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© St. Petersburg Times, published March 1, 2002
TAMPA -- The Tampa men's basketball team wrapped up its regular season last week with wins against Eckerd and Rollins, earning the Spartans their first Sunshine State Conference regular-season championship in four years.
Gecarri Freeman was a big reason why.
Freeman, a senior forward, averaged 18.5 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals per game. His big game came in the win against Rollins when he scored 27 points, 17 in the first half. He also hit 10 of 19 field goals and six of 13 3-pointers.
MEREUS OUT: Forward James Mereus likely won't play in the conference tournament, which begins today, due to a foot injury suffered in the season finale against Rollins.
Mereus broke the foot earlier this season and missed 11 games. Mereus, a 6-foot-8, 235-pound junior, averaged 10.9 points and 5.6 rebounds per game this season and is expected to return should the Spartans qualify for the NCAA South Region tournament, which begins March 7.
SOFTBALL: The Spartans returned from last week's Valdosta State tournament with four wins and a perfect record (8-0) still intact. UT has allowed just 11 runs in eight games with two shutouts along the way. Stephanie McKenzi, Kristin Law, Lacinda Norman and Kristen Abbott have been the offensive leaders. McKenzi leads all Spartans with a .588 batting average. Law is batting .550, and Norman and Abbott are hitting .444 and .379, respectively. The foursome has combined for 47 hits, 7 doubles, 3 triples and 18 RBIs in eight games.
Christy Exizian has led from the mound. She has a 4-0 mark, a 1.01 ERA and 23 strikeouts. Law has been effective as the Spartans' No. 2 pitcher, posting a 3-0 record and a 0.51 ERA.
UT is at the North Florida tournament in Jacksonville this weekend and opens Sunshine State Conference play March 9 at Florida Tech.
WOMEN'S TENNIS: UT lost 9-0 to Florida Southern on Feb. 21 and followed that with a 9-0 loss to Rollins on Feb. 23.
However, the Spartans rebounded to defeat Saint Leo 9-0 on Wednesday. Now 2-5, UT has three consecutive road matches, playing against Fort Valley State and Albany State this weekend in Macon, Ga., and at Central Florida Community College on Sunday.