Athletics Good Stuff – Ohio State Buckeyes
5/9/2006 12:00:00 AM | General
May 9, 2006
Athletes of the Week
Last week at the Jesse Owens Track Classic, senior throwerKeturah (KAH-tour-ah) Lofton topped her own school record in thewomen’s hammer throw. Her heave of 209 feet, 1 inch bested herprevious OSU standard of 204-7. Lofton’s record-setter placedsecond in the hammer at the J.O. Classic. She also turned in arunner-up and season-best mark of 47-5 in the shot put and tookfourth in the discus at 131-7.
The three-time All-American and 2004 Big Ten hammer champion competes at the league meet Friday through Sunday at Michigan State.
Men’s lacrosse sophomore Kevin Buchanan was named the GreatWestern Lacrosse League Player of the Week for the week of May 1-7,the league announced Tuesday. Buchanan, from Cockeysville, Md.,(Calvert Hall) had four goals, two assists and six points in theBuckeyes’ road win over No. 16-ranked Army last Saturday. Three ofhis four goals and both of his assists came in the second half, asthe Buckeyes broke a 6-all halftime tie and came away with a 12-9victory. He also had four groundballs in the win. Buchanan endedthe campaign tied for the team scoring lead with 41 points and hada team-best 26 goals. He had at least one point in every game thisseason (with at least two points in each of the last eight games)and ended the year on a 10-game goal-scoring streak. Buchanan hadan eight-point game and two six-point outings this season. His goal(26), assist (15) and point (41) totals all are career highs.
Athletics Good Stuff
The men’s tennis team will host the first and second rounds ofthe 2006 NCAA Men’s Tennis National Championships this weekend, afirst in program history. The No. 6-seeded Buckeyes will faceButler at 10 a.m. Saturday in the first round. The Buckeyes (25-1)and Bulldogs (14-9) will meet for the second time this season. OSUtook the first meeting 7-0 Feb. 17. The other match will be No. 39Michigan against No. 25 Arkansas (1 p.m.). The Buckeyes have beatenthe Wolverines twice this season. OSU downed Michigan 7-0 in AnnArbor, Mich., April 16, then beat the Wolverines 4-0 April 29 inthe semifinals of the 2006 Big Ten Tournament in Minneapolis, Minn.The Buckeyes defeated Illinois the next day to claim the 2006 BigTen Tournament title. Ohio State claimed the 2006 Big Ten outrightregular season title as well (10-0). It is the first time OSU hasswept the regular season and tournament titles in school history.The winners of round one matches will meet at noon Sunday. Baseballis 31-15 overall and has the most wins and best winning percentage(.674) of any team in the Big Ten. The Buckeyes beat Michigan State16-2 in the opener and then swept the doubleheader 12-3 and 6-4before the Spartans won the finale 5-2 and prevent the Buckeyesfrom staying in a first-place tie in the conference standings. J.B.Shuck was the leading Ohio State batter at Michigan State. He had ateam-best nine hits and batted .500 for the series. He had twodoubles and a triple, drove in two runs and scored seven times.Shuck had two hits in the opening game of the series and followedup with three hits in each game of the doubleheader. He also had adouble in the final game. Matt Angle also was .500 against theSpartans. He was 8-for-16 and drove in six runs while scoring seventimes. Angle drove in four RBI with two hits a sacrifice fly in the16-2 win, had five hits between the two games of the doubleheaderand added a hit on Sunday. Ronnie Bourquin continues to pace theconference with a .425 batting average. Dan DeLucia, Cory Luebkeand Josh Barrera picked up pitching wins in Lansing. DeLucia wonhis eighth game of the year, a total that leads the Big Ten. Luebkewon the second game of the series to improve to 6-4, while Barrerapicked up a relief victory in game three to improve to 3-1. OhioState will play host to Minnesota this weekend. The series opensFriday with a single game at 6:35 p.m. and will play a doubleheaderSaturday at 1:35 p.m. before concluding the series Sunday with asingle game at 1:05 p.m. Games one, three and four of the serieswill be broadcast in Columbus on AM 920 WMNI. The fourth-rankedrowing team heads to Oak Ridge, Tenn., to compete in the AramarkSouth/Central Region Championships May 13-14. The Buckeyes, whorecently won the Big Ten title, are looking for theirfourth-consecutive Central Region crown. Not since 2001 has thesame team claimed the Big Ten and Central Region championship in aseason.
