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Compiled from school press releases
Published March 3, 2008

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SOUTH FLORIDA

Baseball

Bulls Unable To Buck Cowboys

TAMPA - The University of South Florida Bulls dropped their last game of the week with a 13-3 loss to the No. 21 Oklahoma State Cowboys. "Before we got here today, we weren't ready mentally and I think that hurt us," said head coach Lelo Prado. "We're a young club and if we don't come to play every day we're going to lose the game."

The Bulls fall to 3-3 on the year and the Oklahoma State Cowboys advance to 7-1. The Bulls' early surge of offense came in the second inning as junior Chris Rey singled to left field. In the next at bat, junior Brandon Smith crushed a two-run home run over the right field fence. The home run gave the Bulls a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second. After freshman pitcher Randy Fontanez got USF out of a tough bases-loaded situation with a strikeout, the Bulls continued their explosive offense in the bottom of the third. Junior Brian Hobbs hit a solo shot to right field, his first of the year, extending the Bulls' lead to 3-0. The Cowboys then came up with 13 runs over the next three innings, and added one more in the eighth to take the 14-3 win.

The Bulls' pitching staff, once again, showed some young faces Sunday afternoon. The Bulls threw six rookies, opening the game with freshman Randy Fontanez, who had another superb outing, allowing no earned runs and striking out six batters in 3.2 innings. Fontanez (0-1), who tossed 43 strikes in his 75-pitch outing, was tagged with the loss. USF returns to Red McEwen Field Tuesday to play Florida Gulf Coast at 7 p.m.

"We have got to be ready for FGCU," added Prado. "They're good and they have a lot of guys from Tampa, so they'll come out motivated and ready to beat us."

The Bulls then take their first road trip of the year on Wednesday, heading to Daytona Beach for one game against the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats. The game is slotted for a 6 p.m. first pitch. The Bulls wrap up their five-game week with a three-game weekend set against Savannah State, March 7-9. The Bulls will play Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 1:00 p.m.

Softball

Olnick Homer Lifts Bulls Past No. 24 Hokies

TUCSON , Ariz. - A three-run home run by Cat Olnick and a timely pitching performance by Courtney Mosch led the Bulls to a 6-1 victory over the No. 24-ranked Virginia Tech Hokies on the final day of the Hillenbrand Tournament in Tucson , Ariz.

"I'm proud of the way our team came together to get this win over one of the top teams in the country, Virginia Tech," said assistant coach Amber Wright. "It was an outstanding team effort and Courtney Mosch was solid on the mound as she has been all year."

The victory marked the second time the Bulls have defeated a ranked opponent on the 2008 season. They downed the then No. 4/5 Tennessee Volunteers earlier in the season. The Bulls are now 10-8 while Virginia Tech falls to 12-6. The Bulls jumped out to an early lead against the Hokies when senior Mosch doubled to deep left center scoring junior Britta Giddens who singled to lead off the game. With two on and one out, sophomore Cat Olnick sent a Heather Lowry change-up into the left field stands scoring senior Kit Dunbar and Mosch. The home run was Olnick's first on the season and second of her career.

USF lit-up Lowry for four runs in a third of an inning before being pulled in favor of Angela Tincher. Lowry came into the weekend with a 5-0 record and a 0.34 ERA. On USF's side, Mosch was impressive in the circle against Virginia Tech going the distance, striking out nine and only allowing two hits. The win brings her record to 7-3 on the season. Senior Kit Dunbar made a highlight-reel catch in the top of the sixth when, running full speed to her right, she laid-out, full extension, to rob Kelsey Hoffman of extra bases. Wright added, "This tournament allowed us to revive our offense and hopefully get the Bulls going in the Under Armour Invitational next weekend."

USF will return to the diamond on Thursday, March 6 when they take on the Maine Black Bears at noon and the St. Joe's Hawks at 2:30 p.m. on the first day of the USF Under Armour Invitational. Log on to www.GoUSFBulls.com for complete coverage of the Invitational

Men's golf

Men's Golf Has Best Finish of Spring

DADE CITY - The University of South Florida men's golf team finished in seventh place after three rounds of the Ron Smith/USF Invitational at Lake Jovita Golf and Country Club. They had a team-total 883 (+8).

"The team didn't play as well as we needed to today to move up in the standings," said USF Head Coach Jim Fee. "Tyler had a good tournament finishing out with a 71." The top finisher for the Bulls was senior Tyler Hitchcock with a total score of 215. He shot a one-under 71 in round three and tied for ninth. "That was our best finish this year and we finally put together a few decent rounds and hopefully we can build off of this and play well the rest of the year," said Hitchcock.

Freshman Robby Carl finished out the tournament with a 219 in a tie for 20th place. He carded a 76 in round three. "Robby had his low collegiate round of 70 during the second round. He was in a good position going into the final round at one-under par. His final round 76 was certainly disappointing to him but he had a good overall tournament," said Fee. Junior Jakob McKinley shot a 75 today after opening the tournament with rounds of 76 and 72. McKinley finished with a seven-over 223 to tie for 38th place.

