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UT on guard against region hot streaks

Coach Chris Catanach assumes nothing for the perennially powerful Spartans, who go for their third consecutive South Region title.

By ROD GIPSON

© St. Petersburg Times, published November 16, 2000

TAMPA -- The University of Tampa women's team enters the Division II South Region tournament having won 13 straight matches and 20 of its past 21.

It hasn't lost since early October and spent much of the regular season beating up on teams in the region.

It is the two-time defending region champion and the top seed.

But coach Chris Catanach has no illusions.

"It's one of those "anybody who gets hot' fields," she said. "I think that we have played the most consistent throughout the season, but anybody in this field is capable of winning this tournament."

The tournament, which has expanded from four teams to six, begins today at UT's Bob Martinez Sports Center.

In eight matches against teams competing in the South Region, UT went 7-1. It was pushed to five games twice. The Spartans' frontline has flourished. Tiffany Boatwright, Lisa Webster, Kam Gillispie and Ania Ruiz posted hitting percentages above .300. "We've worked hard all season," said Gillispie, who is back in the starting lineup after nursing an abdominal strain that forced her out of the lineup last month. "And we're very excited about where we're at now.

"We'll have a tough team to play whoever we have to play, but at the beginning of the year, our goal was to get to the Elite Eight again. Now we want to do a little better than that."

In three of the past four seasons, UT advanced to the Final Four and twice was the national runner-up.

It won its fifth consecutive Sunshine State Conference championship this season and has a first-round bye in the region. In the second round it faces the winner of today's match between No. 4 seed Barry and No. 5 Florida Southern.

"Florida Southern and Barry are both excellent teams and present different problems," Catanach said. "Barry plays a very intelligent game, and they present decisionmaking problems for their opponents. Florida Southern is a tall team that presents size and blocking problems."

Because of the field's expansion, Armstrong Atlantic State of Savannah, Ga., and South Carolina Spartanburg make their first trip to an NCAA region.

USC Spartanburg (24-10) is the No. 6 seed. It beat first-round opponent Armstrong Atlantic in five games in an Oct. 28 match. No. 3 Armstrong Atlantic has played well at neutral sites, going 8-1.

The other first-round match, Barry-Florida Southern, has Sunshine State Conference foes. Barry (23-9) had a 12-match winning streak (including an undefeated October) but has dropped three of its past four. Florida Southern (21-14) is seeded fifth, relatively low given recent regular-seasons victories against Barry and Armstrong Atlantic.

The region winner advances to the final eight Nov. 30-Dec. 2 at a site to be determined.

Division II South Region

WHEN/WHERE: Today-Saturday; Bob Martinez Sports Center, University of Tampa.

TICKETS: $6 adults; $3 seniors, students.

SCHEDULE: Today -- No. 3 Armstrong Atlantic vs. No. 6 USC Spartanburg, 5:30; No. 4 Barry vs. No. 5 Florida Southern, 8. Friday -- Armstrong/Spartanburg winner vs. No. 2 North Florida, 5:30; Barry/Florida Southern winner vs. No. 1 Tampa, 8. Saturday -- Final, 6.

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