By DON O'BRIEN
Herald-Whig Sports Editor
The Quincy University women's basketball team picked up its second player for its 2010 recruiting class this week when Annawan's Kelly Buresh, a 6-foot forward, gave JD Gravina a verbal commitment.
"I think she's a tremendous fit for that school," Annawan coach Matt Huber told the Moline Dispatch. "She is a steal. Quincy got a very special player in this deal."
Buresh will begin her fourth year as a starter later this month. She's already the school's leading scorer with 1,674 points, averaging 19.2 points per game during her career. She's scored at least 20 points per game over the last two seasons.
She was the top vote getter on the Associated Press' Class 1A all-state team last year while earning first-team honors. She was also a first-team all-state selection by the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association and the Chicago Sun-Times. Buresh was the Moline Dispatch's All-Area Player of the Year and a first-team All-Area pick by the Quad City Times and Peoria Journal-Star.
Buresh joins Quincy Notre Dame's Karlee Genenbacher in the Lady Hawks' class. Both can sign official national letters of intent next week when the signing period starts. Per NCAA rules, Gravina is not allowed to comment on recruits until they have signed.
Williams earns OVC honor: Quincy High School product Jenny Williams was named the first-team keeper on the Ohio Valley Conference's all-league team. The senior was one of four Eastern Illinois University players to be honored.
Williams helped EIU (7-7-5) lead the league in saves by making 46 of her 60 saves this season in OVC games. She started the final 10 games in goal for the Panthers, recording four shutouts.
Williams, a four-year starter, spent more than 5,000 minutes in goal during her career, making 16 shutouts and helping EIU make the OVC Tournament in all four of her seasons. She has a career record of 21-28-7.
QU hoops to have Alzheimer's benefit: The Quincy University men's basketball team will hold a special Dunk Alzheimer's theme during its Nov. 15 home opener against Upper Iowa in honor of National Alzheimer's Disease Awareness Month.
The Hawks will face Upper Iowa at 3:15 p.m. at Pepsi Arena. Former coach John Ortwerth will be honored during halftime. Ortwerth is the Hawks' all-time winningest coach with a career mark of 259-173 from 1960-75.
There will be purple T-shirts on sale and a 50-50 raffle to benefit the Quincy Area Branch Alzheimer's Association. The QU coaching staff and team will wear purple in honor of the event.
Welcome to the GLVC: Great Lakes Valley Conference newcomers Illinois-Springfield and Maryville have found the transition to the GLVC and NCAA Division II to be tough during the fall sports season.
In the three team sports played in the fall, Maryville has combined to go 6-32-2 in GLVC play. Illinois-Springfield failed to win a league game during the soccer season and has just one GLVC win in women's volleyball, which came against Maryville. The Prairie Stars' teams are 1-38-1 in GLVC action.
Maryville, which is making the jump from the NCAA Division III ranks, is 10-48-2 overall in fall play, while UIS, which used to be in the NAIA, is 14-51-1 overall.
Mizzou wrestling team has local flavor: Quincy High School product Jamie DeVine is now a member of the University of Missouri wrestling team. DeVine, who will wrestle at 141 pounds as a junior for Mizzou, spent the last two years at NCAA Division III North Central, winning 50 matches and recording 15 pins.
DeVine is one of two area wrestlers on the Mizzou roster. Hannibal's Tyler Perry hopes to return to the Tigers' lineup in the second semester after suffering a foot injury during the off-season. Perry red-shirted last season after having his appendix removed early in the season.
C-SC soccer players honored: The Culver-Stockton College men's and women's soccer team each placed two players on the Heart of America Athletic Conference's all-league team.
Senior forward Bryan Curry and junior defender Joseph Demosthene were picked to the third-team. Curry led the C-SC men's team (1-15) with two goals, while Demosthene was the team's top defender.
Junior Danielle Blevins was a second-team pick, while sophomore Jackie LeGrand was a third-team pick for the C-SC women's team (3-15). Blevins led C-SC with eight goals. LeGrand made the All-HAAC team for the second straight season after scoring a goal and recording one assist this fall.
QU duo honored: QU men's soccer players Jake Pittroff and Jack Wedemeier have been named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District team. They were named to the District 5 second team in the College Division.
Pittroff, a junior history major with a 3.77 grade-point average, had eight goals and four assists this season for QU (9-8-2). Wedemeier, a junior biology major with a 3.37 GPA, led the team in scoring with 27 points on 10 goals and seven assists.
To be nominated for the team, players must have a GPA of at least 3.3 and be a key member of their team.
— dobrien@whig.com/221-3365
