Athletics Good Stuff – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/30/2004 12:00:00 AM | General
March 30, 2004
Athletes of the Week
The fencing team won its first-ever NCAA National CollegiateFencing Championship Sunday at the Gosman Athletic Center inWaltham, Mass. The Buckeyes outscored second-place Penn State by 34points, 194-160, en route to the national crown. Ohio State postedthe second-highest team total in the five years that the NCAA hascontested events in the six weapons. The Buckeyes won 97 bouts inboth the men’s and women’s competition to reach their total of 194points. Individually, Ohio State sophomore Adam Crompton defendedhis 2003 sabre crown. Crompton defeated Columbia fencer SergeyIsayenko, 15-14, in the title bout. At the 2003 NCAA Championships,Crompton defeated Ivan Lee of St. John’s, 15-13, in the gold medalround to capture Ohio State’s first individual national title sinceYelena Kalkina won the gold medal in women’s foil in 1997. Buckeyefreshman Boaz Ellis went 24-1 in duals to claim his first NCAAtitle in foil. Ellis defeated Yale’s Cory Werk, 15-8, in the titlebout. The synchronized swimming team claimed first place honors atthe 2004 Collegiate National Championships Saturday in Ann Arbor,Mich., marking the fifth consecutive crown for the Buckeyes and24th title in the 28-year history of the event. The Buckeyescaptured first-place finishes in the duet, trio and team events.The freshmen pair of Becky Kim and Kate Hooven earned their firstcollegiate titles with a win in duet, posting a score of 95.667.Sophomores Carly Grimshaw and Chelsea Luker finished third in theevent with a mark of 92.833. Hooven, Kim and junior Lindsay Newbillwon the trio event with a score of 95.667 while Grimshaw, Luker andLauren Marsh took home third with a mark of 93.833.
Athletics Good Stuff
The pistol squad finished third at the NRA IntercollegiatePistol Championship held at Ft. Benning, Georgia. The Buckeyesfinished second in free pistol and third in standard and airpistol. OSU’s Jessica Marshall was the top Buckeye in the openevents finishing third in air pistol. Ohio State finished first inwomen’s air and sport pistol to win the women’s title. Marshallrepeated at champion in both events with Jennifer Trickett takingsecond in sport pistol. Marshall was named a first-teamAll-American in free, air and sport pistol and second team instandard pistol. Trickett was first team in air and sport pistoland second team in free pistol. Bruce Moore was a second teamselection in air pistol. Additionally, OSU head coach Jim Sweeneywas honored with the NRA Distinguished Coach of the Year Award. Thesynchronized swimming team claimed first place honors at the 2004Collegiate National Championships Saturday in Ann Arbor, Mich.,marking the fifth consecutive crown for the Buckeyes and 24th titlein the 28-year history of the event. The Buckeyes capturedfirst-place finishes in the duet, trio and team events. Thefreshmen pair of Becky Kim and Kate Hooven earned their firstcollegiate titles with a win in duet, posting a score of 95.667.Sophomores Carly Grimshaw and Chelsea Luker finished third in theevent with a mark of 92.833. Hooven, Kim and junior Lindsay Newbillwon the trio event with a score of 95.667 while Grimshaw, Luker andLauren Marsh took home third with a mark of 93.833.
The Buckeyes also finished in the top spot of the team competition. The ‘A’ team garnered first place with a score of 98.167. The ‘B’ team also had a nice showing, earning a respectable fourth-place finish with a mark of 95.167. All of the Buckeye routines qualified for the U.S. National Championships held April 23-25 in Palo Alto, Calif. The U.S. Nationals represent the top synchronized swimming programs from all levels of competition.
Newbill, Kim and Hooven were named 2004 All-Americans following the Collegiate National Championships. The honor marked the second for Newbill and the first for Kim and Hooven. The honor is awarded to the Top 14 individual finishers, including ties, who are United States citizens. Grimshaw and Luker, who both have dual citizenship in Canada and Great Britain, earned their second consecutive honorary All-America status. Hooven and Kim were two of three student-athletes in Division I named All-Collegiate. Holly Vargo-Brown, who has taken over the head coaching duties while Linda Witter is on leave with the U.S. National Team, was named the 2004 Collegiate Coach of the Year. In addition, Jessica Beck, Heather Burdick, Katrin Eggenberger, Laura Green, Grimshaw, Valerie Jolibois, Katie Meyer, Megan Mikulecky and Stephanie Raftery earned Academic All-America honors.
