2004-05 Indiana University Athletics Recap
7/8/2005 12:00:00 AM | General
June 17, 2005
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - This season has seen some dramatic finishes and increased exposure for the Indiana University Athletics program as evidenced by the run of NCAA Championship performances throughout the department. Overall, Indiana claimed one national title and four individual crowns.
Baseball
Indiana's baseball team finished up the year 26-30 and 9-23 in Big Ten action. Some of the most notable happenings from IU's squad included Joe Kemp hitting for the cycle for the first time in his career, Jay Brant's 19-game hitting streak, a 6-1 record during spring break and three players (Brant, Kemp and Zach Boswell) earning Big Ten Player of the Week. Additionally, Kemp inked a minor-league deal with the Texas Rangers, while Ryan Parker picked up first team Academic All-America laurels from ESPN The Magazine. Additionally, Corby Heckman was drafted in the 32nd round by Seattle and Brant (second team), Boswell (third team) and Reggie Watson (third team) were selected All-Big Ten.
Field Hockey
The 2004 Indiana field hockey team set numerous team and individual records en route to its best season since the team was reinstated in 2000. The Hoosiers finished the season with a 12-8 ledger, while breaking the school record for the most goals (41), assists (33) and points (121) in a season. In all, the Hoosiers broke or tied 10 team records. IU also broke seven individual marks as freshman Frederique Meeuwsen broke the school record for goals (10) and points in a season (23). Sophomore Lydia Schrott also had a standout sophomore campaign as she tied Meeuwsen for the most points in a season and broke the school mark for assists in a season with 11. Two Hoosiers received individual awards for their performances during the season as Schrott received second team All-Big Ten honors and become the fourth Hoosiers to earn All-Conference. Kanara received the Sportsmanship Award as well as All-Tournament accolades.
Football
The Oct. 30 victory over No. 23 Minnesota, coupled with a 30-24 win at No. 24 Oregon on Sept. 11, gave IU two wins over an Associated Press ranked team in 2004. It was the first time since the 1987 season the Hoosiers had defeated two AP ranked teams in the same season. That year, IU defeated No. 9 Ohio State (31-10) on Oct. 10, and No. 20 Michigan (14-10) on Oct. 24. This also marked the fourth time in IU history that the Hoosiers defeated two ranked teams in the same season (2004, 1987, 1950, 1946). The Hoosiers have defeated three ranked teams once in their history. The 1945 Big Ten Champions accomplished the feat. Wide receiver Courtney Roby, senior safety Herana-Daze Jones and junior linebacker Kyle Killion were recognized as second team All-Big Ten selections by the conference media and honorable mention selections by the conference coaches. Roby was selected by the Tennessee Titans in the third round of the National Football League Draft, while Jones (Cincinnati Bengals), offensive lineman Chris Jahnke (Minnesota Vikings) and tight end Aaron Halterman (Houston Texans) each signed a free agent contract. The Southeastern Conference recently compiled a list of the nation's top 20 winningest active coaches in terms of career victories as well as career winning percentage. Indiana coach Terry Hoeppner is tied with Texas A&M's Dennis Franchione for eighth in the nation among active coaches' winning percentage (.657). Hoeppner enters his first season with the Hoosiers after compiling a 48-25 (.657) ledger at Miami (Ohio) University. He led the RedHawks to consecutive Mid-American Conference East Division titles and bowl game appearances for the first time in 30 years. During his head coaching tenure in Oxford, Miami annually finished among the top three in the MAC East, and he coached nine eventual NFL draft picks in 19 years as a Miami assistant and head coach.
Indoor Track and Field
Senior Aarik Wilson put an exclamation point on the 2005 indoor season by winning NCAA titles in both the triple 16.92m (55-06.25) and long 8.17m (26-09.75) jumps. Coming into the meet, Wilson was the school record holder in the triple, but added another record to his resume when he competed in the long jump. In addition, it marked the first time an IU athlete won two NCAA titles in the same meet. Meanwhile, Indiana's second-place finish in the Big Ten Indoor Championships was its highest since the Hoosiers won the Big Ten in 1992. The 105.5 points were also the most Indiana totaled since the 1991 championship (104). Additionally, Wilson was listed among the "Faces in the Crowd" section of the April 4 edition of Sports Illustrated. For the indoor season, Wilson earned Big Ten Athlete of the Year and Championship as well as the NCAA Great Lakes Athlete of the Year.
