By Tom Schott
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Eight former student-athletes and an administrator, all highly accomplished and wonderfully decorated, make up the 2015 class of the Purdue Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame that was announced Wednesday. Induction ceremonies will take place April 18.
The Boilermakers selected for induction are ...
~ Brian Cardinal, basketball, 1997-2000
~ Yvonne Netterville Carter, track & field, 1983-86
~ John Charles, football, 1964-66
~ Katie Douglas, basketball, 1998-2001
~ Andrea Hillsey, softball, 2002-05
~ Vilmos Kovacs, swimming, 1996-99
~ Taylor Stubblefield, football, 2001-04
~ Howie Williams, basketball, 1946, 1948-50
~ Robert Woodworth, administration, 1928-64
These Purdue greats will join 134 Boilermakers from 16 previous Hall of Fame classes who have been inducted since 1994, when the selection process began.
The latest honorees will be recognized during the Hall of Fame induction ceremony beginning at 6 p.m. on Saturday, April 18, in Mackey Arena on the Purdue campus, following the Boilermakers' spring football game. Tickets will be available in March through the John Purdue Club and at the Athletics Ticket Office.
One More Look
If you missed the eye-popping, heart-stopping, mind-boggling finish to the Purdue-Indiana 4x800 women's relay last Saturday, you can watch it here.
Purdue sophomore Hope Schmelzle edged the Hoosiers' Brittany Neeley by 0.001 to give the Boilermakers the event's five points and secure a 72-64 victory.
Both the men's and women's track and field teams compete at the Notre Dame Invite tomorrow.
Weekend Basketball
Both basketball teams continue Big Ten play this weekend at home.
The men (11-8, 3-3 B1G) host No. 25 Iowa (13-6, 4-2) at noon tomorrow, while the women (10-9, 3-5) welcome Ohio State (12-7, 4-3) at 2 p.m. Sunday.
On Wednesday, the No. 23 Indiana men (15-4, 5-1) visit Mackey Arena with a point on the line in the Governor's Cup all-sports competition. The No. 25 Rutgers women (13-5, 4-3) come to town on Thursday.
The Purdue women snapped a four-game losing skid with a hard-fought 90-88 upset of No. 21 Minnesota last night in Minneapolis. Senior forward Whitney Bays scored the game-winning basket with 3.4 seconds left in overtime and finished with 25 points. Head coach Sharon Versyp earned her 100th Big Ten win.
Swimming & Diving Welcomes Indiana
The swimming & diving teams will celebrate Senior Day tomorrow with duals against intrastate rival Indiana. Two points will be on the line in the Governor's Cup all-sports competition. The co-ed 16-event dual meet begins at 11 a.m., but fans are encouraged to arrive early for the senior salute ceremony at approximately 10:40 a.m.
Purdue's large senior classes - nine women and eight men - are accomplished in the competition pool and diving well. Together, they have accounted for 49 spots on the Boilermakers' all-time top 10 lists, 13 appearances at the NCAA Championships, eight program records and five All-America honors.
In addition, Be The Match will host a bone marrow donor registration and fundraiser at the meet. Be The Match is an organization that is special to the family of the late Tom Reiter, who served as the sport supervisor for swimming and diving from 2010 until his death in January 2014, following a year-long battle with cancer. At least one bone marrow match between a donor and a person in need was identified thanks to last season's event at the Boilermaker Aquatic Center.
Wrestling Recognition
Junior Danny Sabatello was named the Big Ten Wrestler of the Week for the second time this season after pulling off a pair of impressive and dominating upsets. Ranked No. 20 nationally at 133 pounds, Sabatello topped No. 19 Dominick Malone of Northwestern 10-2 and No. 7 Jimmy Gulibon of Penn State 6-0. With the wins, Sabatello improved his season record to 20-4, including 12-1 in duals and 3-1 against B1G competition. He jumped six spots to No. 14 in this week's national rankings.
As a team, unranked Purdue defeated No. 19 Northwestern 22-17 last Friday and now has an overall record of 8-5, including 4-0 at home in Holloway Gymnasium. This week, the Boilermakers, under first-year head coach Tony Ersland, jumped into the national rankings at No. 22. They are back in action Jan. 30 at Ohio State.
Tennis Talk
No. 47 men's tennis posted a pair of 6-1 wins over Eastern Illinois and IUPUI on Monday to open its spring schedule. The No. 40 women's team hosted the Purdue Invite and posted three-day records of 13-9 in singles and 11-4 in doubles against Denver, DePaul and Drake.
On Saturday and Sunday, both squads will take part in their respective ITA Kick-Off Weekends that feature the nation's top 60 teams. The men play in Columbus, Ohio, while the women compete in Clemson, S.C.
Cheerleaders Sixth in Group Stunt and Fifth as team at Nationals
The cheerleading squad, under coach Steve Solberg, continues to make strides as a program and climb the rankings at UCA college nationals. The Boilermakers placed sixth in the all-girl stunt group championships and fifth as a team earlier this month in Orlando, Fla. Fifth place is the highest Purdue has ever finished at UCA nationals, and this year marked the first time an all-girl stunt group competed. The Boilermakers were second at the NCA competition in 2002.
Etcetera
Michael Vilardo had his graduate transfer waiver approved by the NCAA and is eligible to play for the Purdue baseball team this season. A two-year starter at second base for the University of Pennsylvania in 2013 and 2014, Vilardo graduated with a bachelor's degree in philosophy, politics and economics last month. The Cary, Ill., native was the Big 5 Rookie of the Year in 2013 and a second team All-Ivy League honoree in 2014. He led the Ivy League with 55 hits in 2013 ... Thirteen athletics department staff members volunteered for a community service project with Habitat for Humanity on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a university holiday ... Beth Brooke-Marciniak, who received the first women's basketball scholarship at Purdue in 1977, is highlighted in an NCAA feature "After the Game." You can read her story here.