Iowa City boxer Emily Klinefelter’s bout against Benedetta Kaloki in Nairobi, Kenya, has been pushed back one week until Feb. 21.
Klinefelter (2-0) will face Kaloki (3-4) in a six-round super bantamweight bout.
Klinefelter bout rescheduled
February 12, 2009 by johnriehl71Hamlin to play
February 11, 2009 by johnriehl71IOWA CITY — I bumped into Iowa junior JoAnn Hamlin on the UI campus this morning and she said she plans to play Thursday night against Big Ten-leading Ohio State at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Hamlin has missed the last five games with a sprained left ankle, but she participated in 50 percent of the Hawkeyes’ practice Tuesday afternoon. Hamlin’s ankle felt tight this morning, but she expects to play about 10 minutes against the 18th-ranked Buckeyes.
Her conditioning is one of her biggest concerns.
Shifting to NCAA tournament speculation, ESPN.com’s Charlie Creme and CollegeRPI.com’s Jerry Palm both have the Hawkeyes in their projected tourney fields. Creme has Iowa as a No. 10 seed, while Palm has it as a No. 9 seed.
Here are links to both brackets:
Alexander makes history
February 5, 2009 by johnriehl71Speechless.
That’s Iowa sophomore Kachine Alexander’s reaction to her remarkable triple-double performance of 26 points, 21 rebounds and 10 assists in a 97-89 triple-overtime win over Penn State last Sunday.
That marked her second triple-double of the season, which I learned this morning has made Big Ten women’s basketball history. Alexander also had a triple-double against Northwestern Jan. 18.
Valerie Todryk, Big Ten assistant director of communications, informed me that Alexander is the first player to register two triple-doubles in the same season while playing in the Big Ten.
Suzie McConnell, a standout at Penn State from 1985-88, had seven career triple-doubles, including at least three in one season. However, the Nittany Lions weren’t a member of the Big Ten when she was playing.
Alexander’s accomplishment definitely leaves me at a loss for words.
Cara Consuegra is the only other Hawkeye to have a triple-double, accomplishing the feat with 17 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists against Indiana on Feb. 3, 2000.
I’m anxious to see what Alexander does tonight in a crucial Big Ten showdown against Indiana at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Tip-off is 7:05 p.m.
Hawkeye women going dancin’
February 4, 2009 by johnriehl71Selection Monday is over a month away, but that hasn’t stopped national “experts” from offering their two cents on which teams will go dancing.
Jerry Palm of CollegeRPI.com and Charlie Creme of ESPN.com both have posted their weekly projected NCAA tournament brackets, and …
The Iowa Hawkeyes (13-8 overall, 6-4 Big Ten) are in both fields. Palm has the Hawkeyes as a No. 9 seed, while Creme has them as a No. 10 seed. Iowa is one of 16 host sites for first- and second-round games, so the Hawkeyes will play at home if they make the tournament.
Here are links to both brackets:
http://proxy.espn.go.com/ncw/bracketology
http://www.collegerpi.com/women/
Here’s how I voted in this week’s AP Top 25 women’s basketball poll:
1) Connecticut
2) Oklahoma
3) California
4) Duke
5) Stanford
6) Auburn
7) Louisville
North Carolina
9) Texas A&M
10) Baylor
11) Maryland
12) Tennessee
13) Florida
14) Florida State
15) Ohio State
16) Texas
17) Virginia
18) Kansas State
19) Vanderbilt
20) Iowa State
21) Notre Dame
22) Xavier
23) Pittsburgh
24) Rutgers
25) Marist
To see how all 45 national voters voted go to:
Klinefelter to Kenya
February 3, 2009 by johnriehl71
IOWA CITY — Emily Klinefelter is a risk-taker in the boxing ring.
That’s why her next professional bout will take her to Nairobi, Kenya, against a hometown fighter. Klinefelter, an Iowa City native, also will be stepping up one weight class to super bantamweight and will be fighting six rounds instead of four.
A little restless with a lack of recent rounds, Klinefelter (2-0) has agreed to trade blows with Benedetta Kaloki (3-4) Feb. 14.
Kaloki is Klinefelter’s toughest pro opponent to date. Kaloki fought for the vacant Global Boxing Council super bantamweight title Jan. 24, losing a 10-round decision to Elina Tissen in Germany.
“I’m a little frustrated that I’m not fighting as much as I want to,” said Klinefelter, whose last bout was a first-round knockout of Ana Hub Aug. 22, 2008, in Iowa City. “Now is the time I’ll take what I can get. I know there’s a little risk to go to someone’s home country. I’m fighting because I want to fight, not because I’m scared to lose.”
Klinefelter was made aware of the fight by a coach in Hollywood, Fla., whom she met during her amateur days. That coach sends her fighters to Kenya to compete, but she didn’t have anyone at the super bantamweight division.
“It’s definitely a risk. You’re not sure what the situation will be in Kenya,” said Klinefelter, who won 15 national and international titles as an amateur. “Going to another country, you’re set up to be the opponent and give the other girl a win. Usually, you’re set up to fight someone who is 18-0. Since her record is 3-4, that’s a good deal.”
Klinefelter will fly to Kenya Feb. 10 with her sister, Katy, who will be in her corner for the fight.
“We’re good at traveling internationally,” Emily said. “She’ll be a great coach for me. She’s been there the whole way.”
