Indiana
Northwestern secures Senior Day victory versus Indiana
Northwestern’s weekend match against Indiana marked its final time playing at Combe Tennis Center this year.
Before Sunday’s match play began, coach Claire Pollard gave a short speech about each departing player’s time with the program. Soon after, the Wildcats (17-5, 8-1 Big Ten) cruised by the Hoosiers (6-18, 0-10 Big Ten) in a 4-0 triumph.
The victory finalized NU’s 11-0 home record this season, the program’s most home wins in a season since 2017-2018.
Pollard’s team nabbed the doubles point for the sixth match in a row, and like each match over the past two weeks, the group did so in dominant fashion. Pollard called the doubles point the “unsung hero” for the squad’s recent success.
The No. 1 pairing of graduate student Christina Hand and senior Justine Leong, ranked No. 57 in the nation, defeated Saby Nihalani and Li Hsin Lin 6-1. The duo’s chemistry has led them to drop only two games in their last four matches.
“When we play together, I know what she’s going to do before she does it and she knows what I’m going to do.” Hand said in her Senior Spotlight on the team’s Instagram page. “It’s sort of an unspoken kind of thing.”
One court to their left, the No. 2 team of senior Maria Shusharina and graduate student Britany Lau clinched the doubles point for the ’Cats by winning 6-2. Shusharina and Lau played their last three matches at the No. 3. The pairing is now on a four-match winning streak.
Graduate student Elisa Van Meeteren — who hadn’t played a doubles match in almost two months — replaced freshman Neena Feldman in the lineup. She and junior Sydney Pratt were up 5-3 at the No. 3 doubles slot when doubles play concluded.
The ’Cats kicked off singles play with two quick victories. No. 1 Shusharina won 6-1, 6-3, extending her match win streak to nine. After a short three match stint at the No. 4, Hand moved back to the No. 3 Sunday and swiftly prevailed 6-2, 6-2.
“(Sydney took) a couple of losses in her last matches, and Christina didn’t, so I felt like it was the right thing to make the switch back again,” Pollard said.
In her three matches at the No. 3 slot, Pratt went 1-2, while Hand was 3-0 at the No. 4 slot. Returning to her more familiar No. 4 slot, Pratt was in position to win 6-3, 5-4 when the match concluded.
The player to clinch the victory for NU was none other than a senior playing her last career match inside Combe Tennis Center — Leong. After dominating the first set 6-1, Leong found herself in a tense second set tiebreak.
After originally leading the set 4-1, the senior found herself in a 5-2 hole to Elisabeth Dunac in the set’s tiebreak. She won three consecutive points to even the score at 5-5.
Dunac double faulted, allowing Leong to serve for the match at 6-5. A 40 second rally then ensued, and Dunac attempted an inside-out forehand that flew out, giving Leong the critical 6-1, 7-6(5) victory.
“(Leong’s) done a great job for us,” Pollard said. “(She) won a convincing first set, and I felt like she let (Dunac) in a little bit but then she got in there and got more disciplined and was a little more aggressive. At 4-2 (in the tiebreak), I walked over there and said, ‘Come on, you got to win this match.’”
Leong’s heroics — winning five consecutive points — capped off Senior Day with a ’Cats victory. Hand, her doubles teammate, stormed the court and picked up Leong, embodying the love between teammates cultivated over playing doubles together for three seasons.
No. 5 junior Kiley Rabjohns was amid a potential comeback when matchplay halted. Her scoreline read 5-7, 6-0, 1-1. On the opposite side of Combe Tennis Center, No. 6 Lau was also in the middle of a third set after losing the second set. The match was unfinished 6-4, 2-6, 1-2.
NU will travel to Columbus to take on Ohio State Friday afternoon. Currently, the two teams are tied for second in the Big Ten with 8-1 records.
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KOSCIUSKO COUNTY, Ind. (WSBT) — It’s fair season and a new law uncorks adult beverage sales!
The new Indiana law will go into effect July 1st, making it legal to sell alcohol at county fairs.
The Kosciusko County Fair is set to kick off in just a few weeks and Indiana is officially allowing alcohol to be sold.
The law is bringing back something that’s not necessarily new to this fair.
Here’s what you need to know
The new law will go into effect on July 1st. It officially allows county fairs to apply for fee-free permits to sell alcohol.
