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FLORIDA

Women's Swimming

The #6 ranked University of Florida women's swimming and diving team notched 12 first place finishes this afternoon to defeat #10 University of Minnesota, 168-132. The Gators now stand at 2-0 (0-0, SEC) on the season and have defeated the Gophers twice in as many tries.

"I was really proud of the way that we swam all weekend," said head coach Gregg Troy. "It was a long weekend, lots of travel, but we raced a great team in Minnesota and we raced them tough." Florida began the afternoon with a second place showing in the 200 MR as Gemma Spofforth (West Sussex, England), Caroline Burckle (Louisville, Ky.), Elizabeth Kemp (Potomac, Md) and Stephanie Napier (Chattanooga, Tenn.) combined to finish the race in 1:44.25.

The Gators were quick to rebound as Laurabeth Guenthner (Wellington, Fla.) and Kim Larson (Longwood, Fla.) combined to finish first and second in the 1,650 free. Guenthner just out-touched her teammate, finishing the race in 16:32.00 while Larson finished with a time of 16:32.73, both earning a 'B' standard qualifying time in the process.

Burckle would team up with Natalie Pike (Boca Raton, Fla.) to win the second straight and second of third event for the Gators in the 200 free. Burckle touched the wall in 1:47.74, ahead of Pike who finished in 1:49.26.

"Caroline Burckle had great swims for us all weekend," said Troy. "She is really stepping up and is showing how strong she is." Spofforth and Samantha Vanderbilt (Nashville, Tenn.) continued to excel in the backstroke events as the tandem went on to earn the top two spots in the 100 back with times of 55.09 and 56.22 respectively.

"Gemma swam really well all weekend for us. Her swims were controlled and she really stepped up for us," said Troy. Florida would have to wait until the 50 free before they would find the wall first against the Gophers. Napier earned the victory in 23.29 seconds and was followed by Stacy Busack and Erin Holtmeyer of Minnesota. Colleen Healy (Cape Coral, Fla.) finished fourth for the Gators second best finish of the event.

The Gators would go on to place first in the next two events as Pike out-touched the Busack at the wall, winning the 100 free with a time of 51.25. Spofforth continued the win streak as she took first in the 200 back for the second straight meet with a time of 2:00.29.

Despite surrendering the top spot in the 200 breast, Florida regained the top spots in the 500 free. Led by Burckle with a 'B' standard qualifying time of 4:47.01, Florida earned the second and fifth place finishes as well. Guenthner took second with another 'B' time of 4:52.24 while Larson swam to fifth in 4:59.79. Kemp returned to the water to win the 100 butterfly in 55.79 while Julianne Lago (Miami, Fla.) took the second spot with a time of 56.03. Florida went on to close out the meet with a first place finish in the 400 FR. Kemp, Burckle, Pike and Napier finished 3.12 seconds ahead of Minnesota for the win.

On the diving boards it was once again Monica Dodson (Franklin, Ind.) who secured the win for Florida. Her total of 269.93 placed her just ahead of Whitney Stern (Safety Harbor, Fla.) in the three meter event. Jeniree Flores (San Cristobal Tachira, Venezuela) earned her first career win with a total of 267.38 points in the one meter event. Her total placed her ahead of Dodson who totaled 258.82 points and Stern who finished fourth with a total of 225.23 points. Florida will return home to face Michigan next weekend in what has been tabbed as Swimming World Magazine's Dual Meet of the Week. The Gators and Wolverines will hit the water Friday at 7:00 p.m. and will return Saturday at 10:00 a.m. for the remainder of the meet.

Men's Swimming

The University of Florida men's swimming and diving team came back to defeat the 2007 Big Ten Champion, University of Minnesota, 158-142 this afternoon at the Dorothy L. Sheppard pool, upping their season record to 2-0 (0-0 SEC).

The Gators trailed 92-77 but rallied at the end of the meet to take the top spots in the four of the final five events of the afternoon to earn the victory.

After leading 62-50 thanks to a 1-2-3 finish in the 200 butterfly, Minnesota returned to win two of the top three spots in the 50 freestyle but Daniel Penniman (Pensacola, Fla.) finished second with a time of 20.56 for the Gators and Jos Smith (Milledgeville, Ga.) earned the fourth place spot with a time of 20.95.

