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(11/19/03 6:56am)
The central theme of the 2003-2004 women's basketball team is youth. \nSenior Jamie Gathing is out of the lineup due to a season-ending ACL injury, leaving juniors LeeAnn Stephenson and Jenny DeMuth as the only players on the roster who were at IU the last time the Hoosiers made it into the NCAA Tournament just two years ago.\nWith the addition of IU's first nationally-ranked freshman class, the Hoosiers are stacked with underclassmen with five players apiece in both the freshman and sophomore classes.\nDespite the team's lack of experience, IU coach Kathi Bennett remains optimistic about this year's run.\n"We're extremely young. We have five freshmen, five sophomores and then two juniors," Bennett said. "I feel that this is a very exciting team, and I think we can be one of the best defensive teams in the Big Ten without a doubt. I think that this is the best defensive team since I've been here, and I think that's very exciting to know that coming in."\nExperience issues aside, players and coaches alike cite the Hoosier's youth for intangibles on the court.\n"(The youth brings) a lot of energy on the court," sophomore guard Cyndi Valentin said. "There's a lot of things we're all learning right now, and we work hard when we step out on the court."\nWhat the team lacks in major experience, IU makes up for with sheer talent. \nDeMuth is the Hoosiers' most battle-tested warrior, starting in all but five games in her 59-game career. DeMuth is expected to step up this season after already impressive runs during her freshman and sophomore seasons. During her sophomore campaign, she averaged 12 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. As a freshman, DeMuth stepped into a starting role just four games into the season en route to 7.1 ppg and 5.5 rpg averages. \nValentin is another "veteran" who is expected to perform for the Hoosiers after a stellar freshman season. During her first season in the Hoosier uniform, Valentin earned Big Ten All-Freshman team honors -- only the third IU player in the program's history to gain such honors. Valentin also became the first freshman in IU history to score 290 points, drain 25 three pointers and record over 30 steals in a season. Despite her impressive accomplishments, Valentin carries an air of humility about her game.\n"I just like being able to hype up my team and just let them know what's going on," Valentin said. "What I'm doing, what they can do and I'm willing to hear from them and know what I'm doing wrong too."\n6-foot-3-inch sophomore Angela Hawkins provides a strong presence under the hoop, averaging 6.4 ppg and 7.9 rpg last season.\n"Angie is a tremendous offensive rebounder with a nose for the ball," Bennett said. "As her offensive skills improve, she can be one of the best post players to have played here."\nAll in all, Bennett cites a core group of five people needed to step up in order for a successful Hoosier run. \n"If we're going to be successful, (DeMuth) really needs to step up," Bennett said. "I think (sophomore) Cyndi Valentin (is important). We're going to get Angie (Hawkins) back and LeeAnn (Stephenson). We need that group to really step up. Kalli (Kullberg) needs to be that consistent energized person that brings the enthusiasm and fire."\nIU's existing roster will be bolstered by an impressive group of freshman who will be fighting for starting positions.\n"On paper, they're the best class that we've ever brought in," associate head coach Trish Betthauser said. "Their skill level is much higher than any other class that we've brought in. What's more exciting is the hunger that they have. They're here because they truly want to win a championship here."\nWith such youth and talent only one thing remains squarely in IU's crosshairs for this season: The Big Dance.\n"The NCAA Tournament berth is a goal of ours," Bennett said. "That's what we want."\n-- Contact staff writer Dan Patrick at djpatric@indiana.edu.
(11/17/03 8:31pm)
With only two juniors on the active roster, the one thing the IU women's basketball team lacks is experience. All five freshmen garnered substantial minutes in Friday's 73-62 win over the Reebok Lady Stars, gaining much-needed experience.\nFreshmen Jamey Chapman and Sarah McKay started the contest. All but one freshman played at least 10 minutes. Chapman turned in the most impressive performance of her class, finishing with 17 points and six boards and 2-for-2 from behind the arc. Chapman's point total was good for second on the team. \nSophomore guard Cyndi Valentin led the Hoosier offensive attack with 21 points, hitting 70 percent of her shots. IU also showed its shooting prowess with five players draining at least one three pointer. The Hoosiers hit seven of 11 from behind the arc and held the Reebok Lady Stars to a lackluster three of 14 performance from the 3-point line. \nDespite IU's impressive showing from behind the arc, the Hoosiers downplayed their shooting prowess as just another facet of IU's game.\n"I think we can do a lot more than just make 3-pointers," Chapman said. "We can drive really well. We can pull up and do a jump shot. We can pass it in, and our posts have the ability to score this year. I think we can do everything. We just need to show that a little bit more. The treys just happened to fall for us tonight."\nIU controlled the court throughout the entire contest as the Reebok Lady Stars were only able to knot the score at 2-2. In the first half, IU was able to do more than shoot the ball, holding the Reebok Lady Stars to only 18 points in the first half. While IU coach Kathi Bennett was happy with IU's defensive performance in the first half, she was unhappy with the team's performance in the second.\n"I thought we had some improvement tonight," Bennett said. "We took some steps, but I was disappointed after holding them to 18 points in the first half and then letting them have 44 in the second half."\nOne step IU did take was improving the performance of the players down low, and Bennett said that she was happy with their showing around the basket.\n"I thought the post players really showed great progress," Bennett said. "I thought Sarah McKay and (sophomore forward) April Williams were great. Also, for Jamey Chapman's first game, she did a really good job. She's really not 100 percent yet. I thought Sarah McKay showed huge strides, especially defensively, and showed she learned from practice and put it into play."\nSpeaking of post players, former Hoosier standout Jill Chapman-Daily also appeared in the contest after playing with the Detroit Shock last season. While at IU, Chapman-Daily finished in the top three all-time in career points, rebounds and double-doubles. \nWhile the team was generally happy with the win, IU still has its focus set squarely on the future and getting into the regular season.\n"It's always good to have a win, but we can't dwell on it," Valentin said. "We're just trying to improve every game to get ready for the season."\n-- Contact staff writer Dan Patrick at djpatric@indiana.edu.
