Women's indoor track and field
Triad graduate honored by GLVC
LEBANON -- McKendree University senior Kristin Wykoff was selected as the Great Lakes Valley Conference Women's Indoor Track and Field Athlete of the Week. The honor was announced Wednesday by the GLVC office in Indianapolis.
Wykoff (Triad) threw for a school-record 15.54 meters (51 feet) in the weight throw at the Knox College Open on Saturday. Wykoff won the event by nearly one meter, then took second place in the shot put in the same meet with a toss of 12.11 meters (39 feet, 8 3/4 inches). With her winning effort in the weight throw, Wykoff moved up to third on the GLVC performance list in the event.
Wykoff becomes the first McKendree track and field athlete to earn GLVC weekly honors. The Bearcats are in their first season of competition in the GLVC.
McKendree will close out its indoor season at the GLVC Championships Feb. 22-23 in Indianapolis, Ind.
SIUE signs state champ to letter
EDWARDSVILLE -- The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville women's track and field team signed thrower Megan Lauzon (Rushville ) to a National Letter of Intent, making her the Cougars' first signee for the 2013-14 season.
"Megan is tall, explosive, and strong," coach Kareem Jackson said. "She has assets that you can't coach, and we believe she'll continue to develop her skills during her time here."
As a junior at Rushville High School, Lauzon won the 1A Illinois State Championship in the shot put with a throw of 43 feet, 9.5 inches.
The Cougars currently are preparing for OVC Indoor Championships which begin Friday afternoon in Charleston.
Men's basketball
SIUE forward suspended for season
EDWARDSVILLE -- Southern Illinois University Edwardsville men's coach Lennox Forrester has announced the suspension of senior forward Jerome Jones for the remainder of the basketball season.
"He has not met the expectations and standards I have for my team and that our department has for our student-athletes," Forrester said. "He will not play for the rest of the season, however will remain on scholarship and will receive all the academic support necessary to help him complete his degree next fall."
SIUE Director of Athletics Brad Hewitt fully backs the decision made by Forrester.
"I support the decision to suspend Jerome Jones for the remainder of the season," Hewitt said. "We have a 'Commitment to Excellence' philosophy which defines the SIUE way for success."
"Everyone in our department is expected to embrace this philosophy," Hewitt continued. "Coach Forrester has done a great job leading this team through our certification to Division I, and it is more important than ever to maintain our values and integrity and to continue to develop our student athletes so they may reach their potential."
Women's bowling
McKendree ties for fifth in Hoosier Classic
LEBANON -- The McKendree University women's bowling team wrapped up its 2012-13 regular season by finishing in a tie for fifth place at the Backhaul Direct Hoosier Classic. The two-day tournament was held in Indianapolis, Ind.
McKendree fared better in the individual standings, where two Bearcat bowlers earned All-Tournament honors. Junior Trista Flowers took second place in the field of 386 bowlers. She averaged 198.1 over a nine-game block, with a high game of 236 for the weekend. Senior Marilyn Gawlik was right behind in third place, averaging 197.9 in the nine games. Gawlik rolled a 279 in game four for her best effort in the qualifying rounds.
With the regular season now complete, McKendree awaits its assignment for the 2013 United States Bowling Congress (USBC) Intercollegiate Team Championship sectional qualifier. Sectional assignments will be announced later this week.
Men's bowling
Bearcats finish in tie for third in tourney
LEBANON -- The McKendree University men's bowling team caught fire at just the right time at the Backhaul Direct Hoosier Classic, winning a pair of match-play contests Sunday to reach the tournament semifinals. The Bearcats finished in a tie for third place at the two-day tournament, which was held in Indianapolis, Ind.
McKendree now awaits its assignment for the 2013 United States Bowling Congress (USBC) Intercollegiate Team Championship sectional qualifier. The USBC ITC qualifier will be held March 9-10 at one of four sites across the country: Allentown, Pa., Smyrna, Tenn., Fairview Heights and Las Vegas, Nev. Participants at the four sites will be announced later this week.
Men's tennis
Cougars rally to defeat Billikens
EDWARDSVILLE -- The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville men's tennis team continued its impressive play coming from behind to defeat Saint Louis University 4-2 at the Edwardsville YMCA.
The Cougars (4-1) narrowly lost the doubles point to the Billikens, but responded by winning four of five singles matches to drop their local rivals.
Next up for the Cougars is a home match against Chicago State March 2. Play is scheduled to begin at 11:00 a.m.
Bearcats open season with victory
BELLEVILLE -- The McKendree University men's tennis team swept Missouri Baptist University 9-0 to open its season.
The Bearcats improved to 1-0 with the win, and will travel to Carbondale on Saturday to face Southern Illinois University-Carbondale at 1 p.m.
Lynx fall to 2-2 with loss to Olivet Nazarene
JACKSONVILLE -- The Lindenwood University-Belleville men's tennis team traveled to Kankakee County to challenge the Olivet Nazarene Tigers.
The No. 1 doubles team of Eduardo Garcia and Christian Hamilton were defeated by the fourth-ranked team in the nation by a score of 8-1. The duo of Quoc Nguyen and Dylan Prosser put up a good fight before falling 8-5 and the pairing of Rodney Atwaters and Kasey Cooper dropped an 8-3 decision.
In singles matches, No. 1 Garcia faced the ninth-ranked player in the nation in Julian Kurz. After falling 6-2 in the first set, Garcia hung tough before eventually dropping the second set, 7-5. Nguyen also faced a nationally ranked foe at No. 2 singles, Diego Gonsalvez, and was beaten in straight sets 6-3, 6-0. At No. 3 singles Prosser lost 6-3, 6-1 and Hamilton dropped a 6-0, 6-4 decision at No 4 singles. Atwaters fell 6-1, 6-0 and the Tigers completed the shutout defeating John Schupbach 6-4, 6-0 at the No. 6 slot.
