Sports

Women's Basketball: Valentin reclaims 3-point title

With the fight song blaring and the cream and crimson crowd on its feet, the IU women's basketball team took the court for the first time this season during Hoosier Hysteria Friday night. "It was a big asset to be in front of 10,000 fans or however many there were," first-year IU coach Sharon Versyp said. "We were able to sell ourselves to the fans and get them excited about our program."

Volleyball: Hoosiers stumble against Wisconsin, Northwestern

Road trips continued to treat the IU women's volleyball team harshly this weekend, as the team came away winless against both Northwestern and Wisconsin. The Hoosiers cited failed passing attempts, weak serves and a breakdown in communication for their two losses. "We just didn't play together against either (squad)," senior Rachel Gerling said. "When we lose the first set, we get down on ourselves. That's what we did last night (against Wisconsin)." The Badgers took down the Hoosiers 3-0 (30-14, 30-25, 30-12) in the first match Friday. The red and white took down the cream and crimson offense, overpowering the Hoosiers' killing percentage of .081 with a .413 percentage of their own. Gerling came out firing for IU with 10 individual kills, followed by freshman Erica Short, who added seven.

Game of give and take

The football team giveth and the football team taketh away. Like a child playing in a bathtub turning tides, a game of momentum in Iowa City went back and forth. "It's hard to get momentum on the road," coach Terry Hoeppner said at the post-game press conference. For the adolescents of the Big Ten, a team which has grown up rapidly before the eyes of every Hoosier, seizing the lead remained a problem.

Football: Broken Record

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- IU sophomore quarterback Blake Powers and freshman wide receiver James Hardy continued breaking records Saturday against the Iowa Hawkeyes. However, for Powers, Hardy and the rest of the Hoosiers, the most important record at Kinnick Stadium -- Iowa's 21-home game winning streak -- couldn't be broken. The Hawkeyes defeated the Hoosiers 38-21 Saturday in Iowa City, dropping IU to 1-2 in the Big Ten.

Field Hockey: Hoosier win streak reaches double digits

The No. 7 IU women's field hockey team's win streak reached double digits Friday, as the Hoosiers defeated No. 9 Ohio State 2-1 during a double overtime thriller. The victory extended the team's record-breaking win streak to 10 games and improved the Hoosiers' record to 13-1 overall, with the 13 wins marking an all-time high for the program and all but ensuring 2005 as the most successful season in coach Amy Robertson's tenure.

Hysteria replaces Madness due to new NCAA rules

Last season, a first-game exit from the Big Ten tournament sucked the madness out of the Hoosiers' March, and hysteria ensued. Bracey Wright, leading scorer for the team and the Big Ten, left for the NBA draft and IU head coach Mike Davis again faced criticism for failing to make the NCAA tournament. It's only fitting that the Hoosiers' third quest for madness begins with a little bit of hysteria.

Hoosiers on the prowl in Auburn

The IU women's swimming and diving team will begin its season in dramatic fashion as the Hoosiers face off against one of the nation's most elite teams: the Tigers of Auburn University. IU will make its first splash of the season and hopes to continue its tradition of excellence at 6:30 p.m. today at the James E. Martin Aquatics Center in Auburn, Ala.

IU runners define student-athlete

When the IU women's cross country team gets back from an away meet, the last thing it wants to do is spend several hours hitting the books. But they do it anyway. And hitting the books has led the team to the highest athletic team GPA of any program on campus with 12 athletes earning Academic All-Big Ten honors. This weekend the team heads to Terre Haute to run in the Pre-NCAA meet, one of the most competitive of the year. And although the Hoosiers' season is entering its most difficult and crucial weeks, team members do not have a break from academics or midterms.

Winning streaks at stake when No. 7 IU visits No. 9 Ohio State

There's a lot on the line today when the No. 7 IU field hockey team travels to Columbus, Ohio, to take on the No. 9 Ohio State Buckeyes. At stake in this showdown of top 10 Big Ten rivals is both teams' unbeaten conference records, an IU win streak of nine games, a Buckeye win streak of 11 games and seeding implications for next month's Big Ten tournament.

