Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Matthews has job cornered at Northwestern

Here is a link to a good story on the Northwestern University website about former Canon-McMillan standout Jeravin Matthews (pictured), who has been working this spring as a first-team cornerback for the Wildcats. Matthews will be in his senior season next fall.


Read the story here.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

W&J's Haver 5th at NCAA Division III Championships

Washington & Jefferson College junior Bethany Haver (pictured), the first women’s diver in Presidents’ Athletic Conference history to compete at nationals, placed fifth Wednesday evening in the finals of the 3-meter event at the 2011 NCAA Division III Diving Championships at the University of Tennessee’s Allan Jones Aquatic Center.

With her fifth-place finish, Haver earns NCAA first team All-America status. She is the first President since swimmer Kaitlyn Orstein in 2008 to earn an All-America award.

Haver was in seventh place out of 22 divers following the afternoon trials, but vaulted up the standings thanks in part to a 50.4 dive on her fifth attempt.

The final six dives this evening were added to the individual’s top five dives from the afternoon session. Haver finished with 423.10 points.

Danica Roskos of The College of New Jersey won the national title with 502.45 points.
Haver was edged out for fourth place by just two-tenths of a point by Springfield’s Jen Thompson (423.30).

Haver is one of 22 divers who will compete in the 1-meter national championship Friday.

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Sunday's TV/announcer schedule

Round 3
Sunday, March 20


12:15 p.m. CBS – (2) North Carolina vs. (7) Washington – Jim Nantz, Clark Kellogg, Tracy Wolfson

2:45 p.m. CBS – (1) Duke vs. (8) Michigan – Jim Nantz, Clark Kellogg, Tracy Wolfson

5:15 p.m. CBS – (1) Ohio State vs. (8) George Mason – Gus Johnson, Len Elmore, Marty Snider

6:10 p.m. TNT – (4) Texas vs. (5) Arizona – Marv Albert, Steve Kerr, Craig Sager

7:10 p.m. TBS – (3) Purdue vs. (11) VCU – Spero Dedes, Bob Wenzel, Jamie Maggio

7:45 p.m. Tru TV – (3) Syracuse vs. (11) Marquette – Gus Johnson, Len Elmore, Marty Snider

8:40 p.m. TNT – (1) Kansas vs. (9) Illinois – Marv Albert, Steve Kerr, Craig Sager

9:40 p.m. TBS – (2) Notre Dame vs. (10) Florida State – Spero Dedes, Bob Wenzel, Jamie Maggio

Friday, March 18, 2011

Saturday NCAA basketball TV/announcers schedules

SATURDAY, MARCH 19
12:15 p.m. (KDKA) – (4) Kentucky vs. (5) West Virginia - Ian Eagle, Jim Spanarkel, David Aldridge

2:45 p.m. (KDKA) - (2) Florida vs. (7) UCLA - Ian Eagle, Jim Spanarkel, David Aldridge

5:15 p.m. (KDKA) - (12) Richmond vs. (13) Morehead State - Verne Lundquist, Bill Raftery, Lesley Visser

6:10 p.m. – (TNT) - (2) San Diego St. vs. (7) Temple - Kevin Harlan, Reggie Miller, Dan Bonner, Sam Ryan

7:10 p.m. (TBS) - (1) Pitt vs. (8) Butler - Tim Brando, Mike Gminski, Lewis Johnson

7:45 p.m. (CBS) - (3) BYU vs. (10) Gonzaga - Verne Lundquist, Bill Raftery, Lesley Visser

8:40 p.m. (TNT) - (4) Wisconsin vs. (5) Kansas State - Kevin Harlan, Reggie Miller, Dan Bonner, Sam Ryan

9:40 p.m. (TBS) - (3) UConn vs. (6) Cincannati - Tim Brando, Mike Gminski, Lewis Johnson

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Headlee, Ryan lose in first round

