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Solorio looks forward to basketball at Illinois College

Elk Grove girls basketball coach Kathie Swanson was quite pleased with Melissa Solorio's all-area season this past winter.

"Mel has a high basketball IQ and a natural competitive edge that makes her one of the best players in the area," said coach Kathie Swanson following Solorio's final prep season in which she averaged 14.6 points and 6.1 rebounds. "She has a bright future ahead of her in basketball at the collegiate level."

Solorio recently decided her basketball future will be at Illinois College in Jacksonville.

"I selected Illinois College because I loved the campus, the classrooms, basically everything about it," said Solorio, who was also all-area in volleyball and basketball. "The coaches were very nice as well as the girls. I thought I fit right in."

Also a special mention all-area selection in volleyball and soccer, the talented three-sport athlete found basketball as her best fit.

"Basketball has definitely been my favorite sport out of all the sports I've played," she said. "That has never changed.

Solorio has changed her thought about a major.

"Originally I was going to study special education, however Illinois College doesn't offer that major," Solorio said. "So I think I am going to major in physical education which was my second choice."

Her choice to play basketball will mean she will not play competitive volleyball or soccer at the collegiate level.

"I will somewhat miss soccer and volleyball because I've played them for so many years," she said. "But it's OK. Basketball is my passion and I'm glad I'm playing it in college."

Softball

Celebrating her 19th birthday, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh freshman, Sara Brunlieb (Rolling Meadows) recently collected her first college career shutout, allowing only 3 hits as the Titans swept Ripon College.

Brunlieb is 7-1 on the mound while Oshkosh is 4-0 in the WIAC and 16-4 overall.

"Sara is about as even keeled a person as I have ever met," said Oshkosh coach Scott Beyer on the school's website. "Nothing effects her on the mound, and her confidence is exuded throughout the team."

• Charleston Southern University No. 2 hitter and centerfielder Mandi Matsumoto (Fremd) went 2-for-3 with 1 run as the Bucaneers took the series finale from Radford 8-0.

Matsumoto, a freshman, is the CSU leader in runs (24), stolen bases (11) and triples (2).

Baseball

Wisconsin-Platteville senior first baseman Zach Demmon (Hoffman Estates) was named Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference 'Baseball Player of the Week'

He led the Pioneers with a .480 batting average and a 1.120 slugging percentage in Platteville's six games during the week.

Demmon went 12-for-25 with 4 doubles and 4 home runs. He scored seven times and tallied 13 of the Pioneers' 30 RBI. The first baseman was 5-for-10 with runners in scoring position, and batted .429 with two outs for a total of five two-out RBI.

He went 4-for-8 at the plate, smashing two home runs and collecting six RBIs in a doubleheader split with ninth-ranked UW-Whitewater on April 2.

Women's track

Augustana junior Becca Sund (Palatine) was named a College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin women's outdoor track and field athlete of the week.

Sund placed second in the 5,000-meter run at the Select Invitational, clocking a time of 17:43.48. The Vikings placed second in the nine-team field.

• Illinois State freshman Morgan Keller (Rolling Meadows) finished first in the discus with a personal best throw of 160 feet, 11 inches at the Tennessee Relays.

• Illinois State sophomore Haley Goers (Hoffman Estates) finished sixth in the 5,000 meters in a personal best time of 16:53.10 at the San Francisco State Distance Carnival.

• Illinois junior Britten Petrey (Schaumburg) finished first in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the Illinois Twilight meet in a personal best time of 10:50.41 on in Champaign.

• Notre Dame junior Karen Lesiewicz (Schaumburg) finished fourth in the 1,500 meters at the Border Battle in Louisville, Kentucky in a personal best 4:37.43.

• Judson University junior Jordan Wagner (Schaumburg) finished first in the 1,500 meters in a personal best time of 4:44.81 at the Benedictine Eagle Invitational in Lisle.

Men's track

Missouri sophomore Tyler Schneider (Conant) finished fourth in the 1,500 meters in a personal best time of 3:51.78 at the Crimson Tide Invitational at the University of Alabama.

Rugby

The Arlington Stallions Rugby Club is off to its best start since advancing to Tier One league play in 2012.

In a rain-soaked, extremely physical match Sunday night in Northfield, the Stallions defeated New Trier 10-3 behind first-half tries by wings Christos Analitis and Nikko Gountanis. Head coach Paul Bergman said weather conditions can dramatically change what a side needs to do to gain victory.

"We feel like we have the ability to score plenty of points but you don't know until you get a test like we did tonight if you'll meet the physical challenge of a defensive struggle," Bergman said. "We had that challenge from New Trier and our team now has a win that they can be proud of."

The Stallions are 2-0 in Illinois Youth Rugby Association league play.

They face another accomplished opponent in the former state champion Morton Mustangs Thursday at Busse Woods Forest Preserve at 5:15 p.m.

For more information about the Stallions, go to www.arlingtonstallionsrugby.com.

Women's lacrosse

Augustana's Maggie DelVecchio (Barrington) scored 2 goals in the Vikings' 22-0 victory over Benedictine. Patty Miller (Fremd) also had a goal for the Vikings, who are 10-0 and 4-0 in the Midwest Women's Lacrosse Conference.

• Please email Sports Notes items to jleusch@dailyherald.com.

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