The rowing team garnered two postseason Big Ten awards, the conference announced last Thursday. Head coach Andy Teitelbaum was named co-coach of the year, sharing the award with Minnesota’s Wendy Davis. Senior Ninett Kossowsky (ni-NET kos-SOV-sky) was selected Big Ten Rowing Athlete of the Year, marking the second time a Buckeye has earned the award in program history.
The softball team (37-20, 11-7 Big Ten) carries the No. 4 seedinto the Big Ten tournament this weekend at Northwestern, where theBuckeyes will face Penn State in a quarterfinal game at 12:30 p.m.(EDT) Friday. The winner advances to a semifinal game at 5:30 p.m.Friday, with the championship game at 1 p.m. Saturday live on CSTV.In its final home games of the season, Ohio State swept Oaklandlast Wednesday (8-1, 9-0) before dropping two games at Penn Stateover the weekend, but nonetheless the Buckeyes still ended theregular season with the Big Ten’s best offense, batting .288 as ateam overall and .307 in league games. Before its streak came to anend Sunday, Ohio State had not been shut out in a school-record 28consecutive games. The track and field team completed the 2006regular season by playing host to the 21st Jesse Owens TrackClassic Friday and Saturday. Several Buckeyes on both the men’s andwomen’s teams turned in strong performances as the squad preparedfor the Big Ten championships at Michigan State this weekend.
Senior Keturah (KAH-tour-ah) Lofton bested her own school record in the hammer to place second at 209 feet, 1 inch. Her previous best was 204-07 set in her All-American season of 2004. Lofton added a second-place mark in the shot put at a season-best 47-5 and was fourth in the discus at 131-9.
The women’s 4x100m relay team also turned in a season-best at 46.02. Ayrizanna (AY-riz-ahnah) Favours and Jenna Harris contributed to that relay time and, individually, Favours finished second in the 400m (53.37) and Harris was third in the 100m (11.86) and second in the 200m (24.11). Bever-liegh (bever-LEE) Holloway also was first in the 100m hurdles in a season-best 14.23.
For the men, Brian Olinger timed the second-fastest mark in Ohio State history to take sixth in the men’s mile invitational Saturday. In the field, Patrick Whalen (WAY-len) finished third with a regional qualifying throw of 55-9 1/2 in the shot put and Lenny Jatsek narrowly missed a season-best hammer throw with a heave of 187-10 3/4. Brandon Cathcart won the triple jump at 50-3 1/2.
The No. 22 women’s golf team travels to College Station, Texas,to open the 2006 NCAA Women’s Golf Championships, May 11-13. TheBuckeyes are making their 10th-consecutive appearance in the NCAAtournament this season. It will be Ohio State head coach ThereseHession’s 11th trip to the national tournament throughout her 15seasons with the Buckeyes. The top eight teams from the qualifierwill continue onto Columbus, Ohio for the 2006 NCAA Women’s GolfChampionships May 23-26. The four rounds of competition will beheld on the Ohio State University Scarlet Course. Each round willcost $10, while an all-session pass is available for $20. Practicerounds will have no charge. A complete schedule is available atohiostatebuckeyes.com. For tickets please visit hangonsloopy.com.The men’s lacrosse team (7-6, 3-2 GWLL) wrapped up its 2006 seasonwith a 12-9 road victory over No. 16-ranked Army last Saturdaytelevised live on ESPNU. Sophomore Kevin Buchanan had a team-bestfour goals and six points in the win, while freshman Joel Dalgarnohad two goals and two assists for four points and senior CraigNolan chipped in three goals. Wrestling head coach Tom Ryanannounced the selection of three assistant coaches to join the OSUstaff. Lou Rosselli, who spent 14 seasons at Edinboro, and formerBuckeye Tommy Rowlands were named to the staff. Joe Heskett, whospent two seasons as the volunteer assistant coach at Cal PolyUniversity San Luis Obispo, will be the Buckeyes’ volunteerassistant coach.
Jim Humphrey and Ross Thatcher also will remain on the Ohio State staff. Humphrey will continue to coach the Ohio Wrestling Club. Thatcher, who served as the program director of recruiting and conditioning in his first season with the Buckeyes in 2005-06, will become the director of operations this upcoming year.
