Singles also do well on first day of tournament

 All three doubles teams picked up victories as the University of Evansville women’s tennis squad completed the first day of the Missouri Valley Conference Individual Championships on Saturday at Wesselman Park.

Top doubles featured Diana Tkachenko and Nicoli Pereira defeating Drake’s Joely Lomas and Summer Brills by a final of 8-6.  They advance to take on Veronika Golanova and Marcia Tere-Apisah of Illinois State on Sunday.  At #2 doubles, the duo of Chieko Yamada and Theodora Soldatou defeated Bradley’s Aimee Manfredo and Ariel Dechter, 8-7 (6).  They square off against Drake in the first doubles match of the day.

Capping off the perfect doubles day for UE were Daria Pentsova and Andjela Brguljan, who defeated Missouri State’s Alexia Meyer and Abbey Belote by a score of 8-5 in the third flight.  They will take on Southern Illinois tomorrow.

Tkachenko capped off the perfect day at #2 singles, defeating DU’s Summer Brills, 6-1, 6-3.  She will face Ting-Ya Hsu from Wichita State with a chance to advance to Monday’s championship match.  Also earning a win was Soldatou, who beat Sydney Wolfe of UNI, 6-1, 7-6 (4).  They faced each other in the opening round of fifth flight singles.  Soldatou will face Malini Wijesinghe from Bradley on Sunday.

Pereira was the third UE player to win her opening singles tilt.  In the sixth flight, she beat Aimee Manfredo of Bradley, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.  She faces the Bears’ Alexia Meyer tomorrow with the winner moving onto the championship.

Andrea Pascual-Larrinaga and Chieko Yamada each won matches in their respective back draw on Saturday.  Pascual-Larrinaga lost her opening match before beating UNI’s Gisela Kemper, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (6).  She moved onto the fifth place match of flight four.  After falling to SIU, Yamada rebounded with a win over UNI’s Jieke Stroobant, 4-6, 6-0, 10-6.  She played at the top flight.

Action cranks right back up on Sunday beginning at 9 a.m. at Wesselman Park.  Admission is free.

Tournament to be played on Monday and Tuesday

A trip to Morganton, N.C. awaits the University of Evansville golf team as they will play in the Donald Ross Intercollegiate on Monday and Tuesday.

Mimosa Hills Country Club will be the host course for the event, which features a total of 54 holes.  The opening two rounds are played Monday before the final 18 on Tuesday.  Schools playing include: Appalachian State, Bethune-Cookman, Bucknell, Greensboro College, High Point, North Carolina Central, Pfeiffer, Stetson, Towson, Evansville and Wingate.

Tyler Gray shot a 1-under 69 on Tuesday to earn the win at the Butler Fall Invitational as the University of Evansville men’s golf team took second place in the event at  Highland Country Club.

Gray’s round of a 1-under 69 was his lowest round of the event and gave him a 210 over the course of the tournament.  He defeated UIndy’s Evan Stoker by one stroke.  Gray opened the event with rounds of 71 and 70 on Monday.

All five Purple Aces finished in the top 21 as the team took second place on the team side.  Evansville posted an 855 over the three rounds while the University of Indianapolis notched an 854.  Both teams had strong efforts in the final rounds as Indianapolis notched a 284 with Evansville carding a 287.  Those were the lowest team rounds of the day.

Second for UE was Wil Pahud.  His 72 on Tuesday gave him a 213 for the event, tying him for sixth place.  Sophomore Zac Turi had another solid round of play.  After shooting a career-low 69 in the opening round, Turi recorded a 74 to finish with a 218.  He tied for 13th.

One shot behind Turi was Noah Reese.  A 75 in the final round saw Reese post a 219 for the tournament, tying for 16th.  Rounding out the team was Matthew Ladd, who had his best round of the weekend.  He shot a 72 to tie for 21st place with a 222.

The University of Southern Indiana women’s soccer team lost a heartbreaker in the finals seconds of the double-overtime to William Jewell College, 1-0, Friday evening at Strassweg Field. USI saw its record fall to 7-5-0 overall and 4-5-0 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference, while William Jewell goes to 2-7-2, 2-6-1 GLVC.

The Screaming Eagles and the Cardinals were scoreless through the first half with USI posting the greater number of offensive chances. USI led William Jewell, 7-3, during the first half in shots, while hitting cross bar twice and having a goal called back due to an offside call.

In the second half, William Jewell was able to put pressure on USI with aid of the wind. Both squad had six shots in the second stanza, but were unable to score, sending the match to overtime.

