Athletics Good Stuff – Ohio State Buckeyes
4/3/2007 12:00:00 AM | General
April 3, 2007
Athletes of the Week
Sophomore gymnast Eddie Hay scored a career-high 9.8 on floorto clinch the team’s third-consecutive Big Ten team championship.Hay’s first-place finish secured the 2007 Buckeye squad’s spot inthe OSU record books as the first team to win three-consecutiveconference titles. At the individual event championships, Haybettered his score on floor to a 9.825, only .05 points shy of theOSU record, to win his first individual conference event crown. Forhis performance, Hay was named to the 2007 All-Big Ten team andalso was recognized by his teammates with the Big Ten SportsmanshipAward. Gymnast DJ Bucher (BOO-ker) captured his third-career BigTen individual championship title at the 2007 event finals when hescored a 9.675 on parallel bars. Bucher won his first title on theapparatus as a freshman with a 9.737 and won the pommel horse titlelast year with a score of 9.0. At the team championships, Buchertied for first on rings with a 9.65 and finished second on parallelbars with a 9.6. For the second-consecutive time in his career,Bucher was named to the All-Big Ten team. The first varsity eightboat of Claudia Wurzel (VUR-sal), Justine Mahler, Zuzanna Trzcinska(trch-ZIN-ska), Patricia Goodeman (GOOD-man), GabrieleAlbertaviciute (al-bert-a-vi-CHUTE-a), Jessica Shepherd, AnnabelleFago (FOG-o), Briony Clare (BREE-ne) and coxswain Susanne Wilsonposted its second upset in as many weeks Saturday against No. 2Virginia in the ACC/Big Ten Duals. The fourth-ranked Buckeyesclocked in at 6:40.9 to beat the Cavaliers by almost five seconds(6:45.8). Ohio State also defeated Duke in the morning race by 16.9seconds with a time of 6:42.5. The varsity eight are 3-1 thisseason with two of its wins coming against the then-No. 1 and 2crews in the nation.
Athletics Good Stuff
In its fifth appearance in the national title game, the men’sbasketball team (35-4) lost to Florida (35-5), 84-75, Monday at theGeorgia Dome. The Buckeyes have been national runner-ups threetimes previously, including in 1939, ’61 and ’62. OSU’s onlynational championship win came in 1960 with a 75-55 victory overCalifornia. At the national championship game, freshman center GregOden led the Buckeyes with 25 points and 12 rebounds, his 14thdouble-double of the season.
Oden also earned a pair of awards on April 1 from the National Association of Basketball Coaches. The association selected Oden as the nation’s defensive player of the year in 2007 as well as the Pete Newell Big Man of the Year.
Senior Ron Lewis’ game tying 3-pointer which sent the Buckeyes into overtime vs. Xavier was selected by fans as the “Pontiac Game Changing Performance” of the 2007 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament. As the recipient, a $100,000 scholarship contribution will be made to the university.
Women’s basketball’s Jessica Davenport was named one of 10 Women’s Basketball Coaches Association/ Kodak All-Americans March 31 in Cleveland, Ohio, site of the 2007 NCAA Women’s Final Four. With her 2007 honor, Davenport becomes just the 20th player all-time to earn three Kodak All-America awards. Davenport joins Katie Smith and Tracey Hall as Ohio State’s only multiple All-Americans.
Davenport, one of 22 top women’s basketball prospects from around the world invited to the 2007 WNBA Draft presented by adidas on Wednesday, April 4. The Renaissance Hotel in Cleveland’s Public Square will host the Draft, beginning at 1 p.m. ET. ESPN2 will provide live first-round coverage while ESPNU and NBATV will provide continued live coverage of the second and third rounds from 2-3:30 p.m. In addition, WNBA.com will cover all three rounds, providing complete analysis and comprehensive information on all 13 teams’ selections.
