SPORTS

SOFTBALL

MAY 2, 2022 | NORTHERNIOWAN.COM | VOLUME 118, ISSUE 54

Panthers win 16th straight, break program winning streak record

DAVID WARRINGTON

Associate Sports Editor

A special season became a record-breaking season on Sunday when the UNI softball team swept the Indiana State Sycamores in a doubleheader at the Robinson-Dresser Sports Complex. This gave the Panthers, who hold a 20-1 record in Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) play, their 16th consecutive victory, breaking the program record for most consecutive wins of 15 set in 2012. In game one of what was supposed to be a three-game series before weather caused the cancellation of Saturday’s game, UNI got on the board first. Kylee Sanders reached base on a Sycamore error, allowing Kamryn Shaffer to score. Emmy Wells followed this up by lining a single into the outfield to score another run, giving the Panthers a 2-0 lead. Mya Dodge put a very unique run on the board in the third. After successfully stealing second base, Dodge advanced to third after the catcher’s throw was mishandled by the second baseman. However, the ISU center fielder also misplayed the ball in the outfield, allowing Dodge to easily score and extend the lead to 3-0. After a run from each team in the middle innings, UNI led 4-1 when the Sycamores turned the momentum around with back-to-back solo home runs from Bella Peterson and Annie Tokarek, cutting the lead to 4-3. The Panthers managed to put the game away in the bottom of the fifth when Wells stepped up to the plate with two runners on base and hit her 15th home run of the season, driving in three runs and giving UNI a 7-3 lead that they would hold until the end. It was a solid pitching performance from Kailyn Packard, giving up four runs with just two walks as well as striking out 12. Packard was credited with the win, bringing her season record to 18-4. In the second game of the doubleheader, UNI got on the board first when Madison Parks hit a towering home run several feet beyond the fence in right-center field, giving the Panthers a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first. The Sycamores would respond in the top of the second, when Abi Chipps drove a base hit into center field, scoring two runners to give Indiana State a 2-1 advantage. Daryn Lamprecht managed to tie the game in the bottom of the third, hitting her eighth home run of the season. The solo blast tied the game at 2-2. UNI kept the offense going in the fourth. Taylor Hogan led the inning off with a base hit, and with two outs Dodge roped a line-drive double into centerfield, giving UNI a 3-2 lead. It was in the fifth inning when UNI put the game away for good. With runners on second and third, Wells hit her second home run of the doubleheader, and her MVC-best 16th of the season, giving UNI a 6-2 lead. The Sycamores would manage to get one more run across in the sixth, but the Panthers would hold on to win their 16th consecutive game, 6-3. It was another impressive performance in the circle from Samantha Heyer. In seven innings, Heyer allowed three runs, only two of which were earned, while striking out 13 Sycamore batters. With the wins, the Panthers improve to 29-11 on the season with a 20-1 record in MVC play. UNI will be back in action for their final home game of the year on Wednesday, hosting in-state rival Iowa. They will conclude the regular season this weekend, hitting the road for a three-game series with Bradley. A doubleheader is scheduled for Saturday, with a single game on Sunday. After that, UNI will look ahead to the MVC Tournament beginning Wednesday, May 11 in Springfield, Mo.

Courtesy Photo/UNI Athletics

The UNI softball team broke the program record for longest winning streak with their two wins over Indiana State on Sunday. The winning streak now sits at 16 games with four regular season games left to play.

