Indiana University Women’s Basketball arrives in Greece
The Hoosiers have touched down in Greece! After starting the day at 7:45am Tuesday morning at Cook Hall which included a layover in Atlanta and a 9 ½ hour flight from Atlanta, all 45 members of the travel party have landed safely in the capital city of Athens. In addition to players, staff and team personnel, a variety of other special guests including spouse and families. After clearing customs, meeting tour guide Marika and loading all the bags, we kept our bodies moving and adjusting to local time, we hit the town by driving into the heart of the city center to the Plaka district to grab some lunch. Some opted for sit down meal and others chose street food including gyros (with fries inside!) while also doing a bit of souvenir shopping.
Up next was a trip to Lycabettus Hill, the highest point in the center of Athens. Accessible, by cable car, the views are stunning to say the least. It’s a 360 view of the entire city of Athens where many selfies were taken as well as exploring the Agios Georgios church. The first full day in Greece caps off with a welcome dinner at Diodos Agoras for a family style Greek meal of tzatziki, grape leaves, breads, baked feta, Greek salad along with any meat of your choosing. After dinner, the group headed back to the hotel for a much welcome full night of sleep after a long day of travel!
Indiana University Football player James Evans named to the Ray Guy Preseason Award Watch List
Indiana Junior punter James Evans was selected for the Ray Guy Award preseason watch list, the Augusta Sports Council announced on Wednesday. Evans currently holds the program’s all-time punting average mark at 43.1 yards after he finished No. 2 on the single season punt average charts (44.3) in 2022, tied with Jim DiGullio (1992). He finished 2022 ranked No. 2 in punting average (44.3) and No. 3 in total punts (75) in a season, tied with Tyson Beattie (2005). In his career, Evans has 17 career punts inside the 10-yard line and 43 downed inside the 20-yard line.
The Augusta Sports Council created the Ray Guy Award in 2000 to honor Thomson, Georgia native and College and Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee, Ray Guy. Among the statistics used to identify the winner is net punting average, number of times punt is downed or kicked out of bounds inside the opponents 20-yard line, total yardage punted, average returned yardage and percentage of punts not returned with particular emphasis placed on net punting average. The winner must display team leadership, self-discipline and have a positive impact on the team’s success. The 50 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) punters make up the initial list and candidates are added as the season progresses. The complete list of candidates will be released on November 6th and ten semifinalists will be announced on November 10th.
A national body of Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) sports information directors, media representatives and previous Ray Guy Award winners will then vote for the top three finalists to be announced on November 22nd. After the finalists are named, the voting body will cast ballots again to select the nation’s top punter. The winner will be announced live during TheHome Depot College Football Awards airing on ESPN in December 2023.
Henna Sandvik and Finland fall to Israel in the FIBA U-20 European Championships
IU Women’s Basketball Sophomore Henna Sandvik started and played 35 Minutes and 35 Seconds for Finland in a 63-53 loss to Israel in a round of 16 Matchup at the FIBA U-20 European Championships in Klaipeda Lithuania on Wednesday. Sandvik scored 2 points on 1-6 shooting from the field and 0-2 from three-point range. She pulled down 9 rebounds, dished out 3 assists, a steal and a turnover. Finland will play Belgium in a Classification Game to determine the 9th through 16th place teams on Friday at 11AM Bloomington Time and 6PM Local Time in Vilnius Lithuania.
Sandvik has played and started in all four games for Finland averaging 9.3 points and 21.8 minutes per game. She has scored 37 points in 112 total minutes, pulled down 23 rebounds, dishes out 9 assists, 4 block shots, 3 steals, and committed 4 turnovers. Sandvik is 12-32 from the field for 37%, 1-8 from three-point range for 12% and 12-14 from the free throw line for 85%.
Indiana University Volleyball wraps up Big Ten Media Days
The Indiana volleyball team wrapped up its portion of the Big Ten Media Days on Tuesday at the Big Ten Network studios in Chicago. Head coach Steve Aird, junior setter Camryn Haworth and senior outside hitter/defensive specialist Grae Gosnell represented the Hoosiers, answering questions and providing insight into the program heading into the 2023 season this fall. Ahead of IU’s campaign, which begins Tuesday, August 8th with the first day of fall camp, IU’s representatives broke down the team’s success last year, the Big Ten as a whole and what it takes to continuing building a strong foundation in Bloomington.
