Feb. 28, 2012

Athletes of the Week

• Senior point guard Samantha Prahaliswas named Big Ten player of the year by the coaches and the media Feb. 27, making it eight years in a row that a Buckeye has won the top individual honor. Prahalis also was the only unanimous first team all-Big Ten selection on both sides as well. In addition, she scored a school-record 42 points in her final home game as No. 8 Ohio State routed Minnesota 81-56 Feb. 23.

• Jason Schnurof the men's swimming team won two Big Ten individual titles at last weekend's championships in Iowa. After setting a school record in the preliminaries with an NCAA A qualifying time of 19.28, he won the 50 freestyle in a time of 19.35. He set another school record in the 100 freestyle preliminaries in a time of 42.85, and then won the 100 free title with a swim of 43.11. He was also part of school record-setting performances in the 200 medley relay, 200 free relay and 400 free relay at Big Ten's.

  Baseball (3-3)
  Head coach: Greg Beals

• Josh Dezse, a 1B/RHP on the Ohio State baseball team, has been named Big Ten Player of the Week, the conference office announced Feb. 20.
• Despite three home runs from Dezse, Ohio State dropped a 12-4 decision at No. 10 Georgia Tech Feb. 24 at Russ Chandler Stadium.
• Ohio State team bounced back to top No. 10 Georgia Tech, 7-3, Feb. 25 at Russ Chandler Stadium.
• Ohio State dropped its series finale at No. 10 Georgia Tech, 13-4, Feb. 26 at Russ Chandler Stadium.
  

  No. 6 Men's Basketball (23-6, 11-5 Big Ten)
  Head coach: Thad Matta

• Deshaun Thomas scored 19 points and No. 8 Ohio State regained its shooting touch, rolling over Illinois 83-67 Feb. 21 to remain in the thick of the Big Ten race.
• Sophomore Aaron Craft was named a Capital One 2012 First Team Academic All-American Feb. 23. He is the first Ohio State men's basketball student-athlete to earn academic All-America honors since Bill Hosket in 1968.
• Thomas had 23 points but Ohio State fell to Wisconsin, 63-60, Feb. 26 at Value City Arena. William Buford had 15 points and Craft added 13.
  

  No. 8 Women's Basketball (24-5, 11-5 Big Ten)
  Head coach: Jim Foster

• Samantha Prahalis made her last home game a very memorable one. The senior guard scored a school-record 42 points in her final home game and No. 8 Ohio State routed Minnesota 81-56 Feb. 23.
• Prahalis, coming off a school-record 42-point game against Minnesota, led the Buckeyes with 18 points and Tayler Hill added 16 in No. 8/14 Ohio State's 71-57 loss at No. 23 Nebraska Feb. 26.
  

  Fencing
  Head coach: Vladimir Nazlymov

• Kristian Boyadzhiev, Daniel Tafoya, Gavin Medley and Narayan Pathi traveled to New York, N.Y., to compete in the 2012 United States Collegiate Squad Championships Feb. 26. The group downed Haverford and Columbia to collect bronze.
  

  Men's Golf
  Head coach: Donnie Darr

• Ohio State wrapped up competition Feb. 21 at the Puerto Rico Classic in Rio Grande P.R. in 11th place after carding a 23-over 887 through 54 holes. Senior Alex Redfield placed in the Top 15 individually, finishing 1-under 215 at the par-72, 6,902-yard River Course at the Rio Mar Country Club.
  

  No. 13 Women's Golf
  Head coach: Therese Hession

• Led by two Buckeyes in the Top 10, the Ohio State women's golf team concluded the Central District Invitational in sixth Feb. 21. Notching a third round team score of 296, the Buckeyes totaled 893 at the par 72, 6,218-yard River Wilderness Golf Club in Parrish, Fla.
• Amy Meier was named Big Ten Golfer of the Week, the conference announced Feb. 22. It is the first weekly honor of the season for a Buckeye and the second of Meier's career.
  

  No. 7 Men's Gymnastics
  Head coach: Rustam Sharipov

• No. 7 Ohio State fell to No. 2 Penn State, 355.500-347.200, despite posting three event season highs in a dual competition Feb. 25 at St. John Arena.
  

