Eastern Illinois: 2012 OVC Football Media Day

Eastern Illinois was picked eighth in the league's preseason poll this season.


Former Baylor assistant coach Dino Babers was named the 22nd head coach in Eastern Illinois history on Dec. 9, 2011 and replaces OVC Hall of Famer Bob Spoo who retired last season after 25 seasons. It was Spoo who hired Babers as an assistant coach on his first EIU staff in 1987. Babers will bring a fast-paced offensive attack to the Panthers program, employing a style Baylor used to help Robert Griffin III win the Heisman Trophy a year ago.


Junior Jimmy Garoppolo returns for his third season as a starter in 2012; a year ago he completed 62.2 percent of his passes for 2,644 yards and 20 touchdowns. His favorite target from a year ago, Chris Wright, also returns this season. Wright caught 42 passes for 735 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2011. Also returning is wideout Erik Lora who missed all of last season with an injury but caught 50 passes for 478 yards as a sophomore in 2010. The tight end tandem of Von Wise (32 catches, 348 yards, 2 touchdowns) and Sam Hendricks (17 catches, 194 yards, 3 touchdowns) also return on offense for the Panthers. On the defensive side of the ball EIU returns Preseason All-OVC selection Artavious Dowdell, who had 45 tackles, 7.5 tackles-for-loss and 5.0 sacks a season ago.

BELOW VIDEOS
Head Coach Dino Babers
QB Jimmy Garoppolo
DL Roosevelt Holliday

Austin Peay: 2012 OVC Football Media Day

Austin Peay was picked to finish ninth in the OVC this season in the league's preseason poll.

Austin Peay head coach Rick Christophel has 60 letterwinners back, including seven offensive and nine defensive starters, from last year’s squad that was 3-8 overall and 2-6 in the OVC. 


Senior quarterback Jake Ryan returns for his fourth season as a starter after throwing for 1,476 yards and 12 touchdowns a season ago. His favorite target, senior Devin Stark, is also back after catching 52 passes for 622 yards and seven touchdowns last season. Defensively senior safety Antwaun Majors will key the defensive unit; Majors finished last season with 88 tackles, ranking eighth in the OVC in stops (8.0/game).

BELOW VIDEOS
Head Coach Rick Christophel
DB Antwaun Majors 
QB Jake Ryan






 

ESPY's Pay Tribute to UT Martin Alum Pat Summitt

During the 20th annual  ESPY Awards that aired on July 11, UT Martin alum and former Tennessee women's basketball coach Pat Summitt was honored for her outstanding career in basketball and fight against Alzheimer's.  Below is the video tribute to Pat. 

Around the Ohio Valley - April 26

There are so many OVC athletes and professionals making headlines, we just had to share in this week's version of Around the Ohio Valley: 

UT Martin's Carter Smith

Austin Peay – APSU Athletics handed out its annual Most Outstanding Male and Female Athlete awards this week, with both awards going to Governor tennis players this year. Junior Sean Bailey, who was named OVC Player of the Year, received the award for Most Outstanding Male Athlete, while senior Vanja Tomic, a three-time All-OVC selection who sported a 19-6 record at No. 1 singles this season, was named Most Outstanding Female. Tomic also received the Female Legends Award as the most valuable senior athlete, with baseball player Greg Bachman earning the Male Legends Award. For the full release on APSU’s athletic awards, see this link on APSUGovernors.com.

Eastern Illinois – Senior Panther sprinter Bridget Sanchez has been named as one of the national finalists for the Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar Award, an honor received by ten male and ten female minority student-athletes around the country for their performance on the playing field and in the classroom. Sanchez holds multiple All-OVC honors in track and field, holds a 4.0 GPA in psychology and is actively involved in the Charleston community. Congratulations, Bridget!

Eastern Kentucky – Junior EKU softball player Raquel Howes broke the school records for both home runs in a single season and in a career this week in the Colonels’13-4 victory over EIU. Howes hit her 14th home run of the season and 29th of her career in the fourth inning of that game, breaking the previous mark set by Shyenne Hussey. The Colonels took the three-game series with EIU two games to one, and will return to action at East Tennessee State tonight.

