Navy Sports

GreatAmerican · April 27, 2008, 3:41pm

<a href=“http://navysports.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/navy-m-footbl-mtt.html[/url]”>http://navysports.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/navy-m-footbl-mtt.html</a>

GreatAmerican · April 27, 2008, 3:44pm

By
Stewart Mandel
CNNSI

If you happen to be among those who have yet to embrace the existence of the PapaJohns.com Bowl and the International Bowl, or if it makes your skin crawl to see 6-6 teams square off against each other in the postseason, you’re probably not going to like what I’m about to tell you.

The 2008-09 bowl lineup could be even bigger.

Next week in Weston, Fla., organizers for three potential new bowl games will make their presentations to the NCAA’s Bowl Certification Committee. They are: The Congressional Bowl in Washington, D.C, (Navy vs. ACC); The St. Petersburg Bowl in St. Petersburg, Fla. (Big East vs. Conference USA); and the Rocky Mountain Bowl in Salt Lake City (Mountain West vs. WAC).

No, this is not a joke.

If all existing bowls earn recertification, as is expected, and if all three new contests get approved, it would raise the total number of bowl games to 35 – up from 22 less than a decade ago.

At this point, you may be asking yourself: “Aren’t they going to run out of teams?” Many in the bowl business are wondering the same thing.

“There’s a lot of concern in our association about adding even one more game,” said Scott Ramsey, executive director of the Music City Bowl and chairman of the Football Bowl Association. “One of the worst things that could happen down the road is for the organizers of a game to spend all year preparing for it and then not have enough teams to play. It would give the bowl system a collective black eye.”

Just how low on the totem pole are these games willing to go? The Congressional Bowl’s agreement with the ACC would send the league’s ninth eligible team to D.C – but the conference has yet to produce more than eight since expanding in 2004. (The bowl’s backup partner is the MAC.) And a potential partnership with the St. Pete Bowl would give the eight-team Big East seven guaranteed slots in 2008 (though Notre Dame can take one of them).

The bowl system last expanded in 2006 with the addition of four new games: The BCS’ stand-alone national championship game, the PapaJohns.com game in Birmingham, Toronto’s International Bowl and the New Mexico Bowl. The NCAA’s coinciding move to a 12-game regular-season, along with the elimination of previous restrictions against 6-6 teams and the counting of wins over I-AA opponents, expanded the pool of eligible teams from 59 in 2004 to 73 two years later.

Last season, however, there were only seven eligible teams that did not land bowl invitations. They were Troy, South Carolina, Northwestern, Iowa, Louisville, Ohio and Louisiana-Monroe. Had the three proposed new games already existed, there would have been just one team to spare.

“That’s cutting it pretty close,” said Richard Giannini, Southern Miss’ athletic director and chairman of the NCAA committee that will meet next week.

Recently, Giannini’s committee has green-lighted pretty much every aspiring bowl that’s met the required criteria (the International Bowl required a second try), and despite the perennial cynicism that surrounds such games, so far the marketplace has supported them.

Last year’s 32 bowl games netted an average attendance of 54,078, highest in eight years. The PapaJohns.com Bowl pitting Cincinnati and Southern Miss garnered a modest but respectable 2.26 rating on ESPN2. By comparison, NBA regular-season games on ESPN average a 1.3.

“If the market can bear it, [NCAA schools] have basically voted to have as many bowls as they can,” said Giannini. “If all bowls are stable, basically, the market is saying that having that many bowls is efficient.”

This year, however, Giannini concedes that the committee will have to weigh not only the individual proposals but also the larger issue of whether the pool of teams is large enough. The FBA has asked that the committee proceed cautiously until enough 12-game seasons have been played to produce a more thorough set of data. However, “there may be some concern about how you say yes to some and no to others,” said Ramsey.

Of the three, the St. Pete Bowl seems to pose the best chance of approval due to the backing of four all-important letters: ESPN. In recent years, ESPN Regional Television, the network’s Charlotte-based subdivision, has spearheaded the inception of several new games. It now owns and operates the Las Vegas, Hawaii, New Mexico, Armed Forces and PapaJohns.com bowls.

The St. Petersburg game is the network’s latest venture, which means it already has a guaranteed time slot (though the current scheduled date of Dec. 21 conflicts with a Tampa Bay Bucs game and is expected to changed). Pete Derzis, ESPN Regional’s senior vice president and general manager and brainchild behind the other recently added bowls, spent part of this week meeting with the city’s convention and visitors bureau as well as other local officials. Tropicana Field has been reserved, and the Big East and Conference USA are squarely on board.

“The Big East had expressed interest in an additional Florida experience and had identified St. Petersburg as a possible site,” Derzis said in an e-mail. “We’ve been working with the Big East for quite some time in building a model that we could take to the market. Conference USA had expressed interest in a Florida bowl experience as well.”

The proposed Congressional Bowl in D.C. was the brainchild of two less obvious parties. While watching an NFL game together around the time of the 2006-07 bowl games, Marie Rudolph, director of federal government relations at George Washington University, and Sean Metcalf, director of communications for a D.C. council member, noticed an ad for one of the bowls. “That’s when we realized: Why doesn’t our city have a bowl game?” said Rudolph.

In the 15 months since, the two sports enthusiasts (Rudolph is a Colorado fan; Metcalf claims Hawaii) have immersed themselves in the bowl business, with the help of the D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission. They have a date (Dec. 20), two possible venues (both RFK Stadium and Nationals Park have been reserved) and an agreement with ESPN.

Most importantly, they’ve secured Navy, which has sent upwards of 25,000 fans to recent bowls in San Diego, Charlotte and Houston. Imagine what the Annapolis, Md., school would draw in its own backyard?

