Navy Sports

Colleges and Universities A-Z Naval Academy - Annapolis
281

<p>For Immediate Release
Sent Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2007
Contact Justin Kischefsky (410) 293-8772</p>

<p>Navy's Meyer Garners First-Team All-Patriot League Honors</p>

<p>CENTER VALLEY, Pa. -- Navy senior women's basketball player Carly Meyer (Orlando, Fla.), who ranks among the top-10 players in the league in eight statistical categories, has earned First-Team All-Patriot League honors in voting conducted by the league's coaches.</p>

<p>The first Mid in three years and just the seventh in school history to earn first-team all-league accolades, Meyer joined Army's Cara Enright, Hope Foster and Amanda Brown from Bucknell and Kaitlin Foley from Holy Cross on the league's top squad announced Tuesday by the league office.</p>

<p>Meyer ranks second in the league in scoring by just three-hundredth of a point to Enright (15.31-15.28 ppg), while leading the league in defensive rebounds (5.96 rpg), ranking second in blocked shots (1.68 bpg) and third in both total rebounds (7.3 rpg) and three-point field goal average (2.16 3-fgm). Additionally, she ranks among the league leaders in free throw percentage (fourth, 83.5%), steals (seventh, 1.56 spg) and three-point field goal percentage (eighth, 34.6%).</p>

<p>One of just three Mids over the last 15 years to score 30 or more points in a pair of games during one season, her 33-point effort Feb. 13 against Holy Cross is the top scoring game in the Patriot League this season and set a school record for the most points scored by a Mid in a league game. </p>

<p>She has scored 10 or more points in 19 games this year, while surpassing 20 points against six opponents. Meyer also has totaled five or more rebounds in 20 of her 25 games this year and reached double figures in caroms in five games.</p>

<p>Meyer has made three or more three-point field goals in each of her last six games and in 11 games on the year, while also recording three or more blocked shots in eight games. Her 54 treys on the season ranks ninth for the most in one year by a Mid, with her 42 blocks placing her third on Navy's single season chart.</p>

<p>Along with teammate Kate Hobbs (Sr., Wexford, Pa.), Meyer is one of only five Mids in school history to have totaled over 800 points (952), 500 rebounds (518) and 50 blocks (86) in a career. She ranks fourth at Navy in career blocks, second in career free throw percentage (79.5%) and seventh in career three-pointers made (121).</p>

<p>Navy as a team ended the 2007 regular season tied for fourth place in the Patriot League with a 6-8 record against league foes. The Mids will enter the postseason as the No. 5 seed in the tournament and will face fourth-seeded American Saturday at 1:30 p.m. in Navy's Alumni Hall. Tickets for the opening two rounds of the league tournament can be obtained by calling the Navy Ticket Office at 1-800-US4-NAVY.</p>

282

<p>For: Immediate Release
Date: Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Contact: Chris Forman - 410-293-8774</p>

<p>Six Navy Water Polo Players Earn Academic Honors</p>

<p>ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Six members of the Navy water polo team that advanced to the NCAA Tournament this past fall were named to the Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches All-American Academic Team, it was recently announced by the organization. A total of 164 athletes nationwide met the 3.20 GPA criteria, including Navy's Eric Gardiner, who was one of six athletes to earn a 4.00 GPA.</p>

<p>Gardiner, a junior from Upland, Calif., led the Mids with a 4.00 GPA during the fall semester, majoring in comparative politics. In the pool, Gardiner was a big reason the Mids reached the NCAA Tournament appearing in all 31 games with seven starts. He finished the year with 19 points (14 g, 5 a), 24 steals and five ejections drawn. He was one of 29 players named to the "outstanding" team.</p>

<p>Five players were named to the "excellent" squad, athletes that sported a 3.20 to 3.40 GPA. Junior goalie George Naughton (Deerfield Beach, Fla.) owned a 3.38 GPA in honors political science, in addition to having a fantastic season in the water. Naughton had one of the top statistical seasons for a Navy goalkeeper in school history, garnering honorable mention All-America accolades after racking up 267 saves on the year. He also grabbed a team-best 67 steals and dished out 14 assists on the season. The 267 single-season saves were the second most in school history behind Kevin Crisson's 319 in 1998. He already has 467 career saves in just two years, ranking fourth on that list. He also earned his second straight All-Southern Division first-team honor and was named to the Eastern Championship All-Tournament team.</p>

<p>Freshman Zack Anderson (Cockeysville, Md.) owned a 3.38 GPA during the fall semester. He played in six games, registering one steal and one ejection drawn.</p>

<p>Freshman Nick Mansfield (Rockford, Mich.) sported a 3.31 GPA in the fall, and played in eight games on the year, scoring one goal on two shots.</p>

<p>Freshman Justin Stevens (Boca Raton, Fla.) accumulated a 3.31 GPA, while playing in one game for the Mids, registering no statistics.</p>

<p>The last member of the team was junior goalie Steve Craney (La Crescenta, Calif.), who compiled a 3.29 GPA in applied physics. Craney appeared in eight games, mostly in a back-up role, stopping 36 shots and allowing 33 goals for a .522 save percentage. He added eight steals on the season.</p>

