TAMPA - After a four-game losing streak, the basketball team posted its first victory in three weeks with a 74-63 decision over Nova Southeastern on Saturday in Fort Lauderdale.
Sophomore guard Mark Borders led the Spartans, producing a career-best 33 points. He had three rebounds and two assists and is the first UT player to score that many since the 2002 season.
Senior forward James Mereus had 20 points. Guard Earnest Williams and forward Matt Klimkoski combined for 17. Klimkoski, who has been nursing a sore knee, played 29 minutes.
Though out of contention for the SSC regular-season title, UT is trying to position itself for next month's conference tournament at Rollins.
At 13-9, 4-5 in the league, the Spartans have five regular-season games left, beginning with Wednesday's home meeting with Saint Leo. They end the season Feb.25 at home against rival Florida Southern. In between, UT plays at Rollins and Lynn and entertains Florida Tech.
BASEBALL: A trip to Milledgeville, Ga., last weekend was not pleasant. The Spartans opened a three-game series against Georgia College and State by losing a doubleheader 11-0 and 5-4.
Ranked second in NCAA Division II by Collegiate Baseball magazine last week, UT salvaged the trip with an 8-2 win over the No.16 Bobcats. Casey McKenzie picked up the decision, allowing three hits and striking out six in seven-plus innings. The frustrated Spartans scored eight runs in the eighth. Eric Thompson sparked the attack with two hits and an RBI.
UT hosts Rollins tonight at 7 and meets Lynn in a three-game home series beginning Saturday.
VOLLEYBALL: Ania Ruiz and Gretchen Naruta have been named to the Daktronics Division II All-American squad. Ruiz, a 5-foot-11 outside hitter, and Naruta, a 5-7 setter, are seniors.
Ruiz, a four-time All-Sunshine State Conference performer, was a first-team All-American. She had 431 kills and a .336 hitting percentage, leading UT (31-4) to its second straight NCAA elite eight. Naruta, who averaged 13.5 assists, was selected for the third team.
ACADEMICS: UT placed 40 fall student athletes on the SSC Commissioner's Honor Roll, finishing third among the league's eight schools. The Spartans were led by women's soccer, which had 15 members selected and posted a 3.2 GPA for the fall semester.
