UIndy swinging away at four different NCAA tournaments

Softball: With a 6-4 win over Wayne State Sunday, the UIndy softball team won the NCAA Midwest Sub-regional and qualified for this weekend's Super Regional at Saginaw Valley State.  UIndy remains one of 16 Division II team remaining in the tournament and will play the host Cardinals in a best-of-three series beginning Friday for the right to advance to the NCAA D-II World Series in Salem, Va.  The Greyhounds ran through the four-team Midwest Region field in Ashland, Ohio with a perfect 3-0 mark defeating Missouri-St. Louis between the two wins against Wayne State.  Junior Megan Russell pitched all 21 innings, including two shutouts.  Senior sisters Jenny Swanson and Maggie Swanson each had big late-inning homers on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.  Live coverage from the Super Regionals will be available, check athletics.uindy.edu later in the week for full details.

Baseball:   UIndy fell 5-3 to Northern Kentucky in the championship game of the Great Lakes Valley Conference tournament Sunday.  The Hounds qualified for the NCAA tournament, their first NCAA appearance since 2003.  The Greyhounds earned the five seed in the six-team Midwest Regional tournament, held in Chillicothe, Ohio May 14-18.  Senior Ben Sondgeroth continues his stellar season after hitting three more homers and driving-in 13 at the league tournament.  He now has 15 dingers and 71 RBI this season, both within reach of the school records in those categories.  The Hounds had a thrilling ninth-inning rally to beat Rockhurst in the GLVC opener, 10-9 followed by an 18-5 pasting of Bellarmine late the next night.  Eventual champion NKU grabbed a 5-4 win the following day to send the Hounds to the loser's bracket.  There, UIndy rebounded with a 13-4 drubbing of Southern Indiana to advance to the championship series Sunday.  NKU would repeat as league champs with two runs in the ninth for a 5-3 victory.  The Greyhounds draw the region's No. 2 seed Grand Valley State in the opening game of the tournament Thursday at noon.

Women's Golf:  UIndy is one of 12 teams in this week's NCAA Division II Championships after a third-place finish at the East Regionals last week.  The nine-team regional was held at par-71 Cedarbrook Golf Course in Belle Vernon, Pa. Sunday through Tuesday.  Sarah Prascsak finished 8th and  topped the squad with a 236 for the tournament.  After posting an 80 on day one and a 79 in round two, the junior carded a plus-five 77 in the third and final round to finish the event 20-over par, good for her second career top-ten finish in regional play.  With the Greyhounds and host California-Pa. tied for third with just a few holes to play, Prascsak's birdie at 16 Tuesday helped hold off the Vulcans and thus helped secure a finals spot for the Hounds.  Although they've had individuals qualify for this event, this marks the first team appearance at the NCAA Championships since the inception of the current format.  The 2009 NCAA Division II Women's Golf Championships will be held May 13-16 at Findlay Country Club in Findlay, Ohio.  The format includes 72 holes, with 12 schools and 72 individuals competing for the 2009 team and individual titles.

Men's Golf:  The men's golf team is headed back to the NCAA Championships for the second straight season after finishing tied for fourth place with a team combined score of 875 (+23) at the NCAA Division II Midwest/South Central Super Regional completed Wednesday at the Meadows Golf Course on the campus of Grand Valley State University.  Justin Hueber, recently named the Great Lakes Valley Conference's Golfer of the Year, again led the way for the Greyhounds.  The senior was two-over on Monday, but rebounded for a six-under round on Tuesday.  His second-round score of 65 set the course record and now UIndy can lay claim to both male and female course records at the Meadows after Kristi Piepenbrink fired a course-mark 67 there in the fall. Three Greyhounds finished within two strokes of each other with Seth Fair leading the group at 10-over (T49th).  Kyle Pearson was one shot back and freshman Aaron Monson was 12-over for UIndy.  The Hounds won the NCAA Great Lakes Regional last season en route to a NCAA national bid, where they finished tied for eighth place.  The Greyhounds, along with 19 other teams, will compete for the D-II national championship May 19-22 in Blaine, Wash.

Track and Field:  The Hounds finished up their meet schedule and now await word on qualifiers for the NCAA Division II Outdoor Championships May 21-23 in San Angelo, Texas.  Seven athletes are ranked in the top 16 in their event.  In the team's last action, the Greyhound women were crowned the 2009 Great Lakes Valley Conference Outdoor Champions while the UIndy men fell just one point shy and settled for runner-up at the May 1-2 meet held at Michael A. Carroll Stadium downtown.  Both Greyhound squads combined for eight individual titles and a relay championship Saturday, bringing the UIndy event championship total to 13.  Scott Fangman was named the GLVC Female Coach of the Year while Kierra Allen nabbed the league's Female Freshman of the Year accolades.  A complete recap of the championships can be found at: athletics.uindy.edu/news/2009/5/1/MTRACK_0501090754.aspx .

Men's Tennis:  Host Rockhurst advanced with a 5-0 win over the University of Indianapolis men's tennis team in the opening round of the NCAA Division II tournament Thursday afternoon. The Hawks won all three doubles matches, but not without a fight, especially at the No. 3 position.  There, the UIndy duo of Jonathan Hack and Jeff Price nearly pulled out the win, but eventually fell 9-7.  RU quickly grabbed the necessary two team points in the first two singles matches to finish, taking the win.  JD Greenlee did not finish his match at top singles, but was on his way from rebounding from a 6-0 loss in the first set, leading 4-3 in set number two when the match ended.  The Greyhounds, who were making their first NCAA appearance since 2006, finished their season at 13-12 overall.

THE WEEK AHEAD
Wed, May 13, 2009
Women's Golf- at NCAA DII Championships

Thu, May 14, 2009
Women's Golf- at NCAA DII Championships
Baseball- vs. Grand Valley State (at NCAA Midwest Regional)- Noon

Fri, May 15, 2009
Women's Golf- at NCAA DII Championships
Baseball- at NCAA Midwest Regional- TBA
Softball- at Saginaw Valley St. (NCAA Midwest Super Regional)- 4:00 pm  

Sat, May 16, 2009
Women's Golf- at NCAA DII Championships
Baseball- at NCAA Midwest Regional- TBA
Softball- at Saginaw Valley St. (NCAA Midwest Super Regional)- 12:00 pm

Sun, May 17, 2009
Baseball- at NCAA Midwest Regional- TBA