Buckeye Sports Shorts – Ohio State Buckeyes
5/29/2002 12:00:00 AM | General
May 29, 2002
Athletes of the Week
Ohio State catcher Joe Wilkins (Sr., Grove City, Ohio/Dublin Scioto) was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Big Ten Tournament, won by the Buckeyes Saturday with a 6-3 victory over top-seed Minnesota. Wilkins, also honored on the All-Tournament team behind the plate, batted .545 (6-for-11) with three RBI, four runs scored and a sacrifice fly. He had a double and a triple in addition to his walk-off home run in the bottom of the 10th inning in the 11-10 victory over Indiana on Thursday.
Women’s golf senior Natalie Aber finished her final collegiate tournament with a 71 (-1) in the final round of the 2002 NCAA Championships in Auburn, Wash. Aber was the highest finisher for the Buckeyes, tied for 25th place with a score of 294 (+6). The squad finished eighth in the tournament.
Sports Shorts
Ohio State plays host to the 2002 NCAA Men’s Golf Championshipsthis week. The tournament, which includes 30 teams and sixindividuals, gets underway at 7 a.m. Wednesday and runs throughSaturday at the OSU Scarlet Course. Baseball claimed a 6-3 victoryover Minnesota on Saturday at Minnesota’s Siebert Field to win theschool’s sixth Big Ten Tournament Championship and earn theleague’s automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament. It is the 15thappearance in the NCAA Tournament for the Buckeyes and the ninthunder head coach Bob Todd. Ohio State drew a third seed and willopen the NCAA Tournament at the South Bend Regional againstsecond-seeded Notre Dame on Friday at 4 p.m. (EDT, 3 p.m. CDT) gameat Frank Eck Stadium. No. 1 seed South Alabama will play No. 4 seedKent at 8 p.m. The tournament will conclude on Sunday with winneradvancing to a Super Regional against the winner of the TallahasseeRegional, which includes Florida State, Central Florida, SouthFlorida and Stetson. Tickets for the Notre Dame Regional areavailable by calling the Notre Dame Athletics Ticket Office at(574) 631-7356 and are available in regional packages or on anindividual game basis. In the regional package, reserved adulttickets are $32 while general admission seats are $24. Reservedtickets for each game are $8, while general admission tickets are$6. If you cannot make it to the games, WOSU Radio (820 AM) andohiostatebuckeyes.com will have the radio broadcast. Catcher JoeWilkins was voted the Most Outstanding Player at the Big TenTournament, was also named to the All-Tournament team. He wasjoined on that team by fellow Buckeyes Drew Anderson at third base,Doug Dendinger and Doug Deeds in the outfield, and E.J. Laratta andScott Lewis on the mound. Ohio State’s Scott Lewis was honored asthe Freshman of the Year last Wednesday when the All-Big TenBaseball Teams and individual honors were announced. Lewiscontinued a strong tradition of Big Ten Freshman of the Yearselections from Ohio State, as the lefthanded pitcher is the fourthstraight Buckeye to earn that distinction, joining currentteammates Doug Deeds (2001), Nick Swisher (2000) and E.J. Laratta(1999). Overall, Ohio State boasts seven Freshman of the Yearwinners in the award’s 15-year history and is the only program tofeature consecutive winners. First baseman/outfielder Nick Swisher,and pitchers Nate Smith and Scott Lewis were all selected to theAll-Big Ten first team, while second baseman Christian Snavely,rightfielder Doug Deeds, catcher Joe Wilkins and lefthanded pitcherJosh Newman were selected to the second team. Righthanded relieverBrandon Steen was named to the third team. Ohio State will havefive athletes competing in the 2002 NCAA Outdoor Track and FieldChampionships beginning Wednesday. Buckeyes qualifiying for themeet are Dan Taylor (shot put), Tami Smith (high jump), AlexisMcCall (shot put), Katy Craig (hammer throw) and Krista Keir(discus). The No. 3 Ohio State women’s rowing team will head toIndianapolis hoping to win the first national championship inprogram history. The Buckeyes claimed the 2002 Big Ten Championshipand took second-place at the central regional finals May 19-20. PatChun, director of the Buckeye Club, has been accepted into the NCAALeadership Institute for Minority Males. He is one of 25 selectedfrom NCAA member institutions from around the country. TheLeadership Institute represents the NCAA’s commitment to addressthe critical shortage of senior-level ethnic minorities involvedwith athletics programs at member institutions and conferenceoffices. The Institute will enhance job-related competencies inselected areas through the completion of four professionaldevelopment sessions, practical work experiences and a week-longintensive workshop. Congratulations to Kevin Stephan of the men’slacrosse team and field hockey goalie Allison Blanton, who eachreceived the 2002 Big Ten Medal of Honor at the annualscholar-athlete awards banquet. A record 366 OSU Scholar-Athleteswere recognized at the event. The Ohio State men’s tennis teamended the 2001-02 season 21-5 overall and 10-2 in the Big Ten. Theteam finished the season undefeated at home, a first in programhistory. The victory over Purdue (4/14/02) was OSU’s15th-consecutive home win, breaking the all-time record of14-consecutive home wins set in the 1982-83 season. The Buckeyesset an all-time record when they earned their 17th-consecutivevictory this season against Northwestern (April 20). OSU beat theteam record of 16-consecutive wins, achieved in 2000-01. OSU alsoreached No. 12 March 20 in the Omni Hotels Collegiate TennisRankings, this was highest ranking in the history of men’s tennisprogram. In 2000-01 the highest ranking OSU reached was No. 16. The20th-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes lost to the Vanderbilt Commodores,4-3, in the opening match of the 2002 Men’s Tennis Regional inLexington, Ky. Jeremy Wurtzman (So., Rochester, N.Y./Florida) andPhil Metz (Jr., Mentor, Ohio/Mentor) ended their seasons withlosses in the first round of the 2002 NCAA Individual Championshipsin College Station, Texas.
