Athletics Good Stuff – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/10/2005 12:00:00 AM | General
Athletes of the Week
Junior forward Matt Sylvester scored a career-high 25 points,including a dramatic game-winning 3-pointer with 5.1 seconds left,in Ohio State’s thrilling come-from-behind win over No. 1 IllinoisSunday in Columbus. Sylvester played a career-high 34 minutes inthe win, Ohio State’s seventh against a No. 1-ranked team.Sylvester played the entire second half, scoring 14 points over thefinal 20 minutes. Sophomore softball student-athlete Megan Schwabled the Buckeyes to a 6-1 record and runner-up finish last weekendat the Buzz Classic hosted by Georgia Tech. The Glendale, Ariz.,native was named to the all-tournament team after batting .435(10-for-23) during the weekend with five home runs and 11 RBI. Shewent 3-for-3 with two home runs and four RBI against MississippiState and then hit a game-tying two-run homer to help the Buckeyesknock off No. 19 Georgia Tech. For the season, her 17 hits, 14 RBI,four doubles, five home runs and .803 slugging percentage lead theteam.
Athletics Good Stuff
The men’s basketball team, fresh from its thrillingcome-from-behind defeat of No. 1 Illinois Sunday at Value CityArena, will open the 2005 Big Ten Conference Tournament at 5 p.m.Thursday on ESPN2 against No. 11 seed Penn State. The Buckeyes, theNo. 6 seed, are a win shy of 20 for the season at 19-11 overall.Ohio State finished 8-8 in league play with a pair of wins vs. theNittany Lions. A victory would extend Ohio State’s season to faceNo. 3 seed Wisconsin Friday (9:10 p.m./ESPN Plus/WBNS 10 TV).Junior Matt Sylvester scored a career-high 25 points in the winover the Illini, including the game-winning 3-pointer with 5.1seconds remaining to give the Buckeyes its only lead of the gameand the win, 65-64. Junior Terence Dials was selected by both theBig Ten media and the league coaches to the 2004-05 Second Team AllBig Ten squad. Dials leads the Buckeyes in scoring at 16.4 points agame and is the top Buckeye rebounder with 7.9 a contest. Hisefforts this season also earned him a spot on the United StateBasketball Writer’s Association District 5 team. The No. 7 men’shockey team opens defense of its 2004 CCHA tournament title thisweekend when it plays host to Ferris State. The No. 2-seed Buckeyesand No. 11-seed Bulldogs will meet in a best-of-three series at7:05 p.m. Friday-Saturday (and Sunday if necessary) in Value CityArena, with the winner advancing to the CCHA Super Six at Joe LouisArena in Detroit.
The team ended the regular season with a 1-0-1 weekend against Miami. Friday, senior JB Bittner scored the third-period gamewinner to lift the Buckeyes to a 3-1 victory in Oxford. Saturday, Domenic Maiani and Rod Pelley scored 14 seconds apart in the third period to tie the game, which ended 2-2. OSU ended the year second in the league, marking its highest finish since the 1984 team finished tied for second.
This week, the league announced several of its all-conference honors. Tom Fritsche was named to the CCHA All-Rookie Team, while Maiani and Kyle Hood were honorable mention selections. Junior defenseman Nate Guenin and junior forward Pelley earned second team all-conference accolades and junior goalie Dave Caruso and sophomore defenseman Sean Collins were honorable mention picks. Guenin also was named the team’s scholar-athlete of the year and is one of 11 nominees for CCHA Scholar-Athlete of the Year. All of the honorees will be honored at the 2005 CCHA Awards Banquet Wednesday in Detroit, Mich.
No. 19 men’s lacrosse downed UMBC in overtime, 10-9, Saturdayin Baltimore, Md. Freshman Kevin Buchanan scored the overtimegamewinner, marking his second goal of the game. Kyle Olson had ateam-best three goals in the game, while Justin Doran had a goaland two assists. Sophomore Eric O’Brien, who won 16-of-24 faceoffsand had a career-best nine groundballs, was named the GWLL Playerof the Week for his performance.
The Buckeyes open a two-game homestand when they play host to No. 17 Hobart at noon Saturday at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. The Buckeyes beat the Statesmen, 13-12 in overtime, last season on the road.
Members of the track and field team competed at the 2005 AlexWilson Invitational Saturday in South Bend, Ind. The two-day eventhosted by the University of Notre Dame, served as a last chancemeet for athletes to improve upon their season marks in order toqualify for the 2005 NCAA Championships.
