Sports
Tennis Returns Home for Penn State, Ohio State
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – The Rutgers women’s tennis team (7-5, 1-3 B1G) returns home to take on No. 46 Penn State (11-3, 2-2 B1G) and No. 11 Ohio State (9-1, 3-1 B1G).In addition to the four newcomers, Ritchie also welcomed back four returners in Jackie Lopez, Minchae Kim, Mai Nguyen and Naomi Karki. Graduate Student Yana Gurevich became the first Scarlet Knight in program history to earn All-Big Ten honors, after going 12-5 in conference play.In the offseason, head coach Hilary Ritchie welcomed four newcomers to the team including two freshman in Zeynep Ilker and Karina Jumazhanova in addition to two transfers in Zuzanna Frankowska and Zhou “Cindy” Xintong. The Scarlet Knights will continue conference play when they travel to take on the Minnesota Golden Gophers on Friday March 28 at 4 p.m. before traveling to Madison to battle the Wisconsin Badgers on Sunday March 30 at 11 a.m.”The Arthur Ashe Award is a prestigious ITA Award and Tara is a perfect recipient,” head coach Hilary Ritchie said. “Tara always strives for excellence. In her two years at Rutgers, she made a big impact on our team, the business school and the student-athlete community overall.” On the heels of the 2024 spring season, alum Tara Chilton and assistant coach Hailey Barrett have both garnered regional and national praise from the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) with the announcement of the end of the year awards. Chilton earned the prestigious Arthur Ashe Award while Barrett was named the Northeast Region Assistant Coach of the Year.
Scouting the Nittany LionsRU is coming off a successful fall that consisted of a Brown Invite tournament victory as well as a quarterfinal appearance by Karki and Zhou in doubles play of the ITA Regionals.
Overall, the team amassed an impressive 55-33 record in singles. Frankowska paced the squad in singles play with 10 wins, while the duo of Karki-Zhou won five doubles matches to lead the team.
Recapping the 2024 Fall
The Scarlet Knights had their best season under head coach Hilary Ritchie, finishing with a 12-12 record and earning their second win in program history at the Big Ten Tournament. RU also picked up nine victories in non-conference play, including three shutouts.
National RecognitionRutgers started the spring 9-3, their best start since the COVID-19 shortened 2020 season. The team also added two Big Ten regular season wins, defeating Michigan State and Minnesota. The ITA Assistant Coach of the Year honors an assistant coach who has exhibited outstanding leadership in ways that contribute to on and off-court team performance. These are qualities that assistant coach Barrett has exemplified since arriving On The Banks.
Scouting the Buckeyes
No. 46 Penn State is currently 11-3 and 2-2 against the conference. Losers of their last two, the Nittany Lions are led by Olivia Dorner, holding down the number one spot in singles play with a 7-4 record. In doubles play along with partner Maiko Uchijima, the duo is 9-3 in the spring campaign.
OSU is currently the 11th ranked team in the nation, holding a 9-2 overall record and 3-1 in conference play. The Buckeyes are led by No. 8 Luciana Perry and No. 35 Teah Chavez, who as a duo are ranked 15th nationally. Perry is 7-3 from the No. 1 singles spot while Chavez is undefeated in singles No. 2. The duo is 8-1 this spring and undefeated in conference play.
New Kids ‘On The Banks’
The Returners
Recapping the 2024 Spring
Kim finished the spring campaign with a strong 11 singles and nine doubles victories, including eight in Big Ten competition. She helped RU earn a win in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament with a singles win over Michigan State.
Originally from Bursa, Turkey Zeynep Ilker comes to Rutgers with a wealth of international playing experience. A member of Turkey’s National Team, she has taken part in European Championships. She spent several years competing on the ITF Junior Tour and in 2023 reached a career-best ranking of 408.
PSU holds a 7-2 advantage in the lifetime series with Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights have not beat the Nittany Lions since the 2019 season, when they edged Penn State at home, 4-3.
The Scarlet Knights will take on the Nittany Lions on Saturday March 14 at 12 p.m. for the second Community Day of the year, outside at the Livingston Tennis Center. Those in attendance for Community Day will receive free pizza, raffles and giveaways, and autographs with the team. RU will then take on the Buckeyes on Sunday March 23 at 12 p.m back inside at the East Brunswick Racquet Club.
“Hailey is so deserving of this award,” Ritchie said. “She wears an incredible number of hats to help this team and the individual student-athletes as well. During a time when there is a lot of uncertainty in college athletics, Hailey always remains positive and puts her passion for tennis first.”
Karki finished freshman campaign with a combined 14 wins across singles and doubles competitions. Recorded first-career conference singles win over Michigan State and provided the dual-clinching win to help Rutgers complete its comeback and beat UConn.