Kachine does it again
February 3, 2009 by johnriehl71My hat is off to Iowa sophomore sparkplug Kachine Alexander.
The 5-9 guard from Minneapolis was named Big Ten Player of the Week this morning for the second time in the last three weeks.
Alexander willed Iowa to a 97-89 triple-overtime win over Penn State Sunday, with a triple-double of 26 points, 21 rebounds and 10 assists. She nearly had a triple-double in regulation, as her ninth and 10th assists came on the first two baskets of the first overtime.
Alexander has had two triple-doubles in the last four games. She is one of just three players in all of NCAA Division I this year to record multiple triple-doubles.
Hawkeye hoops update
January 28, 2009 by johnriehl71I attended the first 30 minutes of the Iowa women’s basketball team’s one-hour practice Tuesday afternoon and didn’t see injured forward/center JoAnn Hamlin on the court.
Hamlin, who is nursing a sprained left ankle, spent her time in the training room. As I understand it, her ankle doesn’t look very good, so I would be surprised if she plays against Michigan State Thursday night in East Lansing, Mich.
It’s too bad Hamlin went down in practice last Thursday, because she has been playing pretty well lately. In her last three games, all Iowa wins, she averaged 13.7 points and 6 rebounds.
Iowa Coach Lisa Bluder is optimistic about having Hamlin back in the lineup next week. The Hawkeyes will definitely need her in a home game against Indiana Feb. 5 and road test at Minnesota Feb. 8.
I will be making the trip to Minneapolis to see if the Hawkeyes can sweep the season series with the Gophers. While at Williams Arena, I am hoping to talk with Iowa recruit Theairra Taylor, a 5-11 guard at St. Paul Central High School.
Here is a link to an interview with Taylor after she signed with the Hawkeyes last November.
NC State Coach leaves lasting legacy
January 27, 2009 by johnriehl71
IOWA CITY — Iowa Coach Lisa Bluder vividly recalls the last time she matched strategy with Kay Yow and her North Carolina State Wolfpack.
On Nov. 29, 2002, Bluder’s bunch had the Wolfpack all but beaten before having victory snatched from their hands in a 69-66 overtime loss in the Loyola Marymount Thanksgiving tournament.
“We were winning by three points with three seconds left, when Johanna Solverson fouled on a 3-point shot,” Bluder said. “They made all three free throws and beat us in overtime.”
However, that’s not her enduring memory of Yow, who died Saturday after three bouts with breast cancer.
Bluder fondly recalls what Yow meant to women’s basketball as a coach and a person.
“Kay was one of the pioneers of our game. She was one of the first women who got started in this game and really cared passionately about this game,” Bluder said. “When she started coaching, there were a couple hundred people in the stands. She began the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA).”
Yow, a past WBCA president, was an Olympic gold medal head coach in 1988 and led North Carolina State to the Final Four in 1998. She was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2000 and the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002. She won over 700 games in her 38-year career.
Bluder, who serves as the Division I Midwest representative on the WBCA Board of Directors, marvels at how Yow never seemed to do anything wrong.
“The thing about Kay was she always did everything right,” Bluder said. “The one person you can look at as the shining example as far as morals and values was Kay Yow. She’s the one person who didn’t have a whole lot of enemies out there and you can’t say that about many coaches.”
Here’s my Top 25 poll for the week:
| 1. | Connecticut | |
| 2. | Oklahoma | |
| 3. | Duke | |
| 4. | Baylor | |
| 5. | California | |
| 6. | Auburn | |
| 7. | Louisville | |
| 8. | Stanford | |
| 9. | Maryland | |
| 10. | North Carolina | |
| 11. | Texas A&M | |
| 12. | Tennessee | |
| 13. | Florida | |
| 14. | Kansas St. | |
| 15. | Ohio St. | |
| 16. | Texas | |
| 17. | Notre Dame | |
| 18. | Florida St. | |
| 19. | Vanderbilt | |
| 20. | Virginia | |
| 21. | Rutgers | |
| 22. | Xavier | |
| 23. | Iowa St. | |
| 24. | Marist | |
| 25. | Pittsburgh |
Here’s a link to view how everyone voted:
Congrats, Kachine
January 20, 2009 by johnriehl71Iowa sophomore Kachine Alexander, the Hawkeyes’ top all-around player, was named co-Big Ten Player of the Week this morning.
Alexander averaged eight points, 10.5 rebounds and 10.5 assists in wins over Illinois and Northwestern last week. Against the Wildcats, the 5-9 guard from Minneapolis became the first Hawkeye since all-Big Ten guard Cara Consuegra in 2000 to register a triple-double with 10 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists.
Alexander shares the honor with Minnesota’s Ashley Ellis-Milan. Alexander is the first Hawkeye to earn this recognition this season.
In addition to being an emotional sparkplug, Alexander inspires her teammates with her energy and will to win.
Iowa will hosts Michigan next Monday.
In unrelated matter, I have caved in and registered on Twitter. Please become one of my followers.
Klinefelter wins MMA debut
December 16, 2008 by johnriehl71Iowa City’s Emily Klinefelter needed only 25 seconds to win her mixed martial arts debut Saturday in Wayland.
A series of non-stop punches by Klinefelter stopped previously undefeated Mercedes Rixen (2-1) of Clinton.
Klinefelter is currently 2-0 as a professional boxer. She is currently pursuing a master’s degree in accounting at the University of Iowa.
