Indiana University Athletics
IU Athletics January Month in Review
2/3/2006 12:00:00 AM | General
Feb. 3, 2006
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The month of January offered a variety of special moments for IU Athletics. To pay tribute to the impressive efforts given by the Hoosiers, IUHOOSIERS.com hits rewind to highlight what IU had to offer this past month.
Indoor Track and Field
• The Hoosiers had a busy January with four home meets on the new 200m banked track at Gladstein Fieldhouse. IU kicked off the season with the Hoosier Open on Jan. 7. The Hoosiers claimed victories in nine events in their debut.
• Junior David Neville kicked off the season in thrilling fashion, claiming the 400m crown with a time of 46.67. Neville's winning time surpassed his previous personal best time of 46.95 set Dec. 12, 2005 at the Tyson Invitational. Additionally, Neville's time at the Hoosier Open meets the NCAA provisional mark in the 400m (47.25).
• Indiana hosted the Hoosier Classic on Jan. 14 and claimed 16 first-place finishes. The IU women notched seven top finishes, while the men recorded nine. Additionally, an astounding 20 Hoosiers nabbed personal-best results at the season's second meet.
• At the Jan. 21 Indiana Invitational against Big Ten rivals Ohio State and Purdue and in-state foe Indiana State at Gladstein Fieldhouse, both teams combined for 21 new personal bests and 10 first-place finishes. The women finished second behind Big Ten rival Ohio State with 147 points, while the men took runner-up to Indiana State with 139 points. Additionally, two Hoosiers are one step closer to the NCAA Championships. Stacey Clausing met the NCAA's provisional mark in the women's 400m, while Ryan Ketchum earned the mark in the men's shot put.
• On the women's side, junior Stacey Clausing ran the 400m in the 11th-fastest time in the country of 54.31 at the Indiana Invitational on Jan. 21 against Big Ten rivals Purdue and Ohio State and in-state foe Indiana State. Additionally, the St. Mary's, Ohio product ranks third in school history in the event.
Men's Basketball
• Sophomore guard/forward Robert Vaden scored a career-high 26 points at Iowa on Jan. 24 as he hit a school-record tying eight three-point field goals. His eight trifectas at Iowa (8-of-12) tied Neil Reed (Jan. 23, 1996 against Michigan), Brian Evans (Dec. 22, 1994 against Chaminade), Jay Edwards (Feb. 4, 1988 against Minnesota) and ironically current Iowa head coach and former IU All-American Steve Alford (Dec. 26, 1986 against Princeton) for the Hoosier single-game school record.
• Senior forward Marco Killingsworth earned his third Big Ten Player of the Week honor and became just the fifth Hoosier in school history to accomplish the feat dating back to the start of the Big Ten Player of the Week honor during the 1981-82 season. With his three honors (Nov. 21, Dec. 5 and Jan. 23) Killingsworth joins a list of accomplished Hoosiers that includes the Big Ten's all-time leading scorer Calbert Cheaney (1992-93), former All-American and NBA first round pick Kick Haston (2000-01) and current NBA players Jared Jeffries (2001-02) and Bracey Wright (2003-04) in winning three player of the week awards in a season. He also became the 17th player in Big Ten history with three weekly accolades.
• The Hoosiers defeated then-No. 18/18 Ohio State, 81-79, on Jan. 7. IU trailed the Buckeyes by 17 points in the opening half, but overcame the deficit to pick up the victory. It marked the largest comeback for the Hoosiers since they overcame a 17-point deficit against then-No. 1 Duke in the Sweet 16 of the 2002 NCAA Tournament. In the process, the Hoosiers moved into No. 9 in the Associated Press Top 25 and No. 8 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. It marked the first time IU garnered a top-10 ranking since the Hoosiers were ranked sixth in both polls on Dec. 16, 2002.
• Indiana erased an 11-point deficit against then-No. 7/5 Illinois on Jan. 11. The Hoosiers trailed by 11 in the opening half, only to take a 15-point advantage in the second. IU held on for a 62-60 win. It marked the highest ranked opponent the Hoosiers had defeated in Assembly Hall since defeating then-No. 1 Michigan State on Jan. 7, 2001.
Men's Swimming and Diving
• The No. 11 Indiana men's swimming and diving team went 2-1 during the month of January with wins against then-No. 17 Northwestern (160-137) and then-No. 21 Ohio State (134-108). IU's only loss of the month came against then-No. 6 Michigan (160-140) in an incredibly close dual meet.
• Senior Ryan Fagan dramatically improved in January as he claimed three consecutive Big Ten Diver of the Week awards. Against Northwestern, the Pittsburgh, Pa., native broke a 16-year-old school standard in the event with an eye-popping 399.30. Mark Lenzi set the previous record with a 397.65 in East Lansing, Mich., on Feb. 9, 1990.
• In the battle with Michigan, senior Sergiy Fesenko and sophomore Ben Hesen each broke school records during the meet. Fesenko surpassed his own 500-yard freestyle record, while Hesen eclipsed former IU standout Matt Leach's standard in the 100-yard backstroke.