  No. 11 Women's Gymnastics
  Head coach: Carey Fagan

• Ohio State junior gymnast Colleen Dean was named Big Ten Co-Gymnast of the Week, the conference office announced Feb. 20. Dean shares the honor with Jessie DeZiel of Nebraska.
• No. 11 Ohio State won a dual meet against No. 10 Penn State, 196.025-195.000, Feb. 25 in St. John Arena.
  

  No. 17 Men's Ice Hockey (15-13-5, 11-12-5-1 CCHA)
  Head coach: Mark Osiecki

• In its final road game of the regular season, No. 17 Ohio State lost to No. 15-ranked Miami, 3-0, Feb. 24 in Steve Cady Arena in Oxford, Ohio.
• No. 17-ranked Ohio State wrapped up the regular season with a 5-1 loss to No. 15 Miami in front of 8,404 fans in Value City Arena Feb. 25.
  

  Women's Ice Hockey (16-16-4, 13-14-1-1 WCHA)
  Head coach: Nate Handrahan

• Fifth-seed Ohio State team opened the postseason with a 4-3 loss at fourth-seed Minnesota Duluth Feb. 24 at the AMSOIL Arena in Duluth.
• Ohio State concluded the 2011-12 season with a 3-2 overtime loss at Minnesota Duluth Feb. 25.
  

  No. 11/12 Men's Lacrosse (3-1, 1-0 ECAC)
  Head coach: Nick Myers

• Logan Schuss, a junior attackman on the No. 11/12 Ohio State men's lacrosse team, was named the ECAC Lacrosse League Offensive Player of the Week Feb. 20. He led Ohio State with five goals in the team's win over then-No. 5 ranked Denver Feb. 19 in Jacksonville, Fla.
• No. 11/12-ranked Ohio State lost to No. 8/10 UMass, 9-3, Feb. 25 in Ohio Stadium.
  

  No. 14 Women's Lacrosse (5-0)
  Head coach: Alexis Venechanos

• Alayna Markwordt was named the American Lacrosse Conference's Offensive Player of the Week after becoming the leading point scorer in Ohio State women's lacrosse history in a pair of Buckeye wins over the weekend. With her second of four goals in the 21-7 victory over Louisville Sunday, the senior attacker bested the previous mark of 243 points set by Kelly Haggerty during the 2007-10 seasons and now has 247 points (151g, 96a) to her credit.
• 14th-ranked Ohio State continued its season-opening domination with a 16-3 victory over Brown Feb. 25 at Ohio Stadium in the first half of a doubleheader with the No. 11/12 men's lacrosse team, who faced UMass.
  

  Pistol
  Head coach: James Sweeney

• The Ohio State pistol team hosted the Final Countdown individual pistol competition in preparation for the National Collegiate Championship in Columbus, Ga. The Buckeyes swept the first three places in the three open events with junior Blake Reburn taking first in free, standard and air pistol with scores of 254, 532 and 549, respectively.
  

  Rifle
  Acting Head coach: Donna Knisely

• Amanda Furrer of the Ohio State rifle team has been selected to shoot at the NCAA Rifle Championships March 9-10 in Columbus. Furrer was invited to shoot as an individual in the smallbore rifle competition which will be held March 9 at Lt. Hugh W. Wylie Range in Converse Hall. The junior is coming off a first place finish in both individual events with a 586 in air rifle and a 579 in smallbore at the the NRA/NCAA qualifying match Feb. 18 in Columbus.
• Ohio State won the Western Intercollegiate Rifle Conference title Feb. 25 in East Lansing. The Buckeyes won smallbore with a score of 2,293 and air rifle with a 1,541.
  

  Softball (9-5)
  Head coach: Linda Kalafatis

• With a beautiful backdrop of the San Jacinto Mountains, Ohio State split day one of the 2012 Cathedral City Classic Feb. 24 in Cathedral City, Calif.
• Ohio State posted a seven-run fourth inning to claim a 9-0 victory in five innings against Cal State Fullerton Feb. 25 in game three at the 2012 Cathedral City Classic in Cathedral City, Calif.
• Ohio State posted a 9-8 comeback victory in six innings vs. Colorado State Feb. 26 in its final game at the 2012 Cathedral City Classic in Cathedral City, Calif.
  