Here are three IU takeaways from the 2023 Big Ten Volleyball Media Days. Depth at Every Position-IU will field a roster of 17 players this fall. Perhaps the deepest team he’s had in Bloomington, Aird has built a group that features high-level talent at every position. 12 players return from a season ago including six starting rotational players. Paired with five talented newcomers, the competition level in the gym is extremely high. Haworth, IU’s starting setter and First Team All-Big Ten member, returns with heavy arms around her including junior outside hitter Mady Saris, senior outside hitter Morgan Geddes and senior middle blocker Savannah Kjolhede.
Graduate student middle blocker Kaley Rammelsberg has played in over 100 matches in her career while Gosnell, sophomore outside hitter Candela Alonso-Corcelles and senior defensive specialist Isa Lopez returned valuable experience at all positions. Cincinnati transfer and sophomore opposite hitter Avry Tatum, Under Armour All-American libero Ramsey Garyand freshman middle blocker Ava Vickers add to an already talented group across the board. “I think we’ve got some talent,” Aird said. “I think we’ve got more depth than I’ve ever had as a head coach. So I’m excited about that.”
Building a Culture of Hard Work-IU’s entire roster has been getting after it in the spring and summer. Both Haworth and Gosnell talked about IU’s desire to work and continue getting better. Despite being picked eighth in the preseason poll, the highest ranking in program history, IU’s veteran duo is far from satisfied. Aird emphasized that his athletes stay in the gym late and that now, more than ever, there’s a high intensity and desire to get better from all of his athletes. When asked who the biggest gym rat on the team was, Gosnell and Haworth both responded with the same answer: senior outside hitter Morgan Geddes.
The layout and the blueprint were created when Aird arrived in Bloomington and has been picked up by veteran players and newcomers. The competition level, highlighted by the depth at all position, is the highest it’s been since Aird took the IU job. Now, with seniors like Gosnell and Rammelsberg at the helm, IU’s starting to see that fiery mentality and desire to grow reach everyone in the program. “It’s in the DNA. It’s the fight. It’s the born-this-way kind of edge in a player that has been cultivating what we want our program to be,” Gosnell said.
The Big Ten is a Gauntlet-IU was picked eighth in the Big Ten Preseason Poll. Despite winning nine games a season ago in the Big Ten, the most by an IU team since 2010, Aird was reserved when talking about his team’s standing in the conference. A long-time veteran of the Big Ten, Aird understands the challenges that each game and season bring to every program. Five teams in the Big Ten made the Sweet 16 or better a season ago with seven different clubs ranked inside the top-15 of the AVCA poll at some point last year.
With a strong returning core and a group that experienced a small taste of high-level success last year, IU has the pieces to put out a strong team every single night. No matter what, the level of intensity from IU and it’s 17 athletes will never waver far from its core values of playing hard and playing fast. “We’ll be good enough or we won’t, but we’re going to work really hard, and I think if you were to poll my colleagues, they’d say that Indiana is a team that competes and they play hard every single night, and that’s the first step, I think, to getting where we want to go,” Aird said. “It’s foolish to be like, hey, I’d like to be fifth or seventh or — bottom line is we’ll be good enough or we won’t be, but it’s not going to be from lack of passion and lack of care and lack of work.”
News and Notes- The Hoosiers will begin their 49th season of volleyball this year. Indiana will open its fall camp on Tuesday, August 8th for two weeks of training before classes begin on Monday, August 21st. The Hoosiers first match will be against New Hampshire on Friday, August 25th in the first of three matches at home in the Indiana Invitational. Four of IU’s matches will be broadcasted on the Big Ten Network, a single season program record. Haworth was among 15 athletes named to the Preseason All-Big Ten team and one of just three setters to earn preseason honors. IU was picked eighth in the Big Ten Preseason Poll behind Ohio State (6th) and Illinois (7th) and ahead of Maryland (9th).
