By Kif Richmann
With the NCAA tournament on TV, and Iowa baseball, tennis, and volleyball in town, there should be plenty of action to keep any sports fan entertained this weekend.
On Campus:
Hawkeye men’s tennis hosts Ohio State on Friday. Since mid-February, the Hawkeye men have won 5 of the last seven matches. Ohio State, however, will test that run, as the #4 Buckeyes have a Big Ten best 16-2 overall record. OSU also boasts Blaz Rola, the #5 player in the NCAA and most recent men’s tennis Big Ten athlete of the week. The match is scheduled to start at 2:00 pm in the Iowa tennis complex.
Iowa baseball plays two against the Leathernecks. The Iowa Hawkeyes bring it home to Duane Banks Field in Iowa City for the first time this season as they host Western Illinois. Right now the Hawkeyes are 7-10 overall but hope the start of the home schedule and two games against a three win team can turn thing around. The action start Friday afternoon at 5:35 and continues Saturday at 1:00 pm. On Sunday, the Hawks will travel to Western Illinois for one game. If you can’t make it to the Duane Banks, you can hear the games on AM 800.
Hawkeye volleyball starts spring competition. Head coach Sharon Dingman and the Iowa Hawkeye volleyball team will look to shake off the winter rust and pick up two wins on Saturday afternoon as they host Truman State and Western Illinois. The Hawks finished the 2010 season 7-22, but with a young team, five returning starters, and only one senior leaving, Iowa can use this spring schedule to build momentum and experience. The competition starts with Truman State at 2:00 and wraps with Western Illinois at 4:00; due to renovations at Carver both matches are in the UI Fieldhouse.
Off Campus:
Home weekend for the Roughriders. If you can make it to Cedar Rapids, you might want to check out some Roughriders hockey, as Cedar Rapids host Youngstown and Green Bay on Friday and Saturday night. Although Youngstown comes in on Friday with only a 21-26 record, Green Bay is only one point ahead of the RoughRiders for first place in the USHL Eastern Conference. The puck drops at 7:05 for both contests.
Watch and Listen:
NCAA Tournament heats up. Catch all the sweet 16 action on CBS and TBS on Friday night, starting at 6:00 (CT) with North Carolina taking on Marquette, and later you can catch #1 seed Kansas trying to stay alive against potential Cinderella Richmond. Overall #1 seed Ohio State takes on 4 seed Kentucky at 8:30, and VCU and Florida State cap the night at 8:55. Winning teams will move on to play Sunday and Monday night.