Jacksonville State – JSU’s own Todd Hornsby has been selected as one of the finalists for the 2012 Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award. Hornsby, a pitcher originally from Clay, Alabama, is on track to break the OVC career saves record of 31; he currently has 28 on his career. Hornsby will graduate this spring with a dual major in Industrial Technology Management and Occupational Safety and Health, and has been a member of the OVC Commissioner’s Honor Roll along with many other JSU academic honors. Help Todd secure the vote! Click here to vote for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award.

Morehead State – Sophomore Eagle baseball player Noah Smallwood was named BluGrass Pitcher of the Week by KyForward.com for his performance against Eastern Illinois last Saturday. Smallwood had the first complete game of his career, notching his third win with five strikeouts. The Eagles won the game 13-2.

Murray State – Two Racer rifle team members represented Murray State and the OVC at the USA Junior Olympics Nationals at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado last week. Kelsey Emme and Marisca Mozeleski, both freshmen, had solid showings, with Emme placing second in air rifle and fifth in smallbore and Mozeleski 26th in smallbore. With her second place finish, Emme earned a spot on the USA Shooting Junior Development Team.

Southeast Missouri – Former Southeast Missouri track and field coach Joey Haines will be inducted into the Drake Relays Hall of Fame this weekend when the Redhawks compete in this year’s 103rd annual event. Haines, who coached the Redhawks from 1982-2006, won 44 conference titles in his tenure, 17 of which were OVC titles. He also coached 24 national champions, 154 All-Americans and was named OVC Coach of the Year 20 times. Big congratulations to Coach Haines from the OVC staff!

SIUE – The OVC staff wants to also send along congratulations to SIUE’s sports information director Eric Hess, who was named the 2012 recipient of Dr. Thomas Kearns Service Award by the Great Lakes Valley Conference. Hess has been with SIUE since 1990, and during the Cougars’14-year stint as a member of the GLVC made significant contributions to the conference, including creating the first official conference web site and introducing new media features throughout the years. Congrats Eric, you are much deserving of the honor!

Tennessee State – TSU men’s basketball seniors Kenny Moore and Wil Peters have been selected to play in this weekend’s Music City All-Star Classic game, which will be hosted by soon-to-be OVC member Belmont University. Moore, who averaged 11.1 on his career for the Tigers and dropped 53 three-pointers, while Peters logged 951 points, 386 assists and 3,572 minutes during his career. Proceeds from tickets to the game will go to Soles 4 Souls, and fans are encouraged to bring used and new shoes for donation.

Tennessee Tech – The Golden Eagles baseball program has several former players making headlines in the MLB farm system these days, including A.J. Kirby-Jones with the Stockton Ports of the Oakland A’s, who has posted a team-high .390 batting average, and Chad Oberacker with the Burlington Bees (also of the Oakland A’s), who holds his team’s highest batting average at .400 through 11 games. Also in the minor league are former Tech players Stephen Pryor with Jackson Generals (Seattle Mariners), Adam Liberatore with the Montgomery Biscuits (Tampa Bay Rays) and Ryan Dennick with the Wilmington Blue Rocks (Kansas City Royals).

UT Martin – Freshman Skyhawk pitcher Carter Smith is featured on the NCAA website this week with a feature story detailing his story from childhood to present. Smith was born without a right hand, but that hasn’t slowed him down any: he has started 6 games this season and is tied for the team lead with three wins. To view the feature on Smith, check out this link.

Around the Ohio Valley - April 12

Austin Peay – APSU women’s tennis senior Vanja Tomic is on the hot streak. Tomic, who was named OVC Player of the Year in 2010, tied her career-best 17-match win streak this past week with a victory over Jacksonville State’s Raisa Guasti at No. 1 singles. On the season, Tomic has an 18-4 record in singles, and sits at 12-12 in doubles. The Lady Govs currently have an 8-12 overall record, and are 5-2 in the OVC.

Eastern Illinois – Several Panther student-athletes were honored for both academic and athletic performances at EIU’s annual Student-Athlete Honors Dinner on Wednesday. The Senior Male and Senior Female Athlete of the Year awards both went to members of the track and field team, Zye Boey and Megan Gingerich. The Athletic Director’s Award, which honors a successful student, athlete and community member, was given to Bridget Sanchez, also a member of the women’s track and field team. EIU also presented many academic awards, the full list of which can be found on this page on EIUPanthers.com.