Highlighting day one action for the Buckeyes was senior Brian Olinger as he broke the school record in the 5,000-meter run. Olinger improved his season-best mark in the event as he clocked a time of 13:52.18 to finish second. With his time in the event, the Fresno, Ohio native earned an automatic bid to the 2005 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in Fayetteville, Ark.
Also competing Friday evening for the Buckeyes was senior Bryan Duby. Duby, who competed in the men’s weight throw, equaled his season-best mark in the event with a toss of 68-2 1/2 to finish second.
Additionally for the Buckeyes senior Shelaine Larson competed in the weight throw and finished second with a NCAA provisional mark of 66-1 1/4.
Leading the way for the Buckeyes in day two action was sophomore sprinter Jenna Harris as she timed a mark of 7.48 to place second in the women’s 60-meter dash. On the men’s side freshman Tony Cole clocked a time of 6.74 to finish third in the 60.
Seniors Bryan Duby, Bryan Olinger, Rosalind Goodwin, Shelaine Larson and Shayla Moore will compete at the 2005 Indoor Track and Field Championships Friday and Saturday in Fayetteville, Ark.
The women’s basketball team used a balanced scoring attack toadvance to the semifinals of the 2005 Big Ten Tournament with a70-46 win vs. Wisconsin in the quarterfinal round March 4. OhioState Jessica Davenport led four Buckeyes to score in doublefigures with 18 points. Ashley Allen chipped in her second careerdouble-double with 11 points and a game-high 11 rebounds, whilesophomore Brandie Hoskins scored 14 points and dished out agame-high seven assists. Senior Caity Matter also scored doubledigits with 12 points.
In the semifinal, the Buckeyes held a lead on Minnesota for nearly the entire contest before the Golden Gophers closed the game with an 8-2 run to knot the score at 56-56 at the end of regulation. In overtime, the Minnesota gained a 5-point lead and held off a Buckeye rally to advance the cnference tournament finals with a 66-63 win. Hoskins led the Buckeyes with a career-best 23 points, while Davenport recorded her 12th double-double of the season with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Hoskins was named to the all-tournament team.
Davenport eclipsed 1,000 points for her career vs. Minnesota. The win against Wisconsin, Ohio State’s 28th on the season, helped the Buckeyes tie the all-time season wins mark.
Three members of the wrestling team earned bids to the NCAAchampionships March 17-19 in St. Louis with placing marks at the2005 Big Ten Tournament in Iowa City, Iowa. Sophomore J.D. Bergmanlost in overtime in the title match at 197 pounds to takerunner-up, while freshmen T.J. Ernight and Kirk Nail placed sixthand eighth, respectively. Two members of the women’s swimming teamhave qualified for the 2005 NCAA Championship in West Lafayette,Ind. Nicole Maglich will be competing in three events. In the200-yard freestyle Maglich is ranked 38th in the nation with a timeof 1:47.97. For the 500-yard freestyle, Maglich recorded a 4:46.16,ranking her 23rd nationally. Maglich’s final event will be the200-yard butterfly. Joining Maglich in the 200-yard butterfly isGriet Buelens, the 2005 Big Ten Champion in the event. Buelensclocked in at 1:59.09 during the final to claim the Big Ten titleand the No. 19 spot in the nation. Buelens also qualified in the200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:50.31. Ohio State divers willtravel to West Lafayette for the NCAA Zone Regional Qualifiers toattempt to earn a spot at the NCAA championships, March 11-13. Thewomen’s team will then compete at the 2005 NCAA Championship inWest Lafayette, Ind. March 15-19. The men’s team will compete inMinneapolis, Minn. for their 2005 NCAA Championship March 24-26.Baseball highlighted its trip to Greenville, N.C. for the KeithLeClair Classic with 2-1 upset victory against No. 4 North Carolinaon Saturday. The opened the weekend with a 4-3 loss to No. 7Georgia and ended with a 3-0 defeat to Arizona State. WesSchirtzinger led the Buckeye offense at the Keith LeClair Classic,in going 4-for-12 with one RBI. Ronnie Bourquin and JedidiahStephen each had three hits