University of Evansville

AceNotes Today

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Athletics

* Softball to host Missouri in Mid-Week Doubleheader

The University of Evansville softball team will host Missouri this afternoon, in what will be a very warm mid-March day. The doubleheader was originally scheduled for Wednesday, Mar. 12, but due to potential bad weather was moved to this afternoon.

Evansville (9-6) will be coming off of the Aces Invitational, in which the team went 2-2 against IPFW and South Dakota State.

Missouri will enter the contests with a 13-5 record. Despite the winning record, Mizzou has lost its last two games against conference rival, Texas A&M, going 3-2 in its last five.

The Purple Aces will enter the games ranked third in the nation in stolen bases per game at 2.64, led by freshman Emma Buckles, who has 11 on 12 attempts.

Junior Megan Gurski will lead Evansville both behind the plate and in the circle. The junior from Saskatchewan, Canada, leads the team with a .434 batting average, 13 RBI, a slugging percentage of .642 and is tied for first on the team with two home runs. Gurski also has been the Ace's best pitcher this season, having a 2.74 ERA in 38.1 innings, striking out 43, leading to a 4-3 overall record.

For the Tigers, sophomore Emily Crane will look to continue her hot season, having 20 RBI and three home runs, while batting .393. Mizzou is led by freshman Tori Finucane in the circle. The right-hander has an ERA of 1.33 going 6-3 this season in 52.2 innings and striking out 40.

After today's doubleheader, UE will host Missouri Valley Conference rival Indiana State on Mar. 15 – 16 at Cooper Stadium.

 
* UE Tennis Begins Florida Trip With 4-3 Win

– In the first of three matches in the state of Florida, the University of Evansville women’s tennis team earned a hard-fought 4-3 win on Monday at Hillsborough Community College.

Another doubles tally went the Aces’ way as the squad took two out of three to take possession of the early point. At flight one, Natasha James and Kelsey Costales defeated Rymma Maslova and Yuliya Sidenko by an 8-5 tally. Group two saw Marina Moreno and Marketa Trousilova clinch the point with an 8-7 win over Milica Pavlovic and Yamini Reddy. Andjela Brguljan and Mina Milovic were defeated by Dragana Brankovic and Michelle Elkin in the third slot, 8-2.

On the singles side, Evansville took three decisions on their way to the victory. The clincher came in the sixth flight as Milovic earned the win over Nina Barudzic, 6-4, 7-6. At the top spot, it was Trousilova taking the win over Maslova, 6-1, 6-1 while James grabbed a victory over Pavlovic, 6-0, 6-2 in the second group.

The Coyotes earned the split in singles, beginning in flight three as Brankovic defeated Costales, 1-6, 6-4, 4-2 (Def.). In the fourth spot, Sidenko topped Moreno, 6-1, 6-1 and in the fifth flight, Reddy got past Brguljan in three sets, 6-4, 4-6, 10-5.

Today was the first of three matches this week in Florida for the Aces. Tomorrow, UE takes on Florida Gulf Coast in a road match in Fort Myers beginning at 2 p.m. ET before facing James Madison on Thursday at noon. Thursday’s match will take place at Hillsborough Community College in Tampa.

 
* Aces Golf Wraps Up Day One In Jacksonville

Monday marked the opening day of the spring season for the University of Evansville golf teams as they played one of their two rounds at the Don Benbow Invitational.

Full results are not available at this point and will be posted as soon as they are available. After receiving updates from the teams, the men enter the final 18 in first place by three strokes while the women are in the top ten.

Pacing the guys is sophomore Alex Turner. The low shooter in the MVC in the fall carded a 1-over 72 to lead the way. Parker Hensley continued his strong senior campaign as he finished day one at the Jacksonville Beach Golf Club just behind Turner with a 73. The leader going into the final round posted a 3-under 68.

Quinn Vilneff and Will Knights each posted rounds of 74 while Rick Voyvodic wrapped up the UE team with an 81. Jon Pick played as an individual, posting a 75, his third-lowest round as a freshman.

Freshman Kayla Katterhenry had the low round for the women, tallying an 82 in her first round of the spring. Paige Crafton finished with an 87 in the opener while frosh Maggie Camp posted a 92. Dana Hayden carded a 98 in Monday’s round while Syndey Skiles finished with an 87 as an individual.

As soon as full results are received, a full release with updated leaderboards will be posted. Please stay tuned.
 

 
* Aces Men Look To Carry Success Into Spring

Sporting the lowest stroke average in the Missouri Valley Conference in the fall, the University of Evansville men's golf team looks to keep that success going into the spring, beginning with the Benbow Invitational on Monday and Tuesday at the Jacksonville Beach Golf Club in Jacksonville, Fla.

