One of the buzzes in the athletic department this weekend doesn't involve the basketball or football teams. Nearly two decades after IU fielded its last varsity field hockey team, the sport makes its anticipated return 1 p.m. Saturday against Slippery Rock in Mellencamp Pavilion.
Scores of new club rugby players, some with experience and some without, hope to start their season with a victory against rival Purdue. The Mudsharks begin the season against Purdue at 1 p.m., Sept. 9 in West Lafayette, Ind.
National championship and Wisconsin are two words rarely used in the same sentence. Wisconsin has never won a national title, and from 1963 until Barry Alvarez took over as head coach in 1990, the Badgers were one of the Big Ten's pushovers.
For Colts fans everywhere, it is the day they have been waiting for since Jan. 16. On that winter day, Indianapolis dropped a 19-16 decision to Tennessee at the RCA Dome in a Divisional playoff game. In a three-hour span, everything the Colts had worked for during the 1999 season was gone.
The volleyball team found itself having to adjust to a new setting last night, before it faced Cincinnati. Only hours before their practice, the Hoosiers found that instead of playing in the University Gym, where their matches are usually held, they were to play in Assembly Hall, which is noticeably larger.
After watching just one game from the sidelines, freshman Shaunna Daugherty will get her shot this weekend as the women's soccer team travels for a pair of games in the Vermont Classic. "She's going to play," coach Joe Kelley said. "We're not sure which game yet, but she's going to get a chance.
Josh Rife could've stayed with the Texas Christian University soccer team this season, retained his starting position in the midfield and perhaps won more All-WAC honors. But Rife didn't want what he had at TCU ' job security. He wanted to play for the best.
From the bench during IU men's soccer games, a voice bellows louder and more often than coach Jerry Yeagley's. Assistant coach Caleb Porter gets out of his seat, points at players and shouts commands as he helps lead the two-time defending NCAA championship team.
IU soccer coach Jerry Yeagley remembers the last time one of his teams played Portland. He found his Hoosiers in a familiar situation ' an NCAA final four. The year was 1988, and the Pilots boasted Kasey Keller, current U.S. national team goalkeeper, in the net. They had allowed six goals on the season to the Hoosiers' 11.
It's been a summer of highs and lows for Olympic hopeful Sara Reiling. The sophomore diver has spent the summer in the air, flying around the country and world for training camps and competitions. Along with the rest of the U.S. Olympic diving team, Reiling toured six cities, including Bloomington, giving exhibitions for the public. She also competed in the U.S. national competition in Mission Viejo, Calif., and traveled to a meet in Spain.
When senior Amanda Welter was entering her final year in high school she had a decision to make. Would she accept a scholarship to play volleyball, or would she accept one to play basketball? Luckily for the volleyball team, she took her aunt's advice and played volleyball. Now, Welter is IU's leading outside hitter.
Rausell "Rocky" Harvey ran for 2,500 yards and 40 touchdowns as a senior in high school and blew up in his second Illinois football game for 215 yards and three touchdowns. But is was not until his 17th collegiate contest against Michigan last season that the 5-foot-9, 215-pounder gain respect from his critics.
Eleven days away from home is a long time. Practicing football continuously for 11 days in Marshall, Ind., 90 minutes west of Indianapolis, can make the time seem even longer.
INDIANAPOLIS ' Last season, quarterback Peyton Manning and a number of other key players helped Colts coach Jim Mora accomplish things he had never dreamed of. Mora won his first AFC East division crown. He coached the Colts to a 13-3 mark, tying the franchise mark for most wins in a season. Finally, he led Indianapolis to a 10-game improvement from his first 1998-1999 season.
FORT WAYNE ' After his team lost to Duke 8-0 at the Soccer Showcase at IU-Purdue University at Fort Wayne Sunday afternoon, IPFW coach Terry Stefankiewicz turned to the stands and thanked the crowd. Stefankiewicz later thanked IU men's soccer coach Jerry Yeagley for his help in drawing other highly touted teams to the inaugural tournament at the Division II school. Stefankiewicz said he came up with the idea for a preseason tournament that would feature nationally ranked teams more than two years ago. Getting sponsorship was difficult at first, but once IU joined the bill, no other teams rejected the offer, Stefankiewicz said.
In an eight-game span last season, the women's soccer team managed just two goals. Scores by junior Stacey Peterson and sophomore Kate Kastl were all IU had in nearly 25 days.
Solutions by The State News