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(11/04/10 12:04am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Ghostland Observatory’s best studio work essentially serves as fodder for the band’s stage shows. “Codename: Rondo,” its fourth album, magnifies this trend by showing how strong the band’s crowd-pleasing numbers are and how misguided the more eclectic work can be.Tracks such as “Give Me the Beat” and “Miracles” would sound at home on past efforts, sporting infectious synth-driven rhythms and Aaron Behrens’ sing-a-long lyrics that will deservedly make them live-show staples.When the band takes only baby steps outside its comfort zone, it grows and evolves its sound the way it should. “Mama” presents foreboding instrumentation then slathers on eerily majestic vocals that call to mind “Bohemian Rhapsody.” The combination works beautifully and makes it the standout track on the album.However, the band got greedy, and nearly half the record is filled with unsuccessful, overly ambitious songs that would seem, at the very least, problematic for live shows, most notably the unbearably pretentious title track. These ultimately make this an album with “Mama,” other solid danceable highlights, awful experimental low points and no middle ground.
(10/28/10 5:01am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>An overtime clash at heavyweight capped a number of close matches as the Hoosier wrestlers debuted to the public Wednesday in their annual intrasquad scrimmage.“Mainly I just wanted them to be aggressive,” IU coach Duane Goldman said. “It’s very difficult to wrestle your teammates in this kind of a setting. I wanted them to try to overlook that and be aggressive. It was good to finally get some competition so we know what to work on.”Most of the matches were fairly close, with only two major decisions by senior Paul Young and junior Matt Powless, a technical fall by senior Eric Cameron and the rest of the matches ending in decisions.None, though, were closer than the evening’s final match at heavyweight between senior Ricky Alcala, in his first appearance since transferring from California-Davis, and junior Joe Fagiano, making his debut at heavyweight after previously wrestling at 197 pounds. After ending regulation tied 1-1, Alcala broke the tie with an escape and needed only to keep Fagiano down for 30 seconds to prevail. However, he intentionally let Fagiano up and looked for a takedown. It was Fagiano, however, who got a subsequent takedown before time expired and emerged the victor.Other highlights included Young’s debut at 157 pounds and wins by freshmen Zach Zimmer at 125 pounds and Mitchell Richey at 141 pounds against more experienced competition.“I think I did well,” Young said. “I cut weight right. It felt good. I was a little nervous for my first time being down at that weight, but recouped well. I was content, never satisfied.”The team officially opens its season Nov. 13 in the Michigan State Open.
(10/28/10 4:12am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>An overtime clash at heavyweight capped a number of close matches as the Hoosier wrestlers debuted to the public Wednesday in their annual intrasquad scrimmage.“Mainly I just wanted them to be aggressive,” IU coach Duane Goldman said. “It’s very difficult to wrestle your teammates in this kind of a setting. I wanted them to try to overlook that and be aggressive. It was good to finally get some competition so we know what to work on.”Most of the matches were fairly close affairs, with only two major decisions by senior Paul Young and junior Matt Powless, a technical fall by senior Eric Cameron and the rest of the matches ending in decisions.None, though, were closer than the evening’s final match at heavyweight between senior Ricky Alcala, in his first appearance since transferring from California-Davis, and junior Joe Fagiano, making his debut at heavyweight after previously wrestling at 197 pounds. After ending regulation tied 1-1, Alcala broke the tie with an escape and needed only to keep Fagiano down for 30 seconds to prevail. However, he intentionally let Fagiano up and looked for a takedown. It was Fagiano, however, who got a subsequent takedown before time expired and emerged the victor.Other highlights included Young’s debut at 157 pounds and wins by true freshmen Zach Zimmer at 125 pounds and Mitchell Richey at 141 pounds against more experienced competition.“I think I did well,” Young said. “I cut weight right. It felt good. I was a little nervous for my first time being down at that weight, but recouped well. I was content, never satisfied.”The team officially opens its season Nov. 13 in the Michigan State Open.