(11/10/03 6:13am)
The IU women's basketball team started off its preseason with a 82-69 loss at the hands of Athletes in Action Sunday. However, the 13-point loss could have been worse as IU went on a 9-0 run to end the game.\nAIA dominated the Hoosiers throughout the game with a barrage of three pointers. In total, AIA hit 10 three-pointers from four different players. Forwards Lisa Eckhart and Katie Voight hit six of seven three pointers between them in the first half and finished the game with 80 percent shooting from behind the arc. However, AIA's prowess from the three-point line was not IU's only problem as AIA dominated throughout the game.\nEarly in the first half, junior guard Jenny DeMuth stole the ball and broke away for lay-up for a 4-2 IU lead, which turned out to be the Hoosiers' only lead of the entire game. Then the shootout began. AIA answered with three straight three-pointers to begin a 16-2 run, giving AIA a 18-6 lead.\nThe rest of the game went on in a similar fashion as the Hoosiers were able to cut the lead down to single digits numerous times, only to have AIA cut off IU's rallies.\n"I think we played in spurts, we had some bright spots, we had some defensive stops," DeMuth said. "When we play defense, our offense is easier."\nDeMuth and sophomore guard Cyndi Valentin led all IU scorers with 17 points apiece while sophomore center Angela Hawkins led the team with 14 rebounds and nine points of her own. \nWhile the team had a reasonable offensive showing, hitting 41 percent of shots from the field, the players were unhappy with IU's defense in the game.\n "I would say the biggest thing that disappointed me would probably be our transition defense because we worked so hard on that, and it didn't show in the game," DeMuth said. "We have to communicate more. They're shooting a free throw, and we don't know who we have. That's a big problem."\nIU coach Kathi Bennett was also unhappy with IU's defensive stature within the game and cited the Hoosiers' defensive woes to communication problems on the court.\n"It's just a lack of this team talking to each other," Bennett said. "Even at time outs and free throws, we're just trying to get them matched up, and someone's got to take some leadership on the court and get us matched up and talk, and there's really a lack of that and they're going to have to solve that."\nWhile the Hoosiers were unhappy with the loss, the team is looking upon the game as a learning experience.\n"We got exposed to the things that we need to go back into practice and work on," Valentin said. "We work hard in practice and we do it, but when it comes to game time with different situations and different people, it shows that we have things to work on."\n-- Contact staff writer Dan Patrick at djpatric@indiana.edu.
(10/06/03 6:45am)
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- In the second quarter of Saturday's IU-Michigan State game, MSU senior quarterback Jeff Smoker threw a pass that bounced off of the receiver's chest and straight into the air. \nSurrounded by four Hoosier defenders, the ball went high into the air and fell back into MSU receiver Matt Trannon's hands harmlessly. That's the way the game, a 31-3 loss, went for IU.\n"We didn't play very well," IU coach Gerry DiNardo said. "We took a step backwards. I was disappointed in our play, especially in the second half." \nMichigan State broke into the scoring column early, scoring on its first possession in an eight-play, 60-yard drive. On a third and 10 play at the IU 13-yard line, Smoker hit junior tight end Jason Randall at the 9-yard line. Randall barreled through three Hoosier defenders, picking up MSU's first touchdown.\nIU punted on each of its next two possessions before MSU struck again. Keyed by the bouncing catch by Trannon, Smoker hit running back Jarvis Hayes on the next play for the 31-yard touchdown and the 14-0 lead. \nIU then answered with its only score of the game. Freshman running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis caught a 20-yard screen pass to start the drive and rushed six times for 21 yards. The drive stalled at the 2-yard line and, after a timeout, IU decided to kick the field goal rather than go for the touchdown.\n"The first half, we moved the ball," junior quarterback Matt LoVecchio said. "We're just breaking down offensively ... We moved the ball, and then just stalled."\nMSU added a 49-yard field goal in the third quarter and a touchdown after an IU fumble deep in MSU territory by sophomore running back Chris Taylor. The Spartans marched downfield with better fortune than the Hoosiers. MSU fumbled twice in a row but recovered both before tailback Jason Teague broke through the middle for an 11-yard touchdown run.\n"That fumble late in the game, that really hurt us, it felt like I lost the whole game for us," Taylor said. "I just have to learn how to bounce back from adversity like that."\nMSU had one more touchdown with a 2-yard run from Smoker to close out the scoring, 31-3.\nPlaying without senior captain running back Brian Lewis and facing a run defense that allowed only 54.4 yards per game did not slow down the IU running game as Taylor and Green-Ellis ran for a combined 144 yards. Prior to Saturday's contest, MSU had allowed 107 yards, a season high, in its previous game against Iowa. After the game, Taylor accredited the ground game to good protection from the offensive line.\n"We wanted to emphasize on the run," Taylor said. "The linemen, they opened up the holes pretty good, and we just ran through them."\nDefensively, IU also showed its strength on the ground, as the Hoosiers allowed only 12 yards on 11 carries in the first half and 39 yards after three quarters. \n"We did very well stopping the run, then they went to the pass, and we've got to stop that too," junior linebacker Josh Moore said. "The game of football is a game of strategy. Today they strategized very well, and I feel that as soon as we stopped the run, they went to the pass and they were pretty effective."\nUnfortunately for the Hoosiers, Michigan State's air attack was quite effective as Smoker finished with 32 of 40 passes for 351 yards and two touchdowns. Smoker's outing tied him with an MSU record for completions set in 1982 by John Leister and the yardage also tied him for the seventh single game total in school history with his own season high in the Sept. 6 game against Rutgers.\n"(Smoker's play was) impressive, but he could do that every game," MSU wide receiver Kyle Brown said. "He's just got to go out and play; he could complete 40 out of 40 passes."\nLoVecchio said he was proud of the IU receivers but thought they still needed work.\n"Courtney fought through and played today," he said. "Glenn came in and did a good job. But the bottom line is we lost the football game and need to get back to work."\n-- Contact staff writer Dan Patrick at djpatic@indiana.edu.
