Navy Sports

GreatAmerican · January 13, 2008, 4:02pm

For: Immediate Release
Sent: January 13, 2007
Contact: Scott Strasemeier (410) 293-8775

Antron Harper Named First-Team All-East

ANNAPOLIS, Md.-Navy senior center Antron Harper (Eastman, Ga.) was named First-Team All-East by the head coaches of the Division IA institutions that comprise the ECAC. Players from Army, Navy, Boston College, Buffalo, Connecticut, Duke, East Carolina, Maryland, Penn State, Pitt, Rutgers, Syracuse, Temple, Virginia and West Virginia were eligible to be named All-East.

Harper anchored an offensive line that paved the way for Navy¹s most prolific offense in school history as the Mids set school records for rushing yards per game (348.8 yards per game), total offense per game (444.1 yards per game) and scoring per game (39.3 points per game). The Mids also became the first team in NCAA history to lead the nation in rushing three-consecutive years. Harper started the final 38 games of his career for the Midshipmen.

2007 All-East Football Team

Player of the Year: Matt Ryan (Boston College)

Rookie of the Year: LeSean McCoy (Pittsburgh)

Offense
QB: Matt Ryan (Boston College)
RB: Ray Rice (Rutgers)
RB: LeSean McCoy (Pitt)
WR: Jeremy Trimble (Army)
WR: Tiquan Underwood (Rutgers)
TE: Ryan Purvis (Pitt)
OL: Jeff Otah (Pitt)
OL: Jeremy Zuttah (Rutgers)
OL: Branden Albert (Virginia)
OL: Antron Harper (Navy)
OL: Donald Thomas (Connecticut)

Defense
DL: Chris Long (Virginia)
DL: Arthur Jones (Syracuse)
DL: Eric Foster (Rutgers)
DL: Keilen Dykes (West Virginia)
LB: Scott McKillop (Pitt)
LB: Jo-Lonn Dunbar (Boston College)
LB: Danny Lansanah (Connecticut)
DB: Jordan Murray (Army)
DB: Jamie Silva (Boston College)
DB: Eric Wicks (West Virginia)
DB: Joe Fields (Syracuse)

Special teams
K: Pat McAfee (West Virginia)
P: Owen Tolson (Army)
RS: Jeremy Trimble (Army)

GreatAmerican · January 13, 2008, 4:05pm

By BILL WAGNER, Staff Writer
Published January 13, 2008

Even without its leading scorer, Bucknell easily continued its dominance of Navy in women’s basketball.

Junior forward Lauren Schober led a balanced attack with 17 points as Bucknell took a big early lead and routed Navy 71-45 in the Patriot League opener for both teams last night at Alumni Hall. Senior guard Kesha Champion had a double-double with 15 points and a career-high 11 assists for the Bison, who have won 19 of the last 21 meetings with the Midshipmen.

“There’s not much to say. We played bad basketball, just really bad,” Navy head coach Tom Marryott said. “I didn’t have this team ready to play. I’m not sure why, but I’ve got to figure it out.”

Hope Foster totaled 11 points and seven rebounds while Taylor Phillips contributed 10 points and eight rebounds for Bucknell (6-9), the defending Patriot League champion. The Bison were without first team All-Patriot League selection Amanda Brown, who is averaging a team-high 13.1 points per game.

Brown sat out with a foot injury while top reserve guard Andrea Wright did not play due to illness.

“I’m really, really proud of how the kids pulled together as a team tonight. We were shorthanded, only had one true sub at the guard position,” Bucknell head coach Kathy Fedorjaka said. “I thought our seniors did a great job and showed a lot of leadership.”

Bucknell normally presses Navy into submission, but that was not necessary this time. The Bison’s aggressive, half-court defense was more than enough to harass the Mids into 31.6 percent field goal shooting and 19 turnovers.

Navy missed its first nine shots from the field and fell behind 10-1 after just 4 12 minutes. Things just got progressively worse as Bucknell shot a sizzling 55.6 percent from the field in taking a 42-22 lead.

“It was an absolute defensive letdown from the start of the game,” Marryott said. “We got ourselves in a huge hole with poor defense.”

Navy came out in a 2-3 zone and had worked all week against the offense the coaching staff figured Bucknell would use against it. The Bison indeed ran
that set and the Mids could not stop it.

“It was just a complete mixup. In football terms, we had a lot of blown coverages,” Marryott said.

Freshman center Cassie Consedine led Navy with 11 points, seven rebounds and four blocked shots. However, Consedine was routinely double-teamed and shot just 4-for-12 from the field.

Sophomore forward Kelly Altschul scored a career-high 12 points while freshman guard Angela Meyers added 11 for Navy, which fell to 4-12. Starting wing Whitney Davidson had a rough shooting night, going 1-for-11 from the field. The Mids were out-rebounded 44-30, out-scored 28-12 in the paint and gave up 24 points off turnovers.

“We are not an explosive enough offensive team to come back from that kind of early deficit. When we get ourselves down like that, everyone tries to do more than they are capable. We started rushing shots and making bad passes,” Marryott said.

GreatAmerican · January 13, 2008, 4:08pm

By The Associated Press

HONOLULU Marshall’s Bernard Morris threw for 172 yards and a touchdown in the first half to lead the Aina (East) to a 38-7 victory over the Kai (West) on Saturday in the 62nd Hula Bowl.

New Hampshire’s Ricky Santos was 10 of 16 for 169 passing yards, and Tulsa’s Paul Smith added 47 yards passing and ran for two short touchdowns for the Aina, which piled up 519 yards of total offense.

Aina’s defense also was impressive, setting the tone in the lopsided all-star event for players who were college seniors in the 2007 season. Aina held Kai to 240 yards, including 35 yards rushing, and forced six turnovers that led to 28 points.

Statistics are unofficial, as there was no stats crew in the press box.

There were a couple of thousand fans at 50,000-seat Aloha Stadium and some players complained about overcrowded hotel rooms.

The Aina took control early, forcing three turnovers and recording three sacks in the first half, two by Cincinnati’s Angelo Craig. Fellow Bearcat Haruki Nakamura intercepted a pass by Washington State’s Alex Brink that led to Morris’ 3-yard TD pass to Bruce Hocker that made it 21-0 shortly before halftime.

Brink finished 3 of 8 for 52 yards. Stanford’s T.C. Ostrander was 1 of 7 for 6 yards.

San Diego State’s Kevin O’Connell was one of the few bright spots for the Kai. He was 11 of 21 for 147 passing yards. California’s Robert Jordan had four receptions for 84 yards.

Toledo’s Jalen Parmele and Navy’s Reggie Campbell each had 1-yard touchdown runs in the fourth quarter for Aina. Parmele was the game’s leading rusher, with 46 yards.

GreatAmerican · January 14, 2008, 7:46pm

For Immediate Release
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Contact: Jonathan Maggart (410) 293-8771

Navy Edges Nebraska, 4583-4582

PALMYRA, Pa. - Lisa Kunzelman (Jr./Constantia, N.Y.) combined for a score of 1154 to lead the Navy rifle team to a thrilling 4583-4582 win over Nebraska on Sunday in the Palmyra Invitational. The Midshipmen maintained their perfect record on the year, improving to 5-0 after Sundays contest. The Huskers saw their mark fall to 1-4 on the campaign.

We didnt have the greatest performance in terms of overall score, but our team persevered, stated Navy head coach Bill Kelley. It was exciting and a great win over a fine Nebraska team.

Kunzelman tallied a 589 in the air rifle and a 565 in the small bore to top all Navy performers on Sunday. However, it was her attention to detail after her round that helped the Midshipmen prevail.