(10/27/10 1:48am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>With the season rapidly approaching, many Hoosier wrestlers said they have high hopes of landing a spot in next spring’s NCAA tournament.First though, they must clinch a spot on their own team.“Pretty much all of our classes are pretty open,” IU wrestling coach Duane Goldman said. “We have some favorites. We have some NCAA qualifiers back that should feel as if they have ownership to their weight, but we’ll probably have a wrestle-off at virtually every weight with some decent guys — some young guys coming up and some guys looking to make the starting lineup for the first time.”There will be a new name at 125 pounds for the Hoosiers where, for the first time in five years, former national champion Angel Escobedo will not be taking the mat. The struggle to replace him appears to be a three-man race between redshirt freshman Justin Brooks and true freshmen Zach Zimmer and Joe Duca.Brooks and Zimmer will compete against each other in today’s intrasquad scrimmage at 7 p.m. in Assembly Hall.“(I have been) doing a lot of work outside the room and not letting a whole lot of people know about it, not letting other guys know that I‘m trying to get a step ahead of them,” Brooks said. “I think I’m capable of becoming an All-American.”While the outcome might factor into who starts for dual matches, Goldman said he chooses his lineups based primarily on real match results as opposed to wrestle-offs.“The way we conduct our wrestle-offs, honestly, they don’t determine our starting lineup,” Goldman said. “Our wrestle-offs are basically just a match to establish a little bit of a pecking order and get them in a competitive mode. We really gauge our lineup by how they do in actual competition. The final lineup is not going to be determined in the intrasquad by any means.”More important in determining the dual lineup will be early-season tournaments where the Hoosiers can enter their entire team to better compare one wrestler to another through common opponents or matchups with their teammates.“Typically by the time you go through all of those things, it gets to be pretty clear-cut,” Goldman said. “When we start getting into our dual meets, you want to know what your lineup is going to be, so you can put your best guys out there.”Sophomore Geno Capezio said he hopes to be among that group. He began last season at 133 pounds before moving up to 141 pounds for the Big Ten tournament.“There’s tough guys at my weight,” Capezio said. “I got a little taste of what it is like to start and feel like I got an advantage over these guys. I want to be the starter at this weight. Once you get to be in the big tournament, you want to be there again. I didn’t do very well last year, so I feel like I’ve got some unfinished business.”Capezio is competing with senior Alex Warren and freshmen Mitchell Richey and Ryan Niemann for the starting spot at 141 pounds this season. Capezio will wrestle Richey in the scrimmage.“I feel like I’m always in good condition, and I work hard to get better at some of my skills,” Capezio said. “I stayed here all summer to try to work on that, to make sure this year I’m more prepared. I want to work to get that qualifying spot for nationals. It’s a tough road. You’ve got to beat a lot of people.”Wrestlers will get a three-pound allowance for the scrimmage tonight, as many are still working their way down to their weights for the season. There will be one match at each weight. Preliminary matches were conducted over the past week to determine the two wrestlers in each weight for tonight.“We put everyone in the wrestle-off situation,” Goldman said. “Even if they win, it’s not really a determination that they’ll be our guy. We’ll go through some of those early-season tournaments and see how they do in actual competition and see how they do against guys on the national level and make the decision there.”
(09/23/10 12:15am)
WEEKEND suggests fifteen great underground artists
(09/22/10 11:55pm)
WEEKEND runs down fifteen unappreciated gems
(05/13/10 4:09pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>On “Heaven is Whenever,” their first record since the departure of mustached piano man Franz Nicolay, The Hold Steady showcase a variety of sounds that essentially serve a test for the group’s future direction.The slow-building opener, “The Sweet Part of the City,” contrasts previous albums that open with rollicking anthems that set the tone early. The song fails to go where it feels like it should. Something constantly feels missing — perhaps Nicolay’s inspired keyboards. Such is the case with several tracks on the album, especially “We Can Get Together.”The album’s sound wanders both to old (the “Separation Sunday” — like “Our Whole Lives”) and unexpected (the terrific “Barely Breathing,” featuring a clarinet solo) territory, but the band is best when sticking to what defined their previous work: anthemic choruses punctuated by reflective lyrics. “Hurricane J” and “The Weekenders” stand with the band’s best work and offer promise that the band’s future will not be too different from the past — just with less facial hair.
