Salute to NCAA College Sports (3 of 3)

Here are the six student athletes pictured in this entry: 1) Mysha Sataraka, softball, UCLA; 2) Grant Mullins, men's basketball, Columbia; 3) Chanen Roygoza, women's gymnastics, Penn State; 4) Matt Grzelcyk, men's hockey, Boston University; 5) Kiah Gillespie, women's basketball, Maryland; and 5) Mark Lowrie, baseball, Winthrop.....

College Gymnastics List (3 or 4): EAGL and Big 12 Gymnasts Combined

If one thinks college basketball is confusing with conference realignments, then one should consider some of the things happening with college gymnastics.

For starters, the Big 12 Conference has only ten teams in most sports, and one of those teams is West Virginia University which is quite far away from conference rival Texas Tech. But, WVU has a women's gymnastics teams and Texas Tech doesn't. In fact, there are only three schools in the Big 12 with women's gymnastics programs, Oklahoma, which is a contender for a national championship, and Iowa State.

Then, there is the EAGL Conference which included some ACC schools, some Big East schools, and some Atlantic-10 schools, but next year, EAGL members Rutgers and Maryland are joining the Big 10. West Virginia was also an EAGL member; in fact, the Mountaineers have still won more conference titles than the other schools, before they moved to the Big 12.

So, in this entry, we are combining the two conferences, and if you are reading this entry in 2015, keep these changes in mind.

Without further confusion (we can imagine that blog-readers in Hong Kong are scratching their heads), here is the list:

1) Haley Watts, University of North Carolina. Junior (pictured top)

2) Henrietta Green, Iowa State*. Senior (pictured center)

3) Stephanie Giameo. Maryland^. Junior (pictured bottom)

4) Diahanna Ham. North Carolina State. Senior.

5) Nicolette Swoboda. West Virginia* Freshman.

6) Taylor Spears. Oklahoma*. Senior.

7) Nicole Pearson. Pittsburgh. Sophomore.

8) Alyssa Straub, Rutgers^. Senior

9) Meghan Pflieger. Univ. of New Hampshire. Freshman.

10) Lauren Ross, Towson, Junior.

George Washington University (GWU) is also an EAGL member.

*-Denotes Big 12 schools

^-Denotes schools moving to the Big Ten next year

Kudos to UNC Women's Lacrosse Team and Remembering Fallen Soldiers

Kudos to the University of North Carolina's women lacrosse team which pulled off an upset over the top-ranked University of Maryland to win an NCAA national championship by a 13-12 margin in a game that lasted three overtimes in Villanova, Pa., just outside of Philadelphia.

Ironically, UNC's long-standing rival the Duke Blue Devils prevailed in the men's final in Philadelphia today by defeating Syracuse 16-10.

For the Lady Tar Heels, Sammy Jo Tracy, a sophomore from Bedford, NY, scored the magical, winning goal against the Lady Terps, a team that finished the season at 22-1, with Sunday's loss being their first ever of the year.

It was the Terps that won the ACC title in the sport a few weeks ago; UNC is in the same conference. The Tar Heels finished 18-3, and the game was the longest women's lacrosse title game in NCAA history. Tracy scored the goal a mere 31 seconds into the third overtime.

The Tar Heels flew back from Philadelphia this morning, and they were greeted home by a jubilant group of supporters upon arriving back in North Carolina.

SIDEBAR: We also want to take a moment to recognize fallen soldiers who lost their lives while serving combat missions for the American military. Today is Memorial Day here in America. My late stepfather Donald Sullivan was a WW-2 veteran.

Today, President Barack Obama marked Memorial Day at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., where the likes of President John F. Kennedy, boxer Joe Louis and actor Lee Marvin are buried. In his comments, Obama spoke to veterans in attendance and to troops who are still serving in the war in Afghanistan.

http://www.goheels.com

http://www.arlingtoncemetery.mil

http://www.arlingtonva.us

http://www.visitchapel.org

http://www.unc.edu

Kudos to the University of Maryland for Winning the ACC Lacrosse Title

The University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, NC, is perhaps a good six-hour drive from College Park, Md., where the University of Maryland is located but the Terps came through in women's lacrosse with a 12-8 over the Tar Heels on road soil.

Abby Friend scored three goals for the home team, but it wasn't enough to hold off three goals each from Katie Schwarzmann (pictured center), Brooke Grffin, Beth Glaros and Taylor Cummings. Schwarzmann was named the tourney's most outstanding player.