Of course, that’s provided the Midshipmen, which lost renowned coach Paul Johnson to Georgia Tech after last season, become bowl eligible. If they don’t, and if the ACC can’t provide a team, either, the D.C. bowl could be looking at a Ball State-Louisiana-Monroe game. Projected attendance: 27.

The sketchiest of the three games is the proposed Rocky Mountain Bowl, headed by a marketing employee for Salt Lake Community College’s athletic department. The game currently has no set date or television partner. The Mountain West and WAC have expressed interest but neither has formally signed off on it. And Utah, the school whose stadium (Rice-Eccles) the game’s organizers plan to use, wants nothing to do with the bowl, according to a source familiar with the situation.

If there’s concern about running out of teams, this one seems the easiest to ax.

“We have the option to license one, two or all three,” said Giannini. "We look at how many bowl-eligible teams each conference has had. If you have a conference that’s only been averaging six eligible teams and now they want eight bowls, you have to say, ‘Wait a minute.’ "

Even at the current number, fans have groused about the increasing number of 6-6 squads reaching the postseason. Six such teams made the postseason last year (with four of them losing, meaning they went to a bowl yet finished their season below .500), and the addition of more bowls will only increase that number. Of the seven eligible teams left out last season, six were 6-6.

Bowl execs don’t seem to view that as a problem.

“The reality is that I’ve yet to meet a coach who doesn’t want a postseason opportunity,” said ESPN’s Derzis. "If they qualify, their season continues, they get extra practice time, they get a chance to showcase their program on national television, and it truly is positioned as a reward for the players, the staff and the fans.

“… Communities continue to embrace [bowls] and to open their arms to host new ones, and television ratings continue to show that the public has not had their fill of bowls.”

The bowls themselves, however, may be running low on their fill of teams.

GreatAmerican · April 27, 2008, 3:45pm

By Dave Reardon and Brian McInnis
<a href="mailto:dreardon@starbulletin.com">dreardon@starbulletin.com</a> <a href="mailto:bmcinnis@starbulletin.com">bmcinnis@starbulletin.com</a>

Hawaii will host Navy in football on Nov. 21, 2009 at Aloha Stadium instead of in the season-opening game on Sept. 5 of that year, UH athletic director Jim Donovan said yesterday.

Navy booked Ohio State for Sept. 5, and Donovan agreed to change the appointment with the Midshipmen.

“We received a request from their athletic director and we made an accommodation for them,” Donovan said. “It’s in our best interest.”

UH is working on one more game to fill the 2009 schedule. It will be booked for Sept. 5 or Dec. 5, Donovan said.

“We’re in discussions about the open dates,” he said. “The good thing is the first and last games of the season are the easiest to book. But we are getting to the 11th hour to fill the 2009 schedule.”

Navy is coached by Ken Niumatalolo, a former Radford and UH quarterback.

GreatAmerican · April 27, 2008, 3:48pm

For Immediate Release
Sent Saturday, April 26, 2008
Contact Justin Kischefsky (410) 293-8772

Harvard Retains Adams Cup Over Navy and Penn

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - Navy’s varsity boat could not recover from a slow start as the Mids placed second to Harvard in a race between the heavyweight rowing programs from the two schools and Penn, Saturday on the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia.

“We’ve worked on improving our starts all year, but another poor one today hurt us,” said Navy head coach Rick Clothier.

The Mids fell behind the Crimson at the start of the race, which allowed the Harvard entry to take a one-half of a boat length lead 600 meters into the contest. The two boats jockeyed back-and-forth over the next 800 meters with neither able to sustain any kind of gain. A few miss-strokes by the Mids down the stretch enabled Harvard to win by just under one boat length.

Harvard posted a winning time of 5:35.1, Navy placed second with a time of 5:38.7 and Penn followed in third place with a time of 5:49.9.

The victory in the varsity race allows Harvard to maintain possession of the Adams Cup for the eighth-straight year, with the Mids finishing in second place in each of the last six meetings. Saturday’s margin of 3.6 seconds between the two crews was a noticeable contrast to the 8.3-second win posted by the Crimson one year ago.

“I’m very proud of our crew,” said Clothier. “After the start we were even with Harvard over the next three-quarters of the course. Harvard won the Eastern Sprints and finished third at the IRA National Championship last year, so we have shown a great deal of improvement from where we were at a year ago.”

The Crimson also won each of the remaining three races contested on the day, with the Mids placing second in each race.

Navy’s varsity boat will now travel to Seattle to compete against defending IRA champion and current No. 1-ranked Washington on May 3. The remaining Navy boats will face Columbia on May 4.

First Varsity (Adams Cup Race)
Harvard, 5:35.1; Navy, 5:38.7; Penn, 5:49.9
Second Varsity
Harvard, 5:42.6; Navy, 6:01.8; Penn, 6:04.1
First Freshman
Harvard, 5:43.8; Navy, 5:58.0; Penn, 6:04.1
Second Freshman
Harvard, 5:58.6; Navy, 6:06.2

GreatAmerican · April 27, 2008, 3:49pm

Navy def. Lafayette, 4-0
Patriot League Tournament Semifinal

For Immediate Release
Sent Saturday, April 26, 2008
Contact Justin Kischefsky (410) 293-8772

Army and Navy to Meet Sunday in League Tennis Championship

HAMILTON, N.Y. - One week after facing each other for bragging rights in the annual Star Match between the two programs, the Army and Navy tennis teams will play Sunday in the final of the Patriot League Tournament with a berth in the NCAA Tournament on the line. Navy, the top seed in the championship that is being contested in Hamilton, N.Y., advanced to the final with a 4-0 win over No. 5 Lafayette Saturday, while No. 2 Army posted a 4-0 win over No. 3 Bucknell in its semifinal match.

