Athletics Good Stuff – Ohio State Buckeyes
4/28/2004 12:00:00 AM | General
April 28, 2004
Athletes of the Week
Dan Taylor, a thrower on the track and field team, defended his2003 titles in both the hammer throw and shot put championships ofAmerica events last weekend at the 2004 Penn Relay Carnival inPhiladelphia, Pa. The victories helped Taylor claim outstandingmale athlete of the event honors for the second consecutive seasonand his seventh Big Ten Male Athlete of the Week accolade in 2004.The reigning NCAA champion in the indoor weight throw and shot putbecame the first to win both the hammer and shot put events inback-to-back seasons in the 110-year history of the carnival.
Taylor, a product of Berkshire High School and native of Middlefield, Ohio, heaved a throw of 66 feet, 7 l inches (66-7.75) to repeat as shot put champion Friday. After placing third in the discus at 176-10 to complete action Friday, Taylor succeeded in defending his hammer crown with a hoist of 221-2 in his final attempt of the competition Saturday afternoon. Taylor is the first to repeat as male athlete of the meet since the 2000 and 2001 carnivals. In 2003, Taylor claimed the hammer and shot titles with marks of 209-8 and 65-0.50, respectively, to gain his first athlete of the meet honor.
Senior golfer Allison Hanna was named Big Ten player of theyear following the 2004 Big Ten Championships last weekend on theScarlet Course in Columbus. Hanna also earned her third first teamAll-Big Ten honors. She finished second individually in the Big Tenchampionships with a score of 292 in four rounds of competition andled the Buckeyes to their third-consecutive conference crown.Hanna’s six Top 5 finishes this season leads the squad.
Athletics Good Stuff
The top-seeded Ohio State (21-8 overall) men’s volleyball team,by defeating Quincy, 3-0 (30-27, 30-23, 30-19) in the MidwesternIntercollegiate Volleyball Association Tournament quarterfinals,advanced to the tournament semifinals and will face fifth-seedLewis (17-13) in the second semifinal match Friday (7:30 p.m. ET or30 minutes after the completion of the first semifinal).Second-seed Ball State (21-8) will face third-seed Loyola (20-7) inthe first semifinal beginning at 5 p.m. ET Friday. The semifinalwinners will return Saturday at 7:05 p.m. ET to play for the MIVATournament Championship and the MIVA automatic bid to the NCAAChampionship semifinals, Thursday, May 6 at Hawaii. The MIVATournament Championship match will be telecast live by CollegeSports Television. Krista Blunk and Carter Blackburn will call theaction for CSTV.
Scott Spurlock, a 6-10 junior middle hitter (Stow, Ohio/Stow-Munroe High School) for ninth-ranked Ohio State (21-8), was chosen as the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association Player of the Week. Spurlock had nine kills, hit .571 and added a dig and a match-high 10 total blocks (one solo, nine assists) in Ohio State’s 3-0 (30-27, 30-23, 30-19) victory over Quincy in the MIVA Tournament Quarterfinals. His 10 total blocks marked the third time this season he recorded 10 or more blocks in a match. Spurlock equaled an OSU match record with 13 assist blocks at Lewis (3/1/04) and had 10 assist blocks two weeks ago against Ball State (4/16/04). His nine assist blocks against Quincy gives him 126 this season and moves him from a tie for 10th in OSU season assist blocks to a tie for sixth on the list (tied with David Frette, 1991). Spurlock leads Ohio State in hitting percentage at .419 and is the team leader in blocks per game at 1.40 with seven solos and 126 assists.
The women’s golf team shot 293 Sunday in the final round of the2004 Big Ten Championships to claim its third-consecutiveconference crown. The Buckeyes finished with a score of 1,999, 17strokes ahead of second-place Indiana (1,216). Ohio State’sthree-consecutive championships tied a conference record also heldby OSU. The Buckeyes won three titles from 1983-85. Buckeye seniorAllison Hanna finished second on the individual leaderboard with ascore of 292. Hanna fired a round of 73 (+1) on her final day ofcompetition on the Scarlet Course. Her second-place finish marksthe sixth time this season she has place in the Top 5. JuniorKristen White finished the final round with a 73 to move from fifthto third place on the final day. White totaled a mark of 296 forthe tournament. Ohio State sophomores Allyson Harvie tied for 17thwith a score of 310 and Jennifer Selfinger tied for 21st with amark of 314.
Hanna was named the 2004 Big Ten player of the year Sunday following the final round of the Big Ten Championships in Columbus. Additionally, Hanna and White were named First Team All-Big Ten. It marked the third career honor for Hanna and the second for White. Lindsay Knowlton earned Second Team All-Big Ten honors. It was the second award for Knowlton.
