Sept. 14, 2008
by Jeff Smith
Contributor, BigTen.org
[ONE // seven more wins on the football field]
After an 11-0 sweep last week, Big Ten football posted a 7-3 record in the final week before conference action begins. The big winner of the day was Penn State, which ousted Syracuse 55-13. Four league teams captured wins while holding opponents to 10 points or less. Iowa defeated Iowa State 17-5, Michigan State blanked Florida Atlantic 17-0, Northwestern dominated Southern Illinois 33-7 and Wisconsin won 13-10 at Fresno State. Other winners Saturday included Illinois in a 20-17 victory over Louisiana-Lafayette and Minnesota with its 35-23 ousting of Montana State. Rounding out the gridiron action was Purdue falling at home in double overtime to Oregon, 32-26, Michigan losing 35-17 to Notre Dame, and Ohio State dropping a road contest at USC, 35-3.
[TWO // gridiron news and notes]
Several impressive performances were turned in Saturday during the Big Ten's seven football wins. Javon Ringer's ground game will undoubtedly be one the greatest highlights of the 2008 campaign come season's end. The weather might have been sloppy in East Lansing, but Ringer found a way to rush for a career-high 282 yards while scoring two touchdowns to help the Spartans beat Florida Atlantic. Illinois' Daniel Dufrene also had a career high on the ground, running for 126 yards to help the Illini past Louisiana-Lafayette. Other 100-yard rushers in Saturday wins included Iowa's Shonn Greene (120 yards), Minnesota's DeLeon Eskridge (114), Wisconsin's P.J. Hill (112), Northwestern's Tyrell Sutton (101) and Penn State's Evan Royster (101). Among the highlights in the air was the Gophers' Eric Decker with nine catches for 157 yards, followed by Penn State's Jordan Norwood (113 yards) and Deon Butler (110 yards). On special teams, Iowa's Andy Brodell returned a punt 81 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter to help the Hawkeyes win back the Cy-Hawk Trophy over Iowa State.
[THREE // big ten football represented in national polls]
After posting a 7-3 record on Saturday, the Big Ten remained well represented in both national football polls. Wisconsin leads all conference teams at No. 8 in both the Associated Press and USA Today polls. Ohio State is 13th in the AP poll, followed by No. 16 Penn State and No. 22 Illinois. In the USA Today poll, the Buckeyes and the Nittany Lions are 14th and 15th, respectively, while Illinois is 23rd. Iowa, Michigan State, Minnesota and Northwestern are all receiving votes in the national polls.
[FOUR // two conferences, one challenge]
The Big Ten announced Monday that the start of the annual baseball season will have a new look for the foreseeable future. In conjunction with the BIG EAST Conference, all 10 Big Ten baseball teams will participate in the inaugural BIG EAST/Big Ten Baseball Challenge, hosted by the St. Petersburg/Clearwater Sports Commission. The Challenge will feature 27 games between Feb. 20-22, 2009, at various spring training venues in the St. Petersburg/Clearwater area. The event will take place at a time when major league pitchers and catchers report to spring training, which will add additional buzz in the area. For more information on the BIG EAST/Big Ten Challenge, including the matchups over the three-day span, view the complete release by clicking here.
[FIVE // hats off `four' hat tricks]
This past week the Big Ten saw four players post hat tricks in men's and women's soccer and field hockey. In men's soccer, Northwestern sophomore Matt Eliason scored all three of his goals in the second half to lead the Wildcats past Eastern Illinois 3-0 on Friday. It was NU's third hat trick in school history and the first in 11 years. On the women's side, Northwestern's Amanda Hoffman scored all three of the Wildcat goals in NU's 3-2 soccer win over DePaul on Sunday. Hoffman's feat marked the first time since 2004 that a Wildcat scored three goals in a game. Two hat tricks were recorded Sunday in field hockey. Ohio State senior midfielder Linda Haussener scored her three goals in the first half in a 4-0 win over Maine. In Iowa's 8-0 shutout of Pacific, Caitlin McCurdy found the back of the net in the 59th minute for the third time on the day.
