Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian Boys Basketball Coach Emeritus Marc Davidson passes away
Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian boys’ basketball head coach emeritus Marc Davidson died Monday at age 49 after a long battle with cancer. Davidson coached the Braves from 2014-2022 and is the program’s all-time winningest coach with a 197-55 record. He led Blackhawk to a Class 1A state title in 2019 and a Class 2A state title in 2021, and his teams were 128-16 in the last five years. His teams won Eight Sectional, Two Regional and Two Semi State Titles. Before coming to Blackhawk Christian in 2013, Davidson was 30-15 during two seasons at Lakewood Park Christian with a 227-70 record in 11 seasons overall. He coached his Son’s Frankie, Marcus and Jimmy. Frankie and Marcus were a part of those two state championship teams along with 2021 Mr. Basketball Caleb Furst who is playing at Purdue University.
Davidson was first diagnosed with kidney cancer in October 2020, but it spread shortly thereafter. His official diagnosis was a rare form of cancer called renal epithelioid angiomyolipoma. With prayers from countless prayers and friends for strength, Davidson continued coaching. He also continued testifying. During the 2021 state tournament title run and again during this regular season, opponents prayed with Davidson and the Braves following games after he gave a short testimony. Often, those sitting in the stands were stone silent as they tried to listen in. He was named head coach emeritus in mid-April, which allowed him to retain his title “as an honor to him for his years of leadership over the boys’ basketball program,” according to the school.
Davidson was also a competitive powerlifter, winning the master’s Heavyweight Division title at the Strongman National Championships in Las Vegas in September 2019. Even more amazing, he didn’t start competing until he was 39. Davidson liked to train most mornings in Blackhawk Christian’s weight room. As a player, Davidson played college ball at Illinois and then at Trinity International in Deerfield Illinois where is number 44 jersey is retired. He played professionally in France from 1995 to 2006, retiring at age 33. He and his wife Lisa were married for 26 years and have seven children Wesley (Ashton), William (Sarah), Frankie, Marcus, Jimmy, Jaela and Isaiah.
Matt Roth, a former Indiana University player and Blackhawk Christian assistant coach, was named head coach last week.
Future Indiana Men’s Basketball Player Gabe Cupps to play game at New Albany HS
Future Indiana University Men’s Basketball Guard Gabe Cupps will play a game in Southern Indiana next winter. The New Albany Bulldogs will host Gabe Cupps and Centerville (Ohio) on Thursday, December 29 at the Doghouse in New Albany Indiana. Junior Varsity will tip at 6 p.m. ET with the varsity game to follow. Cupps averaged 14.3 points, 6.8 assists, 2.5 rebounds and two steals as a junior and was awarded the Mr. Basketball award in Ohio. Cupps led Centerville to 45 straight wins, including a state championship in 2021 and a runner-up finish in 2022. The four-star guard committed to Indiana on November 16, 2021.
Indiana Women’s Field Hockey Adds Albany transfer Lara Mortz
Indiana Field Hockey head coach Kayla Bashore announced Lara Mortz, a transfer midfielder from Albany, has signed with the program. Mortz, a Hamburg, Germany native, will be a junior when she arrives at IU for the 2022 season, but she will have three years of eligibility remaining. In her two seasons at Albany, Mortz played in 27 games and made 24 starts. She has recorded nine assists and five goals in her career. As a sophomore in the 2021 season, she had five assists and three goals. All 10 shots taken in her collegiate career have been on goal, as well.
Mortz graduated from Gymnasium Heidberg prior to playing collegiately. She played youth field hockey for UHC Hamburg from 2008-2020, and played adult field hockey for UHC Hamburg from 2019-2020, on the 2nd Ladies Team in the 3rd League. Mortz also played on the 1st Team extended roster in the 1st League Bundesliga. She is the daughter of Stefan and Astrid Mortz, and has one brother, Leif.
Other incoming members of the 2022 signing class include:
Gabriella Cicuto | Midfielder/Defender | Raleigh, N.C., Kai Snell | Midfielder/Defender | Somerton, UK, Jule Hufer | Midfield | Krefeld, Germany, Nina Faupel | Goalie | Chelsea, Mich. Ceci Maixner | Midfielder/Defender | Ann Arbor, Mich., Anna Mozeleski| Midfield/Forward | Kingston, Pa. (early enrollee), Kylie Dawson | Defender | Audubon, N.J. and Emma Thompson | Defender | Auckland, New Zealand.
Indiana Women’s Tennis adds two transfers from Michigan State and Wake Forest
Indiana University Women’s Tennis Head Coach Ramiro Azcui has announced the addition of two transfers to the Indiana women’s tennis program. Lauren Lemonds and Saby Nihalani will be joining the Hoosiers.
Lemonds, a native of Carmel, Indiana, played four seasons at Michigan State. In her junior season she was named the team MVP, an ITA Scholar-Athlete, Academic All-Big Ten and Big Ten Distinguished Scholar honoree. Lemonds went 10-7 in singles with a 10-5 mark in conference matches. This past season Lemonds posted a 13-13 singles record. Lemonds had the most wins in Indiana high school season history with a 33-0 record in 2017 and was named the Indiana Girl’s Tennis Player of the Year. She helped her Carmel team to State Championships in 2017 and 2018.
Nihalani, from New Delhi, India, finished up her senior season this past year at Wake Forest. In the 2021-22 season she finished with a 7-4 singles record, including 4-3 in ACC matches. She was captain of the Wake Forest team in the 2020-21 season. Nihalani played for the junior Fed Cup Indian team for U-16.
Indianapolis Indians Coverage
Indians Score 8 Runs in 8th Inning to Win 15-3 at Charlotte
The Indianapolis Indians scored 8 runs in the top of the 8th inning to beat the Charlotte Knights 15-3 at Truist Field in Charlotte North Carolina Tuesday night. The Indians led 5-0 after three innings when the Knights scored 2 in the bottom of the fifth to make 5-2. The Indians added a run in the top of the sixth inning and Knights responded with a run in the bottom of the sixth inning to make 6-3. The Indians scored 8 runs in the top of the eighth inning to put the game away. Indianapolis had 16 hits and no errors while Charlotte had 6 hits and 1 error. The Indians are 15-14 on the season and the Knights fall to 12-19 and the two teams meet at 6:35pm this evening for game 2 of the six-game series.
The Indians Announced the following roster changes before Tuesday night’s game. Right-Handed Pitcher Duane Underwood Jr. has ML rehab has been transferred from Indianapolis to Double-A Altoona. Catcher Carter Bins has been transferred from Double-A Altoona to Indianapolis and Infielder Hunter Owen placed on 7-day injured list.
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