“We played very well today in the doubles,” said Navy head coach John Officer. “It was kind of a mixed bag of results in the singles. We had several guys play very well and some guys who didn’t play as well as they were capable of. We are going to need everyone playing at their best Sunday.”

The Mids won the doubles point with wins at the No. 2 and 3 flights. First to finish was the No. 3 match where Nick Birger (Fr., Belleville, Ill.) and Jason Hill (Jr., Marietta, Ga.) recorded an 8-3 win over Kyle MacLelland and Matt McGranaghan, then Alex James (Sr., Visalia, Calif.) and Ramsey Lemaich (So., Danville, Calif.) posted an 8-2 victory over James Murphy and Eric Wiley.

Navy quickly recorded wins in a trio of singles matches to move on to its second-straight final. Nate Nelms (Jr., St. Mary’s, Ga.) posted a 6-1, 6-0 win over Wiley at No. 1, Hill won a 6-0, 6-0 decision over McGranaghan and Johnny Waters (Jr., Papillion, Neb.) outlasted Brett Kraft, 6-3, 7-5.

Sunday’s final between the Mids and the Black Knights is slated to begin at 1 p.m.

Navy won last weekend’s Star Match over Army by the score of 4-3 and defeated Army, 4-0, in the championship match of the 2007 league tournament.

<h1>1 Navy (19-8) def. #5 Lafayette (8-6), 4-0</h1>

Doubles (Match Finish Order: 3-2)
1 - Nelms / Waters (N) led Kojanis / Kraft, 5-4 - DNF
2 - James / Lemaich (N) def. Murphy / Wiley, 8-2
3 - Nick Birger / Hill (N) def. Kyle MacLelland / McGranaghan, 8-3

Singles (Match Finish Order: 1-3-2-5-4-6)
1 - Nate Nelms (N) def. Eric Wiley, 6-1, 6-0
2 - John Waters (N) def. Brett Kraft, 6-3, 7-5
3 - Jason Hill (N) def. Matt McGranaghan, 6-0, 6-0
4 - Ramsey Lemaich (N) def. Justin Haar, 6-7 (1-7), 7-6 (7-3), 1-0 (10-8)*
5 - Alex James (N) def. Lee Kojanis 6-1, 6-0*
6 - Owen Bullard (N) def. James Murphy 6-0, 6-2*

<ul>
<li>- Navy does not receive a team point for these victories due to having already clinched the overall match</li>
</ul>

GreatAmerican · April 27, 2008, 3:50pm

For Immediate Release
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Contact: Jonathan Maggart (410) 293-8771

Navy Pounds Out 31 Hits to Sweep Holy Cross on Saturday

ANNAPOLIS, Md. Navys top-two hitters in the lineup, Renaldo Hollins (Sr./Virginia Beach, Va.) and Mike Guadagnini (Fr./Virginia Beach, Va.), combined to go 13-for-19 with seven runs scored on Saturday to lead the Midshipmen to a baseball doubleheader sweep of Holy Cross at Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium. Navy rallied in the opener and won in nine innings, 6-5, before taking the nightcap, 9-3.

The Midshipmen totaled 31 base knocks on the day to improve to 27-20 on the year and 10-8 in Patriot League play, while the Crusaders fell to 19-24 overall and 10-8 in league action. By virtue of its two wins on Saturday and Armys two victories over Lafayette, Navy has clinched a spot in the Patriot League Tournament.

Hollins finished Saturday with a 5-for-9 effort at the plate with three runs scored and two RBIs, followed by Guadagninis impressive 8-for-10 performance with a double and four runs scored. Guadagnini went 5-for-5 in the nightcap, marking the first five-hit showing by a Navy batter since Ryan McGinn at Holy Cross on April 10, 2005.

We had a really good 1-2 punch going for us today with Renaldo and Mike, stated Navy head coach Paul Kostacopoulos. The two of them together were a great unit. They both put on great at bats all day. Mikes 8-for-10 at the plate really speaks for itself.

Saturdays twinbill opener featured a tight contest that had Navy holding a 4-3 cushion going into the seventh, but Holy Cross plated a pair of unearned runs to take its first lead of the game, 5-4. However, the Midshipmen responded in the bottom half of the frame to force extra frames.

Hollins drew a leadoff walk and advanced to second on Guadagninis bunt single past the charging-in third baseman. After a popout on a sacrifice attempt, team captain Thomas Hamilton (Sr./Houston, Texas) singled through the right side to plate Hollins and knot the game at five.

Two innings later, Hollins reached base on a throwing error by the third baseman to begin the stanza. Guadagnini followed and laid down a bunt to the pitcher, who tried to throw out Hollins at second base, but the toss went into the outfield for the second error of the inning. After a flyout, Hamilton walked to load the bases. With a drawn-in infield, Kendall Bolt (So./Stockton, Calif.) ripped a lineout to the second baseman. Stepping to the plate was Jeff Bland (Fr./Basking Ridge, N.J.), who took the first pitch he saw and drilled it off the fence in left-center to bring home Hollins for the game-winning run.

Given the way Holy Cross took the lead in the seventh, it was impressive for us to come back and tie the game and then found a way to win the game, said Kostacopoulos. That first game was a grinder. It showed a lot of character out of our team to come back and work its way back to get the win.

Navy jumped out to a 3-0 lead after the first-two innings of play. Hollins led off the first with a bunt single and would score on a Guadagnini double down the left field line. Guadagnini would come home a Speciale two-bagger down the line in left. One stanza later, Bill Maugeri (Sr./Edgewater, Md.) was hit by a pitch, stole second and touched home on a Nick Driscoll (Fr./Riverview, Fla.) single to left.

