Athletics Good Stuff – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/12/2004 12:00:00 AM | General
March 12, 2004
Athletes of the Week
Senior heavyweight wrestler Tommy Rowlands (Hilliard, Ohio/Bishop Ready) recorded his second career conference championshipwith a tight 5-4 decision over Penn State’s Pat Cummins Sunday inthe finals of the 2004 Big Ten Championships in St. John Arena.Rowlands, a native of Hilliard, Ohio, wrestled Cummins through ascoreless first period. The two again tied the match at 1-1 in thesecond period as Rowlands was awarded a point for a Cummins stall.Rowlands then claimed the lead with a takedown with 40 seconds leftin the second period for a 3-1 advantage. Rowlands again gained atwo-point advantage after trading escapes with Cummins in the thirdperiod at 4-2. With less than a minute remaining, Cummins tied thebout with a takedown of his own before Rowlands scored a decidingescape to claim his second career Big Ten title. With the win,Rowlands became the first two-time Big Ten champion since MitchClark repeated at 197 pounds in 1997 and 1998.
Rowlands will vie for his second NCAA title March 18-20 at the Savvis Center in St. Louis. He also seeks to become the first four-time All-American at Ohio State.
Ohio State senior Kristi DeVries was named the Big Ten SoftballPitcher of the Week Tuesday for her perfect game vs. Wright StateUniversity, March 6. DeVries, a native of Corona, Calif. (CoronaH.S.), was perfect in Ohio State’s six inning 8-0 mercy rule winvs. the Raiders at the Dayton Flyer Invitational. DeVries set downall 18 WSU batters she faced, striking out a season-high 10 hittersand retiring the remaining eight batters with four ground-outs andfour pop-outs.
The win marked DeVries’ second career no-hitter, her first coming April 17, 2002 vs. Morehead State. It was her 20th career shutout, which ranks second in the Ohio State record book. As a freshman she took a perfect game into the seventh inning vs. Robert Morris (March 20, 2001) but allowed a hit in the seventh inning. DeVries currently ranks second in the Ohio State career record book in both wins (46) and strikeouts (454). Her season-high strikeout total vs. Wright State tops the eight K’s she racked up in her last outing, which was a 4-3 win vs. Florida Atlantic Feb. 28 in Georgia.
Athletics Good Stuff
The No. 12-ranked men’s hockey team will play host to instaterival Bowling Green in the first round of the Central CollegiateHockey Association tournament this weekend. The No. 4-seed Buckeyesand No. 9-seed Falcons will meet in a best-of-three series at 7:05p.m. Friday and Saturday and at 7:05 p.m. Sunday (if necessary) inValue City Arena in Columbus, Ohio. The winner of the seriesadvances to the CCHA Super Six Championship at Joe Louis Arena inDetroit March 18-20. Tickets for the series are $15 for adults and$8 for students and children; everyone is required to have aticket. Ohio State “Go Bucks” cards are not valid for the series.Tickets for game three will only be sold Sunday, if the third gameis needed. To purchase tickets, or for more information, contactthe OSU Athletics Ticket Office by phone at 614-292-2624 or 1 800GO BUCKS or online at www.hangonsloopy.com.
The Buckeyes (21-15-0, 16-12-0 CCHA) are coming off a series split with Miami. Ohio State lost a heartbreaker in overtime, 4-3, Friday in Oxford, Ohio. Saturday, junior Lee Spector scored with 1:11 remaining to give the Buckeyes a 5-4 win. Freshman Sean Collins was named the league’s defensive player of the week following his performance vs. the RedHawks, as he had three points and was not on the ice for a goal against.
A number of Buckeyes were honored by the CCHA this week. Sophomore Nate Guenin was named to the CCHA All-Academic First Team, while senior Reed Whiting and junior Thomas Welsh received special mention accolades. Guenin and senior Doug Andress earned honorable mention All-CCHA honors, while freshman Andrew Schembri is an honorable mention all-rookie team choice.