Florida rebounded and kicked off the first of their final four first place finishes when Roland Rudolf (Budapest, Hungary), Omar Pizon (Bogota, Colombia) and Rex Tullius (Port Orange, Fla.) turned in a dominating performance in the 200 back to cut the Gopher lead to 95-93. Rudolf earned the victory with a time of 1:44.17. Pinzon touched the wall in 1:46.38 while Tullius cruised into third with a time of 1:47.46. Clark Burckle (Louisville, Ky.) rode the wave of momentum into the 200 breast, finishing first with a time of 2:00.82 giving the Gators the lead for good. Bradley Ally (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) swam to a third place finish with a time of 2:02.55.

Tobias Work (Falmouth, Mass.) earned two victories on the afternoon, the second coming in the 500 free, winning the event in NCAA 'B' qualifying time of 4:26.80, falling just shy of his season best time of 4:26.68 that he swam just two days prior at Virginia. Work's first win of the day was in the 1,650 free, winning the event by over seven seconds with a time of 15:19.41, easily reaching the NCAA 'B' qualifying time. Cody Kauffman (Harrisburg, Pa.) joined Work in the winners circle, followed by Ryan Crete (Sarasota, Fla.) and Eric Shrestha (Tallahassee, Fla.), finishing the race with a time of 15:31.29 to also surpass the 'B' standard time.

Florida finished the 100 butterfly with two of the top three spots to their credit. Fraser and Hughes combined for the 1-2 punch for the Gators. Fraser swam to a 'B' standard time of 48.35 to take the victory while Hughes was right behind him with a time of 49.95. The two top spots helped Florida extend their lead to a meet high 17 points at 131-114.

Florida once again finished one-two in the 400 IM as Burckle came alive along with Pinzon to win the race in 3:55.33. Pinzon was right behind him, touching the wall in 3:56.04. Florida put stamped the meet when Rudolf came alive in the final stretch of the 600 FR to give the Gators the victory by just two one-hundreths of a second. The team of Penniman, Ally, Fraser and Rudolf finished with a time of 2:59.51. Rudolf swam the anchor leg of the race in 44.96, just out-touching Minnesota's Stephen Miller at the wall.

Head coach Donnie Craine's divers finished fourth and fifth in the three meter event. Aaron Leech (Newark, Del.) earned a total of 245.40 points while freshman Grayson Patten (West Palm Beach, Fla.) finished with 248.93 points. The Gators will return home following the win and will now look forward to facing Michigan next Friday at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center. Meet time is set for 7:00 p.m. on Friday and will continue on Saturday at 10:00 a.m.

Cross Country

While the team finishes weren't as high as in past year's Florida's men's and women's cross country teams had several individuals put in quality performances at the Pre-NCAA Invitational Saturday in Terre Haute, Ind. The best performance came from junior Jeremy Criscione (Interlachen, Fla), who broke a 14-year old school record in the race.

"Individually, Jeremy was really rolling. It is great to have him back" Head Coach Jeff Pigg said. "As a team, today's race shows us that we still have some work to do. We competed well today, but our goals are different than the have been the past couple years. In the past we have been trying to beat people in this race to get points, now we are working toward running our very best in the championship part of the season. That starts in two weeks. We want to be sharp for the SEC Championship, a little better at Regionals and running our best at the

NCAA Championship. I really like our state of mind right now." Criscione ran a career-best time of 23:38.3 to break the school 8K record that had been held by Keith Brantly with a time of 23:40.7 since 1983. He finished 12th overall and lead the Gators. Senior Enoch Nadler (Keystone Heights, Fla.) was less than a second off his career-best time with a 23:47.0 in the 8K race to finish 24th. Junior Jacy Kruzel (Cooper City, Fla.) was the top Gator women's finisher in 24th place overall with a time of 20:54.1 in her first 6K race of the season. Her time was the seventh-best 6K time in school history. Finishing this high at the NCAA Championship race in November would mean All-America status for each of these three athletes.

Sophomore Sean Blaney (Kissimmee, Fla.) finished the raced in 24:26.6 to cross the line in 97th place. Sophomore Justin Taylor (St. Augustine, Fla.) was Florida's fourth finisher in 105th overall with a time of 24:32.3, a new career best. Senior Jose Garcia (Miami, Fla.) rounded out Florida's scoring five in 111th with a time of 24:35.5. In his first race back as he is recovering from a foot injury, senior Steven Hassen (Ocala, Fla.) ran a 24:48.9 to finish 127th. Senior Jeremy Miller was Florida's final finisher, just a second behind Hassen in 129th place with a time of 24:49.9.