Holy Cross bounced back with a run in the fourth and two in the fifth to tie the game at three. Navy immediately re-took the lead in the bottom half of the fifth, as Guadagnini made an athletic move around the catcher to avoid the tag at home to score on a Hamilton single to right.

The Midshipmen out-hit the Crusaders in the opener, 15-9, with the top-four hitters in the Navy lineup combining to go 10-for-18 at the plate. Hollins and Guadagnini each had three hits at the first and second spots in the lineup, respectively, followed by two-hit efforts from Speciale and Hamilton.

Navy starter Mitch Harris (Sr./Mt. Holly, N.C.) struck out five and walked only one in 4.1 innings of work. He threw 84 pitches on the day, 59 of which were strikes, in allowing the Crusaders three runs on seven hits. Relief pitchers Drew Carlson (So./Boca Raton, Fla.) and JD Melton (So./Myrtle Beach, S.C.) each threw 2.1 innings and did not allow an earned run. Melton did not issue a walk and struck out one to earn the win and improve to 2-1 on the year.

In the back end of Saturdays doubleheader, Navy starter Mark McCoy (Sr./Parkland, Fla.) ran into some trouble in the third, as he gave up two runs, but settled in afterwards with four-straight scoreless frames to pick up his fifth win of the year. The Navy right-hander finished with seven innings of seven-hit, three-run baseball with two walks and seven strikeouts.

Coming to the park assuming he was going to throw tomorrow and then turning in that kind of performance was a great lift for us, stated Kostacopoulos. His breaking balls were working well and when he has them going, he is a difficult guy to hit against. He did a nice job of bouncing back after the third to get us into the eighth then just got a little tired.

Navys offense came to the aid of McCoy immediately after the two-run Holy Cross third, as it sent 12 batters to the plate in scoring six runs and taking the lead for good. Hollins and Guadagnini each had two hits in the frame, while Speciale had a RBI-triple and Hamilton and Harris had run-producing doubles.

After Holy Cross chased McCoy out of the game in the eighth with a run, southpaw reliever Kevin Heasley (Sr./Cincinnati, Ohio) retired all-six batters he faced to earn his first-career save.

The Midshipmen tacked on three insurance runs in the bottom half of the eighth. With the bases loaded with one out, Bland greeted Holy Cross reliever Dan Seip with a bases-clearing double off the fence down the left-field line.

Each Navy starter recorded a base knock in the nightcap to out-hit Holy Cross, 16-7. In addition to Guadagninis 5-for-5 performance, Hollins, Bolt and Bland each came up with a pair of hits. Bland drove home four runners in the second game.

With Saturdays sweep of Holy Cross, the Midshipmen have won 11-straight contests over the Crusaders, dating back to the 2005 campaign.

Navy will look to clinch a No. 2 seed and a home series for this years Patriot League Tournament, as it closes out league regular season play with a doubleheader tomorrow against Holy Cross.

We cannot get too far ahead of ourselves, said Kostacopoulos. The game is hard enough to play on its own merits. We just need to stay locked in, worry about the first game tomorrow and then shift our focus to the second game.

Live stats for all of Navys home games are available via GameTracker on <a href=“http://www.NavySports.com(%5B/url%5D.)”>www.NavySports.com(.)</a>

GreatAmerican · April 27, 2008, 3:52pm

For Immediate Release
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Contact: Jonathan Maggart (410) 293-8771

Navy Posts Two NCAA Regional Marks at Penn Relays

PHILADELPHIA - Navy mens track & field runner John Olsen (Sr./Staten Island, N.Y.) and thrower Mark Van Orden (So./Morris Plains, N.J.) each produced a NCAA regional-qualifying mark to highlight the teams performance at the prestigious Penn Relays at Franklin Field this Thursday through Saturday.

Olsen, Navys first competitor at the three-day event, started things in fine fashion with a blistering time of 8:58.31 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. The eighth-place effort marked the first time in his career that he had cracked the nine-minute mark in the event.

Two days later, Van Orden looked to end the weekend the same way it had started, this time in the hammer throw. He uncorked a toss of 1951 (59.47 meters) to surpass the NCAA regional-qualifying standard by nearly nine feet to land second in the event.

The Midshipmen finished among the top-10 performers in four other events, three of which came on Saturday. Navys 4x800-meter relay of Lucas Burke (Sr./Bakersfield, Calif.), Craig Meekins (Sr./Baldwin, N.Y.), David Ash (Fr./Williamston, Mich.) and Paul Harris (Sr./Fairburn, Ga.) combined for a third-place time of 7:33.85 on Saturday, the fifth-fastest clocking in school history.

Devan Clark (Fr./Lorton, Va.) placed fourth in the javelin throw with a toss of 1982 (60.41 meters), followed by teammate Bo Lawsons (Sr./Newton, N.J.) fifth-place distance of 1952 (59.51 meters) on Saturday. One day earlier in the shot put, Darryl Hunter (Sr./Des Moines, Iowa) placed ninth in the championship division with a mark of 534-1/2 (16.27 meters), while Andre Barber (Sr./Carrollton, Texas) came in eighth in the Eastern division with his 511-3/4 (15.59 meters) effort.

In the IC4A section of the 4x200-meter relay on Saturday, the quartet of Shun White (Jr./Raleigh, N.C.), Will Ricks (Sr./Hopewell, Va.), Reggie Campbell (Sr./Sanford, Fla.) and Ron Belany (Sr./Haiku, Hawaii) crossed the finish line in 1:28.15 for sixth. One day before, White, Kevin Edwards (Fr./Charlotte, N.C.), Campbell and Belany teamed up for a 1:26.96 showing during the heats section to finish 22nd overall.

The Midshipmen will begin the championship portion of their outdoor season on May 2-3, when they host the Patriot League Championship at Ingram Field in Annapolis.