The victory wasnt discovered until Kunzelman noticed a mathematics error in her scoring during the target challenge period, recalled Kelley. After going over her target, she realized that she had been scored one point too low. That is the attention to detail we preach to our team and she did her job.

Navy out-scored Nebraska in the air rifle portion of the contest, 2317-2315. Following Kunzelmans effort was Monica Amagnas (Sr./Tulsa, Okla.) 586, Josh Albrights (Sr./Shelton, Conn.) 575 and Carolyn Horiyes (So./Ewa Beach, Hawaii) 567.

Albright led all Navy performers in the small bore with a 574, followed by Alison Lankess (Fr./Clarence, N.Y.) 569 and Chris Burlesons (Fr./St. Augustine, Fla.) 559. As a team, Navy was narrowly out-shot by Nebraska in the event, 2267-2266.

The Midshipmen will return to action on Friday when they host Alaska-Fairbanks in Bancroft Hall at 2 p.m.

GreatAmerican · January 14, 2008, 7:48pm

SCRANTON, PA (Sunday, January 13, 2008) * Navy¹s ice hockey team made it a weekend sweep, getting three unanswered second period goals en route to a 5-2 Eastern States Collegiate Hockey League (ESCHL) win over Scranton Sunday evening at the Ice Box Sports Complex in Scranton, PA.

With the victory – their third in a row – the Midshipmen improved to 9-14-0 overall and 4-12-0 in the prestigious ESCHL. Scranton¹s Ice Royals, meantime, saw their record fall to 5-12-2 overall and 3-11-0 in the league. The Mids had defeated the same Scranton squad Saturday night by a 9-8 count.

With the weekend sweep, Navy now sits solidly in fourth place in the ESCHL standings behind Penn State (12-0-0 for 24 points), Rhode Island (11-3-0 for 22 points), and Delaware (9-4-1 for 19 points), and ahead of Scranton and Drexel (six points each).

Navy is idle until next weekend when the Midshipmen travel to State College, PA for a pair of contests with that first place Penn State squad: Friday night at 9 p.m. and Saturday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. The Nittany Lions are currently the #2 ranked team nationally, according to the latest American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) poll, trailing only unbeaten and untied Illinois.

For the second night in a row Scranton took the early lead Sunday evening, getting an even strength goal from sophomore forward Jerry Malanga at 6:10 of the first period. It turned out to be the only goal scored in the game¹s opening 20 minutes of play.

The Midshipmen evened the score 1-1 midway through the second stanza, getting a power play goal from junior forward Jeff Martin shortly after he emerged from the penalty box, with classmate and linemate John Patrick Culliton getting the lone assist.

Less than three minutes later Navy took its first lead of the night, getting an even strength tally from junior forward Matt Swezey at the 11:20 mark, with the assists going to classmate Alex Wallis and sophomore Andrew Ochalek. The Mids extended their lead to 3-1 four minutes later when they swarmed the Scranton goal and senior forward Nick Schwob found the back of the net at 15:37, assisted by junior Jon Westerman.

Scranton closed the gap to 3-2 early in the third period, getting a “dump in” goal from senior forward Steven Kelly at 2:38.

Navy regained its two-goal advantage a little more than eight minutes later, when Alex Wallis picked up an even strength tally at 10:59, assisted by Chandler Brewer and Charlie Daniel.

The Mids put the game out of reach near the end of the final stanza, when senior forward Drew Stoner fed a beautiful pass to Westerman, who buried the puck at 14:19 to give Navy an insurmountable 5-2 lead. Schwob picked up the other assist along with Stoner.

Navy¹s netminder, sophomore Jeremey Estevez, played a strong game and was credited with 33 saves on 35 Scranton shots. The Ice Royals¹ Joe Cuozzo, meantime, recorded 30 saves on 35 Navy shots.

SCORING SUMMARY

NAVY 0 3 2 - 5

Scranton 1 0 1 -
2

First Period

S * Malanga (Lawall) 6:10

Second Period

N * Martin (Culliton) 8:47 (pp)

N * Swezey (Wallis, Ochalek) 11:20

N * Schwob (Westerman) 15:37

Third Period

S * Kelly (Esposito, Kocienda) 2:38

N * Wallis (Brewer, Daniel) 10:59

N * Westerman (Stoner, Schwob) 14:19

SAVES

Estevez (NAVY) 12 8 13 - 33

Cuozzo (Scranton) 11 8 11 - 30

SHOTS

NAVY 11 11 13 - 35

Scranton 13 8 14 - 35

GreatAmerican · January 14, 2008, 7:50pm

Navy plays host to 20th-ranked GW

For Immediate Release
Monday, Jan.14, 2008
Squash Contact: Stacie Michaud (410) 293-8773

Mids Gear Up for Home Squash Match Against George Washington

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The 8-4 Navy squash team returns to action Wednesday when it plays host to George Washington at the Halsey Field House International Squash Courts beginning at 5:00 pm. The 10th-ranked Mids have won all 15 previous matches against the Colonials, including last year’s 9-0 sweep.

After a month-long break to focus on final exams, while also enjoying some time away for the holidays, the Midshipmen returned to action last Saturday against ninth-ranked Penn. Though Navy won two of the top three matches on the ladder, the Quakers took a 7-2 victory in Annapolis.

The top three positions on the ladder for head coach Craig Dawson have been impressive. Senior Tucker George (West Hartford, Conn.) owns an undefeated 9-0 record at the No. 1 position, while second-year standout Nils Mattsson (Spring House, Pa.) dropped his first match of the year on Saturday in a five-game marathon match. Mattsson is 9-1 on the year, including a 7-1 mark at the No. 2 spot. Meanwhile, team captain Jeff Sawin (Haverford, Pa.) owns an 8-1 record, including a 5-1 mark as Navy’s No. 3 player. All said, the top three spots on the ladder own a combined 34-2 record.

Under the direction of first-year head coach Wendy Lawrence, George Washington travels to Annapolis ranked 20th behind a 6-4 record. The Colonials have wins over Georgetown (9-0), Columbia (6-3), Stanford (5-4), Vanderbilt (9-0), Washington (9-0) and Wesleyan (7-2). GW, however, has been out of action since its Dec. 2 trip to Wesleyan where it faced the host Cardinals, as well as Connecticut College (L, 6-3).

Following Wednesday’s contest against the Colonials, the Midshipmen will spend the weekend in New Haven, Conn., where will take part in the Yale Round Robin. The Mids are on tap to face Bowdoin (5:00 pm) on Friday, MIT (10:00 am) and Bates (4:00 pm) on Saturday and Colby (9:00 am) on Sunday.

GreatAmerican · January 14, 2008, 7:53pm

Stanford’s stunner at USC the most memorable game of 2007

By Heather Dinich
ESPN.com

It was a season full of memorable moments, but here are the 10 that stood out from 2007.