GOLF Men’s golf finishes season at MVC Championships

HUNTER FRIESEN

Sports Writer

The men’s golf team capped off their spring season this past weekend as they traveled down to Paducah, Ky for the Missouri Valley Conference Championships. The Panthers did not perform well as a team, finishing in last place behind the other eight conference teams. On the bright side, junior Griffin Parker received individual all-conference honors and placed 8th among all eligible players. Parker’s honors came from his consistent play, as he improved in each round during the 54-hole tournament. He carded a 223 (76, 74, 73) across the three rounds. He sat in 14th place going into the final day and was able to find himself within the Top 10 by the end. This year’s honors are his second in his career as he finished in 10th place just last year. Senior Thomas Storbeck finished 25th, with a total score of 235 (82, 77, 76). Jack Moody finished in 37th, along with Alex Pries in 40th, and Tommy Doyle in 42nd. With a total team score of 933 (321, 304, 308), UNI finished in last place. Winning the championship was Southern Illinois with a total score of 874 (295, 285, 294), which was a full 17 shots better than runner-up Valparaiso with 891. What helped the Salukis earn their third conference title in six of the Year. Danielle Kaufman won Coach of the Year. Anthony Delisanti of Valparaiso finished in first place among individual players with a score of 213 (74, 72, 67). He earned all-conference honors along with being named Newcomer of the Year. Looking back at the Panthers’ season, some notable highlights were their 3rd place team finish at the Valpo Invite in late February. Griffin finished in a tie for first place at the Jackrabbit Invite in March, which included him leading the field with 16 birdies across the three rounds. Doyle, Pries and Storbeck will all be graduating. The rest of the team will take the summer off to train and be ready for the fall season.

Courtesy Photo/UNI Athletics

The men’s golf team ended their season at the 2022 MIssouri Valley Conference Championships last week.

TRACK & FIELD

MAY 2, 2022 | NORTHERNIOWAN.COM | VOLUME 118, ISSUE 54

UNI track and field shows out at the Drake Relays

CADEN SHEA

Sports Writer

The UNI track and field team took place in the famous Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa this past week. The Panthers were showcased in various different events and attempted to make their mark in the biggest way possible. Many Panther athletes placed in these events amongst the many schools that participated in this meet. The team’s first day showcased the athletes that participated in the multi events. The men’s team took places four, five and six in the decathlon with Carter Morton, Zack Butcher and Drew Bartels taking those places respectively. Morton took first in both the high jump and the long jump to help elevate him to fourth place while Bartels and Butcher took second and third in the long jump. Bartels and Butcher also took places one and two in the 100-meter dash, respectively. On the women’s side of the multis, Lydia Berns-Schweingruber finished fifth in the heptathlon, while Kelly Proesch took ninth place and Amanda Lietz took eleventh for the Panthers. On the second day of the meet, UNI’s Isaiah Trousil became the first athlete on the team to win an individual Drake Relays title since 2017 by winning the 200-meter dash with a time of 20.73 seconds. His teammate, Parker Kiewiet, was not too far behind him and took bronze in the event with a time of 20.94. Trousil also competed in the 100-meter dash the following day, finishing with a silver medal with a time of 10.66. The UNI women’s 4x100 team consisting of Rylan Santi, Jill Bennett, Libby Wedewer and Paishence Johnson took fourth place with a time of 46.32. The Panther’s 4x400 team of Erin Kerkhoff, Auriona Kimbrough, Emily Vos and Sophia Jungling raced their hardest to grab a hold of a fifth place finish. UNI also excelled at the field events at this meet. Thomas Yezek threw the discus for a length 54.44 meters or 178 feet, seven inches to obtain the silver medal in the event. Darius King of UNI withdrew from the collegiate division to enter the elite division in shot put alongside world record holder Ryan Crouser among other standouts. King finished fifth with a 19.19 meter throw. The track team will head to Madison, Wisc. for the Badger Invitational on May 6 before making their way back to Drake for the Missouri Valley Conference Championships.

Courtesy Photo/UNI Athletics

Several UNI track & field athletes had strong showings at the Drake Relays this past week. They will return to the same venue for the Missouri Valley Conference Championships in a few weeks.

OPINION LeBron or Jordan: who is the NBA’s G.O.A.T.?