(08/11/03 2:14am)
Three highly decorated IU athletes will add a 2002-03 IU Student-Athletes of the Year award to their list of accolades. Olympic diver Sara Hildebrand and 2003 NCAA Javelin Champion Irina Kharun share the Female Athlete of the Year award, while Soccer National Player of the Year Pat Noonan took the men's award. \nKharun finished off her IU career with a bang when she took 2003 NCAA Championship in the javelin event. With her win, she became the first Hoosier to win the national title in more than ten years, while simultaneously setting an American college record with her 202-foot-10-inch throw. The two-time All-American also won the NCAA Outdoor Regional javelin title, breaking a record at Ohio State's Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. As for the American college record, Kharun cited her coach as an inspiration for her NCAA Championship throw.\n"My dad (former Soviet javelin thrower Vladmimar Kharun) has always told me that the last throw of a competition is for the coach," Kharun said. "You should give it your best on your last throw to show your coach how much you respect them."\nAnd she certainly gave coach Randy Heisler respect by winning the NCAA Championships, and she is now an IU Athlete of the Year.\nKharun shares this year's award with Hildebrand. However, the IU Female Athlete of the Year award is nothing new to Hildebrand -- she has been given the distinction for the last two years. The former Olympian was recognized as both the Big Ten Diver of the Year and Diver of the Championships after winning individual titles on 1-Meter, 3-Meter and 10-Meter platform events in her senior season. Her accomplishments did not end at the conference level, as she was also named as an All-American in both the 1-Meter and 3-Meter springboard events. These two titles brought her All-American award total to 10. Fresh out of college, Hildebrand continued to perform by earning the All-Around Award at the Speedo National Diving Championships in June. \nDespite her talents and numerous accolades, Hildebrand is a very humble person.\n"I'm just an average person like everybody else," Hildebrand said in a press release. "I just have a talent. Other people have talents in many other things they do."\nNoonan is also a repeat winner of the IU Athlete of the Year distinction, as he took the men's title in both his junior and senior seasons as a Hoosier. The three-time All-American was selected as the Big Ten Conference Player of the Year in 2001 and 2002 and earned first-team All-Big Ten honors three times.The talented offensive threat scored 37 points on 14 goals and nine assists in IU's 2002 campaign. His offensive prowess allowed him to become the 14th player in Indiana soccer history to score 100 points in a career. In total, Noonan scored 127 points in his career, good for sixth on IU's all-time list. \nNow in his first year as a member of the Major League Soccer's New England Revolution, Noonan likes to perform for the fans.\n"I just enjoy being in the offensive third of the field and making things happen with the pass and on the dribble," Noonan said on the MLS Web site. "I like to make the game exciting, get everyone involved and entertain the crowd"
(07/28/03 1:44am)
Why can't women's sports seem to get a foothold in America? Whether it is at the professional level with the WNBA's marketing woes or the seeming lack of attention to most women's sports at the college level, it seems that women's sports just can't win here in America. \nEven in Indiana, where the following of basketball is more of a religion than a sport, the IU women's basketball team could only muster just under 8,000 fans in a record-breaking fan drive this past fall. This stands in stark contrast with the 16,000+ fan average the men's team garners.\nWhile there are universities such as UConn that have quite a large following, the woes of women's sports certainly do not end in the amateur ranks.\nAfter suffering through the possibility of a player strike, the WNBA seemed to be in a lot of trouble entering this season. Since the league's inception in 1997, the WNBA has yet to post a profit. Despite its money troubles, the WNBA remains at the top of America's second-tier professional sports leagues. It draws more fans than Major League Soccer and Arena Football and there will always be the innate moral obligation to keep this league going. \nI fail to see why the proper authorities question the existence of a professional women's basketball league when there seems to be enough room to start a pro league that stupidly tries to integrate the fundamentals of basketball with the "fun" of jumping on competition trampolines.\nMost market insiders consider the WNBA to simply be a "niche sport," as it doesn't have the mass market appeal that leagues such as the NBA, NFL or MLB have. While the league seems to attract only a select group of supporters, this is not the way it should be. \nThe WNBA features some of the best fundamental basketball that can be seen at the professional level. At a WNBA game, you see the real nitty-gritty of the sport without 14 steps before traveling or such rampant player preference from the officials that you see in any L.A. Lakers basketball game. \nThese women shoot, dribble and pass like the best NBA players without having to resort to breaking the original rules of basketball unlike any NBA All-Star's crossover.\nHow many Lisa Leslies, Sue Birds, Chamique Holdsclaws and Sheryl Swoopes will it take before people begin to take notice of such great competition? Even Bird, who has averaged more than 13 points and six assists per game in her career is most known for Seattle sports talkshow host Mitch Levy's idiotic bet to spank her if she doesn't amass twice as many assists than turnovers this season. \nThe only thing the NBA seems to have that draws so many more fans is the dunk. It is true that any Julius Erving/Michael Jordan/Kobe Bryant-esque slam dunk can be truly electrifying. However, it has become so overused now that it seems that most NBA players couldn't make a simple left-handed layup if their lives depended on it. \nPast organizers have grappled with the lack of the slam dunk within women's basketball before with the Liberty Basketball Association, conceived in 1991 featuring lowered rims. Along with the dunk, this league also tried to bring in fans another way -- sex. The LBA, nicknamed the "spandex league," sexualized the sport with the use of skintight uniforms. Despite its efforts, the LBA lasted only one year.\nWomen's basketball isn't the only sport that deserves more attention. Women's soccer managed to captivate America's attention in 1999 with the United States taking the World Cup. Yet it seems the impressive title run was basically eclipsed by the image of Brandi Chastain ripping off her shirt after scoring the winning goal. \nOutside of the occasional women's Olympic gold medal run, it seems that female athletes just don't have a chance here in America.
(07/24/03 1:52am)
Visitors to the Student Recreational Sports Center this weekend will have a chance to watch some fast-paced swimming and possibly win a trip to the Nickelodeon Studios in Orlando, Fla.\nThe first event, the USA Swimming Speedo Champion Series, began yesterday and will continue until Sunday. The five-day meet features over 500 of the best swimmers from Indiana, Arkansas, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota and North Dakota. They will compete for a chance to make it into the USA Swimming Nationals competition. \nThe USA Swimming organization includes a multitude of events with competitors representing many different age groups and skill levels.\n"Our main competitors range from good high school athletes to young college athletes, a couple of good 13-year-olds to people in their late 30s," USA Swimming National Events Director Dean Ekeren said. "They just have to meet a specific qualifying time to compete."\nAlthough there will be a wide range of swimmers at the event, the level of competition will be quite high.\n"It's a higher level of competition; some are qualifiers for senior nationals, some are coming up from other ranks and it is the first event they will be competing in at this level," IU Recreational Sports Aquatics employee Annie Eakin said. "It's a higher level of competition. We have about 550 athletes, and we expect to see a high level of swimming." \nThe Champion Series also brings more than just a swimming competition to the Bloomington area, as it is expected to bring about $683,000 in revenue to area restaurants, hotels and retail establishments. \nCoinciding with the USA Swimming event is the Summer Splash Tour, which will take place from 8:30 to 11 a.m. Saturday in the lobby of the SRSC. The Summer Splash Tour consists of interactive games and activities that are meant to bring attention to swimming activities. This year's Summer Splash Tour also features five athletes who will star in the Nickelodeon Splash TV series. \n"(The Summer Splash Tour's) a van that's going around to water-related events around the country; they've already visited 60-70 events since early June," Programs and Services Director for USA Swimming Tom Avischious said. "They're stopping at water parks, swim meets and beaches and trying to promote swimming to people around the country."\nVisitors at this Saturday's Summer Splash Tour stop will also be able to spin a prize wheel for instant prizes and will be given the chance to enter into a sweepstakes contest for a Speedo underwater camera and a Grand Prize trip for four to the Nickelodeon Studios in Orlando.\nWith the Summer Splash Tour and the USA Swimming Speedo Competition all in one area, organizers are sure that this weekend is going to be exciting.\n"It will be exciting; there's going to be a lot of fast swimming," Avischious said. "For a lot of the swimmers, it's their last chance to make the cut into nationals, so there should be some great competition."\nThe SRSC is also seeking volunteers for the event. For more information, contact Grant Karsas at 855-1321 or gkarsas@indiana.edu.