The men’s hockey team held its annual awards banquet Saturdayat The Blackwell. The team awards were handed out, while the seniorclass of Dave Caruso, Nate Guenin, Dan Knapp and Rod Pelley alsowas honored. For the second consecutive year, Caruso was voted theBobby Brown Most Valuable Player by his teammates. Sophomore TomFritsche was the winner of the Leading Scorer Award for thesecond-consecutive season. Guenin was voted the Joseph W. SmithBest Defensive Player award winner by his teammates. Juniordefenseman Sean Collins received the Scarlet and Gray Award, whichis given annually to the most intense competitor, as voted by theoff-ice officials. Kenny Bernard, a junior forward, was therecipient of the Most Improved Player Award. Junior forward MathieuBeaudoin received the Center Ice Club Scholar-Athlete Award. Therecipient of the Coaches Award was Pelley. Forward Nick Biondo wasvoted the George Burke Most Valuable Freshman. The women’s hockeyteam announced their 2005-06 awards Saturday at the team banquet.Senior Jana Harrigan earned her third-consecutive Most ValuableOffensive Player award while sophomore Lisa Chesson (CHESS-on) wasnamed Most Valuable Defensive Player. Junior Lacey Schultz receivedthe Scarlet and Gray Award as well as the Buckeye Power Club Award.Hayley Klassen earned the Most Valuable Freshman honors andclassmate Liana Bonanno (le-AA-na bo-NAAN-o) was given the TeamAcademic Award. Fellow rookie Megan Hostasek (hos-ta-SHEK) wasnamed Most Improved Player. Sophomore Mallory Peckels earned theSeventh Player Award. Along with Harrigan, the Buckeyes celebratedfellow departing seniors Crystal Sayther and Katie Sershen. Thewomen’s tennis team held its annual awards banquet Saturday at OhioStadium. Freshman Julie Blackmore (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) wasawarded the Coach’s Award, which is given to the hardest worker onthe team. The Strength and Conditioning Buckeye Power Award, whichis given to the hardest working Buckeye in the weight room, wasgiven to red-shirt freshman Sara Kinning (Grand Blanc, Mich.). TheMost Improved award and the award for Most Valuable Player wereboth split between two Buckeyes, as both honors went to sophomoresCaitlin O’Keefe (Troy, Mich.) and Sonia Ruzimovsky (Brooklyn,N.Y.). Also honored was senior captain Emily Howard (Akron, Ohio).Marscilla Packer, who completed her sophomore season at Ohio Statein 2005-06, has been invited to tryout for USA Basketball’sUnder-20 National Team May 18-20 in Colorado Springs. Packer willcontend for a spot on the U-20 U.S. team that will compete in the2006 FIBA Americas Championship Aug. 9-13 in either Costa Rica orGuatemala.
Packer, who netted .462 percent (79-171) of her 3-point tries last season, established an Ohio State record for single-season 3-point rate and is the program’s all-time leader at .427 (99-232). A starter in 28 of 32 contests last season, Packer was a major contributor to Ohio State’s 29-3 overall record and helped the Buckeyes win an outright Big Ten title and first league tournament crown.
Ohio State Athletics Schedule
Thursday, May 11 – Sunday, May 14
Thursday, May 11
Women’s Golf at NCAA Central Regional
College Station, Texas
Friday, May 12
Men’s and Women’s Track at Big Ten Championships
East Lansing, Mich.
Baseball vs. Minnesota, 6:35 p.m.
Bill Davis Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
Softball vs. Penn State, 11:30 a.m.
Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinals
Softball vs. Northwestern/Illinois winner, 4:30 p.m.
Big Ten semifinals
Evanston, Ill.
Women’s Golf at NCAA Central Regional
College Station, Texas
Saturday, May 13
Men’s and Women’s Track at Big Ten Championships
East Lansing, Mich.
Baseball vs. Minnesota, 1:35 and 4:05 p.m.
Bill Davis Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
Rowing at Central/ South Regional Championships
Oak Ridge, Tenn.
Women’s Golf at NCAA Central Regional
College Station, Texas
Softball Big Ten Tournament Championship, Noon
Evanston, Ill.
Men’s Tennis vs. Butler, 10 a.m.
Arkansas vs. Michigan, 1 p.m.
NCAA Tournament First Round
Stickney Tennis Center, Columbus, Ohio
Sunday, May 14
Men’s and Women’s Track at Big Ten Championships
East Lansing, Mich.
Baseball vs. Minnesota, 1:05 p.m.
Bill Davis Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
Rowing at Central/ South Regional Championships
Oak Ridge, Tenn.
Men’s Tennis NCAA Second Round, Noon
Stickney Tennis Center, Columbus, Ohio