Ethan Headlee of Pitt and Matt Ryan of West Virginia each suffered losses in the first round of the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships at the Wells Fargo Arena Thursday.
Headlee, a graduate of Waynesburg High School, lost by a 22-7 technical fall to Jordan Burroughs of Nebraska, the top seed at 165 pounds.
Ryan, a graduate of Canon-McMillan High School, dropped was beated by a 10-0 major decision by Josh Ihnen of Nebraska at 184 pounds.
Penn State led Cornell following the first round in the point standings. The Nittany Lions had 30 points and seven wrestlers in the winners’ bracket. Cornell had 29 points and five of its nine wrestlers in the winners’ bracket.
Iowa and Oklahoma State were tied for third with 24 points apiece.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

NCAA Tournament network and announcer scheduule

Note that the Pitt game will be televised by truTV, the Penn State game by TNT and the West Virginia game by CBS:

Thursday, March 17

12:15, Tampa: (5) West Virginia vs. (12) UAB/Clemson (CBS) – Ian Eagle, Jim Spanarkel, David Aldridge

12:40, Wash D.C.: (8) Butler vs. (9) Old Dominion (truTV) – Tim Brando, Mike Gminski, Lewis Johnson

1:40, Denver: (4) Louisville vs. (13) Morehead St. (TBS) – Verne Lundquist, Bill Raftery, Lesley Visser

2:10, Tucson: (7) Temple vs. (10) Penn State (TNT) – Kevin Harlan, Reggie Miller, Dan Bonner, Sam Ryan

2:45, Tampa: (4) Kentucky vs. (13) Princeton (CBS) – Ian Eagle, Jim Spanarkel, David Aldridge

3:10, Wash D.C.: (1) Pittsburgh vs. (16) UNC Ash./UALR (truTV) – Tim Brando, Mike Gminski, Lewis Johnson

4:10, Denver: (5) Vanderbilt vs. (12) Richmond (TBS) – Verne Lundquist, Bill Raftery, Lesley Visser

4:40, Tucson: (2) San Diego State vs. (15) Northern Colorado (TNT) – Kevin Harlan, Reggie Miller, Dan Bonner, Sam Ryan

6:50, Tampa: (2) Florida vs. (15) UC Santa Barbara (TBS) --Ian Eagle, Jim Spanarkel, David Aldridge

7:15, Denver: (3) BYU vs. (14) Wofford (CBS) – Verne Lundquist, Bill Raftery, Lesley Visser

7:20, Wash D.C.: (3) UConn vs. (14) Bucknell (TNT) – Tim Brando, Mike Gminski, Lewis Johnson

7:27, Tucson: (4) Wisconsin vs. (13) Belmont (truTV) – Kevin Harlan, Reggie Miller, Dan Bonner, Sam Ryan

9:20, Tampa: (7) UCLA vs. (10) Michigan State (TBS) – Ian Eagle, Jim Spanarkel, David Aldridge

9:45, Denver: (6) St. John's vs. (11) Gonzaga (CBS) – Verne Lundquist, Bill Raftery, Lesley Visser

9:45, Wash D.C.: (6) Cincinnati vs. (11) Missouri (TNT) – Tim Brando, Mike Gminski, Lewis Johnson

9:57, Tucson: (5) Kansas St. vs. (12) Utah St. (truTV) – Kevin Harlan, Reggie Miller, Dan Bonner, Sam Ryan


Friday, March 18

12:15, Tulsa: (4) Texas vs. (13) Oakland (CBS) – Marv Albert, Steve Kerr, Craig Sager

12:40, Charlotte: (8) Michigan vs. (9) Tennessee (truTV) – Jim Nantz, Clark Kellogg, Tracy Wolfson

1:40, Chicago: (2) Notre Dame vs. (15) Akron (TBS) – Spero Dedes, Bob Wenzel, Jamie Maggio

2:10, Cleveland: (8) George Mason vs. (9) Villanova (TNT) – Gus Johnson, Len Elmore, Marty Snider

2:45, Tulsa: (5) Arizona vs. (12) Memphis (CBS) – Marv Albert, Steve Kerr, Craig Sager

3:10, Charlotte: (1) Duke vs. (16) Hampton (truTV) – Jim Nantz, Clark Kellogg, Tracy Wolfson

4:10, Chicago: (7) Texas A&M vs. (10) Florida St (TBS) – Spero Dedes, Bob Wenzel, Jamie Maggio

