The University of Evansville Women’s Tennis Team (1-6, 0-0 MVC) kicked off their weekend on Friday with matches against both IUPUI and Ball State.  The Aces fought hard against IUPUI but dropped the match by a score of 5-2.  UE followed that up with a 6-1 loss against Ball State.

In their first match of the day, the Aces took on the Jaguars of IUPUI in Indianapolis and were defeated by a score of 5-2.  Two Aces were able to secure victories in singles play.  The first being Marina Moreno at flight one singles. Moreno defeated Valeriia Lavrenchuk of IUPUI by a score of 6-1, 6-2.  At flight five singles, sophomore Kennedy Craig was able to defeat Bobbi Modesto by a score of 6-1, 4-6, 1-0 (10-6).

The Aces followed that up with a 6-1 loss later that evening against the Ball State Cardinals.  The lone victor for the Aces was Craig who managed to pick up her second victory of the day at flight five singles.  Craig was able to defeat Rosalinda Calderon of Ball State in dramatic fashion with a come from behind 1-6, 7-6, 1-0 (10-3) victory.

Coach Wiseman said, “At times during both matches we played some very good tennis.  If we can improve the consistency of that good tennis throughout the match and improve our execution we will put ourselves in position to win these matches in the future.  We just did not get the job done today.  We are looking forward to playing another two matches tomorrow because it means we have two more opportunities to get better.”

The Aces will finish up their weekend tomorrow as they will see action at Findlay and Wright State.  The Aces first home action of the season will come on February 27^th when they Aces host UT Martin and Eastern Illinois at Tri-State Athletic Club.

(Wideman scores twice, but Evansville falls 5-2 in first of four meetings against Oilers.)

Records:  Evansville: 18-24-5-1; Tulsa: 26-18-3-2

Goalies:   TUL – Olkinuora (W), 4-3-1-1, 34 saves

               EVN – Greenham (L), 5-5-1-0, 23 saves

Scoring:

1^st Period: 1. TUL – Lodge 1 (Lutz, 3:52); 2. TUL – Nugent 5 (Ramsay, 7:31); 3. EVN – Wideman 8 (Sims, Humphries, 15:03)

2^nd Period:  4. EVN – Wideman 9 (unassisted, 4:08); 5. TUL – Brewer 15 (Brown, Lalancette, 14:06); 6. TUL – DeSalvo 13 (Fronk, 16:28)

3^rd Period:  7. TUL – Kremyr 5 (Brisebois, 18:26)

TULSA, OK – The Tulsa Oilers saw a 2-0 lead disappear, thanks to back-to-back goals from Evansville IceMen rookie Alex Wideman, but the Oilers scored three unanswered to top the IceMen 5-2 Friday at the BOK Center.

The Oilers scored quickly after killing off an early first period penalty, when Jimmy Lodge shot the puck past IceMen goalie Scott Greenham from the half wall. Greenham appeared to have been bumped on the play and was scrambling to get back to his feet when the puck went in. Brian Nugent gave Tulsa a 2-0 lead at 7:31, when he tapped in a centering pass on a 2-on-1 rush.

Evansville cut the lead in half with 4:57 left in the frame, when Wideman scooped up a loose puck out of a goal-mouth scramble and lifted it over Oilers’ goalie Jussi Olkinuora from low in the right circle. The IceMen trailed 2-1 after one, but outshot Tulsa in 13-11 in the opening frame.

Seconds after IceMen forward Tyson Fawcett dropped the gloves against Brady Ramsay, Wideman scored his second of the game at 4:08 of the second period when he ripped a wrist shot under Olkinuora’s glove from high in the slot to tie the game at 2-2. Tulsa, however, added two goals in the final six minutes of the stanza to take a 4-2 lead into the third.

First, Phil Brewer tipped a shot from the point past Greenham to give the Oilers a 3-2 lead at 14:06. Dan DeSalvo finished off a rush in transition by deflecting a centering pass between Greenham’s legs to make it 4-2 shortly after Brewer’s goal.

Olkinuora kept the IceMen off the board in the third period, stopping all 17 shots he faced on his way to the win. The Finnish goaltender stopped 34 shots in the game, including three Evansville breakaways. Tulsa forward Jordan Kremyr added an insurance goal in the final minutes finish the scoring. Greenham made 23 saves in the loss.