<p>The Mids posted a 24-7 overall record and reached their 12th NCAA Tournament in 2006. In 2007, The Mids will return nearly everyone from this year's team, losing just three players that appeared in a combined 74 games between them.</p>

283

<p>Published in today's Annapolis Capital:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2007/02_27-08/NAS%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2007/02_27-08/NAS&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>
[quote]
Navy head coach Billy Lange said a few weeks ago he thought Greg Sprink was deserving of all-conference recognition. Apparently, Lange's fellow coaches in the Patriot League agreed with that assessment.</p>

<p>Sprink was named second team All-Patriot League yesterday, becoming the first Navy player so honored since 2002. The 6-foot-5 swingman leads Navy in nine different statistical categories, including scoring (17.2 points per game) and rebounding (4.8 average). The California native is the only player that ranks Top 10 in the Patriot League in the three major categories of scoring, rebounding and assists (73 total)....

[/quote]
</p>

284

<p><a href="http://navysports.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/navy-m-footbl-mtt.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://navysports.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/navy-m-footbl-mtt.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

285

<p>Published in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/college/s_495310.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/college/s_495310.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>
[quote]
At this rate, the Naval Academy will have to be moved to Pittsburgh. </p>

<p>Ten female athletes who competed in WPIAL sports now play for Navy in Annapolis, Md....

[/quote]
</p>

286

<p>For Immediate Release
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Contact: Jonathan Maggart (410) 293-8771</p>

<p>Two Mids Earn Weekly Awards</p>

<p>CENTER VALLEY, Pa. – Navy junior right-handed pitcher Mitch Harris (Mt. Holly, N.C.) and freshman catcher Steven Soares (Coral Springs, Fla.) have been named Patriot League Pitcher of the Week and Rookie of the Week, respectively; it was announced by the league office on Tuesday afternoon.</p>

<p>For his efforts on the mound and at the plate, Harris has also been recognized by the College Baseball Foundation National Honor Roll for the second time in his career.</p>

<p>Harris, the 2006 Patriot League Pitcher of the Year, has earned the league’s weekly accolades both times this season, totaling five during his career. The right-handed pitcher held Air Force, a team that was collectively hitting over .300, to three hits and one earned run over 7.2 innings with eight strikeouts to get the win in the opener of the Service Academy Spring Classic in Millington, Tenn., on Friday. The earned run was the first allowed by Harris this season, snapping a streak of 27.0-consecutive innings without yielding an earned run. He has allowed only one earned run or less in each of his last-eight starts, dating back to the 2006 season.</p>

<p>In the nightcap of Friday’s doubleheader against Air Force, Harris broke a 3-3 tie with a two-run home run to left that helped propel the Mids to a 7-5 win over the Falcons.</p>

<p>On the year, Harris owns a 3-0 record with a 0.48 ERA in 18.2 innings. He has struck out 24 and walked eight, while limiting the opposition to a .121 batting average. At the plate, he owns a .282 batting average with team highs in home runs (three) and RBIs (11).</p>

<p>Soares finished the week with a .429 (3-for-7) batting average and saw action in all four games, making two starts behind the plate. He produced a hit in each of the three games in which he recorded an at bat and reached base safely at a .556 clip. In Navy’s loss to Missouri on Sunday, he broke up a no-hit attempt with a double off the left field fence in the eighth inning after coming in as a defensive replacement one inning before.</p>

<p>This season, Soares ranks second on the team with a .368 (7-for-19) batting average with two doubles and a RBI. The freshman leads the squad with a .500 on-base percentage.</p>

<p>The Midshipmen (8-2) return to action today with a 2:30 p.m. first pitch against Georgetown at Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium in Annapolis. Live stats will be available via GameTracker on <a href="http://www.navysports.com(%5B/url%5D.)"&gt;www.navysports.com(.)&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

287

<p>Navy positioned to spring Patriot League Tournament upset</p>

<p>Published in the Annapolis Capital:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2007/02_28-04/NAS%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2007/02_28-04/NAS&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>
[quote]
Bucknell is the two-time defending Patriot League champion and has pulled major upsets in the first round of the NCAA Tournament each of the past two seasons. Navy is trying to avoid its sixth straight losing season and has not won a game in the Patriot League Tournament since reaching the final in 2001.</p>

<p>Additionally, Bucknell has won five straight games over Navy by an average margin of 18 points....