  Men's Swimming and Diving
  Head coach: Bill Wadley and Vince Panzano

• After Jason Schnur and Shane Miszkiel won Big Ten Championships Feb. 23, the 200 freestyle relay team set a school record with time of 1:17.70 to place second in the conference Feb. 24.
• Behind championship swims from Schnur and Andrew Elliott, Ohio State finished second with 552.5 team points at the Big Ten men's swimming and diving championships Feb. 25 at Iowa.
  

  Women's Swimming and Diving
  Head coach: Bill Dorenkott and Vince Panzano

• The Ohio State women's swimming and diving program has earned top recognition from the College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) in its 2012 Scholar All-American program Feb. 23. The Buckeye women, with a 3.38 team grade-point average during Autumn Quarter, were recognized as Team Scholar All-American winners for Division I. 25 Buckeyes individually had at least a 3.0 GPA for the quarter.
  

  No. 2 Men's Tennis (14-1)
  Head coach: Ty Tucker

• Sophomore Blaz Rola was named the Big Ten Athlete of the Week Feb. 21 after an impressive showing at the ITA National Team Indoors Championship where the third-ranked Ohio State men's tennis team advanced to the championship match.
• Second-ranked Ohio State picked up its 13th victory of the season after defeating No. 7 Kentucky 4-0 Feb. 25 at the Varsity Tennis Center.
• Second-ranked Ohio State remained unbeaten at home on the season after downing No. 17 North Carolina 6-1 Feb. 26 at the Varsity Tennis Center.
  

  Women's Tennis (5-6, 0-1 Big Ten)
  Head coach: Chuck Merzbacher

• 64th-ranked Ohio State defeated Louisville, 4-3, Feb. 22 in Louisville, Ky. The victory is the first on the road for the Buckeyes and the 600th career match for head coach Chuck Merzbacher.
• 64th-ranked Ohio State won its second match in three days, defeating No. 71 DePaul, 5-2, at home Feb. 24.
• 64th-ranked Ohio State fell, 4-3, to No. 31 Arkansas at home Feb. 26 in the Varsity Tennis Center.
  

  No. 13 Men's Track and Field
  Head coach: Robert Gary

• Heath Nickles won the Big Ten title in the pole vault Feb. 24 at the 2012 Big Ten Indoor Championships in Lincoln, Neb., highlighting the first day of competition for 13th-ranked Ohio State at the Devaney Indoor Track.
• Ohio State's 4x400m relay team won the Big Ten title in a meet record-time of 3:08.06 to help the 13th-ranked Buckeyes to a fourth-place team finish at the 2012 Big Ten Indoor Championships Feb. 25 in Lincoln, Neb.
  

  No. 10 Women's Track and Field
  Head coach: Karen Dennis

• All-American Christina Manning was named Big Ten Track Athlete of the Week Feb. 20 by the conference office for the sixth time this season. This is the third consecutive weekly award for Manning who earns the honor this week after competing in the last indoor home meet of her career last Friday.
• No. 10 Ohio State completed the 2012 Big Ten Indoor Championships Feb. 25, coming up just short in defending its conference title. The Buckeyes finished with 106 points, right behind the hometown Huskers who finished with 114.50 points to claim the conference title in their first year as a member of the Big Ten.
  

  No. 8 Men's Volleyball (12-5, 3-1 MIVA)
  Head coach: Pete Hanson

• No. 8 Ohio State traveled to MIVA opponent No. 7 Lewis and dropped a 3-1 (15-25, 25-21, 25-18, 25-18) match to the Flyers in Romeoville, Ill., Feb. 23.
• No. 8 Ohio State closed out the weekend with a sweep at No. 14 Loyola-Chicago Feb. 25, defeating the Ramblers, 3-0 (25-18, 25-9, 25-19).
  

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  Ohio State Athletics Schedule
  Feb. 27-March 11

  Feb. 29
  Men's Basketball vs. Northwestern, 8:30 p.m.
  Evanston, Ill.

  March 1-4
  Women's Basketball Big Ten Tournament, TBA
  Indianapolis, Ind.

  March 2-3
  Pistol NRA Air Pistol Sectional, 4 p.m./10 a.m.
  Columbus, Ohio, Lt. Hugh W. Wylie Range in Converse Hall

  Men's Track Last Chance Invitational, All Day
  South Bend, Ind.