Freshman Rebecca Lowe (Vaucluse, Australia) continued her consistency for the Gators as the second finisher in 58th place overall in 21:19.8. Senior Lindsay Sundell (Fort Salonga, N.Y.) ran the 6K race in 21:24.8 to finish 69th. Junior Sara Petrick (Apollo Beach, Fla.) was Florida's fourth finisher in 84th place with a time of 21:34.2, a new career-best 6K time. Freshman Ali Crabb (St. Petersburg, Fla.) finished just behind Petrick with a time of 21:35.4 in 87th place to finish out the Gator scorers. Junior Kathryn Kramer (Tampa, Fla.) was the sixth finisher in 105th with a time of 21:49.1. Senior Kristen Johnson (Atlanta, Ga.) was the final Gator women's finisher with a time of 22:28.9 in 157th place. The Florida men finished 14th overall with 349 points in the white race.

Every team that finished ahead of the Gators was a ranked team. No. 21 UTEP took the team title with 129 points. Josh McDougal of Liberty won the individual title with a time of 22:56.4.

The women finished 10th with 322 points, ahead of No. 28 Georgia and Baylor and Stony Brook, who were both receiving votes. No. 8 Princeton won the women's race with 149 points. Jenny Barringer from Colorado took the women's white race individual title with a time of 19:48.3.

Complete race results from both men's and women's white and blue races are available online at www.gosycamores.com.

Florida begins the championship portion of the season on October 27 as the teams head to Lexington, Ky. for the 2007 SEC Championship.

Women's Golf

The sixth-ranked Florida women's golf team vaulted to the top of the leaderboard after registering the best team score during second-round play at the Mercedes-Benz Collegiate Classic Saturday. The Lady Gators overcame a four stroke first-round deficit to Arkansas, firing a 288 to hold a five-shot advantage heading into Sunday's final round over Purdue and the Razorbacks.

Two-time All-American and senior Sandra Gal (Leichlingen, Germany) fired another even round, carding a 71. Gal shot her seventh birdie of the tournament and would have found red numbers again if it wasn't for a bogey on her final hole. Gal remains in the hunt for her third career medal, only two strokes off the pace set by Alabama's Kathleen Ekey and sitting comfortably in second. Gal has posted rounds of even par or better in three rounds out of five attempts this season.

Senior Whitney Myers (East Berlin, Pa.) found red numbers with the team's best score on the day, a 1-under par 70. Myers registered the team's first eagle of the year on a par five on hole 11 while later tallying another birdie four holes later. Myers moved up to a tie for eighth place after beginning the day in 27th. Myers continues her strong season thus far and is primed for another top-10 finish after place fifth at the Wildcat Fall Invtiational.

Despite two bogeys on her last two holes, redshirt junior Ornella Jouven (La Ciotat, France) also helped herself in the standings by pulling up to a tie for 25th. Jouven improved her first-round tally by two shots and had four birdies on the day.

True freshman Jessica Yadloczky (Casselberry, Fla.) took a similar route and was one stroke from the pace of Jouven, scoring a 74. Unlike Jouven however, Yadloczky opened with two bogeys but battled back with a birdie and a rattled off a string of 12 consecutive pars. Tiffany Chudy (Miramar, Fla.) finished with a 79 in second-round play after shooting a 71 in first-round action. Chudy fell victim to three double bogeys despite two birdies in her final nine holes.

Redshirt freshman Nicole Schachner (Libertyville, Ill.) was able to improve her first-round score by seven strokes and has a two-round total of 159 heading into tomorrow. Schachner is competing individually and appearing in her first tournament of the year. Final-round action begins Sunday at 9 a.m. Live stats can be followed at www.golfstat.com.

Volleyball

Senior opposite hitter Amber McCray (Longview, Texas) fired a season-high 20 kills to lead the University of Florida volleyball team on Friday night, but the Gators dropped a five-game decision to Arkansas (29-31, 30-32, 30-20, 30-12, 18-20). UF (16-1, 9-1 Southeastern Conference) out-blocked Arkansas, who entered the match leading the league in blocks per game during SEC play, by a total of 15.5-11.0, while also winning the dig battle, 84-77. On the individual level, junior middle blocker Kelsey Bowers (Gainesville, Fla.) led all players with 10 total blocks to mark her second double-figure block effort of the year, and sophomore libero/defensive specialist Elyse Cusack (Melrose, Fla.) posted a match-high 27 digs.