[/quote]
</p>

288

<p>For Immediate Release
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Contact: Jonathan Maggart (410) 293-8771</p>

<p>Navy Edges Georgetown, 2-1</p>

<p>ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Navy’s pitching staff of Oliver Drake (Gardner, Mass.), Chris Murray (Navarre, Fla.) and James Lee (Asheville, N.C.) combined to hold Georgetown to six hits and one unearned run as the Midshipmen edged the Hoyas, 2-1, in baseball action at Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium on Wednesday afternoon.</p>

<p>With the win, Navy’s record improved to 9-2 on the year. The nine wins in the month of February top the previous school record of eight February wins tallied by the 2006 squad. The 9-2 start to the 2007 slate is the best by a Navy squad since the 1989 team also opened the year with a 9-2 record. Georgetown dropped to 2-4 on the season with the setback.</p>

<p>Drake, making his second start of the season, scattered six hits and one unearned run with two walks and four strikeouts over 6.2 innings in receiving a no-decision. Murray came in relief of Drake and induced an inning-ending foul popout before Lee tossed the final-two innings. Lee did not allow a hit during his relief outing, walking one and striking out three, to improve to 1-0 on the year.</p>

<p>“Every pitcher did exactly what he needed to do,” stated Navy head coach Paul Kostacopoulos. “Oliver had a tremendous start today. Chris came in and got the big out to close out the seventh. James pitched with confidence and did a great job.”</p>

<p>The Midshipmen jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the first when junior Renaldo Hollins (Virginia Beach, Va.) led off with a triple to the left-center gap. Freshman Kendall Bolt (Stockton, Calif.) produced a foul popout against the fence down the right-field line deep enough to score Hollins from third and give the Mids a one-run advantage that would stick until the seventh.</p>

<p>Georgetown capitalized on a Navy throwing error on a double steal to tie the score at one. However, Navy answered with the game-winning run in the bottom of the eighth.</p>

<p>Freshman Steven Soares (Coral Springs, Fla.) led off the eighth with an infield single and moved up to second on a B.J. Bickel (Benson, N.C.) sacrifice bunt. Following a Hollins walk and Bolt single to load the bases, Soares crossed the plate when Mitch Harris’ (Mt. Holly, N.C.) was booted by Georgetown third baseman Joseph Graziano.</p>

<p>Bolt finished the afternoon 1-for-2 with a walk and a RBI, while Hollins posted a 1-for-3 effort at the plate with a walk and a run scored. Navy was out-hit by its guests, 6-5.</p>

<p>Georgetown starter Jimmy Saris was tagged with the loss despite giving a complete-game effort. He walked only two and struck out nine in falling to 0-2 on the campaign.</p>

<p>The Midshipmen return to action when they open a three-game set with Central Connecticut State in Annapolis with a Saturday doubleheader starting at noon. Live stats will be available via GameTracker on <a href="http://www.navysports.com(%5B/url%5D.)"&gt;www.navysports.com(.)&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

289

<p>For Immediate Release
Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2007
Squash Contact: Stacie Michaud (410) 293-8773</p>

<p>Navy Squash Pair Honored for Academic Achievement</p>

<p>ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Navy senior Dan Hellier (Modesto, Calif.) and junior Tucker George (West Hartford, Conn.) were the recipients of the College Squash Association's Scholar-Athlete Award given out at last Saturday's CSA Team Championship banquet held at Yale University. To be eligible for the award, the student-athlete must have reached its junior or senior year, be a letterwinner and have a cumulative grade-point average of 3.50 or higher.</p>

<p>Hellier, who will graduate in May with a degree in electrical engineering, owns a 3.57 GPA. He has been named to the Superintendent's List six times and the Commandant's List seven times, while he stands 198th among his class of 1056 in academic order of merit.</p>

<p>Hellier came to the Academy as a tennis recruit, but switched racquets following his freshman campaign. He spent his sophomore year as a member of the JV squash team and a year ago he turned in an 8-2 record in the 10 varsity matches in which he saw action. Hellier turned his attention to honing his skills and focusing in on making Navy's ladder last summer. He did just that and helped lead the Mids to a 10th-place finish at the CSA Team Championship last weekend , Navy's highest finish in Craig Dawson's seven-year coaching career. Hellier finished his senior campaign as one of seven players on the roster to reach 20 wins, as he turned in a 21-10 record, including a pair of wins at the CSA Team Championship.</p>

<p>George is ranked 40th in his class of 1093 in academic order of merit where he has earned a 3.91 GPA in Applied Mathematics. He has recorded three-straight 4.00 GPA semesters and earned his way onto the Superintendent's List three times, the Commandant's List four times and the Dean's List once.</p>

<p>George spent the season as the Mids' No. 1 player and the 38th-ranked player in the country. Navy's team captain, George produced a 14-8 record this winter, all at the No. 1 position where he picked up a trio of wins over opponents ranked in the top 50. Included in that list was a 9-5, 10-8, 9-7 victory over Brown's Daniel Petrie (No. 49) in the opening round of the CSA Team Championship. George will be back in action this weekend representing Navy at the CSA Individual Championship in Philadelphia, Pa.</p>

290

<p>For: Immediate Release
Sent: February 28, 2007
Contact: Scott Strasemeier (410) 293-8775</p>

<p>LEWISBURG, Pa.—Donald Brown scored 15 points, grabbed nine rebounds and blocked two shots to lead two-time defending Patriot League Champion Bucknell (21-8) to an easy 62-43 victory over Navy (14-16) in the quarterfinals of the Patriot League Men’s Basketball Tournament on Wednesday night. Bucknell advances to the Patriot League semifinals on Sunday where they will play host to Army, a 47-46 upset winner over Lehigh. The loss sent Navy out in the first round of the Patriot League Tournament for the sixth-consecutive year.</p>