• Remarkably, the entire IU diving squad for both men and women is qualified for the NCAA Zone C Diving Championships in Columbus, Ohio from March 10-12. Sophomore David Legler and classmate Justin Montrie joined the zone cut club against Michigan.
• Sophomore Ben Hesen claimed the Big Ten Swimmer of the Week award on Jan. 24 when he won every event he competed in and posted one NCAA B-cut time as he helped the Hoosiers defeat Kentucky.
Men's Tennis
• The Indiana men's tennis team opened the 2006 season with a pair of doubleheader sweeps. On Jan. 21, the Hoosiers defeated defending Horizon League Champion Butler, 5-2, before they disposed of Bradley, 7-0. On Jan. 28, Indiana defeated Toledo, 6-1, before it downed IPFW, 7-0. With its season-opening home victory over Butler, Indiana improved to 19-2 all-time in home openers under head coach Ken Hydinger.
• The Hoosiers are 22-2 in singles matches during the dual season. Indiana also has not dropped a doubles since it lost the doubles point to Butler in the season-opening match. The Hoosiers lost two doubles matches against Butler, but have won nine straight since to bring their season doubles mark to 10-2.
• Senior Dmytro Ishtuganov earned IU Athlete of the Week honors after he went a perfect 2-0 at the No. 1 singles position against Toledo and IPFW. Ishtuganov is tied for the team lead in singles victories (11) and doubles victories (7). Junior David Bubenicek and sophomore Michael McCarthy, like Ishtuganov, are a perfect 4-0 this season in dual matches.
• In the latest Fila ITA Rankings released on Jan. 31, the Hoosiers are ranked No. 61.
Women's Basketball
• Senior guard Cyndi Valentin broke an NCAA Division I record and tied the NCAA all-time mark after making her 61st-consecutive free throw on Jan. 12 against Northwestern. Valentin's superb free-throw shooting kept her among the top-five free-throw shooters in the country throughout the month.
• Indiana went 4-4 in conference play, losing only to top-25 Big Ten teams in Jan. In addition, senior guard/forward Jenny DeMuth broke the IU record for career free throws made (443-set by Denise Jackson who played from 1981-84) on Jan. 9.
Women's Swimming and Diving
• The No. 15 Indiana women's swimming and diving team went 2-1 in January. They posted wins against then-No. 14 Purdue (177-123) and Ohio State (199-151), along with a 197.5-152.5 loss to then-No. 14 Penn State.
• The Hoosiers posted back-to-back sweeps of the Big Ten Athlete of the Week awards as junior Leila Vaziri and sophomore Christina Loukas earned the honors on Jan. 24, before junior Annica Lofstedt and Loukas accomplished the sweep on Jan. 31.
• In a two-day diving dual meet with UCLA, junior Lindsay Weigle eclipsed the school record in the three-meter with an amazing performance in the discipline to tally 357.75 points.
• Sophomore Christina Loukas' hard work at the International Selection Camp in Indianapolis, Ind., from Jan. 18-22 paid off as the Riverwoods, Ill., native earned a spot on USA Diving's FINA Grand Prix team set to compete in Zhuhai, China from April 21-23. She will join former Olympian and NCAA Champion Cassandra Cardinell on the trip.
Women's Tennis
• The Indiana women's team opened up the 2006 slate in impressive fashion. The No. 32 Hoosiers opened the season with a dominating 7-0 win over Miami (Ohio), followed by another strong victory over then-No. 54 Western Michigan, 5-2, on Jan. 15. Indiana, who began the season ranked No. 32 by the ITA, ended the day 6-0 in doubles action.
• On Jan. 22, the Hoosiers topped their third opponent of the season in Kansas, 5-2. IU remained perfect in doubles play.
• Next up, Indiana played No. 14 Duke and in-state rival Ball State. Despite being competitive in every match, the Hoosiers fell to the Blue Devils, 6-1. Sophomore Brianna Williams, who is an impressive 4-0 in singles play, claimed the Hoosiers' only point. IU rebounded from the tough loss with a 7-0 win over Ball State. For the fourth time this season, the Hoosiers overwhelmingly claimed the doubles point.
Wrestling
• The Indiana wrestling team had a number of accomplishments during the month of January. IU grappled to its best start since 1995-96, opening with 11 straight wins during the dual season. Indiana also opened the Big Ten season with a pair of victories against Ohio State, 31-7, and archrival Purdue, 24-13. The Hoosiers dominated their first 11 opponents, defeating their foes by an average of 25 points.
• Defending national champion Joe Dubuque captured his 100th career victory with a 10-3 decision over Purdue's Brandon Tucker to become the 12th Hoosier in program history to accomplish the feat.
• So far in 2005, the Hoosier lineup features nine wrestlers with winning records, five Hoosiers have eclipsed 20 wins already on the young season and boasts one undefeated grappler.
• Head coach Duane Goldman reached his 175th career dual win against Purdue and led the Hoosiers the their second-best start since taking over the program in 1991.