"We had chances to win, but we let them go by the wayside," Florida head coach Mary Wise said. "I give credit to Arkansas for the way they played, and it just goes to show that the SEC isn't like it used to be. It's a tough loss, but there are things we can learn from it."

McCray's performance was fifth 20-kill showing of her career, and it came on a career-high 48 attempts. She also established a season high with six total blocks, falling just one shy of her career best. Senior outside hitter Marcie Hampton (Gainesville, Fla.) recorded 18 kills to go along with 10 digs, marking her 10th double-double of the season. She also ripped off a career-high four service aces to lead a Florida attack that picked up a dozen on the night.

Senior setter Angie McGinnis (Fraser, Mich.) posted a career-best eight total blocks on the night, while also leading all players with 59 assists. Freshman defensive specialist Erin Fleming (Orlando, Fla.) helped out with a personal-best 14 digs, while senior middle blocker Kisya Killingsworth (Deltona, Fla.) posted a season-best nine in addition to nine kills and six blocks. Hampton had two early kills in the tightly-contested early stages of game one, and UF took an 11-7 lead after consecutive block assists Killingsworth and McGinnis, forcing Arkansas to call its first timeout.

The Gators opened up a five-point lead, 15-10, on an ace by Killingsworth, and their lead increased to 20-13 before the Lady Razorbacks called their second timeout of the frame. After Arkansas battled back to tie the score at 21-21, Killingsworth and McCray combined on a block and freshman outside hitter Callie Rivers (Winter Park, Fla.) scored a kill to give UF a two-point edge. Wise called her second timeout of the game after Arkansas again tied the score, and the teams split the first six points after the break to make the score 27-27. McCray forced game point at 29-28 with her fifth kill of the night, but the Lady Razorbacks managed to tie the score on the next rally, and then took the next two points to claim the first game, 31-29. Hampton and McCray shared the team lead with five kills in the first game, while Killingsworth collected three blocks in the opener. Florida jumped out to a 3-1 lead in game two courtesy of a block assist by McGinnis and Bowers, and the margin increased to 6-3 on a block assist by Hampton and Bowers.

Arkansas fought back to take a 13-9 lead, but McCray responded with a kill to spark a 5-1 Florida run that knotted the score at 14-14. Back-to-back kills by Hampton and McCray gave UF a 17-16 lead, but the Lady Razorbacks came back yet again to take a 20-19 edge. Florida took the next two points to assume a 21-20 advantage, and, after an Arkansas timeout, Rivers and Hampton recorded consecutive kills to give the Orange and Blue a 23-21 lead. A series of Arkansas attack errors gave UF a 26-23 cushion, and McCray fired her 10th kill of the evening just minutes later to make the score 27-24 in favor of the visitors and prompt the Lady 'Backs to ask for their second timeout. Arkansas took the first three but back-to-back kills by McCray and Killingsworth forced game point at 29-27. Arkansas took the next two points to tie the score, and continued their run to win the second game, 30-32.

The Gators ripped off a 5-0 run to open game three on kills from Hampton, McGinnis and Rivers, and McCray's 14th kill of the night made the score 7-1 just minutes later. After Arkansas fought back to tie the score at 10-10, Killingsworth recorded a kill and Bowers and McGinnis teamed up on a pair blocks to power a 9-1 run that put Florida up by a score of 19-11. Two kills and an ace by redshirt freshman outside hitter Janine Williams (Gainesville, Fla.) made the score 25-16, and the Gators went up 10 shortly after, 27-17, on a double block by Hampton and Bowers. After Hampton's 13th kill of the night gave UF a game-point opportunity at 29-18, she closed it out with a tip over the Arkansas block to get Florida on the board, 30-20. Hampton led Florida to a .317 hitting percentage in the frame with five kills, and the Gators tallied four blocks to hold the Lady 'Backs to a .040 clip. Two kills and a block solo from McCray, and an ace by Hampton, helped Florida jump out to a 4-1 lead in game four, and Hampton culminated the Gators' frame-opening 8-1 run with the second ace of her serving turn.

