Indiana University Athletics
IU Athletics October Month in Review
11/1/2005 12:00:00 AM | General
Nov. 1, 2005
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The month of October provided a variety of exciting moments for IU Athletics. To pay tribute to the amazing feats demonstrated by the Hoosiers, IUHOOSIERS.com hits rewind to highlight what IU had to offer this past month.
Field Hockey
Went 5-2 in October with wins at Kent State, vs. Northwestern, vs. No. 13 Louisville, at No. 9 Ohio State and Miami (Ohio). IU earned their highest seeding at the Big Ten Tournament (No. 2). The win over Ohio State on Oct. 14 gave the Hoosiers their 13th win, which broke the record for most wins in a single-season.
The win over Miami (Ohio) on Oct. 30 made sophomore goalkeeper Haley Exner the winningest goalkeeper in program history. Additionally, Exner earned two Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors, raising her year's total to three. Exner also claimed womensfieldhockey.com's Division I Player of the Week honor on Oct. 17.
Senior back Morgan Albini was the IUHOOSIERS.com Scholar-Athlete of the Week on Oct. 17. Additionally, junior Lydia Schrott's goal against Miami (Ohio) on Oct. 30th was the 12th of the season and makes her the single-season goals leader in IU lore. October saw the end of the Hoosiers longest win streak in program history (10 games, 8/29/04-10/14/05) and the longest home win streak (7 games, 9/9/05-10/11/05). The field hockey team stayed ranked in the top 10 for the entire month.
Football
Blake Powers is enjoying one of the most prolific seasons for an IU quarterback in the team's history. The sophomore went on to throw three touchdowns at Wisconsin (10/1) and four scores versus Illinois (10/8), giving him at least three touchdown tosses in five straight games. He is the only quarterback in the program's history to throw three or more touchdown passes in a game five times in a career, breaking Randle El's (1998-01) and Steve Bradley's (1983-85) mark of four.
With his four touchdown passes against Illinois, Powers surpassed Randle El on the single-season touchdown pass list. Powers has tossed 21 touchdown passes this season, which is fourth in the country, and broke Randle El's total of 17 set in 1999.
James Hardy is a leading candidate for Big Ten Freshman of the Year. The 6-7, 215-pound redshirt freshman has 56 receptions for 848 yards and 10 touchdowns this season.
Hardy recorded 12 catches for 203 yards and one touchdown at Iowa (10/15). With his performance, Hardy became the fourth receiver in school history to record a 200-yard game and the first since Tyrone Browning racked up 258 yards against Western Michigan (9/12/98). He is the first player in school history to catch at least one touchdown pass in six straight games.
Hardy's single-game total is the fourth highest in school history. Hardy reached the 100-yard plateau for the fifth time in six games. He is the first Hoosier to ever reach the century mark in five of six games and his five 100-yard games is second only to Ernie Jones (7) for the most in a single season. Hardy also caught a career-high 12 balls, becoming the first receiver in IU history to record 10-plus catches in back-to-back contests (10 receptions vs. Illinois, 10/8). His 12 catches are tied for third in a single game in IU history. Through games of Oct. 29, Hardy's 12 receptions match the 12th-best single-game effort in the nation, and the 203 receiving yards are seventh.
With its victory over Illinois on Oct. 8, Indiana jumped out to its first 4-1 start since the 1994 team opened up 5-1.
Men's Cross Country
Senior All-American Sean Jefferson was the top finisher for the Hoosiers at the Big Ten Championships as he took a fifth-place finish en route to earning his third All-Big Ten honor at the conference championships. His effort broke up a top-eight sweep by Wisconsin as the Badgers boasted seven of the first eight finishers. In addition to Jefferson's success, the Hoosier squad also remained in Mondo's Top 25 Poll throughout the entire month of Oct., with its highest ranking of No. 21 coming during the week of Oct. 4.
