Sports

Season opens on home ice

Tryouts have ended. The lineup is set. The ice is prepared. All that's left now is the drop of the puck. At 7:30 p.m. today at the Frank Southern Ice Center,1965 S. Henderson St., the Hoosiers open the 2001-2002 hockey season against longtime ACHA rival Central Michigan University. "I can't wait," coach Rich Holdeman, who is celebrating his 10th season behind the IU bench, said. "We've been practicing real hard, especially this past week, and I'm looking forward to finally seeing these guys in action." The Hoosiers have reason for optimism as the team has more than 20 returning players from last year's group that finished sixth in ACHA Division II National rankings. Included among the returnees is the high-scoring trio of seniors Dan Hauck, Brandon Phillips and team MVP Bryan Grant.

Optimistic team faces off against Iowa Hawkeyes

After a pair of 3-2 heartbreaking losses, both of which came in double overtime, the field hockey team travels to Iowa City, Iowa, to take on the Hawkeyes and Southwest Missouri State over the weekend. In last weekend's matches, the Hoosiers held a 2-0 lead over No. 6 Michigan State and a 2-1 lead at Saint Louis. But IU wasn't able to finish off the Spartans and Billikens, and lost each match on goals in the 76th and 91st minute, respectively. The pair of losses dropped the Hoosiers to 1-11 and 0-3 in the Big Ten on the year.

Women gear up for match against rival

The Hoosiers are out for a win as they travel to Lafayette Saturday to carry on IU's long-standing rivalry with Purdue. IU was defeated Wednesday by top ranked Illinois, who out-scored and heavily blocked the Hoosiers in three games. After the mid-week loss the Hoosiers carry their 4-13 overall and 1-8 conference record to Purdue, who was defeated in three games by Wisconsin last Saturday. The Boilermakers fell to 2-13 overall and 1-7 in the Big Ten. After tough losses to Michigan and Michigan State during the weekend the Hoosiers are taking their mistakes and turning them into building blocks for their much-anticipated match against Purdue.

Pivotal weekend for Hoosiers

The No. 6 men's soccer team hopes to get back on the winning track when it is host to No. 20 Ohio State at 7 p.m. Saturday at Bill Armstrong Stadium. This is the second of a crucial four-game set, coach Jerry Yeagley said. IU fell to Notre Dame 1-0 in the first game Thursday. "We are in for a tough stretch here, and we'll see how we rebound," Yeagley said. "But (Notre Dame) was a tough pill to swallow."

Team ready for revenge

The women's soccer team looks to get back to its winning ways after a disappointing road trip to Michigan and Michigan State last week. The Hoosiers entered last weekend ranked 23rd in the nation by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America, but were outscored 6-3 in the two contests. This weekend, the Hoosiers return to Bill Armstrong Stadium for their first home game since facing Penn State Sept. 30. The team plays Illinois Friday and Iowa Sunday. The Hoosiers enter the game 6-4-1 (3-3-1), and are fourth in the Big Ten.

Women's volleyball team loses to Illinois

The women's volleyball team traveled to Illinois Wednesday to take on Illinois. Their efforts weren't enough to pull of a win against the Fighting Illini. IU was dominated by Illinois who had 20 team blocks over IU's four. Hitting percentages hurt the Hoosiers as well. Illinois boasted a .279 while IU was at .036. The first game the Hoosiers lost 25-30. Winning the second game again was Illinois. The two teams fought back and forth with tie scores until the very end. The Hoosiers gave a good fight that ended in a close game, 33-35.

Offense hopes to fix slip-ups

In the 1970s, the Minnesota Vikings defense returned a fumble 70 yards. Except it was in the wrong direction. In 1986, Boston Red Sox first baseman Bill Buckner could have made a routine play during game six of the World Series. Instead, the ball went between his legs, and the New York Mets won the title. In the mid-1990's, then-Texas left fielder Jose Conseco got a brilliant idea that he was going to pitch. He threw out his arm instead and was out for a season. In 2001, the Hoosier offense scored the most points to date in the Big Ten with 63 points against Wisconsin and had 631 total yards. The offense followed that performance by scoring 14 points and gaining 359 total yards in last week's 35-14 loss against Illinois.

