Penguins take second in Horizon rankings

May 28, 2014 at 12:00a.m.

Youngstown

Youngstown State won a Horizon League best six championships during the 2013-14 academic year which helped the Penguins claim a school-best second-place finish in the conference’s McCafferty Standings.

YSU finished with 39.5 points to place second behind Milwaukee’s 43. The Penguins’ best finish previously was fifth in the 2005-06 season.

The Penguins won four titles in the spring which included women’s tennis, men’s and women’s track and field and baseball. In the fall, the women’s cross country team claimed its first-ever league crown and in March the women’s indoor track and field team won the title.

Named in honor of James J. McCafferty, the conference’s first commissioner from 1979-80, the McCafferty Trophy is awarded annually by the Horizon League to the school compiling the greatest number of performance points, based on its finish in the league’s 19 championship sports.

Penguins tournament games on local radio

Youngstown

The Youngstown State Department of Intercollegiate Athletics and Clear Channel-Youngstown will partner to bring all of the YSU baseball team’s games in the NCAA Regional at Bloomington, Ind., live to fans locally on 1390-AM WNIO and across the country on iHeartRadio.

Robb Schmidt will call the action as the Penguins make their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament in a decade. YSU will start its postseason against No. 4 Indiana on Friday at 7 p.m. and it will play Saturday against Indiana State or Stanford. The Penguins earned the Horizon League’s automatic bid to the regional by winning the conference tournament last week.

Na, Wozniacki lose in French Open 1st round

PARIS

Li Na lost her first Grand Slam match since winning the Australian Open in Melbourne, falling to Kristina Mladenovic of France 7-5, 3-6, 6-1 on Tuesday.

Caroline Wozniacki also made an early exit, about a week after her engagement to two-time major golf champion Rory McIlroy was called off. The 13th-seeded Wozniacki lost to 64th-ranked Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-2.

In the men’s tournament, 11th-seeded Grigor Dimitrov lost to Ivo Karlovic of Croatia 6-4, 7-5, 7-6 (4). Also, Wimbledon champion Andy Murray successfully made his way through his first match at Roland Garros in two years, beating Andrey Golubev of Kazakhstan 6-1, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.

Cavs interview Bulls’ assistant coach Griffin

CLEVELAND

As they debate what to do with the No. 1 draft pick, the Cavaliers made a significant first move in their coaching search. The team interviewed Chicago Bulls assistant coach Adrian Griffin for its coaching vacancy Tuesday, two people with knowledge of the meeting told the Associated Press. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the matter is private. Griffin is believed to be the first candidate to formally interview with the Cavs.

The Cavs, who defied long odds to win the NBA draft lottery last week, are not commenting during their coaching search. The Cavs are also reportedly interested in meeting with Clippers assistant Tyronn Lue, and intend to interview former Memphis coach Lionel Hollins.

Defensive end Marcus leaving Ohio State

COLUMBUS

Jamal Marcus, in the mix to start at defensive end for Ohio State this fall, is transferring out of the Buckeyes program. Ohio State confirmed Tuesday that it had reached a mutual decision with Marcus that it would be best for him to transfer.

The redshirt junior had academic problems in the spring. A native of Durham, N.C., Marcus replaced Noah Spence in the starting lineup at the Orange Bowl against Clemson.

Marcus had six tackles, including three solo, and knocked down a pass in the bowl game. He was considered a strong contender to start in place of Spence the first two games this fall.

Staff reports/Associated Press