Navy Sports

GreatAmerican · January 31, 2008, 5:09pm

For Immediate Release
Friday, January 25, 2008
Contact: Jonathan Maggart (410) 293-8771

Navy to Compete at Patriot Games on Saturday

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy women’s track & field team will head on the road for the final time during the indoor regular season this Saturday when it competes at George Mason’s Patriot Games in Fairfax, Va. The field events open the meet at 10 a.m., while the action starts on the track at 11 a.m.

Several elite teams from the East will partake in Saturdays non-team scoring action, as more than 20 teams will descend upon the George Mason Recreation Sports Complex. Last year, the Mids totaled nine top-five performances.

Last Saturday in Annapolis, the Midshipmen improved to 6-0 on the year with victories over James Madison, Mount St. Marys, UNC-Wilmington and William & Mary. Navy won three events in totaling 184.5 points on the day.

Highlighting last weekends performance was Jacqui Charnigos (Sr./Medina, Ohio) first-place height in the pole vault. She matched her season high with an ECAC clearance of 123-1/2 (3.75 meters). After surpassing that bar, she went for the NCAA Championship provisional qualifying height of 1211-1/2 (3.95 meters), but could not clear the mark on three tries. At last years Patriot Games, she won the event with an indoor career-best mark of 125-1/2 (3.80 meters). She also placed third in the high jump with a 53 (1.60 meters) performance at last years event.

Meg Joyce (Jr./West Kingston, R.I.) accounted for Navys other field event victory one week ago when she won the weight throw with a toss of 446 (13.56 meters). The Navy junior claimed fifth place at last years Patriot Games with a distance of 443-1/2 (13.50 meters).

Amy Watson (So./Hampstead, Md.) delivered an event title on the track last Saturday in the 5,000-meter run. The 2007 First-Team All-Patriot League cross country runner paced the field with a time of 18:12.29. During the indoor slate, she has won the 5,000-meter run twice and placed second in the 3,000-meter run on another occasion.

Following this weekend’s action, Navy returns home to host Army in the annual Star Meet on Saturday, Feb. 2. The action will be the penultimate women’s track & field meet in Halsey Field House, as the Midshipmen will move into the 140,000-sqaure-foot, $45 million Wesley Brown Field House in 2008-09. Navy’s new home indoor facility will feature a hydraulic banked 200-meter track, a 60-meter straightaway in the center, dual pole vault/jumping runways, dual throwing areas and a scenic view of the Severn River.

GreatAmerican · January 31, 2008, 5:35pm

Navy program gets jump on opposition with Griffin proving her diving point (Annapolis Capital)

By DAVE BROUGHTON, Staff Writer
Published January 25, 2008

Katie Griffin knew a long time ago that she wanted to attend the Naval Academy. She was also determined to be a member of the diving team.

It was some of her closest supporters who weren’t so sure that was the best plan for the Ellicott City native. Even her mother expressed reservations about her daughter giving up softball to focus on diving.

"My track coach said ‘nobody will ever recruit you for diving,’ " Griffin recalled this week. “But I was like, well, I like diving a lot better. It was something that, once I got started, I really liked it.”

Now, Griffin isn’t the type to say “I told you so,” but the Navy senior is writing a script better than even she imagined.

Griffin will carry a combined 26-0 record on the 3- and 1-meter boards into tomorrow afternoon’s home meet at Lejeune Hall against Penn. This on the heels of last year’s 21-1 record in dual meets.

Despite the gaudy numbers, Griffin subscribes to the “you’re only as good as your last dive” mindset.

“It’s nice knowing I have that background, but in diving you never really know when you’re going to have that bad meet,” said Griffin, a First-Team All-Patriot League selection last year.

“I kind of like to take it one day at a time, one minute at a time, because when I start to look too far ahead then I start to psyche myself out, or jinx myself.”

Griffin has been more like a good-luck charm for the Navy women’s swimming team, which is 12-1.

The Navy men’s team is 13-1.

“It’s a big confidence to the team knowing you have a good diving program,” said John Morrison, head coach of the women’s team. “It’s a leg up to have that quality of person on the board who comes through every step of the way, every meet.”

Griffin is at her best in the three meter, and is the school record holder in that event.

“I personally like the three meter better,” said Griffin, one of two female divers along with teammate Desiree’ Robison. “There are different dives on both, but I think once you start diving 3 meter, most of the dives are transitional. You do a reverse-double to do a 21/2 on 3 meter, and the lead-ups are very similar. The board work is all the same.”