Eastern Kentucky – The Colonel football team will hold its annual Spring Game this Saturday at 6pm at Roy Kidd Stadium. After three weeks of spring practice so far, head coach Dean Hood is hopeful that the team will be healthy enough to split into two even squads for the game. Last season, EKU won a share of the OVC title with a 7-5 overall record. Admission to the Spring Game is free to the public.

Jacksonville State – With a 8-6 victory over Tennessee Tech, the JSU baseball team won its fifth-straight OVC series last Saturday. The Gamecocks, who are 12-19 overall and 6-3 in the conference, were led by senior Sam Eberle, who recorded the second five-hit game of his career and earned OVC Player of the Week honors as a result. JSU will return to conference play tomorrow on the road at UT Martin.

Morehead State – Morehead State Athletics and WKYT-TV are teaming up to help those in Eastern Kentucky who were effected by storms this spring by hosting Storm the Court, a basketball game featuring former and current Eagle notables and WKYT personalities. Players include head MSU men’s basketball coach Donnie Tyndall, head volleyball coach Jaime Gordon, Transylvania University men’s basketball coach Brian Lane, WKYT anchors Amber Philpott and Chris Bailey, and many MSU athletics alumni. For more information on Storm the Court, visit this link.

Murray State – Former Murray State basketball standout James Singleton is continuing his success in the NBA these days with the Washington Wizards. Singleton is currently having the best season of his four-year career in the NBA, averaging 10.5 points per game, 7.8 rebounds per game and 25 minutes on the floor for the Wizards. During his two year stint as a Racer (2001-2003), Singleton was a impact player, averaging 12.1 points per game as a junior and 14.9 points per game as a senior.

Southeast Missouri – Junior Redhawk gymnast Taylor Westrick will be taking the big stage on at the NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Championships after tying for first in the balance beam with three other competitors at the NCAA Regional last Saturday. Westrick had a clutch performance, tying her career-best performance of 9.900, and scoring above 9.800 for a remarkable ninth-straight week. The Championships will be held April 20-22 in Duluth, Georgia at the Gwinett Center. Good luck Taylor!

SIUE – The SIUE women’s golf team is quietly tearing up the courses this season, placing no lower than eighth in any tournament so far this spring. The Cougars placed as high as second at the Titan Quad Challenge on March 5 and third at the IPFW Spring Classic on April 2. Junior Brooke Hood and senior Courtney Lovegreen tied for third out of 58 competitors at the Sunshine Spring Classic March 8-9, and freshman Ashton Stair and sophomore Brooks White have placed as high as fourth and fifth in tournaments.

Tennessee State – Head Tigers men’s basketball coach John Cooper has accepted the head coaching job at Miami (Ohio) this past week, leaving behind a big mark at TSU. During Cooper’s three years leading the program, the Tigers have been on a steady upswing, finishing this past season with a 20-13 record and making the program’s first postseason appearance since 1995. Cooper himself was nominated for four separate coaching awards this past spring. We here at the OVC wish him the best!

Tennessee Tech – Sophomore Golden Eagle baseball player Zach Stephens is having quite a season for himself so far this spring, currently leading the nation in four separate batting categories: home runs (14), slugging percentage (.917), total bases (100) and on-base percentage (.566). He also ranks second in batting average with .468. Stephens is continuing his success from a solid freshman season in which he was named a Freshman All-American and made the OVC’s All-Freshman team with 49 RBIs and 10 home runs.

UT Martin – Junior equestrian rider Kara Bergenty has been named Honorable Mention All-American in Equitation over Fences by the National Collegiate Equestrian Association this past week. Bergenty has put together an impressive resume this year: a 7-2 record with two MVP honors, an average score of 80 and average margin of victory of 9.14. She will be honored with the award at this year’s NCEA Championships at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. Congrats Kara!

Around the Ohio Valley - March 29

Austin Peay – Govs men’s tennis player Drew Kerr has been selected as only one of 13 students nationally to participate in the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program at the Louvre in Paris, France this summer. Kerr, a junior physics major from Johnson City, Tenn., will be studying optics in art restoration with faculty from the University of Michigan while at the Louvre. Last season for the Govs, Kerr finished with a 4-2 doubles record and 1-4 singles record on the court. For the full release on Kerr’s selection to the REU program, visit this link.