As a team, the men averaged 292.23 strokes per round last fall, over two strokes better than its nearest competition. Spearheading that effort was sophomore Alex Turner, whose 71.38 average sat atop the MVC.

Turner saved his best for last, carding a season-low 68 in the final round of the Hummingbird Intercollegiate en route to a tie for third in the tournament. That came after an even better second-place tie at the Dayton Flyer Invitational where he shot a 1-under 139 in the two rounds of play.

Reigning MVC Elite 18 winner Quinn Vilneff posted a 72.62 mark in the fall, marking the No. 4 average in the league. Vilneff shot a low round of 67 in the CSU Intercollegiate on his way to a fifth place outing. He followed that up by tying for fifth place in the Butler Fall Invitational, shooting a 143 in two rounds.

Rounding out the Aces outstanding efforts in the Valley rankings was Parker Hensley, who gave the Aces three of the top 12 golfers in the conference. He finished with a 73.70 in the fall, good for 12th place. Hensley's low round of 68 came at the Butler Fall Invitational as his 1-under 139 for the event tied him for second place.

The men face six events in the spring as they travel to the Bobby Nichols Intercollegiate next week in Sevierville, Tenn.
 

 
* UE Women Take To The Course In Florida

On Monday, the spring season officially begins as the Purple Aces women’s golf team will take part in the Don Benbow Invitational, which will be hosted by Jacksonville Beach Club in Jacksonville, Fla. The event will take place on March 10 and 11.

Leading the way into the spring is freshman Kayla Katterhenry. She burst onto the scene in the fall, earning a pair of Missouri Valley Conference Women’s Golfer of the Week awards. Through her first five tournaments, Katterhenry earned a stroke average of 76.09, tied for the sixth best in the MVC.

Her top two finishes came in the opening events (Redbird Invitational and SIUE Intercollegiate) as she tied for third place in both contests.

Paige Crafton posted the second-best average on the squad, averaging 78.27 strokes over the course of 11 rounds. Her top effort of an 11th-place tie came at the Butler Invitational, but her consistency has been the key to her game. Just one of her 11 rounds has been higher than an 82 while she finished in the top 25 in four of the five fall events.

Junior Cathy Doyle wrapped up the fall with a 79.55, but came on strong in the final three tournaments. Her last five rounds came in at a 78 or lower as she finished in seventh place at the Dayton Intercollegiate before tying for 8th in the home Braun Intercollegiate.

As a team, the women improved as the fall went on and posted the No. 8 average in the MVC over that span, checking in at a 313.45. The Benbow Invitational marks the first of five spring events for the ladies.
 

 
* Aces Tennis Travels To Florida For Three Matches

Over the next four days, the University of Evansville women’s tennis team will play three matches in Tampa, Fla. and Fort Myers, Fla. as the squad looks to build off of a 6-1 win over Austin Peay last weekend.

Evansville opens the week against South Dakota on Monday at noon in Tampa before facing Florida Gulf Coast on Tuesday at noon in Fort Myers. On March 13, UE wraps up the trip versus James Madison in Tampa.

After an 0-5 start to the spring, the women have won two of their last three matches, including a 4-3 victory over UT Martin in the home opener on Feb. 21.

Doubles play has seen the duos of Natasha James and Kelsey Costales go 3-1 with Marketa Trousilova and Marina Moreno going a perfect 2-0. The Aces have used nine different doubles lineups but have been having success with those squads over the last few weekends.

Trousilova along with Mina Milovic have been the top performers for the Aces on the singles side. Both have posted identical 4-4 marks to lead the Aces. Making the record even more impressive for Milovic is just how well she has rebounded after going 5-16 in dual singles a season ago.

The Coyotes of South Dakota enter Monday’s matchup with a 2-4 record. They earned a dominant 7-0 win over Valparaiso on Jan. 31 while taking an 8-1 triumph over St. Cloud State on Feb. 22. Last time out, the Coyotes fell to Bradley by a 5-2 final. Nina Barudzic is 4-0 in the spring, seeing time in the fifth and sixth flights while Yamini Reddy is 3-1 in the fourth and fifth spots.

Florida Gulf Coast begins the week at 4-4 with their top effort being a 7-0 shutout over Iowa State in the opener on Jan. 17. The Eagles have won two of their last three matchups, defeating Bethune-Cookman at home before take a road win at Florida Atlantic on Feb. 22.

Candela Munoz Giron is 5-1 in dual singles this spring, including a 3-0 mark in the sixth slot. At top singles, Sarah Means has won five of her eight matches.

Thursday’s opponent – James Madison – comes to Tampa with a 5-2 record this season. The Dukes are riding a 4-match win streak, with impressive 4-3 wins over Connecticut and Cincinnati highlighting the stretch.

 

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