Joe Suriano, in his 30th year coaching Naval Academy divers, said Griffin is everything a coach could want.

“She’s a great athlete, she has a great body for diving, she’s strong, she’s smart, she’s dedicated, and she’s fearless,” Suriano said. “Fronts, inwards, twisters, she hits 'em all.”

Griffin grew up playing soccer, basketball and softball in addition to running track and cross country. At age 8, she began diving “just for fun” at the local pool.

“I was really bad at it, but it was something that I wanted to get better at,” Griffin said.

To get better, Griffin began diving year-round at UMBC as a member of the Retriever Dive Club. She received All-America honors in 2003 and '04. She also competed in the Junior National Meet four times and spent eight years on the Junior Olympic Team.

After graduating from Seton Keough High School, Griffin considered attending Georgia Tech, but really only wanted to come to Annapolis.

" I feel like I’ve gotten much more consistent since I’ve been here," said Griffin, whose mother attends every home meet. “I used to be really up and down… some good meets, some bad meets.”

Even though diving is an individual event, Griffin loves being a part of the Navy swim team.

“When I was in middle school and high school, I traveled a lot by myself and I didn’t like it at all,” said Griffin, who turned 22 on Jan. 14. “It’s so nice traveling with a team and having teammates there. It was like an extra added motivation when I got here knowing that how I did in meets affected the rest of the team. It’s great knowing other people are relying on you and pushing you.”

Last year, Griffin won the Patriot League championship on both boards. However, her bid to make the NCAA tournament fell short when she did not earn the necessary top-5 finish at the NCAA Zone Meet at Rutgers. This year, following the ECAC Meet in Pittsburgh the first week of March, the Zone Meet will take place a week later in Buffalo.

“I obviously think about it a lot and it would be great to make it, but it’s still too far ahead,” Griffin said. “I feel like I’ve been diving well this year and things have been going really well, but you just never know when you’re going to have a bad day.”

GreatAmerican · January 31, 2008, 5:37pm

Game Specifics
Date and Tip Time: Jan. 27, 2007 at 12:00 pm EST
Location: Annapolis, Md. | Alumni Hall (5,710 - Sold Out)
Television: ESPNU
TV Talent: Bob Socci and John Feinstein
Video Streaming: None
Radio: WNAV (1430 AM) | WFED (1050 AM)
Radio: SIRIUS Channel 114 | Armed Forces Network
Radio Talent: Pete Medhurst
Webcast: <a href=“http://www.wnav.com%5B/url%5D”>www.wnav.com</a>, <a href=“http://www.federalnewsradio.com%5B/url%5D”>www.federalnewsradio.com</a>
Gametracker: <a href=“http://www.NavySports.com%5B/url%5D”>www.NavySports.com</a>

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Fresh off an 85-74 victory over preseason Patriot League favorite Holy Cross, the Navy men’s basketball team hosts arch-rival Army on Sunday at sold-out Alumni Hall. The game will be the first of a Army-Navy basketball doubleheader and tips off at high noon. Navy enters the contest with a 9-10 overall record (2-2 Patriot League), while Army is 8-10 overall (1-3 Patriot League).

The game will be televised by ESPNU with Bob Socci and John Feinstein calling all the action. On the airwaves, Pete Medhurst will handle the call on WNAV (1430 AM), WFED (1050 AM), SIRIUS Channel 114 and the Armed Forces Network. Coverage begins at 11:45 am with the Navy basketball pregame show. There will be no video streaming available due to contractual obligations.

