No. 15 IUSD Ready for Final Night of Big Tens

 MADISON, Wis. – Indiana swimming and diving will compete in 13 final swims and have two diving finalists during the last evening of the Big Ten Women’s Swimming and Diving Championship Saturday (Feb. 19) night inside Soderholm Family Aquatic Center.

The Hoosiers clinched nine final bids during the preliminary swimming session Saturday morning. IU will also have three athletes, freshmen Mariah Denigan and Ching Hwee Gan and senior Maggie Wallace, in the 1,650 Freestyle and a team in the 400 Freestyle Relay.

Sophomore Tarrin Gilliland and senior Kristen Hayden qualified for the Platform dive championship final after finishing first and fourth, respectively, in the preliminary.

CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL

200 Backstroke – Anna Peplowski (2nd)

100 Freestyle – None.

200 Breaststroke – Brearna Crawford (1st), Noelle Peplowski (2nd)

200 Butterfly – None.

Platform – Tarrin Gilliland (1st), Kristen Hayden (4th)

CONSOLATION FINAL

200 Backstroke – Anna Freed (11th)

100 Freestyle – Ashley Turak (16th)

200 Breaststroke – Mackenzie Looze (9th)

200 Butterfly – None.

Platform – None.

C FINAL

200 Backstroke – Elyse Heiser (21st)

100 Freestyle – Ella Ristic (21st), Dominika Kossakowska (24th)

200 Breaststroke – None.

200 Butterfly – None.

TEAM SCORES.

1.Ohio State – 877
2. Michigan – 810
3. Indiana – 782
4. Wisconsin – 681
5. Minnesota – 595.5
6. Northwestern – 583.5
7. Rutgers – 330
8. Purdue – 289
9. Penn State – 289
10. Nebraska – 288
11. Illinois – 161
12. Iowa – 134

                                                             NOTABLES
• In the 200 Breaststroke prelim, freshman Brearna Crawford (2:07.85) and senior Noelle Peplowski (2:08.25) tallied the top two qualifying scores to cruise into the championship final. IU finished 1-2-4 in last year’s final.

• Crawford recorded the fastest first 100 yards in the field with a 1:00.84. Her time was a season-best and the fifth-best time on IU’s all-time performance list.
• Anna Peplowski tallied the fourth-best time in program history, 1:53.04, to earn the second seed in the 200 Backstroke.
• Four athletes recorded career-best swims in the 200 Breaststroke. Freshman Emma Shaughnessy, swimming a 2:19.13, beat her previous best by five seconds.
• Gilliland tallied a career-best 365.10 in the Platform prelim to capture the No. 1 seed going into the evening finale. Her score ranks No. 4 on Indiana’s all-time performance list. Gilliland will go for her second medal of the event after winning bronze in the 3-meter dive Friday.PRELIMINARY RESULTS
  200 BACKSTROKE

Anna Peplowski – 1:53.04 (Championship Final, NCAA B Cut, Career Best)

Anna Freed – 1:55.36 (B Final, NCAA B Cut)

Elyse Heiser – 1:57.91 (C Final, Career Best)

Katie Broderick – 1:58.90

Kacey McKenna – 1:59.65 (Career Best)

Katie Carson – 2:06.56

                                                      100 FREESTYLE

Ashley Turak – 49.44 (Consolation Final, NCAA B Cut)

Ella Ristic – 49.64 (C Final)

Dominika Kossakowska – 49.79 (C Final)

40. Elizabeth Broshears – 50.41

Aislinn Holder – 50.90 (Career Best)

                                                    200 BREASTSTROKE

Brearna Crawford – 2:07.85 (Championship Final, NCAA B Cut, Career Best)

Noelle Peplowski – 2:08.25 (Championship Final, NCAA B Cut)

Mackenzie Looze – 2:10.02 (Consolation Final, NCAA B Cut)

Catherine Graham – 2:12.14 (NCAA B Cut, Career Best)

Kabria Chapman – 2:18.20 (Career Best)

Emma Shaughnessy – 2:19.13 (Career Best)

                                                            200 BUTTERFLY

25. Cat Minic – 2:03.25

Sydney Turner – 2:04.68

                                                              PLATFORM DIVE

Tarrin Gilliland – 365.10 (Championship Final, NCAA Zone Qualifier, Career Best)

Kristen Hayden – 296.05 (Championship Final, NCAA Zone Qualifier, Career Best)

17. Megan Carter – 225.45 (NCAA Zone Qualifier)
18. Margaret Rogers – 207.40 (Career Best)
19. Taylor Carter – 142.20

YOUNG HARRIS, Ga. – University of Southern Indiana Baseball opened the 2022 campaign with a 16-6 upset victory at #26 Young Harris University Friday afternoon in Georgia. The Screaming Eagles start the year 1-0, while Young Harris falls to 6-2.   
 