<ol>
<li>Stanford 24, USC 23: On fourth-and-goal with 49 seconds remaining, Stanford quarterback Tavita Pritchard threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Mark Bradford, shocking No. 2-ranked Southern Cal and the entire college football world. Oh, and Stanford was a 41-point underdog in this game. And Pritchard was the backup quarterback, making his first career start. Don’t forget his completion over the middle on fourth-and-20. It sustained the game-winning drive.</li>
<li>Appalachian State 34, Michigan 32: And so the season of upsets began. Many will argue this was the biggest upset in college football, when Appalachian State entered the Big House and in the season opener and stunned the team favored to win the Big Ten and contend for the national title. Impossible to forget. Michigan led 32-31 with 4:36 left in the game. Special teams won the game for the Division I-AA superheroes: ASU kicker Julian Rauch made a 24-yard field goal, and the Mountaineers blocked Michigan’s final field-goal attempt as time expired.</li>
<li>Pittsburgh 13, West Virginia 9: Boy, did they blow it. West Virginia, then ranked No. 2 and with only one loss, had its spot in the national title game all wrapped up – at least that’s what everyone but, well, Pitt thought. The Panthers were wrapping up another losing season and had lost four of the past five border games, and the Mountaineers were a four-touchdown favorite in the 100th Backyard Brawl. All they had to do was show up and play the way they had all season. Instead, Heisman Trophy candidate Pat White dislocated his thumb in the second quarter, and Dave Wannstedt – at least for one game – earned his contract extension.</li>
<li>Arkansas 50, LSU 48 (3OT): For the second time this season, somebody knocked LSU off its top spot in the standings, and once again, it took three overtimes to do it. The loss ended LSU’s 19-game winning streak in Tiger Stadium, and unranked Arkansas and Heisman candidate Darren McFadden probably thought they ended the Tigers’ chances at another national championship, too.</li>
<li>LSU 30, Auburn 24: This might have been the call of the season, the play of the season, and the most exciting single second on the clock. Instead of playing it safe, calling a timeout and attempting a game-winning field goal, LSU quarterback Matt Flynn risked a 22-yard touchdown pass to receiver Demetrius Byrd and it worked – with one second left on the clock. One week after losing an incredible triple-overtime game to Kentucky, the Tigers were able to keep themselves in conversations about the national title.</li>
<li>Illinois 28, Ohio State 21: The Buckeyes were in first place in the BCS standings, appeared to be two wins away from heading back to the national championship and had 20 straight Big Ten wins worth of confidence. But Todd Boeckman played arguably his worst game of his first season as a starter, and Illinois ran all over a usually stingy defense. It was the first time the Illini had beaten a No. 1 team since 1956, and they did it in the Horseshoe.</li>
<li>Michigan 41, Florida 35: Yes, the loss to Ohio State on a dismal day in Ann Arbor will be remembered because Lloyd Carr announced his retirement the following morning, but this is how he went out – and it was a heck of a better game. The Wolverines, finally healthy and able to show what they were capable of, sent Carr into retirement with 524 yards of total offense against the No. 9 Gators in the Capital One Bowl. The game marked Carr’s 162nd and final game as Michigan head coach. He ended his 13-year head coaching career with a 122-40 overall record and six bowl victories (6-7).</li>
<li>Missouri 36, Kansas 28: For the first time, the Border Showdown in Arrowhead Stadium meant something. This is the game many pointed to when the Jayhawks wound up in a BCS game and Missouri – which earned the No. 1 ranking after this win – didn’t. For a fleeting moment, the Tigers were catapulted into the hunt for the national title, but they added one more loss in the Big 12 championship game – not that a team with two losses can’t win a national title.</li>
<li>Navy 46, Notre Dame 44 (3 OT): Give Navy 44 years, three overtimes and Notre Dame’s worst season in school history, and the Middies are bound to end the NCCA’s longest losing streak against the Fighting Irish. It was the first time Navy beat Notre Dame since 1963, when Roger Staubach was quarterback. Since then, the Midshipmen had lost 43 straight games to Notre Dame. The tradeoff? Navy lost its coach, Paul Johnson, at the end of the season to Georgia Tech.</li>
<li>Boston College 14, Virginia Tech 10: In a precursor to the ACC championship game (and the more interesting of the two), Boston College scored two touchdowns in the final 2:11 for a comeback win in Blacksburg. Virginia Tech led 10-0 late in the fourth. The Eagles were ranked No. 2 in the country at a time when that spot was as unlucky as the No. 13, and seemed destined for something better than a No. 2 finish in the ACC.</li>
</ol>

Heather Dinich is a college football writer for ESPN.com. Send your questions and comments to Heather at <a href="mailto:espn.hd@hotmail.com">espn.hd@hotmail.com</a>.

GreatAmerican · January 14, 2008, 7:55pm

Navy Football Varsity Letterwinners That Also Served As Brigade Commander–UPDATED LIST

Navy Football Varsity Letterwinners That Also Served As Brigade Commander

Name Class
Ben Martin 1946
Don Whitmire 1947
Stansfield Turner 1947
Dick Duden 1947
Richard Shimshak 1948
Richard Scott 1948
Pete Williams 1949
Pat McDonald 1952
Peter Van Nort 1959
Walt Pierce 1963
Joe Ince 1964
Stephen Leaman 1969
Dan Pike 1970
Mike Hecomovich 1971
Chuck Voith 1973
Dan Driscoll 1974
Frazier Frantz 1983
Zerbin Singleton 2008

GreatAmerican · January 14, 2008, 7:56pm

This Week In Navy Sports Sponsored By Navy Federal Credit Union

[Page</a> loading…](<a href=“http://www.navyfederal.org/jump/x/navysports_email.html]Page”>http://www.navyfederal.org/jump/x/navysports_email.html)

Overall Navy Sports Record: 149-67-6 (.685)

Men¹s Basketball (7-9, 0-1 in the Patriot League)
Last Week: Lost to Bucknell, 85-77
This Week: Lehigh (Wednesday, 7 p.m., Annapolis, Md., Navy All-Access, Navy Radio Network); Lafayette (Saturday, 7 p.m., Annapolis, Md., Navy All-Access, Navy Radio Network)

Women¹s Basketball (4-12, 0-1 in the Patriot League)
Last Week: Lost to Bucknell, 71-45
This Week: at Lehigh (Wednesday, 7 p.m., Bethlehem, Pa., Navy All-Access); at Lafayette (Saturday, 1 p.m., Easton, Pa., Navy All-Access

Men¹s Gymnastics (0-0)
Last Week: Idle
This Week: at the West Point Open (Friday-Saturday, 7 p.m., West Point, N.Y.)

Rifle (5-0)
Last Week: Defeated Coast Guard, 4562-4448; defeated Nebraska, 4583- 4582
This Week: Alaska-Fairbanks (Friday, 2 p.m., Annapolis, Md.)

Squash (8-4)
Last Week: Lost to No. 9 Penn, 7-2
This Week: George Washington (Wednesday, 5 p.m., Annapolis, Md.); vs. Bowdoin (Friday, 5 p.m., New Haven, Conn.); vs. MIT (Saturday, 10 a.m., New Haven, Conn.); vs. Bates (Saturday, 4 p.m., New Haven, Conn.); vs. Colby (Sunday, 9 a.m., New Haven, Conn.)

Men¹s Swimming & Diving (13-1)
Last Week: Defeated Cornell, 174-126; defeated Yale, 159-141
This Week: Idle

Women¹s Swimming & Diving (12-1)
Last Week: Defeated Cornell, 175-125; lost to Yale, 174-126
This Week: Idle

Tennis (0-0)
Last Week: Idle
This Week: vs. Campbell (Saturday, 2 p.m., Richmond, Va.); vs. East Tennessee State (Saturday, 6 p.m., Richmond, Va.)

Men¹s Indoor Track & Field (3-1)
Last Week: Defeated VCU, 214-162; defeated Penn, 214-127; defeated American, 214-45
This Week: Mount St. Mary¹s, UNC-Wilmington, and William & Mary (Saturday, 12 noon, Annapolis, Md.)

Women¹s Indoor Track & Field (2-0)
Last Week: Idle
This Week: George Mason, James Madison, Mount St. Mary¹s, North Carolina, VCU and William & Mary (Saturday, 3 p.m., Annapolis, Md.)