Indiana Fever win at home against the Phoenix Mercury
Indiana Fever forward Emma Cannon scored a career-high 23 points in Tuesday night’s 72-71 win at Gainbridge Fieldhouse against the Phoenix Mercury. Cannon earned her ninth career start on Tuesday and made a season-high eight field goals on 17 attempts from the floor, while also pulling down a season-high nine rebounds. Fever All-Star Kelsey Mitchell netted 21 points on the night to go along with two assists and two steals. After completing her third of five total field goals in the matchup, Mitchell reached 1,000 career made field goals and ended the night maintaining her second-place position in the franchise ranks with 1,002 career field goals.
Fever guard Erica Wheeler added 13 points in the win and dished out two assists. Fever All-Star Aliyah Boston added six points, 11 rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocked shots. Boston pulled down her 200th career rebound in the second quarter and ended the night with 205 total rebounds through the first 26 games of her career. Former Indiana University player Grace Berger scores 2 points in 10 minutes. Berger went 1-1 from the field and pulled down a rebound. The Fever take on the Washington Mystics on Friday at 7pm and the game will be broadcast only on ION.
After opening the first five minutes of play shooting 6-of-8 from the court, Indiana finished the first frame 9-of-17 from the floor and outscored the Mercury, 18-6, in the paint. Mitchell guided Indiana’s offensive effort in the first ten minutes as she netted 11 points on 2-of-3 shooting from the floor while also shooting 7-of-7 from the charity stripe. Following a quarter that featured five lead changes, the Mercury led the Fever, 28-27, going into the second frame. The second quarter belonged to Cannon after she notched 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the floor while pulling down four rebounds. Cannon’s layup at the 3:50 earned the Fever a six-point lead, which was the largest lead for either team through the first half and capped off Indiana’s 18-7 scoring run. Indiana held on to a three-point advantage as the second quarter ended, 46-43.
Indiana maintained its lead through the third quarter holding Phoenix to 30.8 percent (4-of-13) from the floor and outscored the Mercury, 17-14. After extending the advantage to as many as eight points on one occasion, the Fever led the Mercury, 63-57, as the third quarter concluded. The Fever took an 11-point lead, their largest lead of the night, at the 7:12 mark of the fourth frame, but a 14-2 Phoenix scoring run allowed the Mercury to reduce the deficit and bring the lead within one point with roughly two minutes remaining. Though Phoenix succeeded in overcoming the deficit by taking a one-point lead at the 2:18 mark, a layup from Cannon allowed the Fever to overtake the advantage for the final time with one minute remaining and secure the win.
For Phoenix, the Mercury were guided by Diana Taurasi’s season-high 29 points on a season-best 10 made field goals on 16 attempts. Taurasi also tied a season-high five completed three-point field goals on eight attempts and shot 4-of-4 from the free throw line. In addition, she dished out three assists and pulled down five rebounds. Megan Gustafson followed behind with 17 points on 6-of-15 shooting from the floor to go along with four rebounds. Shey Peddy added seven points and Sug Sutton contributed six points, while both players also dished out three assists each.
The Golfweek Hoosier Amateur is coming back to the Indiana University Pfau Course next week
More than 100 of the best amateur golfers are headed to The Pfau Course at Indiana University next week. The course will play host to the Golfweek Hoosier Amateur Aug. 8-10. The event will feature both men’s and women’s divisions for a 54-hole, stroke play competition. The event is free for spectators to attend.
While the field will include players from all around the state, it will also have a significant Indiana University flavor. Maddie May and Nicole Kolbas, a pair of new arrivals to Coach Brian May’s IU Women’s Golf program for 2023-24, are expected to compete. On the men’s side, at least six members of Coach Mike Mayer’s program are in the field: Robbie Bender III, Eric Berggren, Noah Gillard, Thomas Hursey, Clay Merchent and Nick Piesen.
This marks the fourth straight year that the Golfweek Hoosier Amateur has been contested at The Pfau Course. Ranked as one of the top 100 public golf courses in the nation by Golf Digest earlier this summer, the course continues to attract elite golf competitions. Most notably, the Indiana State Amateur Golf Tournament was contested at IU’s home course, marking the first time in the event’s 123-year history that it was played in Bloomington.
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