(07/14/03 1:21am)
During the last two years, the IU football program has gone through its fair share of facelifts. First came the introduction of head coach Gerry DiNardo in January 2002, then the $3.5 million skybox renovations, followed by the Trent Green-sponsored locker room renovation and, finally, a donor-sponsored AstroPlay surface upgrade for Memorial Stadium. \nThe new turf consists of polyethylene fibers with a rubber in-fill on top of either a paved pad or foam pad. Despite the use of these inorganic materials, AstroPlay is very similar to grass in look and feel.\n"Playing on (AstroPlay) is nothing to get used to; it feels like you're on grass when you're playing on it," former Hoosier running back Brian Lewis said. "I've played at Illinois on the stuff, and it feels like you're on a normal grass field."\nThe contract for the new playing surface is $446,000, including a 10-year guarantee from the AstroPlay company. While construction costs will add to this already hefty bill, IU Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Terry Clapacs said the new turf eventually will pay for itself with lowered maintenance costs.\n"We found that the current grass surface was very expensive to maintain and in recent years it created poor playing conditions," Clapacs said in a press release. "Our estimations showed resodding the field would cost about $150,000 every three years and maintenance costs of a grass field were $75,000 per year. On a life cycle this new turf is much less expensive and it is a more reliable surface."\nAnother concern with a traditional grass field is the labor issues of repairing the field week after week. Football players were aware of the hardships inflicted upon the maintenance team after a game on a day with adverse weather conditions.\n"I think that comes down on the work crew," Lewis said. "If it rains, the team just tears the grass field up, and they have to fix the field up every week. With the artificial turf, it's more lenient on the work crew because they don't have to fix the field up every time." \nOn top of the lowered maintenance costs, many players benefit from the new turf surface as it is touted to cause fewer injuries. The Bloomington SportsPlex, 1700 W. Bloomfield Road, has used the material since the complex was built four years ago and employees there said they are happy with the results.\n"It's been proven that the potential injury ratio actually decreases when using this material," Chris Doran of the Bloomington SportsPlex said. "We are really pleased with it."\nAstroPlay is already in use by four other Big Ten programs and numerous professional teams, including the Buffalo Bills organization. It is considered to be one of the best turf surfaces because of its natural look, all-weather performance, added durability and safety. \nAlong with the maintenance and monetary benefits AstroPlay brings, it also gives the football team another practice field option.\n"In addition to having a state-of-the-art competition surface, this will allow us to have the ability to add another practice field into our rotation without damaging the gameday field," DiNardo said. "We are often practicing into the early evening and lighting has become an issue. Now we will have a lighted field to use for practice."\nMany within the IU organization said they feel this new facelift is perfect for the Hoosier football program.\n"We visited a number of schools and many schools are faced with the same space problems that we are faced with," special assistant to the athletic director and former IU head football coach Bill Mallory said. "I totally agree with Coach DiNardo on this decision and am very excited about the change. We will be able to put Memorial Stadium to good use."\nConstruction already has begun on the surface upgrade, and it is expected to be finished in time for the beginning of football practice in August.
(06/19/03 1:34am)
A dream has come true for IU junior Bryn Lawton Chapman. She will have the chance to compete against 49 representatives from around the country for the Miss America competition that will take place Sept. 20.\nChapman was crowned as Miss Indiana on Saturday and will represent the Hoosier state as a part of the Miss America competition. Miss America is an organization that gives out scholarships for women.\n"We give $2.4 million in scholarships and about 25,000 in cash," said Gary Greiner, the board of directors president for the Miss Indiana Scholarship Association. "Actually, the Miss America program is the largest women's scholarship program in the United States."\nIf Chapman wins the Miss America competition, she will be rewarded with an even bigger scholarship. The 2002 Miss America winner took home a $50,000 scholarship for her efforts.\nThe contestants are not the only ones who benefit from the competition. One of the prerequisites for the contestants is a large amount of volunteer work. \n"(The contestants) each have to select a platform program and they have to spend hundreds of hours volunteering," said Bernice Baker, board of directors vice president for the Miss Indiana Scholarship Association.\n"And there are so many lives that are affected by their work," Baker said. "Some work with the elderly, some work with child issues, disease prevention, things like that."\nChapman's efforts have raised more than $150,000 for diabetes research as a member of the American Diabetes Association. \n"As Miss Indiana, I am now the state spokesperson for the American Diabetes Association, and I will always work with them because they are now like family," Chapman said.\nOn top of the money she has raised for the ADA, Chapman volunteers much of her time to her platform organization called SHINE, which stands for Strong Health is Nutrition and Exercise, which champions a balanced diet and exercise programs for better health. Chapman has devoted much of her life to SHINE.\n"When I was not at school or not doing homework, I was working with the program," Chapman said. "It's like working a full 40 to 50 hour week."\nChapman represented the South Central region as she competed with 19 other contestants from around the state for the Miss Indiana title. While Chapman met strong competition for the crown, she said the women were more supportive than one would think.\n"I've come to think of it as a performance where we had to perform together and we supported whoever won," Chapman said. "And everyone has been supportive of me since I won the title."\nWhile she gets ready for the Miss America competition in September, Chapman said she is truly grateful for what the program has done for her.\n"You could not give to this program as much as it gives to you," Chapman said.
(06/02/03 1:29am)
When the Indy Racing League originally was founded in 1996 by Tony George, its main goal was to counter NASCAR's growing dominance through the use of more home-grown American drivers. However, it now seems the "American way" has been lost at the Indianapolis 500. \nIn fact, if this year's Indianapolis 500 results can be used as a gauge, it seems that the IRL was founded to showcase Brazilian drivers rather than their American counterparts. Gil de Ferran, the soft-spoken Penske driver, took this year's race, followed closely by the more flamboyant 2001 and 2002 winner Helio Castroneves, and third place went to Tony Kanaan -- all Brazilian drivers. This year's race marked the first time since the race's 1911 inception that foreign drivers took the top three spots. Foreign dominance did not stop there, as each of the top five drivers were from foreign countries. While Brazil's dominance in this year's race was impressive, it was not unexpected as names such as two-time Indy 500 winner Emerson Fittipaldi and the long-time king of Formula One Aryton Senna are both from Brazil. \nWhile Castroneves is happy with the success that people from his country have enjoyed in auto racing, he was quick to point out that American fans are the best in his eyes.\n"Not as much as here in America, especially here in Indianapolis. I mean, the support of the fans was incredible," Castroneves said after the race. "This race is incredible. It's not me, but it's been the tradition, and the American people basically are doing those things because you guys kept such a live tradition since 1911."