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Thursday, May 1

High school baseball

[MAY 1, 2003] 

At Stanford

Mahomet     020 001 0 - 3-5-1

Olympia       111 002 x - 5-6-1

Bachman (L, 3-2) and Reeder. Tyler Thornton (W, 6-0) and Rush Olson.

Home run - Olympia - Olson (solo in 3rd).

Hitting stars - Olympia - Dusty Hayes (2 hits), Olson (2 RBIs).

Pitching star - Olympia - Thornton (12 strikeouts, 1 walk).

Records - Mahomet-Seymour 12-7 overall, 3-2 in Corn Belt Conference; Olympia 13-7, 5-0.

At Buffalo

Mount Pulaski     070 030 2 - 12-10-1

Tri-City               010 040 0 - 5-6-6

Colton McClellan (W, 5-2); Cory Smith (L).

Home run - Mount Pulaski - Thomas Maske (2)

Hitting stars - Mount Pulaski - Thomas Maske (2 home runs, 4 RBIs), Cameron McClellan (3 hits, 2 doubles, 2 RBIs), Craig Erlenbush (2 hits, 2 RBIs).

Pitching star - Mount Pulaski - Co. McClellan (9 strikeouts).

Records - Mount Pulaski 13-4; Tri-City 9-8.

Lincoln College softball vs. Lewis & Clark

[MAY 1, 2003]  Lincoln College closed out the regular softball season by splitting a twin bill against Lewis & Clark here Wednesday afternoon. The Lynx, 20-15, will play in the opening round of the Region 24 tourney at 8 a.m. Friday against Lake Land in Mattoon.

Nicole Dearing singled to open the third inning and moved up on a wild pitch. Norissa Stetter then singled in Dearing with what proved to be the winning run. The Lynx, 17-12 in conference play, scored a run in the second inning on a double by JoJo Halko and an RBI single by Candi Forsythe.

Jen Polhemus went the distance for the Lynx to gain the victory. She struck out five and walked five while giving up three hits to the No. 13-ranked team in the nation.

In the second game, Lewis & Clark scored five times in the third inning due to sloppy defensive play. Lincoln aided the visitors' cause by making six errors in the contest.

Loren Kokenes collected a pair of hits to lead the Lynx, and Beth Conner suffered the loss.

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First game

Lewis & Clark       001 000 0 - 1-3-1

Lincoln College     011 000 x - 2-6-3

Carol Lyons (L), Kathy Duesing (6) and Loren Wiseman; Jen Polhemus (W) and JoJo Halko.

Lewis & Clark       000 510 0 - 6-6-1

Lincoln College     300 010 0 - 4-7-6

Duesing (W) and Wiseman; Conner (L) and Halko.

[Bill Martinie, Lincoln College
sports information director]

Guest speaker Dick Vitale inspires
Redbird student-athletes and coaches

[MAY 1, 2003]  NORMAL -- Dick Vitale, ESPN basketball analyst and motivational speaker, took time out of his busy schedule to speak to Illinois State student-athletes Wednesday at Redbird Arena about the importance of chasing their dreams and never giving up.

"I have been around winners and I have been around losers, and the winners are the individuals that keep trying and believe in what they do," said Vitale. "Winners in life give quality time, not quantity time, to everything they do and work hard to make their dreams a reality."

Vitale spoke to approximately 200 Redbird student-athletes and athletic department faculty members. His inspirational words left a lasting impression on Illinois State sophomore Gregg Alexander of Lincoln, a member of the Redbird men's basketball team.

[to top of second column in this article]

"This was great, because (Dick Vitale) is such an inspiration to all of us," said Alexander. "This is what he does for a living and he was able to reach his goals, so it makes us feel like we can relate and realistically achieve our goals in life."

Director of Athletics Perk Weisenburger also appreciated the message that Vitale left with the student-athletes.