Eastern Illinois – In their home opener this past Tuesday, the Panther baseball team upset No. 30-ranked Saint Louis 13-6, snapping the Billikens’ 13-game win streak. With the win, EIU improves to 9-13 on the season and 17-1 for home openers under head coach Jim Schmitz. In the game, the Panthers knocked four home runs, including career-firsts for sophomore Jacob Reese and junior Nick Priessman. The Panthers will look to continue the momentum in a series against Southeast Missouri this weekend.

Eastern Kentucky – The Colonel baseball team had an impressive showing against Marshall on Tuesday, knocking out a season-high nine doubles in a 10-3 win over the Thundering Herd. Senior Richie Rodriguez and sophomore Bryan Soloman each had two doubles, while seniors Michael Garcia, A.J. Jamison, juniors Austin Grisham, Alex Hughes and Matt Phipps each had one. Taking the win on the mound for EKU was sophomore Brent Cobb. The Colonels currently sit at a 9-15 record.

Jacksonville State – The Gamecocks’ women’s indoor track and field team has been honored by the OVC with the 2011-12 Team Sportsmanship Award for the indoor season after placing third at the Conference championships in February. The award, which is voted on by student-athletes and coaches in each particular sport, is in its sixth year for indoor track. Tennessee State received the award on the men’s side. For the full release, see this story on OVCSports.com.

Morehead State – Eagles’ head volleyball coach Jaime Gordon’s contract was extended this week, following a third OVC Championship-winning season for MSU and the program’s first NCAA Tournament berth this past fall. Gordon, who will be entering his tenth season with the Eagles next fall, has led the Eagles to six-straight 20-win seasons and coached players to many accolades, including the first two All-Americans in program history. His new contract extends through 2015.

Murray State – The Murray State Athletic Department is partnering with the Murray Ledger and Times to produce “Racing into History”, a special publication commemorating the Racers’ record-breaking 31-2 men’s basketball season. The publication includes a game-by-game breakdown, feature stories, exclusive photos and highlights from Murray State’s OVC-winning season and NCAA Tournament appearance. “Racing into History” is available through the Ledger and Times for $4.99 a copy.

Southeast Missouri – Two Redhawk gymnasts have been selected to represent Southeast Missouri at the NCAA Regional Championships in Champaign, Ill. on Monday. Sophomore Megan Fosnow will be competing in the all-around and junior Taylor Westrick in the balance beam. Fosnow has scored a 38.300 in the all-around in four of the last nine meets, while Westrick currently ranks 48th in the nation in the beam with an RQS of 9.840.

SIUE – The Cougar track and cross country teams took time to give back this past week, volunteering their time at the 4th Annual Confluence Trash Bash in St. Louis. The student-athletes helped pick up illegal trash dumps in various locations across the city, cleaning up along steams and in neighborhoods. SIUE opens their outdoor track and field season this coming Saturday at the Ole Miss Invite in Oxford, Miss.

Tennessee State – Earlier this month, TSU football senior Devin Wilson was named a Collegiate Scholar-Athlete winner by the National Football Foundation of Middle Tennessee. Wilson, a Human Performance and Sport Science major, had a team-best 48 catches for 586 yards and two touchdowns this past season, all while keeping a 3.15 GPA. He was one of only seven athletes to be honored at the NFF banquet. Congrats Devin!

Tennessee Tech – Senior TTU women’s basketball player Tacarra Hayes has been selected to participate in the “So You Want to be a Coach” program at the NCAA Women’s Final Four in Denver. The program, which selects only 50 participants per year, is geared toward developing women’s college basketball players who are looking to go into coaching upon graduating, giving players the opportunity to develop professional skills and network. Hayes, who hopes to coach upon graduating, finished her career ninth in the TTU record books with 1, 786 points.

UT Martin – Freshman pitcher Casey Vincent threw a one-hitter against future OVC foe Belmont this week, earning the Skyhawk softball team their 20th win of the season. With the 3-1 victory, Vincent improved to 5-3 on the season and the Skyhawks continued in their run atop the OVC standings. They will return to conference action today at Southeast Missouri.

Around the Ohio Valley – Feb. 18

Austin Peay – The Governors were selected by the OVC office as the preseason favorite in baseball polls last week, and four APSU players were named to the preseason All-OVC team, including seniors Michael Blanchard and Zach Toney, junior Reed Harper and sophomore Jordan Hankins. Austin Peay, last year’s regular season champion, received seven of the nine possible first place votes in the poll, beating out second-place picked Jacksonville State by six votes. For the full poll results, visit this link on OVCSports.com.