No. 22 Wrestling (2-3, 2-0 in the EIWA)
Last Week: Lost to No. 21 Maryland, 21-18; defeated American, 31-16
This Week: at East Stroudsburg (Friday, 7 p.m., East Stroudsburg, Pa.); at Lehigh (Saturday, 7 p.m., Bethlehem, Pa.)

GreatAmerican · January 15, 2008, 8:07pm

Navy Women’s Basketball Game Information
Navy (4-12/0-1 Patriot League)
at Lehigh (9-7/1-0 Patriot League)
Wednesday, Jan. 16, 7 p.m.
Bethlehem, Pa. (Stabler Arena)
Live on Navy All-Access
Tape-delayed telecast on MASN (air time TBA)

Navy (4-12/0-1 Patriot League)
at Lafayette (8-8/0-1 Patriot League)
Saturday, Jan. 19, 1 p.m. (Note the time change)
Easton, Pa. (Kirby Sports Center)
Live on Navy All-Access

This Week’s Games
The Navy women’s basketball team will make a pair of trips to Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley this week. The Mids will first play Wednesday at Lehigh (7 p.m.), then will return to the region Saturday for a game at Lafayette (1 p.m.).

** The start time for Saturday’s game at Lafayette is a change from what was listed at the start of the season. **

Broadcast Information
Streaming audio and video from both games will be available to Navy All-Access subscribers. Fans can subscribe to Navy All-Access via [NavySports.com</a> - Official Athletic Site for Navy Athletics](<a href=“http://www.navysports.com%5DNavySports.com”>http://www.navysports.com) for $6.95 a month or an annual fee of $49.95.

A subscription to Patriot League All-Access, which provides streams to league games not involving Navy, costs $7.95 a month and is available at <a href=“http://www.patriotleague.com(%5B/url%5D.)”>www.patriotleague.com(.)</a>

Additionally, the telecast of Wednesday’s game at Lehigh will air on a tape-delayed basis by the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (air times TBA) and live statistics from Saturday’s game at Lafayette will available for free via the Gametracker feature found on <a href=“http://www.navysports.com(%5B/url%5D.)”>www.navysports.com(.)</a>

GreatAmerican · January 15, 2008, 8:12pm

By BILL WAGNER, Staff Writer
Published January 15, 2008

Head coach Ken Niumatalolo escorted a visitor through the football coaching offices on the third floor of Ricketts Hall last week with the purpose of introducing Navy’s new assistants.

Every man in every office was talking on the telephone to high school recruits.

“That’s what I like to see. That’s what these guys are supposed to be doing this time of the year,” Niumatalolo commented.

Niumatalolo is pleased with the makeup of Navy’s revamped staff and said his decisions were all based on a combination of coaching acumen and recruiting prowess. Earlier this month, Navy formally announced the hirings of Jon DuPaix (slot backs), Ashley Ingram (offensive line), Steve Johns (inside linebackers) and Tony Grantham (outside linebackers).

“I feel as though we found four guys who are the right fit for the Naval Academy and the right fit for this program. We had certain needs to address with the staff and did that,” Niumatalolo said.

Former head coach Paul Johnson took three assistants with him to Georgia Tech - Jeff Monken (slot backs), Brian Bohannon (wide receivers) and Todd Spencer (offensive line). Niumatalolo, who coached the offensive line under Johnson, also had to replace himself as an assistant.

Niumatalolo’s first move was to hire Joe DuPaix, offensive coordinator at the University of California at Poly, to coach slot backs. DuPaix installed a triple-option offense at Cal-Poly, which led the Football Championship Subdivision in total offense (487 yards per game) this past season.

DuPaix initially learned about the triple-option while playing quarterback at Southern Utah under Ray Gregory, who played that same position for Johnson at Hawaii. DuPaix visited Navy last summer to get a tutorial on the triple-option from Johnson and other staff members before implementing the offense at Cal-Poly.

“Slot back is a critical position in our offense so I felt it was crucial to get the right for that spot,” Niumatalolo said. “The slots do a lot of things in this offense and it’s important they are coached properly.”

DuPaix is a native Salt Lake City, Utah and played for his father, Roger, at Skyline High. Together, father and son led Skyline to a state championship. At Southern Utah, the younger DuPaix would set a Division I-AA record for single-season rushing yards by a quarterback with 1,246 in 1996.

“I’m really impressed with Joe as a person. He has an extensive background with option football and brings some innovative ideas to our staff,” Niumatalolo said.

DuPaix will take on a crucial role in recruiting as he will replace Todd Spencer in Texas. Spencer recruited that state throughout his entire 11-year tenure at Navy and had built strong ties with high school coaches. There were 23 players from Texas on Navy’s 2007 roster.

Ingram, a native of Iron City, Ga., is also the son of a high school head coach and has significant experience with the triple-option. Ingram was an offensive lineman at North Alabama, which employed the option while winning Division II national titles in 1993, '94 and '95. He was an assistant coach at Rhode Island under Tim Stowers, who was Johnson’s first offensive line coach at Hawaii.

Ingram comes to Navy from Bucknell, where he served as offensive coordinator and employed a version of the triple-option.

“Ashley comes from a football family with his dad and brother coaching on the high school level. He has been around option football all of his life as a player and coach,” Niumatalolo said.

Ingram will replace Bohannon as the program’s primary recruiter in Georgia, a state that produced eight players on Navy’s 2007 roster. He will also handle Alabama and Tennessee.

“Ashley is an excellent recruiter and has strong ties in the South, which is an area of the country that has been very good to us in the past,” Niumatalolo said.

Chris Culton, who coached the Navy fullbacks the past five seasons, will assist Ingram with the offensive line. Culton was an offensive guard at Georgia Southern while Johnson was head coach and thus understands the blocking schemes of this offense.

Johns was hired largely because of his expertise with special teams and vast knowledge of the recruiting landscape in the West. Monken was Navy’s special teams coordinator and Niumatalolo wanted to make sure the staff still had a strong mind in that area.

Johns served as special teams coordinator while an assistant coach at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas under head coach John Robinson from 1999-2004. He was also special teams coordinator at the University of San Diego and University of La Verne.

“I worked with Steve at UNLV and was always very impressed with the job he did with special teams. That is a such an important aspect of the game and I wanted to make sure we had someone who knew how to put it all together,” Niumatalolo said.

Johns played at Occidental College in California and has spent his entire 17-year coaching career on the West Coast. He most recently served as defensive coordinator at Grossmont Junior College, a perennial powerhouse program in El Cajon, Cal.

Niumatalolo had recruited California and other West Coast states on behalf of Navy, but will now turn those duties over to Johns.

“There are a lot of good players in California and we want to get our share. I’m not going to totally give up the West to Air Force,” Niumatalolo said. “Steve has recruited the West Coast for a long time. He knows the landscape and has a lot of contacts.”

To accommodate Johns, who has always worked on the defensive side of the ball, Niumatalolo switched assistant Danny O’Rourke from inside linebackers to wide receivers. O’Rourke, who has been recruiting the southern portion of Texas for Navy, welcomed the move from offense to defense.

“I see Danny as a good football coach who will do a good job in whatever position we put him,” Niumatalolo said. “He’s done a very good job of recruiting and that is not to be overlooked.”

Niumatalolo completed the staff by rehiring Tony Grantham, who had spent four years on the staff under Johnson. He was forced to leave Navy because he was in a military position that had a time limit.

