Sports

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.

Team looks to Saturday's meet for inspiration

The women's cross country team hopes to visit Greenville, S. C., on more than one occasion this year. The Hoosiers will compete there this Saturday at the Pre-NCAA meet. Runners said they hope that their performance this weekend will spark them to run well the rest of the season and return for the National Meet Nov. 19.

Hoosiers optimistic about weekend matches

Coming off two disappointing losses last weekend to Northwestern and Louisville, the IU field hockey team will conclude its three game home stand today against Michigan State at 3 p.m. at the Mellencamp Pavilion. Following the Louisville match, where the Hoosiers fell 3-0 to the No. 9 ranked Cardinals, freshman back Clara Loots was pleased with the team\'s play. But Loots expressed disappointment with IU\'s inability to score goals.

Runners compete in Pre-Nationals

The men's cross-country team is headed to Greenville, S.C. for the Pre-National Meet this Saturday. It is being held this year at Furman University. The race features 18 of the top 25 teams in the nation, and it could have a major impact on the Hoosiers season. "We need to beat as many (ranked) teams as we can," sophomore Bart Phariss said.

Women's team hungry for a win

The volleyball team is anxious. "We're hungry for a win," said senior Disney Bronnenberg. Their recent loss to St. Louis has left the team with a taste for victory. Before heading to St. Louis, coach Katie Weismiller said they were ready to play their best, especially in conference games.

Crew set to compete in two regattas

This weekend is a big one for the women's rowing team; a "grand slam" said coach Mark Wilson. The Hoosiers travel to Illinois for two regattas -- the Chicago Chase in Chicago Saturday, Oct. 13 and the Head of the Rock in Rockford, Ill., Sunday, Oct. 14. "I am looking forward to this weekend a great deal," Wilson said. "I know that our A 8 (boat) is faster than they showed on Saturday so this will be a good chance to get things back on track."

Hoosiers prepare for road games

One year ago, the women's soccer team finished 7-5-1, but compiled a meager 1-5-1 record in conference play. This season Indiana (6-2-1, 3-1-1) has lost just one Big Ten match and is ranked No. 23 in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America poll. The team attributes its success to a newfound confidence level -- one that helps the Hoosiers enter every contest expecting to win.

Team undefeated in the Big Ten

The men's soccer team will face two conference opponents on the road this weekend. Today, IU (7-2-0, 3-0) travels to the University of Wisconsin to battle the Badgers (6-4-1, 0-1). Sunday, they face the Northwestern Wildcats (0-8-2, 0-4) in Evanston, Ill. When the No. 6 Hoosiers travel to Northwestern, they will find a Wildcat team hungry for a win. The Wildcats have yet to win a game this year and have never beaten the Hoosiers, who have outscored them 87-6 in their 17 meetings. Northwestern returns only six starters from last year's squad.

Not so unsung heroes

Play this trivia game. Name five starters on the offensive line. Give up? They are junior tackles Bobby Brandt, Enoch DeMar and A.C. Myler; sophomore guard Anthony Oakley; senior center Craig Osika. If that was impossible, learn them. Quick. Because these players were key to the Hoosiers offensive stomping of Wisconsin last Saturday. More specifically, they helped Big Ten Player of the Week senior running back Levron Williams to a record-setting day. But this group has not let the new attention interrupt their modesty.

Women look to defend titles

First the women's basketball team wants to enjoy itself tonight at Midnight Madness, then it's down to the task at hand, which is to improve from last season, when the Hoosiers finished 20-11 and earned a post-season berth to the National Invitational Tournament. "It's kind of like a party, then it's business right away," senior forward Erin McGinnis said. "Our expectations are very high. We want to come out and make the tournament, and be competitors for the Big Ten championship."

Men's squad starts anew

It has been more than six months since the Hoosiers suffered their first round loss to Kent State in the NCAA Tournament. But Mike Davis has just gotten over the loss. "I'm over it now. It took a long time," he said. "We should have won that game. That was probably one of the poorest teams we played all season. "The Kent State (loss) was an embarrassment."

Freshman phenom returns

In this day and age, it has become seemingly commonplace for star high school athletes to forgo their college career for the money and fame in the pros. This happens in baseball, basketball and even football. But soccer?