Athletics Good Stuff – Ohio State Buckeyes
5/30/2007 12:00:00 AM | General
May 30, 2007
Athletes of the Week
Junior left-handed pitcher Cory Luebke (LUBE-key) was named theBig Ten Conference Pitcher of the Year when the conferenceannounced its all-conference teams and individual awards May 22.Luebke, one of three unanimous first team picks, is the fifthBuckeye to be honored as the conference’s top pitcher and the firstto win the award since Scott Lewis took home the honors in 2003. Inall games this year, the Maria Stein, Ohio (Marion Local) nativeled the Big Ten in ERA (1.94 ERA), strikeouts (83) and inningspitched (93), while holding his opponents to a stingy .215 battingaverage. The Big Ten’s 2007 strikeout king, Luebke fanned 50batters through 56.1 innings of work in the conference season whilewalking just 24 batters. Overall this season, the left-handerrecorded a WHIP (walks-plus-hits-per-innings pitched) of 1.06 andstruck out an average of eight batters per nine innings whileputting together a strikeouts-to-walks ratio of 3.45. Luebkefinished the regular season with a 7-1 overall record and went 3-1in conference. His seven wins were tied for first in the league.Veronica Jatsek (JAT-sic) took second at the 2007 NCAA RegionalChampionships in the hammer throw with a toss of 200 feet, 8inches. Jatsek adds this to her impressive junior campaign whichincludes a Big Ten title in the hammer throw, first team All-BigTen honors in the hammer (outdoor), second team All-Big Ten honorsin the weight throw (indoor) and All-American honors in the weightthrow. This season Jatsek has rewritten the Ohio State record booksin the hammer and now holds three of the top four throw all-time atOhio State. The fifth-ranked Ohio State first varsity eight boat ofClaudia Wurzel, Zuza Trzcinska (trch-ZIN-ska), Patricia Goodeman(GOOD-man), Susanne Herbrand, Gabriele Albertaviciute(al-bert-a-ve-CHU-ta), Jessica Shepherd, Annabelle Fago (FOG-o),Briony Clare (BRYE-nee) and coxswain Susie Wilson, appearing in itsfourth-consecutive NCAA Grand Final, rowed in the fifth lane. Twoundefeated crews were in the race as well in No. 1 USC and No. 2Yale, along with No. 3 Virginia, No. 4 Brown and No. 9 Princeton.
In one of the tightest races in the entire regatta, the Buckeyes started slowly out of the gates sitting in sixth place at the 500-meter mark. The crew worked its way up to fourth and then third, before pushing up to second in the final 500 meters with a split time of 1:39.38 in the last part of the race. Ohio State crossed the finish line at 6:38.77 to finish second to Yale at 6:37.08. USC was third (6:39.45), Brown fourth (6:29.55) and Virginia fifth (6:41.50). The Buckeyes also topped defending 1V8 NCAA champ Princeton, who was sixth at 6:45.38. Second is the highest any OSU boat has finished in an NCAA Grand Final, and also surpassed the previous varsity eight high of fourth in 2002.
Athletics Good Stuff
The baseball team claimed its eighth Big Ten Tournamentchampionship last Sunday with a 4-2 victory over Minnesota in AnnArbor, Mich. to earn the Big Ten’s automatic berth into the NCAAtournament.
The Buckeyes, who are making their 18th NCAA tournament appearance overall and the 12th since 1991, were awarded the No. 3 seed in the NCAA College Station Regional at Olsen Field in College Station, Texas and will play No. 2 seed Lousiana-Lafayette at 2 p.m. ET Friday.
Joining the Buckeyes and Ragin Cajuns in College Station will be host and No. 1 seed Texas A&M and No. 4 seed Le Moyne. Those teams will play at 8 p.m. Friday. The losers of the two games Friday will play Saturday at 2 p.m., while the winners will meet Saturday at 8 p.m.
The winner of game three will play the loser of game four on Sunday at 2 p.m. with the winner advancing to play the undefeated team in the championship Sunday at 8 p.m. If the undefeated team loses, the second championship game will be played Monday at 7:30 p.m.
All of Ohio State’s postseason games will be broadcast on AM 920 WMNI and be available on ohiostatebuckeyes.com.
Matt Angle leads Ohio State with a .365 average and also leads the team with 51 runs, four triples, 22 stolen bases and 35 walks, and is second in hits with 74. Justin Miller leads OSU with 76 hits and is tied for the team lead in RBI with 49. He is fourth on the team in batting at .342. Miller is the only Buckeye to start or play in all 59 games. Jason Zoeller leads the team with nine home runs and a .571 slugging percentage, and is second on the team in average at .352.
On the mound, Cory Luebke (LUBE-key) is 8-1 with a 1.84 ERA and a team-high 91 strikeouts in 107.2 innings pitched. Shuck is 4-3 with a 4.48 ERA and is second on the team with 55 strikeouts. Jake Hale has been phenomenal since moving out of the bullpen and back into the starting rotation. He is 4-3 with a 4.19 ERA and 46 strikeouts. He also leads the team with 10 saves.