4:40, Cleveland: (1) Ohio State vs. (16) UTSA/Alabama St. (TNT) – Gus Johnson, Len Elmore, Marty Snider

6:50, Tulsa: (1) Kansas vs. (16) Boston U (TBS) – Marv Albert, Steve Kerr, Craig Sager

7:15, Charlotte: (2) North Carolina vs. (15) Long Island (CBS) – Jim Nantz, Clark Kellogg, Tracy Wolfson

7:20, Chicago: (3) Purdue vs. (14) St. Peter's (TNT) – Spero Dedes, Bob Wenzel, Jamie Maggio

7:27, Cleveland: (6) Xavier vs. (11) Marquette (truTV) – Gus Johnson, Len Elmore, Marty Snider

9:20, Tulsa: (8) UNLV vs. (9) Illinois (TBS) – Marv Albert, Steve Kerr, Craig Sager

9:45, Charlotte: (7) Washington vs. (10) Georgia (CBS) – Jim Nantz, Clark Kellogg, Tracy Wolfson

9:50, Chicago: (6) Georgetown vs. (11) USC/VCU (TNT) – Spero Dedes, Bob Wenzel, Jamie Maggio

9:57, Cleveland: (3) Syracuse vs. (14) Indiana St. (truTV) – Gus Johnson, Len Elmore, Marty Snider

Attention talking heads: turn off the cell phones



ESPN's Doug Gottlieb had a bad day Monday. First he couldn't get the touch screen to work properly during Sportscenter, then his cell phone started ringing.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Headlee wins EWL title & other notes


Ethan Headlee (pictured), a redshirt junior for the University of Pittsburgh, won the 165-pound championship at the Eastern Wrestling League Championships held last weekend at Bloomsburg.

A former Waynesburg High School standout, Headlee’s title earned him a spot in the NCAA Championships to be held March 17-19 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
Headlee’s brother, Drew, also was an EWL individual champion for Pitt.

After receiving a first-round bye, Headlee decisioned Bekzod Abdurakhmanov of Clarion, 3-2, in the semifinals. In the finals, Headlee decisioned top-seeded Donnie Jones of West Virginia, 6-0.

Headlee had a third-place finish at the CWL meet in 2008 and redshirted last year.

Headlee’s victory helped Pitt earn its first EWL team title. The Panthers finished with 132.5 points, 16 more than second-place West Virginia.

In swimming
Two area athletes are among the five swimmers from Grove City who have qualified for the NCAA Division III Championships, to be held March 23-26 in Knoxville, Tenn. Sophomores Angela Palumbo of South Strabane Township and Kaitlin Riesmeyer of McMurray each will make their second consecutive trip to the national championships.

Palumbo, a Trinity graduate, has qualified in the 50-, 100- and 200-meter freestyle. Riesmeyer, a Peters Township product, will compete in both the 100- and 200-meter butterfly (2:04.59). Riesmeyer also has qualified in the 200 individual medley (2:15.37).

Palumbo and Riesmeyer earned Division III All-America honors as freshmen. Palumbo was a five-time All-American and Riesmeyer received three All-America citations.

Connecticut’s Matthew Connor, a junior from Venetia and a Peters Township graduate, had the 22nd-best time this year among Big East Conference swimmers in the 400-meter individual medley. Connor swam 4:04.80 at the Terrapin Cup Invitational.

The Connecticut men finished fifth at the recent Big East Championships.

In basketball
Tommy Kelly, a junior from Washington, has helped Slippery Rock to its first appearance in the NCAA Division II men’s tournament in 20 years. The Rock (21-10) is the No. 8 seed in the Atlantic Regional and will play Saturday (6 p.m.) at top-seeded West Liberty.

Kelly has played in 30 of The Rock’s 31 games and is averaging 4.4 points per game. A key reserve, Kelly came off the bench Saturday night to score 12 points in only 16 minutes in the PSAC championship game, an 82-75 win for IUP over Slippery Rock. Kelly was 2-for-2 from three-point range in the game and is shooting 47 percent (23-for-49) from behind the arc for the season.

Emily Correal, a former three-time Observer-Reporter Player of the Year while at Peters Township, finished the season as William & Mary’s second-leading scorer. The 6-3 Correal averaged 10.1 points per game and was the leading rebounder for the Tribe at 5.0 per game. She also led the team with 25 blocked shots.