  March 2
  Softball vs. Longwood (Citrus Classic), 4:45 p.m.
  Orlando, Fla.

  Baseball vs. Michigan, 6 p.m.
  Port Charlotte, Fla.

  Men's Gymnastics at Illinois, 7 p.m.
  Champaign, Ill.

  Softball vs. Georgetown (Citrus Classic), 7 p.m.
  Orlando, FL

  Women's Gymnastics vs. Kent State, 7 p.m.
  Columbus, Ohio, St. John Arena

  Men's Volleyball at St. Francis PA, 7 p.m.
  Loretto, Pa.

  Men's Ice Hockey at Notre Dame (CCHA First Round), 7:35 p.m.
  South Bend, Ind.

  March 3-4
  Fencing Conference Championships, TBA
  South Bend, Ind.

  Wrestling Big Ten Championships, All Day
  West Lafayette, Ind.

  March 3
  Men's Tennis at Notre Dame, 11:30 a.m.
  Notre Dame, Ind.

  Baseball vs. Western Michigan, 12 p.m.
  Port Charlotte, Fla.

  Men's Lacrosse vs. Penn State, 1 p.m.
  Columbus, Ohio, Ohio Stadium

  Baseball vs. Western Michigan, 3 p.m.
  Port Charlotte, Fla.

  Softball vs. Notre Dame (Citrus Classic), 4:45 p.m.
  Orlando, Fla.

  Softball vs. Hofstra (Citrus Classic), 7 p.m.
  Orlando, Fla.

  Men's Volleyball at Penn State, 7 p.m.
  University Park, Pa.

  Men's Ice Hockey at Notre Dame (CCHA First Round), 7:35 p.m.
  South Bend, Ind.

  Synchronized Swimming North Regional Championships, TBA
  St. Louis, Mo.

  March 4
  Softball vs. Pittsburgh (Citrus Classic), 9 a.m.
  Orlando, Fla.

  Women's Tennis vs. Oregon, 11 a.m.
  Eugene, Ore.

  Baseball vs. Villanova, 12 p.m.
  Port Charlotte, Fla.

  Women's Lacrosse vs. Notre Dame, 1 p.m.
  Columbus, Ohio, Ohio Stadium

  Men's Swimming Last Ditch Qualifier, All Day
  Columbus, Ohio, McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion

  Men's Basketball at Michigan State, 4 p.m.
  East Lansing, Mich.

  Men's Ice Hockey at Notre Dame (CCHA First Round, if necessary), 7:05 p.m.
  South Bend, Ind.

  March 5-6
  Women's Golf at Hurricane Invitational, All Day
  Miami, Fla.

  March 8-11
  Men's Basketball at Big Ten Tournament, TBA
  Indianapolis, Ind.

  March 9-10
  Rifle NCAA Championships, TBA
  Columbus, Ohio, Lt. Hugh W. Wylie Range and French Field House

  March 9-11
  Men's and Women's Track and Field at NCAA Championships, All Day
  Nampa, Idaho

  Men's and Women's Swimming Columbus Grand Prix, All Day
  Columbus, Ohio, McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion

  March 9
  Baseball vs. Marist, 12 p.m.
  Myrtle Beach, S.C.

  Men's Tennis vs. Texas A&M, 6 p.m.
  Columbus, Ohio, Varsity Indoor Tennis Center

  Men's Gymnastics vs. Stanford, 7 p.m.
  Columbus, Ohio, St. John Arena

  Men's Lacrosse vs. Robert Morris, 7 p.m.
  Columbus, Ohio

  March 10
  Baseball at Coastal Carolina, 12 p.m.
  Myrtle Beach, S.C.

  Women's Gymnastics at North Carolina, 1 p.m.
  Chapel Hill, N.C.

  Baseball vs. Toledo, 5 p.m.
  Myrtle Beach, S.C.

  March 11
  Men's Tennis vs. Penn State, 12 p.m.
  Columbus, Ohio, Varsity Indoor Tennis Center

  Baseball at Coastal Carolina, 1 p.m.
  Myrtle Beach, S.C.

  Men's Tennis vs. University of Northwest Ohio, 5 p.m.
  Columbus, Ohio, Varsity Indoor Tennis Center