Indiana University Athletics
STREAKING HOOSIERS HEAD TO BIG TEN TOURNAMENT
4/8/1999 12:00:00 AM | Women's Water Polo
THIS WEEK: Winners of five in a row and 12 of their last 18, the 16th ranked Hoosiers head to East Lansing, Michigan for the Big Ten Water Polo Tournament. Indiana is seeded second and will open tournament play against seventh-seeded Purdue at 10:00 p.m. Friday. Indiana will also play sixth-seeded Illinois at 12:20 p.m. Saturday and third-seeded Michigan State at 3:35 p.m. If Indiana wins its bracket, the Hoosiers will play in the semifinals at 9:05 p.m. against the runner-up from Bracket A. If Indiana takes second in its bracket, it will play at 8:00 p.m. against the winner of Bracket A.
PROBABLE STARTERS FOR THE HOOSIERS (13-12 overall):
# Pos Player Yr. Hometown/School Notes and Stats
1 G Kirsten Mayberry Fr. Irvine, Calif. (Irvine) Five saves in win over Wisconsin
2 Dr Sheri Fagley So. Ft. Lauderdale, Fl. (Westminster Academy) Fourth on team with 39 steals
4 Dr Deb Simone So. River Forest, Ill. (Oak Park River Forest) Scored at least once in 24 of 25 matches
5 2m Kara Fellerhoff So. Columbus, Ind. (Columbus North) IU 8-1 (since '98) when she has 5+ steals
7 Dr Kristin Carpenter So. Ann Arbor, Mich. (Huron) Three goals and three assists vs Michigan
9 2mD Molly Fonner So. Beaverton, Ore. (Westview/Wisconsin) Second on team with 62 steals
12 Dr. Mary Lesniak Fr.. Oak Park, Ill. (Oak Park River Forest) 10 goals, 10 assists and 24 steals
HEAD COACH--Barry King (Fresno State 1988) 2nd season, 39-21-1 in two seasons as the varsity head coach.
ASSISTANTS--Jack Wagner (Lane Tech '81); Kate Toole (Indiana '98)
LAST WEEK: The Hoosiers won all three of their matches at the Holiday Inn Toritlla Flat Hoosier Invitational to go above .500 for the first time this season. Indiana beat Michigan State 5-3, Wisconsin 9-3 and Michigan 8-2. Deb Simone led the way against the Spartans with three goals, including the game-winner with :34 left in the third period. Freshman Mary Lesniak added a goal, an assist and four steals. In the Wisconsin win, sophomore Kristin Carpenter pumped in three goals while Lesniak tossed out three assists. Indiana is 15-1 over the last two years when Carpenter scores two goals or more. In the finale, the Hoosiers routed arch-nemesis Michigan, thanks to a big game from sophomore Kara Fellerhoff. The Columbus, Indiana native swiped a season-high eight balls, scored a goal and dished out two assists in the Hoosier win.
THE OPPONENTS: Indiana has not played Purdue his season and owns a 10-3 win over Illinois. The Hoosiers are 7-0 against Michigan State, including last weekend's 5-3 win at the Hoosier Invitational. Indiana placed second at last year's Big Ten Tournament, falling to Michigan, 6-3, in the championship game.
BRING IT ON: Indiana is currently ranked tied for 16th in the nation (with Maryland) in the latest United States Water Polo Top 20 poll. All 12 losses have come to teams ranked in the Top 20. Indiana has lost to #3 California (twice), #5 UC Santa Barbara, #6 UC Davis, #8 San Diego State, #10 San Jose State, #11 Long Beach State, #12 UC San Diego, #14 Pacific, #15 Loyola Marymount and #19 Michigan (twice). IU owns wins over #19 Michigan and two teams previously ranked in the Top 20, Michigan State and Harvard (twice). The Hoosiers have also defeated the top-ranked team in Division III, Redlands and also knocked off fifth ranked Santa Clara (DIII). Indiana began the year ranked 11th and has been ranked in the poll every week.
STEALING SIMONE: Sophomore driver Deb Simone is only one steal away from breaking Kara Fellerhoff's single-season steal mark (99). In two seasons, the River Forest, Illinois native has swiped 193 balls and scored 85 goals. Her nine steals in the first Harvard match tied Fellerhoff's single-match record. Fellerhoff swiped nine against Notre Dame last year at the Miami Invitational. Simone, an Honorable Mention All-American selection last year, leads Indiana in goals (35), assists (25), steals (98) and shots (113). The River Forest, Illinois native has ten multiple goal games this season. Indiana is 6-0 when Simone has two or more assists.
THE WORLD ACCORDING TO CARP: Sophomore driver Kristin Carpenter scored three goals in the wins over Wisconsin and Michigan. upping her total to 33 on the season. The sophomore from Ann Arbor, Michigan recorded a season-high four goals against Santa Clara and pumped in three against Illinois two weeks ago. She is second in school history with 68 goals and leads the team in shooting percentage at 33.3%.
HELLO MOLLY!: Sophomore Molly Fonner is currently second on the team with 62 steals, tied for third in goals (15) and tied for second in assists (13). Last season with Wisconsin, Fonner scored 40 goals and earned first-team All-Big Ten and Midwest Regional honors.
WOLVERINE KILLER: After two sub-par performances against Michigan this season, sophomore Kara Fellerhoff is back to her old ways. Fellerhoff swiped eight balls and dished out two assists in IU's 8-2 win Saturday. She also scored the winning goal against the Maize and Blue in last year's Midwest Regional Final. Indiana is 11-4 when she has two or more steals.
