Athletics Good Stuff – Ohio State Buckeyes
11/30/2005 12:00:00 AM | General
Nov. 30, 2005
Athletes of the Week
Nicole Britenriker was the women’s volleyball team’s top scorerin both weekend matches with 17.5 points at Michigan and 19.5 atMichigan State. She posted a team-high 14 total blocks (1.75 pergame) including a career-high eight (one solo, seven assists) atMichigan State. Since mid-October Britenriker has played in theback row producing results for Ohio State. Last week she had atotal of 20 digs for a 2.50 digs per game average collecting eightagainst Michigan and 12 against Michigan State. Sophomore men’shockey forward Domenic Maiani had a team-best four points, on twogoals and two assists, in the Buckeyes’ series sweep of the Irish.Friday, Maiani ended a seven-game scoreless streak with an assist.Saturday, he had two goals and an assist, including the gamewinningtally, tying his career best with three points. He was named thefirst star of the game Saturday.
Athletics Good Stuff
Women’s volleyball (21-8) closed out the regular season withroad victories at Michigan (3-0) and Michigan State (3-2). TheBuckeyes finish Big Ten play at 14-6 in a two-way tie for thirdplace. Nicole Britenriker had 17.5 points and Danielle Meyer andAmi Stevens each contributed 14 in the win at Michigan. Britenrikerhad a team-high 19.5 points at Michigan State with Stevens adding18 and Marisa Main 16.
Ohio State was an at-large selection to the NCAA Championship and will host first and second round matches this weekend. Ohio (31-2) plays Alabama (23-10) in the first match Friday at 5 p.m. Ohio State hosts Marshall (26-5) at 7:30 p.m. The Friday winners will play Saturday at 7 p.m. for a berth in the Palo Alto regional.
Setter Main (Jr., Louisville, Ky.) and middle blocker Meyer (So., Cincinnati, Ohio) were named to the 13-player All-Big Ten team that was selected by a vote of the conference coaches.
The women’s basketball team won its fifth consecutive BuckeyeClassic team title Sunday with a 75-36 victory against WesternIllinois and a 94-35 triumph over Nicholls State Saturday in St.John Arena. Jessica Davenport was named Buckeye Classic MostValuable Player for the second year in a row after scoring 38points and grabbing 21 rebounds in the two games.
Brandie Hoskins and Debbie Merrill joined Davenport on the all-tourney team as they helped the Buckeyes connect on 65 percent of their field goal attempts against Nicholls State and and even 50 percent in the championship game win over Western Illinois.
Ohio State took commanding early leads in both games, jumping ahead 17-2 over Nicholls State and 15-2 vs. Western Illinois. The Buckeyes held Nicholls State without a made field goal for more than 16 minutes in the first half and held a 54-7 advantage several minutes into the second period as they cruised to the semifinal victory. Against Western Illinois, a 19-0 Buckeye run to close the first half led to a 38-13 margin at the break and 56 percent shooting in the second half led to the lopsided win.
A pair of Buckeyes reached all-time career milestones last weekend, Davenport became just the second Ohio State player to record 200 blocked shots in her career and senior guard Kim Wilburn surpassed Averill Roberts (1990-93) for second place in career steals.
The Buckeyes return to Value City Arena Wednesday to play Dayton at 7 p.m. and travel to Boston College for the first road game of the season Saturday at 2 p.m.
The men’s and women’s gymnastics teams get their seasonunderway at 2 p.m. Sunday in St. John Arena with the annual mixedpairs championship. The intrasquad exhibition meet will featureeight mixed pairs on three events each in addition to severalindividual performances by OSU women. The wrestling team returns toaction Friday and Saturday at the 24th Annual Cliff Keen Las VegasCollegiate Wrestling Invitational. The event, held at the CashmanCenter in Las Vegas, is the second of two tournaments for theBuckeyes before they open their dual meet schedule vs. Missouri at2 p.m. Dec. 11. The men’s and women’s swimming and diving teamswill play host to The Ohio State University Swimming and DivingInvitational this weekend at the new Bill and Mae McCorkle AquaticPavilion. Joining the Ohio State men’s team at the meet, include:Iowa, Kenyon, Michigan State, Minnesota and Penn State, while theOhio State women will be joined by Bowling Green, Illinois, Iowa,Michigan State, Minnesota and Penn State. Additionally, divers fromArizona State, Florida and Miami (Fla.) will be competing in theinvitational. For a complete schedule of the three-day meet, pleasevisit ohiostatebuckeyes.com. The men’s hockey team extended itswinning streak to five with a two-game sweep at Notre Dame. Friday,10 Buckeyes posted at least one point, with Kyle Hood recording ateam-best two, as Ohio State won, 4-1. Saturday, Domenic Maiani andRod Pelley each had three points in the Buckeyes’ 5-2 victory. Theseries ended CCHA play for the Buckeyes until Jan. 6-7.
