Spartan Scores

compiled by Creg Jantz, sports information director

KALLAI KING: Sophomore wrestler Zak Kallai (Wadsworth) went 4-0 past Saturday at the 36th annual Rochester Institute of Technology Tourney, winning the 149-pound weight class at one of the toughest Division III regular-season tournaments. Kallai was the second seed in the tournament behind Mike Markovic of John Carroll, a fellow All-American from a year ago. After a first round bye, Kallai pinned (0:29) Josh Cooper of Waynesburg, scored a technical fault against Jad Duca of Ithaca 17-0 (5:58), defeated Matta Ferrisi of Wesleyan 5-0 in the semifinals, and then beat Frank Petrucci of Oswego 5-1 in the championship match. Petrucci had knocked off Markovic in the semifinal match 10-3. The Spartans finished fifth of 10 teams with a score of 79.5.

ZAK FACTS: Kallai is currently ranked fourth in the nation. He is 6-1 on the season and 34-16 overall. As a freshman a year ago he finished 28-15 and was a national qualifier. He finished sixth at the NCAA Championships, earning him All-American honors. Kallai also won his weight class at the UAA Championships, receiving All-Association honors, and he also was named UAA Newcomer of the Year. If Kallai continues this type of success, he could become the only wrestler in school history to be a four-time All-American.

WOMEN WIN AND WIN: The women's basketball team was on a high last week after learning they finally broke the top 25 on D3hoops.com. The team celebrated by pounding Ursuline College 90-52 Thursday on the road. The Spartan women, ranked 25th, are off to the best start in school history at 5-0. The best previous start by any other CWRU team was last year's squad at 3-0. Senior forward JeNine Nickerson (Berea) currently leads the team in scoring and rebounding with 78 points (15.6 avg.) and 55 boards (11.0 avg.) in five games.

MARVELOUS MEN: First-year head coach Adam Hutchinson has the men's basketball team back on track at 2-3. After dropping their first three, the Spartans won two straight last week with victories over Hiram College 84-63 at home Tuesday and Lake Erie College 76-62 on the road Saturday. A big factor in their winning has been the play of junior center Baran Onder (Brecksville). Onder currently leads the men in scoring and rebounding with 90 points (18.0 avg.) and 39 boards (7.8 avg.). He had a team-leading 22 points and nine rebounds against Hiram and 21 points and 7 rebounds against Lake Erie last week.

FOOTBALL CONTINUED: Post-season honors continue to come in for sophomore running back Brandon McDowell (Cleveland). McDowell was named to the Football Gazette NCAA Division III All-North Region Third-Team Offense this past week. McDowell finished 10th in the nation in scoring with 122 points in 10 games (12.2 avg.) and finished 26th in rushing with 1.183 yards on 241 carries with 19 touchdowns.

For all team scores and more sports news, visit http://www.cwru.edu/orgs/varsity/varsity.html.

Return to the online edition of the 12-6-01 Campus News.