THUNDERBOLTS HOST HAVOC ON SATURDAY, RIVERMEN NEXT TUESDAY MORNING
THUNDERBOLTS SIGN FORWARD MATTHEW BARNABY JR
Wes Carroll inks contract extension with Evansville
Bannister and Goebel finish top-25, as USI completes the Xavier Invitational
CINCINNATI, OH.– University of Southern Indiana Men’s Golf finished the Xavier Invitational in 12th place Tuesday afternoon at the Maketewah Country Club in Cincinnati, Ohio.
The Screaming Eagles shot 904 (307-297-300) over the 56-hole tournament. USI finished five strokes behind, Ohio Valley Conference rival, Tennessee Tech University for 11th place.
USI had two golfers finish in the top 25. Senior Jason Bannister was once again impressive, earning a 10th-place finish following a 216 (71-76-69) stroke performance. Junior Carter Goebel shot 219 (74-68-77) over the two-day event, earning him 21st place on the leaderboard.
Round 1
The Eagles struggled early in the tournament, shooting their highest round total as a team with 307 (+27). Bannister topped the scorecard with a 71 (+1) in round one.
Round 2
As a team, USI saw its best round by shooting 297 (+17) in round two. Goebel executed the team’s best 18 holes of the tournament with his 68 (-2) in the second round.
This round saw multiple Eagles improve their initial scores. Senior Sam Vertanen‘s 73 (+3) improved his score by four strokes, while freshman Jairen Stroud‘s 80 (+10) improved by five.
Round 3
Bannister cemented his 10th-place finish in the final round, shooting a 69 (-1) in the third round. USI shot 300 (+20) as a team in the final round.
What’s next for the Eagles:
USI concludes its fall schedule in Owensboro, Kentucky at the Bill Crabtree Invitational hosted by Kentucky Wesleyan on October 28-29.
Standtke rallies to earn top finish for women’s golf
Aces take 4th at Braun Intercollegiate
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Freshman Louise Standtke was the low scorer for the University of Evansville women’s golf team in Tuesday’s final round of the Braun Intercollegiate.
Standtke finished the second 18 holes at Oak Meadow Country Club with a 4-over 76 to finish the tournament in a tie for second place with a 151. Indiana State’s Yang Tai was the tournament medalist with a 2-round score of 147. Standtke wrapped up Monday’s opening round with a 75.
Coming home in a tie for 9th place was Kate Petrova and Mallory Russell. Both completed the weekend with scores of 154. Russell carded an 80 on Tuesday while Petrova finished with an 82. Trinity Dubbs and Izzy Steele completed the Purple Aces’ “A” team. Dubbs’ 83 in the second round tied her for 56th with a 169 while Steele checked in with a final score of 177.
Pacing the UE “B” team was Elizabeth Mercer. Following an 80 to open the event, she recorded an 82 in the final round to tie for 36th with a 162. Jane Grankina was one behind Mercer with a 163. She tied for 40th. Adeline Wittmer and Mia Cruz rounded out the second squad with final totals of 185 and 189.
UE took 4th place in the final team standings with a 626. Indiana State pulled away from the field to win with a score of 611, defeating runner-up Belmont by ten strokes.
Eagles struggle closing sets falling in three frames to Skyhawks
MARTIN, Tenn.– University of Southern Indiana Volleyball (8-14, OVC 3-7) struggled to to finish sets on Tuesday night against University of Tennessee at Martin (4-13, OVC 2-6) falling in straight sets (21-25, 21-25, 23-25). The Screaming Eagles drop their fifth straight match heading into the bye weekend.
Set 1: USI 21, UTM 25
The Eagles came out the gate strong as sophomore Leah Coleman, junior Bianca Anderson, senior Paris Downing, and senior Jasmine Green were involved with early kills leading 8-4. USI struggled with limiting runs as the Skyhawks surged with seven straight points taking a 14-10 lead. Anderson helped the Eagles regain a one-point lead with a textbook block. However, UTM finished the set on an 8-3 run earning the early advantage. Senior Carly Sobieralski tallied 11 assists on 7 digs.
Set 2: USI 21, UTM 25
Downing and Green combined at the net for a block giving the Eagles a 9-8 advantage. The Skyhawks bounced back with three straight points, but sophomore Ashby Willis smashed back-to-back kills tying the set at 13-13. Nevertheless, UTM used a four-point run to separate themselves with strong defensive play, frustrating the USI offense. The Skyhawks put the Eagles in a two-set deficit finishing on a 4-1 run.
Set 3: USI 25, UTM 23
Coleman finished her team leading eighth kill to help the Eagles gain an early 7-4 lead. The Sobieralski to Willis connection extended the Eagle led to 9-5. The Skyhawks erased their large deficit mounting an eight-point run snatching a 15-14 lead. Green showed her senior leadership keeping the Eagles under control vocally along with smashing a kill earning a 19-17 lead. However, USI continued to struggle finishing sets as the Skyhawks finished the match with a 6-2 run.
