Sept. 19, 2011
[ONE // big ten football posts 9-3 mark in week three]
Big Ten football teams earned a 9-3 mark in week three of play, with three teams near the 50-point mark and two rookie head coaches earning their first wins at their respective schools. Purdue took home high-scoring honors as the Boilermakers blanked Southeast Missouri 59-0, while Nebraska ousted Washington 51-38 and Wisconsin dropped Northern Illinois 49-7. Congratulations to Indiana’s Kevin Wilson and Minnesota’s Jerry Kill as the newcomers earned their first victory with a 38-21 win over South Carolina State and a 29-23 result of Miami (Ohio), respectively. Illinois earned a nice 17-14 home win over No. 22 Arizona State, while other Big Ten action saw Iowa beat Pittsburgh 31-27, Michigan roll Eastern Michigan 31-3, and Penn State outlast Temple, 14-10. Three conference squads were defeated on the road Saturday as Michigan State fell 31-13 at Notre Dame, Northwestern lost 21-14 at Army, and Ohio State lost 24-6 at Miami.
[TWO // mobile tour departs west lafayette]
This past week Purdue's Jonathan Gandolf took over the Honoring Legends. Building Leaders. Mobile Tour blog, Twitter account and YouTube page while the tour was in West Lafayette. Gandolf touched on several topics throughout the week and even took time to interview Boilermaker standouts Carson Wiggs and Kawann Short, and introduce us to such staples as Triple XXX, the Breakfast Club, the Neon Cactus, and Shout! For more information on the Big Ten Mobile Tour in West Lafayette, click here to see all of Gandolf’s entries.
[THREE // nearly perfect]
Ten of the 12 Big Ten volleyball teams earned perfect records this past week. Iowa led all squads by winning all four matches by a combined 12-2 margin over St. Francis (NY), Columbia, Binghamton, and St. John’s. Michigan, Michigan State, Northwestern, Ohio State and Penn State all took home wins in each of their three matches this past week. Michigan topped Toledo (3-1), Xavier (3-1) and Texas A&M (3-0), Michigan State blanked Ball State and Sacred Heart and earned a 3-1 victory over VCU, while Northwestern shut out Colgate and New Mexico State after defeating Duquesne 3-1 on Friday. Ohio State had bookend 3-1 victories over Albany and Maryland and blanked Akron 3-0, while Penn State opened the weekend with 3-0 shutouts over Long Island and Rutgers and ended with a 3-1 result over Florida Gulf Coast. Third-ranked Illinois stopped Cincinnati 3-0 on Friday before going to five games for a 3-2 victory over Louisville. Purdue had the same results over the same two teams, just on different nights. The Boilermakers topped the Cardinals 3-2 and then blanked the Bearcats 3-0 on Saturday. Minnesota was a 3-0 winner over Middle Tennessee State and a 3-2 victor over Marquette on Sunday. Nebraska earned its lone contest with a 3-0 result over Iowa State. Wisconsin went 2-1 on the weekend, while Indiana finished 1-2.
[FOUR // indiana, northwestern, penn state, wisconsin pace men’s soccer action]
With seven Big Ten men’s soccer teams in action this past week, the conference contingent finished with a 5-4-4 record. No. 9 Indiana opened play this week with a 0-0 overtime tie against No. 14 St. John’s, but responded with a 2-0 shutout over Rutgers on Sunday. Northwestern blanked both of its opponents on the week with a 1-0 result over UC Davis and a 2-0 win over Xavier. No. 15 Penn State earned a 0-0 tie against Hartford, while Wisconsin took a 3-1 victory over Drake before tying SIU-Edwardsville 1-1 in double-overtime on Sunday. In other action, Michigan and Michigan State both competed against Marquette and Notre Dame this past week. The Wolverines fell 2-1 in overtime to the 22nd-ranked Irish and lost by the same score to Marquette on Sunday. The Spartans tied Marquette 1-1 in overtime on Friday, before falling to Notre Dame 1-0 on Sunday. No. 24 Ohio State opened action with a 3-0 blanking over Hartwick, but dropped a 2-0 decision to Coastal Carolina to end the week.