HOLY CROSS RECAP
Chris Harris and Greg Sprink combined for 57 points to lead Navy past Holy Cross, 85-74, on Wednesday night. The Navy win snapped a 17-game losing streak to Holy Cross and was Navy’s first win since Feb. 19, 2000 (Navy 58, Holy Cross 51 in Annapolis). It was the first time in the last 17 meetings (dating back to Jan. 20, 2001) that Navy scored more than 70 points against the Crusaders.
One game after setting a career high with 26 points against Lafayette, Chris Harris bested it with a 29-point showing against the Crusaders. His seven three-pointers tied for the fifth most in school history. Harris’ 29 points were also the fifth most in a Patriot League game in Navy history.
The 57 points scored by Harris and Sprink were the most for a Navy duo since David Robinson (50) and Carl Liebert (12) combined to score 62 points in the NCAA Tournament against Michigan on March 12, 1987.
Navy committed just eight turnovers against the Crusaders, the fewest for the program since having just seven against Holy Cross on Jan. 22, 1998.
The Mids went 0-of-0 from the free throw line in the first half, but were 20-of-23 (.870) from the charity stripe in the second half.
Navy’s 13 three-pointers marked the ninth time this season Navy has made double-digit three-pointers, including the fourth straight game. The 13 threes tied for the fifth most in school history.
After being outrebounded, 23-12, in the first half on Wednesday night, the Mids were just outrebounded, 15-12, in the second half.
Navy made 12-of-14 free throws in the final five minutes to salt away the game. Freshmen Mark Veazey and Romeo Garcia were a combined 7-of-8 during that stretch.
The Navy defense held Holy Cross’ Tim Clifford to just five points (2-of-8 shooting) in the second half, after he went 6-of-8 for 15 points in the opening 20 minutes.

NAVY UPDATE
Navy has scored at least 80 points six times this season, after reaching 80 points just three times all of last year. The Mids have scored 80 points in back-to-back Patriot League games for the first time since Jan. 16-19, 2002. Navy has been held to 70 points or less just five times, and has scored at least 73 points in nine straight games.
The Mids are averaging 76.5 points per game this year, the most for a Navy team since the 1990-91 team averaged 84.1 points per contest.
Navy is shooting 74.4 percent from the free throw line, a total that would rank second in school history behind last year’s 74.7 percent. In the four conference games, Navy is shooting a white-hot 81.0 percent (81-of-100).
Navy is 2-2 in league play for the first time since the 2001-02 season. That year’s team started league play 3-1 and 4-2, before fading to a 5-9 finish. Navy has started 2-2 or better in league play nine times.
Navy is outscoring foes, 76.8 to 69.5, in eight home games this year. In Navy’s nine wins, the average margin of victory is 15.0 ppg (80.5 to 65.5).
The Mids have allowed their four conference foes to shoot 48.1 percent from the field.
In all games played, Navy has three of the top 10 scorers in the Patriot League. Greg Sprink is first at 21.1 ppg, Kaleo Kina is ninth at 14.2 ppg and Chris Harris is 10th at 13.3 ppg. However, in the four league games, the three members are ranked in the top seven in scoring (Sprink is first, Harris is third and Kina is seventh) and are 1-2-3 in assists (Kina is first, Harris and Sprink are tied for second).
The Navy trio of Greg Sprink, Kaleo Kina and Chris Harris have combined for 46 of Navy’s 56 double-figure scoring games this year. The trio is averaging a combined 48.5 ppg this year (922 points).