Eastern Illinois – Both the men’s and women’s Panther cross country teams were recognized for their scholarly efforts by the USTFCCCA this week by earning All-Academic Team honors. The EIU men posted a team GPA of 3.47 and ranked 15^th out of 147 recognized teams. The women’s team posted a team GPA of 3.39. Also earning All-Academic honors from the OVC were Southeast Missouri on the men’s side and Eastern Kentucky, Jacksonville State and Morehead State on the women’s. Congrats to all the runners!

Eastern Kentucky – Four Colonel football players were named to the All-Commonwealth Collegiate team last week, an honor given to the best collegiate football players in the state of Kentucky. Lineman Anthony Brown, running back Matt Denham, defensive back Patrick McClellan and linebacker Ichiro Vance will be honored on June 15 by the Kentucky Pro Football Hall of Fame, which selects the All-Commonwealth team. EKU will look to defend its share of the OVC title beginning on Sept. 1 versus Purdue.

Jacksonville State – The OVC champion Gamecock rifle team had yet another solid performance at a tune-up match in Fairbanks, Alaska this week, and is competing at the NCAA Sectional qualifier today. At the match in Fairbanks, JSU finished second with an aggregate score of 4648 (2307 in smallbore and 2341 in air rifle), finishing second to Alaska by only 15 points and topping Nebraska.

Morehead State – Former Eagle basketball player, current Denver Nugget standout and Twitter sensation Kenneth Faried was selected as 2011 Kentucky Sportsman of the Year this week by the state’s media. During his time at MSU, Faried was named OVC Player of the Year twice and Defensive Player of the Year three times, and set an NCAA record for career rebounds with 1,673. He also became the first Eagle to be selected in the first round of the NBA Draft. Congrats, Kenneth!

Murray State – The Racers’ efforts to bring ESPN broadcasting legend Dick Vitale to campus have paid off: Dickie V will be in Murray tonight to call the Racers’ BracketBusters game when the 14^th-ranked men’s basketball team takes on 21-ranked Saint Mary’s. Today’s game marks the first time two top-25 teams have played at the CFSB Center, and the game sold out before Dickie V even announced his visit. Good luck Racers!

Southeast Missouri – Redhawk senior baseball player Trenton Moses continues to rake in the preseason awards; after being named OVC Preseason Player of the Year, Moses was named a Second Team Preseason All-American by CollegeBaseballInsider.com. The award is well-deserved as Moses, a third baseman, hit .395 last season with 11 home runs and 53 RBI’s last season and was named OVC Player of the year.

SIUE – Freshman Marten Jonsson is leading the way for the Cougars on the tennis court so far this season, with a perfect 5-0 record at No. 1 singles. His most recent victory came this past week with a victory over Joe Flanagan from Saint Louis, and he has also defeated foes from IUPUI, Wright State, Northern Illinois, and IPFW. Jonsson is also 4-1 in doubles with his partner Jacob Tanulanond, losing only to Wright State on Jan. 21.

Tennessee State – Junior TSU basketball player Robert Covington was named Mid-Major National Player of the Week by College Sports Madness this week after a solid week against opponents Murray State, Tennessee Tech and Jacksonville State. In TSU’s win over Murray State (the Racers’ only loss so far this season), Covington dropped 17 points with 8 rebounds, followed up with 16 points and 2 rebounds against TTU and then scored 28 points with 12 rebounds against Jacksonville State.

Tennessee Tech – Kevin Murphy, a senior men’s basketball player at TTU, has been named a finalist for the 2012 Lou Henson Player of the Year award, which is given to the best player mid-major men’s player in Division I. The award is selected through both fan voting and the CollegeInsider.com selection committee. Murphy leads the OVC in scoring this season, averaging 20.4 points per game. Also nominated from the OVC for award is Murray State’s Isaiah Canaan. To vote for the Henson Award, click here.

UT Martin – Skyhawk equestrian senior Caroline Cramer won the consolation bracket last week at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, Fla. After falling short to Georgia’s Carly Anthony by five points in the first round, Cramer came roaring back to defeat riders from Oklahoma State, Sacred Heart and SMU to take the consolation bracket. The No. 10-ranked Skyhawks returned to action today at Fresno State to take on their hosts and No. 9 TCU.