GreatAmerican · April 27, 2008, 3:55pm

GORDON WHITE: Carnevale: Survives War, Lands in Hall of Fame

Well before the birth of the Atlantic Coast Conference in 1953; before Frank McGuire arrived at Chapel Hill in 1952 and led North Carolina to its first NCAA basketball championship in 1957; and long before Dean Smith succeeded McGuire in 1961, there was an heroic, young Navy ensign who took the Tar Heels to their first NCAA basketball championship game in 1946.

The 29-year-old Ben Carnevale was lucky to be alive, let alone be boss of an already well-established basketball program when he followed Bill Lange as Carolina’s coach in 1944.

Less than two years before taking over at Chapel Hill, Carnevale was in charge of a Navy gunnery crew aboard the U.S. merchant ship, SS Rambler. After delivering supplies to our troops that had invaded North Africa, Nov. 8, 1942, the Rambler was returning to the U.S.A. when it was torpedoed by two German submarines and sank off the West African Coast one December night in 1942.

Carnevale and a number of his mates survived five days in a lifeboat before sighting the coast of Africa. They were picked up by a friendly ship’s crew, thus making possible one of the longest and most impressive careers in American college basketball coaching and intercollegiate and Olympic athletic administration.

Discharged in 1944 after fully recovering from his ordeal at sea, Carnevale took the North Carolina job for only two seasons before moving to the United States Naval Academy in 1946. He coached there for 20 years, taking six Navy teams to postseason tournaments (NCAA and NIT) before turning to athletic administration and numerous executive positions in college and Olympic sports.

Carnevale, a native of New Jersey and graduate of New York University where he played basketball under coach Howard Cann, died just a month ago on March 25 at the age of 92. He was one of the finest men I knew in intercollegiate sports, always a gentleman and friend.

Ben never talked to me or many other folks about his World War II brush with death, although we always knew he had come through some sort of narrow escape to earn the Purple Heart.

Mark Carnevale, one of Ben’s five children, spoke with me last week and read excerpts from old papers he possessed that told the story of that dreadful night in December 1942. Mark, 47, played on the PGA Tour and now serves as a reporter for PGA Tour events on XM Radio.

According to Mark, the Rambler was struck by two torpedoes – one from each of the two subs flanking the American ship. The Rambler did not last long before going under. Apparently it rolled over so much that Ben Carnevale simply slid down the deck and stepped into a lifeboat that was already in the water with some survivors aboard.

Then the two German subs surfaced and came in toward the Rambler survivors. Carnevale tossed his hat, which was obviously an officer’s cap, into the Atlantic and told the men in the lifeboat not to say a word.

German sailors, with their fingers on the triggers of machine guns beneath the sub’s conning towers, demanded to know who the Americans were, what ship that was and what they were doing there. After nary a reply during many long minutes of an obvious standoff, the Germans decided to go hunting more Allied shipping instead of shooting this bunch of helpless American sailors.

That is how Ben Carnevale survived to become a hero of both the World War II and of basketball to which he devoted his life.

I got to know Ben shortly after he took the Navy job as I covered many of his Navy games through 1966. These included some hard-fought Army-Navy games that were always the final game of the regular season in those days. I covered his finale as Navy’s coach when Army whipped Navy, 70-56, at West Point, Feb. 26, 1966.

That game was not only Carnevale’s last game as a college basketball coach; it was the first of six Army-Navy games for Army’s 25-year-old rookie head coach, Bobby Knight.

Carnevale’s last game as a coach was not a pleasant exit. But I wrote in my story of that game:

“Although his last game was a losing effort, Carnevale leaves Navy with the reputation of being an Army beater. His Navy teams have beaten Army 13 times and lost only seven.”

When at either Army or Navy, beating the other academy tops all other endeavors. Carnevale was truly a Navy success as a naval war hero and as the winningest basketball coach in Naval Academy history (257 victories and 160 defeats).

Twenty years earlier, Carnevale also lost his final game as North Carolina coach when coach Hank Iba’s Oklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma State) beat the Tar Heels, 43-40, to win the NCAA championship for the second year in a row. But that was North Carolina’s first NCAA title game, a true achievement for the Tar Heels.

Carnevale left Navy to become the athletic director at his alma mater, NYU, 1966-1972, and then athletic director at William and Mary, 1972-1992. His administrative career included the presidency of the National Invitation Tournament, chairman of the United States Olympic Basketball Committee, eight years on the NCAA Basketball Tournament Committee, member of the International Basketball Board and commissioner of the Colonial Athletic Association.

The first NIT was held at Madison Square Garden in 1938 with six teams entered. Carnevale was a senior on the NYU team that finished fourth when Temple won the tournament. That initial NIT set the tone for all that followed, including the NCAA championship tournament that began the next year because of the big success of that new NIT.

Carnevale was the Cranford High School (N.J.) basketball coach when World War II interrupted his career in the sport he loved. When he returned from war, he took on the North Carolina head coaching job for only two years before taking the position at Navy which, in those days, seemed to be an upward move.

Throughout his coaching and other work, Carnevale maintained a devotion to teaching basketball. He became one of the nation’s most popular professors of basketball. Whenever there was a Carnevale clinic, the coaches would line up early and in large numbers to hear him lecture on the bouncing ball.

Joe Lapchick, the coach of St. John’s and the New York Knicks over half a century ago, said, “Ben’s a classic clinician. It’s at clinics where you separate the men from the boys in coaching. Ben could impart knowledge to other coaches as well as any man.”

A teacher, a coach, an administrator and a real American war hero, Carnevale was admitted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1970. Carnevale belonged there. After all, he worked with, coached against and was a colleague of so many other Hall of Fame members such as Howard Cann, Hank Iba, Frank McGuire, Dean Smith, Joe Lapchick and Bobby Knight that it simply had to rub off on this kind gentleman of basketball.

