UE faces Oakland City At Ford Center

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The long-awaited debut of University of Evansville head coach David Ragland and his 2022-23 Purple Aces squad is set for Saturday evening when UE takes on Oakland City in a 7PM exhibition game at the Ford Center.

Setting the Scene

– Oakland City marks the first of two exhibitions for the Aces with Huntington University up next on Wednesday

– UE welcomes ten newcomers to its team along with five returners

– Evansville native David Ragland makes his preseason debut for UE in his first Division I head coaching opportunity

Wrapping up 21-22

– Finishing with a 6-24 overall record, UE had its lowest win tally in a full season since 1937-38

– In the regular season finale against Missouri State both Noah Frederking and Shamar Givance reached the 1,000-point marks for their career

– One of the high points for the Aces was a 65-56 road win at Indiana State – it marked the first win at the Hulman Center since the 2010-11 campaign

– On January 23, the Aces earned a 56-53 home win over Illinois State – the triumph came just two days after a 94-56 road loss to the Redbirds

What’s on tap?

– Seven of the first eight regular season games will take place away from home with the lone game at the Ford Center set for November 16 when the Aces welcome Southeast Missouri State

– Regular-season opens with road contests at Miami Ohio (Nov. 7) and Saint Louis (Nov. 12) before the regular-season home opener versus SEMO

Scouting the Opponent

– Oakland City is coming off a 13-19 season that saw them improve in conference play with wins in 10 of their 18 games

– The Mighty Oaks lost their top three scorers but are set with a lineup that includes Allen Sims and DJ Redding who averaged 9.0 and 8.1 points per game, respectively, last season

– Head coach Ken French enters his second season at the helm of the OCU program

Finishing Strong

– As last season was coming to a close, Blaise Beauchamp was playing at his best

– Over the final eight games, Beauchamp averaged 13.8 points per game while scoring nine or more points in six of those contests

– During that stretch, he registered a career-high 29 points in the home game against Indiana State where he knocked down six triples

– Following the Feb. 8 game at Indiana State, his season scoring average stood at 6.0 PPG, however, the late rally saw his final average finish at 8.0 PPG

Ready for his Chance

– There were times last season when Antoine Smith Jr. was the best player on the floor and he looks to make the jump to the next level in 2022-23

– In his first season at UE, Smith posted 4.8 points per game while shooting 49.4% from the field and 44.4% from long range

– Smith set his career high with 24 points against Rice going 9-for-9 from the field and 6-of-6 from outside on his way to MVC Newcomer of the Week accolades in Nov

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – No. 8/13 Indiana swimming and diving will host its first home meet of the 2022-23 season when it welcomes No. 18/RV Missouri to the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatics Center on Saturday (Oct. 28).

The meet will be streamed live on the Big Ten Plus digital platform with the first race set to begin at 10 a.m. ET.

MEET INFO

Saturday, October 29 • 10 a.m. ET

Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatics • Bloomington, Ind.

Opponent: No. 18/RV Missouri

Live Results (Swimming): https://bit.ly/3a9t16V

Live Results (Diving): https://bit.ly/3fhxZok

Live Stream: https://bit.ly/3NlfQ5M

SCHEDULED EVENTS

Diving: 1-meter, 3-meter
Swimming: 200 Medley Relay, 1,000 Freestyle, 200 Freestyle, 100 Backstroke, 100 Breaststroke, 200 Butterfly, 50 Freestyle, 100 Freestyle, 200 Backstroke, 200 Breaststroke, 500 Freestyle, 100 Butterfly, 200 IM, 400 Freestyle Relay

OF NOTE…

IUSD ATHLETES COMBINE FOR FOUR BIG TEN WEEKLY AWARDS

Following strong team and individual performances against No. 2/3 Texas and No. 14/22 Texas A&M, Indiana swimming and diving athletes, two men and two women, totaled four Big Ten weekly awards, the conference announced on Wednesday (Oct. 26).

Sophomores Quinn Henninger and Anna Peplowski and freshman Kristina Paegle each earned their first-career Big Ten weekly awards, while senior Brendan Burns collected his sixth. The men’s and women’s teams each tallied wins against Texas A&M, and the men nearly pulled off the upset of last year’s NCAA runner-up Texas, falling 155-145.

For more information on each performance, click here.

HOOSIERS NAMED TO USA SWIMMING NATIONAL TEAM

Six athletes with ties to the Indiana swimming and diving program were named to USA Swimming’s 2022-23 national team rosters in September. Of the six Hoosiers, five are breaststroke specialists, and, on the women’s side, IU makes up three of the nine breaststroke selections. The selections include current Hoosiers Mariah Denigan, Mackenzie Looze and Josh Matheny as well as Indiana Swim Club athlete Tommy Cope, Lilly King and Annie Lazor.