Rohan Gardner, the 177-pound Northwestern senior ranked No. 4 in the nation, has been chosen for the National Wrestling Coaches Association’s All-Star Classic, scheduled for Jan. 29 at Iowa. Gardner won both of his matches when NU downed Minnesota 25-4 and fell to Illinois 19-14. Illinois (6-2, 2-1) also lost to No. 7 Minnesota 19-18 over the weekend.
Northern Illinois heavyweight Desmond Rodez and 142-pound Matt Atilano, were second-place finishers in the Miami (Ohio) Open.
Basketball
Illinois forward Ashley Berggren, a sophomore from Barrington who leads the Big Ten in scoring (23.4 points a game), was named conference player of the week after scoring 29 in a 92-77 victory over Michigan and 32 in a 68-67 loss to Wisconsin.
Despite 16 points by Lora Wolf, Loyola (3-12, 1-5), lost 74-53 to UIC. The women host Green Bay at 5 p.m. Thursday in the first half of an Alumni Gym double-header that also matches the men’s team against Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Swimming
Illinois’ women’s team (6-6, 0-3) won the Illini Classic in Champaign, beating out Iowa and Illinois State. Sophomore Christy Brown won the 200-yard butterfly and the 1,650-yard freestyle.
Northwestern’s Joy Stover (1,650-yard freestytle), Margaret Bradenstein (100 freestyle) and the 200-yard freestyle relay team set three Ohio State pool records in their 70-42 victory at Ohio State.
Gymnastics
Northern Illinois and Central Michigan were involved in a gymnastics rarity, tying with 185.825 points each. Shae Taylor of the Huskies won the uneven parallel bars.
Track and field
Illinois’ men beat Southern Illinois at a dual meet in Champaign, and beat Eastern Illinois, Southern Illinois and North Central College at a quadrangular meet. Junior Barry Pearman provisionally qualified for the NCAAs in the mile (4:05.71). The Illinois women’s team won the Purdue Invitational. Sophomore Collinus Newsome met an NCAA provisional qualifying distance in the shotput (49 feet 5 inches), while senior Dawn Riley provisionally qualified in the 55-meter hurdles (7.73 seconds).
Loyola’s Dan Hoarty won the mile in 4:22.69 as Loyola finished fourth in the Illinois State Invitational. Loyola’s Amalie Arvantes finished second in the high jump at 4-10 for Loyola’s women, who finished third.