The Buckeyes will compete in the 2004 NCAA West Regional May 6-8 in Stanford, Calif., the NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Committee announced Monday. The event will be held at the par 72 Stanford Golf Course (6,154 yards). It is the second-consecutive year the Buckeyes have been sent to the West regional. Twenty-one teams and three individuals will compete in the West regional, including seven squads who are ranked in the latest Golfweek/Sagarin performance index. The Top 8 teams and two individuals from each of the three regionals will move on to compete in the 2004 NCAA Championships held May 18-21 in Auburn, Ala.
The No. 6/7 men’s lacrosse team beat Air Force (9-2) and Denver(9-8 OT) to clinch at least a share of the Great Western LacrosseLeague title and earned the league’s automatic bid into the NCAAtournament for the second year in a row. The Buckeyes, who lead thenation in team defense, bring a national-best 10 game-winningstreak into their noon game at Fairfield Saturday in Fairfield,Conn. A win over the Stags would give the Buckeyes the outrightGWLL title. Senior goalie Tony Russo needs three saves to becomethe Buckeyes’ all-time leader in career saves. Russo enters theweekend with 608 saves, two shy of Jim Hartnett’s career mark of610, set from 1979-81. The No. 1 rowing team begins postseasoncompetition at the 2004 Big Ten Championships Saturday on LakeMacBride in Iowa City, Iowa. The morning races begin at 9 a.m. withthe second novice eight preliminary heats. The finals sessionstarts are noon. The Buckeyes are looking to clinch their secondBig Ten title in the five-year history of the event. The No. 20men’s tennis team defeated conference opponents Iowa and No. 35Minnesota in weekend play. The Buckeyes shut out the Hawkeyes, 7-0,and defeated the Gophers, 5-2, in the regular season closer. OhioState snapped Minnesota’s seven-match win streak and finishedsecond in the Big Ten Conference behind No. 1 Illinois. With thewins, the Buckeye squad improved to 21-3 overall and 9-1 in Big Tenplay. Next up, Ohio State competes at the Big Ten Tournament April29 through May 2 in East Lansing, Mich. Last season, the Buckeyesplaced third in tournament action behind Illinois and Minnesota.The women’s tennis team posted two wins on the weekend, toppingboth Iowa and Minnesota, 5-2. The team heads to Evanston, Ill., forthe Big Ten tournament this weekend. The No. 6-seed Buckeyes openplay against No. 11-seed Penn State at 11 a.m. Thursday. Thetournament continues through Sunday, with the winner earning theconference’s automatic bid into the NCAA tournament. The baseballteam fell to 19-17 on the season and 9-7 at the midway mark of theBig Ten schedule after going 2-3 last week, beating Wright State13-4 last Wednesday before losing three of four games at home toMichigan this past weekend. Drew Anderson led the Buckeyes in thefive games last week with a .444 batting average (8-for-18). He hadfour doubles and scored four runs with one RBI. The leading RBI guyin the five games was Jedidiah Stephen who had five hits, includinga double, to bat in five runs. Steve Caravati, who leads the teamwith a .343 batting average, hit a double and two home runs toknock in four from his six total hits. He scored seven runs inbatting .375 for the week. Mike Rabin was 6-for-18 (.333) with twoRBI. Ohio State will play host to Bowling Green at Bill DavisStadium Wednesday at 6:35 p.m. before heading to Bloomington, Ind.this weekend for four games against Indiana at Sembower Field. Theteams will play a single game at 4:05 p.m. (EDT) Friday followed bya doubleheader Saturday at 2:05 p.m. (EDT) and a single game Sundayat 2:05 p.m. (EDT). The next home game will be May 5 againstDetroit at 6:35 p.m., which opens an 11-game homestand. The men’sgolf team returns to action Saturday for its final tune-up beforethe Big Ten championships as they compete in the 2004 Bruce FossumInvitational. The three-round event begins at 8:30 a.m. with teamscompeting in 36 holes on Saturday and 18 holes on Sunday. Thetournament will be held at the par 72, 7,013 yard Forest Akers WestCourse in East Lansing, Mich. The Buckeyes will be gunning fortheir unprecedented seventh Top 5 finish of the 2003-04 season. TheBuckeyes are led by senior Kevin Hall, the two-time Big Ten Golferof the Week leads the team in rounds played and overall average.Seniors Joel Brown and Dan Taylor each collected championships ofAmerica titles at the 2004 Penn Relays last weekend inPhiladelphia. Taylor, who eventually was named outstanding maleathlete of the meet for the second straight season, defended his2003 hammer throw and shot put titles with marks of 66-7.75 and221-5, respectively. Brown won his first Penn Relays title with aseason-best 13.60 in the 110-meter hurdles.
In the jump events, junior Rosalind Goodwin used a leap of 19-8.25 to take fourth in the long jump, while a bound of 41-10 also qualified for a fourth-place finish in the triple jump.
Ohio State also performed well in the relay events, highlighted by a season best from the 4×400-meter team that finished fifth in the college division.