In the overtimes, USI had three shots at the William Jewell goal, but it was the Cardinals that ended the game at 109:52. WJC defender Elizabeth McQueen scored game winner from 15 yards out to end the USI winning streak.

Eagles’ sophomore goalkeeper Emily Hopkins (Greenfield, Indiana) took the loss in goal for the USI, despite tying a career-high with 10 saves. The goal also broke Hopkins’ streak of 292 minutes without giving up a goal.

USI concludes the short two-match homestand Sunday at noon when it hosts Rockhurst University. The Hawks sent their record to 9-1-2 overall and 6-1-2 in the GLVC after tying Bellarmine University, 1-1, in double overtime tonight in Louisville, Kentucky.

The Eagles have a lot of ground to make up in the all-time series with the Hawks, trailing 10-1-1. Rockhurst won last year’s meeting in Kansas City, Missouri, 3-2, in overtime and are 3-0-1 in the last four match-ups with USI.

Following Sunday’s match with Rockhurst, the Eagles hit the road for three-straight matches. USI will travel to Drury University October 14; Missouri University of Science & Technology October 16; and McKendree University October 21 on the longest road trip of the year.

Aces to face Indiana State on Saturday

Mildrelis Rodriguez and Rachel Tam recorded eight kills apiece as the University of Evansville volleyball team dropped a 3-0 match to Illinois State on Friday evening at the Carson Center.

Tam notched eight kills in 17 attempts and hit .294 to lead the Purple Aces (4-15, 0-6 MVC) while Rodriguez matched her tally with 8.  Olivia Goldstein had 10 digs while Erlicia Griffith chipped in four block assists.  Jaelyn Keene led the Redbirds (12-6, 5-1 MVC) with 13 kills while Ali Line finished the night with 10.

Illinois State opened the night with a 25-12 win.  They jumped out to a 6-2 lead and pushed that out to 22-9 as Jaelyn Keene had five kills in the frame.  Erlicia Griffith notched a pair of block assists as UE cut the gap to ten, but ISU was able to come back for the win.

Evansville notched the first point of the second game, but Illinois State scored six of the next seven to take a 6-2 advantage.  The Aces fought back as a Rachel Tam kill helped the Aces get back within three at 10-7.  Five in a row by ISU made the difference as they went up 15-7.  The Aces continued to fight back as Tam helped the Aces get back within six before the Redbirds finished with the 25-18 victory.  Tam notched six kills in the set.

After ISU notched the opening three tallies of the third frame, the Aces got on the board and battled back to get within two at 5-3.  From there, Illinois State took control, going up 15-6.  Rodriguez notched a pair of kills to end the rally, but ISU rolled to a 25-13 win to clinch the match.

Tomorrow, the Aces welcome Indiana State to the Carson Center for a 7 p.m. match.

The 19^th-ranked University of Southern Indiana men’s soccer team posted a record-setting victory with a 3-0 defeat of William Jewell College Friday night at Strassweg Field. USI watched its record rise to 10-1-0 overall and 8-1-0 in the GLVC, while WJC fell to 2-9-0, 2-7-0 GLVC.

The Screaming Eagles, who are off to the best start in program history, set a new school record with its eighth-straight win, breaking a mark set in both the 1990 and 1991 seasons. At 10-1-0 and six regular season games remaining, USI can set its sights on the school record of 15 wins set in 1989 and 1990.

The Eagles took command midway through the opening 45 minutes when junior midfielder Kyle Richardville (Vincennes, Indiana) scored at 27:24. Richardville was assisted on his fifth goal of the season by junior midfielder Riley Belding (Columbus, Indiana). USI, which had a dominating 12-3 lead in shots during the first half, would hold the 1-0 lead through the halftime.

In the second half, Richardville and Belding combined for a second time to extend the margin to 2-0 at 55:32. Richardville headed in his second of the match and sixth of the season on a bending corner kick by Belding.

USI freshman midfielder Sean Rickey (Columbia, Illinois) gave the Eagles a 3-0 lead on an insurance goal at 76:42. Richardville looped a pass into the box where Rickey put the ball away for his fifth goal of the season. The goal would give the match its final score of 3-0.

Between the posts, junior goalkeeper Adam Zehme (Orland Park, Illinois) continued his career-best season with his 10^th win of the year and fifth shutout of the season. Zehme, the GLVC’s reigning Defensive Player of the Week, was credited with the win after making one save while facing six total shots.

The win sets up a 2:30 p.m. Sunday showdown between the top-two teams in the GLVC and the NCAA Division II’s number one and number 19 squads. The GLVC-leading and top-ranked Rockhurst University Hawks sent their record to 10-0-1 overall and 8-0-1 in the GLVC after defeating Bellarmine University, 2-1, tonight in Louisville, Kentucky.