"This is Jakob's best tournament of the spring season. He's gaining confidence in his short game and putting, and I look for him to do very well in our next event," said Fee. Jason Elliot improved by four strokes today shooting a 74. He finished tied for 55th with an over all score of 226. "Jason played very well in our last tournament in Orlando. He came into this event with a lot of confidence but just couldn't capitalize on enough birdies," said Fee.

Sophomore Raj Nahal carded another 78 in round three. He wrapped up the tournament with a 234 and tied for 77th. "Raj hit the ball well all week, hitting a lot of greens in regulation. However, he struggled on the greens with his putting," said Fee. Mike Van Sickle took individual medalist honors with an eight-under 208 for the second year in a row. Lloyd du Preez and Kent Bulle tied for second each with a four-under 212.

Middle Tennessee State won the event for the third consecutive year. They finished with a six-under 858. Florida Southern and Marquette tied for second, scoring an 872. Southeastern Louisiana finished fourth with a three-day total of 875. "Lake Jovita is such a great venue to host the Ron Smith/USF Invitational. Thanks to the support of our title sponsor, Ron and Pam Smith, we're able to host this event at such a quality facility. It also takes many volunteers and USF support staff to ensure the tournament runs smoothly, and they all did a fantastic job.

March 10-11 the Bulls will head to Puerto Rico to compete in the Palmas Del Mar Intercollegiate at the Palmas Del Mar Resort in Huarenco. "Puerto Rico is going to be fun but we need to focus for a few days, we do have a job to do down there and this week we will spend some time working on everything we need to," said Hitchcock.

FLORIDA

Baseball

Figueroa's Grand Slam Powers Florida Past No. 8 Miami, 6-2

CORAL GABLES - Florida sophomore Cole Figueroa (Tallahassee) belted his second career grand slam in the eighth inning to snap a 2-2 tie and lift the Gators (6-2) to a 6-2 victory over No. 8 Miami (5-1) on Sunday afternoon before another sellout crowd at Mark Light Field. With the sacks full and one down, Figueroa sent a 2-1 pitch from junior reliever P.J. Fisher over the wall in left for his first round-tripper of the season. Sophomore Clint Franklin (Orlando) (1-0) threw two scoreless innings to record his first collegiate win, while junior Stephen Locke (Tampa) yielded one hit over the final two frames without allowing a run to help UF salvage the weekend finale. The Hurricanes had captured the first two games of the series, 8-4 and 8-5.

With the contest tied in the eighth, senior Jon Townsend (London, Ky.) legged out a leadoff bunt off sophomore Alex Koronis (0-1), who had struck out the side in the seventh after taking over for freshman Chris Hernandez (6.0 IP, 2 H, 7 K). Sophomore Hampton Tignor (Sarasota) advanced his teammate into scoring position with a sac bunt and prompted a pitching change. With Fisher now on the hill, sophomore Matt den Dekker (Ft. Lauderdale) reached on sophomore third baseman Mark Sobolewski's second error of the day and freshman Josh Adams (Jacksonville) followed with another bunt single to load the baseswith one down and set the stage for Figueroa's heroics.

The Hurricanes seemed poised to open the scoring in the first inning against freshman right-hander Tommy Toledo (Tampa, Fla.) with runners on the corners and one down. Junior Blake Tekotte drew a leadoff walk, stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error by sophomore catcher Buddy Munroe (Miami). Following a walk to junior Yonder Alonso, Toledo had Sobolewski ground into an inning-ending 5-4-3 double play.

A two-out error by UM in the second on a ball hit by sophomore Clayton Pisani (Naples) to third base enabled senior Dustin Bamberg (Winter Haven) to score from second with the game's initial run. Bamberg had drawn a walk with one down and moved to second on a wild pitch by Hernandez. Toledo worked out of another jam in the bottom of the frame after yielding a leadoff walk to freshman Joey Terdoslavich and a base-hit into left by junior Dave DiNatale. The righty had junior Adan Severino fly out and induced a ground ball from sophomore Ryan Jackson that third baseman Townsend converted into a double play.

Tekotte evened the score in the third on his first homer of the campaign, a shot with one down that cleared the 330-foot mark in right field. Miami threatened again in the fifth, as Severino poked a leadoff single and was sacrificed to second by Jackson. A flyout to right by Yasmani Grandal pushed his teammate to third before Toledo scooped up Tekotte's grounder and threw over to senior Brandon McArthur (Seffner) to retire the side.

After being held hitless into the sixth by Hernandez, the Gators used an RBI double into the left-field corner by Adams to take a 2-1 lead. den Dekker had come through with UF's first hit with a one-out infield single to second base and scored all the way from first on Adams' second two-bagger.

Miami knotted the game at 2-2 in the bottom of the frame on an RBI grounder by Terdoslavich. Junior Jemile Weeks started things off with a double off the wall in right center to end the afternoon for Toledo, who scattered four hits, gave up two runs, walked three and collected a pair of strikeouts over five innings. Sophomore Tony Davis (Cooper City) walked the lone batter he faced, Alonso, and was replaced by Franklin. The Hurricanes executed a double steal for runners on second and third and Franklin responded with a strikeout pitch. Terdoslavich worked the count to 3-2 and grounded out to McArthur to bring in Weeks with the tying run. Franklin kept the affair deadlocked by having last night's hero, DiNatale, ground out to Pisani.