“I’ve always been impressed with Tony and jumped at the chance to bring him back here. I think Tony has a great football mind and a very bright future in this business. It helps that he also knows the Naval Academy and understands our program,” said Niumatalolo, who assigned Grantham to outside linebackers and shifted assistant Justin Davis to defensive line.

Niumatalolo was confident that he and newly-named offensive coordinator Ivin Jasper will be able to train DuPaix, Ingram and O’Rourke with regard to how to teach their individual positions within the triple-option. Meanwhile, veteran defensive coordinator Buddy Green will indoctrinate Johns and Grantham to how the Mids operate on that side of the ball.

“We have a certain way we want things done and it’s the responsibility of me, Ivin and Buddy to sort of train all these new assistants,” Niumatalolo said. “I think we have a nice blend of older, veteran coaches and young, energetic guys. I feel like everyone on the staff can recruit and we have all hit the ground running on that front because the next four weeks are huge.”

Kaheaku-Enhada RECOVERING: Navy starting quarterback Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada underwent a minor surgical procedure last Thursday and has already begun rehabilitation.

Kaheaku-Enhada injured his knee against North Texas and did not play in the second half of that contest. He sat out the final home game against Northern Illinois, but went the distance in the season finale versus Army and played in the Poinsettia Bowl versus Utah.

It is believed that Kaheaku-Enhada underwent arthroscopic surgery to clean out some loose cartilage. He is expected to participate in spring practice, which begins in late March.

GreatAmerican · January 15, 2008, 8:13pm

For Immediate Release
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Contact: Jonathan Maggart (410) 293-8771

Harris and Hunter Earn League Weekly Accolades

CENTER VALLEY, Pa. In helping the Midshipmen defeat three teams with championship-qualifying marks on Saturday, Navy mens track & field members Paul Harris (Sr./Fairburn, Ga.) and Darryl Hunter (Sr./Des Moines, Iowa) were named the Patriot Leagues Track and Field Athletes of the Week, respectively, it was announced on Tuesday afternoon.

The Midshipmen have captured five of the last-six Patriot League weekly awards issued over the past-two weeks, as they claimed all-three honors one week ago (track, field and rookie). Last Saturday in Halsey Field House, Navy won 10 events en route to a team score of 214 points to best the field of American, Penn and VCU.

Harris, a seven-time Patriot League Track Athlete-of-the-Week selection, provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championship in the 800-meter run with a first-place time of 1:51.05. The clocking is currently the second-fastest time in the nation, only behind Alex McClarys 1:49.28 showing from Arkansas. Harriss performance on Saturday also ranks as the ninth-fastest time in school history, while he now owns seven of the ten-best indoor showings in program history. The product of Fairburn, Ga., also ran the third leg of the 4x400-meter relay that won with a time of 3:27.28.

Meanwhile, Hunter earned Patriot League Field Athlete-of-the-Week kudos for the second-straight week and fifth time in his career after winning the shot put on Saturday. Hunter uncorked an indoor career-best toss of 559 (16.99 meters), more than four feet better than the IC4A Championship standard and less than three feet off the NCAA Championship provisional-qualifying mark.

The Midshipmen (3-1) return to action this Saturday with a meet against Mount St. Marys, UNC-Wilmington and William & Mary in Halsey Field House. Action begins with the field events at 11 a.m., followed by the rack events at 12 noon.

GreatAmerican · January 15, 2008, 8:18pm

If you feel like we are missing someone please e-mail Naval Academy Associate Athletic Director for Sports Information Scott Strasemeier at: <a href=“mailto:sstrasem@usna.edu”>sstrasem@usna.edu</a> with the name and class year.

Navy Football Varsity Letterwinners That Also Served As Brigade Commander

Name Class
Lou Bryan 1932
Tom McGrath 1940
Ben Martin 1946
Don Whitmire 1947
Stansfield Turner 1947
Dick Duden 1947
Richard Shimshak 1948
Richard Scott 1948
Pete Williams 1949
Pat McDonald 1952
Peter Van Nort 1959
Walt Pierce 1963
Joe Ince 1964
Stephen Leaman 1969
Dan Pike 1970
Mike Hecomovich 1971
Chuck Voith 1973
Dan Driscoll 1974
Frazier Frantz 1983
Zerbin Singleton 2008

GreatAmerican · January 15, 2008, 8:19pm

For Immediate Release
Sent Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2008
Contact Justin Kischefsky (410) 293-8772

Navy Claims All Weekly League Swimming & Diving Awards

CENTER VALLEY, Pa. – Navy athletes garnered each of the Patriot League’s weekly men’s and women’s swimming and diving awards this week. Adam Meyer (So., Bethesda, Md.) and Thuy-Mi Dinh (So., Anaheim, Calif.) were tabbed as the league’s swimmers of the week Tuesday, while Adam Niekras (Sr., Liverpool, N.Y.) and Katie Griffin (Sr., Ellicott City, Md.) were announced as the league’s divers of the week.

Meyer placed first overall in a pair of events and second in one event during Navy’s double dual meet victories over Cornell and Yale this past Saturday in Lejeune Hall. He posted times of 2:01.52 to win the 200 butterfly and 2:04.78 to win the 200 individual medley races, while his clocking of 55.99 in the 100 fly placed him second overall in the event. Additionally, he was a member of Navy’s 200 medley relay team that placed third with a time of 1:43.67.

The results improved his records to a combined 15-1 in the butterfly events this year and kept him undefeated through six 200 IM races. His overall individual event record this season stands at 29-6.

Dinh recorded victories in each of her three individual events last Saturday against Cornell and Yale, winning the 100 backstroke (1:05.79), the 50 freestyle (26.05) and the 100 free (57.92). She also recorded the fastest anchor leg time (25.62) in helping Navy to a second-place finish in the 200 medley relay.

She has compiled a combined sprint freestyle event record of 15-4 this year and has posted an overall individual event record of 18-10.

Niekras tallied 282.05 points to place second on the one meter (by just six points) against the Big Red and the Bulldogs and accrued 321.55 points to place third on the three meter. He has totaled seven victories this season and has placed either first or second in a combined 17 events this season.

Griffin remained undefeated on the season on both boards (26-0) with a pair of victories against both Cornell and Yale. She posted a score of 241.95 points to win the one meter by 10 points and tallied 308.40 points to win the three meter by 53 points.

Both Navy programs are off from competition this week and will resume their respective seasons Jan. 26 when the teams play host to Penn in Lejeune Hall. The Navy men’s team, which defeated both Cornell and Yale in the same meet for the first time in a decade, is 13-1 this season, while the women’s program, which topped Cornell and lost to Yale, is 12-1 this year.

GreatAmerican · January 15, 2008, 8:20pm

Game Specifics
Date and Tip Time Jan. 16, 2008 at 7:00 pm EST
Location Annapolis, Md. | Alumni Hall (5,710)
Tickets 1-800-US4-NAVY
Promotions Annapolis and Anne Arundel 
County Chamber of Commerce Night
Television None
Video Streaming Navy All-Access / [NavySports.com</a> - Official Athletic Site for Navy Athletics](<a href=“http://www.NavySports.com%5DNavySports.com”>http://www.NavySports.com)
Radio WNAV (Annapolis; 1430 AM)
WFED (Washington; 1050 AM)
Radio talent Bob Socci
Webcast [1430</a> WNAV Your Hometown Station Annapolis, Maryland](<a href=“http://www.wnav.com%5D1430”>http://www.wnav.com)
[FederalNewsRadio</a> - WFED: Home Page](<a href=“http://www.federalnewsradio.com%5DFederalNewsRadio”>http://www.federalnewsradio.com)
Gametracker [NavySports.com</a> - Official Athletic Site for Navy Athletics](<a href=“http://www.NavySports.com%5DNavySports.com”>http://www.NavySports.com)

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy men’s basketball team looks to rebound from a tough eight-point setback at Bucknell with a Wednesday night contest against Lehigh. Tip-off is slated at 7:00 pm in Alumni Hall, where Navy owns a 4-2 record this year, winning two straight contests.