DREW HILL

Sports Writer

Sports fans love debating who is the greatest player of all time (GOAT) of their sport. These debates can lead to heated arguments, but perhaps none is as controversial as who the GOAT of NBA basketball is. That debate comes down to Michael Jordan versus Lebron James. In terms of scoring, Jordan was the better player. James currently has 37,062 career regular season points, which is the second most of all time, to Jordan’s 32,292, good for fifth most all time. However, James has also played 1,366 regular season games in 19 seasons to Jordan’s 1,072 in 15 seasons. While James played at least 80 games in a season only three times, Jordan did it 11 times. In points per game, Jordan averaged 30.1 in regular season games, which is the most all time in the NBA, while James averaged 27.1, which puts him fifth all time. In playoff points, James has a total of 7,631 and an average of 28.7, while Jordan had a total of 5,987 and an average of 33.4. Another telling factor in Jordan’s favor is that he led the NBA in scoring in ten different seasons, while James only did once. The reason for the disparity in total points and games is because Jordan retired three different times, while James has not retired. Jordan played from 1984 to 1993 for the Chicago Bulls, but after winning three championships in a row, he retired for nearly two full seasons, coming back to the Bulls in March of 1995 for 17 games. After losing in the playoffs that year for the first time since 1990, Jordan went on to win three more championships in a row. Then he retired again after the 1998 playoffs and took over as an executive for the Washington Wizards before unretiring again to play in two seasons with the Wizards from 2001-2003 before retiring for the last time. That means he missed about 4.75 seasons, which skews total numbers in his career. James is the better passer, leading the NBA in assists in a season once while averaging 7.4 assists per game in his regular season career to Jordan’s 5.3. In rebounding as a bigger player, James also had a higher career per game average, averaging 7.5 to Jordan’s 6.2. Jordan was the better defender. He was named to NBA All-Defensive teams nine times to James’ six while also winning Defensive Player of the Year once. Jordan led the NBA in steals in a season three times and averaged 2.3 steals per game in regular season games to James’ 1.6. Also, despite being shorter, Jordan averaged as many blocks per game as James in regular season games, with both at 0.8 per game. In terms of awards, both won a lot. Both players only missed one All-Star game in their career. James has been named to 17 All-NBA teams, while Jordan was named to 11. However, Jordan won five MVP awards to James’ four. While stats are important, what determining the GOAT comes down to is playoff success and championships. In terms of making the playoffs, Jordan made the playoffs with the Bulls in all 13 of his seasons there, but missed the playoffs in his two seasons with the Wizards. James has missed the playoffs four times, including his first two seasons in the NBA with the Cleveland Cavaliers and two with the Los Angeles Lakers. Jordan won six championships with the Bulls in six appearances, while James has won four championships in ten appearances. James won one out of five with the Cavaliers, two out of four with the Miami Heat and his only appearance with the Lakers. Jordan supporters point to the extra two championships, while James supporters point to the extra four appearances. An important part of the debate centers around how each won their championships. While Jordan was loyal to the Bulls, which mostly built around him through the draft, James left the Cavaliers for the Heat to form a super team with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh. Then he went back to Cleveland, who traded for Kevin Love and already had Kyrie Irving. Then he went to the Lakers, who traded for Anthony Davis in his second season. So, while James formed super teams through trades and free agency, Chicago built a super team around Jordan through the draft. Some have suggested that it is harder to win with different teams, but others have scoffed at James for building super teams. One extremely important factor is Jordan’s two retirements in his prime. Although he came back from the first one and lost in the playoffs, if he had not retired either time, it is conceivable he could have easily won at least two more championships, considering both were between three-peats. That would swing the championship debate in his favor, as well as the career points issue. If he had averaged just 28 points per game and played eighty games in those 4.75 seasons, which is less than where he was in 1998, he would have an extra 10,640 points, putting him ahead of James by far and in first all time in career points. Even though using “what if” scenarios does not prove anything, I still think the argument goes to Jordan as the GOAT. As the better scorer and defender, as well as a more loyal player, I think he is ahead of James for now. Could James winning another championship change that? Maybe. But in my opinion, the title of NBA GOAT goes to Michael Jordan until someone takes it from him.

MAY 2, 2022 | NORTHERNIOWAN.COM | VOLUME 118, ISSUE 54

Across

1 Spaghetti or ziti 6 In different places 11 What a steamroller steamrolls 14 Moral standard 15 Capital of Yemen 16 Thrilla in Manila winner 17 Understand, finally 19 Caboodle go-with 20 Bill at the bar 21 Tehran native 22 German auto engineer Karl 23 Zone out 27 Mined rock 28 Ticklish Muppet 29 Boom's opposite 32 ID card feature 35 Point de __: opinion, in Paris 38 Revival leader's query ... and hint to the starts of 17-, 23-, 49- and 60-Across 42 Corp. ladder leader 43 En __: as a group 44 Spoken 45 WWII female enlistee 47 Org. with a "100 Greatest Movie Quotes of All Time" list 49 Photographer's instruction 56 Had a bawl 57 Track jockey, e.g. 58 Building wing 59 Swiss peak 60 "Didn't think I could do it, did ya?!" 63 Under the weather 64 Speck in the ocean 65 Beethoven's "Für __" 66 Lao-__: Taoism founder 67 Heart rate 68 Thin coins

