6B
The Daily Illini | www.DailyIllini.com
Monday, April 9, 2012
Women’s golf eager to get back in action after 3-week hiatus Illini hope to continue this season’s success at unfamiliar Florida course BY CHARLIE MANIATES STAFF WRITER
The Illinois women’s golf is ready to hit the links again after a three-week break that allowed the team to prepare for the fi nal stretch of the season. The Illini are set to participate in the Knights and Pirates Invite on Monday and Tuesday, held in Melbourne, Fla. The 15-team tournament will be held at the Suntree Country Club. This tournament is a new one for the Illini, so the 6,590 yard, par-72 course is an unfamiliar one, but sophomore Ember Schuldt, who will be competing for the Illini, played the course over winter break and was able to provide some information to the team. “It is fairly similar to the Eagle Landing course where we played in Florida back in March,” head coach Renee Slone said. “We’ve been working on our bunker game, it’s something that we have not done very much of earlier in the season.” “We continued work on short game,” she added. “This golf course is playing firm and fast, so we might have a few more short irons and screens than we typically do.” In addition, the team worked hard on putting over the extended break in preparation for this tournament.
Seniors Hailey Koschmann, Nora Lucas, Samantha Sloan and Katelin Dilger will be competing for the Illini as well as Schuldt and freshman Michelle Mayer. The Illini last competed March 19 and 20 in the BYU Entrada Classic, in which they placed fourth as a team. They hope for similar performances from Koschmann and Schuldt, as they fi nished tied for second and 13th, respectively. The team is not concerned about potential rust early in the tournament due to the long break . “We put that break in there by design because the last month and a half of our season is very busy,” Slone said. “There’s a lot going on in a short period of time so we did something a little bit different this year.” Slone said the players used the break to stay on pace academically, spend extra time practicing and rest up to be ready for the fi nal stretch of the season. “We wanted to make sure that they felt physically and mentally prepared for this last part of the season,” Slone said. The Illini will tee off at 7:30 a.m. Monday, playing 36 holes, followed by 18 holes Tuesday to wrap up the tournament.
Women’s tennis recovers from earlier loss with 6-1 victory over No. 15 MSU BY STEPHEN BOURBON STAFF WRITER
The Illinois women’s tennis team wanted to bounce back after a subpar performance. After losing 6-1 to No. 15 Michigan Saturday, the Illini came back Sunday and took down Michigan State 7-0. The loss to the Wolverines snapped what had been a six-match winning streak. “It’s always nice to get a sweep,” Illini head coach Michelle Dasso said. “It’s important for us to get Misia (Kedzierski) some doubles experience and also see Chelcie (Abajian) back in action in our singles lineup.” No. 19 Illinois (13-6, 5-2 Big Ten) won two of three doubles matches, taking the doubles point for the fourth time in five matches. The pairing of Melissa Kopinski and Marisa Lambropoulos beat the No. 1 pairing of Nicole Herzog and Michaela Silesova, 8-2. The only loss on the day for Illinois was at No. 3 doubles when the Spartans pair of freshmen Julianne Gruber and Katarina Lingel topped Allison Falkin and Kedzierski, 8-6. In singles, the Illini took all six matches in straight sets. Both Falkin and Lambropoulos took their matches 6-2, 6-0, respectively. Senior Amy Allin did not concede a game and won 6-0, 6-0, while Rachael White, Kedzierski and Abajian each earned singles victories for Illinois. Kopinski — normally in the second or third slot for singles — did not have a singles match Sunday.
Including her win Sunday, White has won six singles matches in a row, and was the lone point for Illinois in its loss at Michigan on Saturday. Lambropoulos had her six-match singles win streak snapped in the loss to Michigan, but the win Sunday was a bounce back for her and the team. “Rachael has been playing some quality ball in both singles and doubles,” Dasso said after the Michigan match in a press release. “She is mentally in a great place.” The biggest thought for the team heading into Sunday was not to let a winnable match slip away because of lingering disappointment from the day before. There was no letdown, however, as Illinois took care of business and fi nished up the road trip on a high note. This marked the sixth-straight loss for the Spartans (8-10, 0-7) and its seventh of its past nine matches. Michigan State’s roster has no seniors, and that lack of experience has defi nitely hurt them this season. Illinois is still only one game back in the Big Ten standings, as Michigan (13-6, 6-1) lost to Northwestern earlier Sunday. The Wildcats (13-7, 6-1) are the only team to beat the Wolverines since 2009 in conference play, and they also beat the Illini, 5-2 , on March 10. “This last stretch of regular-season play is going to be a great test of our team’s mental strength,” Dasso said. “Each team we face is dangerous.”