The Terps (19-0) remain undefeated and the loss was one of the very few for the 'Heels (12-3); the title is the fifth straight ACC title for Maryland. 

Incidentally, in case any of you are wondering, Testudo is the mascot of Maryland, a school that is (editorial comment: foolishly) going to the Big Ten in the fall.

SIDEBAR ONE: We want to thank Jack in Truth or Consequences, N.Mex., the only town in America named after a game show. Jack was one of the supporters who called in a pledge to the non-profit progressive tv channel Link-TV today; we sense if Link-TV had given his last name, he might find himself on Gov. Susana Martinez's 'enemies list.' She is, after all, a Republican.

SIDEBAR TWO: We also want to thank today's day sponsor (yes, we are making this up, no one sponsors us!) the Cafe Evolution, a vegetarian cafe in Florence, Mass. We are curious to know if they serve shish kebab without any meat!

SIDEBAR THREE: One sport that the Terps might have trouble with in the Big Ten, particularly since they don't have a team in the sport, is women's hockey. But, we sense that if the Terps had a team on the ice, they would probably lose quite often to the Minnesota Golden Gophers, a team that went a very impressive 41-0-0. The Gophers won a NCAA title in women's hockey on their home ice with a 6-3 win over Boston University several weeks ago.

Amanda Kessel of the Gophers was named the most outstanding player in college women's hockey.

There is now a petition to have the Gophers visit the White House, and a joint letter from Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Al Franken (D-Minn.) was written on their behalf.

SIDEBAR FOUR: Starting tomorrow, we will start Soccer Week. It was a good week for Istanbul powerhouse Fenerbahce, the arch rival of our beloved GalataSaray. The Canaries won a home UEFA game over Benefica of Portugal 1-0 on a goal from veteran Turkish player Egemen Korkmaz.

In domestic play, Fenerbahce won over Kayserispor 2-1 thanks to goals from two of the team's star players Dirk Kuyt of the Netherlands and Cristian Baroni of Brazil.

http://www.umterps.com

http://www.gopherssports.com

http://www.cafe-evolution.com

http://www.linktv.org

Sports Desk- ACC Volleyball, Tarheel Named Freshman of the Week

Though we have an image of Rameses, we are focusing on University of North Carolina women's college volleyball player Page Neunfeldt a freshman from Birmingham, Mich., was named ACC Freshman of the Year.

Neunfeldt helped UNC earn home wins over the University of Maryland 3-1 (27-25, 22-25, 25-19, 25-17) on Friday night and against Boston College 3-0 (25-19, 25-10, 25-17). The Tarheel freshman had a combined total of 27 kills and 11 blocks over the weekend.

Here is a list of scores from Fri., Oct, 19 when all 12 ACC were playing; for the results of the Saturday and Sunday games go to our sister blog: http://www.nocturnalguy38.blogspot.com

Fri, Oct. 19:

*-denotes home team

Miami 3 *Clemson 2

Duke 3 *Virginia 1

*NC State 3 Boston College 0

*Virginia Tech Wake Forest 1

Florida State 3 *Georgia Tech 2

*UNC 3 Maryland 1

http://www.goheels.com

http://www.cvu.com

Saturday Morning Tweets_ Not a Good Week for Manners

Before we post a tweet from Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt of Chapel Hill, NC, home of the University of North Carolina, which won a home game in women's volleyball over the University of Maryland last night, we should pause for a words from our sponsors: the Turkish toothpaste Ipana and the Roseanne Barr for President campaign (yes, the comedian/actress is running against Obama and Romney for a fringe third party). Ok, now that we've covered that, let's go to our tweets:

1) @Indyweek (Indy Week is an alt weekly based in Durham, NC: "Voting lessons from #Raleigh resident Pota Vallas, 104, who has been voting since FDR was elected in 1932" (Yes, that is the reason why we have an image of the Franklin D. Roosevelt dime, bottom).

2) @TheFix (The Fix is a daily column from "The Washington Post" political reporter Chris Cillizza): "Manners had the Worst Week in Washington.' Congrats or something." (This is in reference to the recent presidential debate).

3) @TeaPartyCat (Top Conservative Cat, a satirical liberal tweeter): "That awkward moment when a Salt Lake City paper in Mormon country endorses the other guy." (A reference to the Obama endorsement from "The Salt Lake Tribune," published yesterday).