The contest will be broadcast on WNAV (1430 AM) and WFED (1050 AM) with Bob Socci calling the action, beginning with the Navy basketball pregame show at 6:45 pm. Live video streaming and Gametracker will be available on [NavySports.com</a> - Official Athletic Site for Navy Athletics](<a href=“http://www.navysports.com%5DNavySports.com”>http://www.navysports.com).

MIDS AIM TO BOUNCE BACK AGAINST LEHIGH AFTER DROPPING LEAGUE OPENER
Navy lost its seventh straight Patriot League opener last Friday night against Bucknell, 85-77, but if the opening weekend is any indication of the coming Patriot League season, it is going to be a wild ride.

The Mids, picked seventh in the Patriot League preseason poll, gave No. 2 selection Bucknell all it could handle on its home floor, before succumbing in the second half. Meanwhile, preseason No. 8 selection, Lafayette, knocked off the preseason No. 1 pick, Holy Cross, 60-52, on the Leopards’ home floor.

The Mids got strong efforts once again from its three upperclassmen guards, Greg Sprink, Kaleo Kina and Chris Harris. The trio combined for 61 points, but managed to play just a combined 92 minutes, as Sprink and Harris were both saddled with foul problems in the second half. Sprink led the Mids with 26 points, while Kina accounted for 24 and Harris added 11. It marked the third time in the last six games that two members of the trio had gone over 20 points in the same game.

As a group, they are averaging 45.1 ppg, including 59.0 combined points per game in the last six outings. Sprink leads the Navy attack at 19.6 ppg and 6.0 rpg, both career highs, while Kina is averaging 14.3 ppg and lead the team with 55 assists and 34 steals. Harris, lastly, averages 11.3 ppg and 3.3 apg.

ABOUT LEHIGH
Lehigh enters the contest with a 7-8 overall mark and 0-1 in the Patriot League after falling to American, 71-54, in the opener at Stabler Arena in Bethlehem, Pa., on Saturday night. The Mountain Hawks shot just 35.3 percent in the contest, and watched as American connected on 11-of-18 three-point shots and commit just seven turnovers helping AU to the victory. Marquis Hall scored 13 points to lead a balanced Lehigh lineup that committed just 11 turnovers and outrebounded the Eagles, 36-28.

Hall leads a balanced attack with a 12.3 ppg average as well as a 4.9 apg average. Zahir Carrington (11.8), Bryan White (10.5) and freshman Rob Keefer (8.5) all average at least 8.0 ppg. White leads the Patriot League in rebounding at 8.1 rebounds per game.

As a team, Lehigh has dropped three of the last four games, with the lone win being a 68-49 triumph over Princeton on Jan. 6. The Mountain Hawks average 66.5 points per game, while shooting 43.2 percent from the field and 39.4 percent from three-point range. However, foes are averaging 67.3 ppg, while connecting on 42.2 percent of their three-point tries. Lehigh ranks first in turnovers per game at just 12.7 mistakes.

Bucknell Projected Starters (2007-08 Stats)
Pos.

No.
Name 
Ht.

Wt.

Year
Stats / Notes
G

1
Marquis Hall 
5-11

170

So.
12.3 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 4.9 apg
F

10
Zahir Carrington 
6-7

220

So.
11.8 ppg, 3.5 rpg
G

15
Rob Keefer 
6-3

185

Fr.
8.5 ppg, 3.3 rpg
F

20
Bryan White 
6-6

200

Sr.
10.5 ppg, 8.1 rpg
G

35
Matt Szalachowski 
6-2

190

Jr.
6.8 ppg, 2.1 rpg

Navy Projected Starters (2007-08 Stats)
Pos.

No.
Name 
Ht.

Wt.

Year
Stats / Notes
G

3
Greg Sprink 
6-5

220

Sr.
19.6 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 2.4 apg
G

5
Chris Harris 
6-2

175

So.
11.3 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 3.3 apg
G

15
Romeo Garcia 
6-4

202

Fr.
2.8 ppg, 3.1 rpg
G

24
Kaleo Kina 
6-4

210

Jr.
14.3 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 3.4 apg, 2.1 spg
C

44
Mark Veazey 
6-10

215

Fr.
4.3 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 1.2 bpg

THE SERIES
Navy leads the series, 40-15, but is just 3-8 in the last 11 meetings with one of the wins coming after Lehigh used a player subsequently declared ineligible in 2004-05. The Mids are 23-9 all-time in Annapolis, including a 9-7 advantage in Alumni Hall. Navy’s last win in Annapolis, however, not via a forfeit came way back in the 2002 season, a 92-85 victory. Prior to the 2002-03 season, Navy had won 16-of-17 meetings from Feb. 25, 1995, to Feb. 9, 2002.

GreatAmerican · January 17, 2008, 8:41pm

Overall Navy Club Sports Record: 66-33-4 (.660)

Boxing - (1-0)
Last Week: Idle
This Week: Idle

Hockey - (9-14)
Last Week: Defeated Scranton, 9-8; defeated Scranton, 5-2
This Week: at Penn State (Friday, 9:30 p.m., State College, Pa.); at Penn State (Saturday, 3:30 p.m., State College, Pa.)

Pistol - (2-0)
Last Week: Idle
This Week: Idle

Lacrosse - (6-2)
Last Week: Idle
This Week: Idle

Marathon - (2-0)
Last Week: Idle
This Week: Idle

Powerlifting - (2-1)
Last Week: Idle
This Week: Idle

Rugby (M) - (6-2-1)
Last Week: Idle
This Week: Idle

Rugby (W) - (9-1-1)
Last Week: Idle
This Week: Idle

Softball - (8-3)
Last Week: Idle
This Week: Idle

Tennis - (4-1)
Last Week: Idle
This Week: Idle

Volleyball - (4-2)
Last Week: Idle
This Week: Idle

GreatAmerican · January 17, 2008, 8:43pm

By Steve Wieberg, USA TODAY

Major-school athletics directors have taken perhaps the strongest swing ever at improving college football’s dismal minority hiring record, issuing guidelines Tuesday that mirror the NFL’s Rooney Rule.

“I really, truly believe it’s the right thing to do,” said Dutch Baughman, executive director of the Texas-based Division I-A Athletic Directors Association, who oversaw the five-month process of drawing up “acceptable standards” and sent them to all 120 major football-playing schools Tuesday.

Like pro football’s Rooney Rule, they call for schools searching for a head coach to interview “one or more” minority candidates.

Unlike the 5-year-old Rooney Rule, which subjects NFL teams to fines, the colleges’ policy doesn’t carry penalties. The I-A athletics directors, the NCAA and other organizations question the propriety and legality of infringing on individual schools’ hiring practices.

“The best we can do,” Baughman said, “is provide recommendations and so on and respect the fact that there’s institutional prerogative.”

The policy targets football for now. The sport, with one of the most criticized minority-hiring track records in college or pro sports, employed no black head coaches as recently as 1992. There were seven minority coaches last season, less than 6% representation in a sport in which 54% of the players are black or other minorities.

There’ll be eight next season. UCLA fired Karl Dorrell, but Houston hired Oklahoma assistant Kevin Sumlin, an African-American, and Navy promoted assistant Ken Niumatalolo, thought to be the first NCAA Polynesian head coach.

