With six players scoring in double figures, Illinois Wesleyan improved to 23-0 with an 87-66 nonconference win at Olivet Nazarene in Bourbonnais, Ill., on Tuesday, Feb. 17. The No. 1-ranked Titans got 18 points from sophomore Nikki Preston, 14 each from sophomore Hope Schulte and freshman Kylie Castans, 11 from sophomore Stacey Arlis and 10 points each from senior Colleen Caplice and junior Christina Solari. Preston also gathered in nine rebounds to lead IWU to a 50-39 edge on the boards in the game that the Titans never trailed in and was only tied once (8-8). Wesleyan held a 38-34 halftime edge. The Tigers fell to 15-11 this season as they committed 33 turnovers. Olivet Nazarene connected on 11 of 37 3-point field goal tries and had a team-high 19 points from Holly Wiersma. Illinois Wesleyan plays its final regular season home game at 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 21 against North Central. It is "Senior Day" to honor Caplice, Claire Sheehan and Mallory Heydorn. The Titans will play at Elmhurst on Tuesday, Feb. 24 before hosting the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin tournament Feb. 27-28 at the Shirk Center.

The Illinois Wesleyan men's basketball team were outscored 49-31 in the second half and lost an 86-60 decision to Wheaton on Saturday, Feb. 14 at the Shirk Center. The Titans fall to 13-10 overall and 5-7 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin while No. 10-ranked Wheaton improved to 20-3 overall and 9-3 in first place in the CCIW. Sophomore center Doug Sexauer had 12 points while sophomore Sean Johnson and senior Brett Chamernik each scored 10. Chamernik had a game-high seven rebounds as IWU outrebounded the Thunder, 28-24. The Thunder shot 59 percent from the field (35 of 54) as senior Kent Raymond poured in 28 points. Wheaton accounted for 28 points in the lane, scored 20 points off turnovers and led by as many as 30 points with 7:40 to play in the contest. Wesleyan plays at Millikin on Wednesday, Feb. 18 in Decatur at 7:30 p.m.

Illinois Wesleyan's Meg Calabrese was the winner of both the 1-meter and 3-meter diving events in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin swimming and diving championships, held at IWU's Fort Natatorium on Saturday, Feb. 14. The swimming portion of the meet will take place Feb. 19-21 at Whearon College. Calabrese scored 349.85 points in winning the 1-meter event as teammates Lindsey DeSutter and Sam Sebastian finished second and third, respectively. The trio finished the same way in the 3-meter diving with Calebrese capturing 327.80 points in the win. The results will be included in the scoring next weekend.

The Illinois Wesleyan women’s team finished first and the men’s team placed sixth in the eight team Fighting Scots indoor track invitational held at Monmouth College on Saturday, Feb. 14. The women amassed 170 points to outdistance second place Washington U. with 101.5 and earned seven individual first place finishes, including two from Amanda LaRocca (long jump and 55 hurdles in a school record and NCAA automatic qualifying time of 8.08 seconds). Ali McCoy (400), Mackenzie Clemens (800 in a school record and NCAA automatic qualifying time), Kerry Devitt (school record in the mile), Gaby Johnson (high jump) and Erin Moran (triple jump) were individual winners along with the 4x400 relay team. Posting NCAA provisonal qualifying standards were LaRocca's long jump, Moran in the pole vault (second place finish), Shavanty Thomas and Caitlin Eskew in the 55, and Devitt in the mile. For the men, Alex Lambert took first in the pole vault and Darien West had a first in the weight throw with a school record and NCAA provisional qualifying mark. The IWU men earned 58.33 points as Wis.-LaCrosse placed first as a team with 137 points.

Senior outfielder Monica Urban has been chosen as a first team preseason All-American in the inaugural issue of Division III Softball, the Newsletter. Urban (Wheaton, Ill., North HS), a two-time all-College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin first team selection and a first team all-Great Lakes region selection last season, batted a team-high .480, a school single season record topping the old mark of .475 set by Brynn Hasse in 2004. Her career .428 average (124 of 290) is the IWU all-time record for players with more than 200 at bats. A third team all-region choice in 2007, Urban also had 21 stolen bases last year and 67 (of 72) in her career, ranking third in IWU records. Also featured in the inaugural edition of the publication was a preseason Top 25 poll in which the Titans were ranked No. 24, the same location IWU is picked in the preseason National Fastpitch Coaches Association’s Top 25 poll.

Defending champion Illinois Wesleyan has been picked to repeat as softball champions of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin in voting done by league coaches in their annual preseason poll released Feb. 11. The Titans, who finished 30-11 overall and 12-2 in the conference in 2008, collected a unanimous seven first place votes (coaches may not vote for their own team) and 49 points. North Central (29-12, 9-5), last season’s conference tournament champion, was second in the poll with 38 points, followed by Augustana (26-18, 8-6) with 37 points. Carthage (19-11, 9-5) was fourth in the poll with 34 points and the other first place vote, followed by Wheaton (21-19, 7-7) in fifth with 23 points. Elmhurst (12-25, 4-10), Millikin (14-24, 3-11) and North Park (13-17, 4-10) rounded out the poll with 22, 12 and nine points respectively.

The Illinois Wesleyan baseball team has been picked to finish second in the annual preseason College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin coaches poll, released on Feb. 11. The Titans, who finished last year with a 33-11 overall mark and an 18-3 CCIW record, are defending regular season and tournament champions and tied with Augustana with 40 points, trailing preseason favorite Carthage (36-10, 17-4 in 2008), who collected 43 points including three first place votes. IWU had two first place votes and Augustana (34-13, 14-7) had one first place vote. Wheaton (23-14, 12-8) was fourth with 35 points including two first place votes. North Central (14-23, 7-14) and North Park (16-24, 6-15) finished in a tie for fifth with 23 points each while Elmhurst (12-28, 5-16) and Millikin (14-20-1, 4-16) rounded out the poll in a tie for seventh with 10 points apiece. Each coach votes for the seven other schools in the conference in order of predicted finish. Points are assigned in reverse order of voting (seven points for first, six for second, etc.). Coaches may not vote for their own team.