Last Time Out
History Against Ohio State
Chilton, who came to Rutgers in the fall of 2023 at the start of her junior season, has made a long-lasting impact on the Scarlet Knights. During her time On The Banks Chilton has excelled in all areas including in tennis, academics and volunteering in her community.
History Against Penn StateZuzanna Frankowska played her freshman year at Baylor and hails from Kobylka, Poland. In the fall of 2023, she made her debut at the TCU Fall Invitational and went onto pick up four singles wins and a doubles victory throughout the slate. In the 2024 spring, she played two matches at the No. 5 lineup spot and picked up a doubles win against the Iowa State on the third court. Rutgers made history in the ITA rankings, claiming its first-ever team and doubles ranking. The Scarlet Knights reached as high as No. 68 in the polls while the pair of Amira Badawi and Mai Nguyen came in at a season-best No. 54. Lopez compiled eight singles wins across the 2023 season, finishing the campaign on a three-match winning streak. She clinched RU’s first-ever victory over Minnesota in addition to the win over NJIT. Zhou “Cindy” Xintong spent her rookie season at Fordham, where she excelled. In the 2023 fall, she went 4-3 in singles play and 6-1 in doubles. She saw action in 18 of the team’s 22 spring matches, going 8-5 in singles play, earning victories on courts No. 3, 4 and 5. The Mississauga, Ontario, Canada native went 11 matches without a loss, picking up big two-set wins over George Washington, Brown, Richmond and George Mason. Nguyen finished her sophomore campaign with 18 victories, including 11 in singles competitions. She was featured twice in the ITA National Doubles rankings with partner Amira Badawi and defeated Penn State’s 69th-ranked doubles pair with partner Yana Gurevich. In addition, Nguyen earned a singles victory to help RU top Michigan State in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament. Looking AheadRutgers dropped both matches in its last weekend of play, falling to No. 56 Purdue and Indiana. Naomi Karki, Jackie Lopez and Zuzanna Frankowska all recorded singles wins in the losses.Follow Along
Follow Rutgers women’s tennis on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.The Scarlet Knights have not beaten the Buckeyes in the eight-match lifetime series between programs.Karina Jumazhanova also brings lots of worldly experience to the team, coming from Almaty, Kazakhstan. She mainly competed in Women’s 15k events on the ITF World Tennis Tour, reaching a career-high ITF ranking of 178. The freshman also saw action in the U16 Juniors Billie Jean King Cup, representing Kazakhstan. She is an ITF J4 Doubles Winner and Finalist, in addition to being a Kazakhstan Doubles Finalist Champion.
Updated Dec. 5, 2025, 11:15 p.m. MT
One step closer.
No. 2 seed Arizona State volleyball is back in the Sweet 16 for the second time in three seasons.
The Sun Devils defeated Utah State in four sets (25-15, 25-18, 22-25, 25-15) in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at Desert Financial Arena on Friday, Dec. 5.
“It was really special for me,” senior outside hitter Bailey Miller said. “I was one of the only ones last year when we got upset (in the second round), so I think going into it, all the girls just wanted to recognize all the girls who didn’t get to go to the Sweet 16 last year and took it seriously. It was really special.”
ASU’s return to the Sweet 16 offers a sweeter follow-up to last season’s second-round exit after the Sun Devils earned a hosting bid for the first two rounds. As painful as it was for coach JJ Van Niel, he chose not to let last year cloud the current success.
“I don’t reflect back,” Van Niel said. “That’s negative, but it’s just moving forward. Every year is a new shot, but last year was very painful. Mostly, because I didn’t think we played our best volleyball.”
With few players remaining from last year, Van Niel wasn’t sure how ASU’s season would go and if they’d repeat as Big 12 champions and NCAA Tournament hosts. But his team has done both and added more with a Sweet 16 berth.
“I really had no idea this year what we were going to look like,” Van Niel said. “It’s 100% a new lineup and I’m really proud of these kids because they’ve fought and they’ve scrapped. They’ve all gotten better through the year and they’ve earned this Sweet 16, it’s a really special group.”
What was key for ASU was their defense against a scrappy team that rarely went down in one swing. The Sun Devils were up to the task as they benefited from USU’s 21 attack errors.
USU’s strong offense forced ASU’s middle blockers to front the middle, exploiting their right-side players. While the middle blockers didn’t get as many kills as they did in the first round, it opened the floor for Miller, Noemie Glover and Tatum Parrott.
Miller led ASU with 18 kills on .471 hitting and two errors, a stark improvement from her first-round performance. Glover didn’t commit any errors and had 17 kills on .531 hitting. Parrott added 13 kills.
