Athletics Good Stuff – Ohio State Buckeyes
12/4/2007 12:00:00 AM | General
Athletes of the Week
Senior defender Eric Brunner of the men’s soccer team tallied his first-career two-goal game and collected two key saves in Ohio State’s 4-3 double-overtime win over UC Santa Barbara Dec. 2, sending the Buckeyes to their first appearance at the national quarterfinals in program history.
Despite UCSB jumping ahead with a two-goal lead, Ohio State defeated the defending national champion Gauchos in the third round of the NCAA men’s soccer championship at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. Off a 20-yard free kick, Brunner, an All-Big Ten defender, tied the game at 3-all with his second goal of the game and then made one of two crucial save in the backfield to keep the UCSB from scoring with four minutes left in regulation.
Ohio State will face Bradley at 1 p.m. Sunday at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium in its first appearance in the Elite Eight.’ Brunner, a native of Dublin, Ohio, became the first Buckeye to be named to the MAC Hermann Trophy Division I national player of the year watch list in the fall and has tallied six goals this season. As the leader of Ohio State’s back line, Brunner has guided the Buckeyes to a program-high 15 wins in this season.
Senior wrestler J.D. Bergman nabbed the heavyweight title at the 26th Annual Cliff Keen Las Vegas Collegiate Wrestling Invitational at the Las Vegas Convention Center Saturday. En route to the championship round, Bergman defeated Jason Still of Wyoming (4-1), Ryan Bergman of Cal-State Bakersfield (13-6), John Wise of Illinois (16-6) and Wade Sauer of Cal-State Fullerton (6-5). Bergman claimed the title after Dustin Rogers of West Virginia took a medical default.
Athletics Good Stuff
Men’s Basketball (4-3; 0-0 Big Ten)
Head Coach: Thad Matta
Ohio State dropped a 66-55 decision to No. 1 North Carolina Nov. 28 in Value City Arena and fell to No. 16 Butler, 65-46, in Indianapolis Dec. 1.
Freshman Jon Diebler entered into halftime with four 3 pointers vs. the Tar Heels, leading the Buckeyes in scoring with 12 points. Diebler hit for a career-high 19 points, connecting on a personal-best five-of-14 treys and seven field goals.
Jamar Butler added two more treys to up the school record in career-made 3-pointers to 159. The senior from Lima, Ohio, coveted the Buckeye all-time record after making 4-of-8 3s in the win against VMI Nov. 25.
Senior Othello Hunter tallied a career-high in blocks, stopping six of UNC’s attempts.
Against the Bulldogs, freshman Kosta Koufos, sophomore David Lighty and Hunter lead the Buckeyes in scoring with 16, 12, and 10 points, respectively.
Up Next: vs. Presbyterian College, noon Dec. 15 in Value City Arena; at Cleveland State, 7 p.m. Dec. 18 in Cleveland, Ohio
No. 17/19 Women’s Basketball (6-2; 0-0 Big Ten)
Head Coach: Jim Foster
The Buckeyes fell to No. 3 Maryland, 77-53, Nov. 30 at the women’s Big Ten/ACC Challenge in College Park, Md., before bouncing back Dec. 2 with a 69-55 win over Ole Miss, a 2007 NCAA Elite Eight qualifier, at Value City Arena.
Freshman Jantel Lavender posted her third double-double of the season with 16 points and 14 rebounds to lead Ohio State against the Terrapins. Also scoring for the Buckeyes were junior guard Ashlee Trebilcock and freshman Brittany Johnson who added nine each while Maria Moeller added six off the bench.
On Sunday, Lavender recorded her third-straight double-double and her fourth of the season with a season-best 24 points and 15 boards as Trebilcock tallied a career-high five 3-pointers for a season-high 18 points. The Buckeyes went on a 17-0 run late in the game to pull away from the Lady Rebels. It was the 640th win of Foster’s career.
For her efforts, Lavender earned her second Big Ten Player of the Week honor in three weeks. Against No. 3 Maryland and Ole Miss, the freshman averaged 20.0 points and 14.5 rebounds in the two games. Lavender, who became the first Ohio State freshman to receive Big Ten Player of the Week honors since Katie Smith in 1993 two weeks ago, is now the first Big Ten freshman to receive the honor twice through the first four weeks of the regular season.
