UIndy baseball cleans up

The Greyhound baseball team did its part to help beautify the south side Saturday, Oct. 25. The players teamed up with UIndy nursing students to clean up both the old Village Pantry lot at the corner of Hanna & Carson as well as the city park across the street.

For the players, the community service work included painting, picking up trash, and trimming hedges on the VP lot. Meanwhile, the UIndy nursing students picked up trash and painted picnic tables at Southside Park.

Head Coach and master-raker Gary Vaught (right) got in on the act, while Justin Russel and Greg Johnston (below) show off their work.

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.

Schmitz on BBC Radio!

Senior track and field athlete Amy Schmitz will be part of BBC radio's "5 Live" program Thursday morning from Indianapolis' Motor Speedway. Schmitz will join other Indianapolis personalities Joie Chitwood (Indy Motor Speedway), Sarah Fisher (IndyCar driver), Donald Davidson (IMS historian) and Bobby Plump (Milan H.S. basketball legend) on the program.

Schmitz' interview session is scheduled for 10:20 a.m. and can be heard online at http://www.bbc.co.uk/fivelive/.

Simon Mayo, BBC radio host, will be in Indianapolis touring the U.S. Midwest, hitting five cities in five days. The tour will capture the opinions of ordinary Americans on the credit crunch, who they intend to vote for in November's election and more. For more on Mayo, visit: http://www.bbc.co.uk/fivelive/news/mayousa/.

Hounds invade Lucas Oil Stadium

The Greyhound football team practiced at Lucas Oil Stadium Tuesday in an event hosted by the UIndy Alumni Association. Indy the Greyhound was there and provides this brief diary of the day's happenings:

3:04 p.m.- Coaches begin arriving at the Stadium in preparation for the practice session. The entire stadium belongs to the University of Indianapolis at this point, with the logos on the Stadium's scoreboard and ribbon board that hangs on the facade of the first deck.

3:30 p.m.- Team buses arrive with the players being ushered right into the stadium and down onto the field. While the temptation exists to gawk and take a peek around, the team is focused on the task at hand, prepping for Saturday's game against Ferris State.

3:54 p.m.- Fans and alums pile into the building to get a glimpse of the team practicing and walk around the facility. The Alumni Association has blocked off the Quarterback Club Suite behind the endzone, where it will entertain folks with great food, fellowship and visits from the Greyhound Athletics staff, cheerleaders and, of course, the mascot.

4:00 p.m.- Practice is underway. On the JumbroTron is the television broadcast replay of the Homecoming game with Northwood. It's currently 23-6 Northwood. Boo. I've got a hunch things will turn around, however.

4:24 p.m.- Great eats in the Suite as they watch the team run through drills.

4:31 p.m.- Craig Jenkins just dragged the entire Northwood defense with him en route to the endzone (sorry, watching the big screen again).

4:35 p.m.- President Dr. Pitts and her husband, Bill, are on hand to watch the festivities.

4:54 p.m.- Lance Lasker hits Matt Michuda with a 1-yd. pass and the crowd erupts!... ok, so it's business as usual but it was still a fun moment to see again.

5:34 p.m.- Indy the Greyhound heads to the field for a little chicanery and fun down on the sidelines.

5:38 p.m.- Indy misses a 20-yard field goal from the right hash. Doh. Good thing we have Jace Morrison.

6:00 p.m.- Practice ends as the team huddles near midfield.

6:02 p.m.- The team gets to see more of the stadium. Coaches, like Chris Keevers, take photos with their phones to show their kids.

6:15 p.m.- Coach Polizzi heads up to the Quarterback Club to thank everyone for their support. He shows great restraint by not smacking the mascot for asking for an autograph...

6:45 p.m.- Time to head back to campus... All-in-all, a fun time and a great opportunity to watch the Greyhounds practice in the new Lucas Oil Stadium. Greyhounds vs. Ferris State this Saturday at Key Stadium. Rock on.