<p>“Bucknell is a great team and they played very well tonight,” said Navy head coach Billy Lange. “I felt like we were right where we wanted to be in the first half then we hit that long scoreless drought and to Bucknell’s credit they took advantage of it.”</p>

<p>Navy trailed by just one point at 15-14 with 6:38 left in the first half, but then went scoreless over the next 5:18 as Bucknell went on a 16-0 run to put the game away.</p>

<p>“We weren’t getting good looks at the basket during that time span and we started to stand around,” said Navy guard Kaleo Kina. “We got flustered on the offensive end and that seemed to effect us on the defensive end.”</p>

<p>Bucknell increased its lead in the second half to as many as 27 points at 50-23 on two free throws by Darren Mastropaolo with 12:40 left in the contest.</p>

<p>At that point Navy could have folded and let Bucknell walk all over them, but to the Mids credit they never quit.</p>

<p>Bryce Brigham and Adam Teague sparked an 18-6 Navy run over the next seven minutes to cut Bucknell’s lead to 15 at 56-41 with 4:55 left in the contest. Brigham scored nine points on three three-point field goals during the run, while Teague knocked down two field goals.</p>

<p>Navy had a chance to pull even closer on two different occasions, but T.J. Topecer let a pass go right through his hands with the Mids down 15 with 4:40 left and then turned it over again with Navy down 58-43 with 2:24 remaining.</p>

<p>Kaleo Kina led the Mids with 12 points, while Brigham and Sprink scored nine points apiece. Sprink and Kina combined for 13 turnovers and just two assists.</p>

<p>“We are a program on the rise,” said Lange. “I have never felt better about our team than I do right now. We never quit, we just got beat by a better team tonight. The most important question for us is where do we go from here? Just because most of the players in this league are seniors and we have everybody coming back is no guarantee for success. We need to keep working hard and getting better.”</p>

291

<p>Published in today's Washington Compost:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/28/AR2007022802194.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/28/AR2007022802194.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>
[quote]
The American University men's basketball team has never had a problem in the Patriot League quarterfinals. It's the rest of the tournament that has left the Eagles disappointed year after year.</p>

<p>American took care of business in the opening round for the sixth consecutive year last night, pulling away in the second half to eliminate cold-shooting Colgate, 59-44, before 924 at Bender Arena and earn a trip to top-seeded Holy Cross for a semifinal game Sunday....

[/quote]
</p>

292

<p>Published in today's Washington Compost:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/28/AR2007022802115.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/28/AR2007022802115.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>
[quote]
When the 59-team NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament begins tomorrow, a strong argument can be made that there is no more unlikely starter in the field than Averett University.</p>

<p>Three years ago this week, when the tournament began, Averett had just finished a perfect season: 25 games, 25 losses. That wrapped up a three-season 5-70 run. Entering tomorrow's tournament opener against defending champion Virginia Wesleyan, the Cougars are 20-6....

[/quote]
</p>

293

<p>Posted on the Daily Item:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.dailyitem.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070301/SPORTS02/703010303/-1/SPORTS%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.dailyitem.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070301/SPORTS02/703010303/-1/SPORTS&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>
[quote]
...Navy (14-16) had its wind deep into the first half, pulling within 15-14 on a Kaleo Kina three-pointer at the 6:38 mark. Bucknell didn't score for nearly six minutes and didn't have a field goal for seven minutes, 37 seconds.</p>

<p>But the Bison bounced back to score 16 points in a row. Brown had two baskets and John Griffin, who had 10 points, four assists and three steals, hit a baseline three-pointer during the decisive spurt....

[/quote]
</p>

294

<p>Published in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07060/765614-134.stm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07060/765614-134.stm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>
[quote]
Sibling rivalry can start at a very young age.</p>

<p>Whether it is vying for the attention of their parents, or competing against each other in sports, the older sibling is always trying to stay one step ahead of the younger....

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</p>

295

<p>For Immediate Release
Thursday, March 1, 2007
Contact: Jonathan Maggart (410) 293-8771</p>

<p>Mids to Split Squad in Final Week Before NCAA Championship</p>

<p>ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy men’s track & field team will split its squad up to compete in two separate meets one week prior to the NCAA Championship this weekend. Some of the Midshipmen will compete at the Alex Wilson Invitational on Friday and Saturday in Notre Dame, Ind., while the remaining qualifiers will partake in the IC4A Championship in Boston on Saturday and Sunday.</p>

<p>Navy will travel juniors Paul Harris (Woodbury, Minn.), Jeff Sarchione (Alliance, Ohio), William Ricks (Sussex, Va.) and Ben Kozy (Houston, Texas) to the Alex Wilson Invitational this weekend. The Midshipmen will compete in the distance medley relay on Friday evening, before slotting Harris in the 800-meter run on Saturday morning.</p>

<p>Navy’s distance medley relay team produced a NCAA provisional-qualifying time of 9:41.71 at the Iowa State Classic in February. The clocking currently ranks 10th in the nation and third fastest in school history.</p>

<p>During that same meet, Harris became the first Navy runner to break the 1:50.00 mark in the 800-meter run on the indoor track. He provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championship with a time of 1:48.46, which enters the weekend as the third-fastest time in the country. His effort is only 0.86-second off the nation’s quickest time held by Lopez Lomong of Northern Arizona.</p>

