Written by J.Y. Mortimer on 01 March 2015
Kelsey Mitchell and Shayla Cooper each notch double-doubles in the win
LINCOLN, Neb. – Four Buckeyes scored in double-figures led by 28 from freshman Kelsey Mitchell as Ohio State finished the regular season with a 78-60 rout of No. 23 Nebraska.
Kelsey Mitchell
The win was the fourth-straight for the Buckeyes who ended the regular season with a record of 21-9 and 13-5 in the conference.
Kelsey Mitchell notched her second double-double of the year with 28 points and a season-high tying 10 rebounds. Shayla Cooper stepped-up off the bench and scored 13 points to go along with a career-high 18 rebounds.
Shayla Cooper
Freshman Asia Doss enjoyed the best game of her season as she was 4-of-5 from long range and finished with a season-high 14 points. Junior Ameryst Alston chipped-in with 12 points and four rebounds.
Emily Cady led Nebraska (20-9, 10-8) with 21 points and 13 rebounds while Brandi Jeffrey had 10 points and 13 boards.
Ohio State blew the game open with a 15-0 run over the final four minutes of the first half and then limited Nebraska to just 27 percent shooting in the second half. The crowd of 8,418 that showed-up for senior day kept pushing the Huskers in the second half but each time, the Buckeyes had an answer.
OSU had just nine turnovers in the game and scored 11 points off of 12 Nebraska turnovers.
The Buckeyes took a couple of seven-point leads in the first half but each time, Nebraska came right back. With the score tied 32-32 with four minutes left until the break, a deep three-pointer by Mitchell ignited a 15-0 Buckeye run to finish the half. Mitchell had eight points in the spurt while Alston added a three-pointer. Nebraska missed its final seven shots of the half and Ohio State led 47-32 at the break.
Nebraska stayed within striking distance for the first half of the second 20 minutes. With the crowd on its feet, a Mitchell lay-in with 6:43 to play sparked another 9-0 run for the Buckeyes that pushed the lead to 72-50 with five minutes left and removed any lingering doubt.
The Buckeyes have earned the No. 3-seed in next week’s B1G Tournament and will play on Friday night at approximately 9:30 p.m. ET.
Postgame Notes
- Kelsey Mitchell scored 28 points and has moved into third on the OSU single-season scoring list. She has 736 points this season, passing Frani Washington who scored 711 points in the 1978-79 season and Jantel Lavender who scored 728 points in 2008-09.
- This was Mitchell’s first game of 20 or more points in the last five games.
- Freshman Asia Doss scored a season-high 14 points. This was her fourth game of 10 or more points and the first since the game at Michigan on Jan. 11.
- Doss was 4-of-5 from long range on the day. That was her season-high for three-point makes and it was her first three-point field goal since Feb. 5, a span of six games.
- Shayla Cooper notched her fourth double-double of the season with 13 points and a career-high 14 rebounds.
- This was the Buckeyes’ fifth win over a ranked team this season.
- The Buckeyes are 15-1 this season when winning the battle in the paint.
- Ohio State has won 10 of its last 12 games.
Up Next…
- The Buckeyes have earned the No. 3-seed in next week’s B1G Tournament.
- Ohio State will play the second game Friday night against Purdue, Wisconsin or Minnesota.
GAME RECAP WRITTEN BY Gary Petit; COURTESY OSU ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS
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Written by J.Y. Mortimer on 01 March 2015
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The No. 50 University of Arkansas women’s tennis team snapped a two-match losing streak with a 6-1 victory over Missouri at the Billingsley Tennis Center on Sunday afternoon.
With the win, the Razorbacks improve to 11-4 overall and 1-0 in SEC play, while the Tigers fall to 8-5 (0-1 SEC) on this season.
“Every conference win is valuable and especially after losing the doubles point,” said head coach Michael Hegarty. “To come out and win all six first sets in singles totally changed the dynamic from the doubles and this is very encouraging for our team. It was a great team effort across the board.”
To start the match, Arkansas lost the doubles point after dropping matches on courts one and three.