(05/07/10 1:44am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The underhand tennis serve traditionally has only factored in instructional lessons for children, but on Feb. 8, 2003, it was the serve that clinched a victory for the IU women’s tennis team in a close 4-3 contest with Marquette.Karie Schlukebir, senior team captain, had missed the preceding week after a recurrence of melanoma on her arm. Expected to miss an indefinite amount of time, she was only away five days before asking IU coach Lin Loring if she could play in the team’s weekend match against Marquette.“She told me she was going to play,” Loring said. “She couldn’t lift her arm above chest-high, but she assured me she could win serving underhand. I called (her father) John, who talked to the doctors, who all said if she wants to do it, go for it.”And she did, splitting the first two sets. Meanwhile, it became increasingly apparent her match would decide which team came away victorious. The Hoosiers held a narrow 3-2 lead, but the remaining match threatened to go to the Eagles at any time. Luckily, Schlukebir took the decisive set 6-2.“In a script out of the movies, the entire match came down to Karie’s court and the deciding match serving underhand,” Loring said. “As her teammates ran across the court to give her hugs, she just looked over at me and smiled.”***Unfortunately, Schlukebir was unable to keep winning her battles, as she lost her fight to melanoma Jan. 16, 2009. She was only 29 years old. She leaves behind a legacy not only as a great tennis player, but also as someone who had an impact on everyone she crossed paths with. To her college coach, Schlukebir remains the model of the type of athlete he wants to coach.“Her legacy is the never-give-up attitude that she brought to the team,” Loring said. “She just loved to play, loved her teammates and loved Indiana University and everything about it. She was the perfect Indiana University student-athlete.”Schlukebir’s memory will be preserved through the Schlukebir Award, a fund created by the IU athletic department. The fund will be used for scholarships, as well as potentially naming a tennis court or facility in her name. “That would really hit home for her,” Katie Schock, Schlukebir’s sister, said. “Her story will continue. Her love of the game and her legacy and her cancer survivorship for years and years will probably touch more people for years. I think she would be flattered by that.”***Born in Kalamazoo, Mich., in 1980, Schlukebir was destined to play tennis. Most of her family, including her two sisters and her mother, Kathy, took up the game and excelled at it. “I have three daughters who are tennis players,” John Schlukebir said. “It came naturally for her. My wife was a tennis pro and worked at a local tennis facility here in Kalamazoo. She had been a tennis player. It was natural for the girls to play tennis.”Karie Schlukebir also excelled in softball as a pitcher, but due to overlapping seasons she chose to concentrate solely on tennis when she was 12. “I had an opportunity to work with (my daughters) myself,” Kathy Schlukebir said. “When they got older, then they found another pro that I thought they worked harder for.” Kathy Schlukebir believed that playing in tournaments across the country and getting into nationals every year helped Karie Schlukebir develop a national ranking and get her scholarship to IU. Karie Schlukebir was not originally recruited by IU, as Notre Dame had long held the top spot on her list of schools. But her plans changed when the Irish gave their final scholarship offer to another player. “She actually recruited us,” Loring said. “She called one day and asked if we had a scholarship left. She had made her five official visits and didn’t really like any of the schools and wanted to know if she could drive down from Michigan for an unofficial visit. She was a good singles player, a good doubles player, a good student and a really nice person who I knew would be a good fit for the team.”The next year, Karie Schlukebir participated in recruiting from the other side, convincing Linda Tran, a highly recruited player, good friend and former rival, to sign with IU.“We met when we were about eight or nine years old playing tennis,” Tran said. “We’re both from Michigan. Our coaches were friends so we trained together. ... We would see each other as much as we could, and that’s where we built our friendship.”Karie Schlukebir and Tran would go on to form one of the most-decorated doubles pairs in school history.However, Karie Schlukebir was more than just a successful tennis player, serving as team captain for two years and as a member of the 2004 Big Ten Champion team. “She brought a great attitude, work ethic and was a great teammate to everyone,” Loring said. “She was a great team leader. She had the respect and love of all her teammates. My fondest memories are of how much fun she was to have on the team. She had a great sense of humor and made everyone around her smile. Her attitude and work ethic definitely rubbed off on the team.”