Athletics Good Stuff – Ohio State Buckeyes
6/3/2004 12:00:00 AM | General
June 3, 2004
Athletes of the Week
Joel Brown, a sprinter/hurdler on the track and field team,earned bids to the 2004 NCAA Championships with Top 5 performancesin the 110-meter hurdles and the 200-meter dash last Saturday atthe Mideast regional meet in Baton Rouge, La. Brown gained hisfirst automatic berth to the national meet by winning the 110-meterhurdles regional championship, blistering a time of 13.39 to edgeDavid Payne of Cincinnati at the finish line. His time in the110-meter event would have set Ohio State and Mideast regionalrecords, but the wind-reading of positive 4.6 meters-per-secondexceeded the 2.0 mps limit allowable for a school and regionalstandard. Brown did establish the Ohio State record in thepreliminary heats Friday, clocking the top time in his flight at13.45.
In the finals of the 200-meter dash, Brown cruised to his second national qualifier, taking fifth place in a time of 20.65, which was just .01 off his season-best mark of 20.64.
Brown will lead a contingent of nine Buckeyes to the 2004 NCAA Championships June 9-12 at the University of Texas at Austin.
Senior Tatiana Grigorieva led the rowing team to aneighth-place finish overall and the first varsity eight to afifth-place finish at the 2004 NCAA Championships in Sacramento,Calif. Grigorieva, who sits in the stroke seat, guided the varsityeight to a first-place finish in their preliminary heat Friday. Theboat went on to finish third in the semifinals, before ending theirseason fifth in the nation. The Moscow, Russia, native alsoreceived her second regional honor as she was named to the 2004All-Central Region First Team.
Athletics Good Stuff
The rowing team finished its season with an eighth-placefinish, scoring 33 points overall Sunday at the 2004 NCAAChampionships at the CSUS Aquatic Center in Sacramento, Calif. TheBuckeyes’ first varsity eight clinched a fifth-place nationalfinish, while the first varsity four and second varsity eightgarnered sixth and 12th, respectively. The four boat set a programrecord in the preliminary heats Friday by finishing first in theirheat to automatically advance to the Grand Finals. Brown won theteam championship with 70 points, followed by Yale (58) andMichigan (52). Ohio State’s eighth-place team finish is theBuckeyes’ third best in the program history.
Members of the first varsity eight include Susi Wesenberg (Rostock Germany), Ellen Mass (Amsterdam, The Netherlands), Amanda Purcell (Hilliard, Ohio), Ninnett Kossowsky (Leipzig, Germany), Wilma Dressel (Dortmund, Germany), Diana Albrecht (Dresden, Germany), Annabelle Fago (Giessen, Germany), Tatiana Grigorieva (Moscow, Russia) and Ashley Orr (Dublin, Ohio).
Members of the second varsity eight include Susan Cohen (Milford, Conn.), Maggie Kathman (Lakeside Park, Ky.), Liz Tuppen (Buffalo, N.Y.), Beth Tompkins (Westerville, Ohio), Meredith Corley (Alexandria, Va.), Franziska Schubert (Dresden, Germany), Devin Walsh (Lakewood, Ohio), Amanda Spires (Nutley, N.J.) and Laureen Ellison (Edgewood, Ky.).
Members of the first varsity four include Christen Opperman (Centerville, Ohio), Natalie Legge (Sydney, Australia), Jana Schiller (Potsdam, Germany), Jessica Shepherd (Richwood, Ohio) and Sarah Obee (Toledo, Ohio).
Baseball finished second in the Big Ten conference tournamentand was shut out of the NCAA tournament for the first time since2000. The Buckeyes lost their opening game of the Big Tentournament and then won four in a row to take Minnesota to a secondchampionship game, where they lost 7-3. The loss prevented OhioState from becoming the first conference team to win three straightBig Ten tournament championships. Five Buckeyes were named to theBig Ten All-Tournament team: Ronnie Bourquin, Steve Caravati,Jeffrey Carroll, Jacob Howell and Derek Kinnear. On the first dayof the conference tournament, the Big Ten announced its annualhonors. Caravati was named the Big Ten Player of the Year, whileHowell was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year. A total of sixplayers earned All-Big Ten honors. Joining Caravati on the firstteam was senior pitcher Josh Newman. Howell was joined on thesecond team by junior second baseman Drew Anderson, while juniorpitcher Mike Madsen and freshman relief pitcher Trey Fausnaugh werenamed to the third team. Nine members of the track and field teamgained bids to the 2004 NCAA Outdoor Championships June 9-12 inAustin, Texas with Top 5 finishes at the NCAA Mideast regional meetlast weekend in Baton Rouge, La. A pair of Buckeye seniors claimedregional crowns as thrower Dan Taylor earned the top spot in thehammer Friday, breaking OSU, Big Ten and regional records at 223feet, 8 inches, while hurdler Joel Brown proved to be the class ofthe 110-meter hurdles field in an Ohio State all-time best 13.39(wind-aided) Saturday night.