Women try to get back on track; men seek revenge

Homecoming might have been in Bloomington last weekend, but don't tell that to some of the members of the IU men's soccer team. For six Hoosiers, this weekend's road trip will be a homecoming of sorts as the team travels to the Chicagoland area for two Big Ten matches.

Women try to get back on track; men seek revenge

IU coach Mick Lyon likens his team to a train. Recently, Lyon said the train has been struggling to keep its wheels on the track. That track runs through Evanston, Ill., and Madison, Wis., this weekend as the Hoosiers (5-7-1, 1-4 Big Ten) take on Northwestern and Wisconsin. "We need to find a groove," he said. "Right now we have one foot on the track but the second keeps slipping off. If we can get both feet on, we'll be cruising."

Hoosiers look for first Big Ten road win

Before the football season began, Terry Hoeppner had a simple request for his team. "We challenged (the team) in the spring," Hoeppner said. "We want to play 12. What we do between now and then will determine how realistic that goal becomes." Halfway through their schedule with five games down, the Hoosiers will march toward their goal of extending their season to a 12th game, beginning with a trip to Kinnick Stadium to face Iowa Saturday.

What a difference a year makes for Tate, Powers

A year ago, IU sophomore quarterback Blake Powers went seemingly unknown. While Powers sat on the bench and watched the Hoosiers struggle, Iowa quarterback Drew Tate earned All-Big Ten honors and led the Hawkeyes to a tie for first place in the conference. What a difference a year makes. So far this season, Powers has accumulated more passing yards and touchdowns than Tate, en route to the Hoosiers holding a better record than the Hawkeyes.

Coach Versyp makes debut at Hoosier Hysteria

Midnight Madness is no more. Or at least the way IU fans have come to know it in the past. The men's and women's basketball teams will still hold their annual first practice of the year Friday night, but under a new name and at a new time. "I'm not sure how I feel about it," said junior center Sarah McKay. "It's always been tradition."

Weekly Rant

All sit and no play makes Marco a hungry boy

For more than a year, senior forward Marco Killingsworth has been trying to break down the door to Assembly Hall. He flirted with the court last season but kept a coach's eye view from the bench as he served his year of ineligibility after transferring -- enough to drive a man mad.

Boxing approved as club sport

After a 15-year absence from participating in any IU-sponsored boxing activities, IU-Bloomington Chancellor Ken Gros Louis can finally climb back into the ring again. The Club Sports Federation voted to grant club status to the Gros Louis-sponsored boxing organization Tuesday night in the HPER building. Founding seniors Charles Benson and Jamie Kleinschmidt, accompanied by club coach John Bradshaw, gave a 15-minute presentation to the CSF. During the presentation they distributed the club's provisional constitution and disclosed how they would provide safety to club members.

Angels drop the ball in Chi-town

CHICAGO -- The ninth inning was over. And then it wasn't. And then Joe Crede gave the White Sox what is sure to go down as one of the most disputed victories in playoff history. Given a second chance when plate umpire Doug Eddings called strike three -- but not the third out -- Chicago beat the Los Angeles Angels 2-1 Wednesday night to even the best-of-seven American League Championship Series at a game apiece.

Club Hockey: Team hopes to skate into championship game for fourth time, net a win

Coming off a 22-win season and earning a No. 1 seed in the southeast region of the 2005 American Collegiate Hockey Association Division II National Championships held in Rochester, Mich., the IU hockey team is set for another run at a national championship. That run begins 9 p.m. Friday at the Frank Southern Center, where IU takes on Grand Valley State.

Field Hockey: Coach mines prime talent from 'Golden State'

IU coach Amy Robertson has found field hockey gold in California. With five players hailing from San Diego and nearby Escondido, Calif., Robertson has successfully tapped into a fertile hotbed of budding field hockey talent. In the process, she has transformed an upstart IU field hockey program into not only Big Ten title contenders, but a team to be reckoned with on a national scale.