Down

1 Ones who won't leave you alone 2 Really bugged 3 Biblical queen's land 4 Little songbird 5 More sore 6 Lion of Narnia 7 Sherwin-Williams product 8 Cardio procedure 9 Word of support 10 Skin art, briefly 11 Seek shelter 12 Flared skirt 13 Big name in hotels and crackers 18 Buffalo's lake 22 Emeril catchword 24 __ de boeuf: French roast 25 Alien-seeking org. 26 Underhanded plan 29 Secretly keep in the email loop, briefly 30 Abu Dhabi's fed. 31 Suspected McIntosh relative with pure white flesh 32 TD's six 33 Gives birth to 34 What borrowers do 36 __ Today 37 Subj. for some green-card holders 39 Former auto financing co. 40 A pop 41 Roulette color 46 Verizon rival 47 Aid in a felony 48 Solidified, as plans, with "up" 49 H.G. who wrote "The War of the Worlds" 50 Internet forum troublemaker 51 Backpacking outings 52 Online social appointment 53 Jeans material 54 Admission of defeat 55 Cary of "Glory" 56 Cool one's heels 60 One of a kissing pair 61 Buckeyes' sch. 62 Yale Blue wearer

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Email Nixson Benitez (benitezn@uni.edu) northerniowan.com

Today's Horoscope

May 2, 2022

Today’s Birthday (05/02/22). Grow stronger in your community this year. Strengthen professional foundations for success with discipline, coordination and persistence. Discovering new personal superpowers this spring is handy, with summer collaboration challenges. Fall in love anew this autumn, connecting support for winter doubts or challenges. Connect and expand together.

To get the advantage, check the day’s rating: 10 is the easiest day, 0 the most challenging.

Aries (March 21-April 19) — Today is a 9 — Your luck in love improves, with Venus in your sign for the next month. Beautify your surroundings, wardrobe and style. You’re irresistible and charming.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) — Today is an 8 — Your efforts get profitable. Over four weeks, with Venus in Aries, fantasies abound. Enjoy quiet time. Keep confidences. Discover hidden beauty from the past.

Gemini (May 21-June 20) — Today is a 9 — You’re especially popular; take advantage. Get out in public this month, with Venus in Aries. Social activities benefit your career. Group collaborations thrive.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) — Today is an 8 — Consider plans. It’s easier to advance your professional agenda. Take on greater leadership this month, with Venus in Aries. Develop intriguing possibilities and opportunities.

Leo (July 23-Aug. 22) — Today is a 9 — Explore and discover new beauty this month, with Venus in Aries. Make travel plans and venture forth. Investigate a matter of personal passion.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) — Today is a 9 — Take care of business. Increasing income, assets and wealth is possible, with Venus in Aries this month. Conserve resources. It’s all for love.

Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) — Today is an 8 — Explore possibilities. Listen to intuition. Collaboration with your partner flourishes over a month, with Venus in Aries. Things could get deliciously spicy. Connect and share.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) — Today is a 9 — Collaborate for balanced accounts. Your work and physical efforts seem energized. Find your rhythm and move your body this month, with Venus in Aries.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) — Today is a 9 — A powerful attraction draws you to someone beautiful. You’re especially lucky in love, with Venus in Aries. Creativity flowers and sparkles this month.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) — Today is a 9 — Physical effort gets results. Beautify spaces. Fill your home with love, with Venus in Aries for a month. Share domestic bliss with housemates and family.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) — Today is an 8 — Have fun. Creative arts and intellectual puzzles satisfy a craving, with Venus in Aries. Connect the dots. Write, publish and broadcast your message with love.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — Today is a 9 — Home centers you. This month gets especially lucrative, with Venus in Aries. Put your heart into your work and demand rises. Push for a prize. Puzzle Answers

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