The No. 1-ranked men’s gymnastics team clinched itsthird-consecutive Big Ten team championship in the final rotationlast Friday at the Sports Pavilion in Minneapolis, Minn. With ascore of 217.75, the squad became the first in OSU history torecord three-consecutive conference crowns. The Buckeyes finishedstrong on floor in the final rotation with a season-high 38.25.Sophomore Eddie Hay propelled the team ahead of competition when hehit a nearly perfect set and noted a career-high 9.8.
Seven OSU gymnasts competed at the individual event championships Saturday. Hay and junior DJ Bucher (BOO-ker) won championship titles on floor and parallel bars, respectively. Hay again bettered his personal best on floor when he scored a 9.825 at the event finals. Bucher won his third conference crown in as many years with a 9.675 on parallel bars. Hay, Bucher and freshman Tai Lee (Ty) were named to the 2007 All-Big Ten team.
Head coach Miles Avery (AY-ver-ee) won his third-consecutive Big Ten Coach of the Year accolade and shared the honor with Minnesota head coach Mike Burns. With Avery’s third-consecutive win, he became the first Big Ten coach to do so since the inception of the award in 1988.
Ohio State next travels to the 65th NCAA Men’s Gymnastics Championships April 12-14 at Rec Hall in University Park, Pa.
The 20th-ranked women’s gymnastics team took fourth at the BigTen championships last Saturday night and Carey Fagan was named the2007 Big Ten Coach of the Year. Juniors Kaylan Clevinger andMaalika Moore-Thomas (muh-LEEK-uh) were named All-Big Ten and willlead the Buckeyes into the NCAA Central Region Championships April14 at Alabama. The rowing team won four races in the ACC/Big TenDuals Saturday at Lake Monticello in Charlottesville, Va. Thefourth-ranked first varsity eight boat won both of its races,defeating Duke in the morning by 16.9 seconds with a time of 6:42.5and posting their second upset in as many weeks by topping No. 2Virginia by almost five seconds at 6:40.9 to the Cavaliers’ 6:45.8.The second varsity eight crossed the finish line at 6:46.4 tobreeze by the Blue Devils at 7:03.0. The Buckeyes’ other victorycame in the first novice eight morning race when they topped Dukewith a time of 7:05.2. The Blue Devils finished at 7:44.4.
Ohio State will next host its lone home regatta of the season, welcoming No. 9 Tennessee and No. 19 Michigan to Griggs Reservoir April 7. Races begin at noon.
The baseball team won three out of four games vs. Iowa lastweekend and beat Toledo, 18-5, in a mid-week game last Wednesday.The Buckeyes have won 16 out of their last 17 games and are 17-4overall, 3-1 in the Big Ten. Ohio State has moved up to 25th in theApril 2 National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA)poll. The Buckeyes entered the top-30 rankings at No. 29 for thefirst time this season on March 26.
The Buckeyes hit .404 in the five games they played last week, led by Justin Miller, who hit .526. Miller, who is on an 11-game hitting streak, was 10-for-19 with seven RBI, six runs scored and three doubles. Eric Fryer and J.B. Shuck lead the team with 21 RBI each.
On the hill last week, freshman Eric Best earned his first two career wins, winning two relief appearances vs. Iowa. Josh Barrera (Ba-RARE-uh) and Josh Edgin (EDGE-in) also had wins and Jake Hale (HAIL) notched two saves. For the season, Cory Luebke (LUBE-key) is 4-0 with a 1.70 ERA and a team-high 39 strikeouts. Barrera is 3-0 with a 2.57 ERA.
Ohio State remains home for a mid-week, non-conference game vs. Cleveland State Wednesday at 6:35 p.m. at Bill Davis Stadium. After the Cleveland State game, OSU travels to Illinois for its first Big Ten road action. The Buckeyes and Illini will play a single game Friday at 7:05 p.m. ET, a doubleheader Saturday beginning at 4:05 p.m. and wrap up the series with a single game Sunday at 2:05 p.m.