Up Next: at Washington, 7 p.m. ET Dec. 16 in Seattle, Wash.
No. 1 Football (11-1; 7-1 Big Ten)
Head Coach: Jim Tressel
Ohio State moved into first in the BCS poll to earn a trip to its second-consecutive national championship game. The Buckeyes, 11-1, will face LSU, 11-2, Jan. 7 at the Superdome in New Orleans.
Wide receiver Brian Robiskie was named first-team Academic All-America, as selected by ESPN The Magazine and CoSIDA. The junior from Cleveland, Ohio, led the Buckeyes in receiving this season with 50 catches for 885 yards and 10 touchdowns. Robiskie holds a 3.50 grade-point average in marketing.
Senior Kirk Barton and junior James Laurinaitis were named to the 2007 AFCA Head Coaches’ All-America Team announced by the American Football Head Coaches Association Nov. 29.
National Awards Watch List
Todd Boeckman – Davey O’Brien Award semifinalist (one of 15)
Vernon Gholston – Ted Hendricks Award semifinalist (one of 10)
Malcolm Jenkins – Jim Thorpe Award semifinalist (one of 12)
Dionte Johnson – ARA Sportsmanship Award semifinalist (one of 10)
James Laurinaitis – Lombardi Award finalist (one of 4), Butkus Award finalist (one of 3), Lott Trophy finalist (one of 4), Nagurski Award finalist, Bednarik Award finalist, Walter Camp Player of the Year semifinalist
Ryan Pretorius – Lou Groza Award semifinalist (one of 20)
Brian Robiskie – Biletnikoff Award finalist (one of 10), Academic All-America national ballot
AJ Trapasso – Ray Guy Award semifinalist (one of 12)
Jim Tressel – Bear Bryant Head Coach of year semifinalist (one of 10)
No. 4 Men’s and Women’s Gymnastics
Head Coaches: Miles Avery and Carey Fagan
DJ Bucher and Beth Ann Ballard claimed the Mixed Pairs crown at Ohio State gymnastics’ annual exhibition to open the season Sunday at St. John Arena. The duo’s winning total of 73.4 secured the victory.
Bucher grabbed two first-place finishes on pommel horse (13.8) and parallel bars (15.9) while finishing third on rings (14.5). Ballard’s best finish came on vault where the gymnast scored a 9.825 for second place and noted a 9.65 on bars and a 9.725 on beam.
Coming in second, Jake Bateman tallied a 14.9 on rings, 14.8 on vault and a 15.05 on high bar while partner Jessica Staton scored a 9.65 on vault and 9.5 on bars.
Rounding out the Top 3, Shachar Tal had a 14.3 on floor and 14.75 on parallel bars with partner Alyssa Meyer notching impressive scores on bars (9.725), beam (9.775) and floor (9.75).
Men’s Hockey (4-11-1; 2-8-0 CCHA)
Head Coach: John Markell
After defeating No. 2 Michigan, 3-2, Nov. 30, the Buckeyes dropped to the Wolverines, 4-2, in Yost Ice Arena in Ann Arbor, Mich., Dec. 1. Ohio State and Michigan (14-2-0, 9-1-0 CCHA) have split each of the last four series.
Sophomore goalie Joseph Palmer made 28 saves and the Buckeye penalty-killing unit was 8-for-8 in the Ohio State win. Palmer added another 30 saves in game two.
On the weekend, Buckeyes Tommy Goebel and Sergio Somma scored twice and John Dingle scored once while freshman Chris Reed tallied two assists followed by classmates John Albert and Brad Gorham with one apiece.
Up Next: vs. St. Lawrence, 7:05 p.m. Dec. 7 in Value City Arena; vs. St. Lawrence, 7:05 p.m. Dec. 8 in Value City Arena; at Alaska, 7:05 p.m. Dec. 14 in Fairbanks, Alaska; at Alaska, 7:05 p.m. Dec. 15 in Fairbanks, Alaska
Women’s Hockey (8-6-2; 5-5-2 WCHA)
Head Coach: Jackie Barto
Head coach Jackie Barto announced the signing of seven student-athletes to NCAA National Letters of Intent. The freshman class for 2008-09 includes Brittany Carlson from Hudson, Wis., Melissa Feste from Bloomington, Minn., Laura McIntosh from Waterloo, Ontario, Lauren Smith from Burnsville, Minn., Natalie Spooner from Toronto, Ontario, Kim Theut from Harrison Township, Mich., and Kelly Wild from Mendota Heights, Minn.