ADDITIONAL PLAYER UPDATES
Greg Sprink continues to lead the Patriot League in scoring at 21.1 ppg (28.3 in four conference games). Sprink is attempting to become the first Navy player since Erik Harris in 1991 to average 20.0 ppg in a season. The last Patriot Leaguer to average 20.0 ppg in a year was Lehigh’s Brett Eppenhimer in 1998 (24.7 ppg.).
Sprink ranks 20th nationally in scoring and is 34th in free throw percentage.
Sprink is attempting to become the sixth Patriot League player to lead the league in scoring in two straight years, joining Holy Cross’ Rob Feaster (1994, 1995), Colgate’s Adonal Foyle (1996, 1997), Lafayette’s Brian Ehlers (1999, 2000), Army’s Chris Spatola (2001, 2002) and Holy Cross’ Kevin Hamilton (2005, 2006). Sprink shared the league lead last year at 16.9 ppg.
Sprink became the first Navy player since the great David Robinson to score 20 or more points in a game in five straight contests, when he tallied 28 against Holy Cross on Wednesday. Robinson accomplished the feat in 13 straight games from Jan. 10 to Feb. 9, 1987. Over the last five games, Sprink is averaging 26.8 ppg, 9.0 rpg and 3.6 apg. During that span, he is 44-of-48 (.917) from the free throw line.
Sprink (112), Indiana’s Eric Gordon (119) and Missouri State’s Deven Mitchell (103), are the only three players to rank in the top 50 nationally in free throw percentage with 100 or more made free throws. Sprink enters the Army game having made 22 free throws in a row and is 30-of-31 (.968) in the last three games. In addition, he is eighth nationally with 112 made free throws. North Carolina’s Tyler Hansbrough leads the country with 168 made free throws.
Sprink has scored in double-figures in 10 straight games, matching Kaleo Kina’s streak of 10 games that was snapped against Holy Cross. It is the longest double-figure scoring streak since Chris Williams scored in double figures in 21 straight games from Nov. 13, 2000 to Feb. 3, 2001.
Sprink became the first Navy player since Chris Williams against Northeastern (Nov. 20, 2000) to score 30 points with 10 rebounds in a game when he scored 33 points with 12 rebounds against Lafayette last Saturday night.
Sprink is the third Patriot League player (fourth Navy player in history) to record 1,500 career points, 500 career rebounds and 200 career assists. He joins Lafayette’s Brian Ehlers and Colgate’s Pat Campolieta in the exclusive club.
Greg Sprink is one of three Patriot Leaguers (Holy Cross’ Tim Clifford and Lafayette’s Bilal Abdullah) to rank in the top 10 of scoring and rebounding. Sprink is first in scoring and second in rebounding.
Kaleo Kina and Chris Harris are among four Patriot League players (American’s Derrick Mercer and Lafayette’s Andrew Brown) to rank in the top 10 of both scoring and assists. Kina is ninth in scoring and fifth in assists, while Harris is 10th in scoring and sixth in assists.
Kaleo Kina has scored in double figures in 10 of the last 11 games. During that span, he is averaging 17.5 ppg while dishing out 48 assists. He has scored at least 18 points in six of the contests.
Kina became the first player since Reggie Skipworth against Rice on Nov. 16, 1998, to distribute 10 assists in a game when he had 10 dimes against Lafayette last Saturday night. He posted his second career double-double in the contest with 18 points and 10 assists, becoming the first player since Jehiel Lewis against Bucknell on Jan. 12, 2002 (21 points, 12 steals), to record a double-double with something other than rebounds.
Kina has moved into ninth place on the Navy career steals list (128). He is averaging 2.11 spg, ranking 51st nationally.
Navy’s top three-point shooter, Chris Harris, is on quite a tear. Harris has made 52 three-pointers already this season, ranking ninth on the Navy single-season list. He is well within shot of the record 76 made by Jimmy Hamilton made in 1994. Harris is currently the single-season leader in three-point percentage at a sizzling 47.7 percent.
Harris set a career high with seven three-pointers in the win over Holy Cross. Over the last five games, Harris is a sizzling 22-of-36 (.611) from three-point range, averaging 20.2 ppg during that span. In addition, he has 22 assists (4.4 per game) against just 12 turnovers. In the last two games, is averaging 27.5 ppg, 5.0 apg and 2.5 spg.
Harris has scored in double figures in six straight games and in nine of the last 10 games. During the last 10 games, Harris is 41-of-72 (.569) from three-point range, averaging 18.2 ppg, 4.0 apg and 2.2 rpg. After having an assist-to-turnover ratio of 0.96 in the first nine games, Harris has a 1.18 assist-to-turnover ratio in the last 10 games.
Harris has made a three-pointer in 10 straight games, and has at least four bombs in six of the last 10 games, with at least five threes in three straight games.
Romeo Garcia leads the league (conference games only) in steals at 3.00 steals per outing.
Garcia committed his first turnover in the last seven games with a first-half miscue against Holy Cross. However, in the last seven games, Garcia has nine assists against just one turnover.
Over the last 10 games, Garcia is averaging 3.9 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 1.6 apg, 1.4 spg and 0.7 bpg in 23.8 minutes per game. He has 16 assists against just three turnovers in that span.
Despite being just 6-4, Garcia has seven blocked shots in the last six games. He ranks 13th in blocked shots in the Patriot League in all games played (eighth in league games). He already ranks 13th on the Navy freshman single-season blocked shot list.
In four conference games, Garcia is averaging 4.8 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 3.0 spg and 1.5 apg.
Adam Teague connected on his 100th career three-pointer in the win over Holy Cross. He ranks second on the single-season three-point percentage list (behind Harris) at .469 and is fourth in career percentage (.393). His 101 three-pointers are the ninth most in school history.
Mark Veazey’s 22 blocked shots are the fourth most by a Navy freshman, and he needs just four more to move into 19th place on the Navy single-season list.
Brian Richards broke his front two teeth in half while diving for a loose ball against Holy Cross. Richards visited the dentist on Thursday morning, where he received a root canal and “fake” teeth were put in their place.