The sport’s scarcity of African-American coaches was addressed during the NCAA’s annual convention, which concluded Monday in Nashville. President Myles Brand, in his state-of-the-association address, called it “an embarrassment to all of intercollegiate athletics.”

Ohio State’s Gene Smith, one of 12 African-American athletics directors among the 300-plus schools in Division I, said during a panel discussion of diversity issues: “If we do not provide an opportunity for the assistant black football coach to be in the room, go through the interview process and learn from it we’re doing a disservice and we’re doing an injustice.”

The I-A ADs’ guidelines urge athletics directors to collect names of potential minority candidates before they’re faced with an opening and search to “enhance the efficiency of a search process” and provide “more time to personally become better acquainted with those coaches.”

Schools using outside search firms are instructed to urge the firms to be inclusive. Baughman’s organization offers help in identifying minority candidates.

Though the new policy wasn’t finalized until the end of football’s annual firing-and-hiring cycle, Baughman said its pending release and personal contact with schools conducting searches were effective in increasing the number of minorities interviewed.

He also dismissed suggestions the guidelines could lack effectiveness without the hammer of penalties. “I have a lot more professional trust in our folks than that,” he said. “Based on my conversations with athletic directors, the overwhelming feedback has been it’s time that we do this.”

Floyd Keith, who heads the Indianapolis-based Black Coaches and Administrators, is more cautious.

“I don’t want to judge it until I see the results,” he said. He remains concerned by a growing number of schools that have pre-designated successors to longtime coaches Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, Syracuse and Arizona in basketball and most recently Florida State and Purdue in football circumventing the search process.

GreatAmerican · January 17, 2008, 8:44pm

If you feel like we are missing someone please e-mail Naval Academy Associate Athletic Director for Sports Information Scott Strasemeier at: <a href=“mailto:sstrasem@usna.edu”>sstrasem@usna.edu</a> with the name and class year.

Navy Football Varsity Letterwinners That Also Served As Brigade Commander

Name Class
Lou Bryan 1932
John Shaffer 1935
Tom McGrath 1940
Ben Martin 1946
Don Whitmire 1947
Stansfield Turner 1947
Dick Duden 1947
Richard Shimshak 1948
Richard Scott 1948
Pete Williams 1949
Pat McDonald 1952
Peter Van Nort 1959
Walt Pierce 1963
Joe Ince 1964
Stephen Leaman 1969
Dan Pike 1970
Mike Hecomovich 1971
Chuck Voith 1973
Dan Driscoll 1974
Frazier Frantz 1983
Zerbin Singleton 2008

GreatAmerican · January 17, 2008, 8:45pm

For Immediate Release 
January 16, 2008

ESPNU¹s 2008 College Lacrosse Schedule Includes More Than 40 Games

ESPN2 to Televise its First-Ever Regular-Season Game; Entire NCAA Division I Men¹s Lacrosse Tournament Exclusively on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU

This season¹s college lacrosse schedule includes extensive regular-season action on ESPNU, plus coverage of the entire NCAA Division I Men¹s Lacrosse Championship exclusively on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU. The ESPN networks will open coverage with two games on ESPNU Saturday, Feb. 23, when 2007 National Champion #1 Johns Hopkins will host #12 Albany at 12 p.m. ET and #16 Loyola (Md.) will play at #13 Towson at 10 p.m. (tape delay). In addition, ESPN2 will air the first-ever regular-season college lacrosse game in the history of the network at noon on Saturday, Mar. 29, with #3 Virginia visiting #6 Maryland. In all, the networks combined will televise 47 games, including 32 regular-season matchups (up from 21) and 15 NCAA Tournament contests, primarily on ESPNU.

ESPNU¹s men¹s lacrosse regular-season line-up will showcase 17 of the top 25 teams, according to

Inside Lacrosse¹s Face-Off Yearbook preseason Top 25, while all three of the women¹s teams to be featured on ESPNU ranked in the top 20 in last season¹s final Inside Lacrosse Women¹s Media Poll. Of the 16 men¹s NCAA Tournament teams from 2007, 14 will make at least one appearance.

The schedule showcases 24 contests between top 25 teams, including a re-match of the 2007 National Championship game between Johns Hopkins and #2 Duke on Saturday, April 5, and the second annual Konica Minolta Face-Off Classic, featuring #11 Syracuse vs. Virginia and Johns Hopkins vs. #8 Princeton on Saturday, March 1.

As part of its multi-year agreement with Johns Hopkins University lacrosse, ESPNU will continue presenting every home game for the men¹s team. This season, Johns Hopkins will be featured 13 times, including 11 men¹s games and two women¹s matchups.

For the second year in a row, the ESPN networks will televise the entire NCAA Division I Men¹s Lacrosse Championship. ESPNU will televise the exclusive announcement of the 16-team field for the NCAA Tournament during a special one-hour selection show on Sunday, May 4 at 9 p.m. ESPNU will also provide exclusive coverage of all eight First Round games and Quarterfinal action (May 10 * 18); ESPN2 will televise the National Semifinals (May 24) and ESPN will present the National Championship on May 26.

Supplementing game coverage at the beginning and end of the season, Inside Lacrosse TV will return on ESPN2 with two one-hour specials and a 30-minute special on ESPNU, hosted by Dave Ryan and Quint Kessenich, four-time lacrosse All-American and 1990 graduate of Johns Hopkins University. On ESPN2, the preview special will be aired on Thursday, Feb. 21, at 4 p.m. and the Championship preview special is scheduled to be aired Tuesday, May 20 at 4 p.m., with coverage concluding on ESPNU with a season review on Wednesday, May 28 at 7:30 p.m., followed by the Major League Lacrosse Draft, live, at 8 p.m. In addition, ESPN.com will offer extensive online coverage of lacrosse and integrated coverage of professional, collegiate and prep lacrosse content from Insidelacrosse.com and Inside Lacrosse Magazine.

The commentators slated for this season¹s coverage will include Mark Dixon, Scott Garceau, Kessenich, Dave Ryan, 2006 Tewaaraton Trophy Winner and National Champion at the University of Virginia, Matt Ward and more.

2008 ESPNU COLLEGE LACROSSE REGULAR-SEASON SCHEDULE

Date Time Game

Sat., Feb. 23

12 p.m.

Albany at Johns Hopkins

Sat., Feb. 23

10 p.m.

*^Loyola (Md.) at Towson

Sat., Mar. 1

12 p.m.

Konica Minolta Face-Off Classic: Syracuse at Virginia (M&T Bank Stadium * Baltimore, Md.)

2:30 p.m.

Konica Minolta Face-Off Classic: Johns Hopkins at Princeton

5:30 p.m.

Maryland at Duke

10 p.m.

*^Denver at UMBC

Tues., Mar. 4

7 p.m.

UMBC at Johns Hopkins

Fri., Mar. 7

4 p.m.

Georgetown at Johns Hopkins (women¹s)

Sat., Mar. 8

12 p.m.

Virginia at Princeton

2 p.m.

*Duke at Loyola (Md.)

Sat., Mar. 15

12 p.m.

*Syracuse at Johns Hopkins

2:30 p.m.

Hofstra at Princeton

Mon., Mar. 17

4 p.m.

Maryland at Johns Hopkins (women¹s)

Sat., Mar. 22

2 p.m.

*^Duke at Georgetown

4 p.m.

Johns Hopkins at Virginia

6 p.m.

Maryland at North Carolina

Sat., Mar. 29

12 p.m.