ASU was serving well again as the Aggies sided out 56.3% of the time, including less than half the time in the first set. Miller’s three aces helped ASU finish with a 7-5 advantage in service aces.
“They’re a great offensive team and their middle (blockers) were very active,” Miller said. “We haven’t really seen a lot of that, so it definitely took some adjusting. But in the end, that’s our bread and butter, being able to adjust and be ready.”
The Aggies got their first lead since early in the first set when they started with an 8-5 edge over ASU in the third set. Instead of putting them away like in the first two sets, ASU had trouble against USU’s attack.
As the third set neared the end, neither side scored twice for six consecutive points until USU got a 24-22 lead over ASU. The Aggies then scored off a bad set from ASU’s Sydney Henry.
The Aggies were strong to start the fourth set, but ASU’s 6-0 run midway through the set helped the Sun Devils gain the separation needed and eliminate them.
The Sun Devils will travel to Lexington, Kentucky, and play No. 3 Creighton in the regional hosted by No. 1 seed Kentucky, either Dec. 12 or 13.
ASU capped off an impressive season at home where it went 16-0, and only dropped eight sets in those games.
Reach the reporter at jenna.ortiz@arizonarepublic.com, as well as @jennarortiz on X.
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Olivia Babcock didn’t realize her performance during the first round of the NCAA women’s volleyball tournament gave her the Pitt record for most kills in a season. Babcock knew she met the previous record holder, Wendy Hatlestad, during alumni weekend.
Babcock recorded 13 kills during the Panthers’ 25-10, 25-17, 25-13 win Friday night at Petersen Events Center in front of a crowd of 4,240. Babcock now has 558 kills, going past the single-season record of 555 Hatlestad set in 2003.
“I was talking to her two weeks ago,” Babcock said. “That’s crazy I just met her. But I think it says a lot about how much my team trusts me to take those big rips, and it gives me the opportunity to score and get as many kills as I do.”
Everyone had a good night hitting for the top-seeded Panthers, who advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the 10th straight season.
The Panthers committed only four attack errors against UMBC (13-12) and finished with a hitting percentage of .551.
“It’s really good to start out and to remind ourselves to maintain high standards,” Babcock said. “Obviously, all of these teams have made it into the tournament because they’re an amazing team, and everyone’s going to bring their best volleyball. I think we just need to make sure that we’re playing our best, too, because, especially in these matches, we don’t wanna slip up and give away a set or a match.”
Pitt (27-4) hasn’t dropped a set in the first round since it beat VCU, 3-1, in 2017 at Penn State.
The Retrievers qualified for the tournament after winning the America East Conference for the fifth time in the past six seasons. Pitt setter Brooke Mosher, who finished with 34 assists, said the Panthers got themselves in system thanks to their good passing.
Blaire Bayless was second for the Panthers with nine kills, and Abby Emch contributed eight.
“That made it really easy for me to spread the ball around and get the middles involved,” Mosher said. “Then, I trusted my teammates to be able to put the ball away.”
Pitt lost the first point of the match after UMBC delivered on a kill by Jalynn Brown. The Panthers responded by scoring the next three points, capping the surge with an ace by Izzy Masten.
UMBC struggled to find holes in Pitt’s defense. The Retrievers hit .129 and were led by seven kills from Hannah Dobbs.
UMBC coach Kasey Crider was happy with how they played.
“We don’t have an Olivia Babcock slayer, so, bummer,” Crider said. “I’ve been to this tournament a few times as a head coach and assistant coach, and I’ve never walked away from the tournament thinking we were the best at the end until today. It still hurts, but there were no regrets.”
Pitt will take on Michigan in the second round Saturday. The Wolverines advanced by beating Xavier. The Panthers are 3-6 all-time against the Wolverines.
Pitt’s only meeting with Michigan in the NCAA Tournament came in 2018, when the Wolverines upset Pitt in five sets at Petersen Events Center.
Mosher, who previously played in the NCAA Tournament with Illinois, said she doesn’t feel any extra pressure playing as the No. 1 seed.
“I think just being in the tournament has its own weight in itself,” Mosher said. “Every game your season is on the line, which is the same no matter who you are.”
Josh Rizzo is a freelance writer.
Dec. 6, 2025, 6:03 a.m. CT
Kansas State volleyball survived and advanced, and now it will take on the No. 1 team in the country in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Wildcats and Nebraska Cornhuskers will face off at 7 p.m. in the Bob Devaney Sports Center in Lincoln, Nebraska, on Saturday, Dec. 6.
Watch K-State volleyball in NCAA Tournament
Nebraska enters the match 31-0, seeking its first championship since 2017. The Huskers cruised to a three-set win over Long Island.
K-State’s win over San Diego to advance was more dramatic. The Wildcats (18-9, 10-8 Big 12) pulled it off in five sets, while needing to win the fourth to make it possible.