Tommy Rowlands, who capped the most decorated career in OhioState wrestling with his second NCAA heavyweight title in March,will continue his preparation for a run at the Athens Olympic gamesas a competitor in the 2004 Pan American Championships May 6-7 inGuatemala City, Guatemala. Rowlands, who recently qualified for the2004 United States Olympic Trials with a fourth-place finish at theU.S. Open in April, will wrestle at the 211-pound weight class. Thesoftball team split with both Illinois and Iowa last weekend in BigTen action. The Buckeyes, who are 29-20 overall and 5-9 in Big Tenplay, beat Illinois 1-0 Friday night before falling to the FightingIllini 1-0 Saturday morning. In game one on Sunday, Iowa had a 3-0lead heading into the seventh, but Ohio State rallied to send thegame into extra innings and eventually used an Ashley Cutcliffhomerun in the top of the ninth to account for the go-ahead run.the Buckeyes eventually won, 5-3, over the Hawkeyes. The Buckeyesdropped game two, 4-0, at Pearl Field in Iowa City. Tuesday is thefinal regular-season home game for the Buckeyes as they play hostto the Wright State Raiders at 7 p.m. at Buckeye Field. Purdue andIndiana are on the conference slate for this weekend’s Big Tengames. The Buckeyes and the Boilermakers will play at 5 p.m. EDTFriday and at 1 p.m. Saturday before Ohio State faces the Hoosiersin a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. Sunday in Bloomington.
The 2004 senior class of P/1B Kristi DeVries, 3B Breana Pozzi and 1B/DP Beth McAbier has been a part of 156 victories while wearing scarlet and gray, which is one win shy of tying the Ohio State record of 157 wins collected by the senior class of 2003.
The synchronized swimming team was honored Wednesday by the Ohio House of Representatives for winning their fifth-consecutive collegiate national championship in March. Buckeye assistant coach Holly Vargo-Brown accepted the official resolution on the squad’s behalf. The Buckeyes will conclude their season this week when they head to Stanford, Calif., to compete in the 2004 U.S. National Championships. Competition begins Thursday and will wrap up Saturday.
Last week the women’s lacrosse team lost 13-10 to Penn State and defeated Lafayette 18-1. Caroline Weatherill had a team-high six goals, tying her career high, against Penn State. She scored a team-high three goals against Lafayette, one of 12 Buckeyes to score goals against the Leopards. Regina Oliver collected a total of seven ground balls (4 vs. Penn State and 3 vs. Lafayette) to give her 164 for her career and make her the OSU career leader. Ohio State closes out the home season with a Wednesday contest against Duquesne.
Ohio State Athletics Schedule
Wednesday, April 27 – Sunday, May 2
All Times Eastern
Tuesday, April 27
Softball vs. Wright State
7:00 PM – Buckeye Field, Columbus, Ohio
Wednesday, April 28
Baseball vs. Bowling Green
6:35 PM – Bill Davis Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
Women’s Lacrosse vs. Duquesne
6 p.m. – Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
Thursday, April 29
Synchronized Swimming at 2004 U.S. National Championships
Palo Alto, Calif.
Women’s Tennis vs. Penn State
Big Ten Championship
11 a.m. – Evanston, Ill.
Friday, April 30
Men’s Tennis vs. Wisconsin or Penn State
Big Ten Championship
10 a.m. – East Lansing, Mich.
Track Jesse Owens Classic
4 p.m. – Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium
Softball at Purdue
5 p.m. – West Lafayette, Ind.
Baseball at Indiana
5:05 p.m. – Bloomington, Ind.
Men’s Volleyball vs. Lewis
MIVA Semifinals
7:30 p.m. – St. John Arena, Columbus, Ohio
Women’s Tennis vs. Illinois
Big Ten Championship
Noon – Evanston, Ill.
Synchronized Swimming at 2004 U.S. National Championships
Palo Alto, Calif.
Saturday, May 1
Track Jesse Owens Classic
10 a.m. – Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium
Men’s Lacrosse at Fairfield
Noon – Fairfield, Conn.
Softball at Purdue
1 p.m. – West Lafayette, Ind.
Men’s Tennis at Big Ten Championship
2 p.m. – East Lansing, Mich.
Baseball at Indiana
2:05 and 5:05 p.m. – Bloomington, Ind.
Men’s Volleyball vs. Ball State/Loyola
MIVA Championship
7:05 p.m. – St. John Arena, Columbus, Ohio
Rowing at Big Ten Championships
Iowa City, Iowa
Women’s Tennis at Big Ten Championship
Evanston, Ill.
Synchronized Swimming at 2004 U.S. National Championships
Palo Alto, Calif.
Men’s Golf at Fossum Invitational
East Lansing, Mich.
Sunday, May 2
Softball at Indiana
1 and 3 p.m. – Bloomington, Ind.
Men’s Tennis at Big Ten Championship
2 p.m. – East Lansing, Mich.
Women’s Tennis at Big Ten Championship
Evanston, Ill.
Men’s Golf at Fossum Invitational
East Lansing, Mich.
Baseball at Indiana
2:05 p.m. – Bloomington, Ind.