Megan Stuvek of Carmichaels ended a successful career at Wheeling Jesuit by leading the Cardinals in rebounding. Stuvek, who never missed a game in high school or college, averaged 7.4 rebounds per game, and her 10.3 scoring average was second-best for Wheeling Jesuit. Stuvek had a pair of 21-point games this season.

In track & field
Brianna Liebold of IUP had a successful meet at the PSAC Indoor Championships held at Edinboro.

A former two-time state champion in both the long jump and triple jump while at Chartiers-Houston, Liebold won each event at the PSAC meet. On the first day of competition, Liebold won the long jump with a leap of 18-101⁄2, and followed the performance a day later by winning the triple jump at 39-71⁄4. Liebold also placed fourth in the 60-yard dash in 7.92.

In wrestling
West Virginia’s Matt Ryan, a redshirt junior from Eighty Four, placed third at 184 pounds at the EWL Championships. A former two-time state finalist at Canon-McMillan, Ryan pinned Corbin Boone of Cleveland State in 4:15 in the opening round before losing a 5-2 decision to top-seeded Chris Honeycutt of Edinboro. Honeycutt is the nation’s top-ranked wrestler at 184.
In the consolation round, Ryan pinned Scott Joseph of Clarion in 4:42 and decisioned Nate Graham of Bloomsburg 7-0 to finish third.

Former McGuffey wrestler Tyler Sim placed fourth at 125 pounds at the Southern Conference Championships at the Holmes Convention Center in Boone, N.C. Sim was seeded fourth and earned two wins, beating fifth-seeded Luke Todd of VMI, 16-3, and sixth-seeded Brett Boston of Appalachian State, 12-6.

In baseball
It’s still early in the season but J.J. Jankowski has been busy on the mound for Catawba College. The former Peters Township standout who transferred to Catawba from Miami (Ohio), already has logged 35 2⁄3 innings and six starts, compiling a 3-0 record. Jankowski has struck out 47 batters and has a 3.53 ERA for the Indians, an NCAA Division II school in Salisbury, N.C.

In softball
Waynesburg junior Lauren Minor has been named the Presidents’ Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week. Minor, a Waynesburg High School graduate, won her first start of the season by tossing a complete-game shutout Sunday as the Yellow Jackets defeated Emmanuel 8-0.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Notebook

Pitt-Johnstown women’s basketball player Andrea Dalton, a Trinity High School graduate, was named first team All-West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference by the league’s coaches.
A three-time WVIAC Player of the Week honoree this season, Dalton leads the Lady Cats in scoring (19.4 ppg.), rebounding (9.0) and three-point field goals made (48). She ranks 15th in scoring in NCAA Division II and 65th in rebounding. Dalton recently scored 20 points and had a career-high 13 rebounds in a win over West Virginia State.
Dalton was a second team all-WVIAC choice as a junior and a member of the 2009 All-WVIAC tournament team. She has been nominated for Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA), Daktronics, and Division II Bulletin All-America honors.
Sixth-seeded Pitt-Johnstown (16-11) defeated Ohio Valley 58-55 last night in the first round of the WVIAC tournament. Dalton scored 14 points. Brittany Taylor, a Canon-McMillan graduate, scored a game-high 19 points for Ohio Valley.

In wrestling
Ethan Headlee of Waynesburg helped Pitt, ranked No. 22, to its second consecutive Eastern Wrestling League dual-meet championship. The Panthers went 6-0 in the EWL and have won 12 consecutive conference matches.
Headlee, a 165-pound redshirt junior, has a 24-10 record with eight pins. In the Panthers’ 19-16 victory over Edinboro that clinched the EWL title, Headlee used 4:22 of riding time for a 10-1 major decision over the Fighting Scots’ Ethan Saylor.

Derek Anderson, a freshman from Ellsworth and a Bentworth graduate, is having a successful first season for the Pennsylvania College of Technology in Williamsport.
Anderson qualified for the National Collegiate Wrestling Association (NCWA) tournament at the regional held Saturday at Lafayette College in Easton. Wrestling in the 197-pound weight class, Anderson pinned Matt London of Slippery Rock in 53 seconds to advance to the semifinals before losing to Lou Gardone of Penn State-New Kensington. In the consolation final for third place, Anderson decisioned Tim Kierman of Slippery Rock to earn an automatic bid to the national tournament at Mercer University in Macon, Ga.