Gordon White served 43 years as a sports reporter for The New York Times. His e-mail is <a href="mailto:sports@thepilot.com">sports@thepilot.com</a>.

GreatAmerican · April 27, 2008, 3:56pm

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GreatAmerican · April 27, 2008, 3:57pm

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GreatAmerican · April 27, 2008, 3:59pm

Navy holds 7-stroke lead at Patriot League Championship

For Immediate Release
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Men’s Golf Contact: Stacie Michaud (410) 293-8773

Navy Leads Patriot League Golf Championship Through Two Rounds

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Navy jumped out to a 6-stroke lead after the opening round of the 2008 Patriot League Golf Championship Saturday and extended it to seven strokes after 36 holes of action to pace the seven-team field in its quest to win the program’s fifth Patriot League title. In addition to topping the team standings, Navy senior Erich Schoen (Sylvania, Ohio), junior David Miller (Chillicothe, Ohio) and rookie Ben Hayes (Carmichael, Calif.) are among the top 10 in the individual standings.

“We are happy to be leading the tournament after the first 36 holes, but we certainly realize this is a 54-hole event,” said Navy head coach Pat Owen. “We are going to head back out tomorrow and just stick with our game plan. Our goal is to break 300, but bottom line is we want to put forth a great team effort.”

Despite chilly, windy conditions at the Saucon Valley Country Club, the Mids built an early lead by turning in the low round to open the day with a 23-over par 311. It held a 6-stroke advantage over Army (317) and a 7-stroke lead over Holy Cross (318) through the first 18 holes. The second round proved to be one of mixed results for many of the teams with some improving dramatically, as in the 28-stroke swing by Lafayette (343-315), while others struggled to improve their scores. Navy shaved four strokes off its first-round score to turn in a pack-leading 42-over par 618 (311-307). Bucknell moved from fourth to second after improving its second round score by 19 strokes. The Bison (322-303=625) trail the Mids by seven strokes, while Colgate stands third (322-313) with a 59-over par 635. Army fell to fourth (317-323) after posting a score six shots higher than in the first round, while Holy Cross dropped into a tie with Lehigh (325-317) for fifth after also adding six s!
ho!
ts to its score in the second round (318-324).

“I was pleased with our scores based on the fact that it was a challenging championship course,” added Owen. “The greens were firm, fast and sloping. It certainly was challenging.”

While Colgate’s Richard Hayes stands atop the individual leader board with a 3-over par 147, he holds just a 1-stroke lead over Schoen who put together a pair of 2-over par 74s to settle in at 4-over par 148 and is second in the standings. Miller, meanwhile, is in a three-way tie for third (78-75) with a 9-over par 153. Hayes (78-78), who just one week ago won his first collegiate title at the Mids’ home invitational, is tied for seventh with a 12-over par 156.

Junior Ryan Wielgus (Bethesda, Md.), the league’s rookie of the year in 2006, is just outside of the top 10 in 13th with a 17-over par 161 (81-80). Team captain and two-time All-Patriot League honoree Chris Renninger (Darnestown, Md.) is tied for 22nd with a 20-over par 164 (83-81), while freshman Josh Ziska (Camarillo, Calif.) is 31st with a 25-over par 169 (84-85).

Coincidentally, the last time the Patriot League Championship was played at the Saucon Valley Country Club, tournament MVP Brian Crum won the individual title and led the Midshipmen to the 2003 Patriot League Championship crown. The final round is slated to begin Sunday at 8:00 am with the winner of the two-day, 54-hole tournament receiving an automatic bid into one of the three NCAA regional tournaments.

GreatAmerican · April 27, 2008, 4:01pm

For Immediate Release
Sent Sunday, April 27, 2008
Contact Justin Kischefsky (410) 293-8772

Navy Wins Two Boat Titles, Ties for Team Points Crown

PENNSAUKEN, N.J. - The Navy women’s rowing team won individual boat titles in the second varsity and varsity four flights and tied Bucknell for the overall team points title at the Patriot League Championship held Sunday on the Cooper River in Pennsauken, N.J.

The result of the first varsity race is used to break a tie in the points standings between teams, however, so with Bucknell’s win and Navy’s second-place finish in the race the Bison were officially named as the Patriot League team champions.

“It definitely is a day of mixed emotions,” said Navy head coach Mike Hughes, who was selected as the Patriot League Coach of the Year after the conclusion of the regatta. “We scored as many points as Bucknell did on the day, just not in the right race. Bucknell had a great varsity race and we congratulate them on their performance and on winning the team championship.”

The day began with Navy posting a four-second victory in the varsity four race. The Mids completed the course in a time of 8:08.35 with Bucknell following in second place with a clocking of 8:13.25. Next up was the second varsity race in which Navy finished in first place five seconds in front of the Bucknell’s second-place crew. The Mids recorded a winning time of 7:14.50 to win its third second varsity title in the four-year history of the league championship.

That left the varsity race, which the Bison took control of very early.

“Bucknell was able to open up an early lead and quickly stretched it out to a boat length,” said Hughes. “They then had a great closing stretch and won the race pretty handily.”

The Bison posted a time 6:51.65 to finish well in front of Navy’s second-place clocking of 7:06.51. There was a seven-second margin between Navy and the third-place boat, Colgate.

The final team standings showed Bucknell and Navy tied for first place with 27 points apiece, Holy Cross finished in third place with 15 points, Colgate followed in fourth with 13 points and Lehigh tallied seven points on the day.

“We have come a long ways, both since last year’s Patriot League Championship and the start of this year’s spring season,” said Hughes. “We had won only one individual boat title at the league championship in the last two years combined and finished second in the team standings in both seasons. To win two boat titles and tie for the championship is a great step forward. But we still have one more step to take in order to get to our ultimate goal next year.”