***Karie Schlukebir got the news early in her freshman season. A biopsy from a removed mole on her shoulder came back positive for Stage 3 melanoma. Her family broke the news to her after an early-season match against Western Michigan in her hometown of Kalamazoo.“After her match, we brought her over to my dad’s office and told her what the diagnosis was, and that the biopsy had come back,” Schock said. “As Karie always was, she was very calm, never overreacting in any way. Calm, but obviously scared and worried and nervous but also very proactive. She said, ‘What do we do now? What do I do? What’s the action plan?’”“That’s how she was throughout the whole cancer,” Schock said. “Whether she had good news or bad news, she said, ‘What do we do now?’ If she had good news, it was, ‘What do we do to keep it going?’ If we got bad news, it was, ‘What are we going to do? What’s the plan?’ She was very calm, never panicky, but inside, probably very, very scared.”The news soon spread to the team as Karie Schlukebir left to begin chemotherapy.“I was stunned,” Loring said. “You don’t think of that happening to someone so young. My next thought was, ‘How can we help Karie get through this?’”Karie Schlukebir and the team kept in close contact during her time away, often sending letters and packages and even making the occasional visit. “I remember when Karie first went to California for treatment for cancer, and she was back home. Lin actually brought the whole tennis team and Karie’s roommate up on the team bus to visit her,” John Schlukebir said. “It was January, and it was nasty weather. They almost got stuck at our house.”But throughout her battle with cancer in college, Karie Schlukebir always maintained one goal: to get back on the team.“Tennis was always there, the driving force for her to continue,” Schock said. “She always wanted to come back. There was no questioning her mind while she was going through this that if it was a success, that she was going to come back if all the rules were met. ... As a person, as a sister, as a player, you can’t ask for more than that. It was a no-brainer for her. She wanted to come back. She never gave up. One of her loves is to play.”***After Karie Schlukebir’s career at IU ended, she continued to lead an active lifestyle despite her cancer.“She always liked to stay fit,” Kathy Schlukebir said. “She always ran through high school. She loved working out and staying fit. When she exercised, I think it was a relief from the cancer, which had to always be in her mind. It was an outlet from thinking about that 24/7.”Tennis also remained a part of Karie Schlukebir’s life as she worked as an assistant coach at Florida International University, until her coaching career was cut short by another recurrence of melanoma.Before the melanoma returned, Karie Schlukebir trained for and ran in the 2007 Traverse City marathon along with her then-boyfriend and future husband Joe Pennock. Later, in 2009, she had the opportunity to run in the Boston Marathon to raise funds for the Shade Foundation, a nonprofit group seeking to educate children about the dangers of melanoma and sun exposure. “It takes a lot of discipline, and I think her ultimate goal when running marathons was just to finish,” Schock said. “Not to prove anyone wrong, not to prove that she could do it. Once she finished Traverse City, she got the challenge of running Boston, which is probably one of the hardest, if not the hardest, marathons not only to get into but to finish.”“Her goal was to finish,” Schock said. “It wasn’t a certain time. It was an internal challenge for her, one to get her mind off of cancer issues. Running can get your mind off things.”Now that she has died, her family hopes her legacy goes beyond just sports.The Schlukebir family believes she would also want to be remembered in another way: by people taking better care of their skin, using sunscreen, and visiting the dermatologist.“She would want people to continue to monitor their skin and make sure things are under control,” Schock said. “I think she’d be happy if she saved one life, and hopefully numerous lives. I think what she would ultimately want is with her unfortunate circumstances, fewer people would be afflicted with melanoma.”Even for people who already have melanoma, Karie Schlukebir served as proof that one can fight the disease with the right care and attitude. “It’s hard to explain what your body goes through,” Schock said. “Nobody knows except her. I saw what her body dwindled into. She came back and she accomplished wonderful things.”
