|
 Millikin scored the game winner at the 62:21 mark when freshman
Emily Ratchford (St. Peters, Mo., Fort Zumwalt East H.S.) found the
back of the net.
Anna Benvenuto (West Allis, Wis., PIUS XI H.S.) had six saves in
goal.
The Big Blue scored a 7-0 win at Rockford University in Rockford,
Illinois on October 5. Millikin scored four goals in the first
period and added three more in the second. The Big Blue outshot the
Regents 24-0.
Millikin's Jenna Eaker (Schaumburg, H.S.) scored two goals and had
one assist. Rachel Patty (Hazelwood, Mo., Hazelwood West H.S.) also
scored twice for the Big Blue. Freshman Raven Withaar (Plainfield,
Plainfield North H.S.) had one goal and one assist. Other Millikin
goals went to Alivia Kramer (Damiansville, Breeze Central H.S.) and
Jessica Taul (Godfrey, Alton H.S.).
Millikin assists went to Lucy Koger (Naperville, Naperville North
H.S.), Ratchford, Cassidy Burroughs (Greensboro, N.C., Greensboro
Day H.S.) and Katie Bartuch (Manhattan, Lincoln Way Central H.S.).
Millikin Volleyball Riding Seven Game Winning Stream
The 23rd ranked Millikin volleyball teams scored two victories
during its annual Linda Slagell Dig for the Cure event on October 7
in the Griswold Center in Decatur, Illinois. The Big Blue have won
seven in a row and improved to 17-4 on the season.
Millikin opened with a 3-0 (25-14, 25-14, 25-9) win over Westminster
College.
The Big Blue had 17 service aces in the game with Kelsey Talkington
(North Aurora, Aurora Central Catholic H.S.) recording six. Emily
Mihalkanin (Willowbrook, Hinsdale South H.S.) and Meredith Artime
(Forsyth, Decatur Christian H.S.) each had four aces and Cassidy
Kingery (Heyworth, H.S.) had three. Courtney Bohn (Mahomet, Mahomet
Seymour H.S.) led Millikin with nine kills followed by Emily
Seegmiller (Arthur, Arthur Lovington Atwood Hammond H.S.) with
eight. Mihalkanin had 27 set assists. Kingery had a team high 15
digs.
The Big Blue then defeated Greenville 3-0 (26-24, 25-22, 25-16).
Erin Syversen (Pewaukee, Wis., Waukesha West H.S.) led Millikin with
16 kills. Bohn added 10 kills and two blocks. Seegmiller and
Talkington each had eight kills. Talkington added three blocks.
Mihalkanin had 41 set assists and eight digs. Kingery had a team
high 16 digs. Artime had seven digs and two service aces.
Millikin scored a CCIW road victory defeating North Central College
3-1 in Naperville, Illinois on October 4. Millikin won the first set
26-24, but the Cardinals took set two 25-22. Millikin then regrouped
and won 25-13 and 25-22. Syversen led the way for Millikin with 19
kills, 21 digs and three service aces. Alora Goodey (Lincoln, H.S.)
had 13 kills, three blocks with a .550 hitting percentage. Bohn
added 10 kills. Mihalkanin had 54 set assists and three service
aces. Kingery had a team high 23 digs while Kelsey McAtee (Decatur,
Mt. Zion H.S.) added 13.
Millikin’s 4-0 CCIW record along with Elmhurst loss at Augustana
moved the Big Blue into sole possession of first place in the
conference.
Big Blue Football Downed by #6 Wheaton
Millikin football lost a hard fought battle to sixth ranked Wheaton
College 35-19 on October 8 in Wheaton, Illinois.
The Big Blue battled back from being down by 14 points and were
within two points of an upset until late in the fourth quarter.
Wheaton jumped out to an early lead with two first quarter
touchdowns. The Big Blue settled down in the second quarter on both
sides of the football and made its way back into the game. Millikin
opened the scoring on a 12-yard pass from Nicco Stepina (Casey,
Casey Westfield H.S.) to Jordan Smith (Shelbyville, H.S.).
The Millikin special teams made a big play when Demetreeus Loper
(Indianapolis, Ind., Lawrence Central H.S.) blocked a Wheaton punt
setting up the Big Blue deep in Thunder territory. Millikin
converted the opportunity when Stepina connected with David Jackson
(St. Louis, Mo., University H.S.) on a 14-yard touchdown pass. A bad
snap on the extra point kept Millikin one point down at 14-13.
The Big Blue defense put the clamps on the Thunder offense in the
second half. Millikin allowed the Thunder to move the football, but
kept Wheaton out of the end zone until the game’s final minutes.
Millikin pulled to within two points with 12:33 left in the game
when Stepina and Jackson hooked up again on a 12-yard touchdown
pass. The Big Blue’s two-point conversion was no good making it a
21-19 game.
Wheaton scored twice in the final 3:14 of the game to secure the
victory.