\nForeign dominance did not stop with just drivers as the Chevrolet engines displayed their lack of power throughout qualifications and into the race. The Chevrolet engine, which is essentially a rebadged version of the original IRL Aurora, was utterly dominated by Toyota and Honda in this year's race. Buddy Rice led the Chevrolet pack but could not break the top ten, finishing 11th. In fact, only four Chevy-powered cars made it into the top 20 in the 2003 contest.\nDespite the race's foreign dominance, there was one American driver who had a good chance at capturing the coveted bottle of milk. That driver was Michael Andretti, who raced in his 14th and final Indianapolis 500 and led 28 laps until a throttle linkage failed in his engine. Unfortunately, the Andretti enigma struck again. The Andrettis have sent four family members to the race and have led for a combined 984 laps off of 53 total starts, but have only one Borg-Warner trophy to their surname.\n"Same song, a different day," Mario Andretti said. "Obviously, the thing that is so disappointing is that it was such a fluke mechanical thing in the engine, just the throttle body that came apart. The first thing he said to me was, 'Why did it have to happen to me?' I feel for him, obviously."\nAfter Sunday's race, Michael led the race over the years for 426 total laps, the equivalent of more than two full races, and 11th on the all-time laps led list, but still could not take the checkered flag. Michael's total places him as the man who has led for the most laps without taking home the Borg-Warner trophy. In fact, if Michael had led for just two more trips around the Brickyard, he would have tied Rick Mears, who is one of three men to have ever taken four Indy 500's in his career.\n"I don't know, something went wrong. Loss of power," Michael said after his mechanical failure on lap 94. "It's been incredible. At least I can say I had a shot at winning my last race"
(06/02/03 1:08am)
Both the men's and women's track teams fared well in the NCAA Mideast Regional this past weekend. The women's team finished in the No. 3 position with 60 points, while the men's team finished No. 8 with 33.\nSenior All-American Irina Kharun broke the women's stadium record with a 185-foot-11-inch javelin throw, which gave her the regional crown in the event. While Kharun has broken her personal best in each of the last two meets, she said she feels there is still room for improvement.\n"My workout schedule was set for me to peak in the last three meets (Big Ten Chamionship, NCAA Regional, and NCAA Championship), but I can't say that I am peaking right now," Kharun said. "I am slowly growing, and I know the coaching staff hopes that growth continues."\nThe women's 4x100 team of senior Rose Richmond, senior Rachelle Boone, sophomore Ara Towns and senior Danielle Carruthers continued their dominance with a No. 3 finish with a time of 44.31. Such a performance is nothing new to this quartet as they also won the Big Ten women's 4x100 meter relay for the fourth year in a row and are now gunning for All-American honors in that event for the fourth straight time.\nThe Hoosiers sent two sprinters to the championships in the women's 100-meter. Boone entered the final race with the top qualifying time of 11.22, and she finished second in the final with 11.24. Towns also made the cut in this event with an 11.50 time, good for a No. 5 finish.\nWhile a first place finish in the 100-meter is impressive, Boone proved that she was not finished for the weekend, as she also broke the stadium record in the 200-meter event with a time of 22.93. Junior Audrey Giesler also finished fourth and moved on to the championships with a time of 10:27.54.\nOn the men's side, No. 1 seeded senior All-American Adam Judge placed first in the hammer throw, reaching the 221-foot-4-inch mark with his throw. Senior javelin thrower Pat Miller also had a good weekend as he broke the school record with a throw of 223-feet-4.5-inches. The throw also qualified him for the NCAA Track and Field Championship. \nBut Miller was almost robbed of the chance to break the record as he barely made the cut into the finals.\n"My first two throws in the trials were terrible, and in my third throw, I barely squeaked into the finals," Miller said. "But every throw from there on out got better, and my teammates and coaches put me over the top on the last throw."\nSenior Aarik Wilson also had an impressive weekend by qualifying for the NCAA Championships in both the long jump and triple jump events. Sophomore John Jefferson also made the cut in the 1500-meter event, as he finished second in his heat and fifth overall with a 3:48.05 finish. \nOverall, both the Hoosier teams said they are happy with the performance they displayed at the event.\n"It was a very, very good meet for both the men and women," women's head coach Randy Heisler said. "Rachelle Boone, Danielle Carruthers were tremendous, and Ara Towns stepped up big time as well. Audrey Giesler qualified in the steeplechase. That's great"
(05/22/03 1:36am)
Andretti, Foyt and Unser -- three surnames that will be burned forever into the memories of Indianapolis 500 fans all over the world -- will be in the starting lineup of the 87th running of the Indy 500 Sunday. \nMichael Andretti, who is retiring after this season, will be starting from the 13th position. In total, Andretti has driven in 13 races, finished in the top-five four times and led the field in 398 total laps, but never the final one. Such disappointment has been an enigma of sorts for his family, as four Andretti's have seen the green flag, but only Michael's father Mario officially saw the checkered one in 1969. Technically, Mario had another win in 1981 for four months before the decision was overturned and the title was given to Bobby Unser, who allegedly illegally passed other drivers during a yellow flag. There has been a friendly rivalry throughout the racing history of these two storied racing families.\n"I think we've been friendly rivals," Mario Andretti said. "I think we both respect each other and always loved racing against each other."\nAl Unser Jr., one of six drivers in the family to compete in the race, is the son of the second four-time Indy 500 winner, Al Unser, and nephew of three-time winner Bobby Unser. In this year's race, Unser Jr. will attempt to add a third Borg-Warner trophy to his own collection. The Unsers as a family have made a combined 70 starts and have amassed nine race wins. \nUnser Jr., who is returning to prominence after bouts of alcoholism and a brush with the law, will be starting in the 17th position. Unser Jr. won in the 1992 and 1994 races as a part of the Penske racing juggernaut that has captured 12 total victories. \nWhile Unser Jr. is no longer a part of the Penske organization, he said he is confident that he will be ready for this year's race.\n"All in all, it's been a good month for the Corteco team," Unser Jr. said. "My guys on the Corteco team just do a great job. We'll be ready come race day." \nWhile Andretti and Unser Jr. are veterans, A.J. Foyt IV is a rookie. Foyt IV, grandson of the first four-time Indy 500 winner, A.J. Foyt Jr., barely made the cut on the first day of qualifying after a spin nearly sent the 18-year-old rookie into the wall. Foyt IV will be starting from the 23rd position. Interestingly, Unser Jr. is the oldest driver on the field at a ripe 41 years old while Foyt IV is the youngest, as he will turn 19 Sunday. \nWhile Foyt IV has crashed three times in preparation for this race, his grandfather said it wasn't Foyt IV's fault.\n"When it first happened and I saw he was OK, I got on him pretty hard," Foyt Jr. said after Foyt IV crashed during Friday's practice. "Then when I came back to the garage and saw the setup sheet, there was no way he couldn't have wrecked. I feel bad for him because the three accidents here this month weren't his fault."\nOf course, legacies are not the only drivers entering the field, as four other former winners will also be vying for the coveted bottle of milk. Kenny Brack, 1999 winner, will be joined by 1996 victor Buddy Lazier, and two-time defending champion Helio Castroneves has the pole and will try to become the only driver to ever "three-peat" the race.\nWhile Castroneves has appeared in only two races, he is actually part of yet another storied legacy. Castroneves is driving for Penske Racing and the infamous Roger Penske. As a team, Penske Racing has captured 12 Indy 500s and 12 total pole positions from five drivers, including Unser Jr. and Bobby Unser. Penske drivers have won from the pole five times, including three of Rick Mears' four Indy 500 wins in 1979, 1988 and 1991; Bobby Unser's 1981 win and Unser Jr.'s 1994 win. Actually, a Penske Racing driver has captured four of the last Indy 500s the team has competed in with Emerson Fittipaldi's win in 1993, Unser Jr.'s in 1994 and both of Castroneves' wins.\nWith so many legacies and past winners in this year's field, many drivers said they believe this is one of the best Indy 500 fields in years.\n"It's going to be extremely hard to win this race, because everyone who is in the race is very equal," Unser said. "The quality of the teams and drivers is the best it's been in years"