The rowing team made program history Sunday itseighth-consecutive NCAA appearance, finishing third as a team atthe 2007 NCAA Championships with 52 points. The Buckeyes sealedtheir first-ever Top 3 finish by taking second in the Grand Finalof the first varsity eight, also a team record for the highest anyboat as placed, edging previously undefeated Southern California by.68 seconds in the process. The NCAA championships were held onMelton Hill Lake in Oak Ridge, Tenn., with the University ofTennessee playing host to the three-day event. Brown, Virginia andOSU were the only three schools to have made it into both the firstand second varsity eight Grand Finals, and finished first, secondand third, respectively, in the team standings. The Buckeye firstvarsity four raced in the Petite Final. While at the NCAAchampionships, the Buckeyes continued their success at Melton HillLake. They have won five-consecutive Central Region championshipsat the Oak Ridge site, including the 2007 title May 12-13. OhioState also tied its record for points in an NCAA championship,matching the 52-point total from 2006. Members of the of thethird-ranked men’s tennis team were in action in the 2007 NCAAMen’s Tennis Singles Tournament in Athens, Ga., at the Dan MagillTennis Complex. Steven Moneke fell to No. 1 seeded John Isner, ofthe 2007 national champion Georgia Bulldogs, 6-3, 6-2, in thequarterfinals of the Singles Tournament, Saturday. Moneke, the No.6 seed, finishes the season with a 42-7 overall record. The Buckeyesophomore completed the year tied for second on the Ohio Stateseason singles wins list with Jeremy Wurtzman (2002-04). RogerSmith (1983-86) holds the record with 45 victories. Bryan Konieckofell to 28-12 on the season, when he lost to Miami’s Luigi D’Agord6-2, 6-3 in the Round of 16. Devin Mullings was upset by ArnauBrugues of Tulsa in the second-round, 4-6, 6-4, 3-6. Mullingsfinished the season with a 36-8 record in singles play this year.
Chris Klingemann and Mullings received an at-large bid to compete in the doubles section of the tournament. The Buckeye pair fell to Florida’s third-seeded tandem of Jesse Levin and Greg Ouelette 4-6, 6-1, 2-6. Klingemann and Mullings finish the year with a doubles record of 28-10.
Ohio State finished the year ranked third in the country, the highest finish in program history. The Buckeyes set the school record for victories in a season (30), consecutive wins in a season (20) and best winning percentage (.938). The Buckeyes also claimed the 2007 Big Ten regular season and tournament championships, went undefeated at home for the fourth-consecutive year and had a school record four All-Big Ten selections. OSU head coach Ty Tucker was named the 2007 Big Ten Coach of the Year. Justin Kronauge was named the 2007 Big Ten Freshmen of the Year, Ohio State’s third selection in the last four years.
The men’s track and field team sent qualified athletes to the2007 NCAA Mideast Regional Championships in Columbia Mo., with the4x400-meter dash leading the way. The team of Brandon Woodard, Elon(EE-lon) Simms, Matt Comer (COMB-er) and Gerald Griffin took fifthin a season-best time of 3:07.95. The time is the 32nd-best time inthe country this year. Veronica Jatsek (JAT-sic) of the women’strack and field team advanced to the NCAA championships with asecond-place finish at the NCAA Regional Championships on May 26.Jatsek added the All-Regional honors to her resume which thisseason includes two All-Big Ten teams (second-team indoor weightthrow, first-team outdoor hammer throw) a Big Ten title in thehammer throw and All-American honors at the 2007 NCAA IndoorChampionship in the weight throw. Softball senior Jamee Juarez(WAR-ez) has signed a contract to play professionally with theAkron Racers of the six-team National Pro Fastpitch League. Juarez,a four-time All-Big Ten selection who helped lead the Buckeyes tothe 2007 Big Ten softball championship, went undrafted in Februarybut was sought by several NPF teams when her collegiate career cameto an end following the NCAA Regionals May 20. In 2007, Juarez went21-9 and set Ohio State single-season records for strikeouts (240)and saves (5) and led the Big Ten in fewest walks per game (1.2) asthe Buckeyes went 40-18, won their second Big Ten championship andfirst Big Ten tournament title. During the season, she establishedfive OSU career pitching records, including wins (76), strikeouts(747), shutouts (27), innings pitched (746.1) and appearances(147). For more information visit www.AkronRacers.com. Men’slacrosse defender Jeff Schneider, from Dublin, Ohio, participatedin the prestigious 2007 North/South Senior All-Star Game lastFriday in Baltimore. The first team All-Great Western LacrosseLeague selection was the 19th Buckeye named to the team and itmarked the eighth-consecutive year an Ohio State player has madethe squad.
Ohio State Athletics Schedule
June 1 – June 8
June 1
Baseball vs. Louisiana-Lafayette, 2 p.m.
College Station, Texas
June 2
Baseball vs. TBD, TBA
College Station, Texas
June 3
Baseball vs. TBD, TBA
College Station, Texas
June 4
Baseball vs. TBD, TBA
College Station, Texas
June 6
Men’s Track at NCAA Championships, All Day
Sacramento, Calif.
Women’s Track at NCAA Championships, All Day
Sacramento, Calif.
June 7
Men’s Track at NCAA Championships, All Day
Sacramento, Calif.
Women’s Track at NCAA Championships, All Day
Sacramento, Calif.
June 8
Baseball vs. TBD, TBA
College Station, Texas
Men’s Track at NCAA Championships, All Day
Sacramento, Calif.
Women’s Track at NCAA Championships, All Day
Sacramento, Calif.