The Eagles have a lot of ground to make up in the all-time series with the Hawks, trailing 17-1-3. Rockhurst won both meetings in Kansas City, Missouri, last year, taking the regular season match-up, 3-1, and the GLVC first round match-up, 1-0.

Following Sunday’s match with Rockhurst, the Eagles hit the road for three-straight matches. USI will travel to Drury University October 14; Missouri University of Science & Technology October 16; and McKendree University October 21 on the longest road trip of the year.

Sophomore setter Erika Peoples (Bloomington, Illinois) had 46 assists and 14 digs as University of Southern Indiana Volleyball earned a 25-16, 19-25, 25-21, 26-24 Great Lakes Valley Conference victory over the University of Wisconsin-Parkside Friday night in its annual Dig for the Cure match at the Physical Activities Center.

After seeing its early momentum slip away in a six-point set-two loss, USI bounced back with a solid effort in the third stanza to regain control of the match. Junior outside hitterShelbi Morris (Brazil, Indiana) and freshman outside hitter Mikaila Humphrey (Floyd Knobs, Indiana) each had five kills in the frame as USI earned the four-point win to build a 2-1 lead in the match.

In the fourth set, the Screaming Eagles (8-9, 3-5 GLVC) rallied from a late two-point deficit to take a 21-20 advantage. USI eventually earned a match-point opportunity with a kill by junior middle hitter Te’Ayla Whitfield (Fort Wayne, Indiana), but the Rangers won back-to-back point to tie the score at 24-24.

USI got a huge kill from freshman right side hitter Amanda Jung (Belleville, Illinois) to stop the Rangers’ push and give the Eagles another shot at match-point. Following an overpass off the ensuing serve, both Whitfield and Jung went up for the decisive attack, with Whitfield getting the kill for the match-ending point.

In the opening set, the Eagles used an 8-1 run to break a 12-12 tie and build a commanding seven-point lead. The Eagles held the Rangers to a .094 attacking percentage in the opening frame as they earned the nine-point win.

UW-Parkside (6-12, 4-4 GLVC), which saw a two-match winning streak versus USI come to a close, hit .325 in the second stanza as it evened the match at a set apiece with the six-point win. The Eagles were able to rebound in the third set, partly because they were able to hold the Rangers’ attack to a .087 clip.

In addition to Peoples’ double-double, the Eagles also benefitted from a 13-kill, 13-dig effort by Morris as well as a 10-kill, six-block performance from Whitfield. Humphrey added a team-best 14 kills, while junior libero Shannon Farrell (Munster, Indiana) and sophomore defensive specialist Haley Limper (Springfield, Illinois) finished with 19 and 12 digs, respectively.

Freshman left side hitter Kasey Davis and senior outside hitter Rebecca Roembke had 17 and 14 kills, respectively, to lead the Rangers.

USI returns to action Saturday at 3 p.m. when it hosts No. 13 Lewis University at the PAC. The Flyers (14-3, 8-0 GLVC) have won nine straight matches following their five-set victory over Bellarmine Friday night in Louisville, Kentucky.

Short Box Score (Match)

Univ. of Southern Indiana Volleyball

Wisconsin-Parkside vs Southern Indiana (Oct 07, 2016 at Evansville, IN)

Southern Indiana def. Wisconsin-Parkside 25-16,19-25,25-21,26-2

Wisconsin-Parkside (6-12, 4-4 GLVC)

(Kills-aces-blocks) – Davis, Kasey 17-0-2; Roembke, Rebecca 14-1-2; Turek, Lexi 8-0-8; Fenske, Leah 4-1-4; Adams, Katie 3-0-3; Mavis, Elizabeth 3-0-7; Hickson, Lauren 2-1-2; Leo, Annie 0-2-0; Totals 51-5-15.0. (Assists) – Hickson, Lauren 44. (Dig leaders) – Leo, Annie 26; Roembke, Rebecca 13; Davis, Kasey 11; Fenske, Leah 10

Southern Indiana (8-9, 3-5 GLVC)

(Kills-aces-blocks) – Humphrey, Mikaila 14-0-3; Morris, Shelbi 13-1-1; Whitfield, Te’Ayla 10-0-6; Zwissler, Amy 8-1-2; Jung, Amanda 7-0-4; Peoples, Erika 3-0-0; Lee, Jessica 0-3-0; Totals 55-5-8.0. (Assists) – Peoples, Erika 46. (Dig leaders) – Farrell, Shannon 19; Peoples, Erika 14; Morris, Shelbi 13; Limper, Haley 12