Virginia at Maryland (on ESPN2)

2 p.m.

*North Carolina at Johns Hopkins

Fri., Apr. 4

8 p.m.

*Navy at Maryland

Sat., Apr. 5

12 p.m.

*Delaware at Towson

4 p.m.

Virginia at North Carolina

6 p.m.

Johns Hopkins at Duke

Sat., Apr. 12

12 p.m.

Navy at Army

2 p.m.

*Maryland at Johns Hopkins

6 p.m.

Duke at Virginia

Sat., Apr. 19

12 p.m.

Duke at Army

4 p.m.

Cornell at Princeton

8 p.m.

*Hartford at UMBC

Wed., Apr. 23

7 p.m.

Towson at Johns Hopkins

Sat., Apr. 26

1 p.m.

*Pennsylvania at Towson

Mon., Apr. 28

7 p.m.

Mount St. Mary¹s at Johns Hopkins

Sat., May 3

1 p.m.

*Johns Hopkins at Loyola (Md.)

*Will co-exist on WMAR-TV

^Tape delay

2008 NCAA DIVISION I MEN¹S LACROSSE CHAMPIONSHIP COVERAGE ON ESPN, ESPN2 AND ESPNU

Date Network Time Game

Sat., May 10

ESPNU

12 p.m.

NCAA First Round * Game 1 (TBD)

ESPNU

2:30 p.m.

NCAA First Round * Game 2 (TBD)

ESPNU

5 p.m.

NCAA First Round * Game 3 (TBD)

ESPNU

7:30 p.m.

NCAA First Round * Game 4 (TBD)

Sun., May 11

ESPNU

12 p.m.

NCAA First Round * Game 5 (TBD)

ESPNU

2:30 p.m.

NCAA First Round * Game 6 (TBD)

ESPNU

5 p.m.

NCAA First Round * Game 7 (TBD)

ESPNU

7:30 p.m.

NCAA First Round * Game 8 (TBD)

Sat., May 17

ESPNU

12 p.m.

Quarterfinal # 1 * Annapolis, Md.

ESPNU

3 p.m.

Quarterfinal #2 * Annapolis, Md.

Sun., May 18

ESPNU

12 p.m.

Quarterfinal #3 * Ithaca, N.Y.

ESPNU

3 p.m.

Quarterfinal #4 * Ithaca, N.Y.

Sat., May 24

ESPN2

12 p.m.

Semifinal #1 * Gillette Stadium (Foxboro, Mass.)

ESPN2

2:30 p.m.

Semifinal #2 * Gillette Stadium

Mon., May 26

ESPN

1 p.m.

NCAA National Championship * Gillette Stadium

ESPNU

ESPNU was launched on March 4, 2005. The network features extensive studio programming and live coverage of games, including college football, college basketball and other Olympic sports from over 20 Division I conferences. The network also has a wide-ranging, long-term agreement with the NCAA calling for enhanced coverage of 22 NCAA Championships, showcasing sports from each of the three collegiate seasons. ESPNU also has re-air rights to games on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPN Regional television programming.

In addition, ESPNU.com, the companion to the ESPNU college sports television network, is the online destination for college sports content, including news, information, extensive online video and audio and more.

ESPNU currently reaches approximately 20 million homes through secured distribution agreements with Charter, Cox, DIRECTV (Channel 609), EchoStar¹s DISH Network (Channel 148), AT&T, Insight Communications, Mediacom, Time Warner, Verizon, hundreds of smaller affiliates and is close to distribution agreements with many others.

GreatAmerican · January 17, 2008, 8:48pm

By BILL WAGNER, Staff Writer
Published January 16, 2008

Navy did not look like a program picked to finish next-to-last in the Patriot League on Friday night.

Navy, which finished seventh in the eight-team conference in 2006 and 2007, cameclose to shocking perennial powerhouse Bucknell on its home court. The Midshipmen seized an early lead and held it into the second half before foul trouble derailed their upset bid. With leading scorers Greg Sprink and Chris Harris on the bench with four fouls apiece, the Bison transformed an eight-point deficit into a seven-point lead and never trailed thereafter.

It was Bucknell’s 36th straight victory over a Patriot League opponent at Sojka Pavilion. However, Navy served notice that it is quite capable of escaping the conference cellar. Fourth-year head coach Billy Lange just wants to see the Mids duplicate the effort they put forth Friday night on a more consistent basis.

“We came out with great collective energy and played with great confidence against Bucknell,” Lange said yesterday. “Our guys have a swagger they didn’t have the last couple seasons. They truly believe they can win.”

Believing and doing are two different things and Navy still needs to prove it’s better than 2006 and 2007 when it won just three and four Patriot League games, respectively. The Midshipmen can start that process by beating Lehigh tonight at Alumni Hall.

“I feel we’re close to taking the next step in the maturation of our program in terms of having solidarity to play good team basketball,” Lange said. “Now we need to understand how hard you need to play on every possession in these league games. You cannot have letdowns on either end of the court and expect to win.”

Lehigh, under the direction of first-year head coach Brett Reed, dropped its Patriot League opener, 71-54, to visiting American on Saturday. The Mountain Hawks have lost three of their last four.

Sophomore guard Marquis Hall is the catalyst for Lehigh, leading the team in scoring (12.3 points per game) and assists (4.9 average). However, Lange is most concerned about Bryan White and Zahir Carrington, a pair of versatile and athletic forwards.

White, a 6-foot-6, 200-pound senior, is averaging 10.5 points and 8.1 rebounds. Carrington, a 6-foor-7, 220-pound sophomore, is scoring 11.8 points per game. Those two will prove a tough matchup for the Midshipmen, who employ - in essence - a four-guard lineup.

“Lehigh has outstanding size and athleticism in the front-court. I’m sure they will try to pound the ball inside against us,” he said.

Navy figures to play a lot of zone tonight with 6-foot-10 freshman center Mark Veazey patrolling the back line. If the Mids go man-to-man, the responsibility of covering White and Carrington will fall to the likes of Sprink (6-5), Romeo Garcia (6-4) and Clif Colbert (6-4).

It may not matter as much if the Midshipmen succeed in pushing the tempo the way they did against the Bison on Friday night. Navy is the only team in the Patriot League that wants to play at a fast pace and succeeded in imposing that style on Bucknell at times.

“We were making defensive stops, creating turnovers and getting out in transition,” Lange said. “We were running the floor and scoring a lot of fastbreak baskets.”

Navy set a Sojka Pavilion record for points by an opponent in a half with 46 in the first. That is remarkable considering the Mids were held to 46 points or less for the entire game in four of six prior meetings with the Bison.

Sprink poured in 26 points in 29 minutes while junior guard Kaleo Kina carried the team at times in netting 24 points. Kina gave a gutsy effort while playing all 40 minutes.

“Kaleo’s overall approach to the game is the best it’s ever been,” Lange said.

Navy welcomed back two players who were in the rotation early in the season. Colbert, a versatile small forward, played for the first time since suffering a broken right wrist on Nov. 17 while sophomore guard Derek Young (Archbishop Spalding) was reinstated after serving a five-game suspension. Colbert played 13 minutes and showed some rust while Young did not play.

“Clif’s timing was off, but he’s going to get back to where he was and add something to this team,” Lange said.

Navy has a 3-8 record in its last 11 games against Lehigh with one of those wins the result of a forfeit. The Mids’ last on-court victory over the Mountain Hawks in Annapolis came way back in 2002.

Learning how to win the tight ones is still an issue for Navy, which is 1-7 in games decided by 10 points or less this season.

Navy Sports

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