THE BOOK ON ARMY
Army enters the game with an 8-10 overall record and is 1-3 in the Patriot League after Wednesday night’s loss to American, 66-53. The Black Knights started the season 7-6, but have lost four of their last five games. The lone win in the stretch was a 53-39 win over Holy Cross on Jan. 16. Army is 4-5 both at home and on the road.
Against American, Army shot 38.6 percent (17-of-44) from the field, while American shot 51.3 percent (20-of-39). The Eagles outrebounded Army, 33-16, en route to a 22-10 advantage in points in the paint. Jarell Brown led Army with 24 points, going 9-of-23 from the field. The rest of the team attempted just 21 field goal attempts.
Army has done an outstanding job defensively this year, ranking second in the Patriot League in points allowed per game (62.1) and third in field goal percentage defense (.415). In league games, the Black Knights are giving up a league-best 53.0 ppg, but teams are shooting 45.5 percent against them, a total that ranks seventh in the league. The Black Knights play one of the slowest paces in the country, averaging just 65.3 possessions per game, a total that ranks 254th nationally. By contrast, Navy averages 78.0 possessions per game, good for ninth nationally.
Leading the Army attack is senior guard Jarell Brown at 19.0 ppg, good for second in the league. However, in league games, Brown has slumped to 15.2 ppg. For the season, Brown has taken 28.8 percent (260-of-903) of all of Army’s shots, including 54.5 percent (146-of-268) of its three-point shots. In the four league games, he has attempted 34.1 percent (63-of-185) of Army’s shots and 58.5 percent (31-of-53) of its three-pointers.
Josh Miller follows at 7.8 ppg, while leading the team with 46 assists. Doug Williams paces the squad with a 5.4 rebound per game average.
As a team, Army is averaging 59.1 ppg (50.5 in Patriot League play) while shooting 44.1 percent from the field. The Black Knights are getting outrebounded by 2.4 boards per game, but have forced 17.7 turnovers per game. In league games, Army is shooting 41.1 percent, including just 30.2 percent from three-point range. The Black Knights are getting outrebounded by 8.8 rebounds per contest in their four conference games. Army has forced 20.8 turnovers per game in league play.
Jim Crews is in his sixth season at Army, owning a 43-114 record at West Point. He entered the season as the 46th winningest active coach in the country with 329 wins, and his current career record stands at 337-323 in his 23rd year of patroling the sidelines. He spent 17 years at Evansville, before coming to Army.

THE SERIES
This will be the 107th meeting all-time between the two schools, with Navy holding a 66-40 advantage. The two teams have split the season series each of the last four years, with Army winning the first contest and Navy taking the Star Game. The 107 meetings against Army is the most against any school for the Mids, and the rivalry is the third-most frequently played series in the Patriot League.

LAST YEAR’S MEETINGS
Army and Navy split last season’s meetings with the home team winning on their own court. For the fourth straight year, Army won the initial game in the series, before Navy responded by winning the annual Star Game.

In the Jan. 21 meeting at West Point, Navy shot just 28.6 percent from the field in falling 53-50. The Black Knights led throughout most of the second half, and seemingly had the game in control in the last minute. However, missed free throws helped Navy get a good look from Greg Sprink at the buzzer to send the game into overtime. His 25-footer was on line, but bounced off the front of the rim. Sprink led Navy with 19 points, while T.J. Topercer came off the bench to score 11. Matt Bell led Army with 16 points. Navy committed just nine turnovers, but forced just eight Army miscues.

In the second meeting, Navy held off every Army charge in the second half with timely outside shooting and Navy won the meeting in Alumni Hall, 76-68, in front of 5,247 fans - the ninth-largest crowd in facility history. Sprink scored all 19 of his points in the final 13:30 of the contest, and Trey Stanton and Kaleo Kina added 15 and 14 points, respectively. The Mids shot 44.4 percent from the field, but went 12-of-24 from three-point range. Army was led by Jarell Brown’s 18 points, while Bell and Doug Williams added 16 each. Bell, however, was hounded into nine turnovers, mostly due to the defense of Chris Harris. Army, which committed just eight turnovers in the first meeting, turned the ball over 17 times and recorded just 10 assists.