The margin reached 10-3 on a double block by McCray and Killingsworth, and Williams, McGinnis and Killingsworth all teamed up on a rejection just three rallies later to run the Gators' lead out to 12-4. An ace by Killingsworth and a kill by Hampton made the score 19-8 in favor of the Orange and Blue, and Hampton's third ace of the game eventually pushed the margin to 23-10. Cusack ripped off back-to-back aces to increase Florida's lead to 27-11, and an Arkansas attack error ended the game four rallies later with the scoreboard reading 30-12 in favor of the visitors. The Gators hit .600 in the game and produced a season

single-game high seven aces to force a decisive game five. UF took a 4-1 lead in game five on the strength of a kill and an ace from Hampton and consecutive kills by Bowers, forcing Arkansas to take an early timeout. The Lady 'Backs took the first two points after the stoppage to pull within one, but kills by McCray and McGinnis helped UF stay in front with a 7-4 edge. McGinnis and Killingsworth came up with a double block to send the game to the midway point with Florida up 8-4, but Arkansas came back to pull within two at 9-7 and force UF to call its first timeout of the game. Killingsworth came up with a kill out of the break to make the score 10-7, and after Arkansas scored a point, Hampton and McGinnis reeled off back-to-back kills to run the lead to 12-8. McCray forced match point at 14-10 with a kill down the middle of the court, but the Lady 'Backs took the next two points to force a UF timeout with Florida leading, 14-12. Arkansas scored the first three points after the break to force match point, but McCray hammered the ball off of a defender to tie the match at 15-15. The Lady Razorbacks forced another match point on the next rally, but an Arkansas net violation knotted the score yet again. An Arkansas attack fell just out of the reach of the Gators to go to match point again, but the hosts were called for being in the net to extend the match. With Florida yet again facing elimination, Arkansas was called for a double hit to tie the score at 18-18, but Arkansas captured the next two points to take the game and the match, 20-18.

The Gators will return to action on Friday, Oct. 19, when they visit Auburn in a rematch of Florida's 3-0 win earlier this season at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center. Fans can catch the action on WRUF-AM 850, as well as www.GatorZone.com.

SOUTH FLORIDA

Women's Soccer

The University of South Florida women's soccer team will wrap up the home portion of their 2007 regular-season schedule this weekend with the annual senior game, held Sunday afternoon, Oct. 14, against St. John's at 1 p.m.

Prior to the game, at approximately 12:40 p.m., USF seniors Autumn Browning, Paulina McIntosh and Ashley Quaid will be recognized for their seasons with the Bulls.

McIntosh came to USF in 2004 from Boca Ciega High in St. Petersburg, Fla. To date, the defender has played 49 games for the Bulls, starting 28. Browning is a two-year player for the Bulls after transferring to USF from Southern Methodist University in 2006. She has recorded five goals and three assists in her 23 games at USF. Quaid has played four seasons over five years for USF, sitting out the 2006 season. Quaid has played 58 games, taking 27 shots, seven on goal.

About the Game

The Red Storm come into the game after a 1-0 loss to Marquette Friday night. St. John's is 3-3 in the BIG EAST, with victories over Syracuse (1-0), Pittsburgh (4-1), and DePaul (1-0). Krystle Jalalian has scored five goals and made two assists for St. John's this season, while Raelynne Lee and Kelly McConnell each have four goals with a pair of helpers. Jamie Beran and Rebecca Capinera share time in goal, as Beran has three victories in 535 minutes and Capinera is 5-2-0 in 681 minutes.

At the conclusion of the game, spectators will have the opportunity to get player and coach autographs down on the field.

Tickets to all USF home matches are $5 for adults, $3 for youth 16-and-under and $2 for groups of 10 or more. Call 1-800-GoBulls or visit www.GoUSFBulls.com for details.

Fans who cannot attend the game are invited to watch and listen to the Bulls on the USF Press Pass at www.GoUSFBulls.com . For the first time ever, USF has featured sideline-to-sideline coverage of every women's soccer match played at the USF Soccer Stadium throughout the 2007 season. During the Bulls' match-up with St. John's, USF Press Pass members can enjoy live video and listen to a live play-by-play broadcast with Jim Henderson. Live stats are also available for all matches on USF's website, through the "live stats" link. The unprecedented coverage is free to existing Press Pass subscribers. Visit GoUSFBulls.com for membership details.

Up Next For USF

USF concludes the 2007 season the same way it began - on the road. The Bulls head to the Midwest Oct. 19 and 21 to play Cincinnati and Louisville, then end the regular season with trips to West Virginia (Oct. 26) and Pittsburgh (Oct. 28).