The IceMen travel to Independence, MO Saturday and Sunday for two games against the Missouri Mavericks at Silverstein Eye Centers Arena. It will be the fourth and fifth meetings of the season out of six total. The Mavericks have won the first three matchups, with the last two decided in overtime. Saturday’s game will start at 7:05pm and Sunday’s contest is scheduled for 4:05pm. Both games will be broadcast on www.evansvilleicemen.com and ECHL TV. Fans can also watch the games at Bar Louie in Evansville, the official headquarters for IceMen away games.

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UPCOMING HOME GAMES

Fri. 2/26 – Atlanta at Evansville (7:15pm) – Ford Center

                        Pink the Rink Weekend – Paint the Ice

Sat. 2/27 – Atlanta at Evansville (7:15pm) – Ford Center

                        Pink the Rink Weekend – Jersey Auction

Great night sees Aces make history

CARBONDALE, Ill. – University of Evansville junior Michaela Kent took top honors in the 100 backstroke event as the Purple Aces women’s swimming and diving team continued at the Missouri Valley Conference Championship.

Coach Rickey Perkins commented on the evening. “It was a great night. The team spirit was just amazing. The swims we had tonight were fantastic; everybody came out, they battled, they fought. They let go of this morning’s swims and just really came back and had a lot of fun. Michaela’s swim was awesome. Everybody came back faster tonight which is great for all the swims we’ve had.”

Taylor Davidson was the sole Evansville swimmer in the 400 IM; she represented the Aces well clocking in a time of 4:48.38 for 16th place.

The 200 Freestyle, on the other hand held no shortage of Purple Aces. Finals saw Seniors Maja Magnusson and Mackenzie Harris and Freshman Bridget Sheridan in 19th, 20th, and 23rd places respectively.

Next for the Aces was the 100 Butterfly. Freshman Kristen Myers excelled with a time of 56.92 to earn sixth place and her first collegiate spot on the podium. Additionally, Senior Charlotte Lechner, Freshman Madi Jones, and Sophomore Kasey Rein received 19th, 20th, and 23rd places.

The 100 breast stroke couldn’t keep the Aces out of finals tonight as all four representatives qualified for the C-Final. All freshmen, Kayla Aitken took 17th, Amy Smith 21st, Kaylee Gubricky 23rd, and Sylvia McFadden 24th. All improved their times from the morning preliminary round.

The night only improved from there as Junior Michaela Kent, fresh off her fifth place finish in the 50 Freestyle, earned a spot atop the podium as champion of the 100 Backstroke. She went into the morning preliminary round seeded 10th, entered finals in fifth, and ended the run on top. Her time of 55.53 broke the school record set by Alex Howard in 2012. Junior Taylor Davidson also achieved a lifetime best time of 58.09 and took 12th place.

The Aces finished off the night with the 400 Medley Relay. The group of Kent, Amy Smith, Myers, and Mackenzie Harris touched in at 3:55.40, good for sixth place, and a full three seconds faster than their seeded time of 3:58.56.

Saturday will conclude the championship meet with the following events: 200 Backstroke, 100 Freestyle, 200 Breast stroke, 200 Butterfly, 1650 Freestyle, 3-Meter Diving (A-Final), and 400 Freestyle relay. Prelims take place at 10 a.m. with the finals going at 4 p.m.

EVANSVILLE – Sasha Robinson entered the University of Evansville’s all-time top 10 in career rebounds on Friday, but it came in a losing effort as the Purple Aces dropped a 44-31 decision to visiting Wichita State at the Ford Center.

Robinson, a junior, ended the contest leading UE (2-22, 1-12 Missouri Valley) in both points and rebounds with eight apiece. The Nashville, Ind., native has pulled down 570 boards in her career, which moved her past former Aces standout Lisa Eckart for 10^th all-time.

Both Rangie Bessard and TaQuandra Mike hit double figures for WSU (7-18, 4-10 MVC). Mike led the way, scoring 12 points and pulling down 11 rebounds, and Bessard ended with 16 and eight, respectively, as the Shockers out-rebounded UE 46-32.

Each team was stout defensively, with WSU owning a narrow edge in field goal percentage (27.7% – 22.9%) and the Aces winning the turnover battle (21-15).

UE will return to action on Sunday against Missouri State. Tipoff at the Ford Center is slated for 1 p.m.