Coleman led offensively with nine kills. Sobieralski racked up 29 assists on 13 digs, while Moore led defensively with 15 digs. Moore has snatched 15+ digs in her past nine matches. Anderson swatted a career high and Eagles season high eight blocks.
As a team, USI finished with 34 kills, 33 assists, 58 digs, one aces, ten blocks, and a .170 attacking percentage. The Skyhawks earned 51 kills, 46 assists, 55 digs, six aces, eight blocks, and a .216 hitting percentage.
Next up for the Eagles
USI moves into a bye weekend as they return on November 1 at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville
USI freshman shine in seventh place finish at Braun Intercollegiate
EVANSVILLE, Ind.- University of Southern Indiana Women’s Golf finished in seventh place at the highly competitive 13-team Braun Intercollegiate, hosted by University of Evansville at Oak Meadow Country Club.
All 13 teams competed in a two day 36-hole event with five golfers competing in 18 holes both days taking the four best scores. The order of finish included: Indiana State University, Belmont University, Oakland University, Evansville, University of Illinois-Chicago, University of Purdue-Fort Wayne, USI, Lindenwood University, Bellarmine University, Valparaiso University, Indiana Hills Community College, Eastern Illinois University, and Evansville B squad.
The Screaming Eagles concluded their fall season making a pivotal step forward in the program improving from last season’s 11th place finish at the Braun Intercollegiate.
Round 1
After day one, USI sat in sixth place shooting a 322 (+34). The freshman trio of Zhana Navato, Fernanda Vera, and Jade Blakeley displayed consistent performances all shooting a 79 (+7). Freshman Brianna Kirsch rounded out the scoring with an 85 (+13).
Round 2
As a team, USI improved by three strokes on Tuesday finishing with a 319 (+31). The Eagles finished above common Ohio Valley Conference opponents Lindenwood and Eastern Illinois.
Navato delivered once again with another strong 79 (+7) performance, finishing the weekend tied for 14th overall at 158 (+14). The freshman finished her fall averaging a 79 in eight total rounds. Vera ranked second among USI competitors and tied for 22nd in the field with a 159 (+15). Vera’s first round marked the seventh time in 16 rounds she has broken 80. The freshman also concludes the fall averaging a 79 through 14 rounds.
Blakeley totaled ten pars on Tuesday’s round, finishing with an 81 (+9) on the day. She closes out the fall season tied in 26th with a 160 (+16). Blakeley averaged a score of 82 in 14 rounds. Kirsch made a six-stroke improvement shooting a 79 (+7), finishing tied for 44th with a respectable 164 (+20). The freshman joins Vera and Navato, averaging a 79 on the fall schedule in 14 rounds.
Brady earns third OVC weekly honor
EVANSVILLE, Ind.—University of Southern Indiana Men’s Cross Country senior Brady Terry has been named Ohio Valley Conference Runner of the Week for the third time in this season in an announcement by the league office Wednesday morning.
Terry, who finished second out of 233 competitors at the Angel Mounds Invitational last weekend, becomes the first USI Men’s Cross Country runner in program history to earn three conference Runner of the Week honors in a single cross country season.
He joins Michael Jordan (2013 Outdoor Track & Field), Johnnie Guy (2016 Indoor Track & Field) and Titus Winders (2020 Indoor Track & Field and 2022 Indoor Track & Field) as the only student-athletes in USI Men’s Cross Country/Track & Field history to earn three conference weekly awards in a single-season.
On the women’s side, only Heather Cooksey (2005), Mary Ballinger (2009) and Julia Kohnen (2014) have won three conference weekly awards in cross country, while Ballinger also won three GLVC Indoor Track Athlete of the Week awards in 2010.
Last Friday, Terry finished the eight-kilometer race in an OVC-best 24 minutes, 10.5 seconds to lead the Screaming Eagles to a third-place finish in the 16-team field. USI finished with 74 points, just five off second-place Lipscomb University and nearly 20 points ahead of fourth-place Southeast Missouri State University.
Notable teams competing at the Angel Mounds Invitational also included Bellarmine, UT Martin, Evansville, Western Kentucky, Murray State and Austin Peay.
The Philpot, Kentucky, native was named OVC Runner of the Week following his first-place finish at the UT Martin OVC Preview last month and was crowned for the second-time as OVC Runner of the Week following his efforts at the University of Missouri’s Gans Creek Classic three weeks ago.
A finance major at USI, Terry has been named OVC Runner of the Week after each of the last three meets he has competed in and in three of the four meets he has run this season. He raced to second-team All-OVC honors when he finished 13th at the 2023 OVC Championships.
Terry will be attempting to become the second USI men’s runner in three seasons to capture an OVC title on the grass when the Eagles toe the line at the OVC Championships November 1 in Martin, Tennessee. The women’s 6K is slated for 9 a.m., while the men’s 8k is scheduled for a 10 a.m. start time.