<p>Ten Midshipmen will make the trip up to Boston for the IC4A Championship with the hopes of posting a NCAA qualifying mark and advancing the to the national championship next weekend. Last season, Navy racked up 25.5 points to finish ninth out of 51 schools. </p>

<p>In addition to Harris, junior Craig Meekins (Baldwin, N.Y.) could make a push for the national championship in the 800-meter run. He owns three of the team’s five-fastest time this year, including a 1:51.48 clocking at the Iowa State Classic. He has finished ahead of the IC4A-qualifying mark five times this season.</p>

<p>Navy will have two competitors in both the high jump and 3,000-meter run events this weekend. Seniors Stephen White (Marietta, Ga.) and Cole Herron (Sanger, Calif.) will partake in the high jump after each earned all-league honors two weeks ago. White owns the team’s best height of the year, a 6’10-3/4” (2.10 meters) clearance in Halsey Field House back in January. Herron surpassed the 6’9-3/4” (2.08 meters) bar at the Iowa State Classic one month ago.</p>

<p>Sophomore Andrew Grant (Athens, Ga.) and junior John Kress (Colorado Springs, Colo.) will see action in the 3,000-meter run event. Grant enters the weekend with the team’s best time of 8:23.32 at the Iowa State Classic and Kress registered an 8:28.16 clocking at Army one month ago.</p>

<p>Rounding out the Midshipmen contingent on the track in Boston will be senior Cameron Lindsay (Kernersville, N.C.) and junior Lucas Burke (Bakersfield, Calif.). Lindsay will race in the 500-meter run following four IC4A-qualifying times this season, with his best effort coming in a 1:04.19 showing at the Penn State National Open. Burke will see action in the 1,000-meter run, where his season-best clocking of 2:27.77 also came the Penn State National Open.</p>

<p>Junior shot putter Darryl Hunter (Des Moines, Iowa) looks to lead the Mids in the field events this weekend. He has won the shot put in each of his five meets this year, providing IC4A-qualifying marks in each of his efforts. His best performance came two weeks ago at the Patriot League Championship, where he uncorked a career-best throw of 55’4-1/4” (16.87 meters). </p>

<p>Junior Dante Marshall (Hermitage, Pa.) owns the team’s eight-best distances in the triple jump this season, seven of which surpass the IC4A mark. He registered a career-best length at the Iowa State Classic with a distance of 48’11-1/2” (14.92 meters). Classmate Ron Belany (Haiku, Hawai’i) qualified for this weekend’s championship in the long jump with a 23’7-1/2” (7.20 meters) effort at Army last month.</p>

<p>The official field for the 2007 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championship will be announced early next week following this weekend’s championships and last chance meets. The national championship will be held at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Ark., on March 9-10.</p>

296

<p>By Mike Gibson</p>

<p>Forget about the degree of difficulty with The Kennedy Project or The Manhattan Project or even The Alan Parsons Project.</p>

<p>The Wayne Hardin Project could make them all seem like child's play in comparison.</p>

<p>Back in 1961, when Kennedy stood before Congress and said that "this nation should commit itself" to putting a man on the moon before the end of the decade, there were a lot of "huh?" looks in the gallery.</p>

<p>"Moon? You mean that same moon that's up in the sky?"</p>

<p>In the early 1940s, when a group of scientists said they were committed to splitting the atom, people said: "What, are you crazy? Do you know how small that thing is?"</p>

<p>That's sort of the same reaction Hardin got when he went on the Temple football post-game show in November and "guaranteed" to put 66,000, mostly Temple, fans in the stands for the 2007 home opener against Navy at Lincoln Financial Field.</p>

<p>Guaranteed.</p>

<p>Hardin assured Temple athletic director Bill Bradshaw, the moderator of the show, that he wasn't kidding.</p>

<p>"We're going to do all we can to help you," Bradshaw said. Hardin offered one caveat.</p>

<p>"We're going to try to play this game on the Thursday before Labor Day," Hardin said. "I've given Bill that job now. He'll get to work on it Monday." Bradshaw worked and worked and worked some more. Sometime, in December, Bradshaw almost gave up, saying "it appears the Eagles want that date."</p>

<p>Yet he did not give up.</p>

<p>"We're not going to abandon the idea of Thursday night yet," Bradshaw wrote in an email in December.</p>

<p>Bradshaw hammered away on the problem for months and finally delivered his end of the bargain today with the announcement that the Owls now have that date.</p>

<p>Jeff Lurie and Joe Banner wanted to keep it for the possiblity of an Eagles-Jets' game.</p>

<p>The Eagles were originally going to play that night and were unwilling to budge.</p>

<p>Bradshaw conjoled and pleaded, even begged, for the game, saying that it would help the Eagles, Temple, Navy and the city.</p>

<p>The city got on Temple's side and convinced Lurie and Banner that it would best serve their community relations if they helped Temple out with this special night.</p>