4) @MayorMarkK (Mark Kleinschmidt, pictured top): "Very energizing Orange Co Democratic legislative breakfast."

5) @WAMU885News (WAMU-FM is an NPR station serving Washington, DC): "NFL fines Redskins $20,000 for violating league procedures on reporting injuries. (Hence the reason for the 'Skins helmet, center)

6)@ErinAndrews (Erin Andrews, the sexy female ESPN reporter): "Happy Birthday to my little sister @KendraAndrews1...even thou I wanted to give her back when she was a baby. Love u Ken."

7) @TerpsGymnastics (Brett Nelligan, the coach of the University of Maryland women's gymnastics team): "HOMECOMING is finally here! Can't wait to see everyone." (The Terps' homecoming game against North Carolina State is just underway as of this writing).

8) @LailaLalami (Laila Lalami is a liberal journalist who contributes to "The Nation"): "Oh, God. Rupert Murdoch is looking to buy the L.A. Times."


http://www.chapelhill.org

http://www.washingtonpost.com/fastfix

http://www.indyweek.com

http://www.lailalami.com

http://www.thenation.com

http://www.umterps.com

Special Quote of the Week- Dominique Dawes

Today, in honor of Black History Month, we are going to start a month-long series of quotes from African-American athletes, past and present.

In may sports, an athlete can still compete at age 34, but that's not the case with gymnastics!

Nevertheless, Dominique Dawes, who won Olympic gold at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, is still very active in the public speaking circuit.

Her alma mater, the University of Maryland (Dawes did not compete for the school) faces their EAGL rivals from the University of North Carolina on Saturday. The meet between the Terps and the 'Heels will be at 7:00 p.m. in Chapel Hill.

Last week, Maryland finished third (in a four-school meet) in Ann Arbor, Mich., in which the host Wolverines won. But, the Terps had standout performances from Kesley Cofsky, who scored a 9.8 on bars. Gymnasts Kaitlin Joseph and Ally Krikorian scored a 9.7 each on the same apparatus.

As for UNC, the 'Heels beat William and Mary at home last week with solid scores from Morgan Evans, Elizabeth Durkac (who happens to be from Yorktown, Va., which is near the campus of William and Mary) and Emily Cornwell. Alas, our favorite Tarheel gymnast Christine Nguyen graduated last year.

Dawes has been very vocal about the need for young women to view themselves positively and her quote here certainly reflects that:

"I found through research that between 50 and 70 percent of young girls who describe themselves as overweight are actually normal weight."

Kudos to Maryland Terps' Women's Lacrosse Team!

The Lady Terps lacrosse team is taking an NCAA title back to College Park, Md., as they defeated second-ranked Northwestern University from Evanston, Ill., by a 13-11 margin in Towson, Md., which is (we think) a mere one-hour drive from the UMD campus.

The title game was played in front of 9, 872 spectators on Sunday afternoon.

Caitlyn McFadden of the Terps was named NCAA Tournament MVP. She scored two goals in the title game.

Additionally, Terps' players Sarah Mollison, Karri Ellen Johnson, and Katie Schwarzmann scored three goals to lead the team back from an early 6-0 deficit.

The year in women's lacrosse was marked by a tragedy at the University of Virginia in which a player from the Cavaliers' women's team was allegedly murdered by her boyfriend who played lacrosse for UVA's men's team.

But, both of UVA's lacrosse teams still managed to finish their respective seasons well.

Another ACC team, the UNC Tarheels almost made it to the final game against Maryland, but they fell to Northwestern in the semi-finals.

ACC Tourney Underway in Greensboro, NC

To honor the ACC Tournamnet underway just down the road in Greensboro, NC, we thought we'd dedicate an entry to the mascots, especially since I have to teach a class here in Martinsville, Va. (not really where I'm at) here in a few minutes.

I expect Duke (pictured) to win the ACC tourney with Maryland (pictured) being the runners-up.

Here are the worst mascots (in my view) in the ACC:


1. Florida State Seminoles
2. Virginia Cavaliers
3. Boston College Golden Eagles
4. Miami (Fla) Hurricanes
5. Clemson Tigers
6. Georgia Tech Yellowjackets (pictured)

It should be an exciting weekend, especially for those of us who will veg out and watch the games on tv!