Staff with the Evansville Thunderbolts say picking up for a franchise that left overnight has been a unique challenge.

Strong efforts by both the men and the women’s squads earned swimming and diving a pair of wins tonight over Valparaiso.

Evansville’s men won by a final of 131-74 while the women’s team took the victory by a final of 152-33.

“I am very excited about the wins tonight, especially after the last few weeks of hard training,” head coach Rickey Perkins said.  “We had some great swims. It was great to compete against someone else besides ourselves.”

Senior Michaela Kent had a successful evening.  She took top honors in the 100 backstroke with a time of 59.22 followed closely by teammates Emma Gowdy and Taylor Davidson for a sweep in the event.  Kent also teamed up with Alaina Sylvester, Kristen Myers, and Danielle Freeman for a victory in the 400 Medley Relay.

Senior Danielle Freeman also scored her share of points with victories in both the 50 and 100 Freestyle, with times of 24.12 and 53.78 respectively. Teammates Kent and freshman Emma Hennessy followed in second and third place for another event sweep in the 50. In the 100, freshman Kristy Kupfer edged out Crusader Paige Wright by .04 seconds to take second place with a time of 55.55

Freshman Aine Scholand picked up three wins of her own as well. Her time of 10:41.11 in the 1000 freestyle took first by a wide margin, with teammate Ashton Adams following in second with 11:00.76. Scholand went on to win the 500 freestyle as well with a 5:21.56, with Adams and sophomore Megan Schremp in second a third for yet another sweep. The 400 Freestyle Relay of Kupfer, Myers, Scholand, and Adams took the win as well in a final time of 3:43.38. In addition to both relays, Myers won her third event, the 400 IM, posting a 4:45.59.

Additional victories came for the women in the form of junior Kayla Aitken in the 100 Butterfly with a 1:01.90, and Alaina Sylvester in the 100 Breaststroke, touching in at a 1:10.96.

The men’s team matched the efforts of the women with a slew of victories of their own. Freshman Paul Cozzens picked up two individual wins in the 400 IM and the 100 Butterfly, clocking in at 4:16.55 and 53.02 respectively. He also combined his efforts with Dan O’Brien, Will Glasscock, and Matt Duke to win the 400 Medley Relay with a time of 3:35.46.

O’Brien, Glasscock, and Duke each took top honors as well. O’Brien edged out second place Crusader Max Penn in the 100 Backstroke with a final time of 54.12. Glasscock took a solid victory in the 100 breaststroke at a 1:01.58, and Duke took the 50 freestyle in a 22.18.

Freshman Brandt Hudson took all three of his races as well. The 1000 freestyle was won in a 10:10.12, and the 500 freestyle with 4:54.36. The Aces finished the meet with a final victory in the 400 Freestyle Relay. Hudson’s efforts, along with Everett Plocek, Jared Sutphin, and Blake Wheeler, clocked in at 3:14.80

The Aces are back in action at Boilermaker Aquatic Center tomorrow morning at noon EST.

 BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The Indiana University men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams got the 2016-17 season off to a great start on Friday, posting three wins in a long-course meters tri-meet with Texas and Florida at the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatic Center in Bloomington, Ind.

The Hoosier men posted two wins on Friday, beating two-time defending NCAA Champion Texas, 149-132, and taking down Florida, who placed third at last season’s NCAA Championships, 181-100. For the Indiana women, the Hoosiers beat Florida, 150-131, but fell to Texas, 170-106.

“I have to congratulate our men’s swimming and diving team,” IU head swimming coach Ray Looze remarked. “That’s the first win we have ever gotten over Texas or Florida in over 40 years. Our guys definitely came to race and I am super proud of them. Nobody was at full strength, but that happens this time of year and who show up with is who you have to compete with and I thought our guys were real competitive. I’m really proud of our men.

“I thought our women started off the meet great but faded. A lot of that has to do with taking care of your body during a meet and keeping that competitive edge and not easing up. I thought we got a little bit complacent. Overall, to have three wins against this level of competition is good and we can be a lot better.”

In the men’s 200 medley relay, the Hoosier team of Bob Glover, Ian Finnerty, Vini Lanza and Ali Khalafalla won with a time of 1:41.58 – the fifth-best time in school history. On the women’s side, the IU team of Brooklyn Snodgrass, Lilly King, Gia Dalesandro and Gabriela Rajic took second with a school-record mark of 1:55.72.

Freshman Cassie Jernberg had a nice debut for the Hoosiers in the 800 freestyle, leading the team by placing third with a time of 8:58.60. Stephanie Marchuk was fourth overall with a mark of 8:59.68.

For the Hoosier men, transfer and 2016 Olympian for Egypt Marwan Elkamash won the 800 freestyle with a time of 8:19.42, while teammate Adam Destrampe finished fifth overall with a mark of 8:28.78.

The Hoosier men had a great showing in the 200 freestyle, with 2016 Rio gold medalist Blake Pieroni leading the way, coming in second with a time of 1:51.44. Elkamash was third in a time of 1:52.23, while 2016 Team Slovenia Olympian Anze Tavcar touched fifth with a mark of 1:53.73. A 2016 bronze medalist for Team Canada in Rio, Kennedy Goss paced IU in the women’s 200 freestyle, touching the wall third in a time of 2:03.65.

