Indiana University Athletics
IU Athletics February Month in Review
3/2/2006 12:00:00 AM | General
March 2, 2006
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The month of February offered numerous heart-warming moments for IU Athletics. To pay tribute to the incredible performances given by the Hoosiers, IUHOOSIERS.com hits rewind to highlight what IU had to offer this past month.
Baseball
• In three games in February, Jay Brant paced the Hoosiers with a .786 slugging percentage and a .357 batting average. During the three-game set against Charlotte, Brant blasted a pair of homers in a 5-for-14 effort at the plate.
• David Trager provided IU's most consistent performance on the mound by posting a 1.35 ERA in 6.2 innings of action. He held opposing batters to a .250 batting average, while also punching out four of them.
Indoor Track and Field
• The Indiana men's and women's track and field teams continued to flourish in February. IU hosted two meets in the Hoosier Relays on Feb 3-4 and the Hoosier Hills Invite on Feb. 17.
• The Hoosiers continued to improve as they claimed seven first-place finishes at the Hoosier Relays on Feb. 3-4. A meet that featured over 1,000 of some of the nation's top athletes, IU recorded three NCAA provisional qualifying marks. Courtney Johnson recorded a personal and team best in the 60m hurdles with a time of 8.43. Johnson's time met the NCAA's provisional standard in the event and was good enough for first-place in the finals. Kiwan Lawson took second in the long jump with a leap of 7.53m (24-7.25), and met the NCAA provisional mark in the event. David Neville, who narrowly claimed the 400m title, met the standard in the event for the second time this season.
• Additionally, Marcus Aguliar won the men's 5,000m, Jeff Coover claimed the pole vault title for the fifth straight week and Candace Perry nabbed first place in the women's long jump.
• Against some of the nation's top athletes at the Tyson Invitational, the Indiana men's and women's track and field teams concluded action with 17 top-10 finishes, 16 new personal best marks, one first-place title, a NCAA automatic qualifying time and one provisional qualifying mark.
• In the women's mile, both Larra Overton and Kelly Siefker broke five-minute miles and recorded new personal best marks. Overton crossed the line in the event's third-fastest time of 4:52.80, while Siefker finished close behind in fifth place with a time of 4:53.44.
Men's Basketball
• On Senior Day, the Indiana men's basketball team received important contributions from a number of players on its way to an exciting 78-71 win over No. 18/16 (AP/Coaches) Michigan State. The win improved IU to 15-1 over its last 16 home league contests. Robert Vaden led the Hoosiers in points (21), rebounds (10) and assists (5). It marked the second time this season and in his Hoosier career that he recorded a double-double. Marco Killingsworth finished with 18 points, while Marshall Strickland capped his home IU career with 16 points, four rebounds and a trio of assists in 39 minutes of action. Errek Suhr finished with nine points and had some key plays down the stretch.
• On Feb. 22, Marshall Strickland scored a game-high 22 points, including a career-high seven three-point field goals to lead IU past Penn State, 69-65, at Assembly Hall. The 22 points pushed Strickland's career total over the 1,000-point threshold and made him the 40th player to accomplish the feat at Indiana.
• With three steals against Illinois on Feb. 19, Strickland became only the 19th Hoosier to record 100 steals in a career.
• On Feb. 4, Indiana hosted the country's No. 1 team for the second time this season. The Hoosiers hosted No. 1 Connecticut in an entertaining and high scoring affair before falling 88-80.
Men's Golf
• Jorge Campillo finished second and led the Hoosiers to a second-place showing at the Club de Golf Santa Anita/North Texas Classic. Campillo closed the tournament with a sterling 4-under-par 68, matching his best round of the season (round two at the Wolverine Intercollegiate, Sept. 24-25), and ended the tournament at 5-under 211. The freshman bounced back from an opening 74 with a 69 and his phenomenal final-round tally. Campillo is the first Hoosier freshman to register a top-five finish since Santiago Quirarte placed fourth at the 2005 Pioneer Classic (March 15-16). The Caceres, Spain native also grabbed the best finish for a freshman since current PGA Tour member Jeff Overton (2002-05) tied for second at the 2002 FirstEnergy Intercollegiate (April 20-21). Campillo appeared to have medalist honors in hand only to be thwarted by Houston's Pablo Acuan, who birdied five of his final six holes to not only defeat Campillo by one stroke but to lift the Cougars to the team championship. Campillo leads the Hoosiers with a 72.44 scoring average and has played in all six of the team's events this season.
