Around Campus is a weekly feature keeping you current on Miami sports news.
Women's basketball: The Lady 'Hawks (11-17, 3-12) snapped a 10-game losing streak and Courtney Osborn became the 19th player in program history to score 1,000 points. She is the first player to reach the mark in just her sophomore year. She reached the milestone early in Saturday's 77-64 home win over Akron (13-14, 6-9), when she scored a game-high 26 points. It gave the 'Hawks their first win since January 15 against these same Zips. Kirsten Olowinski scored 14 points and nabbed 10 rebounds for her 12th double-double of the season. Three days prior, the 'Hawks dropped a close contest 77-74 on the road against Buffalo (15-13, 8-7). Miami had trailed by as much as 15, but battled back to within one point in the closing seconds. After a pair of Buffalo free throws made it a three-point deficit, Hannah Robertson heaved a desperation three at the buzzer, but luck wasn't on the 'Hawks side. The Lady 'Hawks will play their regular season finale on the road against archrival Ohio University (7-21, 3-12) Wednesday. The MAC Women's Tournament will begin this coming weekend at regional campus locations.
Softball: Miami softball (7-3) had a busy weekend, winning the Louisville Red and Black Tournament in Louisville, Kentucky. On Friday they defeated Wright State in a 6-0 run-rule shortened game. Designated hitter Taylor Rice was 2 for 4 at the plate, driving in 3 RBI, while Jessica Simpson pitched the complete game shutout, striking out 9 batters. Miami split a doubleheader on Saturday, first beating Boston University 5-3. The 'Hawks pounded out 10 hits, while Simpson pitched another complete game to pick up the win. In Saturday's second game, the 'Hawks were shut out 3-0 by Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, Miami's only loss in the tournament. Paige Myers (1-1) did pitch seven effective innings for Miami, but had no help from the offense. However, the 'Hawks did respond well Sunday morning, beating the Cougars by the same 3-0 score they lost by the night before. Simpson was electric once more, this time on the mound and at the plate. She pitched her second complete game shutout of the tournament (striking out 10), and went 2 for 3 with a 2-run home run to propel the RedHawks to the tournament title game against host Louisville. Against the Cardinals, the 'Hawks had to score four runs in the sixth inning to overcome a 3-0 deficit. The game had to go into extra frames, with the 'Hawks winning 6-5 in eight innings. Designated hitter Kayla Ledbetter had a 2-run home run, and shortstop Meghan Mawn drove in 3 RBIs. Simpson came on in relief, and improved her season record to 6-2, by earning the 'W' in all of Miami's tournament victories. Next stop for Miami will be the Buzz Classic in Woodstock, Georgia.
Women's Swimming: The swimming RedHawks finished in third place out of eight teams at the MAC Championships in Athens, finishing with 561 points. Ohio University won the meet with 669.5 points. Kelsey Vehr won three individual titles, and Leah Thornton added one of her own. Vehr won the 400m individual medley, the 100m breaststroke and the 200m breaststroke, to bring her career title total to nine. Thornton won the 100m backstroke for her first-ever title. Vehr set new Miami, MAC, meet and pool records with her time of 4:14.61 in the 400m individual medley and the 200m with a 2:10.37 finish. Thornton set new marks in those same categories with a 54.42 in the 100m backstroke. Vehr's 1:00.33 in the 100m breaststroke is also a new Miami record. Vehr, Thornton and Megan Brunn were named First-Team All-MAC, while Bekka Westrick, Maddie Kete, Nikki Craft and Chelsey Bruington were named to the Second Team. This weekend, Miami will host the Ohio Senior State Championships.
Women's Track & Field: Miami finished in third place in a 12-team field at the MAC Championships hosted by Bowling Green. The 'Hawks finished with 81 points, while Eastern Michigan won the meet with 118. Rachel Patterson won the 5000k with a Miami- and meet-record time of 16:32.01 and the 3000k in 9:39.44 en route to being named the meet's Most Outstanding Track Performer. Erica Mudd won her first-ever MAC title with a 1.74m/5-8.5 clearance in the high jump, the second-best mark in school history. Both Patterson and Mudd were named First-Team All-MAC, while Layne Baggett and Alexandra Roberts were named to the Second Team. This weekend the team will travel to South Bend, Indiana for the Alex Wilson Invitational.
Tennis: The RedHawks (7-4) swept their weekend matches against Austin Peay and North Texas, both by scores of 6-1. Against Austin Peay, the 'Hawks dropped all three doubles matches, but came back to sweep all six singles matches to earn the victory. Then against North Texas on Saturday, the 'Hawks swept the three doubles matches and won five of six in singles competition. The team will face just one opponent this weekend, as they play against Marshall on Friday.
Golf: The golf team came out of its winter hibernation to compete for the first time since October, taking 12th place in a 15-team field at the Rice Intercollegiate in Houston, Texas. The team shot a combined 21-over par for the event. Nathan Sutherland was Miami's top finisher, placing fifth overall, shooting five-under par. He was named the MAC Golfer of the Week for his performance. It is the third time this year he has won the award. The next action for the team will come March 14-15 at the UFC Rio Pinar Invitational in Orlando.
Comments