Athletics Good Stuff – Ohio State Buckeyes
10/17/2006 12:00:00 AM | General
Oct. 17, 2006
Athletes of the Week
Senior midfielder Saskia Mueller has been named Big Ten FieldHockey Co-Offensive Player of the Week, the conference announcedMonday. Mueller helped Ohio State to a 2-0 record last week,defeating No. 12 Louisville Wednesday, 4-3 (OT), and NorthwesternSunday, 4-0. This is her second-consecutive weekly award and herthird overall this season. It is the seventh time this year aBuckeye has earned a Big Ten Player of the Week honor.
Mueller, a native of Zuerich, Switzerland, had a five-point week, scoring two goals and adding an assist. At No. 12 Louisville Wednesday, she scored the game-winning overtime goal to pick up OSU’s second OT victory in a row. She also added an assist against the Cardinals for her team-leading 11th assist of the season. Mueller then scored the final goal in Ohio State’s 4-0 win against Northwestern Sunday. She is tied for second on the team with 25 points.
Ted Ginn Jr. shattered the Big Ten record with his sixth careerpunt return touchdown, a 60-yard sprint on his only return of thegame at Michigan State to give the Buckeyes a 17-0 lead in thesecond quarter. The junior wideout broke the conference record hepreviously held with Iowa’s Tim Dwight, who recorded five puntreturn scores from 1994-97. Ginn is now just two touchdowns shy ofequaling the NCAA career record of eight punt return scores held byTexas Tech’s Wes Walker (2000-03) and Oklahoma’s Antonio Perkins(2001-04). The Cleveland native picks up Big Ten special teamsweekly accolades for the third straight season, after being honoredtwice in 2004 (Nov. 6 and 20) and on Oct. 24, 2005. His four careerspecial teams weekly awards are tied for the second-highest totalin Big Ten annals.
Athletics Good Stuff
The seventh-ranked field hockey team won both if its games lastweek to improve to 11-2 this season. The Buckeyes defeated No. 12Louisville, 4-3, in overtime Wednesday on a goal by senior SaskiaMueller, who also had an assist in the game. It was the secondovertime victory in a row for OSU. Junior Yesenia Luces scoredtwice against the Cardinals. On Sunday, the Buckeyes blankedNorthwestern, 4-0, at North Turf Field to improve to 3-1 in Big Tenplay and 5-0 in home games. Senior Lauren Kruse scored twice in thegame and sophomore Linda Haussener tallied a goal and an assist.Freshman goalkeeper Lindsay Quintiliani made three saves for herfourth shutout this season. She is 11-2 with a 1.36goals-against-average.
Ohio State travels to Ann Arbor, Mich., for its next two games, Oct. 20 and 22. The Buckeyes take on VCU at 3 p.m. Friday in a neutral-site game before facing No. 20 Michigan at noon Sunday. OSU will then conclude its regular-season schedule Oct. 28 with a noon game at North Turf Field.
The women’s hockey team was edged twice by top-rankedWisconsin, both by scores of 3-2, at OSU Ice Rink Friday andSaturday in its first Western Collegiate Hockey Association seriesof the season. The Buckeyes are now 2-2-0, with a 0-2-0 mark inleague games. Junior Mallory Peckels scored twice against theBadgers Friday, while classmates Jody Heywood and Tessa Bonhommescored the OSU goals Saturday. Senior Amber Bowman had threeassists on the weekend to extend her point-streak to four games.
Ohio State next travels to St. Cloud State, Oct. 20-21, for its first road series of the season. Games begin at 7:07 p.m. (CT) Friday and 2:07 p.m. (CT) Saturday at National Hockey Center. The Buckeyes then return to OSU Ice Rink for back-to-back home series against Minnesota (Oct. 27-28) and Connecticut (Nov. 3-4).
The men’s hockey team split a two-game series with LakeSuperior State last weekend to open the regular season. Friday,Tommy Goebel scored the lone goal shorthanded and freshman goalieJoseph Palmer made 22 saves as the Buckeyes posted a 1-0 win.Saturday, the Buckeyes fell to the Lakers in overtime, 7-6. SeniorMathieu Beaudoin led the Buckeyes with a hat trick, including apower-play, shorthanded and extra-attacker goal. His third goalcame with just 0.2 seconds left on the clock to force overtime.Senior Kenny Bernard chipped in a career-best three assists, whilejunior Domenic Maiani had three points on a goal and two assists.
This weekend, the Buckeyes host No. 7-ranked Minnesota at 7:05 p.m. Friday and at 8:05 p.m. Saturday in Value City Arena. The games mark the first time the Buckeyes will host the Gophers in Columbus.
