Sports

Hoosiers begin season on road

The wrestling team opens its season Sunday in Columbia, Mo., for the Missouri Open. More than 20 teams and 400 individuals were involved in the meet last year. Many of the individuals in this year's open are ranked nationally.

Team to defend title at invitational

IU looks for morale-boosting win

The Hoosiers return home today following a road loss to Michigan Nov. 2, hoping to transform solid performance into a victory. Head coach Kris Kirchner said that, despite the 160-82.5 loss to Michigan, the team is swimming well.

Women sign 2 for next season

The Hoosiers have begun to prepare for the 2002-2003 volleyball season with the signing of Ashley White (St. Charles, Ill.) and Mandy Eberle (Sussex, Wisc.). The two high school seniors signed national letters of intent to play volleyball for Indiana.

Davis says he is nervous about this season

Yes, this is a new season for men's basketball coach Mike Davis and his Hoosiers. IU no longer feels like they are playing for Davis' job now that he is their coach without the interim label. But Davis said he will feel the same as last year when he opens his second season directing the Hoosiers as IU travels to Charlotte to take on the 49ers 7:30 p.m. Sunday night.

Hoosiers to play Stanford tonight

The season couldn't get too much more difficult for the women's basketball team after tonight. The Hoosiers open the regular season against No. 9 Stanford in the Stanford Tournament 8 p.m. today in Palo Alto, Calif. IU (20-11, 9-7 Big Ten last season) didn't schedule a game against a higher ranked team for this season.

Hoosier players claim victory

Throughout Wednesday night\'s game, men's basketball coach Mike Davis was smiling, then glaring, then laughing and finally showing exasperation by slouching back in his chair. Davis' reactions might be misleading. The Hoosiers won their second and final preseason game last night, beating Nike Elite, 98-76, in front of 11,238 fans at Assembly Hall. Junior guard Tom Coverdale led the Hoosiers with 18 points and eight assists. Senior guard Dane Fife had 15 and junior forward Jeff Newton added 14. Sophomore forward Jared Jeffries pitched in 13 points and nine rebounds. But Davis managed to find some flaws in his team's effort, pointing to the start of each half in particular and the Hoosiers' defense.

Carlton takes diving to next level

Sophomore Marc Carlton has been around diving all his life. Carlton's mom, Carolyn, won two national diving championships and now coaches in Rochester, N.Y. At age 10 Carlton became interested in diving, and has since forged that interest into a successful career as a Hoosier, most recently culminating in the Big Ten co-diver of the week award following his performance at Michigan Nov. 2. "To me, it just means all the hard work I did last year is going to come into play this year," Carlton said of the award. "I did work really hard last year, but I just didn't get to compete up to where I should have. But this year, I'm just going to keep working hard and competing up to where I should be this year. I think that's just a good start, to show how the year's going to go."

Hoosiers fall short, Illinois wins in four games

The Hoosiers' season dwindled down to only three matches left as IU battled Illinois last night at University Gym. The Hoosiers gave a stellar performance and held off No. 21 Illinois in the first match of the game, but couldn't pull out the win falling after four games. "We definitely competed with this team and I think that Illinois was very strong with their middles and when they were in system they were really good. We struggled with stopping their middles, but we served tough and we took their middles out. We were competing and playing," head coach Katie Weismiller said.

Bloomington South guard commits to Hoosiers with family appeal

Cindy Valentin, the top girls prep basketball player in Bloomington and a top recruit in the state of Indiana, has signed a letter of intent to play at IU. Yesterday in the principal's office at Bloomington High School South, Valentin made good on her verbal commitment from the spring and signed with the Hoosiers. The signing capped off a remarkable two days for Valentin. Just the night before her No. 9 Panthers upset Terre Haute South, the top-ranked team in the state. Valentin's close family was on hand for the occasion. "I was surprised, I didn't think they were going to offer me (a scholarship) early. I'm just happy I get to stay close to my friends and family and have the opportunity to play in the Big Ten," Valentin said.

Gambling allegations behind him, former standout 'Dupay-ing' the price

About 15 minutes after Wednesday night\'s exhibition game between IU and Nike Elite, Ted Dupay scribbled his autograph on a ticket stub. It's not often exhibition players attract the spotlight. But, Dupay's scenario is different. Dupay is accustomed to the attention. He garnered a lot of it -- on and off the court -- while playing at Florida during the last three seasons. But things are thrown out of whack for Dupay this fall. After being accused of gambling and dismissed from coach Billy Donovan's Gator squad because of violating NCAA regulations -- a charge that still doesn't sit well -- Dupay has found himself playing his fiery, shoot-at-will style of basketball for Nike Elite. It's a change he didn't welcome, but one he's taken advantage of.

Wright, Pegram give written commitment

Mike Davis' first recruiting class at IU settled in Wednesday on the first day recruits can sign national letters of intent. The Hoosiers received commitments from two top-100 recruits, and are expected to get a commitment from a third today. All three recruits had previously verbally committed to IU. Bracey Wright and Daryl Pegram signed letters of intent Wednesday to lead what is expected to be one of the better recruiting classes in the nation, despite Bloomington High School North Sean May's decision to attend North Carolina. Marshall Strickland is expected to sign Thursday morning. Wright, a 6-foot-3 shooting guard, averaged 21.6 points and 6.1 rebounds per game last season at The Colony (Texas) High School. "To get Bracey Wright today is big for us. I think he's the best guard in the country," Davis said after IU's 98-76 victory over Nike Elite Wednesday. "He'll be able to help us right away."

Nike Elite ready for final game

Mike Davis isn't asking much of his team tonight when IU meets Nike Elite in the Hoosiers' exhibition finale at 7 p.m. in Assembly Hall.

Danish swimmer excels

When junior Tina Gretlund came to IU, she had already established herself as a premier swimmer. Gretlund, a native of Kastrup, Denmark, was a member of the Danish National Team, was ranked in the top 100 swimmers in the world for the individual medley and had been named the 1998 New Young Swimmer.

Team confident for midweek match

The end is approaching for the women's volleyball team as they look toward their final two home matches of the season this week. The Hoosiers' first game of the week is scheduled for tonight as they face off against No. 21 Illinois (17-7, 10-6 Big Ten). The Hoosiers' second match of the week begins Friday against rival Purdue.

Duo sets multiple records

Antwaan Randle El and Levron Williams don't have much use for records. Ask senior Randle El about being the only NCAA Division I player to throw for 40 touchdowns and score 40 more, and he'll tell you there will be plenty of time to reflect on it in January.

Riding with a rookie

Everyone has seen them. They glide around campus on their brightly colored bikes with skinny tires. They wear skin-tight biker shorts and jerseys with logos plastered on the sides. They hog the roads.

2 Hoosiers find success at Big Ten Singles tourney

The Big Ten Singles Championships concluded Monday in East Lansing, Mich. with IU teammates senior Rahman Smiley and freshman Tommy Bagnato each reaching the quarterfinals.

Senior proves tough against Big Ten field

Senior Rahman Smiley has excelled against Big Ten competition during his career. He did it once again this weekend at the Big Ten Singles Championships, advancing to the quarterfinals along with teammate Tommy Bagnato.

Former NBA players join basketball staff

At times, Ben McDonald looks like he hasn't lost anything from his game in the 15 years since he first started playing in the NBA with the Cleveland Cavaliers. After a recent practice, McDonald drained about a dozen three-pointers in a row.