(02/22/10 3:15am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>She was there for the 0-7 loss in 2007, the 3-4 decision in 2008 and another 0-7 defeat last year. In her time at IU, senior captain Lindsey Stuckey had never been on the winning side of the Hoosiers’ annual tilt with the Tennessee Lady Vols. That changed Sunday. “I told the team before the match, ‘I have to beat Tennessee once in my four years here and I’m in my senior year,’” Stuckey said. “My first two years we played them pretty tight and then last year we just didn’t have the same momentum. I’m really happy we got away with the win.” And what a win it was. The No. 37 Hoosiers, fresh off a 5-2 win against Kentucky on Saturday, dropped only the No. 1 singles match to the No. 10 Lady Vols, coming away with a 6-1 victory that ranks among the biggest in recent program history. Beginning the match with a 1-0 lead thanks to Tennessee’s forfeit of the doubles point, the Hoosiers faced long odds in doubles.Actions spoke louder than numbers once play was underway, though. The No. 1 match remained close before IU finally fell 8-6. In No. 2 doubles, Stuckey and sophomore Evgeniya Vertesheva took a 6-3 lead and held on for an 8-5 victory against the No. 20 doubles pair in the country. The outcome in No. 3 doubles was never in doubt. Freshman Leslie Hureau and junior Charlotte Martin cruised to an 8-2 win to clinch the doubles point, a 2-0 lead and momentum heading into singles play.“I think once they won the doubles point, they knew that the pressure was now on Tennessee,” IU coach Lin Loring said. “All three of the really good programs we’ve beat this year — Wake Forest, Kentucky and now Tennessee — we’ve won the doubles point. That’s big for us.” Vertesheva and Hureau drew the two ranked Lady Vols in singles. Vertesheva fell 6-2, 6-1 to No. 7 Caitlin Whoriskey, but Hureau pulled an upset on No. 37 Maria Sorbello 6-3, 7-5 to make the team score 3-1. The Hoosiers were one win away from the upset. Enter junior Myriam Sopel. Playing No. 4 singles, she and Tennessee’s Zsofia Zubor each took a set before a third set ended in a 7-5 match-clinching win for Sopel. Stuckey tacked on a straight set win at No. 5 singles, and junior Katya Zapadalova upset Rosalia Alda for the final margin. The Hoosiers realize this win makes them a target for the rest of their opponents this season, starting with Oregon next Saturday at 11 a.m. “We just put a big bull’s eye on our back. I wouldn’t trade it, but we’re going to get everyone’s absolute best shot from here on out,” Loring said. “We’ve got to be ready every time out. We’ve got to be getting better. If we don’t get better, this is going to come back to haunt us.”
(01/22/10 5:52am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Despite missing two players, the IU women’s tennis team will play its
first road matches of the spring season Saturday. The team will travel
to Miami University (Ohio) for a 9:30 a.m. match, then relocate to Ball
State for a 6 p.m. contest.
“We went 4-3 with Miami last year,” IU coach Lin Loring said. “It was a
really close match that came down to the last match on the court. (They
are) one of the better MAC teams, like Western Michigan was. We’re
expecting a good match out of them.”
Loring expects the opening match to be more competitive than the team’s
afternoon tilt, but believes having the matches on the road will be
good preparation for the team.
“Both matches are going to be good because they’re on the road,” Loring
said. “We wanted a road trip early in the season. Normally we play
those teams early in the season, but I told those teams we’d come to
them this season because most of our matches in the whole month of
January are at home.”
Still missing from the team with injuries are junior Charlotte Martin
and sophomore Megan Matter. This leaves the Hoosiers with the minimum
of six players, meaning every healthy player will play two singles and
two doubles matches.
(11/06/09 4:59am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>With out-of-season time approaching, the women’s tennis team travels to Kalamazoo, Mich., this weekend for the Western Michigan University Super Challenge. The Challenge is the team’s last event of the fall season against other schools. “We know going in that everybody’s going to play three singles and three doubles. We just want to get the matches in,” coach Lin Loring said. “It’s just the last time – we can play matches until January. We go into what’s called our out-of-season time next week where we have limited contact with the players, so this will be the last matches that, as coaches, we’ll be allowed to be at until we start up the first week of school.”During the out-of-season time, the players and coaches can only work together for eight hours a week, two on the court and six doing strength and conditioning training. Regular practices resume at the beginning of the spring semester. Their first matches of the spring team season are on Jan. 17 in Bloomington against Western Michigan and Butler. For now, though, Loring and the team remain focused on the upcoming matches in Kalamazoo against competition including Iowa State, Illinois, Notre Dame, DePaul, Louisville and Western Michigan. The Hoosiers will play three teams in singles and three other teams in doubles, but no team scores will be kept. “This is our last chance to see them in a competitive situation, which is important because that’s where you really learn what you need to work on in practice, because everybody looks good in practice,” Loring said. “The good things and the bad things come out in competition. It’s our last chance to see them in a competitive situation, and for them and us to know what we need to emphasize in November and December.”