Up Next: at Minnesota Duluth, 3:37 p.m. Dec. 8 in Duluth, Minn.; at Minnesota Duluth, 3:07 p.m. Dec. 9 in Duluth, Minn.
No. 14 Men’s Soccer (15-3-5; 4-1-1 Big Ten)
Head Coach: John Bluem
Ohio State hosted Louisville in the second round of the NCAA championship Nov. 28 in Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium and handed the Cardinals a 1-0 loss to advance to the Sweet 16.’
Ohio State defeated defending national champion UC Santa Barbara, 4-3, in double-overtime to advance to the Elite Eight’ for the first time in program history Dec. 2 at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.
The fifth-seeded Buckeyes have posted a 13-game unbeaten streak, improving to 15-3-5 and will host unseeded Bradley at 1 p.m. Sunday in its first trip to the national quarterfinals.
Down by two goals, senior forward Eric Edwards scored off of a Xavier Balc corner kick in the 66th minute to bring the deficit to one goal and four minutes later senior defender Eric Brunner scored his second goal of the game off a free kick from 20 yards out to tie the game at 3-3. Brunner’s two goals notched his first career two-goal game.
Sophomore Andrew Magill scored his second game winning goal of the week to end the game in the second period of overtime.
Up Next: vs. Bradley, time date in Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium
No. 13 Men’s Swimming and Diving (4-0; 0-0 Big Ten)
Head Coach: Bill Wadley
Ohio State finished second out of 13 teams at the third-annual Ohio State Swimming and Diving Invitational Dec. 2 with a total of 1074 points. The Buckeyes were just 94 points behind defending Big Ten champion Minnesota’s winning score of 1168.5.
Buckeyes Wes Wieser and Sean Moore took the top two spots in the platform. Wieser, a junior, broke his own pool record with a score of 398.70 to capture first while freshman Moore followed in second with 380.80 points.
George Markovic won the 500-yard freestyle in a NCAA “B” cut time of 4:22.17 while teammate Stefan Sigrist swam a “B” cut time of 4:25.47 in the 500 to grab third.
Sophomore Mark Neiman finished second in the 1,650-yard freestyle with a NCAA “B” qualifying time of 15:32.69. Following Neiman were Buckeyes Ryan Stoneburg (4th), Thomas O’Neill (5th) and Stefan Sigrist (7th).
Senior Daniel Novak earned third place and a NCAA “B” cut in the 200 backstroke with a career-best time of 1:46.96.
The Scarlet and Gray had three swimmers place in the 200 breaststroke, including a second-place finish by Daniel Malnik (2:00.65). Elliott Keefer and Felipe Travesso earned fifth and sixth places, respectively.
Sophomore Niksa Roki earned a fifth-place finish in the 200 butterfly in a time of 1:48.88. Junior Matthias Sigrist finished seventh (1:49.96), while freshman Quincy Lee took eighth (1:50.92).
The Buckeyes closed out the meet with a third-place finish in the 400 freestyle relay. The squad of Voelker, Joel Elber, Andrew Bretscher and Andrew Olson touched the wall in a time of 3:01.56.
Up Next: vs. Wright State, 5 p.m. Jan. 11 in McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion
Women’s Swimming and Diving (1-3; 0-0 Big Ten)
Head Coach: Jeanne Fleck
The Buckeyes finished second out of 15 teams at the Ohio State Swimming and Diving Invitational with 691.5 points Dec. 2 at Bill and Mae McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion. Minnesota won the invite with 1,296 points.
Ohio State finished with a total of eight NCAA qualifying times during the three day meet.
Chelsea Davis won the three-meter with 333.10 points on day one and Bianca Alvarez won the one-meter with 302.80 points on day two to lead the Buckeye divers
Ohio State freshman Katelyn Brix finished third in the 1,650-yard freestyle with a personal best and NCAA “B” qualifying time of 16:46.23.