The softball team opened conference play with four consecutivevictories last weekend for the first time since the Buckeyes wonthe Big Ten in 1990. Ohio State (21-13 overall) swept Minnesota andWisconsin and hosts Ohio University in a doubleheader at 5 p.m.Wednesday before traveling to Michigan State and Michigan thisweekend. The pitching staff ranks fifth in the league and is led bysenior Jamee Juarez (WAR-ez) (9-7, 1.82 ERA) and sophomore KimReeder (11-5, 2.52 ERA), while freshman Sam Marder (.349, 7 HR, 30RBI) leads OSU at the plate. Junior Brittany Vanderink (.322) takesa 12-game hitting streak into the games vs. Ohio Wednesday.Seventh-ranked men’s volleyball (18-2, 7-1 MIVA, first place) splita pair of conference road matches last week. The Buckeyes defeatedLewis, 3-2 (31-29, 28-30, 30-26, 24-30, 15-12) and lost to14th-ranked Loyola, 3-1 (30-27, 25-30, 30-26, 30-15). Robbie Kleinhad a team-high 19 points against Lewis with 17 kills, an ace serveand two assist blocks. John Albertson added 16.5 points with 14kills, an ace serve and three assist blocks. At Loyola, BrettVersen had a team-high 15.5 points with 11 kills, three ace serves,a solo block and an assist block. Albertson added 14 points with 11kills and six assist blocks.
Ohio State returns home this week to face sixth-ranked Penn State Wednesday at 7 p.m. and then returns to conference play with matches against Quincy Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 4 p.m. All three matches will be played in St. John Arena.
The men’s lacrosse team opened Great Western Lacrosse Leagueplay with a 14-6 win over Quinnipiac Saturday in Jesse OwensMemorial Stadium. Sophomore Joel Dalgarno, the league newcomer ofthe year last season, led the Buckeyes with a career-high fiveassists and eight points in the win. The team hits the road for itsnext three games, beginning with a game at Bellarmine at 1 p.m.Saturday in Louisville, Ky. Women’s lacrosse (6-2, 0-1 AmericanLacrosse Conference) won two home non-conference games this pastweek with a 13-10 win over Virginia Tech and a 9-8 overtime victoryover California. Kristen Slahor had five goals and four assists inthe Virginia Tech game. Jessica Patane added three goals and anassist with Kelly Haggerty and Amanda Shimp adding two goals each.Slahor’s second goal of the game gave the Buckeyes the lead forgood with three seconds left in the first half. Kristen Gilwee hadthe win in goal, playing the first half while recording threesaves. Joy DeMarco played the second half in goal.
Against California, the Golden Bears held a 4-2 lead with 22:41 left in the second half when Ohio State scored four straight goals to take a 6-4 lead. Slahor scored twice to tie the game and goals by Patane and Rachael Cornicello gave OSU the lead. California regained the lead at 7-6 with 14:26 left in the game. On eight-meter shots, Shimp tied the game at seven (8:07) and Haggerty gave OSU an 8-7 lead at 5:11. The Golden Bears tied the game at 4:02 to send the contest into overtime. The Buckeyes, with a Keri Yourick goal at 1:32 in the first three minute half put Ohio State ahead, 9-8, and the Buckeyes held the lead for the victory. Gilwee recorded the win in goal while making 13 saves. Ohio State now travels to the ALC/ACC Challenge hosted by Penn State. The Buckeyes will face third-ranked Maryland Friday at 5 p.m. and second-ranked North Carolina Sunday at Noon.
The third-ranked men’s tennis team cruised to three 7-0 wins inthe past four days. The Buckeyes beat No. 5 Notre Dame 7-0 Friday.OSU then beat Michigan State 7-0 Sunday and concluded its fivematch homestand with a 7-0 win against Wright State Monday. Indianawas the last team to take a point from the Buckeyes at home onMarch 3. The Hoosiers lost 6-1. The wins extended OSU’s home winstreak to 51 matches. Ohio State has outscored opponents, 109-14,this season. Opposing teams have managed to take only 45 of 258singles sets from the Buckeyes.
Ohio State resumes Big Ten play when it travels to Northwestern and Wisconsin Friday and Sunday respectively.