DARYL QUITALIG THE DAILY ILLINI
Illinois’ Jonathan Brown (45) attempts to tackle UCLA’s Kevin Prince (4) in the 2011 Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl at San Francisco’s AT&T Park. Brown, who led the team in tackles with 108, expects another great year from the Illini defense. “Top of the nation. Probably No. 1 in the nation considering how hard we work,” he said. “I definitely believe we can be up there.”
After strong 2011 season, Illinois’ defense starts fresh under Banks BY CHAD THORNBURG STAFF WRITER
The Illinois football team finished as the seventh-best defense in the nation in 2011, but new defensive coordinator Tim Banks isn’t concerned with last season’s success. “Every year is a different year, and that’s really what I’ve been preaching to the guys,” Banks said. “They’re gonna get judged on what they get done this year. I think the kids understand that and for them to play at the level that they want to play at, they know they have to continue to get better, learn our system. “They continue to improve.” Banks takes over for former defensive coordinator Vic Koenning and inherits a defense that ranked among the top 10 in total defense, tackles for loss, sacks and passing defense. “I expect another great year out of the defense,” said sophomore linebacker Jonathan Brown, who led the team in tackles with 108. “Top of the nation. Probably number one in the nation considering how hard we work. I definitely believe we can be up there.” Banks, who joins Illinois after two seasons as Cincinnati’s codefensive coordinator, said the new system isn’t much different from what the Illini ran last season under Koening. “Based on what they did last year, if you look at us, it will look fairly similar,” Banks said. “I don’t think we’re changing a lot. There’s only so many ways that you can play the game of football. We’re gonna be aggressive, we’re gonna play to our strengths.” Players are in the progress of learning the new system and becoming accustomed to head coach Tim Beckman and his staff during spring practices. Defensive back Earnest Thomas said the transition is coming along smoothly. “We’ve got some new things, got some old things,” he said. “It’s not really tough to learn. ... It’s more so just terminology, learning how Coach Beck speaks compared to what we’re used to.” The Illini defense remains mostly intact from last season, losing just four consistent contributors: seniors Ian Thomas, Tavon Wilson and Trulon Henry and junior Whitney Mercilus, a projected first-round draft pick and
DARYL QUITALIG THE DAILY ILLINI
Illinois’ Whitney Mercilus (85) tackles Northwestern’s Dan Persa (7) during a game at Memorial Stadium. Mercilus, a projected first-round draft pick and last season’s NCAA sack leader with 16, is one of four consistent contributors the Illini defense. last season’s NCAA sack leader with 16. “I don’t think you can ever go wrong with experience,” Banks said. “The guys really enjoy playing the game of football and they’re playing extremely hard. They’re still learning the system, but I’m excited about the guys because they’re excited about playing football. Anytime you’ve got that, good things usually happen.” Banks said the experience is a strength of the defense, but added that the Illini will need to develop the younger players to provide depth at all positions.
“We start demanding that guys play extremely hard,” Banks said. “Everybody says their team is gonna play hard, but when you start demanding it, you realize, physically, there’s only so many snaps that they can play at that level. We’re working extremely hard to try to develop some backups.” While the Illini defense finished among the top of several statistical categories last season, the unit struggled to generate turnovers, finishing 95th in the nation with 22 and a -.46 turnover margin. “Although we were a top defense in the country last year ... one of our lowest stats is takeaways,”
Thomas said. “This spring, that’s what we’ve really been trying to do. ... If we can take the ball away, we make it that much easier for the offense.” Banks said it doesn’t matter where the Illini end up statistically if they don’t win games. “What do we have to do to try to help ourselves win a championship?” Banks said. “If that means being the No. 1 defense in the country, then so be it. But our No. 1 goal is to win and win championships. That’s what we’re trying to get accomplished. Hopefully playing great defense is a byproduct of that, and we believe it will be.”