for the weekend though Bourquindelivered three of the team’s five runs. Buckeye pitching had a2.88 ERA for the weekend, led by Trent Luyster (Sr., Flushing,Ohio/Harrison Central), who allowed only one run on seven hits insix innings in the upset win over the Tar Heels. Luyster was namedthe Big Ten Pitcher of the Week after leading the Buckeyes in thewin over North Carolina. Luyster allowed only one run whilescattering seven hits over six innings. The senior lefthander fromFlushing, Ohio (Harrison Central) struck out four batters whileproducing only one walk to boost Ohio State to its first win over aTop 25 opponent since 2003, when OSU defeated Clemson and Auburnduring NCAA regional play. Ohio State, now at 2-3 on the year, willplay at the Kennel Club Classic in Jacksonville, Fla., Friday andSaturday. The Buckeyes will play at North Florida Friday at 1 p.m.before playing Bradley and Rider Saturday at 3 and 7 p.m.,respectively, at the University of Jacksonville. Emily DeCamilla(Sr., Sacramento, Calif./Maryland) was the leading Buckeyeperformer last weekend as the women’s tennis team posted a 1-2record. DeCamilla won at both singles and doubles in Ohio State’s5-2 loss at Missouri March 5 and along with Meredith Vincent (Sr.,Cincinnati, Ohio/Virginia Tech) picked up another doubles win inthe Buckeyes’ 4-3 loss to Louisville March 6. Playing at the No. 2position, DeCamilla and Vincent beat Missouri’s Erika Josbena andYelena Olshanskaya on Saturday and Louisville’s Robin White andSuzanna Gracanin on Sunday by identical 8-5 margins. SoniaRuzimovsky (Soph., Brooklyn, N.Y./Brooklyn Tech) also won insingles against the Tigers.
Against the Cardinals, Lindsey Adams (Sr., Mercer Island, Wash./Mercer Island) beat Leslie Stewart at the No. 1 spot and also teamed with Ruzimovsky at No. 1 doubles to top Kelly Taylor and Natalie Laszkowski, 8-5.
In Ohio State’s 5-1 win over Saint Louis, Kristin Messmer (Soph., Lutherville, Md./McDonogh), Lindsay Bryan (Sr., New Orleans, La./Ursuline Academy) and Silvia Prajescu (Fr., Dollard-Des-Orneaux, Quebec/Des-Sources) all won singles matches for the Buckeyes. Messmer downed Tara Grant, 7-5, 6-2, at the No. 2 position, while Bryan and Prajescu both won in 6-0, 6-0 shutouts, over Rachel McCullagh at No. 3 and Tina Grasso at No. 4, respectively. The short-handed Billikens forfeited matches at the Nos. 5 and 6 positions and doubles were not played.
The Buckeyes (5-8) play host to No. 20 TCU at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Jesse Owens West Tennis Center in Columbus, Ohio.
Men’s volleyball won 3-0 home matches against Clarke (30-11,30-21, 30-20) and IPFW (30-21, 33-31, 30-21) last week to stand13-5 overall and 6-1 in the Midwestern Intercollegiate VolleyballAssociation. Brett Versen scored a match-high 10 points in theClarke win with six kills, three ace serves and two assist blocks.Against IPFW, Mark Greaves had a match-high 17.5 points with amatch-high 15 kills, an ace serve and three assist blocks. Greaveswas named the MIVA Player of the Week for his play. Currently, OhioState has a 20-match regular season home winning streak and a12-match conference home winning streak. Ohio State hostsMercyhurst Sunday night at 7 p.m. in St. John Arena. Women’slacrosse fell, 8-7, in three overtimes to Penn Saturday inPhiladelphia. Kelly Kremer had three goals for OSU. The Buckeyestrailed 6-4 when goals by Kremer and Regina Oliver tied the game tosend it into overtime. Kremer’s third goal gave OSU a 7-6 lead butPenn countered with a goal 20 seconds later to tie the game atseven. After a scoreless second overtime period, Penn scored 39seconds into the third overtime to take the win. Oliver had ateam-high seven ground balls in the game with a draw control and acaused turnover. Ohio State host Johns Hopkins Friday at 6 p.m. andVirginia Tech Sunday at 1 p.m. The pistol team closed out theregular season with a 6,328 to 5,739 decision over SouthwestMissouri State last weekend. The Buckeyes won all four competitionevents against SWMS, winning free pistol, 1,947 to 1,697; standardpistol, 2,142 to 2,021; air pistol, 2,239 to 2,021 and women’ssport pistol, 1,652 to 1,422. OSU’s Jennifer Trickett