Sports

Enforcers win in XFL

CHICAGO -- The Chicago Enforcers were in a fight for their XFL playoff lives in the final regular season game Sunday night against the Orlando Rage. They won the fight.

Michigan sweeps IU

Around the game

Hoosiers roll to victory

Before Saturday's scored meet against Ball State, Cincinnati and Central Michigan, coach Randy Heisler said he needed his athletes to finish where they should. Heisler also said some distance runners needed to steal points from the competitors. The coach got what he wanted, as IU gained a 23.5-point victory against closest competitor Ball State.

Hoosiers cruise to victory in 1st scored meet

The men's track team won nine events, set eight career-bests and had its first NCAA provisional mark met of the outdoor season in route to its first scored team victory. IU finished with a 63-point margin of victory against runner-up Cincinnati, which finished with 117 points. Central Michigan remained a contender with 116 points. Iowa finished with 108 points, and Ball State scored 61 points.

Defense shows signs of improvement in third scrimmage

Football coach Cam Cameron said the Hoosier offensive line is as strong as it ever has been. The Hoosiers return all five starters and Cameron has made some adjustments he believes will boost the Hoosiers' offense. But the offensive line couldn't hold back the defense, which made a strong showing at the team's third scrimmage Saturday. "(The offensive line) is one of the strengths of our team," Cameron said. "Our defensive line is really improved, but the offensive line is really going to be the strength of this team."

Senior wins national freestyle crown

Senior Michael Dixon's career as an IU wrestler ended at the Big Ten Championships March 4 in Evanston, Ill. Dixon lost his final match to Penn State's Bob Jones and finished eighth in the conference finale. In that respect, Evanston wasn't kind to Dixon. But Dixon made sure the eighth-place finish wasn't his last appearance on the Northwestern campus. Instead, with his career as a Big Ten heavyweight complete, he assured himself of yet another chance to strut his skills on another level, and he's not finished yet.

Team splits doubleheader

IU's offense helped them win; then, the Hoosier bats fell silent. The softball team split a doubleheader with Michigan State Friday before falling to Michigan in the second weekend of the Big Ten season. Both IU losses were shutouts, and the Hoosiers managed only six hits in the two defeats.

Spartans terminate IU streak

The women's golf team's string of three consecutive Indiana Invitational crowns came to and end Sunday, as Big Ten rival Michigan State took an 11-stroke victory against runner-up Kent State. IU finished fifth, 21 shots back. The Spartans fired a 295 during Sunday's final round of the three-round competition, the best round by any team by nine strokes. Kent State and Northwestern fired 304.

Around The Game

Women's crew to battle 3 teams at Lake LemonThe women's crew team will compete at home for the first time this season as it is host to Cincinnati, Dayton and Northwestern at Lake Lemon Saturday. After a strong performance last weekend at the Jayhawk Rowing Invitational, the Hoosiers will be looking to get more race experience under their belt.

Big Ten honors player

Senior Milan Rakvica's two convincing wins this past weekend earned the Hoosier a share of the Big Ten's weekly Athlete of the Week for the men's tennis team.

Notre Dame comes back to beat Hoosiers

The final score might not show it, but IU's women\'s tennis team gave seventh-ranked Notre Dame quite a scare Wednesday evening at the IU Tennis Center.

Offense explodes in IU win

With a seven-run outburst in the first inning, the men's baseball team took command Wednesday afternoon at Sembower Field and never looked back in a 10-1 shelling of Indiana State.

Javelin thrower honored

Sophomore Irina Kharun -- in only her second week of competition this season --was named the Big Ten Conference Player of the Week. Her winning javelin throw of 153 feet, 10 inches at last weekend's Florida Relays marked her second consecutive victory.

Secondary hopes year of experience pays off

Even Cam Cameron admits it's no secret that the IU football team's downfall last season was its defense. The Hoosiers allowed 39 points per game and more than 40 points in seven of their eight losses.

Hoosiers fail in attempt to snap streak of losses

The men's lacrosse team said its four-game losing streak was enough. Illinois didn't oblige.

Team's win streak on line against Irish

The women's tennis team puts its four-match winning streak on the line when it plays host to No. 7 Notre Dame at 3 p.m. today at the IU Tennis Center. IU (11-6, 2-2 Big Ten) has been a one-team wrecking crew, winning the last four matches with a combined 25-3 record, including a perfect 14-0 two-match weekend at home.

Around The Game

Crew team battles windy conditions, altered courses Windy weather forced the crew team to deal with delayed and re-routed race courses at the Jayhawk Invitational in Lawrence, Kan., Saturday and Sunday. But the Hoosiers handled Mother Nature and the rest of the six-team field by capping off their weekend with a first-place finish in the novice four boat competition.

IU victorious in pitching dual

For three and a half innings Saturday, Minnesota and IU engaged in a pitching dual between the Golden Gophers' Piper Marten and the Hoosiers' Alison Cooke, a junior. The game was scoreless heading into the Hoosiers' half of the fourth when a two-run home run by sophomore third baseman Stormy Hanson gave IU (11-22, 1-3) a 2-0 lead they would not relinquish.

Hoosiers continue to struggle

Freshman leftfielder Kevin Mahar entered the Hoosiers' lineup when freshman-slugger Brian Bucciarelli was sidelined with a broken right hand. Mahar's first assignment: Register hits and drive in runs against Big Ten-defending champions Minnesota. Mahar got the job done, going 6-for-14 with two doubles in four games against the Gophers. But his teammates weren't as successful as the Hoosiers lost three of four games to Minnesota at Sembower Field this weekend.