The women’s ice hockey team claimed the fourth seed in the 2004WCHA Final Five Tournament and faces fifth-seeded Minnesota Stateat 5:05 p.m. EST Friday in the first-round of action at RidderArena Minneapolis, Minn. OSU and MSU are tied for fourth in theleague, but the Buckeyes claimed the fourth seed by winning thetiebreaker of the best head-to-head record. OSU went 2-1-1 againstMinnesota State this season. The Buckeyes are making their fifthconsecutive appearance at the WCHA Final Five. OSU has won everyfirst round game in the playoffs. The Buckeyes and Mavericks willmeet for the first time in WCHA postseason action. Two Buckeyes,senior Erin O’Grady and sophomore Jana Harrigan enter thetournament on a three-game points streak. O’Grady has recorded twogoals and two assists in the last three games, while Harrigan hastwo goals and three assists.
No. 3-seed Wisconsin faces No. 4-seed Minnesota-Duluth at 2:05 p.m. EST and No. 1-seed Minnesota takes on the winner of the Ohio State/Minnesota State game at 5:05 p.m. EST Saturday. The third place and championship games will take place Sunday at 2:05 p.m. EST and 5:05 p.m. EST, respectively.
The men’s and women’s track and field teams will send fourrepresentatives to the 2004 NCAA Indoor Track and Field NationalChampionships in Fayetteville, Ark. Friday and Saturday in theUniversity of Arkansas’ Randall Tyson Indoor Track. Senior throwerDan Taylor (Middlefield, Ohio/ Berkshire) will compete for the menas a favorite in both the shot put and weight throw events, whilejunior jumper Rosalind Goodwin (Prospect, Ky./ Ballard) andsophomore thrower Amarachi Ukabam (Creve Couer, Mo./ Marquette)will vie for All-America status in two events as well. Juniorthrower Keturah Lofton (Zanesville, Ohio/ Zanesville) makes hersecond appearance at nationals in the weight throw. The men’slacrosse team returns home to face Drexel at noon Saturday afterfalling on the road at UMBC, 8-7 in double overtime. The game vs.the Dragons is the last at home for the Buckeyes until April 3, asthey hit the road for four consecutive games. The sixth-rankedwomen’s golf team finished second at the Lady Gator Invitational inGainesville, Fla. The Buckeyes posted a final-round score of 303and finished competition with a mark of 911. Allison Hanna placedfifth for the Buckeyes with a score of 221. Hanna shot afinal-round score of 74 and finished five strokes out of first.Kristen White posted a score of 228 and tied for 12th. LindsayKnowlton shot 234 and tied for 26th place while Dana Je tied for35th with a score of 236. Allyson Harvie tied for 43rd with a markof 238 and Jennifer Selfinger shot 245 to tie for 69th place as anunattached individual. Ohio State returns to action March 26-28 atthe Liz Murphy Collegiate Classic in Athens, Ga. The softball team(7-6, 0-0 Big Ten) will travel to the Winthrop Invitational in RockHill, S.C., March 12-14. The Buckeyes will face North CarolinaA&T at 10 a.m. Friday, followed by an 8 p.m. contest vs. hostWinthrop. Saturday Ohio State will meet North Carolina State at 2p.m. and Furman at 6 p.m. The teams will be seeded and placed in abracket for tournament play Sunday. The Buckeyes are coming off apair of mercy-rule wins at the Dayton Flyer Invitational Saturdaywith wins vs. Dayton, 9-1, and then Wright State, 8-0, in whichsenior Kristi DeVries tossed a six-inning perfect game for OhioState. Junior Karisa Evans leads the Buckeye offense with a .353average, while freshman Megan Schwab is batting .333. FreshmanJamee Juarez (5-2, 1.79 ERA) is tops on the pitching staff with 45strikeouts in 43 innings pitched. The synchronized swimming teamplaced first at the North Regional Championships and earned theopportunity to compete at the 2004 Collegiate NationalChampionships. In the solo event, Leslie Edgerton finished firstwith a mark of 88.900. Teammates Becky Kim and Kate Hooven won theduet event with a score of 94.800. Hooven, Kim and Lindsay Newbillcaptured first-place honors in trio with a mark of 93.600. The OhioState ‘A’ team also picked up a win in the team event with a scoreof 96.600. Swimming for the Buckeyes was Heather Burdick, Hooven,Kim, Katrin Eggenberger, Ashley Rule, Newbill, Chisako Ukai andLauren Marsh. Ohio State will move on to compete in every event atthe 2004 Collegiate National Championships March 23-25 in AnnArbor, Mich. The Buckeyes will be looking for theirfifth-consecutive national championship. The women’s tennis teamcontinues its 10-match road trip this week, making a southern swingafter splitting the first two matches. The Buckeyes (5-3, 1-0 BigTen) face No. 20 ranked Kentucky today at 3 p.m. in Lexington, Ky.,then travel to tangle with Auburn at 12 p.m. Saturday in Auburn,Ala., before finishing up with a match against Georgia Tech at 10a.m. Sunday in Atlanta, Ga. The Buckeyes are led by No. 43 LindsayWilliams (Sr., Beverly Hills, Mich./Birmingham Groves), who is 5-3playing No. 1 singles in the spring, and Kristin Messmer (Fr.,Lutherville, Md./McDonogh), who leads the team with a 7-1 dualsingles record and 15 wins overall. In doubles, seniors Erica Fisk(Indianapolis, Ind./Pike) and Jackie Leskovar (Cambridge,Ontario/N.C. State) lead the team with a 5-2 record at the No. 1position. The No. 3 women’s basketball team (20-9; 11-5 Big Ten)beat No. 6 Minnesota, 58-50, Friday night in the quarterfinals ofthe 2004 Big Ten Tournament at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.Junior shooting guard Caity Matter led the Buckeyes with agame-high 24 points and freshman center Jessica Davenport added 10points, five blocked shots and a team-high five rebounds. TheBuckeyes lost to No. 2 Purdue (26-3; 14-2 Big Ten), 67-61, Sundaynight in the semifinals. Senior forward LaToya Turner led theBuckeyes with 14 points, Davenport added 13 points and junior guardBeth Howe netted a career-best 10 points off a 5-of-6 stroke fromthe field. The wrestling team closed the 2004 Big Ten WrestlingChampionships Sunday at St. John Arena as Iowa was crowned teamchampion for the first time in four seasons. Individualtitle-winners were crowned as well, as HWT Tommy Rowlands of thehost Buckeyes recorded his second career conference championshipwith a tight 5-4 decision over Penn State’s Pat Cummins. As a team,the Buckeyes finished in eighth place with 74.0 team points.
Fellow senior John Clark advanced to the finals at 165 pounds, but fell via major decision to claim runner-up in the conference for the second time in his career. With his finish, Clark gained his fourth bid to compete at the national tournament.
Three additional Buckeyes scored placing performances which merited trips to the NCAA championships. Senior Jeff Ratliff placed fourth at 149 pounds, while fellow senior Blake Kaplan took sixth at 184. Freshman J.D. Bergam rounded out the placing marks for Ohio State with a fifth-place finish at 197.
The five qualifiers will travel to the 2004 NCAA Championships March 18-20 at the Savvis Center in St. Louis.
