Athletics Good Stuff – Ohio State Buckeyes
1/10/2006 12:00:00 AM | General
Athletes of the Week
Buckeye wrestler J Jaggers went 3-0, as Ohio State competed in three dual meets over three days. Jaggers topped Joey Ecklof of Pittsburgh, 9-8, to help the Buckeyes drop Pittsburgh, 30-3, before beating Jason Blake (Kent State), 6-2, and Ryan Hurley, 8-2 (Cleveland State). The Northfield, Ohio, native is one of two Buckeyes undefeated in the dual meet season. At 4-0, Jaggers earned his first dual win vs. Missouri’s Josh Wagner, 12-8. With an overall record of 14-3, Jaggers has the fewest losses among OSU team members who have competed in at least 15 matches.
Women’s hockey senior co-captain Jana Harrigan tied hercareer-high with four points Saturday and had five points overallin Ohio State’s road sweep of No. 8 Minnesota State. She had anassist Friday in the Buckeyes’ 3-0 shutout and then scored twogoals and two assists in the 4-2 victory Saturday. Harriganincreased her team-leading point total to 28 while also extendingher lead in goals (12) and assists (16). In 18 career games againstMinnesota State, Harrigan has erupted for 27 points. The fivepoints also furthered her point steak to 13 games – one short oftying her career high. She has not been held scoreless since Oct.28 and has scored 10 goals and 12 assists during that time.Harrigan is just six points away from surpassing Jeni Creary forthe top spot on OSU’s all-time points list. She has 141 with Crearyranking first at 146.
Athletics Good Stuff
No. 10 men’s volleyball opened the season with 3-0 victoriesover St. Francis (30-25, 30-21, 31-29) and D’Youville (30-14,30-21, 30-14). Robert Klein scored a team-high 16 kills whilehitting .789 in the win over St. Francis. Stuart Katz added ninekills (.400) and six digs. Leading 2-0 in the match, the Buckeyesrallied from a St. Francis 29-24 lead with seven straight points towin, 31-29. In the D’Youville match, Katz had match-highs of 13kills and 10 digs against the Spartans with Matt Hankey adding 12kills and Klein 10. The Buckeyes play at home three times thisweek, hosting Rutgers-Newark Wednesday and UC-San Diego Friday andSunday. All three matches begin at 7 p.m. in St. John Arena. Thewomen’s gymnastics team won its season opener last Saturday with a188.750-184.675 victory at Ball State, marking the Buckeyes’largest margin of victory in their season opener since 1993. SeniorKaylin Schlecht led the Buckeyes in three events, posting twooverall victories (bars and beam). Sophomore Maalika Moore-Thomaswon vault and the all-around. Ohio State hosts its next two meetsbeginning with the All-Ohio Championship at 7 p.m. Saturday in St.John Arena. The No. 16/19 men’s basketball team takes on PurdueWednesday in West Lafayette before returning home to Value CityArena to take on Michigan State Sunday. The Purdue game tips at 8p.m. and will be televised locally on WBNS 10 TV. The MSU game getsunderway at 4:35 p.m. Sunday with a national CBS audience tuningin. Ohio State’s Clark Kellogg will provide the expert analysis forthe Michigan State game. The Buckeyes are 11-1 on the season with a1-1 record in Big Ten Conference play. Sophomore Jamar Butler isthe Big Ten leader with a +3.18 assist-to-turnover ratio and seniorJe’Kel Foster leads the league in 3-pointers made per game (2.75)and steals (2.33 per game). The cheerleaders will travel to WaltDisney World’s Wide World of Sports Complex this weekend, tocompete for the 2006 College Cheerleading National Championship,Sunday. Ohio State won the Northeast Region competition in Novemberto qualify for the national competition for the 17th time in thelast 19 years. Ohio State finished sixth at the competition lastseason after placing 15th in 2004, seventh in 2003 and sixth in2002. The Buckeyes earned a second-place finish in 2001 and placedsixth in 2000. Ohio State won the 1993 College CheerleadingNational Championship. By winning their region, the Buckeyesreceived an automatic bid to the national competition, as well asfree transportation and hotel accommodations. Ohio State joinsMinnesota (Mid-America Region), Kentucky and Alabama (South Region)and Hawaii (West Region) as regional champions. The women’sbasketball team (11-2, 2-1 Big Ten) erased an 11-0 first-halfdeficit last Thursday at Northwestern and pulled away in the secondperiod for an 82-54 victory in Evantson, Ill. Jessica Davenport ledall scorers with 22 points and had a game-high eight rebounds. KimWilburn, the Big Ten steals leader, pocketed five thefts which ledto several fast break buckets and a season-high 15 points.
Monday, the Buckeyes rallied again to defeat No. 16/16 Oklahoma at Value City Arena, 75-71. Davenport banked home a turn-around game-winning jumper with four seconds to play and Ashley Allen sealed the victory with a steal and a lay-in with less than two second remaining. Brandie Hoskins sparked the Buckeyes’ comeback with all 16 of her points coming in the second half. Debbie Merrill, 12 points and nine rebounds, and Marscilla Packer, 15 points and four assists, also had hands in the Ohio State rally as well.
Ohio State next plays at Iowa at 8 p.m. (EST) Thursday.
