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(08/31/07 4:48am)
This weekend, the IU volleyball team will face tough competition as they travel to Knoxville, Tenn., to take part in a tournament at the University of Tennessee. All three of the Hoosiers’ opponents this weekend made the NCAA tournament and had a combined record of 67-24 last season. Their first match will be against Belmont, the preseason favorite to win the Atlantic Sun Conference. \nDespite the stiff competition this week, the Hoosiers believe they are up to the challenge.\n“We treat every team the same no matter their record,” said senior captain Gabrielle Allison. \nSenior Juli Pierce sees this weekend as a good opportunity to play even better than they did last week. \n“I’m really excited, I think we got all the anxiety out last week,” she said.\nIU coach Sherry Dunbar stressed three things heading into this weekend’s tournament: effort, communication and aggressiveness. \n“I’m still not concerned with wins and losses,” Dunbar said. “We need to worry about what we can control.”\nAlthough the Hoosiers won two of three contests in last weekend’s tournament at Northern Illinois, Dunbar said she was disappointed in the team’s lack of intensity and dedicated this week’s practices to improving players’ attitudes and intensity levels. \n“I thought Monday’s practice was the best we have had all year,” Dunbar said. “It was a very high intensity practice.”\nWith this being the first week of classes, Dunbar said some of the players have been scrambling to balance class and athletics.\n“Some of the girls – especially the new players – are already getting a bit overwhelmed with school and the volleyball schedule,” she said.\nThis weekend, however, the Hoosiers’ sole focus will be the team across the net. Belmont’s team includes two preseason All-Americans, in seniors Colleen Nilson and Jaye Schuler. Nilson was named last season’s conference player of the year and has been tabbed the conference’s preseason player of the year as well. Nilson holds the all-time school record in assists at Belmont. To neutralize Nilson, Dunbar said the team needs to serve well to take the Bruins out of their rhythm.\nThe Hoosiers will next take on Jacksonville State – a team they have never faced before – at noon Saturday. The Gamecocks are led by last season’s Ohio Valley Conference player of the year, Abbey Breit, who recently set the all-time Jacksonville State record for kills. Their last match of the weekend will be at 7 p.m. Saturday against host Tennessee. The Hoosiers are 2-2-1 all-time against Tennessee.\nTwo Hoosiers are nearing the top in all-time career statistical categories. Senior Annie Moddrell’s 230 career block assists are just two shy of 10th all-time in IU history. Senior Lauren Ditteon is only nine aces shy of closing in on the career ranking list.
(08/27/07 4:33am)
Despite having their opening match postponed due to bus problems and severe weather, the IU volleyball team won two out of three matches as they began their season in DeKalb, Ill., playing in the Northern \nIllinois Invitational.\nIn the team’s first match Saturday, the Hoosiers defeated host Northern Illinois University 3-2 in a tight, back and forth match. IU took the first game 30-25 before dropping the next two to the Huskies 28-30 and 22-30, respectively. \nDown early in the fourth game, the Hoosiers stormed back to tie the contest at 11 with five consecutive points. To force a fifth game, IU won nine of the last 11 points to win the game 30-20. In the decisive fifth game, the Hoosiers prevailed 15-10 due in part to the efforts of junior Erica Short who led the team with 22 kills. \nFreshman setter Mara Hilgenberg, in her first game as a Hoosier, displayed no signs of her inexperience, finishing with 56 assists.\n“I had a lot of excitement this weekend,” she said. \nThe Hoosiers’ second match on Saturday was against Western Illinois University. IU took the first game with relative ease 30-15, but the Westerwinds fought back to claim a close second game 29-31. From there it was all IU, as the Hoosiers claimed the last two games 35-33 and 30-23 to win the match 3-1. Once again, Short had a strong performance, recording 28 kills. \nSenior co-captain Juli Pierce and junior Jessica Langert each finished with career highs in digs, with 25 and 13 digs respectively. Hilgenberg racked up 66 assists in the match and also recorded her first 20-dig match as a Hoosier. Senior Lauren Ditteon had an impressive all-around performance with 15 kills, 10 digs, six assists, two aces and two blocks. \nWith the win, the Hoosiers improved to 2-0 and had a chance to win the invitational against Western Kentucky University. \nIn the tournament finale, the Hoosiers failed to take a game from the Hilltoppers, losing 3-0 (23-30, 27-30, 28-30). Short led the team with ten kills, while Pierce had eight digs.\nOverall, first-year IU coach Sherry Dunbar said she was pleased with the weekend.\n“This was a good tourney for our team to get our feet wet,” Dunbar said. “We’ve haven’t done as much six-on-six in practice, so this tournament was good experience.” \nPierce and Dunbar both agreed that defense is one thing the Hoosiers need to keep improving upon. \nIU will be back in action next Friday as they head to Knoxville, Tenn., to take part in a tournament at the University of Tennessee. Their first opponent will be Belmont University.