Men's Basketball
Indiana head coach Mike Davis' charges finished the season 15-14 and 10-6 in the Big Ten with a bid to the National Invitation Tournament to close out the tough campaign. IU tied with Minnesota for fourth in the conference, while improving three games from 7-10 in 2003-04 in league play. IU's biggest triumph of the campaign came in the final home game of the regular season as the Hoosiers recorded a 78-74 upset win over No. 9/10 Michigan State in overtime on Feb. 27. The win over Michigan State marked Indiana's first conquest over a top-10 team since the 2002-03 season, when the Hoosiers defeated then-No. 9 Maryland, 80-74, on Dec. 3, 2002. Additionally, the team used a 22-2 second-half run to down its archrival Purdue Boilermakers, 79-62, on Feb. 22., and sweep Purdue for the first time since 2001. Individually, D.J. White earned Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors as well as Freshman All-America accolades by Rivals.com, while Bracey Wright earned first team All-Big Ten as voted by the media and second team by the coaches.
Men's Cross Country
With its performance at the NCAA Regional, the team received one of 13 at-large bids to the NCAA Championship. The squad gave its best at the NCAA Championship on Nov. 22, at a muddy, wet and challenging LaVern Gibson Cross Country Course hosted by Indiana State University. At the end of the day, the Hoosiers would come out of the fray with an 18th-place finish. The men were once again led by Sean Jefferson, who placed 34th overall with a time of 31:45.7 to earn All-America honors and lead the team at the NCAA Championship.
Men's Golf
Claiming its best finish at a NCAA Regional since the 1996-97 squad tied for 15th place, the 2004-05 Indiana men's golf team tied for 18th at the NCAA East Regional. The Hoosiers carded their best round to end the season at the 54-hole event on Saturday afternoon, shooting a 5-over-par 289 and finishing at 875 (294-292-289) in the 27-team Regional at the par-71 Golf Club of Tennessee. Previously, Jeff Overton won the Big Ten individual title, the first Hoosier to do so since Shaun Micheel claimed the crown in 1991. Additionally, the squad finished second at the conference championship, the best finish under Indiana head coach Mike Mayer and highest since winning the title in 1998. Earlier in the season, Overton also shot the second-lowest round in NCAA history with a 61 en route to his second consecutive title at the Xavier Invitational.
Men's Soccer
Maybe it was fitting that the 2004 NCAA National Championship game went to penalty kicks. In a season that saw the Hoosiers take zero PK's during the season, it ended with senior goalkeeper Jay Nolly's diving save to his left, giving the Hoosiers' back-to-back National Championships for the third time in school history, 3-2, in penalty kicks. The deciding score for the Hoosiers also came from a fitting spot. Junior forward Mike Ambersley, who had pressed and struggled for parts of the 2004 campaign, nailed IU's final PK to give the Hoosiers a 3-2 advantage in the shootout and set up Nolly's final stand. Ambersley had to watch the Hoosiers win the 2003 national title, missing out on a ring as he was out of school for the year. Nolly proved his worth as a big game player for the second straight year. In last season's national title game, Nolly made a career-high 10 saves to help the Hoosiers defeat St. John's, 2-1. During the season, it was his two clutch saves in the shootout portion to give the Hoosiers the victory. For the second straight season, Nolly was named the Most Outstanding Defensive Player at the College Cup.
Men's Swimming and Diving
IU closed out the 2004-05 season by accumulating 76 total points to claim 16th place at the 2005 NCAA Championships in Minneapolis, Minn., the best finish since Indiana posted a 15th-place effort in 1991. Additionally, the Cream and Crimson acquired its largest haul of All-American accolades since 1976 by garnering 24 citations over the three-day NCAA meet. IU's legendary coach James 'Doc' Counsilman's fourth-place crew captured 29 All-American honors in the bicentennial year. Just a month earlier in the same pool, the No. 13 Indiana men's swimming and diving squad created the most exciting championship finish in recent memory at the 2005 Big Ten Men's Swimming and Diving Championships on Feb. 26 at the University Aquatic Center. Unfortunately, the Hoosiers came up on just the other side of their first team title in 20 years with a three-point loss to Minnesota. Senior Marc Carlton demolished his previous school record set in prelims with a 643.00 to claim his second title of the championship and become the first multiple-diving winner for IU since Mark Lenzi swept the titles in 1989. He also set the University Aquatic Center record in the event. Over the summer, the men had some impressive outings as both sophomore Colin Russell and junior Kevin Swander earned spots at the World University Games in Turkey, while Russell also will swim at the World Championships in Montreal.
Men's Tennis
Even though the season ended with senior Jakub Praibis losing a heartbreaking 7-6 (6), 6-4 decision to Stephane Rod of Virginia Tech in the first round of the NCAA Singles Championship at the Mitchell Tennis Center, he earned his second straight All-Big Ten accolade on April 28. He was one of six unanimous selections to the all-league team and the regular season with an 18-5 dual record. The Litomerice, Czech Republic, product earned his highest national Intercollegiate Tennis Association standing of 39th overall on March 22. Overall, the squad ended the season 12-12 on the year with a 6-4 record in Big Ten play.
