Hoosiers excel in Indiana Relays
Being back at home served the Hoosiers well at this past weekend's Indiana Relays. Many of the athletes conjured up personal bests and there was even a couple who met NCAA regional-qualifying standards.
Being back at home served the Hoosiers well at this past weekend's Indiana Relays. Many of the athletes conjured up personal bests and there was even a couple who met NCAA regional-qualifying standards.
AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Phil Mickelson is a Masters champion again, and now he's making it look easy.
Sharon Versyp, IU fans hardly knew you. Almost a year to date since she took the job, Versyp resigned Friday as the head coach of the IU women's basketball team to take the head coaching job at her alma mater, Purdue.
The Mike Davis dominoes continue to fall more than a month after he announced his resignation.
Sophomore Robert Vaden will be leaving the IU men's basketball program and joining Mike Davis at the University of Alabama-Birmingham, a report Friday in the Birmingham News. Davis' son, Mike Jr., put the ongoing speculation to rest at UAB's press conference Friday when he told the Birmingham News Vaden would be following the Davis' to Birmingham, the report said. Vaden first expressed his desire to transfer after Mike Davis' resignation. "If my coach is gone, I'm gone," Vaden said after the Feb. 17 press conference. "I already made (my decision). I'm not coming back." Last season, Vaden was the Hoosiers' second-leading scorer with 13.5 points a game and led the team in assists, averaging 3.5 a game. It remains unclear whether or not sophomore D.J. White - also rumored to possibly be transferring - will stay at IU or follow Mike Davis and Vaden to UAB. Check back for further updates.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Former IU coach Mike Davis took over UAB's basketball program Friday, returning to his home state after a rocky tenure with the Hoosiers. The 45-year-old Davis, a native of Fayette who played for Alabama, replaces Mike Anderson, who left the Blazers to become coach at Missouri.
IU women's basketball coach Sharon Versyp resigned today to accept a head coaching position at her alma mater, Purdue. In Versyp's first and only year with the Hoosiers, she led the team to a 19-14 record and 9-7 in the conference. The team also made its first postseason tournament since 2002 when the Hoosiers advanced to the Women's National Invitation Tournament quarterfinals.
He might be two years removed from retiring as the IU men's soccer coach, but that doesn't mean you won't find Jerry Yeagley on the sidelines of Bill Armstrong Stadium. Wednesday night, Yeagley was in the stands, shaking hands and laughing with old friends while watching the IU soccer team take on the Cincinnati Kings in an exhibition match.
-- On his relationship with the current IU soccer team: "One of the things I've been doing is following the team. I'm a groupie; I follow after the IU soccer team. I wouldn't call myself a super fan, but I'm into the team and still feel very much attached. What I miss the most is the day-in and day-out interactions with the players. But every now and then I go and get my fix, by hanging out at practice and rubbing up next to them, you know. I try to keep my distance. I think it's been a healthy situation. But, there's still some boys out there who I recruited and brought here to IU and I feel attachment and a bit of responsibility to the program. Even after the guys I recruited are gone, I'll still feel that way. (IU coach) Mike (Freitag) is like a younger brother and of course my son's (Todd Yeagley, assistant coach) out there -- it's family."
CHICAGO -- Derrek Lee leaned against the dugout railing Thursday, peered toward the outfield and gave Wrigley Field's makeover a positive review. "Looks pretty nice," he said. Todd Walker noticed the new brick wall outside the stadium along Waveland Avenue and observed, "It's kind of cool. They cleaned it up."
PHILADELPHIA -- Jimmy Rollins embraced the spotlight, welcomed the challenge and oozed confidence. Every year -- except this one -- since his rookie season in 2001, Rollins told his younger brother, Antwon, he was going to break Joe DiMaggio's major league record 56-game hitting streak. Well, 38 down, 57 to go. Rollins' pursuit of DiMaggio's 65-year-old record ended Thursday when he went 0-for-4 in Philadelphia's 4-2 loss to St. Louis, snapping a 38-game hitting streak that stretched over two seasons and caused some debate.