FLORIDA STATE

Florida State swimming and diving began their season in style combining to go 5-1 in a quad meet against Alabama, Clemson and Georgia Tech in Atlanta, Ga.

The No. 7 Seminole women defeated all three teams handily to begin the season 3-0 overall, 2-0 in the ACC. The men beat Alabama and Georgia Tech with their only defeat coming against Clemson by eight points.

"I think we swam well, I'm excited with how we competed," said head coach Neil Harper. "We wanted to come to Georgia Tech and have a great experience and we did."

The star for the seventh ranked Seminole women was freshman Lowri Tynan. The newcomer from Wrexham, Clwyd, Wales was victorious 11 times in the four events she participated in including a sweep in the 100 breast (1:03.79) and 200 breast (2:21.04). Freshman Holly Mills also made an instant impact winning the 200 back in a time of 2: 01.93. Distance swimmer, junior Caroline Robertson won the 500 free (4:57.07) and finished second in the 1000 free (10:12.68). Sophomore Kylsie Grimes led a dominating Seminole performance in the 200 free with a winning time of 1: 51.79. Florida State took four out of the five top spots in the event including the top three.

"Top to bottom our team did really well," said Harper. "Caroline Robertson did a great job in the distance events and our freshman started out really strong."

On the men's side, defending one meter NCAA Champion sophomore Terry Horner began his title defense with a victory on the one meter board (388.85 ) and a second place finish on the three meter (310.40). In the pool it was junior Scott Baker who stood out with nine victories in his four events. The junior college transfer from Indian River Community College swept the 100 free (45.48) and took home two wins in the 50 free (20.55). The 15 th ranked Seminoles also had an impressive one-two-three finish in the 200 breast with sophomore Scott Thacker getting the victory with a time of 2: 05.64. Sophomore Nick Graves won the 1000 free (9:21.97) and finished second in the 500 free (4:35.67).

"I thought that Scott Baker was really strong," said Harper. "Our breaststroke events were solid and in the distance evens Nick Graves and Ian Rowe did great."

Next up for the Seminoles is a home meet, with the men and women taking on Florida A&M and the women also facing conference foe Miami.

Cross Country

Behind sophomore All-American Susan Kuijken 's best 6k time to date (19:56) Florida State dominated the competition at NCAA Pre-Nationals, finishing second behind No.1-ranked Stanford. Led by senior Mark Buckingham , the Seminole men also had a good performance to finish 14th.

"What the women did today was nothing short of spectacular," said head coach Bob Braman . "Coming in second behind the reigning national champions is just-you can't describe it as anything but spectacular. Susan did exactly what she had to do to win and it was just a real exciting race for the ladies."

Kuijken, who is undefeated this season with three first-place victories, outran her nearest competition by a full five seconds, scoring the first of the Seminoles' 123 points. After tying the defending champs at the race's halfway point, Florida State finished just 21 points behind Stanford. Among the other teams left in the Seminoles' wake were No. 4 Minnesota, No. 7 Rice, No. 9 Michigan State and ACC rivals No. 16 Boston College.

Senior Barbara Parker crossed the line in 20:39 to finish second for the Seminoles as she notched an 11th-place finish in her first race of the season. Sophomore Hannah England finished next at 14th, with a time of 20:44. Senior Debbie Huss scored fourth with a 35th-place 21:02 mark and freshman Pilar McShine rounded off the Seminoles' top five in 62nd with a time of 21:22. All five set personal bests in the 6k race.

The men's team also set a number of personal records at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course.

"Five of our top six finishers for the men ran their lifetime bests today," said Braman. "I'm very pleased with the guys' effort and we feel pretty good about where we are, having knocked off a couple of ranked teams."

Buckingham, Florida State's top scorer for the men, crossed the line in 28th place at 23:52, setting a personal-best and tying former Seminole Tom Lancashire for the fourth-fastest 8k time in school history. Sophomore Daniel Roberts finished next in 63rd with a time of 24:14, followed by junior Steeve Gabart in 66th (24:15), freshman Matt Leeder in 87th (24:31) and junior Nick Sunseri in 105th (24.42).

Among the teams who finished behind the men were No. 22 Villanova, No. 27 Washington, conference rivals Clemson and in-state rivals Florida.

Following a week off, Florida State will travel to Charlottesville, Va. Oct. 27 to compete in the ACC Championships before starting preparations for the NCAA South Region Championships in Gainesville, Fla. Nov. 10. The Seminoles will return to Terre Haute for the NCAA Championships Nov. 19.