The men’s basketball team opens play in the 2004 Big TenTournament at noon Thursday against Indiana in Indianapolis. TheBuckeyes have made back-to-back appearances in the league’spostseason title game, winning the title in 2002 and finishingsecond a year ago; the 2002 title was won in Indianapolis. Leadingthe Buckeyes will be senior Velimir Radinovic, who was selected tothe 2004 All-Big Ten Third Team by the Big Ten coaches and was anhonorable mention selection by the league’s media. Radinovic ledthe Big Ten in field goal shooting percentage in all games (.652)and in Big Ten only contests (.644). The Buckeyes split the seasonseries with Indiana this year with each team winning on its homecourt. Radinovic and sophomore Terence Dials combined to score 39points vs. the Hoosiers in the most recent meeting at Indiana, a59-56 Ohio State victory. The baseball team (3-6, 0-0 Big Ten) willplay three games this weekend at Stanky Field in Mobile, Ala. TheBuckeyes will play McNeese State at 3:30 p.m. Friday and then meethost South Alabama at 3:30 p.m. Saturday. Ohio State will close thetournament with a noon start Sunday against Winthrop. Both McNeeseState and South Alabama played in the 2003 NCAA Tournament. Thosetwo games will be the fourth and fifth of 13 total games Ohio Stateis scheduled to play against teams that reached postseason a yearago. Second baseman and preseason All-American Drew Anderson leadsthe Buckeyes with a .389 batting average. The junior is also thetop Buckeye with 14 hits, five doubles and a slugging percentage of.611. He is a perfect 4-for-4 in stolen bases. Outfielder SteveCaravati is second on the team with a .286 batting average and 10hits. He leads the team with two home runs and is tied for the teamlead with Mike Rabin with six runs batted in. After a two weekhiatus, the No. 6 men’s gymnastics team will close out the regularseason when it travels to Ann Arbor, Mich., to face No. 7 Michigan.The Buckeyes have a 33-32-0 advantage over the Wolverines. Lastseason OSU defeated Michigan, 221.2-214.35, in the regular seasonfinale. The women’s gymnastics team (7-6-1, 0-2-1 Big Ten) willtravel to Ypsilanti, Mich., Saturday for a quad-meet against theEastern Michigan Eagles, the Michigan State Spartans and theSoutheast Missouri State Otahks to close out the regular season.The meet is set to begin at 7 p.m. 15th-ranked men’s volleyball(11-6 overall, 5-3 Midwestern Intercollegiate VolleyballAssociation) upset No. 10 Penn State 3-0 (30-25, 30-23, 30-28) lastWednesday and won at Quincy, 3-0 (32-30, 30-26, 30-25). Andy Colewas named the MIVA Player of the Week for his play in the twomatches. He was the top point scorer for Ohio State in both matchesscoring 17.5 and 15.5 points, respectively. Cole had 15 kills andMike Wauligman added 10 against the Nittany Lions. In the Quincymatch, Cole had a team-high 13 kills with Adam Pedersen and ScottSpurlock adding nine each. Pedersen’s nine assist blocks on theweek moved him to third on the OSU career total blocks list with391 (27 solos and 364 assist blocks).Ohio State closed out the homestand with a 7 p.m. Friday match against St. Francis (Pa.) in St.John Arena. 19th-ranked women’s lacrosse (1-2 overall, 0-1 AmericanLacrosse Conference) dropped a 9-6 home opening loss to No. 20Northwestern last Sunday. Six different Buckeyes scored for OSU inthe contest. They included Amy Tulk, Regina Oliver, Ashley Evans,Brandie Williams, Natale Miller and Melissa Sands. OSU’s KimHastings took the loss in goal, playing the first half andrecording six saves. Taryn Bowen played the second half in goal andrecorded one save. The Buckeyes continue conference play at JohnsHopkins (2-0) Sunday at noon. The men’s golf team concluded play atthe 2004 St. Croix Collegiate Classic Sunday. The Buckeyes finishedthe event just two strokes behind team champion Fresno State with athree round total of 880 and placed third to post their fourth Top5 finish of the 2003-04 season. The event was held at the par 72,6,809-yard Carambola Golf Club in St. Croix, Virgin Islands. ZachDoran (Sr., Dublin, Ohio/Columbus Academy) tied for fourth as heconcluded the tournament on a high note, firing a season-best 66for a three-round total of 216. The fencing team placed firstoverall with 1030 points at the 2004 Midwest ConferenceChampionships in South Bend, Ind. The men’s squad, who combined for540 points, edged out top-ranked Notre Dame (475) by 65 points. Onthe women’s side, the Buckeyes topped the Fighting Irish (485) byjust five points and Northwestern (475) by 15. Ohio State’sperformance in the competition led them to a combined overall firstplace finish.
