Athletics Good Stuff – Ohio State Buckeyes
1/30/2007 12:00:00 AM | General
Jan. 30, 2007
Athletes of the Week
Robbie Klein of the men’s volleyball team was named the MIVAShondell/Dunlap Division Player of the Week. Klein helped OhioState to wins over Rutgers-Newark, 3-0 (30-26, 30-28, 30-18) andCarthage, 3-1 (30-24, 26-30, 32-30, 30-21) last week to keep theBuckeyes undefeated at 7-0. Klein had a team-high 12 kills againstRutgers-Newark adding two assists, two ace serves four digs and anassist block for 14.5 points. Against Carthage, Klein postedcareer-highs of 29.5 points, 23 kills, five ace serves and aseason-high six digs in the victory. Tied at one game each againstthe Red Men, he had seven kills in seven attempts in game three.Down by as many as five points (25-20), Klein had a kill in afour-point OSU run to cut the lead to 25-24. He scored OSU’s nextthree points to keep OSU in the game at 28-27. A Carthage errortied the game at 28. Klein’s fifth ace serve of the match gave OSUa 29-28 lead. OSU won the game, 32-30. Klein then had six kills innine attempts in game four to help end the match. In the final twogames, Klein hit .813 (13-16). His five ace serves in the matchties for third on the OSU match record list. As a passer, he had a.940 serve reception percentage handling 50 of 53 serves in the twomatches (11 with no errors against Rutgers-Newark and 36 of 39against Carthage). Junior DJ Bucher captured event titles on allthree events he competed on last weekend to secure the men’sgymnastics team’s win over conference rival Illinois. Bucher, inhis first meet of the 2007 season, grabbed the individual eventtitles on pommel horse, rings and parallel bars to bring his careerfirst-place finishes to 20. On pommel horse, the Mason, Ohio,native scored a 9.0, .45 tenths of a point above the competition.In addition, he claimed the rings title with a 9.65 and finishedthe night with a 9.7 title win on parallel bars. Bucher swings intofirst on rings and parallel bars and third on pommel horse in theGymInfo national rankings. Junior co-captain Maalika Moore-Thomasplaced second in the all-around with a career high 39.375 in atri-meet win at Michigan State. She led the women’s gymnastics teamin three of four events and shared the team lead on the fourthevent. Moore-Thomas placed second overall in four of five eventsand third on floor. She posted team-best scores of 9.875 on vault,a career-high 9.875 on bars and a career high on beam with a 9.80.Moore-Thomas scored a 9.825 on floor tied for the team lead. Sheleads the Buckeyes on both floor and vault. She holds a 9.817average on floor, which is No. 11 in the central region and a 9.842average on vault, which is tied for No. 9 in the central region.Moore-Thomas ranks No. 15 in the central region in the all-aroundwith a 38.717 average.
Athletics Good Stuff
The men’s basketball team improved to 18-3 overall and 6-1 inBig Ten Conference play with a 66-64 victory over Michigan Statelast Saturday at Value City Arena. The game with the Spartanscompleted the ESPN GameDay experience at Ohio State, the first BigTen institution to play host to the college basketball version ofthe popular ESPN programming. The Buckeyes turn their attention toa pair of road contests this week. Ohio State travels to PurdueWednesday (7 p.m. ESPN2) and then to East Lansing, Mich., Saturday(4 p.m./CBS) to take on Michigan State for the second time in aweek. The No. 5/7 ranked women’s basketball team (19-1, 8-0 BigTen) took over sole possession of first place in the Big Ten with a64-55 win at No. 10/13 Purdue Monday in a game nationally televisedon ESPN2. Star Allen led the Buckeyes with career highs of 21points and 13 rebounds. She hit 10-of-12 shots from the floor asthe Buckeyes upped their win streak against Big Ten teams to 25games. Marscilla Packer had 13 points and Jessica Davenport andBrandie Hoskins added 12 each. Earlier in the week, the Buckeyesknocked off Indiana, 72-62, at home. Hoskins led all scorers with19 points against the Hoosiers, while Allen pitched in with 16.
Ohio State plays at Northwestern Thursday and returns home to face Iowa Sunday.