The Eagles struck early with a three-run first inning to take command of the game. USI junior catcher Lucas McNew (Floyds Knobs, Indiana) gave USI a 1-0 lead with an RBI single, while sophomore first baseman Adam Wildeman (Evansville, Indiana) extended the margin to 3-0 with a two-run single up the middle.
 
USI got the bats going again in the top of the fourth when another three spot. Senior shortstop Ethan Hunter (Terre Haute, Indiana) pushed a run across after reaching on an error to increase the lead to 4-0, while McNew and sophomore designated hitter Trent Robinson (Louisville, Kentucky) knocked runs with a double and a single, respectively, to put the advantage at 6-0.
 
USI’s offense exploded again in the fifth with a four-run frame. After junior rightfielder Ren Tachioka (Japan) forced in a run with a hit by pitch, Hunter knocked in a pair with a two-run double that would put the Eagles ahead 9-0.
 
Tachioka struck again by scoring on a wild pitch before junior leftfielder Evan Kahre (Evansville, Indiana) singled in a tally for the 11-0 margin.
 
The Mountain Lions took a large bit out of the USI lead with a five run fifth and a single tally in the sixth. The 11-6 score would be as close as Young Harris would come in the final half of the game as USI would score four in the seventh to re-extend the lead to nine, 15-6, and one in the eighth to get back to double-digits, 16-6.
 
Sophomore centerfielder Steven Molinet (Elberfeld, Indiana) and sophomore third baseman Nolan Cook (Evansville, Indiana) knocked in a pair of runs each during the seventh on a RBI-double and a RBI-single, respectively. Wildeman finished the scoring for the Eagles with a RBI-single in the eighth. USI would add three more runs in the top of the ninth for a game-high 13-run lead to get the 19-6 victory.
 
Hunter and Wildeman led the Eagles at the plate with three RBIs each, while five players had two hits each. Hunter and McNew also scored four times in the win.
 
On the mound, junior right-hander Garrett Welch (New Castle, Indiana) started and got a no-decision. Welch, who started with four scoreless frames before getting into trouble in the fifth, allowed five runs on seven hits and struck out one.
 
Freshman left-hander Tyler Hutson (Villa Hills, Kentucky) was the pitcher of record in relief and picks up his first collegiate win. Hutson allowed one run on three hits in two innings, striking out one.
 
Senior right-hander Brice Stuteville (Rockport, Indiana), who picked up an RBI-single in the ninth, finished the game on the mound for the Eagles. Stuteville threw three scoreless innings with no-hits and four strikeouts.
 

UE drops contests to MTSU and #2 Alabama

 

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Battling against some of the top competition that college softball has to offer, the University of Evansville softball team came up short against Middle Tennessee State and #2 Alabama in Friday’s opening day of the Easton Bama Bash at Rhoads Stadium.

 

Game 1 – Middle Tennessee State 4, UE 2

Middle Tennessee State plated two runs in both the first and second innings and would hang on to finish Friday’s opener with a 4-2 win over the Purple Aces.  A bases loaded walk and a Claire Czajkowski RBI single got the Blue Raiders going in the first inning before Abby Shoulders picked a 2-RBI knock in the second.

Jessica Fehr picked up the first hit of the day, hitting a 2-out single in the third before coming through in an even larger way in the fifth.  Jenna Nink reached on an error to open the frame and stole second base.  With two outs, Mackenzie McFeron walkeds to bring up Fehr, who belted a 2-RBI double to left-center to get the Aces on the scoreboard.

UE threatened again in the sixth with a pair of 2-out baserunners with Hannah Hood drawing a walk before Nink was hit by a pitch.  Unfortunately, a strikeout ended the threat.  Fehr recorded her third hit of the day in the seventh but was stranded at second with MTSU clinching the win.  Sydney Weatherford pitched the complete game for UE, giving up four runs, three earned, on three hits.  Keri Munn tossed the full seven frames for MTSU.  Both UE runs were unearned.

Game 2 – #2 Alabama 10, UE 2

Second-ranked Alabama plated three runs in the first inning before inching away to finish with a 10-2 victory over the Aces in six innings.  After picking up three hits in game one, Jessica Fehr got the game started with a single up the middle with Crimson Tide starter Jaala Torrence striking out the Aces in order to end the threat.

Alabama responded in the bottom half of the first, scoring three runs on three walks and three batters hit by a pitch.  Just when it looked like the Tide had taken control, Evansville bounced back with a run on two hits in the top of the second.  With one out, Jenna Nink singled through the left side and moved to second on a wild pitch.  With two outs, Alexa Davis belted a single through the right side to plate UE’s first run of the day.

Evansville remained close until a 4-run fourth inning extended Alabama’s lead to 8-1.  The offense for UE added a second run in the fifth inning as a Sydney Weatherford single scored McFeron, who reached on a 1-out single.  The Crimson Tide added single runs in the fifth and sixth to clinch the 10-2 win.  Alabama had nine hits with the Aces picking up six.  Ally Shipman led the Tide with three RBI while Kaylee Tow registered two.

