FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Illinois sophomore Andrew Riley broke his own school record to advance to the finals of the 60-meter hurdles at the NCAA Indoor track meet Friday.

Riley finished second in his heat with a time of 7.61 seconds. It was the third-fastest time among the qualifiers.

"It was a great race for Andrew, but he's still got a lot left in there, so he's not done yet," Illinois interim head coach Mike Turk said. "He still can clean it up a little bit, so he will be right in the thick of it. Out of the guys in there that I saw, Andrew has got the most left in him. We will just have to see how he does, but he is feeling good and healthy, so we will just go and let it rip."

The hurdles final is at 6:30 p.m. today. Riley will try to become the first two-time Indoor All-American hurdler at Illinois. He was sixth in 2009.

In women's track & field:

Robinson edged out of final. Illinois junior Tamika Robinson ran a personal-best time in the 60 hurdles but just missed earning a berth in the finals at the NCAA Indoor meet.

Robinson's time actually tied for seventh, joining three others at 8.22. To break the tie, times were taken to the thousandths, and Robinson was .008 out of a qualifying spot.

"We were hoping (for Tamika) to get All-America status and make it to the finals, but she ran a personal best, so you can't ask for more than that," Illinois coach Tonja Buford-Bailey said. "She ran the fastest race of her life and did the best she could. It is great to see her as one of the top-10 fastest in the country after just starting to run the hurdles last season."

Two Illini will compete today. Aja Evans is in the shot put and Angela Bizzarri will run the 3,000.

In softball:

Illini improve to 15-1. Monica Potter struck out eight and allowed five hits in a 7-0 win against New Mexico at the Children's Hospital Invitational in Columbia, Mo. No. 21 Illinois, now 15-1, was scheduled to play San Diego State in a later game, but it got rained out.

Against New Mexico, outfielder Hope Howell was 3 for 4 and second baseman Danielle Zymkowitz was 2 for 3 with three runs scored.

"It was a great performance from Monica and (catcher) Audrey Gallien," Illinois associate head coach Donna DiBiase said. "To get a shutout and keep an aggressive swinging team in check took a solid outing by the two of them. We played consistent defense, and offensively we executed."

In baseball:

Late rally powers upset. Illinois went 1-1 at the Caravelle Resort Classic at Conway, S.C. No doubt, the game the Illini will be talking about is the first one.

Casey McMurray tied the game against No. 12 Coastal Carolina with a three-run homer in the seventh. The Illini scored three more in the top of the ninth to beat the Chanticleers 11-10.

In an earlier game, Lipscomb rallied for an 8-6 win against the Illini.

"We were getting hammered pretty good by Coastal, but our guys didn't quit and (reliever Kevin) Manson did a good job of keeping us in it," Illinois coach Dan Hartleb said. "If you look at the first game, we were poor out of the bullpen. Then, you look at Game 2 and we were very, very good out of the bullpen. We're learning and getting better."

Against Coastal Carolina, Illinois' Nos. 4-7 hitters went 11 for 18 with 10 RBI. Mike Sterk picked up the win with two scoreless innings.

Will Strack allowed four hits and no earned runs in seven-plus innings against Lipscomb. But his defense let him down, the Illini allowing three unearned runs while he was on the mound. Lipscomb scored eight runs in the final two innings.

In women's tennis:

Illini stop Hoosiers. Illinois picked up its first Big Ten win of the season, defeating No. 28 Indiana 6-1.

Illinois swept the doubles matches and clinched the win with a singles victory by Leigh Finnegan.