(10/26/09 3:29am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Hoping to use the event as an opportunity to gain experience against previously unseen competition, the women’s tennis team competed this weekend in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Ohio Valley Regional Tournament. Three players advanced as far as the round of 16 in singles play. Junior Myriam Sopel, freshman Leslie Hureau and sophomore Evgeniya Vertesheva each reached the third round before losing to highly-ranked competition from schools they had not played against before. Sopel upset the 16th seed, Jo-Ann Van Aerde from Louisville, in the first round, 4-6, 7-6, 6-0, then defeated Zsofia Zubor of the powerhouse Tennessee program in the second round 6-2, 6-4. She finally fell in the third round to the sixth-seeded Chelsea Preeg of Vanderbilt. “Our three players in the final 16 played very well today,” IU coach Lin Loring said. “Myriam’s win over Tennessee and her three-set loss to Vanderbilt might have been the best tennis she has played in her career. “ Vertesheva beat Tiffany Treece of Xavier and Tennessee’s Rosala Alda before falling to the tournament’s fifth seed, Megan Broderick of Kentucky. “Geniya had a great win over Tennessee in the morning against a player we have never beaten before,” Loring said. Hureau was the only seeded Hoosier in the singles draw, at the 10th spot. She won against Martha Peresetski of Wright State 6-4, 6-1 and Kelly Holtzhausen from East Tennessee State 6-0, 6-2 in the first two rounds. She lost a matchup with the tournament’s second overall seed, Vanderbilt’s Jackie Wu, in the third. “Leslie played near perfect tennis in her morning match and actually played very well against the No. 2 seed in the afternoon, although the score does not indicate that,” Loring said. The team’s next competition is the Western Michigan Invitational on Nov. 6 through 8 in Kalamazoo, Mich..
(10/23/09 2:52am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Two seasons ago, the women’s tennis team found itself with four freshmen on the roster, each from a different country.
Chemistry and camaraderie on the squad would not be simple given the
possible communication issues. In stepped then-sophomore Lindsey
Stuckey to help unite the team for its season and future.
Fast-forward to this year – Stuckey is now the lone senior and captain
on the team. She continues to strive to bring a geographically diverse
team together for the season ahead, junior Katya Zapadalova said.
“Right now she’s a captain, she’s a senior, and we all listen to her,”
Zapadalova said. “She knows what team atmosphere – team spirit – is.
She brings us together. She sets the goals for us. As a leader, she’s
great because she knows us well.”
Stuckey said she relishes the responsibilities that come with mentoring younger athletes.
“I like being the only senior on the team,” Stuckey said. “I have
everyone underneath me. It’s good to take on a leadership role. It’s
been a good experience.”
Traditionally, different classes on the women’s tennis team have their own responsibilities, IU coach Lin Loring said.
Sophomores are in charge of organizing birthday celebrations, juniors
design the next season’s uniforms and seniors serve as captains and the
line of communication between players and coaches.
Loring said Stuckey is ready for the duty.
“She’s seen it coming this year,” he said. “It’s not like it was thrust
upon her. She’s gone through the process and is in a position where
she’s ready to be our team leader.”
While she is the only senior, the four freshmen from two years ago are
now seasoned juniors and help to keep the team close-knit and running
smoothly, the coach said.
“Hopefully everyone on the team is a leader in some way,” Loring said.
“So I don’t think there is added pressure. We’ve got four juniors on
the team, so it’s not like she’s the only upperclassmen.”
Zapadalova said that she and the rest of the team have benefitted from
Stuckey’s leadership by example – her poise in particular.
“Watching her, she’s always really calm on the court, no matter what
the score,” she said. “She’s so calm. She can win, she can lose, but
her attitude will always stay the same.”
Stuckey hails from Greensboro, N.C. It is typically unusual for a
player from the South to play collegiate tennis in the Northwest.
However, Loring has recruited from the South, especially Florida, in
the past.
Stuckey also has family ties to the Big Ten and was drawn to IU by the Kelley School of Business.
“My parents are from the Midwest, so they were pushing me to come up
here,” she said. “Indiana’s a great school, and it has a great business
school and that’s what I’m studying right now. Overall it’s been a
really great experience, and if I could do it all over again, I would.”
After graduation, Stuckey plans to take a break from the sport but
expects she will miss it and return to the game before too long. Right
now, though, she is focused on ending her college career as best as she
can by leading a team with two new players and looking to improve from
last season.
“We have two new players this year who are both really solid players,”
she said, “and I think they will add a lot to the team in terms of our
performance as well as the team in general. I think we will have a
great year this year.”
