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(10/31/11 4:36am)
Top overall seed junior Josh MacTaggart lost in the Big Ten Singles
Championship quarterfinals Sunday against Iowa’s Jonas Dierckx. His teammate, senior Will Kendall, lost to Michigan State’s Aaron Pfister in the same round.
(10/28/11 1:30am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>A string of semifinal appearances ushered in the new season in impressive fashion last weekend in Knoxville, Tenn.Less than a week later, the IU men’s tennis team travels to Iowa City, Iowa, for the Big Ten Men’s Indoor Tennis Championships, hoping to muster another strong showing and continue to build on its early momentum. The tournament starts Friday and lasts through Monday.The success of last weekend was capped by Wednesday’s announcement that Josh MacTaggart was named Big Ten Player of the Week. MacTaggart fought off dropped sets in multiple matches to advance to the semifinals in singles play. He also reached the same stage in doubles play alongside fellow Hoosier Stephen Vogl.MacTaggart has a tremendous record at the Big Ten Indoor Championships, having won the singles title in 2009 and reached the semifinals last year.Junior Isade Juneau also fared well in last year’s edition of the event, advancing to the round of 16.The same six players that battled foes at the ITA Ohio Valley Regional Championship last weekend will participate in the event, which will feature two flights in both singles and doubles competition. The “A” flight of each will consist of the top individuals or teams. Additional team members will comprise the “B” flight.The Hoosiers bring a distinctly international flare to the Hawkeye State. Of the six players representing IU, seniors Will Kendall and Stephen Vogl hail from the United States.Two Canadians, Juneau and senior Jeremy Langer, will compete for the cream and crimson. They will be joined by Serbian sophomore Dimitrije Tasic and British junior Josh MacTaggart.For seniors Kendall, Langer and Vogl, this weekend will mark their last run at a singles or doubles crown at the conference’s Indoor Championships, but not their last trip to Iowa City. The team will return for an away match against the University of Iowa on Apr. 6, 2012.
(10/25/11 12:37am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The fall season began in earnest for the IU men’s tennis team this weekend in Knoxville, Tenn., as six players participated in the ITA Ohio Valley Regional Championship.Junior Josh MacTaggart led an effort in which all Hoosiers recorded victories in singles action. He stormed through to the semifinals, where he bowed out in straight sets to top seed Eric Quigley of Kentucky.MacTaggart also reached the final four in the doubles bracket, playing alongside senior Stephen Vogl before falling 8-5 to the University of Tennessee.In the other doubles semifinal, senior Jeremy Langer and junior Isade Juneau jumped out to a 5-0 lead against the top-ranked Kentucky duo featuring Quigley and Alex Musialek, but were unable to hold off the Wildcat tandem. Quigley and Musialek rallied for an 8-6 victory and a berth in the final.All three doubles teams reached the round of 16, two reached the semifinals and five of six players graced the round of 32 in singles play.The Langer/Juneau and MacTaggart/Vogl duos navigated close affairs on their respective roads to the semifinals, but a third team, comprised of senior Will Kendall and sophomore Dimitrije Tasic, fell earlier in the competition. Kendall and Tasic won two matches to reach the round of 16, where they pushed the top-seeded Quigley/Musialek team before dropping the match, 8-6.MacTaggart continued a history of success at the event, which took place at the University of Tennessee this year. As a freshman two years ago, MacTaggart emerged as the tournament’s big surprise, showing a knack for closing out three-set contests and advancing all the way to the quarterfinals.This weekend, he displayed the same perseverance but took it one step further. In consecutive matches — the round of 32 and the round of 16 — he dropped the first set. In the latter, he was shut out 6-0 in the initial frame. Still, he rallied in both instances for victories.MacTaggart’s run ended abruptly, 6-2, 6-2, at the hands of Quigley, the two-time defending champion of the Ohio Valley Regional.
(10/21/11 4:07am)
The IU men’s tennis team returns to action this weekend for the first
time since May, commencing its fall campaign as it travels to Knoxville,
Tenn., for the ITA Ohio Valley Regional.
(10/20/11 4:18am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU women’s tennis players sophomore Kayla Fujimoto and senior Evgeniya Vertesheva captured the doubles back draw title Monday at the ITA Regional Championships in Memphis, Tenn., ending the weekend with a 4-1 record in doubles action.The Hoosier duo vanquished Courtney Collins and Kelly Gray of the University of Memphis by a score of 8-5 in the championship match.Fujimoto and Vertesheva lost their opening encounter in close fashion, 8-6, eliminating them from the main draw, but they recovered in the back draw to win four consecutive matches. Their opponents included teams from Butler, Eastern Kentucky, UT-Chattanooga and Memphis.The IU sophomore and senior also participated in the singles main draw bracket.After winning her opening match in straight sets, Fujimoto took Tennessee’s Brynn Boren, ranked 31st in the country, to three sets before falling, 7-6 (7-3), 2-6, 6-3.Vertesheva, ranked 80th in the country and fourth in the bracket, earned a place in the quarterfinals. Her tournament ended there in a minor upset at the hands of No. 100 Jackie Wu of Vanderbilt. Wu, who would go on to win the ITA Regional Championship, took the contest by a mark of 7-5, 6-3.The IU teammates will look to continue the run of good form this Friday through Sunday in Lawrence, Kan., at a tournament at the University of Kansas.
