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UF takes third straight SEC tournament title

By DEBI JONES

© St. Petersburg Times, published November 20, 2000

GAINESVILLE -- Florida volleyball coach Mary Wise is not tired of winning championships.

After defeating Louisiana State for UF's third consecutive Southeastern Conference tournament title Sunday, Wise said each one means something special.

"I think each championship is different," Wise said. "We've learned because (athletic director) Jeremy Foley sends the message and lets us know that winning championships never gets old. We celebrate each and every one."

UF won its 10th straight regular-season title this season.

After beating Ole Miss on Friday and Tennessee on Saturday, the Gators swept the Tigers 15-5, 15-3, 15-10 in the final.

Florida was led by outside hitter and tournament most valuable player Aury Cruz, who had 12 kills and a .304 hitting percentage.

Cruz was one of three freshmen who made significant contributions during the tournament and the season.

"We have had awesome contribution from every level," senior outside hitter Jerilyn Hattendorf said. "Especially the freshmen that came in with experience."

Middle blocker Benavia Jenkins had eight kills with a .636 hitting efficiency Sunday and outside hitter Jacque Robinson had seven kills and hit .500.

"It was great to win it here," said Hattendorf, who has won three SEC tournament titles and four regular-season titles.

"We accomplished what we wanted to in this tournament," LSU coach Fran Ralston-Flory said. " ... Of course, we're chasing Florida, but we feel each time we play them we get closer to them."

UF secured a berth in the NCAA Tournament, which starts Nov. 30. The field will be announced Sunday. Before the NCAA Tournament, the Gators play in the Conference Challenge in Orlando.

CONFERENCE USA: Third seed Louisville upset No. 1 South Florida 3-0 to win the championship at Charlotte, N.C. The Cardinals (24-7) snapped South Florida's 20-match win streak and earned an automatic NCAA bid.

For Louisville, Stacey Mercer had a school-record 11 blocks and Jing Ding, with 65 assists and 23 digs, was tournament MVP. Michelle Collier led USF (27-5) with 27 kills and 20 digs, and Melaine Mueller had a career-high 18 digs.

ACC: No. 2 seed North Carolina defeated No. 5 Duke 10-15, 15-6, 15-10, 15-7 in the title match at Winston-Salem, N.C.

Graduation rates

The graduation rate for major-college football players dropped from 51 to 48 percent, the lowest since 1985, according to the latest NCAA study. But the overall rate for Division I athletes remained at 58 percent, the same as last year.

The numbers were for athletes who entered college in 1993. The overall rate stayed 2 percent higher than the rate for the general student population.

At D-I private schools, the overall rate was 70 percent (66 for men, 77 for women). For all D-Is, the overall rates were 52 percent for men and 68 for women. Male D-I basketball players showed an increase from 41 to 42 percent.

The rates for all other divisions, private and overall, were between 49 and 53 percent.

- Information from Times wires was used in this report.

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