Stepina finished the game 12-37-2 for 227 yards and three
touchdowns. Jackson was Millikin’s top receiver with seven catches
for 89 yards.
Nikia Averitte (Indianapolis, Ind., Lawrence Central H.S.) had eight
tackles including two tackles for a loss and a forced fumble for the
Big Blue defense. Lashon Johnson (Evergreen Park, H.S.) also had
eight tackles. Freshman linebacker Matt Brown (Champaign, Central
H.S.) has seven tackles including three tackles for a loss. Quintaz
Wright (Indianapolis, Ind., Lawrence Central H.S.) had six tackles
with 2.5 tackles for a loss.
[to top of second column] |
Wheaton improves to 6-0, 4-0 while Millikin goes to 2-3, 1-2.
The Big Blue return home on October 15 for a 6 p.m. kickoff against
Augustana College.
Millikin Men’s Soccer Falls at North Central
The Millikin men’s soccer team suffered a 1-0 loss at North Central
College in Naperville, Illinois on October 8.
The Cardinals’ John Kissel scored the game’s only goal in the 65th
minute.
Millikin had 12 shots in the game compared to 11 for North Central.
The Big Blue had six shots on goal, but North Central goalkeeper
Sebastian Garcia earned six saves on the day shutting out Millikin.
The Millikin men’s soccer team played to a 1-1 double overtime tie
with Greenville College at Frank M. Lindsay Field on October 4 in
Decatur, Illinois.
Millikin tied the game in the 85th minute on a goal by Patrick Dolan
(St. Louis, Mo, St. John Vianney H.S.).
Both goalkeepers came up big in the overtime periods with Millikin’s
Trevor Creek (Manteno, H.S.) recording four saves and Greenville’s
Michael Gonzalez turning away five Millikin shots. On the night,
Creek finished with nine saves.
Millikin is now 7-3-1, 1-2.
Millikin Women’s Tennis Downs North Central
For the second conference match in a row, the Millikin women’s
tennis team received contributions from everyone in the lineup
including two victories from Madeline Delano (Arlington Heights,
Buffalo Grove H.S.) to give the Big Blue a 5-4 victory over the
North Central Cardinals on October 8 at the Fairview Tennis Center.
The Big Blue started strong in doubles with Kelly Ruane (Mokena,
McKendree University)/Morgan Bettner (Brownsburg, Ind., H.S.)
playing the best match of the season winning 8-0 at number two
doubles. Paige Bequette (Edwardsville, H.S.) and Delano followed
with an 8-1 win at number three doubles.
Heading into singles, the Big Blue needed to win three of the six
matches. Delano picked up the first victory in singles winning her
match 6-0, 6-1 at number six singles. After suffering a tough
doubles loss, Molly Angell (Ottawa, Ottawa Township H.S.) regrouped
nicely winning 6-2, 6-3 at number four singles. That set the stage
for Melissa Donovan (Antioch, H.S.) to clinch the match as she
pulled out a 6-2, 6-1 victory at number five singles.
The win moves the Big Blue to 6-2 on the season and 2-2 in CCIW
play. The Big Blue will return to the courts when they travel to
Elmhurst College to take on the Bluejays on October 10.
Millikin Second at CCIW Preview
The Millikin men's golf team finished second at its own CCIW Preview
played on October 3 at Red Tail Run in Decatur, Illinois. The course
will host the 2017 CCIW Championships in May.
The Big Blue shot a team total of 287 and finished five shots behind
the Illinois Wesleyan B team. Illinois Wesleyan's A team was third
at 288 and Millikin's B team was fourth at 292.
Millikin junior David Gerig (Towanda, Normal Community H.S.) was the
tournament medalist after winning a playoff on the first hole. Gerig
and Illinois Wesleyan's Will Hansen tied for first after shooting
four under 68. The 68 put Gerig in the Millikin record book tied for
the fourth lowest 18-hole score.
Millikin's Blaine Buente (Troy, Triad H.S.) was tied for third at
70. The Big Blue's Michael Barber (Beecher, H.S.), Bennett Jackson
(Mt. Zion, H.S.) and Anthony Lechman (Effingham, H.S.) tied for
eighth at 72.
Big Blue Women’s Golfers Compete at CCIW Championships
The Millikin women's golf team completed play in the 2016 College
Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) played October 6-8 at
the Naperbrook Golf Course in Plainfield, Illinois.
Illinois Wesleyan won the 2016 CCIW title with a team score of 955
with the Titans Jordan Koehler winning individual honors with a 235.
Injuries kept the Big Blue from fielding enough golfers to compete
in the team competition. Millikin's Tate Gehrig (Alhambra, Highland
H.S.) finished in 35th place with a three day total of 291. Gaby
Correa (Rock Island, Moline H.S.) was 41st at 308 and Olivia Bogolin
(Wentzville, Mo., Holt H.S.) was 43rd at 393.
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