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HOT JOBS
Men’s golf completes Colonel Shootout in a tie for 5th
Andres Rodriguez picks up top finish for UE
RICHMOND, Ky. – Led by a top 20 finish from Andres Rodriguez, the University of Evansville men’s golf team earned a tie for 5th place at the Colonel Shootout at The University Club at Arlington.
In Sunday’s final round, Rodriguez carded a 2-over 73 and finished the 3-round tournament with a 1-over-par 214. He tied for 17th place and had a low round of 70 to open play on Saturday.
Taking second on the Purple Aces squad and tying for 27th on the leaderboard was Omar Khalid. Carding a 2-over 73 in the final round, he wrapped up the weekend with a 217. Behind him was the duo of Luke Schneider and Bryce Conlee. Both completed the event with a 9-over 222. Schneider posted a 78 on Sunday while Conlee shot a 75. They tied for 44th place.
Luke Price tied for 60th place with a final score of 227 while Daniil Romashkin was one shot behind with a 228. He finished in 63rd.
Finishing at 19-over, UE tied Kentucky State for 5th place in the final standings. Eastern Kentucky, who wrapped up the three rounds at 24-under, were 18 ahead of runner-up Samford. Connor Gdovin of EKU and Ben Loomis from Vanderbilt tied for the individual win with scores of 206, seven under.
Evansville’s next tournament will be the Graeme McDowell Invitational in Birmingham, Ala. It will take place from Sept. 22-24.
Aces in 10th with two rounds complete at Redbird Invitational
Kate Petrova leads UE on first day
NORMAL, Ill. – Day one of the Redbird Invitational saw Kate Petrova pace the University of Evansville women’s golf team. UE heads into Monday’s final round in 10th place at Weibring Golf Club.
Petrova is tied for 14th place with a 148. Identical rounds at 2-over 74 have Petrova just three strokes outside of the top five. In her first tournament for the Purple Aces, Louise Standtke was second on the team. After carding a 77 to open the event, she shot a 3-over 75 to finish with a 152. She is tied for 30th place.
Third on the team was Elizabeth Mercer. She carded an 81 in the opening round before lowering her score by five strokes in the second round of 18. A 76 has her tied for the 57th position. Mallory Russell opened at 4-over-par, posting a 76 before notching an 83 to complete the day. She has a 159. Jane Grankina checks in with a 160. Her rounds finished at 82 and 78.
Trinity Dubbs is competing as an individual and registered scores of 78 and 83.
Illinois State holds a commanding lead in the team standings. With two rounds in the books, the Redbirds stand at 13-under. Little Rock is in second place at 14-over, 27 strokes behind ISU. Evansville is in 10th place, finishing 35 over. Monday will mark the final 18 holes of the tournament.
Women’s Golf opens 2024-25 season at MSU Payne Stewart Memorial
EVANSVILLE, Ind.- University of Southern Indiana Women’s Golf kick starts their 2024-25 season at the Missouri State University Payne Stewart Memorial on Monday and Tuesday (Sept. 9-10) at Twin Oaks Country Club in Springfield, Missouri.
The course is a par 71 at 6,070 yards with a 8:30 a.m. shotgun start. Each team plays 36 holes on Monday and 18 holes on Tuesday. Follow the link above for live scoring on the tournament.
The field includes Creighton University, Drury University, Lindenwood University, North Dakota State University, Oklahoma City University, University of Nebraska Omaha, Oral Roberts University, Texas A&M-Commerce, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Western Illinois University, and Missouri State.
Head coach Ann Sullivan enters her second season at USI after taking over last October. Sullivan returns only two players from the 2023-24 season in sophomore Alexis Wymer (Bridgeport, Illinois) and senior Baileigh Schneider (Huntingburg, Indiana). Six new freshmen join the roster including Jade Blakeley (Kingston, Jamaica), Brianna Kirsch (Lancaster, Wisconsin), Camryn Luthy (Chester, Illinois), Zhana Navato (Etobicoke, Canada), Harper Ready (Cape Girardeau, Missouri), and Fernanda Vera (Lambare, Paraguay).
The Eagles five-player lineup will feature Blakeley, Kirsch, Luthy, Vera, and Wymer. USI looks to improve on their eighth-place finish at the Ohio Valley Conference tournament in 2024. Stay updated by following @USIAthletics on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
Steininger leads Blazers to big win at 2024 VU Fall Invitational
VINCENNES, Ind. – The Vincennes University Golf team continued their hot start to the 2024 Fall season over the weekend by picking up another tournament victory at the 2024 Vincennes University Fall Invitational at Cypress Hills Golf Club.