The Razorbacks bounced back in a big way, winning the first set in all six singles matches. Junior Makenzie Craft upped her dual record to 6-3 following a 6-3, 6-0 win on court three over Bea Machado Santos.
Arkansas took a 2-1 lead in the match after Sophomore Shannon Hudson picked up a 6-2, 6-3 win over Cassidy Spearman on court two. On court one, Junior Yuliya Lysa improved to 12-1 in dual action when she tallied a 6-3, 6-2 win over Kelli Hine to give Arkansas a 3-1 lead in the match.
Freshman Mia Jurasic (7-5, 2-6, 10-4) and junior Flavia Araujo (6-4, 2-6, 10-4) closed out the convincing win for the home team, picking up hard-fought victories on courts five and six to secure the 6-1 team win.
The Razorbacks are back in action on the road next weekend. Arkansas battles No.15 Ole Miss on Friday, March 6, before heading to Starkville, Miss. to face No. 63 Mississippi State on Sunday, March 8.
RESULTS – NO. 50 ARKANSAS 6, Missouri 1
Doubles:
1. Brianna Lashway/Bea Machado Santos (MU) def. Shannon Hudson/Yuliya Lysa (ARKW) 8-6
2. Mia Jurasic/Makenzie Craft (ARKW) def. Madison Rhyner/Kelli Hine (MU) 8-6
3. Cassidy Spearman/Brittany Lashway (MU) def. Sasha Shkorupeieva/Flavia Araujo (ARKW) 8-7 (10-8)
Singles:
1. Yuliya Lysa (ARKW) def. Kelli Hine (MU) 6-3, 6-2
2. Shannon Hudson (ARKW) def. Cassidy Spearman (MU) 6-2, 6-3
3. Makenzie Craft (ARKW) def. Bea Machado Santos (MU) 6-3, 6-0
4. Sasha Shkorupeieva (ARKW) def. Brianna Lashway (MU) 6-1, 7-5
5. Mia Jurasic (ARKW) def. Brittany Lashway (MU) 7-5, 2-6, 10-4
6. Flavia Araujo (ARKW) def. Clare Raley (MU) 6-4, 2-6, 10-4
Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (3,2,1,4,6,5)
For more information on Arkansas women’s tennis, follow @RazorbackWTEN on Twitter.
– ArkansasRazorbacks.com || On Twitter @ArkRazorbacks || Facebook.com/ArkansasRazorbacks –
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Written by Wayne Delphos on 01 March 2015
Giana O'Connor
Illini post third-highest team total (196.425) of the season
LINCOLN, Neb. – The Fighting Illini women’s gymnastics team posted their third highest total (196.425) of the season in their second place finish at the Masters Classic in Lincoln, Nebraska. The No. 16 Illini fell to No. 8 Nebraska (197.100) but garnered a victory over San Jose State (195.150) Sunday afternoon.
The Illini were paced by one of the best individual performances in Illini history. Junior Giana O’Connor tied the school record all-around total of 39.625, matching Alina Weinstein (2013), and posted the highest all-around total by an Illini in a road meet. O’Connor took the all-around title, one of three individual titles on the day. O’Connor tied for first on beam (9.900) and bars (9.925), while also placing second on vault (9.900) and floor (9.900).
The Illini competed on bars in the first rotation and posted a 49.250, their third best bars performance of the season. O’Connor led the Illini with a career-high 9.925, claiming the event title. Senior Sunny Kato followed with a 9.900, which tied for third, while sophomore Sarah Lyons tied her career-high of 9.875. Lastly, sophomore Erin Buchanan and senior Jordan Naleway added 9.775′s.
In the second rotation, the Illini achieved their third best beam performance of the season with a 49.175. O’Connor led the Illini with a 9.900, tying her career-high, which took first. Horth posted the next best beam score with a 9.875 that placed third. Kato (9.825), junior Heather Foley (9.800) and Naleway (9.775) rounded out the Illini scorers in the event.
The Illini competed on floor in the third rotation and totaled a 49.075. O’Connor led with a second-place 9.900 and Horth followed with a career-best 9.850 that was good for fifth. Buchanan was a big contributor with a 9.825, while Foley (9.750) and Naleway (9.750) also counted scores.