(08/24/07 5:18am)
The IU volleyball team starts its season Friday with a tournament at Northern Illinois University. The Hoosiers take on Western Kentucky University at 5 p.m and will take on Northern Illinois and Western Illinois on Saturday.\nThis season’s team is looking to make it back to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2002. They hope to do that under the direction of their defensive-minded first-year head coach, Sherry Dunbar. Dunbar replaces Katie Weismiller, who coached the team for 14 years and was the winningest all-time IU Volleyball coach, notching 198 victories. Weismiller also led the team to four NCAA tournament appearances. \nBefore coming to IU, Dunbar coached at the College of Charleston where she recorded a 113-22 record, won three Southern Conference regular season titles and advanced to the NCAA regionals three times. Coming from College of Charleston, Dunbar knows the challenge facing her at IU: The Big Ten conference has five schools ranked in the preseason Top 25. \nThis season, the team has six new players and seven returning players. Senior leadership will come from two captains, outside hitter Gabrielle Allison and defensive specialist Juli Pierce, and fellow seniors right side Lauren Ditteon and middle blocker Annie Moddrell. \nDunbar said she believes the squad is well-balanced between returners and new faces. \n“I think it’s a good ratio (of experienced and new players),” Dunbar said. “Because of the even amount of veteran and young players, we’ve kind of had a big sister, little sister thing going.” \nModdrell said her transition to a senior leader has to come naturally.\n“Being a starter for the past couple years, of course my presence on the court will be good, but when you’re in the middle of a match, everyone is the same age,” she said. \nJunior outside hitter Erica Short, Ditteon and Moddrell all said that, thus far, Dunbar’s style has been aggressive and straightforward. \n“She demands intensity and brings maximum effort into every practice,” Ditteon said. \nShort and other players want to return to the NCAA tournament. Short said going 10-10 in conference play would go a long way toward reaching their goal.\n“Myself and some other girls were talking, and going .500 in the conference and getting a bid to the tournament is definitely a goal we think we can achieve this year,” she said. \nThis year’s team is banking on its strong chemistry on and off the court to have a good season.\n“I think our team chemistry is great ... (and) our services and position blocking is a strong point for our team,” said Short. \nBecause Dunbar does not have a set rotation for the team, she said early season tournaments will help her get a good look at possible rotations by the time conference play starts. \nThe Hoosiers’ first home game will be Sept. 14, when they host the Indiana University adidas Classic. Big Ten conference play kicks off Sept. 21 on the road against Iowa.
(07/23/07 12:20am)
This is the worst kind a nightmare. A nightmare that gains national attention. A nightmare that can damage your league’s integrity. A nightmare that could have your fans second guessing your employees for decades to come. A nightmare that will be linked to your tenure forever. This is NBA Commissioner David Stern’s nightmare.\nTim Donaughy, a 13-year veteran NBA referee, is being investigated by the FBI for allegations that he betted on basketball games he officiated over the past two NBA seasons. Wow! Who is Tim Donaughy? After Googling a picture of Donaughy, I still didn’t recognize him. Ironically enough, he was one of the referees who officiated the infamous November 2004 Pacers-Pistons brawl. He is also one of four refs, the most notable being Joey Crawford, who went to the same Pennsylvania high school. \nAmerican sports have a history of game fixing. One of the most memorable game fixings was the 1919 Chicago White Sox, dubbed the Black Sox, where some of the team’s players were paid off to lose the World Series. Another fixed game occurred in 1994, a point-shaving scandal involving players from the Arizona State men’s basketball team. And of course there’s Pete Rose, who in 2004 finally admitted he bet on baseball games and other sports, including a player and manager. What makes the Donaughy scandal different from those is that the others were the players’ faults, while he has been the only game official.\nBut after I got passed the shock that a referee would participate in this sort of behavior, I think I’m more surprised that Stern and sports fans haven’t seen something like this coming. \nIf bookies want the outcome they are hoping for, why not go to an official instead of a player to help you achieve that outcome? Professional players are high profile, which make them bad targets for bookies. In contrast, officials aren’t.\nOut of the three biggest major-league sports: the NBA, MLB and the NFL, I think the NBA would be the easiest to for an official to point shave. For example, let’s take two struggling teams from the last NBA season. Who would notice a once 15-point lead in the fourth quarter dwindle down to five by the end of the game to cover the spread? The NBA is full of meaningless regular season games that could end in the fashion I just laid out.\nHere are some facts the from Elias Sports Bureau about games where Donaughy was one of the officiating refs. When the home team was favored by 0-4.5 points, it went 5-12, and according to Covers.com, home underdogs were 1-7 when the spread was 5-9.5 points. One game to note that Donaughy was involved in last year was a game against the Heat-Knicks. The Knicks shot 39 free throws to the Heat’s eight, technical fouls were called on Heat coach Pat Riley and assistant Ron Rothstein and the Knicks won by six. New York was favored by 4 1/2. Was that a game whose outcome was predetermined by Donaughy to cover a point spread?\nHaving officials participate in game fixes can turn fans away more quickly than any steroid scandal or player’s legal troubles. Even if these allegations are not true, they should cause the commissioners of all professional sports to have their eyes wide open. Commissioners need to take appropriate steps to make sure referee scandals such as this one have no chance of happening again, because if they don’t and fans start to question the integrity of what they are watching and paying for, they will be thought of in the same vein as professional wrestling.