The men’s tennis team will be competing at the ITA MidwestRegional Tournament Oct. 19-24. The event will be held on thecampus of the University of Minnesota. The Buckeyes currently havefive players ranked among the Top 125 in the ITA Preseason Poll.Sophomore Bryan Koniecko leads the Buckeyes at No. 19 followed byDevin Mullings at No. 56. Chris Klingemann comes in at No. 60 andsophomore Steven Moneke is ranked No. 65 after a solid rookieseason. Freshman Justin Kronauge, the No. 1 recruit in the nation,is ranked No. 105 to start the year. Klingemann and Mullings are4-1 on the year. Moneke has a record of 6-2. While Koniecko is 2-1and Kronauge is 0-1 on the season. The women’s tennis team returnsto action at the ITA Midwest Regional this week in East Lansing,Mich. Three Buckeyes will compete in qualifying rounds beginningThursday looking for a spot in the main draw, while five Buckeyesalready have earned spots in the 64-player main draw. Four Buckeyedoubles teams will participate in the tournament as well. The men’ssoccer team topped Louisville, 1-0, last Wednesday before seeingits four-game win streak come to an end Saturday with a 1-0 loss toNo. 10 Indiana. This week, the Buckeyes travel north twice, firstto Oakland Wednesday and then to Michigan Sunday. Junior XavierBalc continues to lead the Big Ten in points (19), while juniorgoalkeeper Casey Latchem and the OSU defense rank second in theleague with seven shutouts. Women’s soccer went 1-1 during the weekof Oct. 9, dropping Wright State, 3-1, Wednesday, but dropping aclose and nearly evenly played 1-0 match to No. 11 Penn StateSunday.
Senior tri-captain Lisa Grubb, who entered the game against Wright State with six points on six assists, scored back-to-back goals, including the gamewinner, to lift the Buckeyes over the Raiders.
Lisa Collison, who leads the team in goals, scored her eighth goal of the season against Wright State, bringing her point total to 17 (1 assist).
The men’s and women’s cross country teams competed Saturday atthe 2006 NCAA Pre-National Meet in Terre Haute, Ind. The men’s teamplaced four of its individual Top 5 in the Top 100 on its way to an18th-place finish in the 8-kilometer race. The women’s team was ledby several underclassmen en route to a 34th-place finish on the 6Kcourse.
The men’s team received a huge performance from freshman Chad Balyo as he led the team with a 47th-place finish in 24:27.0. Balyo’s time was the third-best by all Big Ten runners Saturday and the top mark by a freshman. Rachel Stichter fronted the women’s team with a 95th place finish a career-best time in a 6K of 21:39.4.
The men’s and women’s teams will take a week off and then head to Bloomington, Ind., for 2006 Big Ten Championships Oct. 30.
The softball team went 5-0 last weekend at the College FallClassic in North Lewisburg, Ohio, concluding its fall schedule.Senior Christina Douglas was named the Offensive MVP of thetournament, while freshman Megan Miller was named the Most ValuablePitcher. Women’s volleyball lost twice last week, losing 0-3 atIllinois and 2-3 at Northwestern. Danielle Meyer and Anna Szerszenhad 10 kills each in the 30-20, 24-30, 21-30 loss at Illinois. AtNorthwestern, Szerszen scored a match-high 19 kills with BrianaMcCarthy adding 13.
Ohio State will host Michigan State Friday at 7 p.m. and Michigan at 2 p.m. Sunday in St. John Arena.
The pistol team hosted the Ohio Cup, a non-team scoring event,last weekend. Teresa Meyer won all five events and set a three-gunhome aggregate record of 1,614 (out of a possible 1,600). She alsotied the Ohio State all-time records in open air and women’s airpistol.
The team now travels to face the defending Collegiate National Champions, the U.S. Military Academy this weekend.
The women’s basketball team started practice Saturday. Thetwo-time reigning Big Ten champion Buckeyes open the season Nov. 12at Army. The Ohio State men’s basketball team began practice overthe weekend in defense of its 2006 outright Big Ten regular seasontitle. The Buckeyes open the exhibition season at 7 p.m. Nov. 1 atValue City Arena against Findlay. The regular season opener isscheduled for Nov. 10 in the opening round of the SportsTime OhioBCA Classic in Columbus. Ohio State opens the eight-team event vs.VMI at 8 p.m. The wrestling team earned preseason rankings of No.10 by RevWrestling.com and Wrestling International Newsmagazine(W.I.N.). The Buckeyes return six NCAA qualifiers, including 2004All-American J.D. Bergman, who is ranked as high as No. 1 byRevWrestling.com and second in the W.I.N. standings. Nationalqualifiers, T.J. Enright (133-13th), J Jaggers (141-sixth), BlakeMaurer (174-13th) and 2006 All-American Kirk Nail (HWT-third) alsocracked the Top 20 of their respective weight class in the W.I.N.standings. Jason Johnstone (149-16th) and Alex Picazo (184-17th)round out Buckeyes ranked in the W.I.N. preseason poll.
