College News

Falcon Baseball Announces Early Signees for 2012

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -- Bowling Green Baseball has announced the signing of three student-athletes that will join the Falcons for the 2011-12 academic year. All three signees reside from the greater Cincinnati, Ohio area and at one point played for the prestigious Cincinnati Flames 17-U summer baseball program. The three-man class will showcase two pitchers, one from each side of the mound, and a middle infielder.

Brian Bien -- Shortstop -- Cincinnati, Ohio (Roger Bacon High School)
For the last two seasons, Bien has lit up the base paths of the Greater Catholic League (GCL) while also making a habit of hitting for a high average as a middle infielder for the Roger Bacon High School Spartans. He was named to the All-GCL First Team as a sophomore and junior, stealing 25 or more bases in each of those two seasons. In 2009, Bien batted .393 and swiped 25 bases. The following season he had a .414 batting average and was a perfect 28-for-28 in stolen base attempts for the Spartans.

Coach Danny Schmitz on Bien -- “Brian is a very good athlete that will be able to play multiple positions for us. He has plus speed and knows how to use it to his advantage. He has great actions in the infield. With some added strength and size, Brian is going to be a great hitter at this level as well”.

Jason Link -- RHP -- Hamilton, Ohio (Hamilton High School)
As one that wasted no time in receiving quality innings as soon as he arrived at Hamilton High School, right-handed pitcher Jason Link is being brought to BGSU to add depth to the Falcon pitching staff. Through his first three seasons at HHS, he has been named to the First Team All-County (sophomore) and First Team All-Greater Miami Conference (junior) squads while twice being named as a First Team All-Conference Academic honoree. Last year as a junior, Link posted a 5-3 record while possessing a 2.23 earned-run average in 53.1 innings pitched. He racked up 54 strikeouts, which ranked him second in Butler County, and recorded one shutout on the season while being named the team’s top pitcher.

Coach Schmitz on Link -- “Jason is a very strong right-handed pitcher that attacks the zone with a good fastball and a plus slider. He will compete each and every time you give him the ball. We expect Jason to be able to compete for innings right away as a freshman”.

Andrew Lacinak -- LHP -- Cincinnati, Ohio (Reading High School)
Perhaps as a tease of what was yet to come, Lacinak began his superiority of the Cincinnati Hills League (CHL) as a freshman when in two appearances he posted wins in each game over 4.2 innings of work, he struck out five batters and had an unscathed ERA. After earning a full-time job as one of Reading High School’s starting pitchers, Lacinak combined for a 13-3 overall record and 136 strikeouts over 96.1 innings during his sophomore and juniors seasons. Last year as a junior, he went 7-1 with 78 strikeouts in 11 games and 51.1 innings pitched. He finished the season with a 1.23 ERA and kept his WHIP just under 1.00, ending the year with a 0.99 mark. His final numbers in both WHIP and strikeouts led the CHL and helped him to go on and be named CHL Player of the Year. In addition, Lacinak earned First Team All-City honors and was named to the All-CHL First Team that season.

Coach Schmitz on Lacinak -- “Andrew is a true pitcher. He knows how he wants to attack each hitter and he is able to execute it. His fastball has good movement and he is able to throw all of his pitches for strikes”.

Despite the size of the class, Falcon head coach Danny Schmitz feels that he has maximized the quality of the class with the individuals that it consists of. “As a whole we were very happy with this class of student-athletes. It is a small class, but we were able to address and fill some needs that we had. We feel that all three of these young men will add depth to our staff and athleticism to our roster. All three of these young men are great in the classroom as well.”


LAS VEGAS - Sophomore Sean Esposito swished a step back three from the top of the key with 5.1 seconds left to send IUPUI to a thrilling 69-68 win over San Francisco in the finale of the 2010 Jerry Tarkanian Holiday Hoops Classic on Thursday night. The three capped a wild night as IUPUI trailed by as many as 12 in the first half and were still down by 11 with 7:19 to play. After Esposito's trey, USF guard Michael Williams misfired on a wing three as time expired.

"It feels unbelievable," Esposito said. "To not play in five games and then come out and hit a game-winner feels unbelievable. I knew there'd be an opportunity with Leroy (Nobles) out and I had to be ready to make shots."

Senior John Ashworth led three Jaguars in double-digits with a career-high 18 points on six threes and junior Alex Young added 17 points and 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the season. Classmate Stephen Thomas matched his career-high with 16 points, 11 of which came in the second half, and Esposito finished with nine on three threes. IUPUI (6-8) was without second leading scorer Leroy Nobles, who suffered an injury in the loss to No. 7 San Diego State on Tuesday. Nobles had started 60 straight games before watching Thursday's game from the sidelines in a black IUPUI sweatsuit.

"With Leroy out, we knew someone had to pick up the slack," Ashworth said. "I knew I had to come out and be aggressive. I hit my first (three), and that kind of got me going the rest of the night."

