the event through the novice races, accumulating 21 overall points; Michigan was in second through the first two races with 18 points. Next up for the Spartans was the Grand Final of the second varsity four race. The crew, seeded fourth heading into the competition, turned in the best time in the event during the morning session and finished third in the Grand Final with a time of 7:07.13, moving the team's point total to 23, keeping them in third place. The crew was the Spartans' second medal-winner on the day, taking home the bronze medal in the second varsity four. The varsity four, the only Spartan boat to not qualify for the Grand Final, placed first in its Petite Final with a time of 7:08.08. The top finish in the Petite Final earned the crew fifth place overall, moving MSU's point total to 32, placing them fourth heading into the final two races of the day, the second varsity eight and the varsity eight. The Spartans entered the day as the top seed in the second varsity eight and after dominating the morning race, the crew followed suit in the Grand Final. The second varsity eight clocked in at 6:15.07 to win the race, scoring 42 points and moving the team into third place. After the second varsity eight Grand Final, Michigan State, Michigan, Ohio State and Wisconsin all ranked within six points of each other, forcing a winner-take-all scenario in the varsity eight Grand Final. The second varsity eight took first place for the second time in program history and first time since 2003, which was also the last time that the Big Ten Championships were hosted in Columbus at Griggs Reservoir. The varsity eight, needing to win to clinch the team title, dominated its Grand Final en-route to a first-place finish. The crew clocked in at 6:06.30, topping second-place Michigan by open water. It is the second-straight season that MSU has claimed the varsity eight title and marks the third time in program history that the varsity eight has taken home the gold. The Spartans will continue the postseason with the NCAA South/Central Sprints in Oak Ridge, Tenn., two weeks from today on May 16.

OSU men claim 4th straight Big Ten tourney title

Sun, 26 Apr 2009 16:00:00 +0000

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Down 1-0 after dropping the doubles point, the No. 1-seed Ohio State men's tennis team showed its firepower, winning four consecutive singles matches to claim its fourth consecutive tournament title with a 4-1 victory against No. 2-seed Illinois Sunday at the 2009 Big Ten Tournament in Ann Arbor, Mich. Sophomore Balazs Novak claimed the clinching point for Ohio State at No. 5 singles with a 6-3, 6-4 win against Wolverine Abe Souza. Novak, a native of Nyiregyhaza, Hungary, is now 34-5 in singles after going a perfect 10-0 in Big Ten play this season. "It was really windy out there, but I was able to break the second set to 5-4 and held on for the win," Novak said. "It was an amazing feeling, winning the match with all of my teammates rushing the court chanting O-H-I-O. This is definitely a moment I will never forget." The championship match will be televised by the Big Ten Network on a tape delay on Sunday, May 3 at 6 p.m. Under head coach Ty Tucker, Ohio State (31-1; 10-0 Big Ten) has won five of 10 Big Ten tournament titles since he took charge of the program during the 1999-2000 campaign. The Buckeyes improve their conference win streak to 53-consecutive matches with the championship win and are currently 104-5 in its last 109 league matches, including postseason play. Ohio State, ranked third in the nation, is now 32-54-1 against No. 14 Illinois (21-8; 8-2 Big Ten). However under Tucker, the Buckeyes have won five-consecutive matches against the Illini, winning nine of the last 10 meetings. Ohio State's four-consecutive tournament titles have all been claimed in the tournament final against Illinois. In doubles, Illinois won at Nos. 1 and 2 to claim the first point of the championship match after the Buckeyes won the first match at No. 3 doubles. Bryan Koniecko and Shuhei Uzawa defeated Roy Kalmanovich and Meedo El Tabakh, 8-4, improving their record to a team-high 19-1 overall with a 12-match win streak. At No. 2 doubles, sophomores Matt Allare and Novak suffered only their third loss when paired together, dropping an 8-6 decision to Marek Czerwinski and Marc Spicijaric. llinois got the early 1-0 advantage after No. 24 Dennis Nevolo and Ruan Roelofse took down No. 17 Justin Kronauge and Steven Moneke, 8-6, at No. 1 doubles. The loss snaps the Buckeye duo win-streak at eight. In singles, rookie Chase Buchanan evened the tides to 1-all after defeating Brian Livingston, 6-1, 6-2, at No. 6 singles. Buchanan is now 9-3 overall, winning eight-consecutive matches since joining the team in late March. No. 25 Kronauge, a 2009 All-Big Ten honoree, gave Ohio State its first lead of the day with a 6-3, 6-2, victory against No. 50 Kalmanovich at No. 2 singles. Kronauge is 35-7 overall with an 8-3 record at No. 2 singles. Following Kronauge's win was the 2009 Big Ten Athlete of the Year, Koniecko at No. 1 singles. Koneicko, currently ranked third in the nation, defeated No. 75 Spicijaric, 6-3, 6-4, putting Ohio State just one singles win away from the title. Koniecko is 35-4 overall with an impressive 20-3 record at the top of the singles lineup. Koniecko, a two-time All-American, passed former Buckeye Roger Smith (1983-86) for third on the all-time career singles wins list with 127 career wins in his four years with the Buckeyes. The 2009 senior class now has four Big Ten regular-season and tournament titles since the 2005-06 campaign. Senior tri-captains Ty Schaub, Moneke and Koniecko have won more matches than any other class in their four-year career with a total record of 124-7 (.947). "Coming in as a freshman, I didn't think sweeping four-consecutive titles would be possible, but I learned every year from the seniors that it could happen," Koniecko said. "Now after today, I just hope to pass it down to the younger guys to keep the streak alive. I couldn't ask for anything better." Ohio State, who has won 23-consecutive matches this season, will now prepare for the 2009 NCAA Championships, beginning its quest for a national title as host to the first and second rounds of the tournament at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. May 8 and noon May 9 at the Stickney Tennis Center in Columbus. The journey to host-site College Station, Texas, starts with the 2009 NCAA Division I men's and women's tennis selection announcements, airing at approximately at 5:20 p.m. Tuesday, April 28 on ESPNews. The team brackets will be posted on the NCAA websites (www.NCAA.com and www.NCAA.org) shortly after the completion of the televised announcement. No. 1 Ohio State 4, No. 2 Illinois 1 Singles No. 1 -- No. 3 Bryan Koniecko (OSU) d. No. 75 Marc Spicijaric (ILL), 6-3, 6-4 No. 2 -- No. 25 Justin Kronauge (OSU) d. No. 50 Roy Kalmanovich (ILL), 6-3, 6-2 No. 3 -- No. 8 Steven Moneke (OSU) vs. No. 38 Dennis Nevolo (ILL), 6-4, 2-2 (unfinished) No. 4 -- No. 108 Matt Allare (OSU) vs. Marek Czerwinski (ILL), 7-6(3), 4-5 (unfinished) No. 5 -- No. 70 Balazs Novak (OSU) d. Abe Souza (ILL), 6-1, 6-4 No. 6 -- Chase Buchanan (OSU) d. Brian Livingston (ILL), 6-1, 6-2 Doubles No. 1 -- No. 24 Nevolo/Ruan Roelofse (ILL) d. No. 17 Justin Kronauge/Steven Moneke (OSU), 8-6 No. 2 -- Czerwinski/Spicijaric (ILL) d. Matt Allare/Balazs Novak (OSU), 8-6 No. 3 -- Bryan Koniecko/Shuhei Uzawa (OSU) d. Meedo El Tabakh/Kalmanovich (ILL), 8-4 Order of Completion: Doubles 3-2-1, Singles 6-2-1-5