Ohio State placed four swimmers, freshmen Samantha Cheverton, Anita Beck and Brix and the sophomore Jill Lockhar, in the championship final of the 200-yard butterfly and came away scoring a total of 56 team points. Cheverton was fourth in an NCAA “B” qualifying time of 2:00.05 and she was followed by Beck, Lockhart and Brix in fourth, fifth and eighth, respectively.
The Ohio State team of Linda Lund-Kristiansen, Rennebohm, Beck and Cheverton placed fourth in 3:27.921 in the 400-yard freestyle relay.
Up Next: vs. Toledo, 1 p.m. Jan. 5 in McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion
Women’s Volleyball (13-16; 7-13 Big Ten)
Head Coach: Jim Stone
Ohio State senior middle blocker Danielle Meyer was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America First Team, by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Nov. 28. Meyer, a textiles and clothing major from Cincinnati, was an ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America second team selection in 2006. She is a three-time Ohio State Scholar-Athlete and has twice been named Academic All-Big Ten.
This season, Meyer averaged 5.06 points, 4.10 kills, 2.70 digs and 1.33 blocks per game to lead the Buckeyes while hitting .254. She was second on the team in aces with 21 (.20 per game) and had a .948 reception percentage. Meyer started all 29 matches this season and played in all 104 games.
Men’s Volleyball
Head Coach: Pete Hanson
Head Coach Pete Hanson has received two National Letters of Intent for the 2008-09 season, signing Mikelis Berzins, a native of Brinklow, Md., and Shawn Sangrey from Columbia, Pa.
Berzins, a 6-2 outside hitter/libero, is the son of former Ohio State All-American and United States Olympic Gold Medalist Aldis Berzins. Mik attends Sherwood High School where he is a soccer and volleyball standout.
Sangrey, a 6-5 opposite, helped Hempfield High School to back-to-back state championships in 2006 and 07. He was the MVP of the 2007 state championship and was all-state selection in 2006 and 07.
Ohio State is coming off a 23-4 season and was the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association regular season champion. The Buckeyes finished ninth in the final USA Today/AVCA poll. Ohio State begins the 2008 season by hosting IFPW at 7 p.m. Jan. 11.
No. 8 Wrestling (4-1; 0-0 Big Ten)
Head Coach: Tom Ryan
Ohio State began the week with a 37-0 shutout over Rutgers Nov. 26 in St. John Arena. It was the Buckeyes’ first shutout since 2001 when they blanked Clarion at the Clarion Duals.
Freshman Robel Campbell recorded his first collegiate victory with a 6-5 decision against the Scarlet Knights.
Ohio State led the field of 50-teams heading into the finals (Dec. 1) where the Buckeyes finished third with 121 points at the 26th Annual Cliff Keen Las Vegas Collegiate Wrestling Invitational at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The team finished behind Michigan (127.5) and Missouri (125).
Senior J.D. Bergman claimed the heavyweight title defeating Dustin Rogers.
Finishing second for the Buckeyes were J Jaggers at 141 pounds and Mike Pucillo at 184 pounds. In the title round, No. 2-seed Jaggers fell, 4-3, to Kellen Russell of Michigan while No. 1-seed Pucillo dropped, 7-2, to Tyrel Todd. Fifth-seed Reece Humphrey finished third at 133 pounds in a 6-4 decision over Filip Novachkov.
Eight Buckeyes entered the tournament seeded, including Top 3 seeds No. 1 Pucillo, No. 2 Jaggers and No. 3 seeds Bergman and Lance Palmer.
Up Next: vs. Wisconsin, 7 p.m. Dec. 10 in St. John Arena; at Ohio Duals, All Day Dec. 16 in Athens, Ohio
Ohio State Athletics Schedule
Dec. 7-10
Friday, Dec. 7-9
Fencing at Division I North American Cup, TBA
Richmond, Va.
Friday, Dec. 7
Men’s hockey vs. St. Lawrence, 7:05 p.m.
Columbus, Ohio
Value City Arena
Saturday, Dec. 8
Women’s hockey at Minnesota Duluth, 3:37 p.m.
Duluth, Minn.
Men’s hockey vs. St. Lawrence, 7:05 p.m.
Columbus, Ohio
Value City Arena
Monday, Dec. 10
Wrestling vs. Wisconsin, 7 p.m.
Columbus, Ohio
St. John Arena
Men’s basketball vs. Coppin State, 8 p.m.
Columbus, Ohio
Value City Arena