(10/22/09 3:48am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU women’s tennis team travels this weekend to Cincinnati for the Ohio Valley Intercollegiate Tennis Association regional tournament. The event is a qualifier for the National Indoor Championship, which takes place Nov. 5 to 8 at Yale University. Despite the potential for players to qualify for the national tournament, IU coach Lin Loring views the regional tournament as an opportunity for players to gain experience in preparation for the spring season. He said he does not expect any IU players to reach the national level. “For me, this tournament is about getting some matches in,” Loring said. “There is only one winner.” In the team’s last tournament, the North Florida Invitational, several players never got the chance to compete. Loring said he hopes each player can play several times at the ITA regional. “We just need matches, especially after Jacksonville. Some of the players got no matches,” Loring said. “Everything in the fall is to get ready for the spring. Ideally, everybody will get three single and three doubles, and if they get more than that, great.” Loring said he believes the team will benefit from the realignment of regions that occurred for this year’s regional tournaments. In previous years, the Hoosiers played fellow Big Ten teams that they would already play at other points in the season. This year, their new region consists of teams from southern Indiana, southern Ohio, Tennessee and Kentucky. Loring is excited about the team facing different competition than what they are accustomed to. “It’s good for us because you get sick of seeing the Big Ten schools after a while,” Loring said. “Now, the only Big Ten schools in it are actually Purdue and us. We get to see a bunch of Kentucky and Tennessee schools, the powers being Kentucky, Vanderbilt and Tennessee. We play two of those schools
(10/13/09 1:41am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU Athletics Department’s Academic Resource Center, which provides free tutoring to all student athletes, is looking for new tutors. Any students, both graduate and undergraduate, as well as qualified members of the Bloomington community, can apply. “We have people in the community – former teachers, people who just want to stay involved – but mostly it’s graduate to undergraduate students that are the main pool of tutors,” said Michael Greene, an academic assistant who oversees the tutoring program. Because students are the majority of the tutors, the center is forced to search for new tutors each year, as those from previous years graduate or are unavailable to continue because of new obligations. “Your pool of tutors is always evolving because people graduate,” Greene said. “They take other jobs, or they take an internship for their major, so it’s just always evolving. Every year we always recruit the basic areas, depending on where our losses were. Occasionally, you might have people who work with you a long time if they are retired in the community or something, but for the most part you’re dealing with graduate students and stuff like that.”Tutors are currently needed for math, telecommunications, criminal justice, history, political science, exercise science, physics and business. Hours are flexible to fit the schedules of both the tutors and the student athletes. Tutoring sessions occur at Assembly Hall or Memorial Stadium, depending on the athlete’s schedule. To apply, potential tutors should fill out an online application and provide recommendations from faculty members or other qualified figures. A personal statement describing why the person is interested is also required. The center will then research the applicant’s background, including classes taken and previous tutoring experience, before calling in candidates for interviews with two staff members. A hiring decision will be made shortly thereafter . Greene said the tutoring is necessary for athletes so they can keep up with their coursework and schedule demands of their sports. “You definitely see improvements,” Greene said. “Obviously, I don’t work with every student athlete, but even they, through other advisers, will let you know that it’s a big help. It helped them through a tough class or helped them with the makeup work they missed from being on the road. You hear them tell you, and the ones you work with, you can see it.”