VU freshman and Vincennes native Parker Steininger (Vincennes, Ind.) came away as the tournament medalist after winning a two-hole playoff against teammate and fellow VU freshman Kadin Gibson (Franklin, Ind.) by sinking a birdie putt on hole 10.
Steininger used the home course to his advantage over the weekend, posting a two-over 72 on Saturday before climbing up the leaderboard Sunday morning with an even par 70 to finish with a two-round total of 142.
Kadin Gibson ended the first day of the 36-hole tournament with an even par 70, putting him at the top of the leaderboard after 18, before returning Sunday to post a 72.
Freshman Landon Gardner (Danville, Ind.) was the next VU scorer on the final leaderboard, finishing his tournament with an opening round 74 and a 71 in Sunday’s final round for a total score of 145 and a third-place finish.
Freshman Brock Naile (Trico, Ill.) was the fourth VU golfer to crack the top five, posting a 71 on Saturday and a 75 on Sunday to finish fourth overall for the tournament.
Sophomore Alex Nealis (Olney, Ill.) rounded out the Trailblazers team scorers over the weekend by shooting a 76 on Saturday and a 72 on Sunday to place sixth overall.
The Trailblazers as a team posted another weekend of outstanding scores, finishing with a team total of seven over par Saturday and five over par on Sunday for a tournament total score of 572, 38 shots ahead of the second place team.
“The team played really well,” VU Hall of Fame Golf Coach Dennis Chattin said. “I do mean team because we had five of the top six players in the tournament.”
“This was a really good win,” Chattin added. “It’s really nice to actually have a home tournament on your home course. We haven’t been able to do that in over 10 years. The people at Cypress Hills have made the course a good golf course again. I can’t thank Joe Lancaster, who is the greenskeeper, Kale Whitaker, the club pro and all the owners for the effort they have put into it.”
“It was great to have the guys step up with those really good rounds in the tournament,” Chattin said. “Parker and Kadin shooting a 36-hole total of two-over par is really good. They got the chance to experience a playoff, which is good for them. I told them they might be doing that for a chance to qualify for the National Championship someday and while it’s not quite the same pressure as playing a teammate for the win as a chance to play in the championship, I’m sure they had a lot of pride in doing so.”
VU freshmen Matthew Mills (Boonville, Ind.), Brayden Gough (Tuscola, Ill.) and sophomore Jackson Stone (Vincennes, Ind.) also competed in the Invitational this weekend as individuals.
Mills came away with a 16th place finish with a pair of eight over 78 rounds, while Stone finished 28th with an 86 on Saturday and an 82 on Sunday and Gough took 33rd place overall with an 87 and an 89.
The Trailblazer Golf team will look to continue this hot start in two weeks when VU heads to the IU East Invitational hosted at Delaware Country Club in Muncie, Ind.
This will be a one-day tournament, scheduled for Friday, Sept. 20.
“We are going to have a really good test coming up on the 20th when we play in Muncie at a tournament with four-year schools that IU East is hosting,” Chattin said. “It’s always fun to bump off the four year guys so we will see if we are up to the task.”
Eagles fall to Miami (Ohio) on Sunday
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Women’s Soccer had multiple shot attempts go off the goal frame on Sunday afternoon at Strassweg Field, but the Screaming Eagles had no luck finding the back of the net as USI fell to Miami University (Ohio), 2-0.
After both sides battled to control possession early, Southern Indiana’s (0-6-1) defense had to stand tall in the first part of the opening half. Redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Anna Markland (Hoover, Alabama) grabbed three saves within a stretch of eight minutes against Miami’s (3-1-2) offensive attack.
The visiting Redhawks struck first in the 28th minute to take a 1-0 lead off a free-kick header, but USI held Miami without a shot for the remainder of the first half.
Coming out of halftime trailing 1-0, the Screaming Eagles looked to create an offensive spark after having two shots in the first 45 minutes of play.
Like the early minutes of the first half, USI’s defense was tested early in the second stanza. Miami produced eight shots within the first 15 minutes after the intermission. The USI backline blocked a trio of shots while Markland saved two more.
The Redhawks extended their lead to 2-0 in the 77th minute on a header off a short cross in the box following a corner kick.
In the middle of the second half, Southern Indiana ran into some tough luck with multiple shots banging off the woodwork of the goal frame. First, a corner-kick header by redshirt freshman Eva Boer (St. Charles, Illinois) went off the post. A few minutes later, a free kick from outside the box by sophomore midfielder Grace Bamber (Chesterton, Indiana) hit the crossbar. Plus, sophomore midfielder Kerigan Kivisto (Collierville, Tennessee) also had a shot clank off the crossbar in the last seconds before the final whistle.