(05/20/03 9:41pm)
Rain. The bane of the existence of Indianapolis 500 racers and teams struck again this weekend and took away valuable practice time from teams that could not make it into the field during the May 11 Qualification Day. \nFor some race teams, their final chance to get into the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing" during Bump Day suffered Sunday because of the showers.\nRobby McGehee, the 1999 Indy rookie of the year with a fifth-place finish, was the next-to-last qualifier on Sunday, earning a spot in the lineup with a four-lap average of 224.493 mph for Panther Racing. \nBilly Boat also managed to qualify for his seventh Indianapolis 500 on Sunday with a solid average speed of 225.598 mph, avoiding the possibility of an unprecedented three-peat as the slowest starter in the field. He'll take the green flag for the race from the 29th position, the middle of the 10th row. Instead of Boat, Airton Dare took the final qualification spot with a 223.609 mph speed.\n"You love to come here. Even when it kicks you in the stomach, you just keep coming back. This place has so much emotion, so much history," Boat said. "Even as cruel as this place can be, you still want to come back. I know what it was like when I sat on the pole; I can only imagine what it would be like to win the race. That's why you keep coming back."\nTwo-time defending Indy 500 champion Helio Castroneves holds the pole for the May 25 race with a 231.725 mph qualifying speed, which is the best since the introduction of the specialized Indy Racing League (IRL) chassis and motors in 1997. \nWhile there is no chance of taking Castroneves' top spot, many prominent drivers, including 1996 Championship Auto Racing Teams champion Jimmy Vasser, did not manage to make it into the field during Qualification Day.\n"It was a little frustrating not getting out (Saturday)," Vasser said prior to Bump Day. "We wanted to get a little bit of qualifying setups ready for Sunday. But I think we can do that on Sunday morning. I think we have a good race car right now. And the qualifying setup should be pretty fast, too."\nThere is also some drama amongst teams that have already qualified for the event, as two-time Indy 500 winner Al Unser Jr. brushed the wall Friday during practice.\n"We were just trying to get the car right, and I got a little high getting into Turn 2 and got into the marbles and tapped the fence. It put an end to our day," Unser said. "We were out doing a long run and got in just a little bit high and couldn't get it back down. It is a long month at the Speedway, but I think you need it because you get the best out of your team, the best out of your race car and the best 33-car lineup on Race Day." \nUnser, who is returning to prominence after bouts of bad publicity concerning his battle with alcoholism and his arrest in 2002 for allegedly hitting his girlfriend, has qualified for the No. 17 position in the race. After years of disappointment, Unser currently sits at sixth in IRL standings and has finished in the top-five in his last two races.\nWhile Unser has been working to regain some of the racing notoriety he enjoyed during the 1990s, Castroneves is right in the middle of his hey-day. Castroneves, affectionately known as Spider-Man for climbing of the fence after each of his Indy 500 wins, said he is relishing the opportunity to become the first driver since its inception in 1911 to take the race three years in a row. \n"It's an opportunity of a lifetime," Castroneves said. "I'm just not going to get frustrated or upset if nothing happens. If we did it twice, why not another one? 2003, my car is No. 3, going for (win) No. 3. Oh my God. If you're superstitious, things are really looking good."\nCastroneves is the first driver since Al Unser in 1971 to shoot for three in a row. The only other drivers to take back-to-back 500's are Bill Vukovich, Mauri Rose and Wilbur Shaw during the 1950's and earlier.\nThe Associated Press contributed to this story.
(05/09/03 5:31am)
Three leaders, three positions and three people will be greatly missed by the IU softball team as they walk across the plank into the real world Saturday and out of their college sports careers. Senior Heather Suca, a 4-foot 9-inch shortstop who never crouched to make her strike zone smaller, senior Katie Joy, who improved her game immensely and brightened the morale of the team and senior Stormy Hanson, who aimed, typically with success, at the fences from the batter's box will graduate after this season.\nThroughout the season, Suca displayed a game that was much larger than her short stature. She finished just 11 points shy of a .200 batting average, stole seven bases in nine attempts and amassed seven RBIs. \nSuca's teammates said she also had a team-first attitude. \n"Because of the team's need for Suca to sacrifice herself this year, she has been tested on and off the field," coach Sara Hayes said. "It is her tenacity and heart that allowed us to ask her to fill this void. When it comes to Suca, size does matter -- she has a huge heart."\nThis attitude was displayed by a team-leading total of 10 sacrifice bunts throughout the season.\nStarting in each of IU's 50 games, Joy finished the season with a .189 batting average, eight RBIs and sent two balls over the fence. She also was the team leader in outfield assists throughout the 2003 campaign. \nThis season was also a great improvement for Joy, as her batting average rose 41 points and her on-base percentage rose 76 points since last season. \n"Katie has had a career year," Hayes said. "She has found the self-confidence which has given her the ability to show those around her that she can play this game at a high level."\nOff the field, Joy has also earned Academic All-Big Ten honors on top of sweeping improvements in her game skills.\nSenior Stormy Hanson has reached an unprecedented level of play in her final season in an IU uniform. Coming off of a banner-season in 2002, finishing with a .355 batting average and notching seven home runs, Hanson was hard-pressed to improve upon such a showing. But she pulled it off with a .382 batting average, amassed 12 home runs, and sported a .750 slugging percentage -- 134 points better than her previous total. Such production has put Hanson's name into the IU record books, as she ranks among the top 10 on IU's single-season lists in batting average, home runs, slugging percentage and RBIs. \n"(Hanson) is my idol," junior Heather Stillians said. "She works hard for herself and for everyone that is affected by her actions. Stormy doesn't settle for anything less than No. 1, and in my opinion she has succeeded."\nJunior Dawn Ramynke said that the trio class of 2003 brought more to them than their cumulative numbers could ever show.\n"They brought a higher level to the team; they expected more out of everyone," Ramynke said. "It was also an understanding. They understood where the underclassmen were coming from, but they expected us to perform."\nLosing such assets can be hard for any team, but the Hoosiers said they remain confident they will be able to withstand such a loss.\n"It's going to be difficult to go on without them because they were all key players in the game," Ramynke said. "I think we can fill their roles, but it's going to be hard to work without their charisma."\nWhile Hanson, Joy and Suca will be missed on the field, all three will help with incoming freshmen and training during the summer. Despite such contributions after their tenure in the cream and crimson, team members will still remember them as players.\n"I will really cherish the memories I had with them," junior Valerie White said. "I couldn't have chosen better people to be in the class ahead of me"
(05/05/03 5:16am)