(10/01/09 4:09am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Students preparing for their future careers and internships can attend workshops put on by the Career Development Center. The first, Interviewing 101, will take place from 7 to 8:30 p.m. today in the library of the CDC building, across the street from Herman B Wells Library.“Basically, it’s to give students who either aren’t able to fit our job and internship search strategies class into their schedule,” graduate assistant Matt Wells said. “It’s to give them another opportunity for them to get their resume looked at by a trained career adviser and just to provide one more means to give students access to career services outside of the classroom or advising setting. “I do believe the goal is for students to develop a resume they’re comfortable with that adequately describes their experience and is directed toward their marketable skills and accomplishments.”The workshops began last year under the direction of former graduate assistant and current CDC faculty member Joe Lovejoy. This year, the sessions are being run by Wells, who teaches the resume-writing workshops, and fellow graduate assistant Moe Rafiuddin, who will handle the interviewing sessions.Rafiuddin said it is never too early for students to begin preparing their job-hunting skills and encourages students to take advantage of the other services the CDC offers, including career fairs and advising appointments.“We have tons of career fairs and employer visits happening at the Center, so in case someone wanted to brush up on their resumes or their interviewing skills, they could come and just get a review,” Rafiuddin said. “We are packed with events happening.”Among the upcoming events for the CDC are the Life Sciences Career Fair on Oct. 8 and the Government Career Fair on Oct. 19. There is also an additional set of interviewing and resume-writing workshops Nov. 5 and Nov. 12, respectively. More will follow in the spring.The workshops consist of a combination of lecturing, activities, peer critiquing and one-on-one feedback from the instructor. The format is largely unchanged from last year.“For the most part we’ve stuck with the same model. It’s very similar – similar print resources and a similar method of instruction in the workshops,” Wells said. “We may have changed the presentation a little bit to reflect our most current trends in terms of career development, resume writing, but for the most part it’s been the same model.”Wells said he can personally see the effectiveness of the methods.“Even in the activities we do, I can already see an immediate progression from where people start to where they are at the end of the night,” Wells said. “It’s pretty obvious that people get at least a basic understanding and show quick improvement.”School of Journalism Career Advisor Marcia Debnam said that several individual schools at IU also offer help with resumes and cover letters. She said these skills are especially important in today’s economic climate.“There’s no question that students need well-organized, well-written resumes, cover letters and a whole range of other career-related skills,” Debnam said. “It’s wonderful that the Career Development Center is able to provide these workshops.”Rafiuddin said that both workshops can prove useful to students, as each subject is vital to landing a desirable job.“We always say at the Center that the resume is to get the interview and the interview is to get the job,” Rafiuddin said. “Preparing yourself is the best way to be able to get the job or get the interview.”
(09/15/09 12:45am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>From her post just in front of the goal, sophomore Cassie Wyckoff watched as the match unfolded in front of her. She saw her teammates, including her sister Lauren, dart about the pool looking to score and defend. She saw her opponents do the same. And late in regulation time, with the opposing team looking to take the lead, she saw the ball and stopped it.With a 12-11 victory made possible by her save late in regulation, which pushed the game into overtime, Wyckoff’s Stanford Red club team won the 2009 USA Open (20-Over) National Championship on July 26.“I remember that game almost play-by-play,” Wyckoff said. “It was a very intense game, one of the few championship games that are so exciting because it’s a back-and-forth type of game, and to come in the end and win by a point, it felt amazing.” The next day, Wyckoff was announced as one of the All-American selections for the tournament. Despite having received accolades for her play in the past, the recognition still came as a shock to Wyckoff. “It was actually a surprise to me, honestly,” she said. “To me, getting awards like All-American is very rewarding, but that’s just one step forward. I worked very hard. I think it was well-earned. I just want to do as good as I can, no matter what, whether I get awards for it or not.” Others, however, fully expected Wyckoff to be recognized for her play in the tournament, including IU coach Barry King and Wyckoff’s sister. “We keep track of everything and see how people are playing during the summer and knew that Cassie had a very good tournament,” King said. “It was a no-brainer that the All-American status would come after that.” King called Wyckoff an “immensely talented player,” and said that when she plays to her athletic strengths, she is among the best players in the college game today, despite having played only one collegiate season. “Goalkeeper-wise, she’s as gifted an athlete as we’ve ever had, and when she is really letting her athleticism flow, and doing things by sheer instinct, she’s as good as we’ve had,” King said. “When she’s doing that, she’s probably a top-three goalkeeper in the country.” While King says Wyckoff’s athletic abilities make her a perfect fit for the goalkeeper position, Wyckoff said she has not always felt she was destined to play that spot. Rather, she said she discovered it simply out of curiosity while watching a team coached by her father, Travis Wyckoff, in her hometown of Los Altos, Calif.“When I first started playing water polo, I was watching some older girls play,” Cassie Wyckoff said. “I was watching the goalkeeper, and I told my dad ‘I can do better than she can do’ and he said, ‘Go do it.’” In addition to her talents as a goalkeeper, Cassie Wyckoff also assumes a leadership role on her teams, leading by example, her sister said. “She’s a very patient player,” Lauren Wyckoff said. “She’s very calm and reserved. She’s a great leader.” Cassie Wyckoff continues to enjoy the game and hopes to keep water polo as a central aspect of her life, even after her three remaining seasons at IU. She plans to try out for the national team next summer and is considering a future in coaching. She cites the sport’s physical nature and flair for the dramatic reasons she enjoys the game. “I love the sport, all of it,” Cassie Wyckoff said. “It’s as brutal as football is. It’s like playing rugby in the water. I like being an entertainer.”