With the loss the Lynx fall to 2-2 on the season while the Tigers start their season 1-0.
Women's tennis
LU-Belleville loses season opening match
BOURBONNAIS -- The Lindenwood University-Belleville women's tennis team traveled to Kankakee County to challenge the Olivet Nazarene Tigers. The match was the debut appearance for the women's team in 2013.
In No. 1 doubles action on the women's side, the pairing of Lindsey Waters and Jordyn Guzman fell to their opponents by a score of 8-2 while the duo of Laura Knysak and Brooke Brandley lost 8-0 at No. 2 doubles. Olivet Nazarene was able to extend their lead to 3-0 with a default at the No. 3 doubles position.
At No. 1 singles Walters dropped a 6-0, 6-1 decision while Guzman lost by a score of 6-2, 6-2. At No. 3 singles Knysak fell to her foe 6-1, 6-2 while Brandley had to retire due to an injury after dropping the first set 6-0. The Tigers were able to complete their shutout with defaults at the No. 5 and 6 singles positions.
The loss drops the Lynx record to 0-1 while the Tigers improved to 1-0.
McKendree shuts out Missouri Baptist
BELLEVILLE -- The McKendree University women's tennis team posted a season-opening shutout over Missouri Baptist University 9-0.
The Bearcats improved to 1-0 overall and will travel to Carbondale on Friday to face Southern Illinois University-Carbondale at 6 p.m.
Billikens blank SIUE in match
EDWARDSVILLE -- The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville women's tennis team suffered a 4-0 loss against Saint Louis at the Edwardsville YMCA Saturday evening.
The loss drops the Cougars to 2-4 on the season, while the Billikens improved to 5-3.
Next up for SIUE is a trip to Evansville for a dual match Friday night. The match is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.
Wrestling
Bearcats close out season with win
LEBANON -- The McKendree University wrestling team earned bonus points in four of its victories to defeat Truman State University 32-10.
The Bearcats closed out its dual season with an overall record of 5-8, and will make the short trip to Belleville on March 2 to compete at the National Collegiate Wrestling Association Regional tournament.
Sophomore Dylon Viglasky (Belleville West) opened the dual with a major decision win over J.J. Dorrell at 125 pounds to give McKendree an early 4-0 lead, and junior Brenden Murphy followed with a tech fall win over Jabez Zinabu, 17-2, at 133 pounds to extend the lead to 9-3.
The Bulldogs rallied and took a 10-9 lead with three straight wins, but the Bearcats won the last five matches to cruise to the win.
Sophomore Nick Haferkamp pinned Dustin McClintock at the 2:46 mark of the first period at 165 pounds to regain the lead, 15-10, and junior Isaiah Gonzalez earned a 10-3 decision win over Chase Wrisinger at 174 pounds to extend the McKendree lead to 18-10.
Sophomore Luis Albadefeated Nate Seiler, 13-9, at 184 pounds to give the Bearcats their first double-digit lead of the night, and sophomore Julian Smith earned an 18-1 tech fall victory over Helmut Rentschler at 197 pounds to push the lead to 26-10.
Senior Zac Weber (Belleville East) closed out the dual with a forfeit win at heavyweight to give McKendree the 32-10 win.
Cougars score two dual victories
EDWARDSVILLE -- Southern Illinois University Edwardsville wrestling took a step forward Sunday with two dual victories at the Vadalabene Center.
SIUE improved to 5-17 with a 52-6 victory over Knox and a 38-9 triumph over Lindenwood-Belleville. SIUE dropped a 33-12 decision to Indiana.
The 52 dual match points was the most scored by the Cougars since SIUE scored 44 against Briar Cliff during the 2004-05 season.
The Cougars have two Southern Conference (SoCon) matches left. SIUE faces VMI and Chattanooga next Saturday in Chattanooga, Tenn.
Softball
Cougars win two games
WOODSTOCK, Ga. -- The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville softball squad swept a pair of games at the KSU Classic, picking up wins over Liberty and Mercer.
The Cougars downed Liberty 4-3 and Mercer 8-7.
"You keep battling and luckily we were able to get clutch hits when we needed it," said SIUE Head Coach Sandy Montgomery.
SIUE improved its overall record to 4-3 and next travels to Memphis, Tenn., for the Blues City Classic that will be played Friday through Sunday. The Cougars play Kansas City in an 11 a.m. game Friday and follow that with Wright State and Detroit Saturday as well as Mississippi State Sunday.
Woodland Elementary to welcome SIUE
EDWARDSVILLE -- The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville softball team will make multiple appearances at Woodland Elementary over the next two weeks to meet with their Pen Pals.
Small groups from the SIUE softball team will be meeting with Mrs. Ogden's fourth grade class. The groups will be reading to the students during their silent reading time. The book is Jackie & Me, a piece of fiction based on stories of famed baseball player Jackie Robinson.
The complete SIUE softball team will return as a group March 1.
Baseball
SIUE earns first victory of season
NASVILLE, Tenn. -- Devin Caldwell homered and drove in all three runs Sunday as Southern Illinois University Edwardsville earned its first win of the year, taking the final game of a three-game series 3-2 at Lipscomb.
"It feels pretty good," Interim coach Tony Stoecklin said of his first win as the Cougars' head coach.
The Cougars return to the road for a four-game weekend series at Arkansas-Little Rock beginning Friday.