Following the conclusion of the official Patriot League Championship, the league’s member schools competed in a pair of additional challenge races, both of which were won by Navy crews. The Mids won the novice race by nine seconds – with Navy’s second novice boat also placing third – and the second varsity four race by just over four seconds.

“I think we showed the quality of our depth in both the Patriot League Championship and in the challenge races,” said Hughes. “We won four of the five races and our B boat also beat the other B boat in its race. No matter how you look at it, that’s a pretty good day and we have a lot to be proud of, but we still leave here disappointed.”

Navy’s varsity boat will travel to Seattle this coming weekend to take part in the Winderemere Cup/Opening Day Regatta.

Patriot League Championship
First Varsity
Bucknell, 6:51.65; Navy, 7:06.51; Colgate, 7:13.21; Holy Cross, 7:17.50; Lehigh, 7:25.22
Second Varsity
Navy, 7:14.50; Bucknell, 7:19.08; Holy Cross, 7:33.75; Colgate, 7:40.67; Lehigh, 7:51.51
Varsity Four
Navy, 8:09.35; Bucknell, 8:13.25; Holy Cross, 8:41.41; Lehigh, 9:12.26
Team Points Standings
Bucknell, 27; Navy, 27, Holy Cross, 15; Colgate, 13; Lehigh, 7

– Bucknell awarded team title due to result of first varsity race

Challenge Races
First Novice
Navy, 7:30.9; Bucknell, 7:39.44; Navy (2N), 7:46.77; Holy Cross, 8:08.02; Bucknell (2N), 8:25.82
Second Varsity Four
Navy, 8:27.80; Bucknell, 8:32.18; Holy Cross, 9:15.94; Bucknell (B), 9:20.35

GreatAmerican · April 27, 2008, 7:46pm

For Immediate Release
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Men’s Golf Contact: Stacie Michaud (410) 293-8773

Navy Dominates Field to Win 2008 Patriot League Golf Championship

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Led by the efforts of Patriot League Championship MVP Erich Schoen (Sylvania, Ohio) and Patriot League Rookie of the Year Ben Hayes (Carmichael, Calif.), the Navy golf team won the program’s fifth Patriot League Championship title on Sunday afternoon at the Saucon Valley Country Club, outdistancing the field by 17 strokes. Additionally three Midshipmen garnered All-Patriot League kudos for finishing among the field’s top 10, while Navy’s Pat Owen was voted the Patriot League Coach of the Year for the sixth time.

“Our team worked extremely hard this year and I couldn’t be happier for them,” said Owen, who led the Mids to Patriot League titles in 1998, 2000, 2001, 2003 and '08. “It starts with the tremendous leadership our three seniors - Chris Renninger, Erich Schoen and Ryan Sload - have shown throughout not only this season but their careers. They’ve been great mentors to some of our younger players and they’ve shown great character in leading the way this weekend.”

The Midshipmen, who owned a 7-stroke lead heading into Sunday’s final round, increased their lead by turning in the low round of the day, a 19-over par 307 to finish the tournament with a 61-over par 925 (311-307-307). Navy turned in the low score in the first and third rounds, while Bucknell tried to challenge the Mids by posting a 15-over par 303 in the second round. The Bison, however, were unable to compete with the Mids as they shot a 29-over par 317 in the final round to finish the 54-hole event in second with a 78-over par 942 (322-303-317). The host Mountain Hawks of Lehigh topped Holy Cross in the final round by two strokes to take third (960, +96), followed by Holy Cross (962, +98), Colgate (965, +101), Army (969, +105) and Lafayette (978, +114).

Schoen won the Patriot League individual crown by coming from behind to beat out Colgate’s Ricky Hayes. Hayes held a 1-stroke advantage over Schoen through two rounds, but the Navy senior turned in a 3-over par 75 on Sunday to edge Hayes by two strokes and become the sixth different Navy player to win the individual title. Schoen (74-74-75=23, +7) is the Mids’ first individual champion since Billy Hurley paced the field with his 223 at the Seven Oaks Golf Club in Hamilton, N.Y. in 2004.

Navy’s Hayes, who produced a 32 on the final nine that featured five birdies, shot the field’s low round of the day with an even-par 72 to finish third in the tournament. Boasting a 12-over par 228 (78-78-72), Hayes was the highest finishing freshman in the field and became the second Navy player to take rookie of the year recognition.

Junior David Miller (Chillicothe, Ohio) garnered All-Patriot League recognition for the first time in his career by placing fifth among the field of 42 competitors. Playing in just his second Patriot League Championship, Miller turned in an 18-over par 234 (78-75-81).

Junior Ryan Wielgus (Bethesda, Md.) put together a fine performance and finished just outside of the top 10 in 12th. The 2006 Patriot League Rookie of the Year shot a 7-over par 79 in the final round to post a 24-over par 79 (81-80-79) for the event. Senior captain Chris Renninger (Darnestown, Md.) finished 22nd with a 30-over par 246 (83-81-82), while newcomer Josh Ziska (Camarillo, Calif.) shot his low round of the tournament on Sunday to move up to 28th with a 34-over par 250 (84-85-81).

The Saucon Valley Country Club has certainly been kind to the Midshipmen over the years, as Navy has claimed the team and individual titles in two (2003, Brian Crum and 2008, Erich Schoen) of the three years it has played host to the tournament.

By virtue of its win, Navy has earned an automatic bid to play in one of the three NCAA regionals held May 15-17. In the current regional format, Navy has made five previous NCAA Tournament regional appearances (1962, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2003), four under Owen’s leadership.