The men’s and women’s track and field teams get the 2006 indoorseason underway at the Kentucky Invitational Friday and Saturday inLexington, Ky. The women’s hockey team came out of its three-weekhiatus ready to turn around the season and did so by opening 2006with a sweep at No. 8 Minnesota State Jan. 6-7 at All SeasonsArena. The Buckeyes blanked the Mavericks Friday, 3-0, with juniorgoaltender Erika Vanderveer recording 26 saves en route to hersecond shutout of the season. OSU completed the sweep Saturday witha three-goal third period to win 4-2. Senior Jana Harrigan led theteam with four points that game, while sophomore Lisa Chesson andfreshman Hayley Klassen each had three. Harrigan led the Buckeyeoffense with five points in the series while Vanderveer picked upboth wins stopping 52 of 54 shots faced in the series.
Head coach Jackie Barto is just one win away from the 100th Ohio State victory of her career. She has an overall record of 99-120-21 at OSU in six-plus seasons. Barto looks for her 100th win as Ohio State returns home to the OSU Ice Rink for the first time since Nov. 18-19 to host Niagara Jan. 13-14. The series is the final non-conference opponent for the Buckeyes this season. OSU has a 3-1-0 mark against non-WCHA foes this year. Games begin at 7:07 p.m. Friday and 4:07 p.m. Saturday.
The No. 20 men’s hockey team opens a three-game homestand whenit hosts rival Miami at 7:05 p.m. Tuesday in Value City Arena. Theteam closes out the week with a two-game series withNebraska-Omaha. The teams will meet at 8:05 p.m. Friday in a gametelevised live on CSTV and at 7:05 p.m. Saturday in Value CityArena.
Buckeye sophomore Tom Fritsche returned to the team last Friday after competing in the prestigious World Junior Championship Dec. 26-Jan. 5 in Vancouver, British Columbia. Fritsche scored five points in six games with the team and was named the U.S. Player of the Game in the team’s comeback win over Finland.
The men’s gymnastics team opens regular-season action at theWindy City Invitational in Chicago Saturday. The team completed thefinal of three exhibitions Saturday at Steelwood Athletic TrainingFacility with the Varsity Exhibition. Juniors Nicholaus Searcy andWillie Ito were named the Buckeyes 2006 captains duringintroductions at the exhibition.
Searcy earned the team’s Most Improved Award following efforts during the 2005 season and finished fourth on parallel bars (9.225) at the 2005 Big Ten Individual Event Championships. Ito competed in all 11 Buckeye meets, including the NCAA Championships, and recorded a career high 9.9 on pommel horse and high bar in 2005.
The wrestling team opened the 2006 portion of its schedule witha convincing win over Pittsburgh, 30-3. Nine out of 10 Buckeyewrestlers recorded wins, including a major decision by CoreyMorrison (Fr., Shaker Heights, Ohio/Shaker Heights) and a technicalfall by Steve Sommer (Sr., West Carrollton, Ohio/Dayton Carroll).
Although Ohio State lost to Kent State and Cleveland State over the weekend, two Buckeyes did remain perfect in dual meet action. J Jaggers (Fr., Northfield, Ohio/St. Peter Chanel) and Kirk Nail (So., Hilliard, Ohio/Davidson) now are 4-0 and own records, of 14-3 and 9-2, respectively.
Ohio State looks to rebound with wins at the Virginia Duals Friday and Saturday at the Hampton Coliseum in Hampton, Va.
Ohio State Athletics Schedule
Tuesday, Jan. 10 – Monday, Jan. 16
Tuesday, Jan. 10
Men’s Hockey vs. Miami, 7:05 p.m.
Value City Arena, Columbus, Ohio
Wednesday, Jan. 11
Men’s Volleyball vs. Rutgers-Newark, 7 p.m.
St. John Arena, Columbus, Ohio
Men’s Basketball at Purdue, 8 p.m.
West Lafayette, Ind.
Thursday, Jan. 12
Women’s Basketball at Iowa, 8 p.m.
Iowa City, Iowa
Friday, Jan. 13
Women’s Swimming vs. Marshall, 6 p.m.
Bill and Mae McCorkle Aquatics Pavilion
Men’s Volleyball vs. San Diego, 7 p.m.
St. John Arena, Columbus, Ohio
Women’s Ice Hockey vs. Niagara, 7:07 p.m.
OSU Ice Rink, Columbus, Ohio
Men’s Hockey vs. Nebraska-Omaha, 8:05 p.m.
Value City Arena, Columbus, Ohio
Fencing at North American Cup
Houston, Texas
Track at Kentucky Invitational
Lexington, Ky.
Wrestling at Virginia Duals
Hampton, Va.
Saturday, Jan. 14
Men’s and Women’s Swimming vs. Ohio, Noon
Bill and Mae McCorkle Aquatics Pavilion
Women’s Ice Hockey vs. Niagara, 4:07 p.m.
OSU Ice Rink, Columbus, Ohio
Men’s Gymnastics at Windy City Invitational, 8 p.m.
Chicago, Ill.
Women’s Gymnastics All-Ohio Championships
St. John Arena, Columbus, Ohio
Men’s Hockey vs. Nebraska-Omaha, 7:05 p.m.
Value City Arena, Columbus, Ohio
Wrestling at Virginia Duals
Hampton, Va.
Pistol at Purdue
West Lafayette, Ind.
Fencing at North American Cup
Houston, Texas
Track at Kentucky Invitational
Lexington, Ky.
Sunday, Jan. 15
Women’s Basketball vs. Michigan, Noon
Value City Arena, Columbus, Ohio
Men’s Basketball vs. Michigan State, 4:30 p.m.
Value City Arena, Columbus, Ohio
Men’s Volleyball vs. San Diego, 7 p.m.
St. John Arena, Columbus, Ohio
Fencing at North American Cup
Houston, Texas
Monday, Jan. 16
Fencing at North American Cup
Houston, Texas