With IUPUI's top marksman on the bench, both teams came out firing - and hitting - from the outset. San Francisco (4-8) went racing out to an 11-3 lead, thanks to three early trifectas and IUPUI was seemingly playing uphill from that point forward.

IUPUI took a brief lead at 24-23 when Young threw down a two-handed dunk as the trailer on the break off a pass from Ashworth at the 9:13 mark. USF continued to rain in threes though as three different players hit on consecutive possessions, helping push the lead out to 40-28 with 4:12 left before halftime.

IUPUI closed the half on a 9-1 run to close within 41-37 at the break. San Francisco hit 9-of-14 from three in the first half and finished the game at 11-of-25 (44 percent).

Runs were easily the story of the second half, beginning with the Dons' 7-0 burst to start the final 20 minutes. However, IUPUI came back with an 11-0 run to knot the score at 48 all on Young's eight-footer with 10:45 to play. San Francisco absorbed the Jaguars' blow and unloaded its own haymaker with an 11-0 run that made it 62-51 at the 7:19 mark. Eight of the 11 points came in the paint, capped by a Moustapha Diarra sweeping three-point play.

Seemingly at a breaking point, Thomas took over for the Jaguars, scoring IUPUI's next nine points over 3+ minutes as IUPUI closed within four. With the lead, USF opted to try and milk the clock on offense, but the move backfired.

After a USF shot clock violation, IUPUI made it 64-63 when Esposito drove through traffic and kicked out to Ashworth, who stroked his fifth trey of the night from the right wing. San Francisco retaliated with a Perris Blackwell layup to make it 66-63 with 56 seconds left and things looked bleak when Esposito missed on a three-point attempt from near the top of the key with 40 seconds left.

Forced to foul, IUPUI sent USF guard Rashad Green to the foul line with 32.2 seconds left and the junior calmly rattled home both tries. IUPUI got three back when Ashworth hit again off an Esposito feed with 24 ticks left. The door was left open for the Jaguars when Williams missed the front end of a one-and-one with 23.6 seconds to play, setting up Esposito's heroics.

Esposito finished the game 3-of-6 from three after having played just three minutes in IUPUI's past five games combined.

"We've been in this situation a lot, so we knew what to do and what to run," Esposito said. "Honestly, I didn't realize we won the game - I thought we were down by three until I saw the guys going crazy on the bench."

It was 6-foot-3 sharpshooter's first game-winner since his days at nearby Cathedral High School.

IUPUI hit a season-high 13 threes in 30 attempts, good for 43.3 percent. USF outshot IUPUI and outrebounded the Jaguars 35-31 in the loss. The two teams combined for just 17 turnovers and 18 free throw attempts in a quickly played game.

"I don't know if we were both that good or both that lousy on defense," Ashworth said. "I've never been in a game like that where both teams went on long runs though."

Ashworth went 6-of-10 from three and handed out three assists in 33 minutes. Young earned his fourth career double-double and Thomas delivered five assists in his return to the starting lineup.

"I don't know if it was this gym or what, but it was one of those nights where I was just dialed in," Ashworth said of his career night. "It was great to have Sean step up and make a play when we needed it."

Williams led USF with 17 points, 10 boards and six assists and Cody Doolin added 12 points on four threes. Green tossed in 10 points, six boards and four assists.

IUPUI was previously 0-4 this season in game decided by three points or less. The Jagaurs were previously 0-1 all-time against San Francisco, having lost on the road in 1999 as part of the Cable Car Classic.

IUPUI will now return home briefly for the holidays before flying out to the Sunshine State to take on Florida Gulf Coast on Dec. 27. IUPUI and FGCU will hook up at 7:00 p.m. on Monday night with pregame coverage with Dave Parks (pxp) beginning on 88.3 FM / The Walk at approximately 6:55 p.m


Purdue Volleyball

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Boilermaker volleyball team ended a breakout 2010 season with a No. 11 ranking in the final AVCA Coaches Poll. The listing is the team's highest ranking since Oct. 9, 2006 when the team was listed ninth, and was up 13 spots from the No. 24 ranking the team received in the Nov. 29 poll.

Purdue also ended 2010 11th in the RPI listings. The Boilermakers played 14 teams among the RPI Top 10, accounting for 22 matches.

It was a year of firsts for Purdue in 2010. The team advanced to its first NCAA Elite Eight in the 64-team era and posted its first win over a top five opponent (vs. No. 4 Penn State, Oct. 8) followed by its first ever over a No. 1-ranked foe (Dec. 10 against Florida). The Boilermakers finished the year 24-11, including a 12-8 fourth-place finish in Big Ten play, after defeating four ranked opponents, including three listed among the Top 10.

The Boilermakers edged the eventual national champion Nittany Lions in five sets to give Purdue its first win over PSU since 1987, snapping a streak of 42 losses, and its first victory over a Top 5 team in program history (in 38 tries). Purdue would go on to beat No. 24 Northwestern on Nov. 12 and No. 10 Illinois in the regular season finale en route to the fourth-place conference placing, its best since 2008.