(09/12/11 4:06am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Ten years later, senior IU tennis player Will Kendall can still vividly recall the moment his life came to a sudden and unexpected halt.Now, a new memorial opens honoring both the lives of the fallen and the heroism of survivors, and Will looks back with a new perspective.“Some people say the new tower and memorial will just be another terrorist target, but I disagree,” Will said. “You can’t run from those types of people. You have to honor the victims, rebuild and regroup and pray that security will be good enough to prevent an attack.”His mother, Ellen, said she hopes the 10th anniversary ceremony will be the last major public commemoration of 9/11.“I think people will want to remember it in their own way,” Ellen said. “This is the big remembrance. There will be smaller things going forward. My hope is that a big surge of emotion will come, and then people will move on.”In 2001, Will was a sixth grader in his native northern New Jersey and was sitting in French class when his teacher broke the news. “My teacher told us an airplane had hit one of the Twin Towers,” Will said. “I knew my father was supposed to be across the street from the World Trade Center for a meeting that day, so I panicked.”Unbeknownst to him, his father, Peter, had his meeting delayed. His morning train never reached New York. After the second plane hit and it became clear the attacks constituted terrorism, all traffic into Manhattan was stopped. For Will’s father, Peter, Hoboken, N.J., just across the Hudson River from the city, was the end of the line. From his vantage point, he watched in horror as the Twin Towers that had dominated the skyline of downtown Manhattan for decades collapsed in ruins. Back home, Ellen had been trying to reach her husband and still had not heard from him.“It was total chaos,” Ellen said. “I had gone to pick Will’s sister up from school and could not get a hold of my Peter. Cell phone service was absolutely horrible.”As Ellen raced to a nearby town to collect Will’s sister, Will’s school had dismissed all students, and he made the short walk home with friends. There, sitting on the couch and glued to the television, was his father. “I remember feeling so relieved,” Will said. “My friends and I had all been freaking out. I’ll never forget that feeling — seeing that my father was alive and well.”Like most of the nation, the reunited family spent the remainder of the day watching the events unfold on television and trying to make sense of them. The Kendalls, however, watched with heightened interest. They knew that two family members worked in the World Trade Center. Will’s second cousin was one of the few who managed to survive despite being above the impact zone at the time of the crash.“He worked on the 106th floor and had already started to make his way down when the second plane hit,” Will said. “There were dead bodies strewn everywhere. There was so much fire he could barely see anything, but he caught a glimpse of this light. That light was the fire escape. He went down 78 floors of the fire escape and made it out alive.”Will said his cousin’s tale is a testament to his bravery.“He’s a hero,” Will said.Despite suffering from a broken leg, a broken wrist, broken ribs and multiple lacerations, Will’s cousin was able not only to survive but also brought others with him on the descent, saving multiple lives along the way.He was taken to a Long Island hospital upon reaching the base of the tower. Not long after, Ellen heard from family that he had made it out alive.Another family member was less fortunate. Ellen’s brother’s brother-in-law worked near the impact zone of the South Tower. The family believes he was killed in the crash.In the direct aftermath, neighbors gathered at a nearby lookout area, from which the smoke billowing from ground zero was clearly visible.“People were posting photographs of those who had passed away on a stone wall,” Ellen said. “Half of our community worked on Wall Street. There were so many vigils and funerals. It was unlike anything I’ve experienced before.”Will too could see the effects of the attacks among his childhood friends.“I remember devastation everywhere,” Will said. “I had friends and kids I played tennis with who lost parents — kids I went to school with, kids I went to church with.”