 

MOBILE, Ala. – A five-run third-inning proved too much for the University of Evansville baseball team to overcome as the Purple Aces dropped the season opener to South Alabama on Friday night at Stanky Field.

“It was a great college baseball game,” said eighth-year UE head coach Wes Carroll. “Aside from the big inning, it was two pitchers going head-to-head. Their pitchers gave us some chances later in the game, and I’m looking forward to getting back at it again tomorrow. The weather is fantastic.”

The Jaguars (1-0) opened up the scoring in the contest on a Drew LaBounty one-out fielder’s choice and a throwing error from UE second baseman Trey Hair resulted in another. Singles from Danny Martinez and Carter Perkins as well as a sacrifice fly from Jared Barnes made it 5-0 before Aces pitcher Conner Strain induced a ground ball to get out of the frame.

Strain would be pegged with the loss, tossing five innings and giving up five hits and five runs (two earned). He also struck out six.

It would be the Aces’ turn to capitalize on a miscue in the ensuing frame as Josh Jyawook reached on a fielding error by USA left fielder Dylan Hardy and ultimately advanced to third on a wild pitch before a Hair sac fly cut the deficit to four.

An inning later, another error in left field with the bases loaded brought home two more Aces runs, but USA’s Kevin Hill fanned Shain Showers to end the frame and limit the damage.

Hill, the Sun Belt Preseason Pitcher of the Year, struck out 10 UE batters on the night, allowing one hit and three unearned runs over six innings.

Hair closed the gap even further with a solo home run in the top of the eighth, but Jaguar relievers Hunter Soleymani, James Traylor and Mike Dolloff responded by allowing just one more base runner over the course of UE’s final five outs.

The Aces will return to action at Stanky Field on Saturday. First pitch is slated for 2:00 p.m., and the series is scheduled to end on Sunday with a 1 p.m. start.

Aces top TSU and ETSU

 

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Two more games brought in two more triumphs for the University of Evansville softball team as the Purple Aces picked up a 9-3 win over Tennessee State and a 3-0 victory over East Tennessee State in the opening night of the Tiger Classic on Friday evening.

UE’s first game did not begin until 7 p.m. CT and the second ended just after midnight.  It will be another late night of action on Saturday as the Aces take on Louisiana-Monroe in a 6 p.m. game before squaring off against Butler at 8:15.

Michal Luckett opened the first game with a perfect 3-for-3 performance as the Aces earned a 9-3 win over Tennessee State.  Luckett opened up the scoring in the top of the first, hitting a leadoff home run to center.  The Tigers came right back with a pair of runs to take their first lead in the bottom half of the first.

After a scoreless second inning, the Aces offense had its biggest frame of the season as seven runs crossed the plate.  Danielle Freeman got the scoring started with an RBI single to left.  Chandra Parr then came to the plate with two runners on and doubled to right center to plate two more runs.

Later in the inning, with the bases loaded, Bailee Bostic hit a bases-clearing double to left to score three more runs.  McKenzie Johnson wrapped up the scoring as she was hit by a pitch to bring in the seventh run of the inning.  One more run was added in the sixth for the Aces as Kristen Koepke hit a sacrifice fly to make it the final of 9-3.

Amanda Blankenship made the start, going 2 1/3 innings, giving up three runs, just one earned.  Emily Lockhart was credited with the win and improves to 3-1.  She went 4 2/3 and gave up just two hits and two walks.

Game two turned into a defensive battle with the Aces being the first on the board in the top of the third.  Luckett led the frame off with a walk before advancing to second on a passed ball.  With two outs, Lukcett was brought home on a Parr double to give UE a 1-0 lead.
East Tennessee State had a golden opportunity in the bottom of the fourth, but freshman pitcher Morgan Florey got the Aces out of the jam.  Florey came on to pitch with two batters on and nobody out.  She forced a fly out to get the first out of the inning.  After issuing a walk, Florey recorded back-to-back punch outs to keep UE on top.

Florey’s offense added some insurance in the top of the fifth as Luckett continued her hot hitting.  Olivia Cheatham reached base on an error and Ashlee Kawall was brought in to pinch run.  The move by the Aces paid off as the Luckett doubled down the line, allowing Kawall to score.  The final run of the night saw Luckett score in the seventh on a Morgan Lambert single.

Blankenship made the start, going the first three innings before Florey went the final four.  Florey struck out nine batters and improved to 2-0 on the season.