Oskee Wow Wow Today is your daily source for all things Fighting Illini. The March 22 edition...
TODAY'S #ILLINI EVENTS
@IlliniMGolf at Valspar Collegiate Invitational | Palm City, Fla.
@IlliniWGolf at Dr. Donnis Thompson Invitational | Oahu, Hawaii
@IlliniSB at Cal State Northridge (DH) | Northridge, Calif.
@IlliniBaseball at Illinois State | Normal, Ill.
@IlliniMTennis at Kentucky | Lexington, Ky.
YESTERDAY'S #ILLINI EVENTS
@IlliniMGolf at Valspar Collegiate Invitational | Recap
@ILLINIWGYM SELECTED TO SALT LAKE CITY REGIONAL
NCAA Release | 2016 Bracket | Competition Order | Full Release
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The NCAA announced Monday the participating teams selected to the six NCAA regional sites and the Illinois women's gymnastics team was selected at the Salt Lake City Regional. The Fighting Illini received their 13th straight regional invite. The Salt Lake City Regional is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. CT on Saturday, April 2.
THAD WARD NAMED @ILLINIFOOTBALL RUNNING BACKS COACH
Coaching Staff | Buy 2016 Season Tickets
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois head coach Lovie Smith has completed his coaching staff with the hiring of Thad Ward as running backs coach. Ward joins the Fighting Illini from Northern Illinois, where he coached wide receivers for the past three seasons.
" Thad Ward will bring a new level of energy to our program," Smith said. "He has been successful at each stop of his career, and is a proven recruiter. Thad has helped develop several outstanding players along the way, and I'm confident our current players will respond to his coaching in a positive way."
Ward helped Northern Illinois to a 31-11 record from 2013-15, including two trips to the Poinsettia Bowl (2013, '15) and one appearance in the Boca Raton Bowl (2014). His success was highlighted by two-time All-MAC honoree Da'Ron Brown's selection by the Kansas City Chiefs in the seventh round of the 2015 NFL Draft. Brown caught 68 passes for 1,065 yards and six touchdowns to lead the Huskies to the 2014 MAC championship.
Ward went to NIU from Western Michigan in 2012. In one season with the Broncos, Ward developed wide receiver Jaime Wilson into WMU's No. 1 receiver on his way to the MAC Freshman of the Year award. Wilson had 67 receptions for 792 yards and six touchdowns in his first year at Western Michigan.
Prior to WMU, Ward spent one season at Gardner-Webb as the wide receivers coach/passing game coordinator in 2011 after six seasons as the running backs coach at Western Illinois from 2005-10.
Ward started his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Florida A&M and spent two years coaching high school football at Tallahassee Rickards High School from 2003-04.
Ward played at Central Florida (1999-2001) and Coffeyville Community College (1997-98). His wife, Jocelyn, have two daughters – Jayda and Journie – and one son, Thaddaeus, Jr.
Ward's Coaching History
| Years | Team | Position |
|---|
| 2002 | Florida A&M | Graduate Assistant |
| 2003-04 | Tallahassee Rickards H.S. | WR/DB (Interim head coach in 2004) |
| 2005-10 | Western Illinois | Running Backs |
| 2011 | Gardner-Webb | Wide Receivers/Passing Game Coordinator |
| 2012 | Western Michigan | Wide Receivers |
| 2013-15 | Northern Illinois | Wide Receivers |
| 2016 | Illinois | Running Backs |
2016 ILLINOIS FOOTBALL COACHING STAFF
Lovie Smith - Head Coach
Garrick McGee - Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
Hardy Nickerson - Defensive Coordinator
Bob Ligashesky - Special Teams Coordinator/Tight Ends
Luke Butkus - Offensive Line
Andrew Hayes-Stoker - Wide Receivers
Tim McGarigle - Linebackers
Mike Phair - Defensive Line
Thad Ward - Running Backs
Paul Williams - Defensive Backs
@ILLINIBASEBALL TRAVELS TO ILLINOIS STATE TUESDAY
| Probable Starting Pitchers |
| Day | Illinois | Illinois State |
| Tuesday | RHP Matthew James (0-0, 12.60) | RHP Mitch Weis (0-0, 7.88) |
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Illinois baseball team travels to Normal, Illinois, Tuesday for its final tune-up before Big Ten play begins this weekend. The Fighting Illini are scheduled to face Illinois State at 4:30 p.m. CT at Duffy Bass Field.
Illinois (7-10) is looking to turn things around after a 1-3 weekend in Carbondale, Illinois, against Northern Illinois and Southern Illinois. The Illini are 1-7 in their last eight games after an impressive three-game sweep at the Stetson Invitational had their record at 6-3 on March 6.
ILLINI CONTINUE STRETCH AGAINST RANKED OPPONENTS AT KENTUCKY
Live Stats
URBANA, Ill. - The No. 11 ranked Fighting Illini men's tennis team will face another road test Tuesday, March 22, as they take on No. 17 Kentucky at 1 p.m. inside Hilary J. Boone Tennis Center. Illinois seeks it's eighth win of the season and second-straight win over a top-25 opponent.
FOR STARTERS
The Illini currently hold an 8-6 record on the season. Illinois has faced a daunting schedule so far this season, as the matchup with the Wildcats will be the Illini's ninth straight top-25 opponent. The Orange and Blue hold a 5-6 mark against top-25 teams this season.
No. 8 Jared Hiltzik and No. 6 Aleks Vukic have combined for a 20-4 record on the season. The two also have a combined 13-2 mark in the dual season against ranked singles players. Illinois is the only team in the country to sport two singles players ranked in the top-10 in the nation.
