Winter sports begin flurry of practice

With the fall sports winding down and the air getting cooler, the Greyhound winter teams are kicking it into high gear to prepare for their looming seasons. The men's and women's basketball teams, as well as the wrestling and swimming and diving squads are all practicing hard as their first competition dates fast approach.

The men's basketball team under the first-year direction of Stan Gouard is looking to improve upon their record of 14-13 from a year ago with a nucleus of six seniors and a roster full of new faces, including a host of transfers into the
Greyhound program.

Women's head coach LeAnn Freeland and her squad have the bar set high after a 22-8 finish last season and an NCAA Tournament bid. The Greyhounds return All-GLVC honorees Jessica Canary and Samantha Meissel and have added some newcomers to the mix. This will be Freeland's second year at the UIndy helm.

After graduating a talanted senior class a year ago, head coach Jay Yates and the UIndy wrestling team will look to some new leaders in the room. The Greyhounds return two national qualifiers on their 2008-09 squad, with Lynn Panko returning to the heavyweight class and Matt Irwin holding down the 141 spot. A pair of graduates from last year, Mike Horton and four-time All-American Shane Perkey, join the Greyhound coaching staff to provide their experience to the young squad, which features just three seniors.

The Greyhound swim squads have also been hitting the pool hard, with Gary Kinkead has a roster of 60-plus to choose from, including a trio of divers adding to the UIndy point totals this season. Kinkead returns a host of All-American performers from a season ago in which the men's squad finished 12th at Nationals and the women's team posted an 11th place finish in the nation.