Outdoor Track and Field
The track and field squads closed out a successful campaign during the outdoor season as Indiana sent nine individuals to the NCAA Outdoor Championship, the most it had sent since the 2003 season, while Aarik Wilson, the Mideast Region Athlete of the Year (triple jump/long jump), Sean Jefferson (1,500m) and Stephen Haas (5,000m) each earned All-American honors in their respective events at NCAA Championships. Previously at the Big Ten Outdoor Championship, the Hoosier men and women earned six individual titles (four men, two women) and six second-place finishes (three men, one woman and a relay team on each side). It marked the fourth time in five years that IU men and women have won at least five individual event titles. The tale of the tape for conference titles reads as follows: Wilson (long jump, triple jump), Lorian Price (100m hurdles), Stacey Clausing (200m), David Neville (400m) and Tom Burns (3,000m steeplechase). Additionally, the men's track and field team posted its highest finish at the conference championships in 13 years as the Hoosiers took a runner-up finish with 111 points. The last time the Hoosiers posted a second-place showing was during the 1992 season. Meanwhile, assistant coaches Robert Chapman (distance) and Wayne Pate (jumps) were honored as the Mideast Region Coaches of the Year. Pate went on to win National Assistant Coach of the Year for the second time in his career.
Rowing
Indiana head coach Steve Peterson's crew made significant strides during the 2004-05 season. Not only did the squad earn its first Big Ten Conference Boat of the Week honor on March 22, it earned its initial votes in the U.S. Rowing weekly pool. Additionally, Amanda Walker became Indiana's first two-time All-Big Ten first-teamer, while Laura Lazaridis earned IU's initial two-time second team award as announced by the league office. Additionally, Walker picked up the Hoosiers' Sportsmanship Honor nomination for the conference citation. As a team, IU surged to its best finish in Big Ten history after taking sixth place with a total of 46 points at the 2005 Big Ten Championship on Lake Lemon at Riddle Point Park April 30. It also concluded the season with the best finish in school history at the Aramark South/Central Sprints ahead of a pair of ninth-place efforts in 2003 and 2004 by taking ninth out of 21 teams.
Softball
IU softball battled through a difficult season of change to put together a 13-41 record and a 2-18 mark in league play. The Big Ten mark included six losses by one run and two more by two runs. On the bright side, the Cream and Crimson proved it has a pitching staff for the future as Megan Roark notched her first career no-hitter on Feb. 18 with an 7-0 blanking of Southern before posting a perfect game in an 8-0 drubbing of IPFW on March 20. Additionally, Mariangee Bogado recorded IU's third no-hitter of the season and the 20th in IU history to claim a 3-0 triumph over Evansville on April 26.
Volleyball
The 2004 Indiana volleyball witnessed plenty of record-setting performances by a pair of senior standouts (Christina Archibald and Katie Pollom). In Indiana's match against Kent State Sept. 17 at the TIS Bookstore Invitational, senior outside hitter Christina Archibald etched her name into the Hoosiers' record book. Archibald drilled 26 kills, breaking former Hoosier standout Melissa Brewer's mark of 1,547. Senior Katie Pollom continued to prove her offensive prowess for Indiana. She finished the season with a hitting percentage of .306 to become only the fifth Hoosier to close out a season with over .300 hitting. Amanda Welter set the program standard in 2000 with a .338 clip, while Melissa Brewer accomplished the feat twice with a .312 in 2002 and a .311 in 2003. Diane Hoereth posted a .304 in 1989, while Julie Flatley recorded a .303 in 1995. Against Texas-Arlington Sept. 11, Katie Pollom became the 11th member of the Indiana volleyball 1,000 kills club. The senior from Indianapolis entered the all-time top 10 with her 11 kills against Penn State on Oct. 9. Against Northwestern Oct. 16, Katie Pollom became the fifth member of the Indiana volleyball 400 total block club.
Water Polo
The Hoosiers proved strong in pretty much any sport occurring in the water as the polo squad captured its first regular season CWPA Western Division title on March 18. The Hoosiers defeated Michigan, 7-6, on a goal by Janis Pardy with 54 seconds remaining in the first sudden victory period. It was the second time in 2005 the Hoosiers had defeated Michigan, picking up a 7-6 win at the season-opening Michigan Invitational. Additionally, IU defeated a school-record five top-10 opponents in 2005. The group of foes includes No. 10 San Jose State on April 3, No. 10 San Diego State on Feb. 26, No. 6 California on Feb. 12, No. 7 Hawaii on Feb. 12 and No. 9 Michigan on Jan. 29. It was the first time in school history IU had defeated Cal, Hawaii and San Diego State.