SCOUTING KENTUCKY
The Wildcats enter the match following their first home loss of the season after losing 4-3 to Vanderbilt on Friday, March 18. Kentucky has an 11-4 mark this season and an 8-1 record at home. Individually, The Wildcats have two ranked singles players, led by No. 23 William Bushamuka. Ryotaro Matsamura currently ranks 108th in the nation. Kentucky also has one ranked doubles team in No. 49 Bushamuka and Beck Pennington.
Kentucky and Illinois have squared off in the regular season in each of the last three seasons, with Illinois winning each contest. Illinois swept the Wildcats 4-0 last season at home.
ILLINI IN THE RANKINGS
Illinois enters the weekend at No. 11 in the ITA national rankings. UI still remains the only team in the country with two singles players currently ranked in the top-10 nationally, highlighted by No. 6 Aleks Vukic and No. 8 Jared Hiltzik . Aron Hiltzik also cracked the list and sits at No. 63.
FIGHTING ILLINI FAN COUNCIL ACCEPTING NEW MEMBERS
» Apply for Fan Council
The University of Illinois Division of Intercollegiate Athletics is looking for passionate Fighting Illini supporters to serve on the 2016-17 Fan Council.
The fan councils are designed for a wide array of fans to express their best ideas for Fighting Illini events. The groups are filled with a variety of fans, including donors, season-ticket holders, single-game ticket buyers, students and alumni, and are a major part of improving the game atmosphere at Fighting Illini Athletics events.
In its inaugural year, the Fighting Illini Fan Council held four meetings. The first was in February 2015. The 2015-16 council was comprised of 36 members split between two committees, Champaign-Urbana and Chicago. Council members serve two-year terms; current members have one more year to serve while new members will serve for the next two years.
Over the course of the year, members convene to discuss different aspects of the athletic department such as Grange Grove atmosphere, basketball revenue, and ways to improve game day experiences. Council members are asked to bring their own agenda items to the meetings as well.
Looking ahead to next year, the Fan Council will accept up to 20 new members. To apply, fans must fill out this survey to be considered. The 2016-2017 Fan Council schedule consists of four meetings starting April 16 at the Illinois Football Open Practice. Members, along with their families, are invited to join in the festivities of the open practice along with attending the baseball game later in the afternoon.
"Over the past 14 months, the Fan Council became the voice of Illini fans across the state," said Steve Baker, current council member and resident of Bourbonnais. "We are a sounding board for the DIA team when they consider new initiatives and programs. As the council evolved, a new goal emerged. We assist the staff in weaving over 100 years of Fighting Illini traditions with modern marketing tools and gameday activities to create exciting and memorable experiences for alumni, fans, recruits and students. I'm proud of the work the Fan Council has done and look forward to our small part in making Fighting Illini athletic events the best in the Big Ten and the nation."
Fans can learn more about the Fighting Illini Fan Council HERE. For questions, please contactSabrina Thiel at sthiel@illinois.edu or 217-333-2110.
DIAB EARNS BIG TEN FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK HONORS
ROSEMONT, Ill. – Following one of his best showings as an Illini yet, Illinois' Alex Diab has been tabbed the Big Ten's Co-Freshman of the Week as announced by the league office on Monday, March 21. Diab clinched a share of the floor title and full possession of the still rings title in Illinois' meet with top-ranked Oklahoma over the weekend.
This marks the second time that the Glen Ellyn, Illinois, native has earned conference recognition during his debut season with the Orange and Blue. Diab was also honored during the opening week of awards on January 11.
While Diab's floor score of 15.250 may not have been a career-high tally, it anchored the Illini lineup on the event en route to a season-best team score of 73.600. After the opening rotation on Saturday, the Illini led Oklahoma thanks to the group effort on floor.
Diab reset a pair of career-high scores in the regular-season finale over the weekend. Just one weekend prior, the freshman hit a new career-high on rings at 15.500 and upped his reading once again on Illinois' Senior Day with a 15.600. Diab is now in sole possession of each of the top-three scores on the event by an Illini this season. The Glenbard West graduate's other new career high came on vault, where he turned in a 14.950 reading to take home third place honors.
With a final tally of 86.250, Diab took home second place honors in the all-around competition in the meet. The score was the freshman's second-best reading of his career and best registered in the confines of Huff Hall.
The last Illinois gymnast to win Freshman of the Week honors was Johnny Jacobson during the week of February 8.
With the 2016 regular season in the books, the Fighting Illini will set their sights on the Big Ten Championships hosted by the preseason conference favorite, Ohio State. The championships are slated for April 1-2 at the St. John Arena in Columbus, Ohio, and will air live on the Big Ten Network.
@ILLINIWGOLF READY FOR DR. DONNIS THOMPSON INVITATIONAL
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois Women's Golf will open its spring break with the Dr. Donnis Thompson Invitational at the Kaneohe Klipper Golf Course on Marines Corps Base Hawaii in Kaneohe, Oahu, from March 22-23. This year will be the 31st year of the Rainbow Wahine-hosted event.
Illinois and Nebraska will represent the Big Ten conference in the 15-team competition. Oklahoma State enters the tournament as the top-ranked team in the field at No. 10 currently. Texas A&M comes in just outside of the top 25 at No. 28. Other top-ranked teams that will be competing at the par-72, 6,099-yard venue will be No. 57 Pepperdine, No. 67 Gonzaga, No. 69 Fresno State and No. 90 Hawaii. Illinois currently sits ranked 62nd.