(08/11/11 9:49pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Even though there’s a lot to do in Bloomington, there are some surprising treasures close to town. These options provide something a little different, and they’re close enough to be doable.Indianapolis: 70 minutes northeastFollow State Road 37 north out of town to reach this bustling metropolis, the capital and largest city in Indiana. The Circle City might be best known for its passion for sports, with the Colts (NFL), Pacers (NBA) and Indians (Triple-A baseball) calling downtown home. On the west side, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway plays host to The Greatest Spectacle in Racing, the Indianapolis 500, in addition to NASCAR’s Brickyard 400 each year. Indianapolis has plenty to offer outside of athletics, however. The Canal Walk in downtown’s recently refurbished White River State Park has become a popular destination for walkers, day trippers and even concert-goers. Those looking to shop will find the city a welcoming place, with malls scattered throughout the city — perhaps none more chic than the Fashion Mall on the city’s north side. For those in search of a younger, more hip crowd — or simply some awesome food — the near-north side’s Broad Ripple Village is perfect. The closest thing to Bloomington in Indy, Broad Ripple has garnered a reputation for being artsy and fun with street fairs and bars all around.Nashville, Ind.: 30 minutes eastArt enthusiasts will find Nashville to be a small slice of heaven — the Brown County Art Gallery, Brown County Art Guild and the T.C. Steele State Historic Site all house paintings past and present by top artists from around the state. The town’s artistic spirit draws inspiration from nearby Brown County State Park, which offers some of the most spectacular views and plentiful wildlife in the Hoosier state — which may be explored by foot, mountain bike or even by horse, all on the park’s extensive trail system. If you’re a music buff, catch the Lloyd Wood Show at Mike’s Dance Barn just outside town or the world’s oldest continuous running bluegrass festival every June at Bill Monroe’s Music Park. Columbus, Ind.: 60 minutes eastWidely renowned for its bold architecture, Columbus makes for an offbeat destination as unique as it is inspiring. While the south-central Indiana town of 40,000 might not seem like an ideal location for architectural innovation, it has a global reputation. The Chicago Tribune has referred to Columbus as “a small-town architectural mecca,” and Smithsonian Magazine similarly complimented it as a “veritable museum of modern architecture.” Whatever name visitors choose to assign to the town, they can explore it and judge for themselves on a guided bus tour — but those with limited time should be sure to check out First Christian Church, North Christian Church and Mabel McDowell Adult Education Center, all of which have been designated National Historic Landmarks. French Lick, Ind.: 80 minutes southNestled in the rural stretch of land between Bloomington and the Ohio River, French Lick might seem an unlikely spot for a resort town. However, the historic settlement, once a French trading post, boasts luxury hotels, a large casino, three golf courses and Big Splash Adventure Water Park, making it a perfect family getaway.Nearby Pakota Lake, especially popular during the summer, provides a picturesque backdrop for aquatic activities of all types. For a change of pace and mode of transportation, try the French Lick Scenic Railway, which takes passengers well into Hoosier National Forest and even features mock “train robberies” on select weekends.
(08/04/11 1:20am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>High school and college tennis players competed against each other last weekend at the IU Tennis Center as part of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s Summer Circuit Midwest Regional open tournament.The ITA Summer Circuit was conceived by IU women’s tennis head coach Lin Loring in 1993 and has become an annual affair on a national scale.Eight regions each hold four open tournaments with the top players advancing to a national championship event hosted by IU.This year’s IU-hosted regional open featured current and future Hoosiers in both the men’s and women’s fields.In the women’s singles bracket, rising sophomore Kayla Fujimoto and incoming freshman Katie Klyczek, from Munster, Ind., both advanced to the third round before bowing out of the competition.After receiving byes in the opening round, Fujimoto defeated Anne Akhimien of Howard University, 6-2, 6-1, while Klyczek dispatched Purdue’s Kirsten Magi after losing the first set, 1-6, 6-4, 1-0(3).However, neither survived the next round. Fujimoto dropped her match to the Universoty of North Carolina-Greensboro’s Niltooli Wilkins, 6-4, 6-2, and Klyczek was unable to avoid elimination against DePaul University’s Gia McKnight, the eventual tournament runner-up, falling 6-4, 7-5.The two future teammates also paired up for doubles action, but were ousted in their first match 8-6 against Wilkins and Samford University’s Olivia Lewis.On the men’s side, incoming freshman Zachary Zwerner ended the tournament with a 1-2 record in singles play.Zwerner lost his first match against Wright State University’s Evan Neuman in straight sets and moved to the consolation bracket where he defeated Northern Kentucky University’s Cameron Johnson in the opening round, 6-1, 6-1, before falling in the second round to Illinois State University’s Jacob Wilson by a 6-1, 6-0 score.Purdue University’s Mara Schmidt left as the tournament’s big winner, emerging victorious in both the women’s singles and doubles fields. Dalton Alberton of Ball State won the men’s singles title.The USTA/ITA National Summer Championships will be held at IU Aug. 13 through 17.
