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Colleges
© St. Petersburg Times, published December 6, 2002
TAMPA -- The South Florida volleyball team's appearance in the Conference USA championship match was its fifth in the eight-year history of the league tournament. But few journeys through the brackets have been tougher than in 2002.
Even though their 9-2 record in 11 tournament games doesn't show it, the Bulls (29-6) had to fight for each victory. After topping Houston in the first round at DePaul University in Chicago, USF had to battle Cincinnati. The Bearcats pushed the Bulls in each game, but USF managed a 30-25, 27-30, 33-31, 30-19 win. Senior hitter Michelle Collier had 31 kills and 11 digs, Shameka Mitchell and Bonnye Glover combined for 27 kills, and setter Alessandra Domingos posted 66 assists and 12 digs.
The team fared better in the championship match, defeating Louisville 30-27, 30-24, 30-20. The win not only earned the Bulls their third C-USA tournament title (1995, 1996), but avenged their loss to the Cardinals in the regular-season finale.
More important, the league crown guaranteed the Bulls a trip to the NCAA tournament, which tips off today in Gainesville against Florida State at 5 p.m. Host Florida plays Central Florida at 7. The winners will meet at 7 p.m. Saturday. Of the four teams in the region, Florida is the only one USF didn't face this season.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: The Bulls captured the championship of its own Best Western Roundball Classic on Sunday with an 80-66 win over Birmingham Southern.
USF used its best shooting performance of the season (29-for-61) and a 9-for-16 effort from the 3-point line to put BSU away. In their first game of the tournament, the Bulls won 66-59 in overtime against Bethune-Cookman despite letting a 13-point halftime lead slip away.
Sonia Cotton led the Bulls with 21 points and 12 rebounds against Birmingham Southern. Against BCC, Cotton was one of four Bulls in double figures. She scored 16 to go along with Tristen Webb's 21, Alana Tanksley's 16 and Jameelah Trimble's 12. USF plays at Florida State on Saturday.
"I was very pleased," coach Jose Fernandez said after the Birmingham Southern game. "I think today, offensively, was definitely our best game of the year. I thought we got out and we ran and we filled lanes. Birmingham Southern is a very good and structured team."
CROSS COUNTRY: Christa Benton finished 40th at the NCAA championships Monday at Indiana State University in Terre Haute. Benton, who ran the 6,000-meter course in 20 minutes, 35.6 seconds, recorded the best finish ever by a USF women's participant. During the season, Benton, a sophomore, recorded three first-place finishes (Bulldog Stampede, Florida Intercollegiate/Gator Invitational and Auburn Invitational) and three third-place finishes (Indiana Open, C-USA Championships and NCAA south region). Her time at the championships was a personal best. On the men's side, senior Andrew Smith closed his career by finishing 117th on the 10,000-meter course in 31:17. Smith recorded two first-place finishes this season (Indiana Open and C-USA Championships) and three second-place finishes (Bulldog Stampede, Florida Intercollegiate/Gator Invitational and Auburn Invitational).
WOMEN'S GOLF: Mary Calderon from Lake Highland Prep in Orlando and Kylene Pulley from Western High in Kokomo, Ind., have signed with USF.
Calderon led Lake Highland to a second-place finish in the Class 2A state tournament this season and was named honorable mention on the American Junior Golf Association team. Pulley is a three-time all-state performer and led her team to a second-place finish in the Indiana state tournament. Pulley finished third among individuals.
USF has reached the NCAA tournament the past two seasons.