UF held a slim 6-5 advantage in hits, with Adams going 2-for-4, and turned a season-high three double plays. The Gators will begin a season-high 10-game homestand at McKethan Stadium on Tuesday when they host Campbell (3-3) at 6:30 p.m. in the opener of a two-game series.

Softball

The No. 5 Florida Softball team improved to 24-1 in dramatic fashion on Sunday afternoon as they took Louisville (7-8), 4-2, in the day's first game, the came from behind to give No. 10 Stanford (20-2) only its second loss of the season, 4-3.

The game against Stanford found Florida trailing 3-1 going into the seventh, but late inning heroics from lone senior Mary Ratliff (Mt. Sterling, Ky.) gave the Gators their 24th win of the season. Freshman Tiffany DeFelice (Coral Springs) led off the inning, driving a base hit through the left side. Freshman Ami Austin (Ormond Beach) came in to pinch run for her. Junior Ali Gardiner (Waccabuc, N.Y.) held out for a five pitch walk from Stanford pitcher Missy Penna. Freshman Kristen Adkins (McKinney, Texas) pinch ran for Gardiner. Then Ratliff stepped up to the plate. On a 2-2 count, she blasted her sixth home run of the season over the fence in left center field for the walk-off win.

Florida was leading 1-0 going into the top of the sixth, but Stanford came back on the Gators and took the lead. Anna Beardman beat out an infield base hit to load the bases. She was thrown out at second on a fielder's choice play for the first out of the inning, but Alissa Haber was safe at first. Tricia Aggabao drew a walk from Florida junior pitcher Stacey Nelson (Los Alamitos, Calif.). After striking out in the previous two innings, Maddy Coon grabbed a hit through the left side to load the bases. Michelle Smith and Melisa Koutz drew back-to-back, bases loaded walks from Nelson to go up 2-1. Shannon Koplitz drove a base hit to right to score Coon, giving Stanford the two-run lead. With the bases still loaded, Rosey Neill reached on a fielder's choice as a head's up play by Nelson to junior catcher Kristina Hilberth (Dunedin) at home put Smith out a home for the second out. Erin Howe grounded out to Nelson in the circle for the final out of the inning.

Florida opened the game with a run in the bottom of the first. Junior Kim Waleszonia (Fontana, Calif.) got the Gators started with a base hit to right. She advanced to second on a sophomore Francesca Enea (Woodland Hills, Calif.) ground out to short. DeFelice knocked a double to center, scoring Waleszonia for the 1-0 lead.

Nelson and Penna entered the game with identical 13-1 records. Nelson came out on the winning end to improve to 14-1, while Penna fell to 13-2. The bottom of the opening frame against Louisville saw the Gators score two runs. Waleszonia led off the inning with a base hit up the middle. Freshman Aja Paculba (Wildomar, Calif.) reached on an error by Lousiville short stop Colby Wherry. Enea drove a base hit to shallow center to load the bases. A Kristen Wadwell wild pitch scored Waleszonia and advanced all the Gator runners. DeFelice grabbed the Gators' third hit of the inning to score Paculba, putting the Gators up 2-0.

Louisville cut the Gator lead in half in the top of the third. Kristi Cunningham beat out an infield lead off base hit. Melissa Roth followed with a base hit down the left field line. A Sarah Totten ground out put both runners in scoring position. Chelsea Bemis grounded out to second, but earned the RBI as Cunningham crossed the plate. Florida answered and took a two run lead again in the home half of the

inning. DeFelice drew a two-out walk from Wadwell. Gardiner knocked a double to the warning track in dead center to score DeFelice from first for the 3-1 lead.

The Gators plated their final run in the fourth. With one out, Waleszonia laid down a bunt single in front of the Cardinal's third baseman. Paculba added a base hit through the left side. Enea hit into a fielder's choice, leaving her safe at first, but putting Waleszonia out at third for the second out of the inning. Junior Brooke Johnson (Lakeland) came in to pinch run for Enea. DeFelice was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Junior Le-Net Franklin (Belton, Texas) entered the game to pinch run for DeFelice. Gardiner laced a base hit to center field, scoring Paculba. Johnson reached third and headed for home, but was gunned down at the plate from centerfield for the final out of the inning.

Louisville added a run in the sixth. Freshman pitcher Stephanie Brombacher (Pembroke Pines) hit lead off batter Bemis with a pitch. Nelson entered the game in relief of Brombacher in the circle. Wherry, the first batter Nelson faced, took her for a base hit. Kassie Stanfill drew a walk from Nelson to load the bases with no outs in the inning. A Brittany York sacrifice fly gave the Cardinals their final run of the game making the score 4-2 in favor of the Gators.

Brombacher improved to 9-0 on the season with the win. She struck out three and walked one while allowing four Louisville hits. Both of the Cardinal's runs were credited to Brombacher. Nelson earned her first save of the season, pitching the final two innings, also striking out three and walking one and allowing two hits. Wadwell moved to 3-5 on the year with the loss. The Gators now get a couple days off before taking on UCF at the Katie Seashole Pressly Softball Stadium on Thursday at 6 p.m. Florida begins Southeastern Conference play on Saturday at 1 p.m. against Ole Miss, also at Pressly Softball Stadium.