[FIVE // nebraska, wisconsin headline week in women’s soccer]
Is it possible to say that Morgan Marlborough will be forever remembered in Nebraska’s Big Ten history? She should, since she singled-handedly led the Huskers with a hat trick in a 3-1 victory over Northwestern Sunday, marking Nebraska’s first-ever Big Ten win in its first-ever Big Ten event. The Huskers’ headliner was an appropriate way to end the week after Wisconsin made waves to open action on Saturday with a 1-0 shutout over No. 21 Penn State. Four other games were contested on Sunday. No. 23 Illinois tied Iowa 2-2 in double-overtime, while No. 25 Ohio State tied Minnesota 1-1. Michigan blanked Indiana 1-0 and Michigan State rounded out the week with a 2-1 victory over Purdue.
[SIX // field hockey near perfect for the week]
With 14 matches on the docket, Big Ten field hockey was near perfect this past week, finishing 13-1. Indiana opened the week with a 4-1 victory over UC Davis on Thursday, while Northwestern upset No. 11 California 3-1 and Ohio State dropped Wake Forest 4-3 in overtime on Friday. Iowa, Michigan and Penn State all earned wins to start the weekend Saturday as the 13th-ranked Wolverines blanked Ball State 5-0, No. 12 Iowa shut out Central Michigan 1-0, and seventh-ranked Penn State outlasted No. 6 Duke 2-1. The Big Ten was a perfect 7-0 on Sunday as Indiana topped No. 15 Ohio 3-2, Iowa dominated Missouri State 10-2, Michigan dropped No. 14 Boston 3-1, Michigan State took out Providence 3-2, Northwestern upset No. 18 Virginia 5-3, Ohio State beat Kent State 4-1, and Penn State ousted VCU 6-1. The Spartans suffered the conference’s lone defeat on the weekend, a 4-1 decision against Maine on Saturday.
[SEVEN // off and running]
Ten Big Ten men’s cross country teams were in action this week, including Illinois played host to Michigan and Wisconsin, while Indiana welcomed Purdue. The Badgers took first at Illinois’ Orange and Blue Preview with 33 points, followed by the Illini in second with 42 points and the Wolverines third with 50 points. Wisconsin sophomore Michael Brice crossed the line first with a winning 8K time of 24:24. At the Indiana Intercollegiates, the Hoosiers finished with 40 points, just five points behind team champion Purdue. The Boilermakers’ Stephen Schulz captured the individual title with a time of 24:48. Iowa, Michigan State, Nebraska and Penn State all hosted events this past week. The Hawkeyes captured the Iowa Invitational with a 15-48 victory over Northern Iowa, led by freshman Kevin Lewis and his 8K-winning time of 25:31. At the non-scoring Spartan Invitational, redshirt freshman Alex Wilson finished sixth overall in a time of 24:46. Nebraska finished third at the Woody Greeno/Nebraska Invitational with 87 points, led by Trevor Vidlak with a fourth-place finish in a time of 24:46.22. Ohio State’s 21-point team score at the 6.4k Mountaineer Open gave the Buckeyes a dominant 43-point margin of victory over runner-up and host Appalachian State. Jake Edwards (19:28.1) and Donny Roys (19:35.3) led the way for the Scarlet and Gray, finishing 1-2. At the Harry Groves Spiked Shoe Invitational, Penn State’s Colin Anderson earned a top-10 finish in 27:07.