The men’s hockey team (10-11-5, 8-8-4 CCHA) split its serieswith No. 19 Lake Superior State in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., Jan.26-27. After a 4-2 loss Friday in which junior forward Tom Fritschescored both of Ohio State’s goals, the Buckeyes responded with a5-3 victory Saturday. Seniors Sean Collins (1g, 1a) and AndrewSchembri (2a) each recorded two points in the win and freshmangoaltender Joseph Palmer made 29 saves to improve to 10-9-4 thisseason.
The Buckeyes continue their road swing Feb. 2-3 when they travel to Big Rapids, Mich., to face Ferris State in a CCHA series. Games begin at 7:05 p.m. both Friday and Saturday at Ewigleben Ice Arena.
The 10th-ranked women’s hockey team (14-10-4, 9-9-4 WCHA) tookone point in a home conference series against No. 7 MinnesotaDuluth, Jan. 26-27. The Bulldogs rallied for a 5-3 victory Friday,as Morgan Marziali, Rachel Davis and Erin Keys each scored a goalfor the Buckeyes. Junior defenseman Lisa Chesson scored the loneOSU goal Saturday as the teams skated to a 1-1 tie. Elevendifferent Buckeyes recorded a point in the series.
Ohio State next travels to Grand Forks, N.D., to take on the Fighting Sioux of North Dakota, Feb. 2-3. Games begin at 7:07 p.m. both Friday and Saturday at Ralph Engelstad Arena.
The 11th-ranked men’s volleyball (7-0) extended its winningstreak to seven matches with wins over Rutgers-Newark, 3-0 (30-26,30-28, 30-18) and Carthage, 3-1 (30-24, 26-30, 32-30, 30-21) lastweek. Robbie Klein, Dan Meske and Sam Stevens each recorded 14.5points in the win over Rutgers-Newark. Klein posted a team-high 12kills while John Albertson had a match-high six blocks with a soloand five assists. Klein had a match/career-high 29.5 points againstCarthage with career-highs of 23 kills and five ace serves in thematch. Albertson contributed 17 points with 13 kills and amatch-high seven blocks (1-6).
Ohio State goes on the road this week to face No. 9 Penn State (2-2) Thursday and St. Francis (4-2) Friday.
The No. 4 men’s gymnastics team (4-2; 1-0 Big Ten) grabbed itsfirst conference win over No. 5 Illinois, 214.7-211.05, at HuffHall in Champaign, Ill., last week. In its first Big Ten win, OhioState finished ahead of Illinois on four events and turned infirst-place routines on all events but vault. The team swept thetop three finishes on rings and parallel bars to note season-highscores of 37.65 and 37.05, respectively. DJ Bucher led the Buckeyeson both events and also earned a first-place finish on pommelhorse. Sophomore Eddie Hay scored a 9.55 for first and junior DavidOrtiz added the team’s fifth individual event title on high barwith a 9.25.
The squad hosts its home opener, one of only two, against Temple at 7 p.m. Saturday in St. John Arena.
The No. 19 women’s gymnastics team scored a season-high 194.850Saturday night in East Lansing, Mich., to win a tri-meet thatincluded Illinois-Chicago and host Michigan State. Eight Ohio Stateroutines were career highs for the Buckeyes, including two fromMaalika Moore-Thomas. The team total is the highest for theBuckeyes since March 12, 2005 at Illinois when they scored justover a 195 and gives Ohio State a team average of 193.908 afterthree meets this season. The Buckeyes won bars with a 49.100 andfloor with a 48.775, while posting a 48.725 on vault and a 48.250on beam.
Ohio State will remain on the road this week for its third-consecutive road meet, with a 7 p.m. meet Saturday at Illinois.