The Illini totaled a 48.925 on vault in the final rotation. O’Connor led with a 9.900 which placed second. Foley and Horth both tied their career-highs (9.850) tying for fourth. The Illini also counted scores from Buchanan (9.750) and freshmen Jordyn Givens (9.575).
Up next, the Illini head to Dekalb for the State of Illinois Classic on March 7, 2015.
-ILLINI-
MEET RECAP WRITTEN BY Dan Longo; COURTESY ILLINOIS ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS
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Written by J.Y. Mortimer on 01 March 2015
LOS CABOS, Mexico – With snow and rain falling in Fayetteville, the Arkansas men’s golf team’s trip to the Querencia Cabo Collegiate for the second straight year came at the perfect time. Led by the SEC’s last two recipients of the Golfer of the Week award in juniors Taylor Moore and Kolton Crawford, the Razorbacks opened play with a team score of 291 on Sunday.
After the first round on Los Cabos Querencia (Par 71 – 6894 yards), Arkansas sits in 12th place in a loaded 14-team field that includes 11 teams in the top 50 of the current Golfstat rankings, including eight in the top 20 and four in the top 10.
Monday’s second round will be a shotgun start at 9 a.m. CT. Live scoring is available at www.GolfStat.com.
For the seventh straight round to open the spring, Arkansas was led by either Moore or Crawford while it’s the third time they’ve produced the same score. Moore and Crawford’s one-over par 72s put the duo in a tie for 23rd place in the 70-player field that features 21 top 100 players. Both carded 13 pars and two birdies on the day while neither has turned in a score of over 72 in the spring.
Freshman Alvaro Ortiz shook off a tough start to Sunday’s round with three birdies over the final five holes on the back nine en route to a two-over 73. Inserted back into the lineup at the start of the spring, redshirt sophomore Zach Coats turned in his sixth straight counting score with a three-over par 74. Ortiz was two-under over his final 14 holes while Coats played the last 13 holes at even-par.
McMakin Post-Round Sound
“I’m disappointed in the way we started today’s round. There was no wind early and we didn’t take advantage of the easier part of the course. We have an uphill battle ahead of us, but if we get back to playing how we did the first two tournaments of the spring we can make a move.”
@RazorbackMGolf Lineup
T23. Taylor Moore – 72
T23. Kolton Crawford – 72
T36. Alvaro Ortiz – 73
T47. Zach Coats – 74
T60. Nicolas Echavarria – 76
Querencia Cabo Collegiate Standings (Golfstat Ranking)
1. Florida State (2) – 275 (-9)
2. USF (12) – 276 (-8)
T3. Stanford (14) – 282 (-2)
T3. Washington (19) – 282 (-2)
T5. Wake Forest (13) – 285
T5. Houston (35) – 285
7. Lamar – 286
T8. Vanderbilt (11) – 287
T8. Ole Miss (47) – 287
10. Baylor (9) – 288
11. Kentucky – 290
12. Arkansas (39) – 291
13. LSU (7) – 292
14. Rice – 300
MATCH REPORT WRITTEN BY Patrick Pierson; COURTESY ARKANSAS MEDIA RELATIONS
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Written by J.Y. Mortimer on 01 March 2015
Scarlet Knights scored four runs in both the first and ninth innings
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (March 1, 2015) – Rutgers baseball scored four in the first inning and held on late to beat Old Dominion, 13-9, in the series finale Sunday at the Ripken Experience. Junior Chris Suseck (Flemington, N.J.) cracked his first collegiate home run to highlight a balanced offensive attack.
The Scarlet Knights (1-6) totaled season highs with 11 hits on 13 runs, while also drawing 13 walks. Senior Vinny Zarrillo (Forked River, N.J.) led RU with three hits, while sophomores Christian Campbell (Sayreville, N.J.) and Tom Marcinczyk (Middlesex, N.J.) each had two. Marcinczyk also joined Suseck with three RBIs on the day.