won thethree-gun aggregate with a 1,604 mark. She finished first in freepistol (509), second in air (562) and third in standard pistol(533). Chip Mardis was second in the three-gun at 1,590 (3rd-free,481; 1st-standard, 554; 4th-air, 555). In women’s air pistol, OhioState set a new school record at 1,129 with the previous mark being1,090. Teresa Meyer (Fr., Dearborn, Mich.) finished first in bothwomen’s events, shooting a 563 in sport and a 381 in air pistol.Meyer’s 381 score in air, pending approval by the NationalCommittee, will be a new collegiate record. The No. 1 men’sgymnastics team recorded the third-highest national score on theroad since 2000, despite dropping a 222.825-222.675 decision to No.4 Oklahoma Saturday evening in Norman, Okla. The Buckeyes postedteam season highs on floor (37.125) and vault (37.25) and seniorco-captain Randy Monahan (Elizabethtown, Pa./Central Pa., Academyof Gym.) led the way for OSU with three Top 3 finishes. Monahanfinished second on floor, scoring a season-best 9.625 and placedthird on rings and vault, tallying a 9.675 and 9.350, respectively.The team will complete the regular season against No. 4 Michigan at1 p.m. Sunday in St. John Arena. The men’s golf team concluded playat the 2005 St. Croix Collegiate Classic Sunday and tied for fifthwith Texas-San Antonio and Charleston Southern. The Buckeyes cardeda final round total of 295 for a three-round tournament tally of876. Xavier University is played host to the 54-hole event at thepar 72, 6,809-yard, Carambola Golf Club in St. Croix, VirginIslands.
The Buckeyes saw two of their individuals finish in the Top 10 as sophomore Colin Biles (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) and senior Scott Anderson (Great Falls, Mont./Great Falls) tied for fifth and eighth respectively.
The men’s golf team returns to action March 19-20 as it competes in the 2005 Schenkel E-Z-Go Invitational in Statesboro, Ga.
The fencing squad competed Sunday at the NCAA Midwest RegionalQualifier in Detroit, Mich. The regional is the final competitionbefore the NCAA Championship. Selections to the national tournamentare based on regional seeding (40 percent) and regional finish (60percent). Freshmen Buckeyes William Jeter (Cincinnati,Ohio/Princeton) and Amelia Gaillard (Fayetteville, Ga./Counterpane)placed first in their weapon, respectively. Jeter claimed the men’sfoil title after he defeated Notre Dame’s Jakub Jedrkowiak, 4-3, ina first-place fence-off. Gaillard took the women’s sabre titleafter 10 victories. Next up, the Buckeyes will wait for the fencingselection committee’s seeding for the NCAA Fencing Championship,which begins on March 17 in Houston, Texas. Last season at the NCAAChampionship, the Buckeyes claimed the title after the squadoutscored second-place Penn State by 34 points, 194-160, en routeto the national crown. Ohio State posted the second-highest teamtotal in the five years that the NCAA has contested events in thesix weapons. Joey Atas (Baltimore, Md./Calvert Hall), a sophomoreon the No. 10 Ohio State men’s tennis team, was named the Big TenAthlete of the Week Friday. This is the first conference honor forthe Buckeye sophomore this season. Atas picked up two wins to leadthe Buckeyes to victories over No. 22 Virginia Commonwealth and No.42 Alabama Feb. 25 and 27. Atas upset VCU’s 11th-ranked ArnaudLecloerec, 6-4, 6-4, at the No. 1 singles position. He clinched hissecond win over a ranked opponent after he topped No. 46 LuigiD’Agord of Alabama, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6, at No. 1. Atas is now 21-8overall in singles action this season. Up next, the men’s tennissquad returns to action March 21 on their spring break trip to faceCoastal Carolina in Myrtle Beach, S.C., and Vanderbilt March 23 inNashville, Tenn. The Buckeyes are back at home March 26 and 27 asthe squad opens Big Ten play against Iowa and Minnesota inColumbus. The women’s gymnastics team (5-8, 0-3 Big Ten) concludedits 2005 home schedule with 194.775-193.325 loss to No. 21 ArizonaSaturday night in St. John Arena. The Buckeyes finished the eveningwith scores of 48.700 on floor, 48.425 on beam, 48.350 on vault and47.850 on bars.