Track and field

Williams, Burroughs Claim Titles On Final Day Of SEC Indoors

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Senior Shawneise Williams (Archer, Fla.) won the women's weight throw and junior Beau Burroughs (Tampa) captured the men's shot put on Sunday to help secure fourth-place finishes for both the No. 9 University of Florida men's track team and the No. 14 UF women at the Southeastern Conference Indoor Championships in Fayetteville, Ark.

The Gator women finished just three points out of the top three with 90 points, which more than doubled their output from the 2007 SEC meet, while the UF men concluded the meet with a 7.5-point cushion over Georgia for the fourth spot. "I can't begin to explain how I feel about our women's team," Florida head coach Mike Holloway said. "They've decided that they want to be competitive. They're a talented group of individuals, and they put their best foot forward today. You it from them every time they step on the track."

Williams quickly got Florida in the win column on Sunday, winning the women's weight throw at Walker Pavilion with a mark of 19.11m/62-8.50. The victory was the first SEC title of Williams' career, and added another chapter to Florida's storied championship-season history in the event. Williams now joins four-time SEC champion Candice Scott and one-time champions Joyce Owes and Erin Gilreath to give UF seven SEC titles in the women's weight throw, which ties for the most crowns by the Gator women in a single event. Williams' title is the first for UF since 2005, but gives the Orange and Blue six women's weight throw championships since 2001.

"I'm very happy, and I feel very grateful that this has happened to me," Williams said. "Coach Lemke told me before the event to stay relaxed and have fun, and that paid off for me today. Coming into the event, I thought I had a chance to win, and I was able to put together some good throws."

Sophomore Shara Proctor (The Valley, Anguilla) wrapped up a strong season debut with a third-place finish in the women's triple jump, leaping an NCAA provisional-qualifying distance of 12.88m/42-3.25 to contribute another six points to the UF tally. Sunday's showing brought Proctor's scoring total for the meet to 14 points, the highest total on the UF women's team and the seventh-best scoring effort of all women at the meet.

Senior Lakecia Ealey (Albany, Ga.) turned in a seventh-place finish in the women's 60m, posting a time of 7.35 to finish seventh to contribute two points, and classmate Dominique McLeggan (Weston) did the same with a seventh-place effort in the women's 400m, finishing in 54.20. The women's 800m saw the Gators earn another eight points when senior Lorain McKenzie (Clarendon, Jamaica) made a late push to finish claim runner-up honors with a time of 2:07.09.

As the afternoon reached the midway point, the UF women were one of two schools to place a pair athletes in the top five of the 200m, scoring 10 total points in the event. Senior Natalie Knight (Snellville, Ga.) exploded for a career-best and NCAA provisional-qualifying time of 23.35 in the second heat, placing third overall and moving into a tie for second on the school's all-time indoor list. She was preceded by classmate Ealey, who put a cap on her day with a fifth-place finish in an NCAA provisional time of 23.56.

For the second day in a row, the UF received a late spark from its women's distance runners, as freshman Rebecca Lowe (Vancluse, Australia) and junior Jacy Kruzel (Cooper City) teamed up to record a pair of NCAA provisional times and score nine points in the women's 5,000m - the second-most of any school in the field. Lowe led the way with a career-best output of 16:27.07 to finish third, ascending to second place on the on all-time Florida list, and Kruzel followed up in sixth place with a mark of 16:40.79, a personal-best of nearly 40 seconds that moved her into third on the school ledger.

The women finished strong in the relay portion of the meet, picking up 11 points in the final two events to pull within three points of third-place Arkansas. The Gators' distance medley relay turned in a third-place finish, as freshman Kaitlin Shiver (Satellite Beach), senior Zan Joseph (Boynton Beach), McKenzie and senior Lindsay Sundell (Ft. Salonga, N.Y.) recorded a season-best time of 11:41.11, while the UF 4x400m quartet of senior Abigail David (Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago), Ealey, Knight and McLeggan notched a season-best and NCAA provisional-qualifying time of 3:38.01 to take fourth.

"I'm so proud of what this group of young ladies was able to accomplish today," Holloway said. "They fought hard every time they came to the blocks. Every one of them put the uniform on and competed hard this weekend, and that's why you see the great improvement. For them to go from 42 points last year to 90 this year shows the kind of heart and character they have." Junior Beau Burroughs (Tampa) provided some late excitement of his own in the men's shot put, winning his first-career SEC title with a career-best and NCAA provisional-qualifying mark of 18.53m/60-9.50. Burroughs didn't, however, wait long to put the competition out of reach, recording the top mark on his second attempt to outpace the next-best competitor by more than two feet and strengthen his grip on the sixth position on the all-time Florida indoor chart. The title marked the Gators' second-straight SEC men's shot put crown after indoor junior Wes Stockbarger (Port Charlotte) captured the 2007 championships, and their eighth overall.