(08/04/11 1:17am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Before former IU baseball standout and recent MLB draftee Alex Dickerson ever swung for the fences in a cream and crimson uniform, he was confronted with a decision that would determine his future both on and off the field.He had just completed a highly successful high school career in southern California and was drafted in the 48th round of the 2008 MLB draft by the Washington Nationals.He could enter the cutthroat world of professional baseball and navigate the uncertainty of the minors as just another middling prospect, or he could choose to delay his career and develop himself both as a slugger and a student at college.He opted for the latter, committing to play for IU that fall.Three years and numerous accolades later, his decision looks to have paid off. Dickerson was taken in the third round of last month’s draft by a resurgent Pirates organization.IU baseball coach Tracy Smith said he believes Dickerson made the right choice. “Alex wanted the college experience,” Smith said. “I think it was such a valuable experience for him. It’s so beneficial to go through college and then experience the minors as a young adult.”Dickerson — whose career stats as a Hoosier include a .386 average, 47 home runs and 181 RBI throughout three seasons — will look to carry the momentum gained in Bloomington to the next level.But for now, Dickerson is just enjoying his introduction to the minors as a member of the Pirates’ single-A affiliate, the State College Spikes.“Everything is very exciting to this point, just to finally be on the field is a thrill,” Dickerson said. “There is a different, more professional type of atmosphere here.”In order to facilitate their development, minor league players practice long hours, even on game days.It’s this single-minded approach that separates life in the minors from college, Dickerson said.“The focus of everything is just baseball,” he said. “You have a lot less time to yourself and have to put a lot of extra work in. On days when we have a 7 o’clock game, we have to be at the ballpark by 1:30 to start practice.”Dickerson is also grappling with another adjustment. Having played left field during college, he is being asked to fill in at first base for the Spikes.Through nine games, Dickerson has committed two errors, both of which occurred during a July 19 game against Mahoning Valley.Coincidentally, one of Dickerson’s former IU teammates, Jerrud Sabourin, plays first base for the Ohio-based rival.“The transition [from left field to first base] is something new, but he just needs a little leg work,” Sabourin said. “He’s been a great hitter his whole life. He’s going to be good.“I know the Pirates have high hopes for him, and they should. They’re lucky to have him.”At the plate, Dickerson is already proving his worth. Through 60 at-bats thus far, he is batting a .283 average and has racked up six doubles, a triple and a home run.The key to success, Dickerson said, is keeping things simple.“My average will be wherever it ends up,” he said. “I’m just trying to get a hit every time up.”As for long-term goals, he isn’t getting ahead of himself.“The whole point of playing is to make the big leagues, I guess,” Dickerson said. “But I just strive to get better every day and see where I end up.”
(07/28/11 1:10am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Former Hoosier baseball stars Jerrud Sabourin and Alex Dickerson’s paths, as different as they are, intersected once again last week.Unlike past years, however, this time the two were not teammates.The series pitted Sabourin and the Mahoning Valley Scrappers against Dickerson and the State College Spikes. Both teams are part of the single-A New York-Penn league, one of many minor leagues aiming to develop young players with major league aspirations.Sabourin, the all-time IU hit leader, was signed as a free agent by the Cleveland Indians last month after going undrafted. Dickerson, the Big Ten player of the year in 2010, was rewarded for his impressive three-year college career by being drafted in the third round by the Pittsburgh Pirates.Sabourin joined the Indians-affiliate Scrappers last month and has been playing consistently at first base since. So far, though, the transition from Hoosier hit king to the minors hasn’t gone swimmingly.Despite driving in a game-winning run in extra innings earlier this month, Sabourin is batting .178 average through 30 games. While Sabourin said his average isn’t as high as he’d like, he doesn’t sound overly concerned.“It’s a day-by-day process,”Sabourin said. “The Indians always tell us it’s more about developing you as a player than instant results. I haven’t gotten off to a great start, but a lot of guys struggle at first.”Dickerson, also filling in at first base, has fared better in his current, brief stint with the Pirates-affiliate Spikes. Dickerson has batted .353 through nine games, including four straight multi-hit outings.Sabourin said the biggest adjustment at the minor league level is at the plate.“Every pitcher throws a little harder, and we use a wooden [not aluminum] bat,” he said.He also acknowledged the difficulty in adapting to the rigorous schedule, a sentiment echoed by IU coach Tracy Smith. “The whole crux of the minors is to get guys used to the grind of everyday baseball — the mental wear and tear,” Smith said.Smith said he places a great deal of importance on the “college experience.”Dickerson and Sabourin agreed, saying their former coach helped them a lot.“You develop a routine and certain habits to hone your game,” Sabourin said. “You learn as a person to deal with situations in the locker room and out on the field.”“In retrospect, I developed a lot as a player and a person,” Dickerson said. “And I improved my draft stock by a lot.”Having spent a combined seven seasons with the two, Smith knows Dickerson and Sabourin well and said they both have the chance to be successful.“They are well-spoken and will handle themselves well,” Smith said. “They’re ready, more ready than they would have been as 18-year-olds.”