The IU softball team ended up on the losing end of a 6-0 rout for Purdue's senior day, but the Hoosiers returned the favor to the Boilermakers with a 3-0 win Sunday. IU finished the season with a 19-31 record, which is actually the Hoosiers' best win total since the 1997 season when IU went 27-21. \nSunday's contest had both teams unable to send a runner across home base until the hosting Hoosiers decided to come alive for a two-run fourth inning, immediately followed by yet another run in the bottom of the fifth. The game was truly a team effort as five players added a hit to the cause while freshman Lauren Hines paced the team with two runs batted in off one home run.\nPrior to Sunday's win, the Hoosiers were unable to score a run while Purdue seemed not to be able to stop scoring. Junior Valerie White notched half of IU's offensive production with two hits. IU had a runner in scoring position without an out in the first two innings but dropped the ball on both occasions, leading to no runs off of four hits in the contest. Purdue began its rout in the third inning with three runs and later added to their lead with three more runs in the next two innings.\nSunday's win against Purdue also marks the end of seniors Stormy Hanson, Katie Joy and Heather Suca's careers. Hanson has been a consistent asset to the Hoosier softball team through her prowess at the plate, both as a catcher on the defensive end and a hitter. Hanson led IU in 11 offensive categories this year by logging a .382 batting average, paired with 12 home runs and 31 RBIs.\n"Stormy catapulted beyond the physical part of the game to become a great leader for Indiana softball," coach Sara Hayes said. "She used her maturity and ability to connect and communicate to combine her physical excellence with her ability to articulate her thoughts and visions."\nJoy started in a total of 122 games and recorded the first two home runs of her career this season and started in 50 games. \n"Her name speaks for itself, she is truly a joy to be around," junior Heather Stillians said. "I have never met anyone in my entire life that works as hard as she does. She is a mentor for many people, not only through athletics but in life as a whole."\nFinally Suca had a playing style that belied her \n4-foot-9-inch stature. Suca finished off the season with eight doubles, 14 walks and seven stolen bases. After graduating, Suca intends to pass on her game knowledge by becoming a high school teacher and softball coach. Suca's coaching philosophy will rely on one essential part of every sport: effort.\n"As a coach I would want my players to always give it their all," Suca said. "If you don't win a game but you try your hardest, that's fine, but always give it your all."\nWhile a 19-31 record is not an impressive one for most teams, the Hoosiers showed a lot of improvement.\n"I'm so impressed with their character," Hayes said. "The seniors learned how to finish. They deserved to succeed and they did. Before the season we began, we said that we wanted to play our finest game on the final day of the season. It's more theoretical than realistic. But the thing is, we did, in every phase of the game"
(05/05/03 5:12am)
While the Little 500 passed just over a week ago, some IU students had a completely different caliber of bicycle racing on their mind -- the Collegiate Cycling Nationals. Nationals are a three-day event that splits the competition into three events including road racing on a hilly 60-mile track, and student riders in the IU Cycling Club will be taking part. \nAnother change between the Little 500 and Nationals is the level of competition. No rider is barred from these races, so long as they are affiliated with a college. Also, the event is not only limited to college undergrads as riders seeking masters degrees and even doctorates can compete in the race.\n"For the collegiate race, you get all types of people," rider Jen Hawkins said. "There's grads, doctorates, there can be people in their 30s getting their doctorates and riding in the race. It's usually the best competition collegiate-wise all year."\nWith such a varied array of students in the event, there will be a high quality of competition. Senior rider and team president Jason Mount said he expects top talents. \n"We get the top echelon of riders out there," Mount said. "Some of those guys and girls are getting paid to race their bike, but going to school, everyone's a student. But that doesn't mean that you won't come across someone fast."\nNone of the events within Nationals are on a four-corner course like the Little 500 and all use a different, faster type of bicycle. \n"The road racing bikes we use in the Nationals weigh less, they have 15 to 19 more gears, and the speed is higher," Mount said. "Little 5 bikes are limited to 32-33 miles per hour and road bikes top out at well over 40."\nWhile riders don't consider Nationals to be harder than the Little 500, they both have tastes all their own.\n"The Nationals and the Little 5 are different from each other," junior Chris Vargo said. "There's a lot more luck involved in the Little 5. In the Nationals, there's professional riders and it's all the best collegiate cyclists in the nations."\nDespite tough competition from all different levels of students and cyclists, The IU Cycling Club is setting its sights high. Riders consider themselves to be among the top teams in the Midwest division.\n"We've all been training for a long time, there's been a lot of racing and training," Vargo said. "We would ultimately like to win and we're shooting for top five in the nation"
(04/30/03 5:48am)
April 26, 2003. This is a date that will be burned into the minds of the Hoosier faithful as it was the date the softball team snapped a 33-game long winless streak in the Big Ten. \nJust 48 hours short of making the winless streak exactly two years old, sophomore Ashley Griffiths brought some power to the plate and sent a ball over the left field fence in the seventh to steal a 5-4 decision from the Michigan State Spartans, ending the streak and sending the team into elation.\n"It was like a Toyota commercial, we were jumping up and down," coach Sara Hayes said. "We celebrated with ice cream afterwards and we're still in the process of absorbing the emotion from the win."\nThe last Big Ten conference win was a much different situation from the unbelievable win last Saturday. On April 28, 2001, IU pummeled Illinois 5-0, only to lead to 728 consecutive days of pain for the Hoosiers. Fittingly, it was with the same amount of offensive production that the Hoosiers finally ended the winless slide. While a shut-out would have been a little more satisfying for the team, a 5-4 win was just as good. \nIf there was any way to end a two year losing streak, it was with a powerful home run, and that is exactly what Griffiths gave to her team and the IU fans. Facing Michigan State's junior hurler Jessica Beech, who came into the match-up with an impressive 21-7 record, Griffiths only took one pitch to decide to send it over the fence. \n"It was over the plate about waist high and as a first-pitch hitter I jumped on it," Griffiths said after the Spartans game. "I thought it was gone when it left the bat and saw it go over the fence when I was rounding first base."\nHowever, Griffiths' home run wasn't the only act of Hoosier heroics as the team managed to battle back from a 4-0 deficit in the top of the fifth inning. It did not take long for IU to take away the lead as the Hoosiers matched Michigan State's score in the bottom of same inning, and took the game with one out in the bottom of the seventh, breaking down to five runs of production in only three innings of action.\n"I just feel really good for (seniors) Katie Joy and Bubba (Heather Suca) and for the rest of the team," senior catcher Stormy Hanson said after the decision. "At least now we know we can win in the Big Ten."\nAfter coming within one pitch of snapping the streak against the Wisconsin Badgers just three weeks ago, the team said it was like a giant weight was lifted off of their chests. \n"It's amazing. It's a monkey off of our backs," Hayes said. "We're loose and enjoying it and trying to soak up every emotion."\nAfter taking the win against MSU, the Hoosiers went on to suffer 9-1 and 9-0 losses at the hands of the Michigan Wolverines. While the rest of the weekend proved to be not as lucrative for the Hoosiers, Hayes said she is simply looking at the win as a building block for the softball program's future, both coming into the last two games of the season against Purdue and into future years.\n"We're going to go get Purdue. The team has a lot of confidence now," she said. "They know the sense of urgency. It's our season in a weekend. We're going to bring our passion, and enthusiasm, and next year, we'll make it bigger"