What channel is Kansas State volleyball vs Nebraska on today?
- TV channel: None
- Stream:ESPN+
Kansas State volleyball vs. Nebraska will be available to stream on ESPN+.
Watch K-State volleyball in NCAA Tournament
Kansas State volleyball vs Nebraska time today
- Date: Saturday, Dec. 6
- Start time: 7 p.m. CT
Kansas State and Nebraska will begin at 7 p.m. CT on Saturday, Dec. 6.
Wyatt D. Wheeler covers Kansas State athletics for the USA TODAY Network and Topeka Capital-Journal. You can follow him on X at @WyattWheeler_, contact him at 417-371-6987 or email him at wwheeler@usatodayco.com
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – The St. Olaf College women’s track and field team turned in 13 performances that ranked on its all-time performers’ list at the season-opening M City Classic on Friday at the University of Minnesota Fieldhouse.
First years accounted for 11 of the 13 performances that ranked on St. Olaf’s all-time list at the unscored meet, which included teams from the NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), and club levels. In addition to the top-10 list performances, senior Ella Landis posted St. Olaf’s lone first-place finish at the meet by winning the one-mile run in 5:17.28.
In her first collegiate meet, first year Evangeline Sappington broke onto the program’s all-time performers’ list in both the 60-meter dash and 200-meter dash. Sappington was the top Division III finisher and was 10th overall in the 200-meter dash (26.84), while also taking second among Division III competitors and 16th overall in the 60-meter dash. Sappington’s time in the 60-meter dash ranks second on the Oles’ all-time list – just four one-hundredths of a second off the record – and her time in the 200-meter dash is fifth.
Sophomore Izzi Jaeckle clocked in with St. Olaf’s No. 4 time in the 60-meter dash by placing 17th (8.10), while first year Ellie Semple also broke onto the list in 10th with a time of 8.28 seconds to finish 27th. Sophomore Logan Paulsen moved up to seventh on the Oles’ list with a sixth-place performance in the shot put (12.48m, 40′ 11 ½”), while first year Abigal Frei cleared 3.26 meters (10′ 8 ¼”) for a No. 5 all-time result and an eighth-place finish.
First years Svea Frantzich and Claire Stein recorded St. Olaf’s No. 8 and No. 10 scores in the pentathlon by finishing seventh (3,005) and eighth (2,993), respectively. Frantzich tied for third in the long jump (5.44m, 17′ 10 ¼”) and was sixth in the 60-meter hurdles (9.47), which both ranked on St. Olaf’s all-time list. Stein also tied for third in the long jump (5.44m, 10′ 10 ¼”) to highlight her day. First year Annika Walsh was the runner-up in the high jump (1.62m, 5′ 3 ¾”) – fifth all-time – and was seventh in the 60-meter hurdles (9.48) – ninth all-time – as part of a ninth-place finish in the pentathlon (2,881).
St. Olaf will be back in action in 2026 at the Ole Opener at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 17 at Tostrud Center.
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BEREA, Ohio – Fans can follow or watch Saturday’s Baldwin Wallace University basketball and indoor track and field action via live results, statistics or video.
The men’s and women’s indoor track and field teams open the 2025-26 season when it travels to Cleveland to compete in the Spartan Alumni Holiday Classic hosted by Case Western Reserve University inside the Veale Convocation, Recreation and Athletic Center at 11:00 a.m.
Live Results:
https://bwyellowjackets.cc/3MlDQcr
FloCollege On Demand Live Video:
https://bwyellowjackets.cc/3KFq6st
The men’s basketball team travels to New Concord for the first game of a men’s and women’s Ohio Athletic Conference and Hoops for Hunger Food Drive doubleheader against Muskingum University on Performance Court inside the Anne C. Steele Center at 1:00 p.m. Fans can receive free admission to the game with a donation of canned food, a non-perishable item, or a monetary contribution.
Tickets:
https://bwyellowjackets.cc/3WGuwll
Live Statistics:
https://bwyellowjackets.cc/493Gehq
FloCollege On Demand Live Video:
https://flosports.link/47hSw2V
The No. 21 nationally ranked women’s basketball team travels to New Concord for the second game of a women’s and men’s Ohio Athletic Conference and Hoops for Hunger Food Drive doubleheader against Muskingum University on Performance Court inside the Anne C. Steele Center at 4:00 p.m. Fans can receive free admission to the game with a donation of canned food, a non-perishable item, or a monetary contribution.
Tickets:
https://bwyellowjackets.cc/3WGuwll
Live Statistics:
https://bwyellowjackets.cc/49Ist7Q
FloCollege On Demand Live Video:
https://flosports.link/4qu1Fyr
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