The No. 3 men’s tennis team opened the dual season with threehome wins against Butler, Xavier and No. 18 Washington. The winsextended the Buckeyes home win streak to 43 consecutive matches,the streak began during the 2003 season. In the three contests, OSUwon all but one in straight sets in 18 singles matches and won allnine doubles matches. The win against Washington was Ohio State’sfirst against a school from the Pac-10 conference in 11 tries. TheBuckeyes improved to 16-0 on the opening day of the season undereighth year head coach Ty Tucker. (OSU traditionally plays twomatches on the opening day of the season.) The wrestling teamearned its second win over a ranked team when it upset No. 16Indiana, 19-14, Jan. 28 in St. John Arena. The Buckeyes won sixbouts, including three consecutive matches from 184 to 285 poundsto increase their slim 9-8 lead. No. 3 Mike Pucillo began thestring of victories at 184 pounds with an 18-6 major decisionagainst 12th-ranked Marc Bennett. With the win, Pucillo remainedperfect on the season at 15-0. Seventh-ranked J.D. Bergman followedat 197 pounds, posting a 4-2 decision over Nate Everhart. At 285pounds, Corey Morrison recorded a dramatic 9-7 victory vs. JoshBuuck. Trailing 5-2 going into the third period, Morrison tied thescore on an escape and takedown. After Buuck answered with anescape to take a one point advantage, Morrison countered with atakedown of his own. It was with four seconds left in the match,Buuck notched an escape to tie the score at 7-all, but with onesecond remaining Morrison scored a takedown for the win.
J Jaggers (141) and No. 16 Lance Palmer (149) got the Buckeyes out to a quick 6-0 lead with decisions and No. 16 Chris Vondruska won his eighth-consecutive match at 165 pounds to give OSU its ninth point on the day.
The Buckeyes return to action at 7 p.m. Friday against Michigan State in its final dual of the season in St. John Arena. The event is OSU wrestling alumni night, as well as senior night.
The men’s track and field team completed competition Saturdayat the Gladstein Classic in Bloomington, Ind. Lenny Jatsek posted aprovisional qualifying mark of 65-8 1/4 (20.02m) to the 2006 NCAAIndoor Championships en route to his win. The Buckeyes were lead bya first-place finish in the 60-meter dash by Junior Anthony Cole ina time of 6.80. Cole added this to his seventh-place finish earlierin the day in the 200-meter dash (21.97). Sophomore BrandonCathcart also performed well in the field, taking second in thetriple jump at a distance of 51-3 3/4 (15.64m). Cathcart’s markserved as a provisional qualifier and tied the fourth-best mark inBuckeye history. For the third week in a row, sophomore Matt Comerturned in a top time in the 60-meter hurdles. In the event heclocked a 8.20 to finish fourth. Comer’s mark stands as thefourth-best in Ohio State history. Although the men’s swimming anddiving team fell to No. 6 Northwestern and No. 12 Michigan in adouble-dual meet this weekend, several athletes had outstandingperformances. The Buckeye divers swept the Top 4 places on both the1- and 3-meter springboard events. Kellen Harkness took home the3-meter title in a score of 378.95, while Nick Hanneman earned avictory on the 1-meter with 330.10 points.
Joe Doyle and Mark Neiman each picked up wins on the first day of competition, with Doyle winning the 50-yard freestyle and Neiman winning the 1,000-yard freestyle. On the second day of the dual-meet, R.J. Lemyre was the sole individual winner for the Buckeyes in the 100-yard backstroke. Ohio State defeated Michigan in four relays and Northwestern in one.
The synchronized swimming team will host the first annualJessica Beck Memorial Meet at 2 p.m. Saturday in the Bill and MaeMcCorkle Aquatic Pavilion. The Buckeyes are coming off afirst-place finish (96 points) at the OSU Tri-Meet Jan. 20 wherethey swept all three routines. The fencing team went a combined17-4 last weekend in tournaments at Penn State Saturday and NewYork University Sunday. The second-ranked OSU men went 9-1, whilethe sixth-ranked women went 8-3. The Buckeyes have a week offbefore hosting the Ohio State Duals in French Field House Feb. 10.The pistol team will compete at Purdue Saturday. The rifle teamshot at the Roger Withrow Invitational at Murray State last weekendposting a team score of 4,446. Staci Collins was OSU’s topperformer in smallbore rifle with a 553 score. Kelly Lake had ateam-high 577 in air rifle. Lake, with a 1,128 mark (551smallbore), was the top aggregate shooter for Ohio State.
The team will host the NCAA Qualifier/NRA Collegiate Sectional, Feb. 9-11.