(04/26/03 11:33pm)
Kappa Alpha Theta won the women's Little 500 race with a 1:10:25 time while the Roadrunners and Kappa Delta teams finished out the top three.\nThe race came down to the final lap, where Kappa Alpha Theta, who started out of the sixth position, sprinted for the win. \nSophomore rider Nicole Vincent started the 100th and final lap just over a bike length behind the leading Roadrunners rider. \nBut, midway through the lap, Vincent began a closing sprint, overtaking first place and winning by a large margin.\nThe Roadrunners came in second, followed by Kappa Delta, Kappa Kappa Gamma and Teter.\nFor full results, click here
(04/25/03 5:47am)
The Hoosier faithful were granted one last chance to see Tom Coverdale's fiery hair and ball-handling expertise, one last chance to see Kyle Hornsby's throwback crew cut and spot-shooting prowess, and one last chance to see Jeff Newton's 6-feet-9-inch frame, dunking and all-around skills here in Bloomington. \nThe seniors from the Hoosier basketball team are currently taking part in a 15 game Barnstorming Tour that will have them playing exhibition games all over the state. Just six games into their tour, the IU players took their last shots in a Bloomington gym at the Bloomington High School South gym Thursday.\nThe game itself had a more noble cause than simply displaying their skills. The players said they looked at the Barnstorming Tour as an expression of gratitude for the fans that have supported them throughout their careers.\n"It's been a blast; it really has," Hornsby said. "I've had a lot of fun with it, and I've experienced more than 99 percent of college athletes ever experience, and I'm grateful for it."\nIf the fans wanted to see a shoot-out, they got what they wanted as both teams drilled a combined 45 three-point shots with 24 falling from behind the arc in the first half alone. Such shooting from three-point land led to a high-scoring 137-114 win for Damon Bailey's team over the Hoosier Heat.\nSurprisingly it was not a member of Bailey's squad that led the scoring. Hoosier Heat player, former Bloomington High School South stand-out and University of North Carolina walk-on, Jon Holmes paced the offensive shoot-out with 27 total points off of seven three-pointers. Coverdale closely followed with 25 points, while Hornsby and Newton closely followed with 20 and 17 points, respectively. Newton hit two three-pointers of his own while entertaining the fans with two alley-oop reverse dunks for good measure. The former Hoosier mainstay Bailey also added 19 points of his own to the 23 point rout.\nHowever the numbers weren't the concern in the eyes of the players. Instead the focus of the game was to entertain the fans wanting to see the three players playing in Bloomington for the last time. With five minutes left in the second half, Coverdale decided to spice things up a bit by changing jerseys and even hitting a three pointer while playing for the Hoosier Heat. When asked why he would defect in the middle of the game, Coverdale said he only had one thing in mind: fun.\n"We had planned it before the game," Coverdale said. "So that I could play with my old teammates, it was just for fun."\nAll three of the Hoosier seniors said that they are grateful for the support that Bloomington has given them throughout their careers and that the Barnstorming Tour was just a chance to give back to the fans that loved them.\n"It's been fun. It's been real," Newton said. "I'm glad I got the chance to come out to entertain and play in front of the fans and give them a chance to see me play in person and show them a good time."\nWhile Coverdale, Hornsby and Newton's time in Bloomington is over, the Barnstorming Tour will go on for another nine games over the next two weeks to give fans a few more shots at seeing the Hoosier seniors in action. \nIn all of their experiences through four years of Division I college basketball, the run to the Final Four sticks out in the seniors' minds.\n"What (Bloomington) did last year is going to always be with me," Newton said. "They packed Assembly Hall even when we weren't there. They filled the streets when we won, and that will always be at the top of my head."\nWhile leaving Bloomington will be hard on them, all three seniors have come to grips with the fact that their tenure here in Bloomington is over.\n"I wish I had one more year to play, but there's nothing I can do about it," Coverdale said. "I wish I could play forever at Indiana, but it had to come to an end sometime"
(04/23/03 6:00am)
After IU took a hard-fought 3-2 defeat in the first game, the Aces were high throughout the second contest. The Evansville Aces, that is.\nEvansville scored eight runs out of 14 hits and played flawless defense by amassing no errors and not allowing a single crimson jersey across home plate. After such a fall-off, IU was not happy with its game.\n"It's almost embarrassing for us to play as flat as we do at times, and to not execute, and do some of the things that we do for other games or when we're playing other teams," coach Sara Hayes said. "We're going to continue to fight, and hopefully we'll bring what we had in the first game to the games we have left."\nKeeping in line with the their coach's sentiment, the Hoosiers said they dropped the ball in the second contest.\n"We played really well the first game and we didn't carry that into the second game," junior Valerie White said. "They came out with a lot of fire and we had a few bad innings, and that went on to a bad game."\nSophomore pitcher Katie Witham gave up five runs off of eight hits in only 1 1/3 innings of action. Luckily for the Hoosiers, freshman Megan Roark relieved Witham and calmed the Evansville bats down, amassing seven strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings of action. Roark kept the Purple Aces scoreless until the top of the sixth when the Evansville bats awoke to add three more runs to the score and bring the eight-run mercy rule into effect. \nEvansville sophomore Casey Clutch came away with the win, bringing her to 9-8 on the year while Witham's record dropped to 6-12.\nOn the IU side, the Hoosiers could only muster four hits and no runs. IU's leading hitter was White, who amassed two hits. On the defensive end, mistakes continued to plague IU as the Hoosiers amassed three costly errors. Fielding errors is a problem that the Hoosiers plan to address before Big Ten action begins again Friday, Hayes said.\n"We played a little distracted today, we didn't handle things well, we didn't compete very well, when something happens, we tend to get outside of ourselves, and we tend to get errors," Hayes said. "This team does that, and I think that's what we can attribute those errors to, that we were a little distracted."\nThe first game of the twin bill saw the Hoosiers in better form as they came away with a close 3-2 win. Evansville struck right off the bat by scoring a run off of two hits in the top of the first. The Hoosiers answered back with a lead-off double by White in the bottom of the inning, and reached third with a sacrifice bunt by senior Heather Suca. \nSenior Stormy Hanson then singled to third base and promptly stole second, placing both runners in scoring position. Junior Abby Stark stepped up to the plate and captured a single, scoring both White and Hanson. Stark came away with only one run batted in, because of an error by the Evansville centerfielder. \nIU added another run in the bottom of the fifth with a bases-loaded walk to up its lead to 3-1. The Purple Aces proved they would not go out without a fight in the top of the seventh with a two-out rally that pulled Evansville within one run. However, the rally was not enough, as IU took the decision 3-2. \nJunior Heather Stillians pitched a complete game and came away with the win, improving her record to 8-14.\nWhile the day was tough on the morale of the Hoosiers, the team is looking ahead to the upcoming conference games this weekend, when IU travels to Michigan State and Michigan.\n"I'm disappointed that we lost so badly in the second game, but we have to keep ourselves up for Michigan," Roark said. "They are going to be tough so we have to start thinking about them and getting mentally prepared"