Men's Swimming and Diving
• For the first time in 21 years, the Indiana men's swimming and diving program captured a Big Ten Championship by winning at the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatics Center on Feb. 25. After falling by a pain-staking three points in the 2005 championship to Minnesota, the Hoosiers blew past the Gophers, 760.5-652, to claim the program's 24th Big Ten team title in the 2006 edition.
• IU claimed its first Big Ten Championship since the 1985 season. Under then-head coach and swimming hall-of-famer James `Doc' Counsilman, Indiana won 20 consecutive conference titles from 1961-80 and added championships in 1983, 1984 and 1985.
• Indiana also raked in the postseason awards following the event. Kevin Swander earned Big Ten Swimmer of the Championships for the second time in his Hoosier career. He joined three other former Big Ten swimmers in earning two Swimmer of the Championships awards since its inception in 1991. Looze picked up his first Big Ten Swimming Coach of the Year accolade after leading IU to the conference title. Nick Walkotten became the first swimmer to earn Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors in IU school history. He joined former diver Tom Davidson, who earned the honor in 1997, to win the Freshman of the Year honor.
• By virtue of winning the 10-meter platform in spectacular fashion, Brian Mariano garnered Big Ten Diver of the Championships. It marked the seventh time since the inception of the award in 1991 that a Hoosier claimed or shared the award. He also received the co-Big Ten Diver of the Year with Purdue's Steven LoBue.
• Indiana led the way with a total of eight first or second team All-Big Ten selections. The six first team honorees proved to be the most since 1991, when IU also had six. Ben Hesen, Thomas Clavier, Todd Patrick, Mariano, Taylor Roberts and Swander were first team honorees, while Sergiy Fesenko and Walkotten were second team choices. Michigan tied IU for the most first team honorees with six.
Men's Tennis
• The Hoosiers swept their second opponent of the 2005-06 season with a 7-0 victory over Murray State on Feb. 18. Earlier in the year, the Hoosiers swept IPFW.
• Peter Antons played his first match in the Hoosiers' singles lineup against Murray State. The Duxbury, Mass., native downed his opponent, 6-4, 6-2, at the No. 5 singles slot. It served as the first dual-match win of his Hoosier career and his third on the year.
• With the Hoosiers' five victories during the 2006 dual-match season, Indiana head coach Ken Hydinger is only two wins away from reaching the 300 mark at IU. During his 21 years at the helm of the Hoosier program, Hydinger has a 298-218-1 record. He will join a group of elite Hoosier coaches to surpass the 300-win barrier. In the history of IU Athletics, seven coaches have amassed 300 or more victories. Ironically enough, the two winningest current head coaches at IU are with the tennis programs in Hydinger and women's tennis head coach Lin Loring, who has 627 wins.
Softball
• Lauren Hines led the Hoosiers at the plate in the month of February with a .773 slugging percentage and a .455 batting average. Over the course of seven games, Hines rocked two home runs in a 10-for-22 effort. She also pushed seven runs across the plate.
• Megan Roark recorded a no-hitter in a 5-0 win against Siena on Feb. 25. During the performance, Roark struck out 11 batters. The pitching effort marks Roark's first of the season and third of her career. The Pleasant Hill, Calif., native is only the second Hoosier to notch three no-hitters in her career, and trails only 1986 All-American pitcher Amy Unterbrink (nine) for the most no-hitters in a Hoosier career.
• Mariangee Bogado registered a school-record 23 punchouts in a 1-0 win over South Florida on Feb. 24. The Mariana, Venezuela native's performance bettered a mark set on March 17, 1986 by first team All-American Amy Unterbrink who threw a previous-high single-game 18 strikeouts against Texas.
Water Polo
• The Indiana women's water polo team opened the 2006 season during the month of February and finished with a 5-7 record. All seven losses came versus ranked opponents and IU finished the month ranked No. 19 in the national poll. Three of the Hoosiers seven losses this season also have come in overtime with one in sudden victory.
• Following the Princeton Invitational on Feb. 17-19, Brooke Zimmerman earned Collegiate Water Polo Association Western Division Player of the Week honors. IU went 3-1 at the invite as Zimmerman topped the squad in goals and assists at the competition. The Calgary, Alberta, Canada native finished with eight goals on 18 shots to go along with nine assists, eight steals, and four kickouts earned. She also notched a pair of hat tricks against Bucknell and then-No. 18 Princeton.
