Sports

Pitching staff helps Hoosiers defeat Illinois

Junior Alison Cooke continued her week of softball dominance on the mound by orchestrating a 5-0 win against Illinois Saturday. The victory was Cooke's second shutout this week, with the first coming in a 1-0 no-hitter against Miami of Ohio. The triumph pulled the Hoosiers into a tie with Michigan State for 10th place in the conference. But the Spartans pulled ahead of IU with a 5-0 win against Northwestern. The Hoosiers played well in an attempt to sweep the Fighting Illini Sunday, but dropped a 2-1 loss.

Hoosiers win final game against Purdue

If the baseball team can't win a weekend series against an opponent, it will gladly go after a series split -- especially if the opponent is in-state rival Purdue. With explosive hitting that compensated for erratic pitching, the Hoosiers tied their four-game series with the No. 29 Boilermakers with a 14-7 win Sunday at Sembower Field. The Boilermakers (26-18, 16-6 Big Ten) remain in second place in the Big Ten after Ohio State (34-11, 15-5 Big Ten) swept former conference leader Minnesota in four games this weekend. IU (22-25-1, 5-14 Big Ten) remains in last place in the Big Ten.

Hoosiers finish 15th on the road

The final district tournament for the men's golf team was similar to the team's other performances this spring. IU finished 15th in the Fossum Invitational in East Lansing, Mich., this weekend with a three-round score of 917. Northwestern won the tournament with a record score of one-under-par 851. Once again, the Hoosiers started a tournament slowly as the team recorded a 312 in Saturday's opening round. IU improved by shooting a 300 in its second round, but faltered in the final found with a 305.

Team comes back to finish 2nd

After two rounds of the women's Big Ten golf tournament, IU sat second. After three rounds, the Hoosiers tumbled to fifth. But the shaky third round might have been the calm before the storm. It just set up a fantastic finish for the Hoosiers, as they fired a final-round 308 to streak to a second-place tie with Northwestern. Michigan State matched IU stroke for stroke in the fourth round to win the tournament with a four-round total of 1219. IU finished 11 shots back.

Michigan repeats championship, IU finishes 7th

While Michigan spent this weekend dominating the Big Ten crew championship to win its second consecutive title, IU staggered to a seventh-place finish. Injuries held down the Hoosiers. IU raced only four boats and scored with three to finish two points behind sixth-place finisher, Minnesota in the seven-team event. The team scored 16 points. Michigan finished with 56, and Ohio State tallied 43 to finish second.

Hoosiers make mark at Penn Relays

The No. 9 women's track team made its mark at the Penn Relays, the world's top track and field meet, this weekend in Philadelphia. On the first day of the three-day event, senior Jennifer Brown took third in the college championships round of the shot put. Brown was one of three athletes to throw above 50-feet. Her best throw of 51 feet, 1.75 inches is her fourth NCAA provisional qualifying mark this season. Brown downed her nearest competitor, Jill Camarena of Stanford, by over one foot and beat Ohio State's Alexis McCall by four feet.

Team breaks records at Drake Relays

The men's track team said it knew the Drake Relays were going to present great competition. But rather than let the competition get them down, the Hoosiers excelled. Senior decathlete Brian Bowman began the Hoosier dominance with a fourth-place finish in the decathlon. Bowman was the top collegiate finisher in the event with a new career high and all-time school record of 7,123 points, eclipsing his 7,091-point performance April 15 at the Sea Ray Relays.

Penn State upends Hoosiers

When Penn State and IU met April 15, the Nittany Lions edged the Hoosiers 4-3. Friday in the Big Ten women's tennis tournament, it was more of the same. Only this time, Penn State advanced with a 4-2 triumph. The Lions ended IU's tournament run after one match with Friday's quarterfinal round victory in Columbus, Ohio.

Bid to upset Illini busted

Illinois hadn't lost a Big Ten Conference game in more than 50 contests. The last time the Fighting Illini dropped a league game, IU dumped them. IU's attempt to put bookends on Illinois' winning streak fell short Friday at the Big Ten tournament, as Illinois (20-5, 11-0 Big Ten) bumped IU (14-8, 6-6) from the field with a 4-2 victory in Madison, Wisc. "The team definitely wanted the win, and they fought hard," head coach Ken Hydinger said. "But they just couldn't get it done."

Around The Game

Team prepares for Big Tens

The season's injuries haven't kept the morale of the women's crew team down. Team members say their spirits are high as ever as they prepare for the Big Ten Championship Saturday. "There were a lot of injuries this year that made the season difficult at times, but as a team we have grown a lot and really progressed," sophomore Danielle Bird said.

No. 1 men's golfer leaves IU with professional goals

Five years ago, a golfer from Washington, Pa., came to IU as an unheralded high school player and walked on the men's golf team. Now, that same golfer is leaving IU with aspirations of playing professionally.

Hoosiers 'looking forward' to championship battle

Today, the women's golf team will be competing in the annual Big Ten Championship, which will take place in Minneapolis, Minn. The tournament will be at Les Boldtad Golf Course, which is close to 6,000 yards with a par of 72. Competition tees off 8 a.m. Friday, 9 a.m. Saturday and 8 a.m. Sunday. The champion is an automatic qualifier to NCAA Regional.

Hoosiers advance in Big Ten Tournament

The men's tennis team defeated Iowa Thursday afternoon in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament at the University of Wisconsin. IU beat the No. 9 seed Hawkeyes 4-3. The Hoosiers advance to the second round to compete against the No. 1 seed University of Illinois.

Indiana, Purdue renew baseball rivalry

Hitting, pitching and defense are the fundamentals the baseball team wants to improve upon when it plays Purdue this weekend at Sembower Field. "We're going to have to pitch good, play good defense," sophomore third baseman Vasili Spanos said.

Team to face 2nd round foes

The women's water polo team begins the second round of NCAA competition in this weekend's Eastern Championships. The Hoosiers will travel to Brown University in Providence, R.I., and compete against seven teams -- Princeton, Harvard, Harwick, George Washington, Michigan, Brown and Massachusetts.

Drake Relays to challenge Hoosiers

Many coaches and athletes believe in the old adage that the only way to become better is to face competition that is better.

Penn Relays to test Hoosiers

Few sporting events rival the prominence of the Penn Relays, the first and largest collegiate track and field relay meet in the world. Ninth-ranked IU will send its top 20 athletes to join about 22,000 more who will attend the 107-year-old meet. Because of its size, the meet is nicknamed the "Penn Relay Carnival," but the Hoosiers are focused on taking care of business.

Long playoffs reduce excitement

Many NBA stars refer to the playoffs as the "second-season" -- a description meant to imply that the slate is wiped clean and focus is regathered. But perhaps the players give it a different meaning. Perhaps they are referring to the length of the post-season, which feels more and more like the regular season.

Cardinals hassle Hoosiers

Fresh off of Tuesday's no-hit victory against Miami of Ohio, the softball squad fell 4-1 to in-state foe Ball State Wednesday in the Hoosiers' final non-conference game. The loss drops IU to 15-33 on the season.