"I feel justified for all the hard work I've put in over the last couple of years," Burroughs said. "I believed I could do it, but anything can happen. I was hoping to put it away early and not give anyone else a chance. To finally have it done feels great. They can't ever take it away - SEC champ."

The Florida men opened the day in strong fashion, picking up 11 points on the straightaway in the day's first two running events. The first five came courtesy of juniors Dennis Martin (Anderson, S.C.) and Kallinka Pitt (Largo) in the 60m hurdles, as they crossed the linein fifth and eighth places with times of 7.83 and 7.88, respectively. Just minutes later, sophomore Jeremy Hall (Jacksonville) came to the blocks for the 60m and added another half-dozen points to Florida's total with a third-place finish, timing in at a season-best 6.65. The effort was an NCAA provisional mark, tying Hall for 10th in the NCAA this season, and fell just a hundredth of a second shy of matching Hall's career best.

The Gators continued to build momentum in the men's 400m, as sophomore Calvin Smith (Lutz) ripped off an NCAA automatic-qualifying time of 46.04 - a career best by a hundredth of a second - to finish second. The performance ranked second in the NCAA and fourth in the world this season, and improved his hold on the fourth spot on Florida's all-time indoor chart. Smith was on the track again less than an hour later, where he battled to a fourth-place finish in the men's 200m with an NCAA provisional-qualifying time of 21.00. In two individual races on the day, Smith was able to post 13 points for the Gators, sharing team-high honors and tying for seventh at the meet.

"Calvin had a phenomenal meet," Holloway said. "With indoor PRs in both the 200m and 400m and a great leg on the 4x400m, he really showed up for us. That's what Calvin does, and I expect him to do that again in two weeks."

Sophomore Mike Morrison (Chesapeake, Va.), less than 24 hours after finishing second in the heptathlon, scored five more points for the

Gators in the men's pole vault with a clearance of 5.15m/16-10.75 that was good for fourth place. Morrison was joined in the men's pole vault by junior Justin Semeyn (Tampa), who vaulted 5.00m/16-4.75 to tie for sixth and earn 2.50 points, and redshirt freshman Eric Foran (Ft. Lauderdale), who established a new career best with a mark of 5.00m/16-4.75 and placed eighth due to previous misses. Indoor junior Carlos Phillips (Winter Park) chipped in with a seventh-place finish in the men's 800m, securing two points with a time of 1:50.76, and indoor sophomore Jeremy Criscione (Interlachen) added an eighth-place finish in the men's 5,000m with a personal-best effort of 14:25.33 that was good for eighth place in school history. The Gators wrapped up the meet with a third-place finish in the DMR, as senior Ryder Leary (Yulee), Phillips, senior Eric Alberter (Belleville, Ill.) and senior Steven Hassen (Ocala) stopped the watches at a season-best 9:52.14.

"The men are still missing their zest for the fight, and that's something we have to correct right now," Holloway said. "We can't rely on a small group of people to get the job done. It has to be a team effort from here on out."

Select members of the squad will be in action this weekend at Last Chance meets in either Ames, Iowa, or South Bend, Ind. Gators who have already qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships will return to Fayetteville in two weeks to take on the best the NCAA has to offer.

Swimming and diving

Florida Swimming Wraps Up Last Chance Meet

Athens, Ga. - The University of Florida seventh ranked men and third ranked women's swimming and diving teams concluded their run at the Bulldog Invitational, Georgia's last chance meet for those looking to qualify for the NCAA Championships at the end of March.

Two men and one woman competed on the last day of the meet, Kyle Deery, Matthew Norton and Sarah Sykes each made an attempt at earning an automatic qualifying time for the NCAA Championships. Deery barely missed a provisional time in the 200-yard breaststroke, clocking in with a time of 2:01.73 in the preliminaries. Norton swam his way to a provisional time of 1:47.70 in the 200-yard butterfly, while Sykes touched the wall in 1:59.67 in the women's 200 breast for a provisional time.

Florida will now look ahead to the NCAA Championships, held in Columbus, Ohio from March 20-22 for the women and in Federal Way, Washington from March 27-29, for the men.

Women's tennis

Women's Tennis Wins Second Straight SEC Match, 6-1, Over Kentucky

GAINESVILLE- The seventh ranked University of Florida women's tennis team used a solid team effort to defeat No. 22 Kentucky, 6-1, this afternoon at Scott Linder Stadium at the Ring Tennis Complex.

"We came out and played better today than we did on Friday," said head coach Roland Thornqvist. "It gives us a lot of confidence heading into our next few matches in the SEC. We have our hands full next week, but we played really well this weekend and it feels really good to have two wins."

Florida won all but one match, including all three doubles matches to remain undefeated in dual match doubles this season, to improve their overall record to 8-1 (2-0, SEC). Florida tallied the first win of the match in just 35 minutes thanks to the play of Julia Cohen and Anastasia Revzina, who disposed of Sarah Woestmann and Whitney Spencer, 8-2, in just 35 minutes. Megan Alexander and Marrit Boonstra would follow just two minutes later to secure the first point of the match in an 8-2 victory over Kentucky's Carolina Escamilla and Megan Broderick. Whitney Benik and Lolita Frangulyan tallied the third doubles victory of the day for the Gators as they handled the Kentucky twosome of Christine Johnson and Alaina Trgovich, just one minute after their teammates, by a score of 8-3.