The Indiana men went 1-2 in the 100 backstroke, with Glover winning in a time of 57.36. Teammate Wilson Beckman was second overall with a mark of 58.40. On the women’s side, Snodgrass placed third with a time of 1:04.91.

The Hoosiers swept the 100 breaststroke on Saturday, with King winning for the women and Finnerty touching first on the men’s side. King, the 2016 Olympic champion in the event, won with a time of 1:09.05, while teammate Laura Morley placed fifth with a mark of 1:15.02. Finnerty won the men’s 100 breast with a time of 1:05.11.

Reagan Cook led the IU women in the 200 butterfly, placing fourth with a time of 2:18.29, while Dalesandro came in fifth with a mark of 2:18.88. On the men’s side, Lanza touched the wall fourth in a time of 2:07.10, while Max Irwin was fifth in 2:08.12.

Indiana swept the top-3 in the men’s 50 freestyle, with Khalafalla winning with a time of 22.61. The 2016 Team Egypt Olympian was followed by Pieroni in second at 23.01 and Tavcar in third in 23.45.

In the men’s 1m dive, 2016 Rio Summer Olympic silver medalist Michael Hixon made his return to Bloomington, winning the event with a NCAA qualifying score of 394.30. Fellow Olympian and teammate James Connor placed third

In the women’s 3m dive, IU’s Michal Bower placed second overall with a personal-best score of 335.15. With her NCAA qualifying mark, Bower now ranks as the 12^th-best performer in the event in school history. Making her Hoosier debut, Taylor Pamplin placed sixth with a score of 271.30.

IU had another strong showing in the 100 freestyle, with Pieroni earning his second win of the day, touching first overall with a time of 50.14. Khalafalla was third in a time of 51.33, while Tavcar took fifth with a mark of 51.48.

In the 200 backstroke, Goss led the Hoosiers, winning with a time of 2:15.53, leading a trio of top-5 finishers. Shelly Drozda came in third with a mark of 2:18.71, while Rachel Matsumura took fifth in a time of 2:19.51. On the men’s side, Beckman led the IU charge, placing fourth with a time of 2:07.79.

Cody Taylor led the IU men in the 200 breaststroke, placing second overall with a time of 2:24.17. Freshman Jack Kucharczyk was fifth overall in a mark of 2:25.18. On the women’s side, King was third in a time of 2:36.38.

Elkamash continued his great debut for the Hoosiers, placing second in the men’s 400 freestyle with a time of 3:56.35. Matt Anderson was third in 4:05.08, while Destrampe took fifth in a mark of 4:06.04. On the women’s side, Marchuk led the way, placing third with a time of 4:23.00, while Jernberg took fifth in 4:26.61.

In the 100 butterfly, Lanza placed second for the IU men with a time of 54.71, while Dalesandro highlighted the Hoosier women’s effort, taking third with a mark of 1:01.87.

Lanza placed third overall in the men’s 200 IM with a time of 2:09.75, while Dalesandro led the IU women, taking fourth in the event with a time of 2:24.69. Sam Lisy was fifth with a time of 2:24.76.

The Hoosier women’s 400 freestyle relay team of Ali Rockett, Snodgrass, Shelby Koontz and Goss took second place with a time of 3:59.24.

In the final event of the night, the Hoosier men trotted out four Olympians – Pieroni, Khalafalla, Tavcar and Elkamash – with the quartet placing second overall with a time of 3:23.84. The relay’s time is the fourth-fastest in IU history.

The Indiana University men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams will be back in action on Saturday, October 22 when the team hosts Florida and Texas in a short-course yards tri-meet at the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatic Center. The meet is scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m. ET.

 

UE returns to action Saturday at Drake

Rocio Fortuny and Rachel Tam led the offense as the University of Evansville volleyball team dropped a 3-0 decision at UNI on Friday evening at the McLeod Center.

Fortuny tied for the top tally in the match with nine kills for UE (4-19, 0-10 MVC) while Tam notched seven.  Joselyn Coronel led the team with 10 assists while Mildrelis Rodriguez had a team-best 8 digs.  Leading the Panthers (16-7, 7-3 MVC) offense was Kayla Haneline, who had nine kills in 17 attempts.  Two others notched eight.

Notching four kills in the opening frame was Fortuny, but it was the Panthers who finished with the upper hand.  UNI jumped out to a 7-1 lead before a Montana Schafer kill ended the run.  Evansville kept the gap around five points before a 5-0 stretch gave the Panthers a 17-7 lead before the cruised to a 25-14 win.

In the second frame, the teams battled to a 3-3 tie.  That is when UNI made its move, scoring 13 in a row to go up 16-3.  From there, they grabbed a 2-0 lead thanks to a 25-10 win in the set.

The Aces played better in the third set, opening up a 3-2 lead on a Rachel Tam kill.  After the Panthers fought back to take a 6-3 lead, UE made a run of its own as a Tam service ace got the squad back within one at 8-7.  UNI was able to wrestle the lead away and clinch the match with a 25-14 victory.