The Buckeyes open up a four-game homestand this weekend when they play host to Alabama-Huntsville for two games. The Buckeyes and Chargers will meet at 7:05 p.m. Friday and Saturday in Value City Arena.
The women’s hockey team split a weekend series at Bemidji StateNov. 25-26 at Glas Fieldhouse in Bemidji, Minn. The Buckeyes wonthe first game by a score of 4-2 before falling in the Saturdaygame, 5-2. OSU holds a 17-8-3 record against the Beavers, but is6-6-2 all-time in Bemidji. Several Buckeyes had multiple points inthe series. Senior Jana Harrigan and freshman Morgan Marziali ledthe team with three points each. Harrigan has two goals and anassist while Marziali collected three helpers. Junior Katie Maroneyhad two goals while classmate Amber Bowman and rookie HayleyKlassen each scored a goal and an assist. Harrigan had two pointsFriday and a goal Saturday to extend her point-streak to ninegames. Starting Oct. 29, the co-captain has scored seven goals andeight assists. She scored a point in every game in November and hadfour multi-point games during the streak. Harrigan, who leads theteam with 21 points, has only three games this season in which shehas not scored a point.
The Buckeyes will not compete next weekend because of finals. Ohio State will then travel to St. Cloud State Dec. 9-10 before not playing the following three weeks. OSU will then open the second-half of the season at Minnesota State Jan. 5-6 for its third series in a row in the state of Minnesota.
Men’s basketball is off to a 3-0 start after a 69-56 win overVirginia Tech Monday in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. The Buckeyes areled by senior center Terence Dials’ 15.3 points a game. ClassmateJe’Kel Foster averages 14.0 points and is connecting on 71 percentof his shots from the field (17-24) and 57 percent from 3-pointrange (8-14) to date. Newcomer Ron Lewis, a junior from Columbus,contributes 13.0 points as well. Senior J.J. Sullinger is OhioState’s top rebounder after three games with an average of 11.3 acontest. The Buckeyes are on a break from competition inpreparation for finals next week. The Buckeyes next travel toPhiladelphia for a nationally televised tilt against St. Joseph’sat the legendary Palestra on Penn’s campus Dec. 10. Gametime is 2p.m. with ESPN carrying the game nationally.
Ohio State Athletics Schedule
Wednesday, Nov. 30-Sunday, Dec. 4
All Times Eastern
Wednesday, Nov. 30
Women’s Basketball vs. Dayton, 7 p.m.
Value City Arena, Columbus
Friday, Dec. 2
Women’s Volleyball NCAA Tournament First Round
Ohio State vs. Marshall, 7:30 p.m.
Ohio vs. Alabama, 5 p.m.
St. John Arena, Columbus, Ohio
Men’s and Women’s Swimming OSU Invitational
McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion, Columbus, Ohio
Men’s Hockey vs. Alabama-Huntsville, 7:05 p.m.
Value City Arena, Columbus, Ohio
Wrestling at Cliff Keen Las Vegas Collegiate Wrestling Invitational
Las Vegas, Nev.
Saturday, Dec. 3
Women’s Volleyball NCAA Tournament Second Round
Ohio State/Marshall winner vs. Ohio/Alabama winner, 7 p.m.
St. John Arena, Columbus, Ohio
Women’s Basketball at Boston College, 2 p.m.
Chestnut Hill, Mass.
Men’s and Women’s Swimming OSU Invitational
McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion, Columbus, Ohio
Men’s Hockey vs. Alabama-Huntsville, 7:05 p.m.
Value City Arena, Columbus, Ohio
Wrestling at Cliff Keen Las Vegas Collegiate Wrestling Invitational
Las Vegas, Nev.
Sunday, Dec. 4
Men’s and Women’s Swimming OSU Invitational
McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion, Columbus, Ohio
Men’s and Women’s Gymnastics Mixed Pairs, 2 p.m.
St. John Arena, Columbus, Ohio