<p>Mostly, though, it was Bradshaw who kept his word to Hardin that he would help. He didn't give up and neither did Temple. Getting Thursday night is huge and, if you've been a Philadelphian for any length of time, you know why. The city virtually empties on the Friday of the holiday weekend, the last chance for folks to go "down the shore" before the long, cold winter.</p>

<p>Playing on Thursday night was the only shot Temple had of getting a crowd that weekend.</p>

<p>Now it's up to Hardin to keep his word to Bradshaw. Will Hardin be able to deliver?</p>

<p>Folks who've known Hardin for years say don't sell him short, even on something this ambitious.</p>

<p>"If you think he can't do it, you just don't know coach Hardin," long-time friend Kevin Touhey wrote in December.</p>

<p>Hardin was the guy who took the Temple job after it struggled against the Gettysburgs and Kings Points and Xaviers and looked people in the eye and said: "We're going to be playing Penn State and Pitt and we're going to go toe-to-toe with them. We're going to be in a bowl game."</p>

<p>Plenty of eyebrows raised, but few nods of belief. Yet Hardin delivered. Temple played one of the greatest Penn State teams ever, the 1978 squad, toe-to-toe. Temple was nationally ranked. Temple went to a bowl game.</p>

<p>If anyone can do this, Hardin can.</p>

<p>Nothing gets The Wayne Hardin Project off to a running start like a Feb. announcent.</p>

<p>Now Billboards can be made, commercials can be filmed and radio spots can be written.</p>

<p>Hardin is still a compelling figure, both in this town and the Baltimore/D.C. area. He was, after all, the last Navy head coach to have that team in a major bowl and ranked in the top 10, as high as No. 2.</p>

<p>Hardin is counting on his Navy and Temple friends to deliver on some favors. Hardin already has convinced incoming recruit Corwin Acker, among others. "Our first game next year is against Navy," Acker said. "We have a sold-out crowd, 68,000 people. I can't wait to play in front of all those people."</p>

<p>If Hardin is able to pull this off, taking Navy to No. 2 in the country or Temple to No. 17 in both major polls will seem easy by comparison.</p>

<p>He deserves the benefit of the doubt and all the help we can give him.</p>

297

<p>2007 EIWA Championship
Friday, March 2 - Saturday, March 3 • Koehler Fieldhouse • East Stroudsburg, Pa.</p>

<p>Navy Seeks First EIWA Team Title Since 1990
• The 17th-ranked Navy wrestling team begins its quest for its first EIWA team title since 1990 on Friday at Koehler Fieldhouse in East Stroudsburg, Pa. The Mids are one of four nationally-ranked teams in the tournament field, joining Cornell (12th), Penn (20th) and Lehigh (24th).
• Navy's best chance at claiming its first individual title since the 2002 championship comes from junior 174-pounder Matt Stolpinski and junior heavyweight Ed Prendergast. Both wrestlers will likely be the No. 1 seed in their weight class. Stolpinski, who finished fourth at last year's championship, owns a 34-5 record this winter, while Prendergast will make his first appearance in the tournament and he has produced a 31-5 mark.
• Brad Canterbury (141 pounds), John Cox (149 pounds) and John Jarred (157 pounds) all head into the tournament ranked third according to the Feb. 20 EIWA rankings. Canterbury hasn't represented the Mids in the EIWA Championship since his freshman campaign and heads into the competition with a 26-15 record ... Cox placed fifth a year ago, but will compete in his final EIWA match of his career owning a 24-6 record ... Jarred, meanwhile, was the fifth seed at last year's tournament, but did not place ... he is just one win away from posting back-to-back 30-win seasons (29-9).
• Other Navy hopefuls include Alex Usztics (125 pounds), Joe Baker (133 pounds), Matt Stolpinski (174 pounds) and Antonio Miranda (184 pounds).</p>

<p>Quick Hits
• Heavyweight Ed Prendergast owns Navy's longest winning streak with 13-consecutive wins dating back to Jan. 6 ... nine of the 13 wins in the streak have come by fall ... Prendergast's last loss was against Boise State's Andy Patrick in the third-place match at the Southern Scuffle
• Prendergast's 15 pins this year are tied as the third most in program history and the most since Scott Kelly won 15 matches by fall in 1987-88 ... he is just pin away from moving into the top 14 all-time in falls ... he has recorded 21 pins during his career.
• Wrestlers in eight of the 10 weight classes are ranked among the top five in Navy's most season wins by current weight class ... Alex Usztics (125 pounds) and Matt Stolpinski (174 pounds) own the most wins in their respective weight classes with 26 and 34 wins, respectively.
• Matt Stolpinski is one win shy of moving into a tie for eighth place on the season wins list ... he owns a team-best 34 wins ... Stolpinski currently sits one win out of 14th on the Navy career wins record book where he heads into the tournament with 89-career victories.
• A win by Ed Prendergast would give him 32 wins and a three-way tie for 22nd on the Mids' single-season wins list.
• Dating back to Jan. 3 2004, Navy has won 45 of its last 54 duals ... eight of the nine losses have come against competition ranked in the top 12 at the time of the competition (Wisconsin was not ranked earlier this year).
• Navy owns a 32-7 EIWA dual meet record under head coach Bruce Burnett ... the Mids are 31-1 against teams in the league other than Lehigh ... earlier this season, Burnett led Navy to its first win over the Mountain Hawks in seven years (1-6).
• The Midshipmen have won 29-straight matches against league competition other than Lehigh.</p>