The No. 5 men’s gymnastics team will compete at the 2004 NCAAMen’s Gymnastics Championships in Champaign, Ill., Friday, Saturdayand Sunday. It is the Buckeyes record 24-consecutive trip to thenational championships. After finishing second behind 2003 nationalchampion Oklahoma, the Buckeyes look to secure the national titlesince last winning it in 2001. The National Qualifiers will be heldat 2 and 8 p.m. Friday, with the Team and All-Around Finals andIndividual Event Qualifiying at 8 p.m. Saturday and the IndividualEvent Finals at 3 p.m. Sunday. After garnering first team All-BigTen honors at the 2004 Big Ten Championships last Saturday, women’sgymnasts Tiffanie Janke and Elizabeth Meaney qualified for the 2004NCAA Regionals. The event will be held Saturday, April 3, at thePete Maravich Assembly Hall in Baton Rouge. Meaney (Jr., Ashtabula,Ohio), who is making her second appearance at regionals, willcompete as an all-arounder. This season Meaney averaged a 39.450 inthe all-around. Individually Meaney averaged a 9.777 on vault,9.378 on bars, 9.805 on beam and a 9.875 on floor during theregular season. Janke (Sr., Schaumberg, Ill.) is competing in herthird NCAA Regional Championship. She will be competing on vaultand beam. During the regular season Janke was named Big Ten Gymnastof the Week (Feb. 11) and averaged a 9.735 on beam and a team-high9.880 on vault. The No. 9 rowing varsity eight upset No. 1 Brownand No. 3 Princeton to claim the lone OSU win last Saturday on LakeCarnegie in Princeton, N.J. The first varsity eight posted itsfirst victory of the year, outrunning the Princeton top boat by4.63 seconds, finishing the race in 6:26.2 to Princeton’s 6:30.83and Brown’s 6:32.80. For their accomplishment, the varsity eightearned Big Ten Boat of the Week, March 29. Members of the winningboat were Susi Wesenberg (Sr., Rostock, Germany), Ellen Maas (Fr.,Amsterdam, the Netherlands), Amanda Purcell (Jr., Hilliard, Ohio),Ninett Kossowsky (So., Leipzig, Germany), Wilma Dressel (Fr.,Dortmund, Germany), Anna Fago (Fr., Giessen, Germany), DianaAlbrecht (Jr., Dresden, Germany), Tatiana Grigorieva (Sr., Moscow,Russia) and coxswain Ashley Orr (Sr., Dublin, Ohio). This marksjust the second time since 2000 an OSU boat received the Big Tenweekly honor. Ohio State will play host to defending 2003 Big TenChampions No. 2 Michigan at 10 a.m. April 3 at Griggs Reservoir onthe Scioto River in Columbus, Ohio. The No. 6/9 men’s hockey teamended its season with a 1-0 overtime loss to Wisconsin in the NCAAEast Regional semifinal Friday in Albany, N.Y. The squad ended theyear with a 26-16-0 mark, tying the third-highest win total inprogram history, and claimed the CCHA Mason Cup as the CCHA SuperSix champions, the first league title for the squad since 1972. TheNo. 17 men’s lacrosse team extended its winning streak to four winwins over Quinnipiac (14-7), Marist (11-3) and Hartford (16-8) lastweek. The squad, which is third in the country in team defense,opens Great Western Lacrosse League play at 4 p.m. Wednesday whenit travels to South Bend, Ind., to take on Notre Dame. The squadreturns home to play host to No. 8 Duke at 1 p.m. Saturday at NorthTurf Field. The track and field teams concluded their spring tripin Tempe, Ariz. in the Arizona State Invitational. The field eventshighlighted the team performance at ASU’s Sun Angel Stadium asseven Buckeyes posted regional qualifying marks. Leading the waywas two-time indoor NCAA champion Dan Taylor, who broke his ownOhio State record in the discus and recorded top marks in thehammer and shot put. The event also marked the return ofAll-American hurdler Joel Brown, who paced the running events witha winning time in the 110-meter hurdles.
The field events were fueled on the women’s side by senior pole vaulter Becky Heintz, junior jumpers Rosalind Goodwin and Shayla Moore, junior thrower Keturah Lofton and sophomore thrower Amarachi Ukabam, who all recorded Top 3 efforts in their respective events. Goodwin, Lofton, Moore and Ukabam each posted regional qualifiers.
Brown’s return highlighted the running events as he turned in a 13.98 to best the field in the 110-meter hurdles. Another senior helped to pace the Ohio State distance runners as Tamecia Brown clocked a 4:35.21 to take first in the 1,500 meters.
