Athletics Good Stuff – Ohio State Buckeyes
1/3/2007 12:00:00 AM | General
Jan. 3, 2007
Athletes of the Week
Senior men’s hockey captain Sean Collins, a native of Troy,Mich., was named Ohio Hockey Classic MVP after scoring two goals inthe tournament and helping the Buckeyes win the title. He also wasnamed CCHA Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts – his thirdconference honor this season. Collins had the first goal of thegame Friday vs. Minnesota Duluth just 1:40 into the contest. Hefollowed with a lamplighter in the second period against MiamiSaturday to give the Buckeyes a 3-2 lead in the eventual 5-3championship game victory. Collins finished the tournament with aplus-3 rating as well as five blocked shots. He also was a key partof the Ohio State penalty kill that was a perfect 9-for-9 againsttwo of the top power play units in the nation. Jessica Davenportwas named women’s basketball Big Ten Player of the Week Tuesday.The 6-5 center from Columbus Independence High School scored 24points and grabbed 11 rebounds in Ohio State’s Big Ten opening winat Iowa (73-67) Sunday. Davenport, the two-time defending Big TenPlayer of the Year, was 9-of-13 shooting from the field and madesix of her seven free throw attempts. She helped seal the win byscoring 16 of her 24 points in the second half on 6-of-7 FGshooting. She added three assists and a pair of blocks in theBuckeyes’ 11th win of the season.
Athletics Good Stuff
The men’s basketball team opened its Big Ten Conference seasonwith a 74-67 victory over Indiana Tuesday at Value City Arena. TheBuckeyes (12-2, 1-0) travel to face Illinois Saturday. That game,the second of four-consecutive games televised nationally, will bethe featured college men’s basketball broadcast on ESPN (2 p.m.ET). Against the Hoosiers, Indianapolis natives Mike Conley Jr. andGreg Oden, both freshmen, put on a show in their Big Ten debuts.Conley set a record for an Ohio State player against Indiana with10 assists while Oden set a career high with 21 points, whichincluded a 9 of 10 shooting effort from the foul line. Oden, anatural right hander, shot the foul shots left handed. He continuesto recover from right wrist surgery last summer. Oden also addedfour blocks against the Hoosiers. Conley recorded three steals anddid not turn the ball over once. The women’s basketball team openedBig Ten play with a 73-67 win at Iowa Sunday. In a game that saw 10ties and the lead change hands five times, Ohio State prevailedwith a strong second-half shooting performance. The Buckeyesknocked down 67 percent (16-24) of their tries from the floor andJessica Davenport scored 16 of her game-best 24 points in the finalstanza to give Ohio State a 1-0 start in league play. MarscillaPacker complimented Davenport, who had 11 rebounds, with 23 pointsand Brandie Hoskins added 18. The men’s hockey team upset No. 4Miami, 5-3, Saturday en route to winning the 2006 Ohio HockeyClassic at Nationwide Arena. All five goals scored against theRedHawks in the championship game were tallied by seniors as sevenof eight members of the class had a point in the game. OSU toppedMinnesota Duluth, 4-1, in the first round Friday. Senior defensemanSean Collins had two goals and was named Ohio Hockey Classic MVP.Junior forward Tom Fritsche recorded an assist in each game whileplaying for the first time this season after missing the first 18games with an intestinal illness. A total of 14 Buckeye skaters hada point in the tournament, including three-point performances byMathieu Beaudoin, Kenny Bernard and Tommy Goebel. Collins, Goebel,Fritsche and freshman goaltender Joseph Palmer were named to theAll-Tournament team.
Ohio State next hosts Alaska in a CCHA series Jan. 5 and 7 at Value City Arena. It is the first series with both games at VCA since Nov. 3-4 when the Buckeyes hosted Notre Dame. Games begin at 7:05 p.m. Friday and 3:05 p.m. Sunday with a skate with the Buckeyes session taking place after the second game.
The women’s hockey team split a series at Princeton Dec. 30-31,its final nonconference series of the 2006-07 season. The Buckeyeswon 3-2 Saturday with a two-goal performance by junior defensemanTessa Bonhomme. Sophomore forward Morgan Marziali also scored forOSU. The team fell 2-1 Sunday with junior defenseman Lisa Chessonscoring the lone Buckeye goal. Eight of Ohio State’s 11 points inthe Princeton series were scored by defensemen, led by Bonhomme whofinished with three points. Senior blueliner Amber Bowman had anassist in each game to extend her point steak to five games. Afterstarting the season 2-5-0, the Buckeyes concluded 2006 with a10-2-1 run. At 12-7-1, they are one win shy of matching their wintotal for the 2005-06 season.