After each doubles set was tied at one a piece, the Gators came alive to take a 2-1 lead on courts one through three. Cohen and Revzina came back from an early 1-0 deficit, cruising through the next seven points before the Wildcats were able to answer with a point of their own to put the game at 7-2. Alexander and Boonstra would go on to take a 3-2 lead before cruising through the remaining points to take the victory. Much was the same for Benik and Frangulyan, as the duo held on to take a 3-2. It seemed as if they would cruise to an easy 8-2 victory, but Johnson and Trgovich came back to earn a point of their own, to up the score to 7-3 before the Gators cruised through the final point to cap the win and doubles play.

Frangulyan would return to the number six singles court to swiftly add to the points total for the Gators by handing Spencer a 6-1, 6-1 defeat in a matter of just 55 minutes for her 10th straight singles win of the season. Benick needed just an hour and four minutes to pick up a 6-2, 6-0 win over Trgovich on court four and Cohen rebounded from her first loss against Vanderbilt, sealing the victory over Woestmann by a score of 6-2, 6-4 on court number one to secure the win for the Gators. Unlike the first set in which Cohen rebounded from an early 2-0 deficit, it was Woestmann who responded after falling behind 2-1. Woestmann tied the set at two-all, and even made a late charge after being down 5-4, but could not muster a complete comeback. Alexander used a third set tie-breaker to earn the fifth point of the day for the Gators, defeating Escamilla by a score of 6-1, 4-6, 1-0 (10-4). Boonstra was not as fortunate as her teammate, falling in the same fashion as Alexander used to get the win, 6-4, 2-6, 1-0 (10-8). Boonstra made a strong case for herself, down 8-5 in the tie break she came back to tie the score at eight all, but could not stop Johnston on the final two points of the tie breaker.

Csilla Borsanyi rebounded from a tough first set to defeat Broderick 7-5, 6-1 in the final game of the afternoon. Up 5-0, Borsyani surrendered a point to Broderick before finishing the Wildcat off to conclude the match. The Gators will travel to Knoxville, Tennessee to take on the Lady Volunteers next Friday at 3 p.m. before concluding their road swing at Georgia on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Men's tennis

Florida Men's Tennis Defeats Kentucky For Second SEC Victory

Lexington, Ky. - The 11th-ranked University of Florida men's tennis team picked up its second win of the early conference season as the Gators defeated Kentucky, 6-1, Sunday afternoon at the Boone Tennis Complex in Lexington, KY. With the win, UF improved to 7-3 overall and 2-0 in Southeastern Conference play. Kentucky fell to 6-6 and 1-1 in the league.

Florida won the doubles point with win at the top and bottom of the lineup for the second straight match. Florida's Nestor Briceno and Alex Lacroix blanked Will Beck and Shane Collins on court three to move to 9-1 on the year. Jeff Dadamo and Greg Ouellette defeated Brad Cox and Bruno Agostinelli on court one, 8-6, to give the Gators the 1-0 lead.

Once singles play began after a two hour rain delay, the Gators jumped to a 3-0 lead behind straight set wins on courts five and four by freshmen Tyler Hochwalt and Jeff Dadamo. Hochwalt took out Kentucky's Alberto Gonzalez (6-3, 6-2), while Dadamo defeated Marcus Sundh (6-2, 6-2). Hochwalt's win was his team-leading ninth this year (9-1).

Ouellette (No. 6) provided the clincher with a 6-2, 6-2 straight set win of his own over Agostinelli (No.36) on court one. The win was his 11th over a ranked opponent this season. With the outcome decided, (58) Alex Lacroix and Johnny Hamui added wins on courts three and six, respectively. Lacroix downed Cox, 7-6 (3), 6-1, while Hamui won his sixth-straight by defeating Beck, 6-0, 7-5.

Florida returns to Gainesville for its next match as the Gators host No. 14 Tennessee on Friday, March 7. The match begins at 3 p.m.

SAINT LEO

Baseball

SAINT LEO BASEBALL TEAM SWEEPS MERRIMACK COLLEGE IN NON-CONFERENCE DOUBLEHEADER

Saint Leo - The Saint Leo University baseball (13-6) swept visiting Merrimack College (0-4) afternoon at Southard Stadium. The Lions posted their second straight shutout with a 14-0 win in game one and then pushed their winning streak to three with a 7-3 win in the seven-inning second game.

Saint Leo senior Yunior Tabares (Tampa) went a combined 3-for-7 with six RBI, two doubles a home run and four runs scored on the afternoon. Bobby Munoz (Jr., Tampa) was also a combined 3-for-6 with three RBI and two runs, while Jonathan Duncan (Jr., Starke) was also 3-for-6 and hit safely in both contests to stretch his hitting streak to 13 games.

The Lions got off to a fast start in game one, catcher Braulio Pardo (Jr., Land O'Lakes) connected on a double to left center to score Munoz. The hit stretched Pardo's hitting streak to 11 games, and the Lions added one more run in the inning when Tabares scored on a wild pitch.