This week, the Buckeyes return to Columbus for the 2004 outdoor home-opening Ohio State Relays. Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium welcomes a field of approximately 12 competing teams to the event, which is set to begin at 11 a.m. Saturday.
The No. 18 men’s tennis team defeated conference foes No. 44Michigan State, 6-1, and No. 41 Michigan, 5-2, March 27 and 28 inColumbus, Ohio. The Buckeyes improved to 13-2 overall and 3-0 inBig Ten play. Ohio State remains undefeated at home with ninevictories in dual match competition. The squad is on a 12-matchhome win streak that dates back to the 2003 season when Ohio Statehanded Purdue a 5-2 decision. Over weekend play, senior JeremyWurtzman, the No. 1 singles player country, recorded his 93rd winin three years as a Buckeye and improved to 117-42 in hiscollegiate career. Wurtzman is tied with former Buckeye Phil Metz(1999-2003) in career singles wins. The OSU tandem of BrentonContini and Dennis Mertens remained undefeated in season dualsafter two wins at the No. 3 doubles spot. Contini and Mertens haveseven victories this season. Next up, the Buckeyes play host toIndiana at noon Saturday, April 3. Weather permitting, the matchwill be held indoors at Jesse Owens West Recreation Center oroutdoors at Stickney Tennis Center. The women’s tennis team split apair of weekend matches, beating Michigan State, 4-3, on Saturdayand falling to No. 20 Michigan, 7-0. Against the Spartans, theBuckeyes won with victories at the Top 4 positions. No. 70 LindsayWilliams (Sr., Beverly Hills, Mich./Birmingham Grove) topped KeriThompson, 6-3, 6-1, at No. 1, while Erica Fisk (Indianapolis,Ind./Pike) used three sets to beat Caroline Lay, 3-6, 6-2, 6-4, atNo. 2. DeCamilla swept Sarah Andrews at the No. 3 position, 6-4,6-2, and senior Lindsey Adams (Sr., Mercer Island, Wash./MercerIsland) earned a three-set victory at No. 4 over Shelly Brady, 3-6,6-0, 6-2, to provide the winning margin for the Buckeyes. Thesoftball team (17-10) opens Big Ten play this weekend as Minnesotaand Wisconsin visit Buckeye Field in Columbus. The Buckeyes andGolden Gophers will meet Friday at 6 p.m. and Saturday at noon,while OSU and the Wolverines will do battle in a double-headerSunday at noon. Ohio State is 3-0 at home this season and is comingoff a spring break trip through central California last week.Senior Kristi DeVries (6-5, 1.62 ERA) and freshman Jamee Juarez(8-4, 1.85 ERA) lead the pitching staff with 74 strikeouts apiece,while offensive leaders include junior Ashley Cutcliff (.462, 2HR), freshman Nycole Koyano (.386, 10 SB) and junior Karisa Evans(.360). Ohio State plays 18 of its next 20 games at home. Thewomen’s golf team finished second Sunday at the Liz MurpheyCollegiate Classic in Athens, Ga. The Buckeyes tallied afinal-round score of 302 one day after recording a season-low 283.The Buckeyes finished the tournament with a mark of 876, 11 strokesbehind first-place and host Georgia, who shot an impressive 285 inthe final round. Ohio State junior Lindsay Knowlton tied for fourthplace individually with a career-low score of 213 (-3). Knowlton’sperformance was sparked by a personal-best mark of 69 to open thetournament. Kristen White tied for ninth place with a score of 218and Allison Hanna tied for 11th with a mark of 219. Ohio Statejumped three spots in the polls and are currently ranked third inthe nation. The Buckeyes return to action April 2-4 at the BryanNational Collegiate in Browns Summit, N.C. The event will mark thefinal competition before the Big Ten Championships come to ColumbusApril 23-25. The baseball team is now 7-9 after going 2-2 on itsannual spring break trip. The Buckeyes beat Rider 8-1, Rutgers 6-4before dropping a pair of games to No. 19 Florida Atlantic, 6-4 and7-6. Three Buckeyes stood out during the trip. Brett Garrard batted.538 (7-for-13) with four runs scored and three RBI, while DerekKinnear batted .462 (6-for-13) with two runs scored and three RBI.Jedidiah Stephen continued to amaze at the plate and is batting.500 (14-of-28) in his last six games after getting only three hitsin his first five games (12 at bats). At .415 (17-of-41), Stephenowns the top batting average on the team and has two doubles, twotriples and two home runs with seven RBI. His .707 sluggingpercentage paces the squad. The Buckeyes open the home portion oftheir schedule this week with a game against Eastern MichiganWednesday at 6:35 p.m. Illinois comes to Bill Davis Stadium thisweekend as both teams begin Big Ten play. The teams will play asingle game Friday at 6:35 p.m. and a doubleheader Saturday at 4:05p.m. before closing the series with another single game Sunday at1:05 p.m.