(07/08/07 11:13pm)
This Tuesday will mark Major League Baseball’s 77th All-Star game at AT&T Park in San Francisco.\nIt will also be the 77th year that the game will be between the American and National Leagues. I think it’s time to spice up the mid-summer classic scrap, and this time, stop awarding the winning league home-field advantage in the World Series and take a page out of the Futures Game and the Minor League All-Star game.\nSince 1999, their game format has been U.S. vs. World. With baseball becoming more international each year, I think the U.S. vs. World format for Major League Baseball would be better than what they have now. Although I’m sure baseball purists would have a fit if the MLB All-Star game would change to such a format, I’m a glass-half-full kind of guy – I only see advantages to this idea. \nThe games would be more exciting and entertaining. The format would take away from the monotonous American League vs. National Leageue format. I think more players, if picked to play in the game, would play instead of citing minor aches and pains so they don’t have to play. Last, and probably most important, I think the game would bring more viewers, which means better ratings and ultimately mo’ money mo’ money mo’ money. And when you’re making money, all is good. \nWith that said, let’s take a look at a projected World vs. U.S. starting lineup. For the World team starters, I would pick: Tigers catcher Ivan Rodriguez, Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols, Tigers second baseman Placido Polanco, Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez (banking on the fact that he would choose the World team) and Mets shortstop Jose Reyes. In my outfield I have the Mariners’ Ichiro Suzuki, the Angels’ Vladimir Guerrero, and the Tigers’ Maggilo Ordonez. On the mound for my World All-Stars would be Twins pitcher Johan Santana.\nMy U.S. All-Star starters would go as followed: Braves catcher Brian McCann, Brewers first baseman Prince Fielder, Phillies second baseman Chase Utley, Mets third baseman David Wright, and Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter. My U.S. outfield would feature Reds’ Ken Griffey Jr., the Twins’ Torii Hunter and the Giants’ Barry Lamar Bonds. Toeing the rubber for the U.S. All-Star team would be the ageless one, Roger Clemens.\nFor some, the idea of this format may be farfetched. But, in the future, I am hoping for a scenario where this game would become more than just a thought. As for the outcome of this game, of course the World team wins in a laugher 12-5.