Officials with the Kosciusko County Fair say they are participating this year. They are implementing the same guidelines they used when they sold alcohol just at grandstand events.
The difference now is, you can walk around the grounds with your drink. But strict guidelines will be in place for purchasing a drink.
“Actually, we’ve never had any issues. Because we card everybody, so we take that seriously. We also got the ID guides so we can identify the different types of IDs,” said Sheal Dirck, Treasurer of Kosciusko County Fair.
The Kosciusko County Fair already have guidelines in place, so this was an easy transition for the fair.
They will be the only vendors selling alcohol, which will make it easier to control distribution.
The sales will also bring in more revenue.
“Hopefully it allows to keep our ticket prices where they are because right now, insurance, utilities and everything else is going sky high and it’s hard to make ends meet,” said Dirck.
However, some fairs cannot participate because of the July 1st start date, like the Pulaski County Fair, which is going on right now. Pulaski County officials said it is on the agenda for next year. Whereas other fairs are choosing to sit this year out.
“We wanted not spend some time to, to see what that really means for us. It was not a decision we wanted to rush into. But we are happy for the option of it,” said Shelly Steury, GM of Elkhart County 4H Fairgrounds.
Leaders at the St. Joseph County and Elkhart County Fairs said neither of them are selling alcohol.
The Kosciusko County Fair is the only fair that will sell alcohol in our area this year.
Indiana
‘Foul play’ suspected in death investigation on Indiana-Ohio state line, Wayne County officials say
WAYNE COUNTY, Ind. (WISH) — Police are investigating the death of a person who died in the emergency department of Reid Health in Richmond.
Wayne County Coroner Brent Meadows was notified of the death Wednesday evening, according to a media release. Evidence has reportedly indicated that foul play is involved.
Officials believe the incident may have occurred in the area of the Petro Travel Center in New Paris, Ohio, just across the Indiana-Ohio state line.
The coroner’s office said the deceased person has been transported to the Miami Valley Regional Crime Laboratory in Dayton, Ohio, for a forensic autopsy and identification.
The office is still working the locate and identify the victim’s family.
This remains an active investigation.
News 8’s Michaela Springer contributed to this report.
Braden Smith spent four seasons with Purdue basketball proving all the power conference programs who overlooked him missed out.
Now the former Boilermaker point guard has a chance to do the same in the NBA.
Smith, a Westfield native, is headed to the Pacers after Indiana traded for him when the Chicago Bulls selected him with the 38th pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, a source confirmed to IndyStar.
Smith is Purdue’s third draft pick in five years, joining lottery picks Jaden Ivey and Zach Edey among a group of now 11 NBA draft selections to play at Purdue under Matt Painter.
Here’s a look at Smith’s Purdue career and what he brings to the Pacers.
Before capping a career that includes two Big Ten regular season and two Big Ten Tournament championships, along with helping Purdue end a 44-year Final Four drought, Smith broke former Duke guard Bobby Hurley’s all-time NCAA assists record.
Along the way, Smith took home the 2025 Bob Cousy Award as the nation’s top point guard in a season where he also was the Big Ten Player of the Year. A two-time consensus first-team All-American, Smith finished his Purdue career eighth in career points (1,932), third in steals (249) and has the top three assist seasons in school history that helped add to his NCAA record total of 1,103.
Smith’s knock is his 5-foot-10 1/2 height measurement, but that didn’t deter him from being one of college basketball’s top players.
What Smith lacked in height, he made up for in basketball IQ. He’s lethal with a midrange jump shot and showcased an unblockable fadeaway that allowed him to shoot over lengthier defenders. He mastered manipulating defenses while playing with marquee big men the last four seasons.
His role in the NBA likely will be not require him to be the team’s primary playmaker immediately. Smith’s awareness of that fact pushed a more defensive-minded approach in preparation for the next level. At the NBA Draft Combine in May, Smith showed he’s capable of defending elite guards.
Smith is an elite competitor who never showed to shy away from the dirty work, which is something that can help him earn NBA minutes as a rookie while trying to find his footing in an unfamiliar backup role.
Nathan Baird and Sam King have the best Purdue sports coverage, and sign up for IndyStar’s Boilermakers newsletter.
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