onSPORTS

WELCOME TO OUR NEW ATHLETICS PAGE

onSPORTS will be presented quarterly, and will spotlight the accomplishments of our athletes both on and off the field.

Getting a kick out of it

By Kevin Fitzsimons Ohio State kicker Andy Groom presents President Bush with an OSU football helmet. The Buckeyes were recognized for their national championship at a White House ceremony Feb. 24.

Senior Shannon Wilson, left, eludes a Davidson College player during a 13-3 Ohio State victory last year.   By Jamie Sabau

Women's lacrosse program excels in athletics, academics

By Randy Gammage, onCAMPUS staff

Under the guidance of Head Coach Sue Stimmel, the women's lacrosse team at Ohio State is gaining a reputation on the playing field to match that already enjoyed in the classroom.

In the seven years since becoming a varsity sport, Buckeye lacrosse players have gained Academic All-Big Ten honors on 46 occasions, have been named OSU Scholar Athletes 78 times, and currently maintain a team GPA of 3.2.

And now, after an 11-5 season in 2002 concluding with a first-ever at-large bid to the NCAA tournament (an 11-7 loss at Notre Dame) and a No. 12 ranking in the final Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) polls, the team is savoring its athletic success.

"It definitely was a thrill to get to the tournament, especially considering we had only been around for seven years and built ourselves up from a club program to one of the elite programs in the country," Stimmel said.

As she begins her eighth season, Stimmel has compiled a 54-46 mark at Ohio State, and is the only head coach in the history of the varsity women's lacrosse program. She joined the Buckeyes after guiding Denison University to a 76-18 record, five North Coast Athletic Conference championships and five appearances in the NCAA tournament.

A 1984 graduate of Temple University, where she received a degree in mathematics, Stimmel was a four-year varsity starter and a member of Temple's national championship teams in 1982 and 1984. She was named a Regional All-American in 1984 and was invited to the U.S. team tryouts. She received her master's degree in Exercise Science/Biomechanics from the University of Massachusetts in 1987.

Stimmel attributed the success of last year's Buckeyes squad to a strong group of senior leadership and overall team chemistry. "Each player accepted their role in the big picture even though it might not have been a glamorous role," Stimmel said.

Senior Tracy Bounds looks for a teammate during a 13-3 victory over Davidson last season.     By Jamie Sabau

This year's formula is expected to be very similar. The Buckeyes return eight starters from the 2002 squad and are currently ranked No. 11 in IWLCA preseason polls. That has led to some lofty goals: a conference title and top 10 finish in the polls. Ohio State competes in the American Lacrosse Conference, and is joined by Penn State, Northwestern, Vanderbilt, Ohio University, Davidson College and Johns Hopkins.

As they prepared to kick off the 2003 season Feb. 28 by hosting Stanford, Stimmel said she was counting on last year's success to drive the team.

"Sometimes it's easier once you've tasted success because you know you can do it and you know what it takes to get there," Stimmel said. "But, at the same time, other teams will prepare a little harder for you, which forces you to work a little harder as a team."

Adding their support will be assistant coaches Mike Scerbo and Megan Mirick. In his second year, Scerbo previously coached at Limestone College in Gaffney, S.C., where he started a women's lacrosse team and led them to Division II top 10 national rankings each of his last four seasons. In her first year, Mirick joins the coaching staff after completing four seasons on Ohio State's lacrosse squad (1999-2002). Three times she earned Academic All-Big Ten and Ohio State Scholar-Athlete honors, and was named a first team All-American last year.

Scheduled to graduate winter quarter, Mirick has maintained a 3.3 GPA as a communications major. She said discipline in academics and athletics go hand in hand.

"When you have such a regimented schedule as an athlete follows, it's really easy to keep everything in line," Mirick said.

As a high school senior pondering her college choices, the Virginia native was impressed by Ohio State.

"Ohio State has so much to offer, both academically and athletically, and the facilities are unbelievable," Mirick said. "After traveling with the team for four years, we see how spoiled we are."

Particularly impressive are the Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium, where home lacrosse games are played, and the Woody Hayes Athletic facility, which provides indoor practice fields for a variety of varsity sports, Mirick said.

Stimmel said her squad's academic success is a product of recruiting and strong academic support services at Ohio State.

"We look to recruit good student-athletes and emphasize academics while they're here, but most of our players are from strong academic backgrounds," Stimmel said.

Although it is becoming more mainstream today, lacrosse traditionally has been a sport offered at prep and upper middle-class schools, resulting in a good crop of student-athletes, Stimmel said.

While the women's lacrosse team has 27 players on its roster, Stimmel will rely heavily on three returning starters. Anchoring the team are senior Shannon Wilson, a third-team All-American in 2002; senior Tracy Bounds, the team's leading scorer and a regional All-American in 2002; and sophomore Regina Oliver, conference Rookie of the Year and an All-Conference selection.

Key match-ups this year will be North Carolina, a perennial top five team (7 p.m. March 28, home); Maryland (2 p.m. March 30, home); at Notre Dame (4 p.m. March 25); and at Cornell University (4 p.m. April 11).

Remaining home games scheduled are: 7 p.m. March 14, Johns Hopkins University; 1 p.m. March 16, Virginia Tech; 3 p.m. April 13, University of California; 1 p.m. April 20, Vanderbilt; 7 p.m. May 1, Ohio University. All games are played at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.