Weatherford paced Evansville with a pair of hits and a RBI.  Aces starter Izzy Vetter suffered her first loss of the season, allowing 10 runs, seven earned, in five frames.  She struck out four.  Torrence tossed the complete game for the Tide, giving up two earned runs on six hits while striking out 10.

On Saturday, the Aces open with an 11 a.m. game against #8 Virginia Tech before facing Middle Tennessee State at 6:30 p.m.

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – This weekend, the University of Evansville men’s golf team opens its spring season with a trip to Prattville, Alabama for the ASU Spring Classic.

Hosted by Alabama State, the tournament will be played at the RTJ Golf Trail at Capitol Hill.  Sunday’s opening day will feature 36 holes with the final 18 slated to be played on Monday.  Par is a 72 and the yardage is 7,008.

Joining the Purple Aces in the event will be Alabama State, Alabama A&M, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Western Illinois, Maryland Eastern Shore, Morehouse College and Savannah State.

Michael Ikejiani recorded the lowest average last fall among those on the team who played over seven rounds.  He registered a 76.22 average over the course of his nine rounds with a low of 71 coming in the opening 18 holes at the Alabama A&M Fall Invite.  That event saw him come home in the 8^th position.

Isaac Rohleder completed the fall with a 76.86 stroke average while playing in all 15 rounds.  Rohleder picked up a pair of top 17 finishes, including a tie for 16^th a the Valpo Fall Invitational.  The opening round of that event saw him shoot a season-low 70.

Just behind him was Henry Kiel, who tallied a 77.11 mark in nine rounds to open the 2021-22 season.  His low round was a 73, which came at the Bubba Barnett Intercollegiate and the Alabama A&M Fall Invite.

IOWA CITY, Iowa – University of Evansville junior Maya Cunningham (Yakima, Wash./Eisenhower) broke UE’s fourth school record of the 2022 Missouri Valley Conference Swimming & Diving Championships on Friday on her way to earning first-team all-MVC honors.

Cunningham posted UE’s fastest time ever in the 400-yard IM event with a time of 4:26.77 in Friday’s preliminary round.  She then came back later on Friday to earn first team all-MVC honors by placing third in the 400 IM with a time of 4:26.95.  She is the first Purple Ace to earn first team all-MVC honors since diver Courtney Coverdale did so in 2018.

“Maya is the star of the night,” said UE head swimming coach Stuart Wilson.  “To break a school record and finish in the top three at conference is a tremendous accomplishment.

“I will say that I thought that the ladies swam much better at night in the finals.  They are a persistent group and they will not give up.  I am proud of how they swam tonight.  I also thought the divers stepped up again today.  One more day to grind.”

Cunningham was not the only Purple Ace to earn all-MVC honors on Friday, as sophomore Iryna Tsesiul (Minsk, Belarus) also earned honorable mention all-Valley honors in the 100-yard Backstroke, as she placed seventh overall with a time of 56.03.  It marks the second-straight year in which Tsesiul has earned honorable mention all-MVC honors.

UE also continued to have strong showings in the “B Finals” at the Valley Championships, as juniors Allison McDonald (Cape Girardeau, Mo./Cape Central) and Sage Moore (Lexington, Ohio/Lexington) finished third and fourth respectively in the “B Finals” of the 100-yard Breaststroke.  Fellow junior Sonsoles Aguayo (Jerez, Spain) also finished third in the “B Finals” of the 200-yard Freestyle.

The 2022 MVC Swimming & Diving Championships will conclude on Saturday with a full day of events.  Saturday’s action will feature the finals of the three-meter diving competition, as well as prelims and finals in the 1,650-yard Freestyle, the 200-yard Backstroke, the 100-yard Freestyle, the 200-yard Breaststroke, 200-yard Butterfly, and the 400-yard Medley Relay.  Preliminary swims will begin at 11 a.m., with finals set for 6 p.m.

Just two more home games remain in season

 

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – A stretch of four games in eight days comprises the final week of the regular season for the University of Evansville men’s basketball team and begins on Saturday with a 1 p.m. home game against Valparaiso.  ESPN3 and the Purple Aces Radio Network will have the coverage.

 

Last Time Out

– Drake hit 9 of its opening 10 attempts on Wednesday and put things out of reach early before taking a 73-51 victory at the Knapp Center in Des Moines

– The Bulldogs took a 19-3 lead just over six minutes into the contest and would lead by 32 at the half and as many as 38 in the second half before the Purple Aces finished the game on a 26-10 run to cut into the deficit

– Blake Sisley paced UE with 14 points, converting six of his 14 field goal tries

– Blaise Beauchamp continued his scoring streak, knocking down four triples on his way to 12 points