Saint Leo added to its lead with four runs in the fifth, highlighted by a three-run double from Tabares. Saint Leo added a run in the fifth, three in the sixth and rounded out the win with another four-run inning in the eighth. T.J. Alonzo (Jr., Tampa) rounded out the scoring in the contest with his team-leading 11 th home run of the season, which was a three-run shot over the right field fence.

Saint Leo starter Carter Clements (Sr., Eustis) was the game one winner, as he threw 7.0 innings of shutout ball and allowed just five hits while striking out seven to improve to 3-1 on the season. Reliever Stephen Daneman (Fr., Tampa) allowed just one hit in relief, as he tossed the final 2.0 innings to preserve the shutout.

In game two, Saint Leo got a single run in the first to open the scoring. The Lions made it 5-0 in the second with Duncan starting things off with a leadoff triple. Dale Slimick (Jr., Sarasota) followed with an RBI double with Eddie San Roman (So., Miami) and Munoz adding RBI singles before Tabares drew a bases loaded walk to push the fourth run of the inning across the plate.

The lead was all Saint Leo starter Reid Tilson (Jr., Brandon) would need, as he improved to 3-1 with the win. Tilson threw 6.0 innings and allowed just one earned run. Ryan Arena (Fr., Tampa) worked the final inning in relief.

The Lions will host the College of Saint Rose on Tuesday in another non-conference game at 7:00 p.m.

Softball

Saint Leo- The Saint Leo Softball team (10-3) split its season series with Winona State University (2-2) Sunday afternoon at University Field. The Lions won a ten inning thriller in game one, 3-2 but fell in the night cap, 8-6.

In game one, t he Lions jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the game on a throwing error by the Warriors. Winona State would battle back to tie the game in the third inning off of Ashley Urbanik (Jr., Riverview). Urbanik (7-2) would go the distance for the Lions giving up just six hits and two runs (one earned). The two teams matched zero's from the third inning on until the tie-breaker rule was put into play in the top of the tenth automatically putting a runner at second base. The Warriors would capitalize immediately and would jump up 2-1 in the tenth. The Lions would not quit though and set up dramatic ending which would put Elysha Agen (Fr., Palm Harbor) up to bat with Shelley Bartlett (Sr., Sarasota) on third and April Slate (Sr., Land O'Lakes.) on second. Agen, who went a combined 5-for-7 on the afternoon, drove in two of her three RBI giving the Lions their tenth win of the 2008 season.

Early in game two the Lions found themselves in a 3-0 deficit. The Lions would show resiliency as they chipped away at the Warrior lead and would even take the lead in the fifth as they scored three runs of their own to give them a 5-3 lead. Ashley Urbanik would single in a run and that would be followed up by Tatiana Casis (Jr., Port St. Lucie) home run to left centerfield. Casis would finish the day going 3-for-7 including her team leading fourth home run. That wouldn't be enough though as the Warriors jumped on Lions starter Kiki VonHolt (Sr., New Port Richey) and tough Lions miscues min the field in the top half of the sixth scoring three runs to take back the lead. The Warrior would add two additional runs in the seventh to make it 8-5. Elysha Agen wouldn't quit though as she hit her first career collegiate home run to lead off the bottom of the seventh. That would be as close as they would get as the Lions pick up there third loss of the season.

The Lions return to the field this Friday, March 7 in Florence, Alabama as they take on the No. 14 Alabama-Huntsville Chargers. First pitch is slated for 12:00 p.m.

Lacrosse

SAINT LEO UNIVERSITY LACROSSE TEAM KNOCKS OFF ROLLINS COLLEGE 17-5

Winter Park- Benjamin Brigham (Jr., Scituate, Mass.) scored five goals and added an assist to lead the Saint Leo lacrosse team (2-1) to a 17-5 road win over Rollins College (1-5) in non-conference action on Sunday in Winter Park, Fla.

Brigham's six-point performance was matched by teammate Chris Storrie (Jr., Syracuse, N.Y.) who scored four goals and tallied a pair of assists in the win. Ryan Pomponio (Jr., Garden City, N.Y.) added three goals for the Lions, while Kyle Marceau (So., Concord, N.H.) added three assists.

Saint Leo got its offense going early, scoring four goals in the first quarter and adding another just 26-seconds into the second to take a 5-0 lead. Rollins answered with two of the next three goals, but Brigham and Storrie scored back-to-back to close out the first half and give Saint Leo an 8-2 half-time lead.

Storrie scored the first goal of the second half, but Rollins scored three unanswered to make it 9-5. Lion freshman Evan Mill (Wesley Chapel) stopped the scoring run for the Tars with a goal 1:13 from the end of the third quarter. The Lions blew the game wide open in the fourth, scoring the final seven goals of the game to provide the final margin.

Saint Leo goalie DJ Garry (So., Greenwood, Ind.) made six saves in net to record the win (1-0). Despite the loss, Rollins goalie Zach Cole made 16 saves for the Tars.

The Lions return home on Wednesday night to face Grand Canyon University at 7:00 p.m.