For more information, link to women's lacrosse from the Ohio State Athletics Web site at http://ohiostatebuckeyes.ocsn.com/.

SIDELINES

Men's hockey hosts Michigan, CCHA playoffs

Eliminated from the regular-season title chase in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA), the Ohio State men's hockey team will attempt to regain its momentum for the post-season when it hosts the Michigan Wolverines in the regular-season finale March 7-8 at Value City Arena. The two-game series begins at 7:05 p.m. Friday and concludes at 8:05 p.m. Saturday.

The Buckeyes, who broke a four-game losing streak with a 4-1 victory at Northern Michigan March 1, have clinched home-ice advantage in the first round of the CCHA playoffs March 14-16 by virtue of their third-place, regular-season standing. OSU will play at Nationwide Arena in downtown Columbus because Value City Arena will host the Ohio girls' high school basketball championships that weekend. Game times are 7:05 p.m. March 14 and 1:05 p.m. March 15. A third game in the best-of-three series, if necessary, will take place March 16.

The first-round winner advances to the CCHA Super Six Championship Weekend March 20-22 in Detroit. OSU has not won either a CCHA regular-season or playoff title since 1972. The Buckeyes last advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 1999, where they were eliminated in the first round.

Ohio State, 22-10-3 overall and 16-8-2 in the CCHA, was ranked 14th and 15th in the national polls entering its two-game split at Northern Michigan Feb. 28-March 1, and ranked as high as sixth in late January. Michigan sits second in the CCHA standings with 37 points, four behind leader Ferris State. OSU has 34 points.

Men's gymnasts defend Big Ten championship

The No. 1-ranked OSU men's gymnastics team will compete for its third consecutive conference team title and seventh in 11 years when it hosts the Big Ten Championships March 28-29 in St. John Arena. Coach Miles Avery's squad captured the NCAA team title in 2001 and finished second a year ago. Senior Raj Bhavsar, defending NCAA all-around champion, returned from off-season shoulder surgery in February and is expected to defend his Big Ten all-around title. He was voted 2002 Big Ten Gymnast of the Year.

Ohio State, 8-1 overall and 5-1 in the Big Ten, hits the road for meets at defending national champion Oklahoma March 7 and at Minnesota March 9. The Buckeyes wind up the regular season by hosting Michigan at 7 p.m. March 15 in St. John.

Buckeyes take aim at 23rd national title

The Ohio State synchronized swimming team will dive after its fourth consecutive national team title and 23rd in 26 years at the U.S. Collegiate National Championships March 20-22 in Tucson, Ariz. Forced to replace much of last year's championship team with newcomers, eighth-year Head Coach Linda Witter guided the Buckeyes to a 20-1 record this year and first-place finishes at the OSU College Association Meet, the Wheaton College Invitational and the North Regional Championships.

Brrr! Softball, baseball open at home in March

The Buckeye softball and baseball teams may be battling the winter elements as well as their opponents when they open their home seasons in March. The softball team, ranked 19th in the inaugural ESPN.com/USA Collegiate Softball poll and 8-6 entering a double-header at Kentucky March 5, opens at home against Dayton at 2 p.m. March 11 with a double-header. The baseball team, 25th-ranked in one preseason poll and 1-2 on the season, plays Detroit and Eastern Michigan at 1 and 4 p.m. March 14-15 in Bill Davis Stadium.

The baseball team returns six all-conference players off a squad that finished 38-20-1 overall, won the Big Ten tournament and advanced to the championship game of the NCAA South Bend Regional in 2002. Under Head Coach Bob Todd, OSU has captured six Big Ten regular-season championships and earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament in nine of his 15 seasons.

BUCKEYE BITS -- The defending national champion Buckeye football team will showcase its 2003 edition at the annual spring game at 1:30 p.m. April 26 in Ohio Stadium. Tickets, priced at $5, go on sale March 10 at 1-800-GO-BUCKS, online at http://hangonsloopy.com, or in person at the Schottenstein Center Ticket Office. OSU officials are printing 80,000 tickets, all of which will be general admission ... the No. 4-ranked fencing team will host the NCAA Regional Qualifier March 8 at French Field House ... the ninth-ranked OSU wrestling team attempts to improve on last year's fourth-place finish at the Big Ten Championships March 8-9 at Wisconsin ... the women's basketball team, 19-8 overall and 10-6 in the Big Ten, clinched a first-round bye in the Big Ten Tournament March 6-10 in Indianapolis with a victory over Michigan in its regular-season finale Feb. 27. The Buckeyes finished 14-0 at home in Jim Foster's first season as OSU head coach ... the men's basketball team closes the regular season with a home date at 12:15 p.m. March 8 against Michigan State ... the 16th-ranked women's gymnastics team hosts the All-Ohio Championships at 7 p.m. March 8 in St. John Arena ... the defending Big Ten champion women's golf team, No. 13 in the country, won its first tournament of the season, the Central District Invitational in Parrish, Fla., Feb. 25. OSU hosts the Lady Buckeye Invitational April 19-20 ... OSU's Allan Johnson has been named the 2002 National Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year by the Professional Football Strength and Conditioning Coaches Society . . . men's hockey goalie Mike Betz and teammates helped raise more than $9,000 for scholarships for children of Tanzania with a fund-raising dinner Feb. 9. Betz, a nominee for the Hockey Humanitarian Award, traveled to Tanzania last summer with a group from Sioux City, Iowa, on a medical and educational mission.

-- Sidelines compiled by Bill Estep

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