"He brings tremendous passion to everything that he does, and it takes passion to be successful in life," said Weisenburger. "I want to personally thank the Red Cross and Dick Vitale for making this visit possible. It meant a lot to Illinois State and our student-athletes."

[Rob Huizenga, athletics media relations,
Illinois State University]

Bruce Weber named UI basketball coach

[MAY 1, 2003]  CHAMPAIGN -- On Wednesday, University of Illinois Director of Athletics Ron Guenther announced Bruce Weber as the 16th Fighting Illini men's basketball coach.

[associated press]

Weber, 46, comes to Champaign-Urbana after compiling a 103-54 (.656) record in five seasons as the head coach at Southern Illinois University. He gained 18 years of experience in the Big Ten Conference as an assistant at Purdue under Gene Keady, helping the Boilermakers to six Big Ten championships and 17 postseason appearances.

In his five seasons at SIU, Weber took the Saluki program to the top of the Missouri Valley Conference, winning league titles in 2002 and 2003. He posted records of 28-8 and 24-7 in his last two seasons, leading the Salukis to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances, including a run to the Sweet Sixteen in 2002 with wins over Texas Tech and Georgia at the United Center in Chicago. Following the 2003 season Weber earned honors as Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year. Entering the 2003 NCAA Tournament, only four Division I teams (Pittsburgh, Duke, Oklahoma and Kansas) had won more games in the previous two seasons than Southern Illinois.

The trademark of the Bruce Weber-led teams at SIU has been aggressive, fundamentally sound defense, holding opponents to 40 percent shooting from the field in 2002 and 2003. On the offensive end, the Salukis averaged 75.5 points in 2002 and 74.5 points last season. He leaves SIU with the Salukis holding a 27-game home-court winning streak.

At the age of 46, Weber has 24 years of coaching experience at the collegiate level, with one season at Western Kentucky under Keady before moving with the longtime Boilermaker coach to West Lafayette the following year. He was named the Southern Illinois head coach prior to the 1998-99 season.

In his one season at Western Kentucky, the Hilltoppers won the Ohio Valley Conference and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. In his 18 years at Purdue, the Boilermakers won six Big Ten titles, played in 14 NCAA tournaments and had three NIT appearances.

His association with Keady also allowed Weber to gain experience on the international level. He was an assistant coach for the team representing the United States at the World University Games in 1989 and Pan American Games in 1991.

Born Oct. 19, 1956, the Milwaukee native began his career as a high school coach in Madison, Wis., from 1975 to 1979.

A 1978 graduate of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Bruce and his wife, Megan, have three daughters, Hannah, 17, Charity, 15, and Emily, 11.

(Year, position, school, overall record, conference record, postseason)

1979-80, assistant coach, Western Kentucky, 21-8, 10-2, NCAA

1980-81, assistant coach, Purdue, 21-11, 10-9, NIT Final Four

1981-82, assistant coach, Purdue, 18-14, 11-7, NIT runner-up

1982-83, assistant coach, Purdue, 21-9, 11-7, NCAA

1983-84, assistant coach, Purdue, 22-7, 15-3, NCAA

[to top of second column in this article]

1984-85, assistant coach, Purdue, 20-9, 11-7, NCAA

1985-86, assistant coach, Purdue, 22-10, 11-7, NCAA

1986-87, assistant coach, Purdue, 25-5, 15-3, NCAA

1987-88, assistant coach, Purdue, 29-4, 16-2, NCAA

1988-89, assistant coach, Purdue, 15-16, 8-10, --

1989-90, assistant coach, Purdue, 22-8, 13-5, NCAA

1990-91, assistant coach, Purdue, 17-12, 9-9, NCAA

1991-92, assistant coach, Purdue, 18-15, 8-10, NIT

1992-93, assistant coach, Purdue, 18-10, 9-9, NCAA

1993-94, assistant coach, Purdue, 29-5, 14-4, NCAA

1994-95, assistant coach, Purdue, 25-7, 15-3, NCAA

1995-96, assistant coach, Purdue, 26-6, 15-3, NCAA

1996-97, assistant coach, Purdue, 18-12, 12-6, NCAA

1997-98, assistant coach, Purdue, 28-8, 12-4, NCAA

1998-99, head coach, Southern Illinois, 15-12, 10-8, --

1999-2000, head coach, Southern Illinois, 20-13, 12-6, NIT

2000-01, head coach, Southern Illinois, 16-14, 10-8, --

2001-02, head coach, Southern Illinois, 28-8, 14-4, NCAA (2-1)