USI finished the match with seven shots. Kivisto and Bamber had two attempts each. On the other side, Miami totaled 15 shots with seven on goal.
Next, Southern Indiana hits the road again on Thursday with a trip to Clarksville, Tennessee to play Austin Peay State University at 6 p.m. Coverage links of the match can be found at usiscreamingeagles.com.
Eagles stumble against USF to conclude Florida Invitational, 3-0
GAINESVILLE, Fla.- University of Southern Indiana Volleyball (2-4) ran into a buzz saw in the finale of the Florida Invitational against University of South Florida in a sweep (18-25, 21-25, 14-25). USF were the champions of the invitational going 3-0.
The Screaming Eagles struggled to stop a massive USF late ran, falling 18-25 in set one. Senior Carly Sobieralski (Indianapolis, Indiana) helped the Eagles stay within one point at 19-18 with eight assists. Senior Paris Downing (Avon, Indiana) smacked three early kills. The Bulls rallied for six straight points to clinch the early lead. USI tallied a match-high ten kills in set one.
USI battled USF trading points that included multiple strenuous rallies, but fell 21-25 in set two. The Eagles built an early 4-1 lead off a kill and block from junior Bianca Anderson (Chicago Heights, Illinois). Freshman Kerigan Fehr (Fairbury, Illinois) tallied a huge service ace to give her four on the weekend making it an 8-5 Eagles lead. Senior Lauren O’Neill (Covington, Indiana) stepped into the game making an immediate impact with a block, giving USI a 18-17 lead. However, the Bulls went on an 8-3 stretch to win the set.
South Florida exploded in the third set for 18 kills, finishing the Eagles 16-25. Sobieralski gave the Eagles consistency all weekend placing four perfect assists, giving the Eagles an early 7-4 lead. Sophomore Leah Coleman (Hoover, Alabama) and O’Neill swatted two kills as the Eagles trailed USF 11-10. The Bulls finished with multiple runs including a 9-1 finish to clinch the match.
Sophomore Ashby Willis (Mount Carmel, Illinois) Anderson, and Coleman each collected six kills. Sobieralski led the Eagles with 23 assists ending her five-game streak of double-doubles with just six. Junior Keira Moore (Newburgh, Indiana) led the squad with nine digs while senior Abby Weber (Fishers, Indiana) and Fehr both added aces. Anderson swatted three blocks as she’s average 4.2 per game.
As a team, USI finished with 27 kills, 25 assists, 34 digs, two aces, six blocks, and a .112 attacking percentage. The Bulls tallied 47 kills, 44 assists, 46 digs, seven aces, five blocks, and a .286 hitting percentage. USI leaves Gainesville stronger after playing the country’s top competition with numerous positive moments.
USI finishes road swing with 2-0 loss at Mercer
MACON, Ga. – University of Southern Indiana Men’s Soccer finished its five-game, season-opening road swing with a 2-0 loss at Mercer University Sunday morning in Macon, Georgia. The Screaming Eagles are 0-5-0, while the Bears go to 3-1-2.
The Eagles fell behind early in the match as the Bears had a 2-0 lead after the first 45 minutes. Mercer, which had the momentum throughout the first half with a 10-3 lead in shots, posted the first tally at 8:11 and doubled its lead with another goal at 26:51.
It was a scoreless draw between the two squads in the second half. Mercer maintained control of the match with 10-4 lead in shots and an 8-2 lead in corners. USI sophomore forward Jackson Mitchell (Newburgh, Indiana) led the Eagles with three shots.
Between the posts for USI, sophomore goalkeeper Andrew Klott (St. Charles, Missouri) faced 20 total shots, allowing a pair of goals and making four saves.
NEXT UP FOR USI:
The Eagles will appear at Strassweg Field for the first time in the 2024 regular season Saturday when they host former GLVC-rival Bellarmine University. Kickoff Saturday is slated for 7 p.m. and will be the annual USI Gold Game to promote awareness of childhood cancers.
The USI-Bellarmine contest is the start of a five-match homestand for the Eagles that includes the start of 2024 Ohio Valley Conference slate. The homestand, which is USI’s longest of the season, also includes meetings with Purdue University Ft. Wayne (September 17); Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (September 25), Eastern Illinois University (September 28) and Lindenwood University (October 3).
USI has a 25-16-2 all-time series lead over Bellarmine, dating back to the beginning of the Great Lakes Valley Conference in 1979. The Eagles have the advantage in the last 10 matches, 5-3-2, but the Knights have won the last two (2-0 in 2022; 5-1 in 2019).