Just days before heading to Indianapolis on Saturday for the Big Ten/Big East Double Dual, IU's rowing squad practiced its technique on Lake Lemon. Both the varsity and novice crews were busy correcting minor details and testing their skills before most students woke up for the day. As IU prepared to compete against rivals Wisconsin, Louisville, Notre Dame and Purdue, coach Stephen Peterson recognized the team's keen ability to work together as a unit.
After a split meet that took them on a second spring break to California and Florida, members of the IU women's track and field team meet again as one for the Indiana Relays back in Bloomington. The Hoosiers will play host to and compete in the event at 5:30 p.m. Friday and 10:30 a.m. Saturday. The Indiana Relays is the first home meet of the outdoor season.
The IU women's tennis team will travel to Columbus, Ohio this weekend to take on No. 68 Ohio State. The No. 30 Hoosiers are seeking their fifth Big Ten win of the season to remain in the upper-echelon of the conference. IU coach Lin Loring enters the contest confident his team will excel. Last season, the Hoosiers swept the doubles competition against the Buckeyes and four current Hoosiers claimed singles wins in the 7-0 victory. "Ohio State is a little down right now," Loring said. "We match up well with them."
IU will take its season on the road for the first time since it started playing Big Ten competition. The Hoosiers will travel north to take on Michigan and Michigan State this weekend, who sit in second and third place respectively in the Big Ten standings. Though the season is still young, the team does not want to lose ground in the competitive conference. IU will look to rebound after a disappointing loss to interstate rival Evansville early this week, sophomore Anna Olson said.
The IU men's track and field team will host its first meet of the outdoor season this weekend with the third annual Indiana Relays. Beginning Friday afternoon, the Hoosiers square off against in-state foes, the University of Indianapolis and Butler University, as well as two schools from across the Ohio River -- the University of Louisville and Bellarmine University. The meet will also feature several Indiana high school track and field teams, offering an opportunity for recruiting in-state talent.
As IU heads to West Lafayette this weekend to compete in the Boilermaker Invitational, the players will take with them the guidance of IU alum and PGA golfer Jeff Overton. Overton, a two-time All American and two-time Big Ten Player of the Year, earned his PGA tour card at the end of December's six-round Q-School tournament -- the PGA's qualifying process -- just months after graduating. With the Hoosiers beginning their most grueling portion of the spring this weekend, Overton came to Bloomington on Wednesday to provide some insight to the young IU lineup.
The IU baseball team, in the middle of an 11-game road trip, will resume Big Ten play this weekend with a four-game set against the Northwestern Wildcats. The Hoosiers lost three of four games to open the conference schedule last weekend at Michigan State. After a road loss to the University of Evansville on Tuesday, the Hoosiers (8-15) fell to 2-11 on the road this season and 3-4 at neutral sites. IU has played only three home games and is 3-0 at Sembower Field so far this season. "If we go out and do what we're supposed to do, it shouldn't make a difference (whether we're at home or on the road)," sophomore catcher Jon Fixler said. "We're baseball players; we should get the job done."
MILWAUKEE -- Chris Collins made North Dakota pay for its mistakes, and Boston College's unselfish play helped the Eagles advance to the NCAA Frozen Four title game for the first time since 2001. Streaking in alone in the second period, Collins got a pass from teammate Benn Ferriero and buried the puck in the back of the net to lead Boston College to a 6-5 victory over North Dakota on Thursday in the semifinals.
AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Vijay Singh was at the top of the Masters leaderboard. No surprise there. Phil Mickelson was right in the mix. That's to be expected. Tiger Woods got off to a sluggish start at Augusta National. Sounds about right. Still, there were plenty of surprises on Day 1: Rocco Mediate and Arron Oberholser were Singh's closest challengers, and Ben Crenshaw -- who was talking retirement a day earlier -- put himself in contention with a stunning round.