2002-03, head coach, Southern Illinois, 24-7, 16-2, NCAA (0-1)

Head coaching totals: 103-54 (.656) in five years

Record at Purdue: 415-176 (.702)

Record at Western Kentucky: 21-8 (.724)

• 21 postseason appearances
• 17 NCAA Tournament appearances
• Four National Invitation Tournament appearances
• One NCAA Elite Eight appearance (1994)
• Three NCAA Sweet Sixteen appearances (1988, 1998, 2002)
• Six Big Ten championships (1984, 1987, 1988, 1994, 1995, 1996)
• Two Missouri Valley Conference championships (2002, 2003)
• One Ohio Valley Conference championship (1980)
• World University Games assistant (1989)

• Pan American Games assistant (1991)

For more information, contact Kent Brown of the athletic media relations office at the University of Illinois.

[Kent Brown, assistant athletics director
and sports information director,
University of Illinois]

Articles from the past week

[APRIL 28, 2003]  The Lincoln Railers put up a nice 4-3 win over Lanphier after losing to them 9-4 earlier in the week. These were two real Jekyll and Hyde performances, but according to coach Pat Hake, if the Railers come to play every night, they can expect more winning outcomes. With the victory Lincoln was able to even their league mark to 3-3 and push their season record over the .500 level at 8-7.

The Lady Railers track squad also took an impressive triad win over Pekin and Peoria Manual last week.

CONGRATULATIONS to Chris Bunch as he has inked with Parkland College. Also, to Matthew Stoltzenburg, who was named District 15 Coach of the Year!

The St. Louis Cardinals pulled out an epic 7-6 win over the Florida Marlins at Pro Player Stadium on Sunday. The win enabled the Birds to take the series, to move one game under the .500 mark and most importantly move within two games of the Cubs. Fernando Vina, who had gone 0-for-9 in the game, not the series, went from goat to hero as he knocked in the winning run. Hopefully, that will get him and his mates started back in the right direction. The Redbirds will be entertaining the pond scum, otherwise known as the New York Mets, starting on Tuesday.

Illinois' Eugene Wilson was drafted by the New England Patriots after the Bears passed on him. Don't know what the thinking was there, as he seems like an excellent fit for them. Brandon Lloyd went to San Francisco, as the Niners are anticipating pass catching needs. Two Illini O-lineman went in the fifth round, as Dave Diehl ended up with the Giants in New York and Tony Pashos was selected by the Baltimore Ravens. And the Carolina Panthers nabbed Walter Young in the seventh round. After the two-day draft event was over four more Illini inked free agent deals, with Greg Lewis to Philadelphia, Antoineo Harris to San Diego, Aaron Moorehead to Indianapolis and Jerry Schumacher to the Bears!

[to top of second column in this article]

All in all, it was a great weekend for Fighting Illini gridders. While I'm happy to see them realize their dreams in the NFL, I am sad to see them go, as I get way too attached to them while they are playing for us! They have all treated the LDN staff with great respect as they have given us tremendous accessibility. The LDN wishes them all great success at the next level!

How 'bout that Fred Couples winning the Houston Open? It's great to see a superstar coming back, after injuries and losing his edge, to recapture the swing and return to glory. Judging by the fans' reactions, they were glad to see him back on top!

Have a great week, everybody!

[Jeff Mayfield]

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