Practice rounds continue at the TPC at Deere Run heading into Thursday’s start of the John Deere Classic in the Quad Cities. Defending champion Sepp Straka says it is a market that takes great pride in hosting a PGA Tour event.

Straka says it will take a low score to successfully defend his title.

Nate Heise says the chance to play on a bigger stage is why he decided to transfer to Iowa State. Heise spent the past four years at Northern Iowa and led the Panthers in scoring at 13-and-a-half points per game this past season before making the decision to enter the transfer portal.

Summer workouts are underway in Ames and Heise is trying to carve out a roll on a team that has its top four scorers returning from a team that made it to the Sweet-16 of the NCAA Tournament.

Heise says his experience has helped with the transition.

Heise says the chance to join a team that will likely be top five in the preseason polls was intriguing.

Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger felt Heise was a good fit for the program.

Otzelberger feels Heise will be a factor at both ends of the court.

Iowa State sophomore Milan Momcilovic hopes to take his game to another level next season. The six-eight native of Wisconsin was named to the Big 12 All-Freshman after averaging just under 11 points per game and shooting 36 percent from three point range. The Cyclones are going through summer workouts in Ames.

As he said in the above cut Momcilovic wants to be more of a play maker next season.

Momcilovic wants to be more of a factor on the glass.

Momcilovic says strength and condition is a big part of their summer program.

The AHSTW Lady Vikes softball team had a 2-0 victory over the CAM Cougars Monday night in the form of a pitching a duel. Starting Lady Vikes pitcher Etta Partlow was unrelenting retiring the first 3 CAM batters in the top of the 1st. The Cougar’s Ailey Wahlert had a similar response striking out 2 batters and giving up no hits in the bottom of the 1st. This form of pitching tug of war keeping the game at 0-0 finally broke at the bottom of the 5th inning. Bella Lamp started the 5th with a double towards left field. She then successfully stole third and came home off of a sac fly from Graycen Partlow to put AHSTW up 1-0. CAM was ready to respond in the top of the 6th as they had runners on third and second with two outs. But the inning ended with a line fly ball out in right field. Then in the bottom of the 6th the Lady Vikes added on to their lead with a run scoring in from an infield error. AHSTW secured the lead at 2-0 and put away the Cougars in the top of the 7th to hold on for the win.

Emma Follman for the Cougars stuck out with her 2-3 performance at the plate. Etta Partlow though had another solid night pitching 7 innings, with 6 strikeouts, 5 hits, no runs, and no walks. AHSTW Head Coach Katie Pace commended the way her pitcher battled throughout the night.

Games between CAM and the Lady Vikes can be a little more sentimental than other matchups with the history between these two programs.

The win pushes AHSTW to 15-8 on the year with their next game at Harlan on Wednesday night. Coach Pace is looking to see energy from tonight’s game carry into Wednesday’s.

The Cougars drop to 11-9 with the loss and travel to Nodaway Valley on Tuesday.

IOWA CITY, Iowa — University of Iowa fifth-year senior Jay Higgins has been named a 2024 Walter Camp Preseason First-Team All-American, it was announced Monday by the Walter Camp Foundation.

It is Higgins’ third preseason honor as he was also selected as a preseason first-team All-American by Phil Steele and Athlon. He was also named the Phil Steele Preseason Defensive Player of the Year.

The Hawkeyes had three Walter Camp All-Americans in 2023 (Cooper DeJean, Tory Taylor, Higgins) and the program has had at least one Walter Camp All-American in each of the last 10 years (dating back to 2014).

The Indianapolis native started at middle linebacker in all 14 games in 2023, leading the team with 171 tackles (79 solo, 92 assists).  The figure tied an Iowa single season school record, led the Big Ten and ranked third nationally.   He finished with 15+ tackles in three games and 10+ tackles in 10 contests.

Higgins earned All-America distinction from eight different outlets a season ago and was Iowa’s Roy Carver Most Valuable Player on defense for a unit that ranked fourth nationally, surrendering 14.8 points per game.

The Hawkeyes open the 2024 season Aug. 31, hosting Illinois State at 11 a.m. (CT) inside Kinnick Stadium.

