Rowing scores best-ever finish

By Matt Sebree masebr@iu.edu | @mattsebree

No. 15 Indiana rowing finished in third place out of eight teams at the Big Ten Championships at Eagle Creek in Indianapolis May 14, highlighted by a second-place finish in the First Varsity Eight race. Both the team and First Varsity Eight results were program-record performances for the conference championships.

Throughout the day, the Hoosiers were consistently fighting with other teams for points in the middle of the pack of races, leading to multiple close finishes decided by tenths of a second.

The narrow finishes started in the opening race of the day as Indiana and Wisconsin battled for third place through the full 2000 meters of the Second Novice Eight race. The Hoosiers closed out strong to edge out the Badgers by 0.262 seconds.

Michigan also eked past Ohio State to win the race by just 0.088 seconds, which ended up being the closest margin of the day.

Michigan went on to win the Big Ten team title with a score of 174, followed by No. 13 Ohio State in second place with 169.

"It's days like today that show every person in every boat matters, and that's how we were able to achieve our best team result to date," senior Second Novice Eight rower Nicole Killeen said.

In the First Novice Eight race, Indiana found itself on the other side of a narrow final margin as Wisconsin finished 0.542 seconds ahead, preventing the Hoosiers from earning a second podium finish in as many races.

The three Varsity Four races saw Indiana continue its run of consistent finishes with the high mark coming from a bronze finish in the Second Varsity Four heat.

"We knew that, to do well, we needed to stay internal and row our own race," senior Second Varsity Four rower Olivia Seifert said.

"We executed that well.”

A fourth-place finish by Indiana in the Second Varsity Eight race — within a second of No. 16 Rutgers in third place — set up a deci- sive showdown in the final race of the day.

In each of the first six races of the day, Indiana had finished in third, fourth or fifth but needed to beat Rutgers — who had placed top three in all four varsity races to that point — by two places in the First Varsity Eight race to secure a third-place team finish.

Through the first 500 meters of the finale, no boat was able to create significant separation. The top four were all within one second of each other. By the midway point of the race, Michigan began to pull away and would go on to win comfortably. But Rutgers, Ohio State and Indiana continued to struggle gaining any edge over each other. With just 500 meters to go, Rutgers was running in second and held a 1.5 second lead over then-fourth place Indiana.

This left the Hoosiers with a significant amount of ground to make up in the final quarter of the race.

As the three boats raced to the finish line, a sustained push lifted the Hoosiers past both the Scarlet Knights and the Buckeyes in the final 100 meters to help them secure a second-place finish by 0.272 seconds, setting a program record for best First Varsity Eight finish at the Big Ten Championships and tying a program record with three medaling results.

"Each member of each boat gave it their all for every single meter," senior First Varsity Eight rower Ruby Leverington said. "That's why we saw the success we did today, and to do it this way makes it even more special."

The second-place finish alone was not enough to secure a podium team finish for Indiana. A third-place finish by Rutgers would still leave the Scarlet Knights with a slight points edge in the final team standings. However, Indiana got some help from Ohio State as the Buckeyes passed the Scarlet Knights late and took third by 0.394 seconds. Because of the two-place advantage in the final heat of the day, the Hoosiers finished with 137 points to beat the Scarlet Knights’ 131 and earn their first podium finish at the conference championships in program history.

"That finish was a pure example of digging deep and who wanted it more," senior First Varsity Eight rower Laura Feinson said. "I could not be prouder of every single Indiana boat. Everyone's hard work, from varsity to novice, has led to the success and our thirdplace team finish. It was an amazing day for this team, making history, and a memorable last Big Tens for me.”

In addition to the team’s bronze medal result, four of Indiana’s First Varsity Eight rowers received All-Conference honors — setting another program record. Feinson and senior Piper Maaka were named to the first team and Leverington and freshman Emily Bowden were named to the second team.

Indiana will wait to see if they are selected to compete at the NCAA Championships for the first time since 2019. The field will be announced on the NCAA website at 6:30 p.m. May 16. The competition will take place May 26-28 at Camden County Boathouse in Pennsauken, New Jersey.

Men’s basketball lands Mgbako

By Evan Gerike egerike@iu.edu | @EvanGerike

Five-star forward Mackenzie Mgbako committed to Indiana men’s basketball May 12, adding one more player to the Hoosiers’ recruiting class of 2023.

Mgbako, a former Duke University recruit who decommitted in April, is the No. 10 recruit in the class of 2023, per 247 Sports. Mgbako’s decision came down to Indiana and the University of Kansas. After an official visit to both schools, Mgbako canceled his visit to the University of Louisville.

Mgbako, who is 6-foot-8 and 210 pounds, will likely slide into a role similar to Miller Kopp’s last year as a 3-point shooting forward, playing in the wing position Indiana needed to fill headed into next season.

Mgbako joins Gabe Cupps and Jakai Newton in Indiana’s 2023 freshman class. The Hoosiers have already added Kel’el Ware, Payton Sparks and Anthony Walker from the transfer portal. Mgbako’s commitment leaves Indiana with one remaining scholarship for next season.

Indiana falls just short in Big Ten championship

the top-seed Oakland University in the title game.

For the first time in 12 seasons, Indiana softball is back in the NCAA Tournament. The Hoosiers earned an at-large bid and were placed in the Knoxville regional as the No. 2 seed. The regional is headlined by No. 4 overall seed University of Tennessee. It also includes No. 3 seed University of Louisville and No. 4 seed Northern Kentucky University.

Indiana stands at 42-16 overall and finished second in the Big Ten with an 18-15 record in conference play. The Lady Volunteers went 44-8, winning the SEC regular season and tournament championships in the same season for the first time in program history.

Tennessee also hosted a regional last year but failed to advance to the super regionals. The Lady Vols have made it to the Women’s College World Series seven times, but have never won the National Championship.

Northern Kentucky is making its first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament after winning the Horizon League Championship. 24-31 overall, the Norse were the No. 3 seed in the double-elimination tournament, knocking off

Louisville also earned an at-large bid after finishing fourth in the Atlantic Coast Conference with a 33-18 overall record. The Cardinals fell to Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals Thursday.

Team 50 nearly earned an automatic bid, but lost via walk-off in the Big Ten title game to top-seeded Northwestern 2-1 on Saturday. Indiana’s last appearance in the NCAA Tournament was in 2011. The Hoosiers lost their first two games and were eliminated from the tournament.

Indiana will play Louisville on May 19 at 3 p.m. in the double-elimination regional. The schools met earlier this season in Bloomington, with the Hoosiers doubling up the Cardinals 10-5. The regional runs from May 19-21. Tennessee and Northern Kentucky clash Friday.

The winners of each of the first two games in the regional will play May 20, as will the losers. The last team in the double-elimination regional remaining will advance to the Super Regional. The full 2023 Division I Softball bracket can be found here.