Sophomore Kyle Driscoll (Toms River, N.J.) was sharp on the mound in his second start of the season, allowing no earned runs over four innings. The right-hander permitted three hits and struck out five in the 79-pitch outing. Classmate Max Herrmann (Rutherford, N.J.) (1-1) earned the win with one inning of pressure relief, stranding the potential tying run at third in the eighth inning. Senior Jon Young (Old Bridge, N.J.) worked the ninth to secure Rutgers’ first victory of the season.
RU quickly jumped ahead with four runs in the top of the first. Senior Joe D’Annunzio (Scotch Plains, N.J.) drew a walk on a full count to start the rally and moved up one base on a single by Zarrillo. Marcinczyk next drilled an RBI single through the right side to score D’Annunzio and move Zarrillo to third. Continuing the attack, Campbell laced a two-run double to the right-center gap to make it 3-0. The inning was capped when Campbell moved to third on a passed ball and scored on a productive grounder by Suseck.
Driscoll kept the lead at four until the offense was able to tack on another in the third. Zarrillo connected for a leadoff double to right and advanced to third on a wild pitch. With the infield back, Marcinczyk rolled an RBI grounder to first to plate Zarrillo.
After ODU (2-4) made a pitching change in the fourth, Rutgers expanded its advantage to 7-0. Sophomore T.J. Perkowski (South Brunswick, N.J.)drew a walk as a pinch hitter to start the frame and stole second with one out. Junior R.J. Devish (Beachwood, N.J.) and sophomore Mike Carter (Bloomfield, N.J.) both walked to load the bases, with D’Annunzio bringing in Perkowski on a fielder’s choice. Devish eventually came in unearned on a muffed throw to third on a pickoff attempt.
The Monarchs chipped back with single runs in the bottom of the fourth and fifth. However, Suseck padded the lead with a two-run shot the opposite way in the seventh. Marcinczyk had previously doubled in the frame.
Old Dominion responded with three runs in both the seventh and eighth inning to make it a 9-8 game and brought the tying run to third with one out. Herrmann, though, quelled the rally by notching a pair of swinging strikeouts to keep the lead.
From there, RU added four insurance runs in the top of the ninth, sending 10 batters to the plate. Suseck started the affair with a walk and moved up on a sacrifice bunt by freshman Milo Freeman (Millburn, N.J.). Junior John Jennings (Berkeley Heights, N.J.) then drove an RBI single down the right field line. After a fly out, Carter worked his third walk of the game and D’Annunzio followed with another to load the bases. Zarrillo next hit a sharp unplayable grounder to the shortstop hole to score Jennings and Marcinczyk was hit by pitch to bring in Carter.
Old Dominion finished the scoring with one run in the ninth, but Young prevented further trouble and ended the game with a comebacker.
Nick Hartman (0-1) took the loss, as ODU used six different pitchers in the game. It was the 19th consecutive season the Scarlet Knights and Monarchs met on the diamond.
Weather permitting, Rutgers will attempt to play its home opener Wednesday at 3 p.m. versus Fairleigh Dickinson. WRSU will have live radio coverage from Bainton Field.
NOTES
Rutgers reached double-digit runs eight times last season, going 7-1 in those contests … the last time the offense totaled at least 10 was a 10-0 shutout win over USF in the opener of the 2014 conference tournament … eight of the nine starters scored a run … the last time RU drew 13 walks in a game was April 3, 2012 in win over Princeton … the game lasted three hours, 29 minutes – the longest of the early season … Driscoll has had at least as many strikeouts as innings pitched in eight of 12 career starts … the three starting pitchers combined to work 16.1 innings with only two earned runs allowed (1.10 ERA) in the series … volunteer assistant coach Lou Clemente earned his first collegiate victory on the coaching staff.
Follow Rutgers Athletics on Facebook and Twitter (@RUAthletics) for all of the latest news and updates. For specific updates regarding baseball, follow the program on Twitter (@BaseballRU), Instagram (@rutgersbaseball) and Tumblr.
-RU-
GAME RECAP WRITTEN BY Jimmy Gill; COURTESY RUTGERS ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS
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