UNIVERSITY OF TAMPA

Women's Soccer

The homefield domination continued for the fourth-ranked University of Tampa women's soccer team as it defeated Covenant College to run its unbeaten streak at Pepin Field to 42 games. The UT victory was 3-1 as the Spartans improved to 12-1-1 on the season as the Scots fell to 7-3-3.

Tampa registered a pair of goals in the first half, beginning with an Ashley Flateland shot that was lofted over the goalkeeper. The first UT goal was assisted by leading scorer Shelby Kuni at just over two minutes into the match. The Spartans stretched their lead to 2-0 on a Martha Bromfield goal at 23:07 from Alison Penland.

Covenant got on the board with a Rebecca Sasscer goal from Jenny Carter at 62:44. UT then put the match out of reach with a Brittney Evans goal from Marissa Mohammed at 87:43.

The Spartans are back in action at home on Wednesday as it hosts #20 Saint Leo in a Sunshine State Conference matchup at 7 p.m.

Men's Soccer

The University of Tampa men's soccer team (8-4, 4-2 SSC) defeated the Moccasins of Florida Southern (5-7, 2-5 SSC) by a score of 3-2 in Sunshine State Conference play on Saturday.

Tampa sophomore Pascal Milien scored the first goal of the match in the 30th minute, hitting a driven shot into the right side of the net to give the Spartans the 1-0 lead. The goal marks his first of the season, and the first of his Spartan career. Carlos Mora scored his second goal of the season two minutes later to put Tampa up 2-0 heading into half time.

Florida Southern came out of the half strong, scoring its first goal of the match in the 58th minute when Ryan Wolfe tucked a ball into the bottom right corner, cutting Tampa's advantage to 2-1. Patrick Dandanell put the Mocs back on terms in the 62nd minute, taking a cross from Philippe Moreira and putting it neatly past the Tampa keeper to level the match at 2-2.

Clevon George scored the eventual game-winner in the 77th minute, heading a cross from Milien past the Southern keeper to give Tampa the 3-2 lead. The goal, George's sixth of the season, moves him back into a tie with Ricardo Cardoso for the team lead.

Milien led the way for the Spartans offensively, scoring the first goal of his career and assisting on George's game-winner. Kevin St. John earned his eighth win of the campaign in goal for Tampa, allowing two goals and making two saves.

The Spartans return to the pitch on Tuesday at home against St. Thomas. Kickoff is scheduled for 4 pm.

Women's Swimming

The University of Tampa men's and women's swimming team each triumphed in their respective season openers, defeating Florida Southern. The Spartan women won 179-93 as the men were victorious 195-113.

Both Spartan teams began the meet with first and second place performances in the 200 Medley Relay as the women's team of Ellie Eshleman, Marissa Mumford, Kim Tench and Stephanie Branham took first with a time of 1:52.75. The men's team of Kyle Merritt, Michael Lewis, Mike Lewis and Greg Cerrato won with a time of 1:39.39.

UT's men picked up individual first-place finishes by Tyler Furrer (1,000 Free, 9:44.26), Cerrato (50 Free, 22.39), Paul LaPorta (200 IM, 2:04.57), Mike Lewis (100 Fly, 52.70), Blaine Bess (100 Free, 48.55) and Merritt (100 Back, 53.85).

The Spartan women accounted for six winning races, including Allison Vetter (100 Back, 1:04.03), Jessie Bardin (200 Free, 1:55.43), Branham (50 Free, 25.43), Hannah Hudson (100 Free, 56.34), Jennifer Jenkins (200 IM, 2:18.10) and Tench (100 Fly, 1:02.05).

Tampa is back in action on Friday, October 26 as it hosts Savannah College at 3:30 p.m.

Visit tampaspartans.com for the latest news and info on Spartans Athletics.

SAINT LEO

Women's Soccer

The No. 20 Saint Leo University women's soccer team (12-2, 5-1 SSC) came back from a 1-0 half-time deficit to defeat visiting Lynn University (7-7, 2-4 SSC) by a score of 3-1 on Saturday evening in a Sunshine State Conference match. The Lions stretched their winning streak to nine matches with the victory and moved to first-place in the SSC standings with 15 points from six matches.

Saint Leo got second half goals from Stacey Rodwell (Fr., Southport, England), Dari Alcantara (Fr., Tampa, Fla.) and Bridgett Godwin (Jr., Ocean Springs, Miss.) to cancel out Molly Anderson's first half goal for the visitors.

