Indiana University Athletics
Dubuque Named IU Athlete of the Week
3/21/2006 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
March 21, 2006
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - On a weekly basis, IUHOOSIERS.com will recognize the top performances in Hoosier Athletics by selecting an IU Athlete of the Week. For the week ending March 19, senior 125-pounder Joe Dubuque earned the honor. This is wrestling's third honor and Dubuque's second this season.
"Joe is a great athlete and has been a pleasure to coach," head coach Duane Goldman said. "He truly epitomizes the word champion. With the quality of wrestlers that he faced at NCAAs, his weight class is probably the toughest at the championships. For him to walk away with his second title, he has to be categorized as one of the best of all time."
Dubuque concluded his illustrious season with his second consecutive national title, a third-place finish at Big Tens and his first regular-season title at the Mat Town Invitational. He also won 28 straight matches from March 6, 2005 to March 4, 2006, became a three-time All-American (2004, 8th; 2005, 1st; 2006, 1st) and finished with a 28-1 record. During his career at Indiana, Dubuque became the fourth Hoosier grappler to earn three All-American honors in his career and is the only back-to-back national titlist in IU history. Overall, he finished with an career record of 114-18.
"The first championship was for me," Dubuque said. "The second one was more for my coaches, my family and my grandfather (Louis DeRogatis) who recently passed away. I would not have traded this experience for anything in the world. The coaches at Indiana, the school and the pride of being a Hoosier, I would not have wanted to go anywhere else but IU."
As a team, Indiana finished tied for 18th with 35.0 points at the NCAA Championships on March 16-18. It is the 15th time IU finished in the top 20 at NCAAs, and the fourth time under Goldman's leadership.
Dubuque earned the IU Athlete of the Week honor from a list of deserving nominees. The list included senior Sarah Batty (women's tennis), senior pitcher Clint Crosier (baseball), senior Shannon Johnson (women's golf), freshman Allison Kay (women's swimming), sophomore Christina Loukas (women's diving), sophomore Dara McLoughlin (men's tennis) and Boat 1 Novice 8 (rowing).
Hoosier Honor Roll
Senior Sarah Batty (women's tennis):
Senior Sarah Batty led the No. 33 Hoosiers to a 5-2 victory over their third ranked opponent of the season in No. 68 Louisville on March 19. Batty defeated the hard-hitting Maria Klokotzky, 6-3, 6-0 at No. 1 singles. The win improved Batty to 10-5 in singles. In doubles, Batty and partner junior Laura McGaffigan improved to 12-3 with an 8-5 win over Klokotzky and Robyn White at the No. 1 position. The Hoosier pair currently leads the team in doubles victories. The Louisville win moved Indiana to 11-4 on the season. Currently, the Hoosiers are 1-0 in conference play.
Senior pitcher Clint Crosier (baseball)
Making his first career start, Crosier collected his first career victory against Fairfield (March 15). Used out of the bullpen the last two seasons, the senior southpaw threw a career-high six innings and racked up a career-best nine strikeouts. Crosier scattered six hits and limited the Stags to just one earned run and one base on balls. On the season, the Corydon, Ind., product is 1-0 with a 2.25 ERA.
Sophomore Dara McLoughlin (men's tennis):
Sophomore Dara McLoughlin completed a perfect spring break trip in leading the Indiana men's tennis team to a 5-0 mark over a six-day stretch. With the five victories on spring break, McLoughlin moved to 16-11 overall on the season. His 16 singles victories tie him for tops on the team with fellow classmate Michael McCarthy and junior David Bubenicek. Combined with his performance on spring break, McLoughlin is currently riding a seven-match winning streak. It is the longest by a Hoosier this season.
Senior Shannon Johnson (women's golf):
Senior Shannon Johnson blistered the Boulder Creek Golf Course with her second round of 68 in three days, to run away with medalist honors with a school record of five-under par 211 (68-75-68) at the UNLV Spring Invitational. The Sioux Falls, S.D., native topped the former three-round school record of 212, set by former All-American Karen Dennison at the 2002 Shootout at the Legends. Johnson also became the first IU golfer in school lore to record two separate rounds of 68 in the same tournament. Additionally, Johnson became the second Hoosier in school history to record rounds of 69 or below twice in her career (Dennison). The victory was Johnson's second of the 2005-06 campaign. She also captured medalist honors at the Notre Dame Invitational on Sept. 11.
Freshman Allison Kay (women's swimming):
Freshman Allison Kay improved to third all-time in school history with an amazing effort in the 400-yard IM consolation heat. The Strongsville, Ohio, product raced to a 10th-place finish with a 4:16.18 time to finish just behind consolation winner Jessica Witt of Richmond. Not only did the effort secure her an All-American certificate, it is the best finish for a Hoosier in the 400-yard IM. Notably, former IU standout Brooke Taflinger recorded the best 400 IM performance overall with a ninth-place finish in 2004. The placement, however, occurred during a meter meet leading up to the Olympics in Athens, Greece.
Sophomore Christina Loukas (women's diving):
Two-time Big Ten Diver of the Year and of the Championships Christina Loukas tied former IU standout Sara Reiling for the best all-around finish at an NCAA contest since including the tower. Loukas became the first three-time championship finalist for the Hoosiers since Sara Reiling dove in all three final sessions at the 2002 NCAA Championships. In 2002, Reiling claimed third on the one-meter, second on the three-meter and eighth on the platform. This year, Loukas placed fifth on the one-meter, second on the three-meter and sixth on the tower with a 290.10 total.
Boat 1 Novice 8 (rowing):
The 1N8 crew of freshman Madison Spruell (cox), freshman Jenn Maslanka (stroke), junior Kourtney Beckham, sophomore Megan Robb, freshman Jamie Spoto, sophomore Kiri Crane, sophomore Jessica Newlin, freshman Brittany Billingsley and freshman Jessica Keller (bow) picked up Indiana rowing's initial win of the season with a first-place time of 7:06.1 in Clemson, S.C., on March 18. Overall, the 1N8 shell knocked off Clemson (7:10.7), Marist (7:51.0) and a pair of Purdue boats that took fifth and sixth with an 8:02.4 and 8:03.5, respectively. Additionally, the 1N8 crossed the line ahead of IU's 2N8 team of freshman Carlie Boese (cox), freshman Stephanie Hamilton (stroke), freshman Kelsey Kapral, freshman Stephanie Horvath, sophomore Marla Alexander, freshman Rachel Bernhardt, freshman Allison Parman, freshman Christina Vernon and freshman Ariana Breckner (bow) placed third in the event for the Hoosiers.