The NCAA will announce the field for its three regionals on Monday, May 5. The Council Fire Golf Club in Chattanooga, Tenn. will be the site of the East Regional, while the Central Regional will be played in Columbus, Ohio and the West Regional in Bremerton, Wash. The 10 top teams from each regional advanced to the NCAA finals which are May 28-31 in West Lafayette, Ind.

GreatAmerican · April 27, 2008, 7:52pm

Navy def. Army, 4-0
Final of the Patriot League Tournament

For Immediate Release
Sent Sunday, April 27, 2008
Contact Justin Kischefsky (410) 293-8772

Navy Tennis Team Claims Second-Straight Patriot League Crown

HAMILTON, N.Y. - The Navy tennis team won its second Patriot League title in as many years with a 4-0 victory over Army in the championship match of the league tournament, Sunday afternoon at the Abrahamson Tennis Courts in Hamilton, N.Y. The Mids also recorded a 4-0 victory over the Black Knights in the final of the 2007 league tournament.

“We played well at the right times,” said Navy head coach John Officer, who tied the Patriot League record for the most league titles won by a head coach in men’s tennis with five. “It is always a battle whenever we play Army, and this one was much closer than the final score appears to be. There were a lot of heroes for us today.”

One of the keys to Navy’s run to back-to-back Patriot League crowns has been the play of its doubles teams. Dating back to the start of the 2007 season, the Mids have now won the doubles point in 13 consecutive regular and postseason matches against league opponents. The Mids quickly won the first doubles match to be completed when Alex James (Sr., Visalia, Calif.) and Ramsey Lemaich (So., Danville, Calif.) posted an 8-2 win at No. 2 doubles over Chris Albornoz and Sean Harris. Navy earned the doubles point a short while later when the duo of Nick Birger (Fr., Belleville, Ill.) and Jason Hill (Jr., Marietta, Ga.) recorded an 8-5 win over Jordan Girdley and Tripp Johnson at No. 3 doubles.

In the unfinished doubles match, Army’s Eddie Kang and Phil Muhawi held a 5-4 lead over Nate Nelms (Jr., St. Mary’s, Ga.) and Johnny Waters (Jr., Papillion, Neb.).

“As it has been all year, our doubles play was very strong,” said Officer. “The importance of getting that first point on the board cannot be underestimated.”

The Mids took a 2-0 lead when James recorded a 6-2, 7-6 (7-4) victory over Johnson at No. 5 singles. The lead soon was increased to 3-0 as Hill posted a 6-2, 7-5 win over Harris at No. 3 singles. This was a marked turnaround from last week when Harris posted a 6-1, 6-2 win over Hill during the Star Match between the teams.

Navy’s final point of the 2007 championship match was recorded by then-freshman Lemaich. The title-clinching point Sunday was tallied by freshman Owen Bullard (Concord, N.C.) when he closed out Jordan Girdley, 6-4, 7-6 (8-6) at No. 6 singles.

Nelms was involved in one of the three matches that were not completed due to Navy having already accrued the necessary four points to win the match. After dropping the first set of his No. 1 singles match to Muhawi (6-1), Nelms won the second set (6-4) and held a 4-1 lead in the third set when play was ended. Army was ahead in the remaining two matches that were stopped. Kang held a 6-3, 5-2 lead over Waters at No. 2 singles and Albornoz held a 1-6, 7-6 (7-5), 4-1 advantage over Lemaich at No. 4 singles.

“This team has been great all year about working hard in practice, in the weight room and in maintaining their fitness,” said Officer. “They had a good time, too, but they really understood when it was time for fun and when it was time for work.”

Afterwards, James, Navy’s team captain who finished the tournament with a combined record of 4-0 in his singles and doubles matches, was tabbed as the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.

“Alex was unheralded as a recruit when he first came to Navy,” said Officer. “Through a lot of hard work he has turned into a tremendous player for us. He didn’t drop a set in singles this weekend and, along with Ramsey, lost only four games in winning their doubles matches, so he was a worthy choice for MVP.”

The victory is Navy’s 20th in 28 matches this season. It has been 23 years since a Navy team last recorded 20 wins during the course of a season (1985, 21).

The Mids, who have now won six league titles as members of the Patriot League (all over the last 13 years), will find out their NCAA Tournament fortunes Tuesday afternoon when the pairings are announced. The title is also the 11th won by a Navy team during the 2007-08 season and the third captured by a Navy squad on Sunday. The win also secures the 2007-08 Army-Navy series for the Mids. Navy holds a 17-13 lead over Army with only the possibility of best two-out-of-three baseball series remaining.

“We are excited to be heading back to the NCAA Tournament,” said Officer. “This was an important title for us to win. We feel we have a good thing going and wanted to keep building upon last year’s success. We know we will have a tough task ahead of ourselves whomever we face in the NCAA Tournament, but we are looking forward to the competition and the opportunity to represent the Naval Academy and the Patriot League to the best of our abilities.”

Navy (20-8) def. Army (16-8), 4-0
Doubles - Navy wins the doubles point (match finish order: 2-3)

Kang / Muhawi (A) led Nelms / Waters, 5-4, unfinished
James / Lemaich (N) def. Albornoz / Harris, 8-2
Nick Birger / Hill (N) def. Girdley / Johnson, 8-5
Singles (match finish order: 5-3-6)
Nate Nelms (N) led Phil Muhawi, 1-6, 6-4, 4-1, unfinished
Eddie Kang (A) led Johnny Waters, 6-3, 5-2, unfinished
Jason Hill (N) def. Sean Harris, 6-2, 7-5
Chris Albornoz (A) led Ramsey Lemaich, 1-6, 7-6 (7-4), 4-1, unfinished
Alex James (N) def. Tripp Johnson, 6-2, 7-6 (7-4)
Owen Bullard (N) def. Jordan Girdley, 6-4, 7-6 (8-6)

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