OTTAWA, CANADA – University of Iowa graduate Cloé Lacasse (‘14) was named to the Canadian women’s national team on Monday. Lacasse will compete at the 2024 Paris Olympics from July 25 to Aug. 10.

The Ontario, native, becomes the first Iowa women’s soccer product to compete at Olympics.

“Congratulations to Cloe on a monumental achievement,” said Head Coach Dave DiIanni. “This is truly an example of her commitment and perseverance to develop, grow and challenge the environments she has been put in along the way as a professional soccer player in order to accomplish her most lofty goals.

“We are so proud of her, as she represents Iowa Soccer with the utmost class and excellence.”

Lacasse is one of six forwards selected to join the 18-player roster. Formerly a two-time All-Big Ten First Team honoree, Lacasse currently plays for Women’s Super League club Arsenal in the United Kingdom.

Canada is one of 12 participating nations at this year’s Olympic Games. The Canadian women’s national team won gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and is the only squad to have reached the podium in each of the last three Olympic Games.

Hawkeye history is nothing new for Lacasse, who was part of the first NCAA Tournament qualifying team in program history during the 2013 season. Lacasse is tied for first in Iowa program history for career points (112) and sits atop the Hawkeye record book in career shots (306).

AMES, Iowa – Iowa State wide receivers Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel, defensive lineman J.R. Singleton and defensive back Beau Freyler will represent the Cyclones at Big 12 Football Media Day on July 9 in Las Vegas.

Iowa State’s top two leaders in receptions, receiving yards and touchdown receptions a year ago, Higgins and Noel form one of the league’s most exciting pass-catching duos. Noel hauled in 66 passes for 820 yards and seven scores while Higgins tallied 983 yards and six touchdowns on 53 receptions.

Higgins, a South Miami, Fla. native, comes off a season where he averaged 18.5 yards per catch, the seventh-best single-season average in school history, and was second in the Big 12 averaging 75.6 receiving yards per game.

Noel’s impact was felt beyond the offensive side of the ball last season. He became the first FBS player since 2014 to have four 50-plus yard receptions, two 50-yard kick returns and two 30-yard punt returns in a season. His 66 catches were the seventh-most in a single season in school history and the fourth-most among Big 12 players in 2023.

Singleton turned in his best season as a Cyclone a year ago, playing in all 13 games with eight starts. He logged 22 tackles and a career-best 3.5 sacks and eight quarterback hurries.

A Second Team All-Big 12 selection by the Associated Press last season, Freyler led the ISU defense with 107 tackles, tied for fourth among Big 12 players, to become the first Cyclone to reach 100 tackles in a season since 2017. The Colorado Springs, Colo. native also had three interceptions and five pass breakups.

Big 12 Football Media Days run July 9-10 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

LONDON – The University of Iowa women’s rowing team qualified for the Henley Royal Regatta this past week. Iowa’s Varsity Eight will compete in the Island Challenge Cup and the Varsity Four will compete in the Princess Grace Challenge Cup.

Iowa’s V8 will take on Edinburgh University in the first round of the Island Challenge Cup on Wednesday. Iowa’s V4 will race Twickenham R.C. & Trentham B.C on Thursday. Times for these races are still to be determined.

For more information on draws, race times, and live streaming: https://www.hrr.co.uk/.

First held in 1839, the event has been held annually ever since, with the exception of the years affected by the two World Wars and the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally staged by the mayor and people of Henley as a public attraction with a fair and other amusements, the emphasis rapidly changed so that competitive amateur rowing became its main purpose. The Regatta took place on a single afternoon but proved so popular with oarsmen that the racing lasted for two days from 1840. Today, the regatta is staged for six days, ending on the first Sunday in July.

The Henley Royal Regatta is “the most prestigious regatta in the world,” according to its website. Races are held on the River Thames, one of London’s main attractions.

QUOTING HEAD COACH JEFF GARBUTT

“I could not be more proud of this group of Hawkeyes. They have handled every challenge that has been thrown their way this year. Being able to travel for the last two weeks and preparing for the weekend ahead has been a privilege to watch. This group has done a wonderful job bonding and growing over these past few weeks. To have both boats qualify for the Henley Royal Regatta is a special thing, anyone who has experienced this level of racing in England understands that.”