(07/06/07 1:01am)
There were numerous blue and orange “#8” Chicago Bears jerseys on display among the crowd at Bloomington High School South on Thursday morning. \nThe crowd of fans were anxiously awaiting a familiar face. \nThen, from the parking lot came former Indiana Mr. Football Rex Grossman wearing a purple polo. He returned to hs former school, Bloomington High School South on Thursday to take part in the Day of Champions celebration, benefiting the Boys and Girls Club of Bloomington. Grossman, now the quarterback for the Bears, called signals for the Panthers from 1995 to 1998.\nThursday’s event included a youth football camp in the morning, followed by the retirement ceremony of Grossman’s No. 8 high-school jersey. The day concluded with a charity golf outing.\nMore than 130 kids participated in the youth camp in which Grossman visited all the stations to meet with the children. A few kids even got to catch some passes from Grossman.\n“This is something fun. Kids need heroes and Rex is a football hero and inspiration,” said Drew Wood, the current head coach at Bloomington South.\nAfter the camp concluded outside, everyone headed inside for the jersey retirement ceremony.\nGrossman’s coach at Bloomington South, Mo Moriarity – who is currently the head coach at Carmel High School – was noticeably emotional and called this a very special day. Grossman, he said, was very deserving of becoming the first player in the long history of athletes to come through Bloomington South to have his jersey retired. During the ceremony, Moriarity challenged the kids in the auditorium, telling them anything is possible. He said that Grossman once participated in the Boys and Girls Club, and now he’s in the NFL.\n“You have to dream,” Moriarity said.\nHe also went on to share how Grossman has not let the NFL and his successes change him.\n“What I’m most proud of is that he is a tough guy inside and knows how to handle himself,” Moriarity said.\nWhen the time came for Grossman to come onto the stage and accept the honor of having his jersey retired, the first word out of his mouth was “unbelievable.”\n“This is just an unbelievable honor for me being the first player ever to have their jersey retired (at South),” Grossman said.\nAs Grossman addressed the kids during the ceremony, he told about his experiences at the Boys and Girls Club.\n“This is where my first competitive playing all began, ” he said\nGrossman recalled a story that his high school career didn’t start out on a bright note, despite that in his senior season at South, Grossman led his team to a win in the 5A state championship. He also passed for 3,080 yards and 44 touchdowns.\n“When I first started my career at South, I remember coach Mo called to tell me I was going to be the starting quarterback as a freshman,” he said. “I came home and puked, although it was a dream come true.”
(06/27/07 11:19pm)
Let’s go back to October 26, 2005, when life was good. I was a couple of months into my freshman year, I lived on a co-ed floor, my 19th birthday had been the day before and most importantly, the ground-out to White Sox shortstop Juan Uribe wrapped up a sweep in the 2005 World Series for the Chicago White Sox over the Houston Astros. That was their first championship since 1917, a drought of 88 years. \nNow let me bring you to the current state of my White Sox. To be polite – they are unwatchable. I am just glad that I can only see Sox games at best once a week on WGN, so I don’t have to go through the emotional drain after every loss. This team’s roster may resemble the 2005 White Sox in composition, but by no means do they play like the 2005 team. The fundamentals that led to the team’s success in 2005 have been everything far from that year, as they currently sit in fourth in the AL Central. The only bright spot for this year’s team has been Mark Buehrle’s no-hitter against the Texas Rangers. \nAfter last weekend’s interleague sweep at home (where I thought the commercial said you must protect your house) from their hated cross-town rival Cubs, the White Sox had dropped 22 of their last 27 games. That stretch has prompted GM Kenny Williams to start shopping his players, citing that they are out of contention for the playoffs.\nHere are just a few ideas I have to fix this situation: \nIn my opinion, the main difference between this season’s team and the 2005 team has been injuries. Besides numerous injuries to everyday players such as Jermaine Dye, Darin Erstad, Jim Thome and Joe Crede, leadoff man Scott Podsednik, to date, has played in fourteen of his team’s 73 games. In 2005, his .290 batting average and 59 stolen bases paved the way for the Sox.\nJust hit the ball, baby. Out of 30 teams, the Sox rank 30th in runs scored, batting average and hits. Enough said.\nDon’t trade away Buehrle. Instead, how about try resigning him? Although he will be the most sought-after pitcher before the trade deadline and you could probably get good prospects for him, he’s 28 years old. More importantly, he’s a left-handed pitcher and good left-handed pitching is hard to find.\nRetool your outfield. In other words, get rid of the aging Dye and Erstad. Dye, who is in his contract year, is hitting .230. If you’re not hitting in your contract year, it’s time to go.\nDon’t even think about firing Ozzie Guillen. Remember this is the manager who gave you your first championship in 88 years. That alone should keep him out of the dog house longer than a year and a half.\nCurrently, I have stopped watching White Sox games, and instead I’ve been watching the DVD from the ’05 championship. Oh, the memories. I’m keeping my fingers crossed and hoping I won’t have to wait another 88 years for the White Sox to win another championship because I’m sure I won’t live until I’m 109.
