Five University of Southern Indiana Men’s and Women’s Track & Field student-athletes were honored with U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches’ Association All-Midwest Region accolades Monday afternoon.

The Screaming Eagles collected a total of nine All-Region awards, with senior Johnnie Guy (Palmyra, Indiana) and junior Chase Broughton (Marengo, Indiana) collecting a combined six awards.

Guy earned All-Region honors in the mile, the 3,000 meters, the 5,000 meters, and the distance medley relay, while Broughton garnered All-Region recognition for his efforts in the mile and the distance medley relay.

Sophomore Jesse Stanley (Chandler, Indiana) and freshman DeAvion Sullivan (Evansville, Indiana) joined Broughton and Guy in earning All-Region honors in the distance medley relay; while sophomore Emily Roberts (Fredericktown, Ohio) earned All-Region honors in the women’s 5,000 meters.

The top five individuals in each event from each region earned the All-Region distinction, in addition to each of the members of the regions’ top three relay teams.

Guy ranks first in the Midwest Region in the 3,000 meters, second in the 5,000 meters, and second in the mile. Broughton ranks fourth in the Midwest Region in the mile, while Roberts ranks fourth in the 5,000 meters.

USI’s distance medley relay team ranks first in the region and eighth, nationally, after winning the Great Lakes Valley Conference title Saturday night.

Guy was one of seven men’s competitors to earn All-Region honors in four events and one 24 competitors amongst both genders. Only Salcia Slack of New Mexico Highland University, Emily Oren of Hillsdale, and Carly Muscaro of Merrimack University earned All-Region honors in more events. Slack topped the women’s All-Region honorees with six, while Oren and Muscaro had each five awards.

The Eagles will learn their NCAA Division II Indoor Championship fate Wednesday when the final declarations are announced. Guy is a lock in both the 3,000 and 5,000 meters, while Roberts is a lock in the 5,000 meters. USI’s DMR also is a lock to advance to nationals, while junior Josh Guy (Palmyra, Indiana) is on the bubble for the 5,000 meters.

 After taking two of three in Spartanburg, S.C., last weekend, the University of Evansville baseball team will close out its seven-game season-opening road swing on Wednesday as the Purple Aces will pay a visit to Rose Park in Nashville to take on Belmont.

UE, which is coming off a 15-3 win over Monmouth on Sunday, will be hoping to continue swinging hot bats in the Belmont contest. The Aces have homered seven times in six games this season, and the power has come from all over the line-up as five different players have left the park this season. Last year, it took the Aces 15 games to rack up seven home runs.

Trey Hair, a junior out of Fort Scott Community College, has been a primary source of the Aces offense through six games. The second baseman is hitting .474 for the season, and he has four doubles and four runs batted in through the opening six games. He’s also proven a remarkably patient hitter, earning six walks and posting a .593 on-base mark.

Boomer Synek has also shined with a .381 batting average, and with two home runs, he tied his previous career total. The senior out of Northbrook, Ill., leads the team with seven RBI. Josh Jyawook, a preseason all-conference honoree, will be hoping his last game is a sign of things to come as he went 4-for-5 at the plate with four RBI in the drubbing of Monmouth.

Alex Weigand, a freshman, will get the start on the mound for the Aces. The southpaw has made one appearance on the year, allowing a pair of runs (one earned) over three innings at South Alabama.

Belmont, on the other hand, will be hoping to build on a 4-2 start to the season. The Bruins, who are playing Western Kentucky on Tuesday, kicked things off by taking two of three from Illinois State before picking up wins over Army and Western Michigan this past weekend.

First pitch from E.S. Rose Park is slated for 4 p.m.

Seniors looking forward to Arch Madness

ST LOUIS –The regular season is done and now it is time to prepare for the trip to St. Louis for Arch Madness for the #2 seed Purple Aces.  It is a good beginning to the week for the University of Evansville as seniors D.J. Balentine and Egidijus Mockevicius have earned a spot on the All-Missouri Valley Conference First Team.

For Balentine, it marks the third year in a row that he has been on the squad.  It is the second in a row for Mockevicius.  Mockevicius was also named to the All-Defensive Team for the third time in his career.

All-time program scoring leader D.J. Balentine garnered a spot on the team as he once again led the league in scoring, posting an average of 20.7 points per game.  In the February 6 game against Missouri State, Balentine set the program scoring mark, passing Colt Ryan’s career total of 2,279 in his career.

Balentine goes into Arch Madness with 2,409 career points and will finish his career fourth in the MVC behind Hersey Hawkins, Oscar Robertson and Larry Bird.  Posting 20 points for the third year in a row, Balentine joins Doug McDermott and Tyler Haws as the only three players in the NCAA over the last five years to average that mark for three consecutive years.

He has scored in double figures in 30 out of 31 games this season while scoring at least 16 in each of the last seven outings.  His season mark of 32 points came in an important road win at Murray State in December.  Balentine’s most clutch performance came in the road win at Southern Illinois as his 3-pointer at the buzzer sent the game to overtime, eventually leading to an Aces win.

Mockevicius finished the regular-season as the nation’s leader in rebounding with 14.0 per game and double-doubles with 26.  He enters Arch Madness riding a streak of nine double-doubles in a row, including a 14-point, 16-rebound effort in the regular season finale versus UNI.

He is the only player in the NCAA to record four games with 20 rebounds or more.  Three of those outings have come in league play, including 20 in a hard-fought road win at Illinois State.

The top shooter in the MVC has connected on 65.7% of his attempts this season, knocking down 184 of his 280 attempts.  One of the main attributes that has made him into an even bigger force has been his ability to stay out of foul trouble this year.  That has resulted in him playing an average of 32.3 minutes per game, ranking 9^th in the MVC.

University of Evansville Director of Athletics Mark Spencer has announced that he has accepted the resignation of head women’s basketball coach Oties Epps, effective immediately.

“Oties has given all he had to try and ensure the success of his program, staff and the young women under his supervision and leadership,” remarked Spencer. “I respect his decision to resign. His student-athletes have been great ambassadors for the University and he departs with our best wishes for success and happiness.”

Epps took over the Purple Aces program in May 2011 and compiled a 44-106 (.293) overall record, including a 15-16 mark during the 2013-14 season. In MVC play, he put together a 26-62 (.295) mark, leading UE to the MVC Tournament semifinals in the 2014-15 season.

“The University of Evansville women’s basketball team has made great strides in many areas to try and become a consistently successful program” said Epps. “We have an outstanding group of student-athletes who have the talent and work ethic to attain the lofty goals the University has set. I am stepping aside and am hopeful that the next person can build off the foundation left behind and find the success that we all were searching for. I will be following their progress and rooting for them every step of the way.”

Assistant Coach Matt Ruffing will serve as Interim Head Coach and is assuming those duties for the remainder of this season and through the 2016-17 season.