Women's Basketball
The Hoosiers will be looking for a new direction in the program after head coach Kathi Bennett announced her resignation on March 1. In a season that witnessed an incredible amount of injuries, including a preseason torn ACL by projected All-Big Ten forward Jenny DeMuth, IU had a flair for the dramatic as evidenced by a bulk of nail-biting finishes. The toughest finish of them all may have been the last, as Indiana forced double overtime for the first time in program history only to suffer a loss at the hands of Wisconsin in the Big Ten Tournament. On the bright side, DeMuth will return in full force next season with a matured squad ready to do some damage in the league.
Women's Cross Country
With its effort at the NCAA Regional, the squad received one of the 13 at-large berths to the NCAA Championship on Nov. 22 at the LaVern Gibson Cross Country Course at Indiana State University. In a muddy, wet and challenging race, the women placed 30th. Gall, a native of West Lafayette, Ind., jumped out to a fast start in the 6,000m event. She led the Hoosiers throughout the race, and was able to maintain a steady pace despite the tough course conditions. In addition, Gall was the first Big Ten runner to complete the race.
Women's Golf
The Indiana women's golf team demonstrated notable improvement during the 2004-05 campaign under new direction. Guiding the team in his first season was head coach Clint Wallman, who came to Indiana from the University of New Mexico. Wallman replaced the legendary Sam Carmichael, who retired last May after 23 years at the helm of the Hoosier program. Wallman's first year as a head coach proved to be rewarding as large strides were made throughout the season and with the future of the program. Not only does the women's golf team return all but two of its seven players from 2004-05, four of them were true freshmen, each contributing significantly throughout the year. In fact, at least three freshmen were in the starting lineup during each of the five tournaments in the spring season.
Women's Soccer
With a roster full of underclassman (11 sophomores, eight freshman), the Indiana women's soccer team endured an up-and-down season, finishing with a 9-7-3 mark, including a 3-5-2 tally in the Big Ten as well as its third straight conference tournament appearance. Grodek, a two-time first team All-Big Ten performer, was the lone senior on the IU squad. One of the team captains, the midfielder was a four-year starter for the Hoosiers and will leave Bloomington with 74 games played and 69 career starts, both fifth most in Indiana history. The Barrington, Ill., native is IU's career leader in Big Ten goals with 12 and second with 25 conference points and stands in fourth place in school history with 26 goals and 58 points. The 2004 squad achieved many of its goals as coach Lyon looks to build the program and gain its first NCAA tournament appearance since 1998. With 23 of 24 letterwinners expecting to return next season, the 2004 campaign no doubt served as a stepping stone for future success.
Women's Swimming and Diving
The No. 18 Indiana women's swimming and diving squad proved that they may be small in size, but are mighty in the pool and off the boards as the Cream and Crimson closed out the year with the best finish in school history. IU finished in ninth place with 112 points at the 2005 NCAA Championships. That feat now stands as the best finish at the national meet in IU annals, bettering the previous standard of a 10th-place tie in 2002. Additionally, Cassandra Cardinell acquired several noteworthy addendums to her resume after winning the NCAA Platform Championship. Cardinell not only became the first Hoosier to win a national championship since Kimiko Hirai claimed the one-meter crown in 1996. She also became the first non-one-meter champion as IU's only other national titles came with AIAW one-meter triumphs by Amy McGrath (1980) and Lona Foss (1982). Additionally, Cardinell claimed the platform title at Big Tens, while Christina Loukas won the one-meter crown at the conference meet.
Women's Tennis
The Cream and Crimson made its 22nd appearance in the NCAA Championships to close out the year. The Hoosiers were the No. 3 seed in the Lexington, Ky., region but dropped a close 4-3 decision to No. 2 Wake Forest on May 13. The loss dropped women's tennis to 14-12 on the campaign. Earlier in the season, Batty was named to the All-Big Ten first team on May 4. The Chesterfield, England, product earned her first conference accolade and the 68th such honor for the Hoosier program under the direction of IU head coach Lin Loring. Additionally, Dora Vastag was named Big Ten Player of the Week on March 4, and Sarah Batty earned the league honor on April 27.
Wrestling
Indiana's grapplers had a banner year in 2004-05. Not only did they finish ninth overall with 58.5 points at the NCAAs, it was the best placement for 13th-year Indiana head coach Duane Goldman's charges since they tied for 16th in 1997. The last time the Cream and Crimson finished in the top 10 was an eighth-place showing in 1990. It's only the second time since 1953 that IU closed a championship in the top 10. In addition, Joe Dubuque claimed the national title at 125 pounds with a win over Illinois' Kyle Ott in the championship bout of NCAA finals. Meanwhile, Dubuque, Pat DeGain and Brandon Becker earned All-America accolades for finishing in the top eight of their class at the NCAA Championships. This is the first time that the Hoosiers had three grapplers garner the honor since they had four in 1946. It also was the first time since 1946 that three IU wrestlers finished in the top five at the same championship.
Players Mentioned