FLORIDA STATE

Softball

Seminole Softball Closes Out NFCA Tournament With Win Over Iowa

COLUMBUS, GA. - The Florida State softball team was victorious on the final day of competition at the 13th Annual NFCA Leadoff Classic in Columbus, Ga., as it shutout the Iowa Hawkeyes 2-0 on Sunday. The Seminoles went 3-2 over the weekend, giving up zero runs in all three victories and improving to 12-9 on the season.

Pitching her second win of the season was senior Tiffany McDonald who struck out nine while giving up seven hits, no runs and no walks. McDonald notched a 1.94 ERA over the weekend which leads her pitching staff this season.

The game remained scoreless until the top of the seventh when the Seminoles moved into scoring position thanks to the efforts by the sophomores. Sophomores Robin Ahrberg and Carly Wynn started it off with a walk and an advance on an error, respectively. With runners on first and second (and junior Melissa May in to pinch run for Ahrberg), fellow sophomore Monica Montez would reach first on a fielder's choice by the short stop that took out Wynn at second. Freshman Ashley Stager was the second Seminole to be walked in the inning, which filled the bases as junior Michelle Snyder stepped up to the plate.

Another fielder's choice would advance Snyder to second as the play turned into trouble for Iowa. The third baseman attempted to make a play at second, but over threw to allow May and Montez to score and move Stager to third. Florida State was now up 2-0 with runners on second a third and only one out on the board.

Freshman Kristie McConn would hit a single bunt to load the bases one last time before a fly out to center and a ground ball to the shortstop would end the inning for the Seminoles.

The Hawkeyes fought back to stay in the game, placing runners in scoring position with no outs. But their best just wasn't good enough as a pop-up to Stager was followed by a strike-out and a fly ball to Whitney Buckmon in right to end the game.

The victory over Iowa brings the overall series to 5-3 with Florida State holding on to the lead. The last time the Hawkeyes were able to over-power the Seminoles was over 10 years ago in 1997 when they won 7-1 in a regular season tournament.

Florida State's only losses at the NFCA Leadoff Classic came to the No. 2 and No. 4 teams in the nation, Texas A&M and Tennessee. The Seminoles were able to score five runs off the Lady Vols - the most Tennessee has given up in a single game all season.

Wrapping up the 3-2 weekend was the announcement of the All-Tournament Team which featured Seminole senior Brittany Osmon. Osmon went 6-for-13 over the three-days, scoring a team-high six runs. The first baseman also hit the solo homerun of the tournament for FSU against Tennessee and had a double while leading the team with three RBI's.

The ladies will play at home next weekend as they host the Florida State Invitational on March 7 and 8 on JoAnne Graf Field at the Seminole Softball Complex. Making the trip to the event this year will be UConn, Appalachian State and Georgia State. The Seminoles' first game will be Friday, March 7, at 2:30 p.m. against the Mountaineers of App. State. All of FSU's games will be broadcast live on ACC Select.

ECKERD

Baseball

TRITONS HOLD ON TO WIN FIFTH STRAIGHT

ST. PETERSBURG - The Eckerd College baseball team benefited from six defensive miscues as they defeated visiting Saint Anselm College 13-9 in action at Turley Field on Sunday afternoon.

Although the visiting Hawks (1-2) plated two runs in the first inning as Triton starting pitcher Ricky Clavelli walked the bases loaded to open the game, Eckerd would answer with a lone run in second and multiple runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings to take a 10-2 lead into the seventh.

As Clavelli began to tire beginning the seventh inning, the Saint Anselm bats got hot. A leadoff walk and a single up the middle put two men on. After a fly out, a single up the middle by senior shortstop Adam Hussey allowed the first run of the inning to cross the plate. Freshman center fielder Dave Wirkis blasted a double down the left field line to plate another run and, after the Tritons got the second out of the inning, first baseman Ryan Gargan blasted another shot down the line to plate two more Hawks. When the Tritons finally secured the last out, Saint Anselm had scored seven runs on eight hits in the seventh to bring the score to 10-9.

Eckerd would answer in their half of the seventh with two runs of their own benefiting from a hit by junior Mike Alvarez and another Hawk error combined with some strategic base running by Head Coach Bill Mathews. They would also plate one more run in the eighth when junior Tyler Howard launched a double into left center, advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Matt Abraham, and scored on a balk.

Senior reliever Tony Capoverdi, called on in emergency relief during the crazy seventh inning, finished out the remainder to the game to pick up his first save of the season.

In a game with 22 combined runs and 19 hits, Alvarez would lead Eckerd, going 3-for-5 with a RBI and a run scored. Four other Tritons would hit successfully with sophomore Matt Heller going 1-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored.

For Saint Anselm, three batters had multiple hits as the Hawks outhit the hosts. Catcher Eric Baca and Gargan went 2-for-3 with Gargan getting three RBI. Hussey would also go 2-for-4 for the visitors. Both teams take a day off before battling again on Tuesday night at Turley Field on the Eckerd campus. First pitch is scheduled for 7:00 pm.

 

[Last modified March 2, 2008, 23:34:39]

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