Lynn opened the scoring in the 12 th minute when a one-two down the right wing allowed Sarah Mendelsberg to send a cross into the area. Anderson met the pass with a perfect header and provided the breakthrough goal for the Fighting Knights.

The Lions emerged from the half-time locker room with an urgency that helped the find the equalizer in the 58 th minute. Godwin's cross was met by Rodwell whose looping header went beyond the reach of Lynn goalkeeper Jennifer Shropshire to bring the teams level at 1-1.

Saint Leo continued to attack and in the 70 th minute, a corner kick from Sara Macko (So., Valrico, Fla.) was headed home by Alcantara who rose above the defenders in the Lynn penalty area and scored her sixth goal of the season. The go eventually proved to be the game-winner.

The Lions added a third goal in the 84 th minute when midfielder Evelina Viiri (Jr., Heby, Sweden) split the defense with a through ball. Godwin latched onto the pass and slotted beyond Shropshire to provide the final margin.

Saint Leo will face the fourth-ranked University of Tampa Spartans on Wednesday night in Tampa, Fla. at 7:00 p.m. The match will feature two of the top teams in the SSC and will be broadcast live on the Internet on the Saint Leo Athletics Audiocast Network. Visit SaintLeoLions.com for "Listen Live" links.

Volleyball

The Saint Leo University volleyball team (20-7) moved within two wins of the single-season record for victories with a 3-1 win over the University of West Georgia (21-8) on Saturday afternoon at the Bowman Center. The Lions won their fifth match in a row and finished the weekend 3-0 with game scores of 30-17, 26-30, 30-23 and 30-21.

Saint Leo setter Michelle Nogueras (So., Cayey, Puerto Rico) had her second straight triple-double, and fifth of the season with 41 assists, 11 digs and 10 kills. Junior middle blocker Emily Frey (Jr., Mason, Ohio) had a career-high 14 kills, as she hit .522 and added seven blocks and five digs in the win. Chelsea Armer (So., San Jose, Calif.) added 12 kills for the Lions.

The Lions cruised victory in game one, but the Wolves battled back to even the match with a 30-26 win in game two. SLU closed game three with a 14-7 run to take a 2-1 lead in the match, and then sealed the win with a key 9-1 run midway through game four.

SLU outhit UWG .259 to .100, and had 13 team blocks compared to seven for the Wolves. Carolin Schoeneck led the visitors with a game-high 15 kills.

Saint Leo will return to Sunshine State Conference action on Wednesday when the Lions travel to Lakeland, Fla. to face Florida Southern College at 7:00 p.m.

Men's Soccer

The Saint Leo University men's soccer team (7-4-2, 3-3 SSC) fell 5-1 to the visiting No. 11 Lynn University Fighting Knights (13-1, 5-1 SSC) on Saturday night in a Sunshine State Conference match at University Field.

Lynn midfielder Nano Short scored two goals and added an assist to lead the Knights to their fourth straight win. The Knights also got a goal two assists from striker Dwight Barnett. Saint Leo got its lone goal from striker Eusebio Montoya (Jr., Smithfield, N.C.), as he scored his 11 th goal of the season to move into a tie for the team lead.

The Lions had two early scoring opportunities, but a pair of Brandon Whitsett (Jr., Palm Harbor, Fla.) efforts were saved by Lynn 'keeper Tim Melia. Short then opened the scoring in the match in the 19 th minute, taking a pass from Tyrell Burgess and unleashing a ferocious drive from 25-yards that went beyond the outstretched arms of Saint Leo goalkeeper Sam Luedke (Sr., Deltona, Fla.) and into the net for a 1-0 Lynn lead.

After the half-time break, Barnett made it 2-0 with his team-leading 13 th goal of the campaign. He took a long pass from Short and then chipped Luedke as he came to cut down the angle. Short then scored his second goal of the match in the 75 th minute with another strike from distance.

Lynn had seemingly iced the match in the 81 st minute when Kyle Conrad scored off a through ball from Barnett. However, Whitsett set up Montoya for the Lions' lone strike just over a minute later to make it a 4-1 game. Burgess wrapped up the scoring in the 86 th minute to provide the final margin, as Lynn knocked off Saint Leo for the third straight time.

Saint Leo will face Florida Southern College in a Sunshine State Conference match at home on Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m.

[Last modified October 14, 2007, 02:07:25]