The Bob Todd weekly radio call-in show begins Tuesday and will continue every Tuesday night for the remainder of the season. Skip Mosic will host the show on Sports Radio 1460 The Fan (WBNS-AM). The program has received mention in Baseball America for its promotion of college baseball. To participate in the program, dial (614) 821-1460.
No. 18 women’s lacrosse (3-5, 0-2) went 1-2 in games playedlast week. OSU defeated Cornell, 14-11, in a game played atNashville, Tenn., behind a six-goal performance by CarolineWeatherill. Amy Tulk, Regina Oliver and Ashley Evans added twogoals each. At the Aeropostale Women’s Lacrosse Challenge hosted byNorth Carolina, OSU lost, 16-8, to No. 14 North Carolina and 14-4to No. 8 Maryland. Noemi Hites had a team-high three goals againstthe Tar Heels with Kelyn Laws adding two. OSU’s Laws, KC Carter,Ashley Evans and Andrea Fischer scored goals against Maryland. No.13 men’s volleyball (14-7, 7-3) lost a 3-0 (30-26, 30-27, 30-25)non-conference match to Findlay last Friday in a match played atTri Valley High School in New Madison, Ohio. OSU’s Andy Cole had ateam-high 15 kills with Mark Greaves adding seven. The Buckeyestravel to face No. 8 Penn State Tuesday and then play conferencematches at Mercyhurst Friday and at Findlay Sunday.
Ohio State Athletics Schedule
Wednesday, March 31 – Sunday, April 4
All Times Eastern
Tuesday, March 30
Men’s Volleyball at Penn St
7:00 PM – State College, Pa.
Wednesday, March 31
Men’s Lacrosse at Notre Dame
4:00 PM – South Bend, Ind.
Baseball vs. Eastern Michigan
6:35 PM – Bill Davis Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
Friday, April 2
Women’s Lacrosse at Virginia Tech
4:00 PM – Blacksburg, Va.
Softball vs. Minnesota
6:00 PM – Buckeye Field, Columbus, Ohio
Baseball vs. Illinois
6:35 PM – Bill Davis Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
Men’s Volleyball at Mercyhurst
7:00 PM – Erie, PA
Women’s Swimming at Grand Prix
TBA – Indianapolis, Ind.
Men’s Gymnastics at NCAA Championships
2/8 p.m. – Champaign, Ill.
Women’s Golf at Bryan National Collegiate
All Day – Greensboro, N.C.
Saturday, April 3
Women’s Tennis at Indiana
10:00 AM – Bloomington, Ind.
Women’s Rowing vs. Michigan
10:00 AM – Griggs Reservoir, Columbus, Ohio
Track Ohio State Relays
11:00 AM – Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
Softball vs. Minnesota
12:00 PM – Buckeye Field, Columbus, Ohio
Men’s Tennis vs. Indiana
12:00 PM – Stickney Tennis Center, Columbus, Ohio
Men’s Lacrosse vs. Duke
1:00 PM – North Turf Field, Columbus, Ohio
Baseball vs. Illinois
4:05 PM – Bill Davis Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
Women’s Gymnastics at NCAA Regionals
6:00 PM – Baton Rouge, La.
Baseball vs. Illinois
7:05 PM – Bill Davis Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
Men’s Gymnastics at NCAA Championships
7 p.m. – Champaign, Ill.
Women’s Swimming at Grand Prix
TBA – Indianapolis, Ind.
Women’s Golf at Bryan National Collegiate
All Day – Greensboro, N.C.
Sunday April 4
Softball vs. Wisconsin
12:00 PM – Buckeye Field, Columbus, Ohio
Women’s Lacrosse vs. Davidson
1:00 PM – Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
Baseball vs. Illinois
1:05 PM – Bill Davis Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
Softball vs. Wisconsin
2:00 PM – Buckeye Field, Columbus, Ohio
Men’s Volleyball at Findlay
4:00 PM – Findlay, Ohio
Men’s Gymnastics at NCAA Championships
3 p.m. – Champaign, Ill.
Women’s Swimming at Grand Prix
TBA – Indianapolis, Ind.
Women’s Golf at Bryan National Collegiate
All Day – Greensboro, N.C.