Jaggers, Johnstone and Nail are ranked seventh, 10th and third, respectively, by RevWrestling.com.
Scarlet pulled away with six runs in the eighth and finalinning on its way to a 14-10 victory vs. the Gray last Thursday toclinch the baseball team’s annual Scarlet and Gray World Series atBill Davis Stadium. With the win, Scarlet finished 2-0-1 in theseries. Gray (0-2-1) needed a win to force another game. The teamsplayed to an 8-all tie on Monday, but Scarlet won 10-6 Tuesdaybefore the teams were rained out Wednesday night. This Tuesday,Scarlet gets a catered meal of steak, chicken, ribs and potatoes.The meal is served on nice plates with silverware and the playersare served in a pleasing atmosphere. The losing team gets to sharea pot of beans and hot dogs with paper plates and plastic utensilsand watch the victors enjoy the spoils of winning.
Michael Arp led all batters, going 5-for-9 for a .556 batting average. He doubled three times and drove in three runs. Brian DeLucia (6-for-12), J.B. Shuck (6-for-12) and Eric Fryer (5-for-10) batted .500, while Jason Zoeller and Tony Kennedy joined DeLucia and Shuck with six hits in three games. Fryer, Zoeller and Justin Miller each drove in seven runs, while Shuck plated six. Fryer scored seven times. Zoeller was 5-for-5 with five RBI in the finale. The series concluded fall practice for the Ohio State baseball team.
The Buckeyes open the 2007 season Feb. 23-25 by serving as the host of a four-team tournament at the New York Yankees minor league complex in Tampa, Fla. James Madison, Kansas State and Seton Hall round out the field.
The men’s golf team currently is in fourth place at theOklahoma Intercollegiate in Edmond, Okla. Sophomore Dan Rush(Cleveland, Ohio/St. Ignatius) leads the Buckeyes after rounds of75-71 (146) and is tied for third individually. Rush is tied forsecond in par 3 scoring (-1), par 5 scoring (-2) and is tied forthird in total birdies with six. The women’s golf team has competedin three tournaments thus far in the 2006-07 season, finishing inthe top three twice. After a few week hiatus, the women’s golf teamwill be back in action October 27-29 at the Landfall Tradition inWilmington, N.C. Men’s and women’s swimming and diving athleteswere named to USA Swimming’s 2005-06 Scholastic All-American Team.Among those listed were Alex Chen and Andrew Olson from the men’steam. Megan Alexander from the women’s team also earned thescholastic honors.
Ohio State Athletics Schedule
Oct. 17 – 22
Tuesday, Oct. 17
Men’s Golf at Oak Tree Invitational, All Day
Edmond, Okla.
Wednesday, Oct. 18
Men’s Soccer at Oakland, 3:30 p.m.
Rochester, Mich.
Thursday, Oct. 19
Women’s Tennis at ITA Midwest Regional, All Day
East Lansing, Mich.
Men’s Tennis at Regional Tournament, All Day
Minneapolis, Minn.
Friday, Oct. 20
Women’s Soccer vs. Michigan State, 7:30 p.m.
Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
Field Hockey vs. VCU, 3 p.m.
Ann Arbor, Mich.
Men’s Swimming Scarlet vs. Gray Exhibition, 6 p.m.
McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion, Columbus, Ohio
Women’s Volleyball vs. Michigan State, 7 p.m.
St. John Arena, Columbus, Ohio
Men’s Ice Hockey vs. Minnesota, 7:05 p.m.
Value City Arena, Columbus, Ohio
Women’s Ice Hockey at St. Cloud State, 7:07 p.m.
St. Cloud, Minn.
Men’s Tennis at Regional Tournament, All Day
Minneapolis, Minn.
Women’s Tennis at ITA Midwest Regional, All Day
East Lansing, Mich.
Saturday, Oct. 21
Football vs. Indiana, Noon
Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
Men’s Swimming Alumni Exhibition, 9 a.m.
McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion, Columbus, Ohio
Men’s Ice Hockey vs. Minnesota, 8:05 p.m.
Value City Arena, Columbus, Ohio
Women’s Ice Hockey at St. Cloud State, 7:07 p.m.
St. Cloud, Minn.
Rifle at West Virginia University, TBA
Morgantown, W.V.
Men’s Tennis at Regional Tournament, All Day
Minneapolis, Minn.
Women’s Tennis at ITA Midwest Regional, All Day
East Lansing, Mich.
Sunday, Oct. 22
Men’s Soccer at Michigan, 2 p.m.
Ann Arbor, Mich.
Women’s Soccer vs. Michigan, 1 p.m.
Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
Field Hockey at Michigan, Noon
Ann Arbor, Mich.
Women’s Volleyball vs. Michigan, 2 p.m.
St. John Arena, Columbus, Ohio