Team returns to Top 25 in nation

The men's cross country team showed promise in the Pre-National meet in South Carolina this weekend, finishing 11th out of 34 teams. In doing so, the team beat several ranked opponents.

Hoosiers seek to tie it together

They stand 4-12 overall and 1-7 in the Big Ten, but the women's volleyball team is far from giving up. After heartbreaking losses to Michigan and Michigan State this weekend, the Hoosiers said they are ready to add some wins to their record. Their next chance at a win is tonight against Illinois at 7 p.m.

Sophomore has long golf history

In the Hoosiers' first tournament at the Northern Invitational Sept. 21-23, sophomore Mary Lidester set a new personal three-round low. At the next opportunity, the Legends Shootout Oct. 8-9, Lidester shattered the record by eight strokes, posting a 220 three-round score.

Hoosiers renew rivalry

It appears it is no longer about winning for the men's soccer team. It's about if the other team will even score. Notre Dame comes to Bill Armstrong Stadium tonight hoping to both score and win, and slow down a hot Hoosier team and get past a seemingly impenetrable defense.

Hoosiers take a beating at Saturday's game

Senior Justin Smith admitted he was tired Saturday against Illinois. He said he couldn't breathe at times. Senior Levron Williams didn't feel much better. He was banged up much of the game and gave up his kick return duties because of a thigh bruise.

Club resurfaces after fighting instability

Motion-oriented club teaches martial arts

Juli Williams stands opposite David Villanueva. The two bow toward each other in reverence, and then carry out a sequence of simulated offensive and defensive maneuvers. They are following the step-by-step guidance of instructor Kim Sommer, who has been teaching the theories of Aikido since 1988. Sommer is one of five instructors affiliated with the IU Aikido Club.

Lidester evolves her game, season

In the Hoosier's first tournament at the Northern Invitational, Sept. 21-23, sophomore Mary Lidester set a new personal three-round low. At the next opportunity, the Legends Shootout, Oct. 8-9, Lidester shattered the record by 8 strokes, posting a 220 three-round score.

Hoosiers take step forward

The women's cross country team made strides Saturday toward its goal of a birth at the National Championship. The team placed 23rd out of 34 teams in the Women's 6K Purple Division race at the Pre-NCAA Meet in Greenville, S.C.

Double overtime means disaster for field hockey

Last Friday's match against Michigan State nearly provided the lift the women's field hockey needed to propel the Hoosiers to future success. Searching for the program's first victory in Big Ten play, IU took the No. 6 ranked Spartans to the limit.

Not lost on spirit

This is the encore? A 35-14 loss to Illinois, is the follow-up to last week's offensive awakening at Wisconsin? The IU offense that romped for 631 yards one week ago managed 359 Saturday, and it virtually disappeared late in the game. The defense didn't do much better, letting Illinois run at will.

Mistakes lead to misery

Talk about a schizophrenic football team. The Oct. 6 Hoosiers were the Dr. Jekyll of football, just going all out crazy. The Oct. 13 Hoosiers were the alter-ego Mr. Hyde: in other words, a washout. Which one of these personalities do you think wins football games? Yup, it wasn't the team that went crazy making plays against the bewildered Badgers. It was the doormats who couldn't get going on offense, reached a stalemate on defense, and couldn't execute on special teams. The Mr. Hyde Hoosiers lost to Illinois 35-14 after a dreary, mistake-filled game.

Hoosiers prepared for Illinois

Sixty-three points meant celebration and broken records last Saturday. Tomorrow, they mean nothing. Those 63 points IU scored against Wisconsin may not have been forgotten, but coach Cam Cameron said they aren't being dwelled on, either. He said his players feel the same way heading into their homecoming game vs. Illinois. "You can't turn the corner with one game," junior offensive tackle A.C. Myler said. "But we made a lot of improvements. We fixed a lot of things that held us back -- the little things, the almost things.