[EIGHT // michigan and ohio state women’s cross county post perfect scores]
At the Orange and Blue Preview in Champign, Ill., Michigan’s women’s cross country team earned a perfect score of 15 to distance itself from second-place Illinois (49) and third-place Wisconsin (83). U-M senior Danielle Tauro paced the field with a winning time of 20:19. A perfect score and top-5 sweep was also a winning combination for Ohio State as the Buckeyes opened the 2011 season with an easy victory at the 5k Appalachian State Mountaineer Open Friday evening. With a flawless 15-point score, the Scarlet and Gray finished well ahead of host and runner-up Appalachian State (61 points). Redshirt senior Jordan Jennewine led the Buckeyes with a first-place time of 18:11.20 in her return to the course after missing the 2010 season due to injury. Indiana took first place at the Indiana Intercollegiate meet on Friday, marking the third-consecutive title in the event for the Hoosier women. Chelsea Blanchard crossed the line in first with a time of 17:35, making it back-to-back individual wins for her in this annual meet. The ladies won with a team score of 19 points, 44 points better than second-place Butler and 59 markers better than Purdue in third. The Hawkeyes defeated Northern Iowa 15-47 at the Iowa Invitational with junior Kelsey Hart winning the 3K women's event with a time of 10:22. At the non-scoring Spartan Invitational, senior Carlie Green was the top collegiate finisher, and second overall, with a time of 20:33. Nebraska captured its 17th title at the 22nd annual Woody Greeno/Nebraska Invitational Saturday as Jessica Furlan led the Huskers with a third-place individual finish in a time of 21:32.08. At the Harry Groves Spiked Shoe Invitational, Lucia Sofo paced the Nittany Lions with a 25th-place time of 22:51, while PSU finished fifth with 152 points.
[NINE // illini pace big ten men’s golf teams at olympia fields]
Four men’s golf teams were in action this week at the Olympia Fields/Fighting Illini Invitational in Olympia Fields, Ill. The host Illini paced all conference teams, tying for eighth overall with a 54-hole score of 883 (289-299-295). Ohio State finished tied for 10th at 890 (285-304-301), followed by Indiana in 12th at 892 (288-299-305) and Northwestern in 15th at 907 (299-313-295). Leading the conference contingent in the individual race was Illinois’ Mason Jacobs, who placed tied for 11th at 6-over 216 (70-76-70).
[TEN // michigan state tops three other conference teams at mary fossum invite]
As was the case on the men’s side, four women’s golf teams competed at the same tournament this past weekend, as No. 19 Michigan State played host to Indiana, Michigan and Ohio State at the Mary Fossum Invitational. The Spartans won their lone tournament of the season with a 15-stroke victory over second-place Ohio State. MSU finished with a 54-hole score of 892 (286-298-308), followed by Ohio State at 907 (299-305-303) and Michigan at 910 (311-294-305). Indiana placed seventh overall at 935 (316-302-317). Individually, Michigan State junior Caroline Powers claimed medalist honors for the second time in her career as she carded a 1-over 217 (71-71-75).
[ELEVEN // men’s tennis opens fall season]
The 2011 Big Ten men's tennis fall schedule began this past Friday with seven teams taking to the court for the first time this season. Iowa and Purdue both battled at the Purdue Invitational, with the Hawkeyes coming away with two champions in the fall season opener on Sunday. Michigan State concluded it's first fall tournament of the season in impressive fashion, taking victories in 5 of the 6 flights, with champions in both doubles flights at the Frank Beeman Invitational. Northwestern and Wisconsin both visited Milwaukee, Wis., for the Milwaukee Tennis Classic, while Illinois made its debut at the OFCC Invitational where senior Dennis Nevolo led the Orange and Blue throughout the tournament, going a perfect 4-0 in singles play over the weekend. For his effort, the 2011 All-American was named Most Outstanding Player of the invitational for the second straight season. Penn State hit the road to the Princeton Invitational where freshman Tomas Hanzlik earned the Flight "B" singles title to cap off an impressive weekend.
[TWELVE // six women’s tennis teams conclude tournament play]
Finally this week, six Big Ten women’s tennis teams were in action over the weekend, including three squads at the Gopher Invitational. In addition to host Minnesota, a team that saw sophomore Pauline Gilbert and freshmen Julia Courter and Aria Lambert make their collegiate debuts, Iowa and Wisconsin also competed in the event, with the Hawkeyes claiming four titles. Nebraska competed at the Midland Invitational, Ohio State was in action at the Muirfield Collegiate Tennis Invitational, and Purdue took to the courts at the Duke Fall Invitational.