• Janis Pardy has distinguished herself as one of the leaders on the team. After the opening 12 matches, the Calgary, Alberta, Canada native leads the Hoosiers in goals, assists and steals. For the year, she has garnered 16 goals, 16 assists and 21 steals to go along with eight kickouts earned.
Women's Basketball
• There is no question what the biggest highlight in the month of February was for the IU women's basketball team. Its 63-61 overtime win over then-No. 10 Purdue in West Lafayette served as the most significant moment for the Hoosiers since their 2002 Big Ten Tournament title. The Hoosiers had not beaten the Boilermakers since 2002 and had not won in West Lafayette since the 1996-97 season.
• Cyndi Valentin earned back-to-back Big Ten Co-Player of Week accolades for the week of Feb. 13 and Feb. 20. In addition, Jenny DeMuth broke her third school record on Feb. 9, after registering three steals against Penn State to become IU's all-time career steals leader with 211.
• Indiana continued its winning ways in the conference play and finished the regular-season slate 9-7, which tripled its Big Ten wins from the 2004-05 season.
Women's Swimming and Diving
• The No. 16 Indiana women's swimming and diving team closed out the 2006 Big Ten Championships in fourth place after an incredible final day in Columbus, Ohio on Feb. 18. Overall, the Hoosiers netted 495 points, while No. 14 Penn State defended its title with 552 points.
• Christina Loukas defended her Big Ten Diver of the Year and Diver of the Championships awards at the 2006 Big Ten Championships from Feb. 15-18
• Additionally, Loukas along with the quartet of Allison Kay, Annica Lofstedt, Leila Vaziri and Clarissa Wentworth picked up first team All-Big Ten accolades after winning conference titles. Loukas captured the one-meter crown, while Kay, Lofstedt, Vaziri and Wentworth touched first in the 400-yard freestyle relay. Meanwhile, Lindsay Weigle claimed Indiana's Big Ten Sportsmanship award nomination.
• Indiana nearly bounced into third place overall with an amazing effort in the 400-yard freestyle relay. Not only did the Hoosier contingent of Lofstedt, Wentworth, Vaziri and Kay set a school record in the event with a B-cut time of 3:19.22, it also became Indiana's first Big Ten titlist in the event since 1981 and only its fourth all time.
Women's Tennis
• The Indiana women's tennis team boasted a strong February. The Hoosiers went an impressive 5-2 record last month. IU picked up three quick wins over Marquette, 7-0, DePaul, 5-2 and Butler 7-0 during the weekend of Feb. 11-12. In all three matches, Indiana only dropped one doubles match. Against the Blue Demons, Sarah Batty's win over then-No. 85 Gergana Ganeva at No. 1 singles earned her Big Ten Athlete of the Week honors.
• On Feb. 18-19, the Hoosiers embarked on their first road contests of the season. IU traveled to North Carolina to face then-No. 21 Wake Forest followed by UNC-Greensboro. Despite winning all three doubles matches, IU fell, 5-2 to the Demon Deacons. Indiana rebounded the next day to blank UNC-Greensboro, 7-0.
• Indiana returned home to square off against its second ranked opponent in February in then-No. 28 Tennessee. The Hoosiers jumped to the early 1-0 lead by sweeping the doubles point. Brianna Williams and Sigrid Fischer at the No. 2 position topped their first ranked foe in UT's No. 58 Blackeley Griffith and Victoria Jones, 8-2. IU continued on to win four of the six singles matched to win the match. 5-2.
Wrestling
• The Indiana wrestling team finished the dual season ranked 17th among the nation's top-25 announced the USA Today / NWCA / InterMat NCAA Div I Coaches' Poll on Feb. 22. The Hoosiers concluded the dual season at 11-6 on the season and 2-6 in Big Ten action.
• Defending national champion Joe Dubuque held onto the top spot of the 125-pound division for the 15th straight week. Dubuque currently stands at 19-0 on the season and finished 7-0 in Big Ten duals.
• Andrae Hernandez currently boasts a 6-3 ledger against ranked opponents, and with finishing out the Big Ten season with a pair of victories against Northwestern and Michigan, Hernandez finished 7-1. Hernandez is 26-6 overall.