The Buckeyes return to OSU Ice Rink for the first time since the weekend of Nov. 17 with a WCHA series against Bemidji State Jan. 5-6. Games begin at 7:07 p.m. Friday and 4:07 p.m. Saturday.
Ohio State wrestler J.D. Bergman finished second at 197 poundsat the 2006 Southern Scuffle in Greensboro, N.C. Bergman had animpressive outing, recording two falls and a major decision in thetwo-day event. Classmates, Chris Vondruska (165) and Lance Palmer(149) finished the tournament fifth and seventh, respectively. TheBuckeyes collected 66.5 team points to finish 10th in their finaltournament of the season.
The Scarlet and Gray will host Kent State at 2 p.m. Sunday in St. John Arena.
Men’s volleyball team finished third in the Cay ClubsInvitational in Clearwater, Fla. with a 3-0 (25-23, 25-20, 25-19)victory over Manitoba Sunday. Buckeye Daniel Mathews was named tothe All-Tournament Team at the four-day, eight-team invitational.In the championship match, Alberta defeated Pepperdine, 3-1.
Ohio State began pool play on Thursday with a 3-2 (22-25, 25-15, 24-26, 25-22, 15-7) loss to Alberta. The Buckeyes defeated McMaster 3-1 (25-17, 21-25, 28-26, 25-14) Friday and Regina 3-1 (25-22, 25-13, 23-25, 26-24) Saturday. The 2-1 pool play record moved the Buckeyes into the Bronze Medal match Sunday.
The Buckeyes, ranked 11th in the CSTV (College Sports Television)/AVCA (American Volleyball Coaches Association) Men’s Coaches Top 15 preseason poll, will begin regular season play Friday when they host MSOE (Milwaukee School of Engineering) at 7 p.m. in St. John Arena. The match begins a seven-match home stand for the Buckeyes.
The baseball team has been ranked 40th in the CollegiateBaseball Newspaper preseason poll, which was announced last week.The Buckeyes return all four weekend starting pitchers – DanDeLucia, Cory Luebke, Jake Hale and J.B. Shuck – as well as catcherEric Fryer, first baseman Justin Miller, second baseman JasonZoeller and outfielders Jacob Howell and Matt Angle. DeLucia andShuck have earned preseason All-America mention, as well. OhioState opens the season Feb. 23-25 when it plays host to JamesMadison, Kansas State and Seton Hall at the New York Yankees springtraining complex in Tampa, Fla. The men’s gymnastics team wraps uppreseason warm-ups with the Varsity Exhibition at 2 p.m. atSteelwood Training Facility. The pistol team returns to actionshooting at the Air Sectionals in North Olmsted, Ohio.
Ohio State Athletics Schedule
Jan. 3 – Jan. 10
Jan. 4
Women’s Basketball vs. Minnesota, 8 p.m.
Columbus, Ohio
Value City Arena
Jan. 5
Men’s Volleyball vs. Milwaukee School of Engineering, 7 p.m.
Columbus, Ohio
St. John Arena
Men’s Ice Hockey vs. Alaska-Fairbanks, 7:05 p.m.
Columbus, Ohio
Value City Arena
Women’s Ice Hockey vs. Bemidji State, 7:07 p.m.
Columbus, Ohio
OSU Ice Rink
Jan. 6
Men’s Basketball at Illinois, 2 p.m.
Champaign, Ill.
Women’s Basketball vs. Kentucky, Noon
Columbus, Ohio
Value City Arena
Men’s Swimming vs. Indiana, Noon
Columbus, Ohio
Bill and Mae McCorkle Aquatics Pavilion
Women’s Swimming at Ohio, 1 p.m.
Athens, Ohio
Men’s Gymnastics Varsity Exhibition, 2 p.m.
Columbus, Ohio
Steelwood Training Facility
Women’s Ice Hockey vs. Bemidji State, 4:07 p.m.
Columbus, Ohio
OSU Ice Rink
Men’s Track OSU Intrasquad, TBA
Columbus, Ohio
French Field House
Pistol at Air Sectionals, TBA
North Olmsted, Ohio
Jan. 7
Wrestling vs. Kent State, 2 p.m.
Columbus, Ohio
St. John Arena
Men’s Ice Hockey vs. Alaska-Fairbanks, 3:05 p.m.
Columbus, Ohio
Value City Arena
Jan. 8
Football vs. Florida, 8 p.m.
Glendale, Ariz.
Jan. 9
Men’s Basketball at Wisconsin, 9 p.m.
Madison, Wis.
Jan. 10
Men’s Volleyball vs. Clarke, 7 p.m.
Columbus, Ohio
St. John Arena