The Buckeyes are back in action March 13 at the Regional Championship in Evanston, Ill. Ohio State will wrap up season play March 25-28 at the NCAA Championship hosted by Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass.
The No. 14 men’s tennis team, 9-2 overall, hits the road thisweekend to its first Big Ten match of the season. The Buckeyestravel to face Penn State March 14 in State College, Pa. Match timeis scheduled for noon. Last season, the Buckeyes shut out theNittany Lions, 7-0.
Ohio State Athletics Schedule
Wednesday, March 10-Sunday, March 14
All Times Eastern
Thursday, March 11
Men’s Basketball vs. Indiana, Noon
Big Ten Tournament
Indianapolis, Ind.
Friday, March 12
Softball vs. North Carolina A&T, 10 a.m.
Softball vs. Winthrop, 8 p.m.
Winthrop Invitational
Rock Hill, S.C.
Baseball vs. McNeese State, 3:30 p.m.
19th annual Coca-Cola Classic
Mobile, Ala.
Men’s Volleyball vs. St. Francis, 7 p.m.
St. John Arena
Men’s Hockey vs. Bowling Green, 7:05 p.m.
CCHA Tournament First Round (Best-of-three)
Value City Arena
Track at NCAA Indoor Championships
Fayetteville, Ark.
Women’s Ice Hockey vs. Minnesota State, 5:05 p.m.
WCHA Final Five
Minneapolis, Minn.
Men’s Diving at NCAA Zone C Regional Qualifier
Bloomington, Ind.
Saturday, March 13
Men’s Lacrosse vs. Drexel, Noon
Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium
Women’s Tennis at Auburn, Noon
Auburn, Ala.
Softball vs. North Carolina State, 2 p.m.
Softball vs. Furman, 6 p.m.
Winthrop Invitational
Rock Hill, S.C.
Baseball vs. South Alabama, 3:30 p.m.
19th Annual Coca-Cola Classic
Mobile, Ala.
Men’s Gymnastics at Michigan, 7 p.m.
Ann Arbor, Mich.
Men’s Hockey vs. Bowling Green, 7:05 p.m.
CCHA Tournament First Round (Best-of-three)
Value City Arena
Women’s Gymnastics at Eastern Michigan, vs. Michigan State and Southeast Missouri State, 7 p.m.
Ypsilanti, Mich.
Men’s Diving at NCAA Zone C Regional Qualifier
Bloomington, Ind.
Track at NCAA Indoor Championships
Fayetteville, Ark.
Women’s Ice Hockey vs. Minnesota, 5:05 p.m.
WCHA Final Five
Minneapolis, Minn.
Sunday, March 14
Women’s Tennis at Georgia Tech, 10 a.m.
Atlanta, Ga.
Men’s Tennis at Penn State, Noon
State College, Pa.
Women’s Lacrosse at Johns Hopkins, Noon
Baltimore, Md.
Baseball vs. Winthrop, Noon
19th Annual Coca-Cola Classic
Mobile, Ala.
Women’s Ice Hockey vs. TBA, TBA
WCHA Final Five
Minneapolis, Minn.
Men’s Hockey vs. Bowling Green, 7:05 p.m. (If needed)
CCHA Tournament First Round (Best-of-three)
Value City Arena
Softball vs. TBA, TBA
Winthrop Invitational
Rock Hill, S.C.
Men’s Diving at NCAA Zone C Regional Qualifier
Bloomington, Ind.