(06/20/07 11:56pm)
Summer is usually reserved for relaxing, hanging out at the pool and vacationing, but here at IU, more than 2,000 kids ages 9-18 and about 120 high school basketball teams will be participating in IU basketball coach Kelvin Sampson’s summer basketball camps at Indiana University.\nThe camps run from the second week of June until the first of August. The camps range from the popular Father-Child Camp to Elite Camp, where the Hoosier coaching staff gets to look at potential future recruits. This summer is Sampson’s second season running basketball camps at IU. Although he was hired three months before his first camp started last year, Sampson said he was not worried about getting campers and staff to come last summer. “I actually had kids and coaches that were going to my camp while I was at Oklahoma make the trip to Indiana to attend camp here which is a great compliment,” he said.\nSampson said the camp he enjoys running the most is the three day Father-Child Camp. This year is the first that the Father-Child Camp was will be offered at IU. Sampson brought the camp with him from Oklahoma. \n“It’s a great time to spend quality father-and-child time,” he said.\nSampson said that in his two years running basketball camps at IU, he hasn’t experienced much difference between IU and Oklahoma. Even though IU is known for its rich basketball tradition, he said his camps at Oklahoma were just as big or bigger as the ones he has run at Indiana, which he thinks is partly because of facility size. \n “At Oklahoma all the courts to play on were in one spot. It’s a little different here because we have to use the HPER courts, which makes it a little bit of the walk for the kids,” Sampson said.\nThis year’s camps have not been any different from previous camps Coach Sampson has run, despite heightened expectations for Hoosier success next season after the signing of top recruit Eric Gordon.\n“It’s mostly the parents that get caught up in all the hype,” Sampson said. “Eric was around the gym (Monday) and I think the campers could have cared less. Their biggest concerns are when their next game is.”\nOne of the most important things Sampson stresses to all his campers is a philosophy he calls D.O.F.\n“It’s a very simple concept we try to instill into our campers,” he said. “It stands for discipline, organized and fun.”
(06/07/07 6:02pm)
One out of every seven Major League Baseball players has played in the Cape Cod League. IU sophomore catcher Josh Phegley hopes to follow in the footsteps of those players.\nThis summer, Phegley will become the first IU player ever to play for the Wareham Gatemen, a team from the Cape Cod Summer League based in Wareham, Mass. Last season, the Gatemen were one run away from winning the Cape Cod League championship. The league is sponsored by the MLB and attracts some of the best college players in the country.\n“It is a honor and a chance to bring the (IU baseball) program up,” Phegley said about the opportunity to play in such a high-profile summer league.\nIU coach Tracy Smith hopes the experiences from this summer can help Phegley in the future\n“This is a premiere summer league and a prospect league that can skyrocket a player’s stock,” Smith said.\nIn 2006, there were 198 former Cape Cod League players on Major League rosters. Some of the Cape Cod alumni include Frank Thomas, Craig Biggio, Mark Mulder, Barry Zito and Nomar Garciaparra. \nJohn Wylde, general manager of the Gatemen, said he is excited to have Phegley on the roster. Wylde said in an e-mail that Phegley originally came to him as an unsigned player hoping for a spot on the Wareham roster. When one of the signed catchers withdrew to recover from shoulder surgery, Phegley grabbed the open roster spot.\nPhegley first found out he might have a chance to play in the CCBL at the beginning of the IU baseball season when Smith mentioned it to him.\n“I knew how prestigious this league is,” he said. “It definitely came as a surprise.”\nPhegley agrees with Smith that, coming into the summer with the Gatemen, he needs to improve his hitting the most.\n“I need to find the swing I came into the (IU) season with,” Phegley said. \nIn his senior yeay at Terre Haute North Vigo High School, Phegley hit .592 with 13 home runs, 16 doubles and 50 RBIs, winning the state of Indiana’s Mr. Baseball Award.\nLast season, he finished with a .232 average, no home runs, eight doubles and 16 RBIs.\n“Josh definitely is strong and has power,” Smith said. “He just needs to mature as a hitter.”\nWylde is confident that, with the instruction of Gateman Manager Cooper Farris, Phegley’s hitting will improve. \n“I feel that our Cooper Farris is one of the best hitting coaches in the country,” Wylde said.\nPhegley is likely to get a lot of playing time. He is one of two catchers on the roster who are expected to split time at the position. \nPhegley and the Gatemen have their first preseason game Sunday against the Lowell, Mass., All-Americans. Their regular season will begin June 15, when they travel down Cape Cod to take on the Falmouth, Mass., Commodores.