The women’s tennis team was 2-0 last week, winning a Big Tenmatch at Michigan State, 5-2, Friday before returning home to downSyracuse Sunday, 6-1. Against the Spartans, the Buckeyes droppedthe doubles point but rebounded to win five singles matches for thewin. Freshman Ally Mueller posted a three-set win at No. 1 singlesto clinch the victory. Against the Orange, the Buckeyes won thedoubles point and 5-of-6 singles matches.
Ohio State returns to action with four matches in six days, beginning at Indiana Wednesday in Bloomington, Ind. The Buckeyes then return home to host No. 10-ranked Northwestern at 11 a.m. Saturday. Monday, Ohio State will go up against No. 2-ranked Notre Dame at 2:30 p.m. and Wright State at 7:30 p.m.
Men’s track distance runners Glenn Collins and John Ealy setthe pace for the Buckeyes at the Stanford Invitational March 31.Collins led the Ohio State effort with a fourth-place finish in the3,000-meter steeplechase in a time of 9:13.53. Junior Ealy wasseventh in the 5K at 14:19.88.
Friday, the team heads to the Indiana Relays held in Bloomington, Ind.
The women’s track and field team heads to Bloomington, Ind., tocompete Fri.-Sat. at the Indiana Invite. The men’s golf team willsee action this week at the Boilermaker Invitational Sat.-Sun. inWest Lafayette, Ind. After a week off, the women’s golf team willtravel to the Bryan National Collegiate Invitational Sat.-Sun. inWinston Salem, N.C.
Ohio State Athletics Schedule
April 3 – April 10
April 4
Women’s Tennis at Indiana, 3 p.m.
Bloomington, Ind.
Men’s Volleyball vs. Penn State, 7 p.m.
Columbus, Ohio
St. John Arena
Baseball vs. Cleveland State, 6:35 p.m.
Columbus, Ohio
Bill Davis Stadium
Softball vs. Ohio, 5 p.m.
Columbus, Ohio
Buckeye Field
Softball vs. Ohio, 7 p.m.
Columbus, Ohio
Buckeye Field
Women’s Tennis at Indiana, 3 p.m.
Bloomington, Ind.
Men’s Volleyball vs. Penn State, 7 p.m.
Columbus, Ohio
St. John Arena
April 6
Baseball at Illinois, 7:05 p.m.
Champaign, Ill.
Softball vs. Michigan State, 4 p.m.
East Lansing, Mich.
Men’s Tennis at Northwestern, Noon
Evanston, Ill.
Women’s Lacrosse vs. Maryland, 5 p.m.
State College, Pa.
Men’s Volleyball vs. Quincy, 7 p.m.
Columbus, Ohio
St. John Arena
Women’s Track at Indiana Invitational, All Day
Bloomington, Ind.
Women’s Golf at Bryan National Collegiate, All Day
Winston Salem, N.C.
April 7
Baseball at Illinois, 4:05 p.m.
Champaign, Ill.
Women’s Tennis vs. Northwestern, 11 a.m.
Columbus, Ohio
Stickney Tennis Center
Men’s Lacrosse at Bellarmine, 1 p.m.
Louisville, Ky.
Men’s Volleyball vs. Quincy, 4 p.m.
Columbus, Ohio
St. John Arena
Women’s Crew vs. Tennessee and Michigan, All Day
Columbus, Ohio
Griggs Reservoir on the Scioto River
Men’s Track at Indiana Relays, All Day
Bloomington, Ind.
Women’s Track at Indiana Invitational, All Day
Bloomington, Ind.
Men’s Golf at Boilermaker Invitational, All Day
West Lafayette, Ind.
Women’s Golf at Bryan National Collegiate, All Day
Winston Salem, N.C.
April 8
Women’s Lacrosse vs. North Carolina, Noon
State College, Pa.
Men’s Golf at Boilermaker Invitational, All Day
West Lafayette, Ind.
Women’s Golf at Bryan National Collegiate, All Day
Winston Salem, N.C.
April 9
Women’s Tennis vs. Notre Dame, 2:30 p.m.
Columbus, Ohio
Stickney Tennis Center