Tomorrow evening, the Aces continue their trek through Iowa, playing Drake at 7 p.m. inside the Knapp Center.

University of Southern Indiana Volleyball suffered a 25-18, 25-23, 25-21 Great Lakes Valley Conference setback to host Saint Joseph’s College Friday night.

The Screaming Eagles (9-13, 3-7 GLVC) racked up a .284 attacking percentage, but could not slow down a red-hot Pumas’ attack that recorded a blistering .345 clip.

Saint Joseph’s (6-16, 2-8 GLVC) hit .500 in the first stanza as it raced out to a six-point lead midway through the frame. The Pumas extended their lead to as much as eight points late in the set before settling on the seven-point win.

USI jumped out to a 13-9 advantage early in the second set, but a 5-0 Saint Joseph’s rally erased the Eagles’ cushion and shifted momentum into the Pumas’ favor. The two teams battled point-for-point throughout the remainder of the set, but a Saint Joseph’s kill as well as a block ensured a two-point Pumas’ win and 2-0 lead in the match.

Despite holding a 10-9 lead early in the third set, USI could not get over the hump as it was constantly digging out of two-point deficits throughout the stanza. After tying the frame at 20-20, USI saw the Pumas use a 5-1 run to end the set with a four-point win and three-set victory.

Senior middle/outside hitter Amy Zwissler (Bloomington, Indiana) had 13 kills to lead the Eagles, offensively, while junior liberoShannon Farrell (Munster, Indiana) finished with 16 digs. Farrell moved into the top five all-time at USI in career digs (1,191).

The Eagles return to action Saturday at 2 p.m. (CDT) when they travel to Indianapolis to take on the University of Indianapolis.

Short Box Score (Match)

Univ. of Southern Indiana Volleyball

Southern Indiana vs Saint Joseph’s (IN) (Oct 21, 2016 at Rensselaer, IN)

Saint Joseph’s (IN) def. Southern Indiana 25-18,25-23,25-21

Southern Indiana (9-13, 3-7 GLVC)

(Kills-aces-blocks) – Zwissler, Amy 13-0-0; Whitfield, Te’Ayla 8-0-1; Morris, Shelbi 5-0-0; Jung, Amanda 5-0-3; Coleman, Elexis 3-1-2; Shoultz, Quin 2-0-0; Humphrey, Mikaila 1-0-0; Limper, Haley 0-1-0; Totals 37-2-3.0. (Assists) – Shoultz, Quin 20; Peoples, Erika 10. (Dig leaders) – Farrell, Shannon 16; Limper, Haley 6

Saint Joseph’s (IN) (6-16, 2-8 GLVC)

(Kills-aces-blocks) – Krasowski, Bridget 15-0-0; Anthony, Madyson 13-0-1; Kruzan, Julia 10-0-3; James, Shawntel 9-0-3; Grenda, Lucy 5-0-1; Spears, Alyssa 4-1-0; Dugan, Katie 0-2-0; Totals 56-3-5.0. (Assists) – Spears, Alyssa 45. (Dig leaders) – Dugan, Katie 19; Dixon, Jordan 7

Site: Rensselaer, IN (Scharf Fieldhouse)

Date: Oct 21, 2016   Attend: 74   Time: 1:28

Referees: Tony Padro, Ron Hill

The University of Southern Indiana men’s soccer team and McKendree University played to a 0-0 double-overtime tie Friday night in Lebanon, Illinois. USI, which has gone to overtime in each of its last four matches and double-overtime in the last three, watched its record go to 10-2-3 overall and 8-2-3 in the GLVC, while McKendree goes to 3-6-4, 2-6-4 GLVC.

The tie puts USI into a tie for third with the University of Missouri-St. Louis (10-4-1, 9-3-1 GLVC) in the GLVC with two matches remaining, percentage points behind second place Missouri University of Science &Technology (8-0-5, 9-1-6 GLVC); and a game-and-a-half behind league front-running Rockhurst University (13-1-1, 11-1-1 GLVC). Rockhurst and UMSL have the tie-breakers with USI after defeating the Eagles earlier this fall.

USI junior goalkeeper Adam Zehme (Orland Park, Illinois) preserved the shutout tie tonight with is career-best sixth save of the season. Zehme faced 15 total shots in the match, making six saves.

Overall, the match was nearly even in shots with McKendree leading 15-14 and USI leading in shots on-goal, 10-6. The Eagles appeared to have scored with 2:53 left in the second overtime, only to see it called back due to offsides.

The Eagles return to the friendly surroundings of Strassweg Field for the final two regular season games of 2016 when they host the University of Illinois Springfield October 23 at noon and Bellarmine University October 26 at 5 p.m.

Illinois Springfield saw its record go to 6-8-2, 5-6-2 GLVC, after a 0-0 double-overtime tie with Bellarmine tonight in Springfield, Illinois. USI holds a 7-4-1 advantage in the all-time series with Illinois Springfield after defeating the Prairie Stars, 3-0, last year on the road.