<p>A Look Back at the 2006 EIWA Championship
• Seven Mids placed at the 102nd EIWA Championships, leading the team to a fourth-place finish on March 4-5, in Bethlehem, Pa.
• Navy had just two automatic qualifiers, Joe Baker (133 pounds) and Tanner Garrett (heavyweight), but earned three of the 14 wildcard bids to compete in the 76th NCAA Championship.
• Garrett paced Navy with a second-place finish ... he dropped a 3-2 double-overtime heartbreaker to No. 7-ranked Bode Ogunwole of Harvard ... it marked the second-straight year that Garrett lost in the finals in that manner and third straight year overall.
• Baker was impressive in earning his first automatic bid, finishing third at 133 pounds ... he won his opening two matches by fall and major decision, then dropped a tough 11-8 decision to Matt Valenti of Penn in the semifinals ... he rebounded with a fall against Frankie Baughan of Army, before cruising past Cornell's Mike Mormile, 8-5 ... Baker led the match 7-2 with about 20 seconds left when Mormile scored an escape and a takedown in the last 10 seconds of the match.
• Navy's three other bids came via wildcard selections ... 149-pounder John Cox dropped decisions to Penn's Matt Dragon and Army's Patrick Simpson, but was impressive in his other two matches ... he led late in both of his losses, before giving up late points in both of his losses.
• Matt Stolpinski finished fourth last year, dropping decisions to the eventual champion, Lehigh's Travis Frick, and Columbia's 2005 All-American Matt Palmer.
• Lastly, 197-pound Chris Pogue took advantage of a weight jump in the middle of the year to earn one of the 14 wildcard spots after finishing fourth at the EIWA championship ... Pogue lost close decisions to Cornell's Jerry Rinaldi (3-2) and Army's Charles Martin (6-4), but was awarded for his fine season with one of the wildcard selections.</p>

<p>Navy Among Top 20 in RPI
• InterMat Wrestling has devised a Ratings Point Index using the same formula the NCAA created for men's basketball, among other sports ... the RPI is based on a formula that's based 25% on winning percentage, 50% on opponents' winning percentage and 25% on the opponents' opponents' winning percentage.
• According to the latest RPI (released Feb. 19), Navy is ranked No. 15 (.58900) out of 89 Div. I varsity programs, the highest of all EIWA member schools ... Penn is the next-closest ranked EIWA program coming in at No. 19 (.56210).
• Minnesota is atop the RPI with a score of .69870.</p>

298

<p>Navy men finish with 14-16 mark</p>

<p>Published in the Annapolis Capital:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2007/03_01-05/NAS%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2007/03_01-05/NAS&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>
[quote]
Bucknell is a formidable team without Donald Brown, evidenced by the fact it went 7-0 while the star forward was sidelined with an injury.</p>

<p>The Bison are even better with Brown, a second team All-Patriot League pick despite playing only half the conference campaign....

[/quote]
</p>

299

<p>By Joe Schad
ESPN.com</p>

<p>For 23 years, Air Force football was synonymous with coach Fisher DeBerry and the option offense that helped make him an icon.</p>

<p>Next season, both will be gone.</p>

<p>Sure, first-year coach Troy Calhoun -- who ran the option as DeBerry's quarterback in 1985 -- will showcase some vintage plays. But after three consecutive losing seasons, Air Force was ready for a jarring change.</p>

<p>"Defensively, the speed of the game has drastically increased over the last 20 years," said Calhoun, offensive coordinator of the Houston Texans last season. "You have to utilize misdirection, but also find ways to get the ball up-field in a hurry. If you have too much East-West stuff, with our competition, that field will shrink."</p>

<p>Think a combination of old-school Air Force meshed with the influences of Wake Forest (Calhoun was an assistant under Jim Grobe there and at Ohio) and the Denver Broncos, where Calhoun coached under Mike Shanahan.</p>

<p>Think shotgun formations -- never seen in DeBerry's offense -- predetermined carries and more downfield chances.</p>

<p>"The first seven days of spring will tell a lot," Calhoun said. "Does it absolutely have to be the triple option to succeed at an academy? Only time will tell what is the case."</p>

<p>From the porch of his beachside home in Charleston, S.C., where he and his wife have retired, DeBerry said there won't be sadness in watching Air Force play without an option base.</p>

<p>"No, not really," DeBerry said. "I really want them to be more successful than we were. And if it takes something different, so be it. I bleed blue."</p>

<p>Of course, there's no hesitation when explaining what the option offense meant to him and the program for nearly a quarter-century. DeBerry left Air Force as both the school's and the service acadamies' winningest coach, racking up a 169-107-1 record that included three wins over Notre Dame and three Western Athletic Conference titles.</p>

<p>"It gave our kids a chance to win," DeBerry said. "And our kids took pride in running it. The option is a tough offense to get ready for in a short period of time. It's a great offense for the service academies and Paul Johnson is proving that at the Naval Academy. It has also been proven to work at Army."</p>