The men’s lacrosse team, which opened practice Jan. 8, willcontinue preparation for the 2007 season with two scrimmagesSaturday in College Park, Md. The four-team event includes theBuckeyes, host Maryland, Loyola and Delaware. The Buckeyes willface Loyola at 11 a.m. and Delaware at 1 p.m. The Terrapins will goup against Delaware at 11 a.m. and Loyola at 1 p.m.
Ohio State will open the regular season at home against Robert Morris at 2 p.m. Feb. 10. Depending on the weather, the game will be played at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium or at North Turf Field.
The matchup with the Colonials is the first of six games in Columbus for the Buckeyes this season. The squad will host Harvard Feb. 25, Bucknell March 3 and Great Western Lacrosse League foes Quinnipiac March 31 and Notre Dame April 28 before wrapping up the regular season vs. Army May 6.
Longstick midfielder Ricky Pages was a preseason honorable mention All-America selection and attackman Kevin Buchanan joined Pages on the Preseason All-Great Western Lacrosse League team, released by Inside Lacrosse/Face-Off Yearbook for the 2007 season.
The women’s tennis team opened the spring season with two winslast Saturday, shutting out both Bowling Green and Cincinnati, 7-0at Jesse Owens West Tennis Center in Columbus. The squad hits theroad for a match at West Virginia Friday before returning home forthree matches the next weekend. OSU will host Marquette at 3 p.m.Feb. 9 and will face Virginia Tech and Miami (Ohio) Feb. 11 at 10a.m. and 6 p.m., respectively
Ohio State Athletics Schedule
Jan. 31 – Feb. 6
Jan. 31
Men’s Basketball at Purdue, 7 p.m.
West Lafayette, Ind.
Feb. 1
Women’s Basketball at Northwestern, 8 p.m.
Evanston, Ill.
Men’s Volleyball at Penn State, 7 p.m.
State College, Pa.
Women’s Track at New York Armory, All Day New York, N.Y.
Feb. 2
Women’s Tennis at West Virginia, 3 p.m.
Morgantown, W.V.
Wrestling vs. Michigan State, 7 p.m.
Columbus, Ohio
St. John Arena
Men’s Volleyball at St. Francis, 7 p.m.
Lorreto, Pa.
Men’s Ice Hockey at Ferris State, 7:05 p.m.
Big Rapids, Mich.
Women’s Ice Hockey at North Dakota, 7:07 p.m.
Grand Forks, N.D.
Men’s Track at Akron Invitational, All Day
Akron, Ohio
Women’s Track at Akron Invitational, All Day
Akron, Ohio
Women’s Track at New York Armory, All Day
New York, N.Y.
Feb. 3
Men’s Basketball at Michigan State, 4 p.m.
East Lansing, Mich.
Synchronized Swimming at Jessica Beck Memorial Meet, 2 p.m.
Columbus, Ohio
Bill and Mae McCorkle Aquatics Pavilion
Men’s Gymnastics vs. Temple, 7 p.m.
Columbus, Ohio
St. John Arena
Women’s Gymnastics at Illinois, 7 p.m.
Champaign, Ill.
Men’s Ice Hockey at Ferris State, 7:05 p.m.
Big Rapids, Mich.
Women’s Ice Hockey at North Dakota, 7:07 p.m.
Grand Forks, N.D.
Wrestling at Edinboro, All Day
Edinboro, Pa.
Rifle vs. Xavier, TBA
Columbus, Ohio
Lt. Hugh W. Wylie Range
Pistol at Purdue, TBA
West Lafayette, Ind.
Men’s Track at Akron Invitational, All Day
Akron, Ohio
Men’s Golf at Buckeye Alumni Challenge, All Day
Jupiter, Fla.
Feb. 4
Women’s Basketball vs. Iowa, 2:05 p.m.
Columbus, Ohio
Value City Arena
Men’s Tennis vs. Florida State, Noon
Columbus, Ohio
Jesse Owens West Recreation Center
Wrestling vs. Northwestern, 2 p.m.
Lakewood, Ohio
Feb. 6
Men’s Basketball vs. Michigan, 7 p.m.
Columbus, Ohio
Value City Arena