(05/31/07 12:25am)
After a 12 year absence from the UPA College Ultimate Championships, The IU Club Ultimate Frisbee proved they belonged there. The Hoosiermama? team broke and tied for an 11th place finish in the Columbus, Ohio tournament after being seeded 14th before the beginning of the weekend. \nIn their first game against the University of Oregon, the Hoosiermama? team lost to a crisper team, 15-9. They faced the defending champs and overall number two seed, the University of Florida in their second game of the tournament. In a close game where the teams were trading points the Hoosiermama? team was done in by the Florida’s timely deep shots to win 15-10. \nThis dropped the Hoosiermama? team to 0-2 in pool play, which meant they had to beat the University of Delaware team with enough of a point difference to advance to the championship bracket.\n“Out of all the teams in our pool we knew we could beat them,” said senior co-captain Max Klaben. \nThe Hoosiermama? team ended up beating Delaware 15-10 to place third in their pool which allowed them to advance to the championship bracket. \nIn the pre-quarterfinals Hoosiermama? would face a familiar opponent, the University of Texas. Earlier this season in a tournament in New Orleans, Texas defeated the Hoosiermama? team, 13-4. In this game the IU team played a much more competitive game, but they still lost 15-13. This meant they could finish in the tournament no better than ninth.\nTo finish ninth the Hoosiermama’s? would have to win against the University of Kansas and then defeat the winner of the Ohio State and Williams University match.\nHoosiermama? was able to pull off the victory against Kansas 15-11, which set up a showdown with Ohio State. In a game that came down to the wire, Ohio State pulled through and won 15-14. With the loss it ensured the Hoosiermama? team tied for an 11th place finish.\n“I think most teams didn’t expect us to play how we did,” senior co-captain Jared ‘Gravy’ Payne said. “We did well we were only two points away from finishing top eight and one point away from finishing top 10.”\nThe hard fought return to the tournament was an appropriate ending for the graduating seniors on the team.\n“For our nine seniors graduating from the team it was a very fitting way to go out,” Klaben said. “This sets the foundation for our frisbee team in the future.” \nAfter playing in this tournament with the best teams in Ultimate Frisbee both captains agreed that in order for their team to get better they need to have more experience. Payne also said the team needs to play better defense in order to improve, and that it will be something they will to continue to work on in the future.\nThe Hoosiermama? team ended their season with a2 1-15 record and senior Cody Andrews was named to the All-Region team.
(05/24/07 1:47pm)
It’s been twelve years coming for the Hoosiermama? ultimate frisbee team. Twelve years ago was the last time the Hoosiermama? team advanced to the UPA College Ultimate Championships. That year the team placed last in the tournament, but this year, they hope for a better showing.\nThe College Ultimate Championships will take place Friday, Saturday and Sunday in Columbus, Ohio. Hoosiermama? advanced to the College Championships by winning the regional tournament in Rantoul, Ill., earning the 14th seed in the 16-team field.\nWhile the team has little experience playing in such big games, co-captain and senior Jared “Gravy” Payne doesn’t believe that will factor into Hoosiermama?’s tournament play.\n“We are more excited than anything,” Payne said. “This is the biggest tournament any one of us has ever played in.”\n The team’s other co-captain and senior Max Klaben said he thinks his team is actually at an advantage.\n“We have nothing to lose,” he said.\nHoosiermama?’s first game will be at 8:30 a.m. Friday against the University of Oregon. The teams are broken into four pools. with four teams in each pool, and each team is guaranteed five games. The pool with the Hoosiermama? team consists of the University of Oregon, the University of Delaware, whom the Hossiers faced last season and the defending national champions, the University of Florida. For the Hooisermama? team to meet their goal and advance to the championship bracket, they have to avoid finishing last in their pool. If they do end up of finishing last, the best they could finish is 9th.\n“The only way I will be disappointed is if we don’t play to our potential,” Payne said.\nOne advantage the Hooisermama? team has on most of their opponents is that teams they play do not have a chance to scout them. When teams play in big ultimate frisbee tournaments, there is always a chance that someone will videotape them and put them online. Unlike most of the teams at this weekend’s championships, however, the Hoosiermama? team has not played in any such tournaments recently. \nBoth captains agree that another big advantage to this year’s team’s success is actually having a coach, graduate student Drew Hendrickson. In the past, the captains have served as both players and coaches for the team. \n“Having a coach creates a lesser role as captains,” Payne said. “We are able to \nfocus more.”\nGoing into the tournament, Klaben said he feels confident of the hard work the team has put in this season. \n“Every tournament we have been improving. We are in control of how we play,” Klaben said.\nSince the tournament is so close to Bloomington, the team’s fans will have an opportunity to attend the games. Along with friends and families, Hooisermama? alumni also plan to make the trip to Ohio to cheer on the team.\n“We should have one of bigger crowds,” Klaben said.\nAll pool play will conclude Friday. The championship bracket will play Saturday, and the championship game will be held Sunday.