Taylor and Brown will compete in two events at the national meet as well. Later Saturday, Brown cruised to a fifth-place time in the 200-meter dash. Despite fouling out at regionals, Taylor’s No. 2 national ranking in the shot put allowed a berth in the event at the championships in Austin.
The OSU distance team moved three student-athletes to the NCAA’s. Senior Rob Myers scored runner-up in the men’s 1,500 meters (3:46.51), while juniors Aaron Fisher and Brian Olinger placed second and third in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in times of 8:50.10 and 8:54.95, respectively.
The field events proved to be the highlight for the women as a trio of Buckeyes set Ohio State records in turning in Top 3 performances in a total of five events to move on to the national championships. On Friday, junior Keturah Lofton bested her Buckeye and Big Ten record to place second in the hammer at 204 feet, 7 inches (204-7). Friday also saw junior jumper Rosalind Goodwin and sophomore thrower Amarachi Ukabam grab the first of two event bids as Goodwin reached 20-6.75 to take third in the long jump, while Ukabam heaved a season-best 181-9 to add another third place in the discus. The pair improved Saturday as Goodwin topped her own OSU record to take runner-up in the triple jump at 43-7.75. Ukabam also snapped her own shot put record, reaching 54-7.50 to take third. Senior hurdler Molly Logan gained a bid to nationals with her season-best time of 13.27 set April 23.
Overall, the Ohio State men placed fourth in the team standings with 48 points. The women, who owned the No. 1 spot after five events Friday, finished seventh at 34 points.
Heading to the NCAA meet, Brown and Fisher own top times in their respective events in the national lists, while Taylor and Myers each sit in the Top 5 of their events.
Senior Jeremy Wurtzman of the men’s tennis team, was named theco-ITA/Farnsworth National Senior Player of the Year by thenational committee May 27. Wurtzman shares the honor with Illinois’Brian Wilson. As the No. 3 seed in the 2004 NCAA SinglesChampionship and advancing to the tournament’s Round of 16,Wurtzman garnered ITA All-America status, the first in programhistory since head coach Ty Tucker in 1991. The 2004 All-AmericaTeam will be announced June 4. Wurtzman fell in the NCAA singlesRound of 16 to Baylor’s Benjamin Becker, 6-1, 7-5, Friday in Tulsa,Okla. Wurtzman, a three-time NCAA singles participant, was thetop-ranked player left in the 64-player field. The No. 1 seedIllinois’ Wilson and the No. 2 seed Baylor’s Benedikt Dorsch bothfell in the opening round on Wednesday. Wurtzman finished hiscollegiate career with a 132-45 overall record including 108 winsin three years at Ohio State. He holds the No. 5 spot in programhistory with 108 victories as a Buckeye. The OSU tandem of JoeyAtas and Wurtzman fell, 6-4, 7-6, in the NCAA doubles Round of 16to the Clemson duo of Jarmaine Jenkins and Nathan Thompson. Atasand Wurtzman, 26-9 overall this season, were the first OSU doublesteam to participate in NCAA competition since 1990. Men’s lacrossesenior defenseman Greg Bice was named a 2004 STX/USILA Second TeamAll-American, while senior goalie Tony Russo and senior midfielderShaun Lyons earned honorable mention All-America accolades, theUnited States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association announcedMonday. This marks the second consecutive year three Buckeyes haveearned All-America accolades. In addition, Bice and Russo wereselected to play in the 63rd annual North/South Classic. The eventwill be held June 12 at Nazareth College in Rochester, N.Y.Softball players Kristi DeVries and Megan Schwab were named membersof the 2004 Big Ten Softball All-Tournament Team, the conferenceannounced today. In the postseason eight-team tournament at theUniversity of Michigan May 13-16, the No. 6-seed Buckeyes upset No.3-seed Iowa, 5-1, before falling to No. 2-seed Illinois, 5-0, inthe semifinals.
Ohio State Athletics Schedule
Wednesday, June 2 – Saturday, June 12
All Times Eastern
Wednesday, June 9
Track and Field at NCAA Championships
Austin, Texas
Thursday, June 10
Track and Field at NCAA Championships
Austin, Texas
Friday, June 11
Track and Field at NCAA Championships
Austin, Texas
Saturday, June 12
Track and Field at NCAA Championships
Austin, Texas