In gymnastics
Megan Milavec, a sophomore for the University of Pennsylvania, helped the Quakers win the Ivy Classic team title for the first time since 2007. The event was held last weekend at The Palestra in Philadelphia.
A Venetia native and Peters Township graduate, Milavec finished second in the all-around scoring. Milavec posted a career-high score of 9.725 in the balance beam to finish in fourth place. In the floor exercise, Milavec scored 9.7 to break her career-high set only a week ago. She also tied her career high (9.6) in the vault.
Last month, Milavec received the ECAC Coaches Choice Award after setting three personal bests during the Shelli Calloway Memorial Invitational in Towson, Md.

West Virginia’s Kaylyn Millick of Washington is ranked in two disciplines by GymInfo. Millick is ranked 15th nationally in the floor exercise (9.785) and 18th in the uneven bars (9.725).

In basketball
Nick Wilcox, a sophomore forward from Venetia, is the leading scorer for Bethany, which won the Presidents’ Athletic Conference championship Saturday by defeating host Thiel, 74-67. Wilcox is averaging 13.7 points per game and is second on the team in rebounding at 6.8. He also is second on the team in assists and steals.
Bethany (21-7) plays Manchester (Ind.) in the first round of the NCAA Division III tournament Friday night in Wooster, Ohio. Manchester (21-6) won the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament.
Wilcox won’t be the only Peters Township graduate in the Division III tournament.

Justin Kovac, a 5-8 senior guard, helped Penn State-Behrend secure a spot.
Kovac has started all 27 games for the Lions and averages 8.0 points per game. He is third in the Allegheny Mountain Conference in assists (4.2 per game), sixth in three-point field-goal percentage (38.6) and his plus-3.4 assist/turnover ratio is the best in the league.
The Lions (23-4) received an at-large berth to the national tournament Monday and will play Friday against Rhode Island College in Oswego, N.Y.
Behrend lost to LaRoche in the conference tournament championship game.

Two former California University women’s head coaches have guided Appalachian State to the regular season championship in the Southern Conference.
ASU, under third-year head coach Darcie Vincent, finished 17-3 in the conference and 23-5 overall. The Mountaineers begin play in the conference tournament Friday.
Vincent was the head coach at California for eight years (2001-08) and guided the Vulcans to the NCAA Division II national championship in 2004. Heather Kearney, who suceeded Vincent at Cal and was the Vulcans’ head coach for one season, is an assistant at Appalachian State.

Kaitlyn Novak helped Penn State-Fayette to its first Pennsylvania State University Athletic Conference tournament victory. Novak, a sophomore from Bobtown and a Mapletown graduate, scored 13 points, which included several free throws down the stretch, as the Roaring Lions defeated Penn State-Schuylkill 75-58.
Fayette advanced to the conference tournament semifinals that were held at the Bryce Jordan Center in State College. Novak scored 16 points but the Roaring Lions lost to Penn State-Brandywine 86-73.

In softball
Jaci Timko has picked up where she left off last season for Robert Morris. The junior outfielder from Houston is batting a team-best .667 (10-for-15) through five games with one home run, three RBI and five runs for the Colonials (2-3). A Chartiers-Houston graduate, Timko was second on the team in hitting last year with a .349 average.

In baseball
Chris Douglas, a junior right-handed pitcher from Canonsburg, threw six strong innings to earn the win Saturday in IUP’s 9-1 victory over Chowan in Murfeesboro, N.C. A Canon-McMillan graduate, Douglas allowed two hits and one run and struck out five for the Crimson Hawks (2-2).

Jim Rider has been a sparkplug at the top of the batting order for Kent State, the defending Mid-American Conference champion. The Peters Township graduate is batting .424 through seven games for the Golden Flashes (5-2). A shortstop, Rider had a triple, two singles, two RBI and three runs in Kent State’s 13-0 win Saturday over Winthrop.