Sports

Rok Bonin ended his Gophers tennis career Wednesday with a three-set loss in the first round of the NCAA singles tournament in Urbana, Ill.

This tournament pits the top-64 singles players in the nation against each other in a single-elimination style bracket.

Bonin, a senior for Minnesota and the No. 53 player in the nation, lost 6-1, 3-6, 7-5 to No. 19 Andreas Mies of Auburn.

Bonin said it was tough to end his career with the loss, but he said the experience also offered him an opportunity to step back and reminisce on his career.

The Gophers’ path to a Big Ten tournament title got much tougher Thursday night after a 4-2 loss to top-seeded Indiana at Target Field.

The Hoosiers scored three runs on three hard-hit doubles and a walk in the first inning off Minnesota starter DJ Snelten.

“We got behind the eight ball a little bit there in the first inning,” Gophers head coach John Anderson said. “We were fighting uphill the rest of the ballgame.”

Snelten gained control over his last five innings, striking out five while allowing four hits and one unearned run.

Andy Henkemeyer’s bases-loaded walk-off line drive down the right-field line gave the Gophers a 3-2 victory over Illinois in the opening round of the Big Ten tournament Wednesday afternoon at Target Field.

The win kept the Gophers in the winner’s bracket, giving them a much shorter path through a tournament they likely need to win to earn a bid to the NCAA tournament.

Minnesota head coach Geoff Young couldn’t even distinguish his current No. 1 singles player, Rok Bonin, at first sight.

Bonin, the stud senior on the Gophers roster, has an identical twin brother, Enej, who Young also recruited.

“I couldn’t tell who was who at the time,” Young chuckled. “I know I knew both their names, but even when the visit ended I couldn’t tell them apart.”

Young has gotten familiar with Rok Bonin since then — and for a good reason.

University of Minnesota athletics spending has favored men over women in areas that show a lack of dedication to Title IX, the federal law that prohibits gender discrimination in education.

But few eyes are watching to catch issues like those at the University, where men’s sports get almost three times the financial support as women’s. Those who do feel there is a problem are often afraid to speak up.

The school made plans to improve in 2008, when a University subcommittee raised gender equity concerns, but the problems have gone largely unresolved.

Alena Brooks’ track career began because of her passion for netball — a sport similar to basketball.

Brooks, a senior on the Gophers women’s track team and a Trinidad and Tobago native, is preparing for her final Big Ten championships this weekend in Columbus, Ohio. She will graduate with a kinesiology degree next Thursday and will begin graduate school at the University of Minnesota this fall.

For the second time this season, the Gophers lost on a play at the plate.

Minnesota junior shortstop Michael Handel was thrown out at the plate to end Minnesota’s 2-1 loss to Milwaukee on Wednesday at Siebert Field. He was attempting to score on a wild pitch.

Wednesday’s game was Minnesota’s final nonconference tilt of the regular season. The Gophers finished that part of their schedule with a 17-12 record.

Minnesota lost to Indiana State in similar fashion March 15.