[SIX // milestone win worth the waite]
In the first of several conference coaching milestones this week, hats off to Wisconsin volleyball head coach Pete Waite, who earned his 500th career win on Friday. Waite led the 14th-ranked Badgers to a sweep (25-14, 25-16, 25-19) over Central Michigan in the InnTowner Invitational in front of a home crowd of 4,298 fans. UW moved to 6-1 on the season with the win, but certainly gave Waite one to remember over his 21-year career.
[SEVEN // iowa's griesbaum hits field hockey's century mark]
While Wisconsin's Pete Waite was busy getting career win No. 500 on Friday, Iowa field hockey coach Tracey Griesbaum captured her 100th career victory with a 3-2 win at Stanford on Saturday. Senior Carolina Blaum got the Hawkeyes on the board first and after a second goal by Lauren Pfeiffer, Sarah Pergine scored the game-winning goal in the 59th minute to give Griesbaum the milestone win. Congrats coach, and best of luck on another 100!
[EIGHT // spartans successfully court simone]
Michigan State announced Monday the hiring of Simone Jardim as its new women's tennis head coach. Jardim, a former assistant coach at the College of William and Mary, replaces Erica Perkins, who accepted a position with the United States Tennis (USTA) Association in July. The Spartans' new mentor began her coaching career as interim coach at her alma mater, Fresno State, in 2004. During her three years as an assistant, the Bulldogs compiled a 58-20 record, winning three WAC Championships and NCAA Tournament bids. She moved to William & Mary in January of 2008 and now is set to take the reins in East Lansing. Welcome to the Big Ten Simone!
[NINE // speaking of spartan coaches]
The Michigan State women's golf team opens its fall campaign this upcoming week as it plays host at the annual Mary Fossum Invitational. Last week, however, Spartan head coach Stacy Slobodnik-Stoll was busy with her own game at the 22nd U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur Championship. Considered one of the premier tournaments in golf, the Mid-Am, played this year down the road at Barton Hills Country Club in Ann Arbor, Mich., is not an event the MSU coach can play in each year. Often time there are conflicts with the team's schedule, but this year she was able to compete in the event for the first time in 12 years. The two-time Big Ten Coach of the Year tied for fifth in the stroke play portion with a 3-over-par 147 (74-73) and advanced to the quarterfinals before falling 3 & 1 to Noreen Mohler. The USGA's Ken Klavon recently penned a piece on Slobodnik-Stoll's Mid-Am run and can be viewed by clicking here.
[TEN // bauer propels michigan to victory with school-record round]
From one good Michigan women's golf story to another, this one involves the Michigan women's golf team, specifically the fine performance of junior Ashley Bauer. The Wolverines opened the fall season this past weekend on their home course, playing host at the Wolverine Invitational. Torrential downpours from what was left of Hurricane Ike forced the tournament to be shortened to just 18 holes, but that did not stop Bauer from carding a round for the records book. Bauer shot a school-record-tying 3-under 68 to claim medalist honors and help Michigan to the team title. In taking advantage of the soft greens, Bauer stuck 10 approach shots within eight feet of the pin during her round. Michigan fired a winning score of 293, while Minnesota finished runner-up in the 13-team field at 304.
[ELEVEN // buckeye cards golf's magic number]
Finally this week, we end with one of the most impressive individual performances of the 2008-09 school year. Sure the season is just weeks old, but at the end of the spring semester, when we look back on all the great highlights from the past year, Ohio State junior Patrick Simard will be near the top of the list. Why? This past Wednesday Simard shot golf's magic number at The Ohio State University Golf Club's Gray Course. With two eagles and nine birdies, Simard fired a school-record 11-under 59 on the par-70 layout. Below is a closer look at his scorecard.
|
HOLE |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
15 |
16 |
17 |
18 |
TOTAL |
|
PAR |
4 |
3 |
4 |
3 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
5 |
4 |
4 |
3 |
5 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
4 |
3 |
4 |
70 |
|
SCORE |
4 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
3 |
5 |
3 |
3 |
4 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
5 |
5 |
2 |
3 |
59 |