Senior Liz Meaney (Ashtabula, Ohio/Edgewood) led the way for the Buckeyes as she claimed her seventh beam crown in eight meets this season. Meaney won the beam with a mark of 9.900. She also finished second on bars with a score of 9.800 and third on floor with a tally of 9.825.
Ohio State also honored its two seniors, Meaney and Jenni Lymanstall (Defiance, Ohio/Tinora), with a post-meet celebration.
The softball team (11-6 overall, 0-0 Big Ten) posted a 6-1record and runner-up finish last weekend at the Buzz Classic hostedby Georgia Tech. In the four games of pool play, the Buckeyesoutscored their opponents 32-13 and entered the single-eliminationtournament undefeated at 4-0. Ohio State beat Mississippi State,11-0, in the quarterfinals and then knocked off host and19th-ranked Georgia Tech, 5-3 in the semifinals before falling toIowa in the championship game. As a team, Ohio State batted .328 inthe tournament, fourth best overall, and had a 2.64 team ERA, fifthbest overall. The Buckeyes are scheduled to host Evansville thisSunday before hosting the Buckeye Invitational next weekend.Sophomore Jamee Juarez leads the team with a .378 batting averageand a 7-4 pitching record. The women’s ice hockey team was defeatedby Minnesota Duluth, 5-0, Sunday afternoon in the third-place gameof the 2005 WCHA Playoff Championship in Minneapolis, Minn. Withthe loss, the fourth-seeded Buckeyes conclude their season 17-17-3overall and 12-15-1 in the WCHA. OSU finished the 2004-05 seasonfourth in the league and fourth in the WCHA playoffs.Minnesota-Duluth is awaiting a bid to the NCAA tournament. At thetournament, the Buckeyes defeated No. 5 seed Minnesota State, 4-1,before falling to No. 1 see Minnesota and No. 2 Minnesota-Duluth.
Ohio State Athletics Schedule
Wednesday, March 9 -Sunday, March 13
All Times Eastern
Thursday, March 9
Men’s Basketball vs. Penn State, 5:05 p.m.
Big Ten Tournament
Chicago, Ill.
Friday, March 11
Baseball vs. North Florida, 1 p.m.
Jacksonville, Fla.
Women’s Lacrosse vs. John Hopkins, 6 p.m.
Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium
Men’s Ice Hockey vs. Ferris State, 7:05 p.m.
Value City Arena
Men’s Basketball vs. Wisconsin, 9:10 p.m.
Big Ten Tournament
Chicago, Ill.
Track and Field at NCAA Indoor Championships, TBA
Fayetteville, Ark.
Women’s Swimming at NCAA Championships, TBA
West Lafayette, Ind.
Men’s and Women’s Diving at NCAA Zone Regional Qualifiers
West Lafayette, Ind.
Saturday, March 12
Women’s Tennis vs. TCU, 10 a.m.
Jesse Owens West Tennis Center
Men’s Lacrosse vs. Hobart, noon
Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium
Women’s Gymnastics vs. Illinois, 2 p.m.
Champaign, Ill.
Baseball vs. Bradley, 3 p.m.
Baseball vs. Rider, 7 p.m.
Jacksonville, Fla.
Men’s Basketball vs. TBA, 4:05 p.m.
Big Ten Tournament
Chicago, Ill.
Men’s Hockey vs. Ferris State, 7:05 p.m.
CCHA First Round
Value City Arena
Track and Field at NCAA Indoor Championships, TBA
Fayetteville, Ark.
Women’s Swimming at NCAA Championships, TBA
West Lafayette, Ind.
Men’s and Women’s Diving at NCAA Zone Regional Qualifiers
West Lafayette, Ind.
Sunday, March 13
Men’s Gymnastics vs. Michigan, 1 p.m.
St. John Arena
Women’s Lacrosse vs. Virginia Tech, 1 p.m.
Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium
Softball vs. Evansville, 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.
Buckeye Field
Men’s Basketball vs. TBA, 3:30 p.m.
Big Ten Tournament
Chicago, Ill.
Men’s Volleyball vs. Mercyhurst, 7 p.m.
St. John Arena
Men’s Ice Hockey vs. Ferris State*, 7:05 p.m.
Value City Arena
* if necessary
Women’s Swimming at NCAA Championships, TBA
West Lafayette, Ind.