The Boilermakers were awarded the No. 16 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament and played host to first and second round matches on Belin Court. Purdue downed Kentucky and Louisville in four sets each to advance to the NCAA Regionals in Austin, Texas. The team swept No. 1 Florida in the Sweet 16 to put Purdue in the regional final for the first time since 1982. A four-set loss to No. 6 Texas ended the dream season in the Elite Eight.

Senior setter Jaclyn Hart received AVCA All-America third team acclaim and also was an All-Mideast Region and unanimous All-Big Ten selection. Redshirt freshman outside hitter Catherine Rebarchak was named to the All-Big Ten Freshman team.

Academically, senior middle blocker Kristen Arthurs was named to the CoSIDA/ESPN Academic All-District V team, while she and Carly Cramer, Courtney Gosewisch and Ariel Turner garnered Academic All-Big Ten acclaim.

Among The Nation
The Boilermakers finished 2010 ranked among the nation’s top 50 in blocks per set (32nd with 2.50) and kills per set (47th with 13.73). The team also ranked 56th in hitting percentage (.236) and 57th in assists per set (12.60). Individually, setter Jaclyn Hart ranked 49th in assists per set (10.68).

Impacting The Records Books
The Boilermakers made a run at the records books in 2010, and while they didn’t set any new standards, they made places for themselves among the top 10 lists.

As a team, Purdue put up 548 block assists, third most in program history, and 1966 digs, ninth in the season annals. The Boilermakers posted a .474 hitting percentage against Central Michigan on August 28, the ninth best match effort in program history.


Individually, seniors Kristen Arthurs and Jaclyn Hart along with sophomores Carly Cramer and Ariel Turner left their marks on the match, season and career listings. Hart took over the second place spot in career assists (4918) and moved into fifth in hitting percentage (.307) and ninth in block assists (307). For her part, Arthurs ended her career ranked second in block assists (403) and sixth in total blocks (451).

Hart posted a .394 hitting percentage in 2010, ranking second on the season list, while Turner registered 1420 hitting attempts, ranking second on that listing. Cramer pulled up 524 digs and 3.97 digs per set rank her sixth and eighth respectively in those categories.

Turner took 85 swings against Northwestern on Sept. 25, the third highest tally in program history. Arthurs put up 12 block assists on Oct. 23 against Michigan, tied for fifth most all time in a match. Cramer pulled up 30 digs against Minnesota, Oct. 1, to become the ninth player in Purdue history to reach the 30-dig milestone in a match.

Packing Them In
Purdue packed in a Holloway Gymnasium record crowd of 2,588 fans for its Nov., 10 Monon Spike match with Indiana. The crowd, garbed in black for the Black Out Night, surpassed the facilities’ previous best of 2,580 fans, which came to the Nov. 20, 2009, match with then-No. 1 Penn State. The Nov. 10 crowd was the eighth-best in program history. The Boilermakers have hosted several matches in Mackey Arena, drawing as many as 10,645 fans for the Oct. 29, 1985, Pac Mac match with Western Michigan. Purdue averaged 1.988 fans per match in 2010, ranking 17th nationally. The Boilermakers have ranked among the Top 20 each of the last eight years

USF student-athletes GPA continues rise in Fallreation Center.

“Notre Dame is as deep as they have ever been,” head coach Keith Freeman said. They have lots of people who know how to play basketball and have lots of skill. It’s hard to take away their inside and outside game with their ability to pass.”

The Irish forced 26 Crusader turnovers, 24 of which came on steals, and converted the miscues into 41 points as the visitors never trailed in the contest.

“I was disappointed our guards got the ball taken from them by their posts on hedge outs,” Freeman added. “In the past when we played them close our guards were good enough to control the ball. Right now we just don’t have that.”

With the game tied at two, Notre Dame (9-3) went on an 18-2 run to build a 16-point advantage just eight minutes into the game before eventually taking a 49-23 lead into the locker room.

Valpo was never able to cut into the lead in the second half while falling to its fourth Big East Conference foe of the season.

Stefanie Lang (Valparaiso, Ind./Valparaiso H.S.) led the Crusaders with a career-high 11 points, making five-of-seven shots from the floor. She was the only Valpo player to crack double figures. Rawhide Ray (Fort Wayne, Ind./Harding H.S.) and Skyler Gick (Otterbein, Ind./Benton Central H.S.) both added six points for the Crusaders, as the Brown and Gold shot 32.1% from the floor, including just 23.8% from beyond the arc.

“When we shot quickly we couldn’t get back and set up our defense,” Freeman concluded.

Natalie Noose led the Irish with 18 points on six-of-seven shooting while Brittany Mallory and Natalie Achonwa each added 12 points. Notre Dame outrebounded Valpo 44-23, pulling down 18 offensive boards