Men's Soccer
Indiana ended the month of October with an unbeaten record of 6-0-3, highlighted by a three-goal comeback victory over Maryland. It was the first time in school history, as the Hoosiers scored three goals in the final 17 minutes to forge a 3-3 tie at No. 3 Maryland before a Ludwig Field-record crowd of 6,203. Freshman Lee Nguyen found junior Jacob Peterson for the Hoosiers first goal in the 74th minute. Less than two minutes later, it was Nguyen again wreaking havoc on the Terrapin defense, sending in a cross that was deflected into the goal by the Maryland defense. With just five seconds remaining on the clock, Nguyen served a corner kick to the far post, where sophomore Greg Stevning headed it home for the equalizer.
In a 6-0 win over Butler on Oct. 19, the Hoosiers established season bests in goals (6), assists (9) and points (21). The nine assists equaled the fifth-best mark in school history. The last time an IU team had more than nine assists was on October 26, 1983 when it had 13 in a 14-0 victory over Louisville.
Freshman Lee Nguyen being named College Soccer News National Player of the Week, IU Athlete of the Week and Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week after his performances against Notre Dame and No. 3 Maryland. Junior Josh Tudela was named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week for the first time in his Hoosier career on Oct. 10 after scoring three goals in two games at Louisville and Michigan. Senior Brian Plotkin earned Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week honors a week later on Oct. 17. Plotkin scored a pair of Hoosier goals, assisting on another against Wisconsin and Northwestern.
Men's Swimming and Diving
The Hoosiers opened up the season with a pair of tough losses against impressive opponents. IU fell to No. 1 Auburn 174-126 in Auburn, Ala., and dropped a close battle to defending Big Ten champion Minnesota, 163-137, in Minneapolis, Minn. Senior Sergiy Fesenko continued to add to his trophy haul after earning the Big Ten Swimmer of the Week award, as announced by the conference office on Oct. 18. The Kiev, Ukraine, native already snared IU Athlete of the Week honors earlier in the day. Overall, he has not lost a distance event this season. Meanwhile, diving continues to dominate by claiming 12 top-four finishes in four events.
Rowing
The Hoosiers opened up the fall season in strong fashion with five medals at the Head of the Elk in Elkhart, Ind., on Oct. 30. The Hoosiers swept the gold medals in the Novice 8 events with wins in the Novice 8 A, Novice 8 B and Novice 8 C. Meanwhile, the Open 4 A shell posted a second-place finish, while the Open 8 A closed out the day with third.
Volleyball
IU struggled a bit in October but managed a big win over Illinois on Oct. 22. Senior Rachel Gerling led IU with 106 kills in October, while freshman Laura Holm paced the Hoosiers with 278 assists. Meanwhile, junior Sara Diehl notched 115 digs and senior Mandy Eberle recorded 33 total blocks to lead the Hoosiers.
Women's Cross Country
The Indiana women's cross country team turned in a fourth-place finish at the Big Ten Championships on Oct. 30, which was its 11th top-five finish in school history. Juniors Jessica Gall and Lindsay Hattendorf earned All-Big Ten honors as they captured ninth and 10th place finishes, respectively. Gall was the top runner for IU during the month of Oct. as she finished first for the Hoosiers in all of their competitions.
Women's Soccer
The Indiana women's soccer team went 2-4-1 in the month of October. IU downed both Wisconsin and Iowa for its two Big Ten victories, while it tied Purdue in its final regular season match to clinch its seventh Big Ten Tournament berth. Senior midfielder Kristen Zmijewski and freshman forward Molly Kruger led the Hoosiers with two goals apiece, while junior midfielder Ali Brown notched two assists to pace IU in the category. The tie marked the first time the Hoosiers have tied the Boilermakers since the rivalry began in 1999. Every game in October was decided by one goal, with the Hoosiers facing one ranked team in No.24 Purdue in the process.
Women's Swimming and Diving
The Hoosiers began the season 1-1, with a win in the Big Ten. They opened up the season with a 165-124 loss to national runner-up Auburn in Auburn, Ala., in which the divers claimed eight top-five performances on the evening. Meanwhile, the Hoosiers bounced back with a dominant 177.5-122.5 triumph over No. 23 Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minn. Sophomore Christina Loukas swept the diving events. Notably, Loukas eclipsed the school dual-meet record in the one-meter competition. Loukas scorched the competition with a 335.55 to win the crown. Remarkably, that tally eclipsed IU's dual-meet school record previously sent by Sara Reiling with a 327.75 in 2003.
