Softball falls despite no-hitter
\nExcellence in the pitching circle is becoming quite common for the IU women's softball team this season.\nIU coach Stacey Phillips said the Hoosiers would rely heavily on the arms of senior pitchers Megan Roark and Mariangee Bogado heading into the season. Both seniors stepped up this weekend at the Louisville Slugger Invitational in Tampa, Fla.\nDespite the two outstanding pitching efforts, which got the Hoosiers off to a 2-0 start, the Hoosiers finished the weekend with two straight losses to send their record to 2-4-1.\nIn the weekend's first game against the University of South Florida, Bogado set a school record by striking out 23 batters en route to a 1-0 Hoosier victory in 10 innings.\nJunior catcher Janetta Deaven recorded the winning RBI in the top of the 10th inning by bringing in freshman infielder Stephanie Pellerito with a single to center field.\nNot to be outdone by her fellow pitcher, Roark took the circle against Siena College in dominating fashion. The Pleasant Hill, Calif., native no-hit the Saints while striking out 11 batters. Deaven added two RBIs for the Hoosiers, who defeated the Saints 5-0.\nRoark now has three career no-hitters, moving her into second place on the all-time Hoosier list behind 1986 All-American Amy Unterbrink, who recorded nine no-hitters in her career.\nThe cream and crimson dropped the final two games of the weekend to South Florida 2-0 and in the consolation game to Siena 8-5 despite a late rally in the final innings.\n
Women's tennis tops Tennessee in weekend win
\nThe Hoosiers travel to Tennessee this weekend to participate in the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga Tournament.\nThe No. 31 IU women's tennis team upset No. 28 Tennessee, 5-2, Saturday at the Indiana Tennis Center.\nIt was the Hoosiers' second win of the season over a ranked opponent and their first over a higher-ranked team.\nThe Hoosiers' points came in unconventional fashion as the team's most consistent winners -- No. 3 singles player Brianna Williams and No. 5 singles player Sigrid Fischer -- lost in hard-fought matches.\n"We've been counting on Brianna and Sigrid to win their matches every week," said IU coach Lin Loring. "It's nice to know we can win a major match without those two having to win."\nThe Hoosiers opened the match by sweeping the Volunteers in doubles, 3-0, to claim the doubles point. Senior Sarah Batty and junior Laura McGaffigan nabbed their tenth No. 1 doubles win of the season against the Volunteers' Melissa Schaub and Ghizela Schutte, 8-4.\nIn singles, Batty defeated her opponent at the No. 1 spot with ease, 6-1, 6-1. McGaffigan and freshman Alba Berdala claimed victories in straight sets as well 7-5, 6-0 and 6-4, 6-2, respectively. Junior Cecile Perton earned the fifth point for the Hoosiers at the No. 6 spot with a double tiebreaker victory.\nLoring said the win was the best of the season for the Hoosiers.\n"We needed this. I think it gave the girls a lot of confidence," he said. "Beating Tennessee in any women's sport is a real accomplishment."\nThe team travels to South Bend Tuesday to take on No. 7 Notre Dame.\n
Men's track finishes fifth at Big Ten tourney
\nThe IU men's track and field team fell from second to a fifth-place finish at the Big Ten Championships Sunday\nIn Saturday's events, junior Kiwan Lawson and senior Ryan Ketchum earned dual second-place honors in the long jump and weight throw, respectively. On the strength of these performances, IU owned the second-place position with 27 overall points, just behind perennial powerhouse Wisconsin.\nThe Hoosiers dropped from that spot, though, and wound up with 72 overall points to finish fifth overall. \nJunior David Neville claimed first place in the 400-meter run with a time of 47.11 seconds. Less than an hour later, he defended his title in the 200-meter dash with a first-place finish of 21.21 seconds.\nTeammate Marcus Thigpen, a sophomore, displayed the versatility of his speed by scoring points in two events. He grabbed seventh place in the 60-meter dash with a time of 6.89 seconds, and finished sixth in the 200-meter run with a mark of 21.89 seconds. \nIU placed two runners in the top 10 in the mile run. Senior Eric Redman notched sixth place with a time of 4:17.02, while senior John Jefferson claimed eighth place in 4:19.79. \nAs the sole Hoosier to have attained an NCAA-automatic qualifying time this year, senior Stephen Haas met enormous pressure in the 5,000-meter with a solid mark of 14:07.57, notching third place overall.\nThe meet marks the end of the season for many on the IU track team, but for the athletes with NCAA-provisional and automatic marks, the season is not necessarily finished. The final qualifier meet will be held in South Bend this weekend and the NCAA Championships loom in less than two weeks.\n
Women's track limited to 9th place finish at Big Tens
\nThe 2006 Women's Big Ten Indoor Track and Field Championships took place Saturday and Sunday and saw many Hoosiers compete for a chance to win a Big Ten title. As a team, IU finished in ninth place.\nDespite only having three athletes achieve enough success on the first day to compete in the Sunday finals, the Hoosiers had other athletes step up and finish strong. Audrey Smoot ran the 400-meter race, but came just short of advancing with her teammates. Smoot finished with a personal best of 57.53 seconds. Freshman Candace Perry tied a personal best, but hers was in the long jump. Perry leaped 5.95 meters, good enough for a third-place finish.\nSunday saw six more athletes qualify for conference finals, which brought the total to nine Hoosiers vying for a chance at a Big Ten Championship this weekend. Junior thrower Andrea Dalla Rosa qualified in the weight throw event. Juniors Jessica Gall and Lindsay Hattendorf also qualified in the 5,000-meter run. Sophomore Laura Oehlman, junior Sarah Gilleran and senior Jean Schaffer all qualified for the high jump finals on the final day of competition. The 4x400-meter relay team also competed for the chance to be a Big Ten champion.\nClausing placed best in the conference finals for the Hoosiers on day two. She placed fourth in the 400-meter relay final with a time of 55.63 seconds, a little less than a second of improvement from her qualifying time. In the same event, Huber finished in 56.52 seconds, bettering her qualifying time and good enough for a seventh-place finish. In the one-mile final, senior Kelly Siefker ran to a ninth-place finish. Her final time was 5:02.63, about five seconds slower than her qualifying time and about 18 seconds off the lead pace of 4:44.10 set by Nicole Edwards of Michigan. \nDalla Rosa qualified for the finals in weight throw. In the finals, Dalla Rosa leaped 15.81-meters and earned an 11th-place finish. In the 5,000-meter run final, Gall finished with a time of 16:46.12, which notched her 11th place. Hattendorf finished the same event at No. 13 and clocked in at 16:56.06. Oehlman and Gilleran both tied for 13th place in the high jump with a leap of 1.66-meters off the ground. The 4x400-meter relay team finished in sixth place, earning a time of 3:47.50. Schaffer leaped 1.62 meters to finish 19th.