<p>That said, DeBerry stepped aside at the age of 68 -- with three years left on his contract -- because the Air Force administration was eager for, as athletic director Dr. Hans Mueh said, someone to "re-instill fire and passion."</p>

<p>Calhoun is serious, in contrast to the folksy DeBerry. He's polished enough to say of the need to beat Army and Navy: "They're key games, but so are our Mountain West games."</p>

<p>And he's respected for what he did as a player at Air Force, as a former recruiting coordinator in Colorado Springs and also for his work as an NFL assistant. In his time with Shanahan, Calhoun coached offense, defense and special teams.</p>

<p>Calhoun emerged as the obvious successor to DeBerry -- who recommended him -- because he understands the unique challenges of coaching at a service academy.</p>

<p>"Candidly, in this day and age, in the summers, June and July, you have a good chunk of schools lifting and conditioning and doing team work and 7-on-7," Calhoun said. "Here, our guys are going to find out what active duty is like. They'll do three weeks at a base, three weeks in a leadership capacity. And then there's the academics. We have guys taking aeronautical engineering and physics. A lot of guys."</p>

<p>It's not about excuses. Calhoun sees it as an advantage that offensive and defensive linemen at Air Force cannot have a percentage of body fat as high as those at other programs, because they'd never pass mandated fitness tests.</p>

<p>"You just have to make sure in the way you play, that you're playing to the strength of your team," said Calhoun, who saw undersized offensive linemen effectively block for the Broncos. "It's not scheme. The way you win at Air Force is attitude."</p>

<p>Calhoun, at the age of 40, is just the sixth coach in the history of Air Force football.</p>

<p>"He's going to be a dynamite coach," DeBerry said. "He was always such a student of the game. And an excellent competitor. As far as I'm concerned, the greatest compliment you can be paid is to be asked to come back to your alma mater."</p>

<p>Calhoun says he can't express with words what DeBerry has meant to him and Air Force, but that he's going to take the former coach's last bit of advice to heart.</p>

<p>"Be yourself," Calhoun said. "No two people are exactly the same. Leadership-wise, you have to be yourself, the way you teach and the way you coach, you have to be yourself. Work-ethic wise and challenging players, and motivating, you have to be yourself. And that's what I plan to do."</p>

<p>Joe Schad is ESPN TV's national college football reporter.</p>

300

<p>For Immediate Release
Sent Thursday, March 1, 2007
Contact Justin Kischefsky (410) 293-8772</p>

<p>Trio of Tennis Matches in North Carolina Await Mids</p>

<p>ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- The Navy tennis team will continue its challenging preseason slate of matches with three contests over the next three days in the state of North Carolina. </p>

<p>The roadtrip opens Friday with a 2 p.m. match at UNC Greensboro, continues Saturday with a 10 a.m. match at North Carolina State and concludes Sunday with a 1 p.m. match at North Carolina. </p>

<p>"UNC Greensboro is an important match for us starting out the trip," said Navy head coach John Officer. "We need to get back in the win column. N.C. State and North Carolina are both good teams and will require us to be at our best. We need to stay focused on our trademark
competitive spirit to be successful this weekend."</p>

<p>Navy enters the week with a 5-5 record after dropping matches last week on the road to 57th-ranked Brown and Yale. Although the Mids failed to record a point in either match, the individual matches were not as one-sided as the final score indicates.</p>

<p>Navy lost the three doubles matches to Brown by scores of 8-5, 8-5 and 8-6, Ramsey Lemaich (Fr., Danville, Calif.) lost a three-set match at No. 5 singles, Johnny Waters (So., Papillion, Neb.) lost a 6-4, 7-6 decision at No. 3 singles and Adrian Lai (Sr., Tucson, Ariz.) suffered a 6-2, 7-5 defeat at No. 4 singles.</p>

<p>The following day against Yale, Stanley Kahl (Sr., Richland, Pa.) lost a three-set match at No. 4 singles, Nate Nelms (So., St. Mary's, Ga.) dropped a 7-5, 6-2 decision at No. 1 singles and Luke Albi (So., Cincinnati, Ohio) lost a 6-4, 6-4 contest at No. 5 singles.</p>

<p>Navy did not face UNC Greensboro last season, but the Mids won three-straight matches from the Spartans from 2003-05. UNCG has posted a 3-5 record on the year and has the 48th-ranked doubles team in the nation in Andrey Bubnov and Arsel Kumdereli.</p>

<p>North Carolina State is ranked 39th in the latest national poll by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association and has won nine of its 10 matches this year. The Wolfpack, who defeated Navy 7-0 last season, have three nationally-ranked doubles teams and a trio of singles players who are regionally ranked.</p>

<p>North Carolina, meanwhile awaits Navy with a perfect 8-0 record on the season and a national ranking of No. 17. The Tar Heels are led by Ben Carlotti, who is ranked ninth in the region and 31st in the nation in singles, and by the doubles tandem of Lenny Gullan and David Stone, who are ranked 56th nationally. </p>

<p>North Carolina also recorded a 7-0 victory over Navy one year ago.</p>