NAVY IN THE NCAA RANKINGS
The Navy basketball program is littered among the NCAA leaders in several categories, according to the NCAA rankings, as well as the statistical services, bbstate.com.
Navy is sixth nationally in turnovers forced per game at 19.1 turnovers per contest.
The Mids are ninth in the country in possessions per 40 minutes, averaging 78.0 possessions. VMI leads the country at 82.8 possessions per 40 minutes.
As mentioned above, Navy is ninth in three-pointers made per game at 9.5. Individually, Chris Harris is 62nd with 2.74 three-pointers per game. Harris is also 15th nationally in three-point percentage (.477).
Navy is 30th in steals per game with a 9.1 average.
The Mids are 34th nationally in three-point percentage defense (.309).
Navy is 56th nationally in points per game (76.5).
Greg Sprink ranks 20th nationally in scoring (21.1 ppg) and 34th in free throw percentage (.862). He is eighth in the country in free throws made (112) and his 321 field goal attempts are the eighth most nationally.
Kaleo Kina is 51st in steals per game at 2.11 per outing.
Chris Harris ranks 15th nationally in three-point percentage (.477), is 54th in three-pointers made (52) and 62nd in three-pointers made per game (2.74).

GreatAmerican · January 31, 2008, 5:41pm

For Immediate Release
Sent Friday, Jan. 25, 2008
Contact Justin Kischefsky (410) 293-8772

Three Navy Volleyball Players Receive League Academic Accolade

CENTER VALLEY, Pa. – A trio of Navy players were among the 46 student-athletes who were named this week to the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll for the sport of volleyball. Student-athletes in the league must have both earned a varsity letter during the 2007 season and attained at least a 3.20 grade-point average during the 2007 fall semester to garner the accolade.

Headlining the list of recipients this year is Navy’s Rachel Dougherty (Sr., Derwood, Md.), who was previously selected as both the league’s scholar-athlete of the year for the sport and as a Second-Team Academic All-American by ESPN the Magazine and the College Sports Information Directors of America. The first Mid to garner either of the aforementioned two awards, the physics major posted a 4.00 GPA during the recently completed fall term to make her third appearance on the honor roll.

Dougherty was just as impressive on the court as she was in the classroom. A First-Team All-Patriot League performer, she set Navy records with 500 kills and a 4.50 kills-per-game average this season. Her latter average ranked fifth in the NCAA this season, while she also ranked 27th in the country by averaging 0.54 service aces per game. She ended her career ranked fifth in Navy Division I history with 1,137 career kills and tied for fourth place with 274 career blocks.

Nikki England (Sr., Colorado Springs, Colo.) compiled a 3.24 GPA this past fall to be named to the honor roll for the second time in as many seasons. The oceanography major appeared in 30 of Navy’s 33 matches this season and averaged 1.22 digs per game. She tallied 544 kills and 437 digs while appearing in nearly 300 games during her career.

Garnering the accolade for the first time was Aubrey Manes (So., Pratt, Kan.), who finished the fall term with a 3.59 GPA. The political science major averaged nearly one kill and one dig per game this year.

GreatAmerican · January 31, 2008, 5:42pm

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – The Navy rifle team pieced together its second strong performance in consecutive days, defeating the University of the Sciences, 4623-3685. The win moves Navy’s record to 6-1 overall. The two teams will square off again tomorrow morning.

“It was a good day up here. Our score was very comparable to yesterday (against Alaska),” said Navy head coach Bill Kelley. “We had some strong efforts and hopefully we can keep it going tomorrow.”

Navy’s 4623 was just 10 points shy of its season high of 4633 set yesterday against Alaska. The Mids shot a 2290 in smallbore, then followed with a 2333 in air rifle.

In smallbore, Josh Albright (Sr./Shelton, Conn.) led the way with a 577. Chris Burleson (Fr./St. Augustine, Fla.) followed with a 574. Monica Amagna (Sr./Tulsa, Okla.) and Alison Lankes (Fr./Clarence, N.Y.) totaled a 570 and 569, respectively.

The Mids then shot their second best score of the season in air rifle, totaling a 2333. Lisa Kunzelman (Jr./Constantia, N.Y.) led the Mids with a 593. Her score tied for the fourth-best total in school history. Alex Karacsonyi (Jr./North Haven, Conn.) added a 584. Albright scored a 580 and Christina Schade (Sr./Eagle River, Alaska) rounded out Navy’s scoring with a 576.

The two teams will shoot against each other again tomorrow morning at 9:00 am in Philadelphia.

GreatAmerican · January 31, 2008, 5:51pm

For Immediate Release
Friday, January 25, 2008
Contact: Jonathan Maggart (410) 293-8771

Navys DMR Wins at Penn State National Open

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. The Navy mens track & field distance medley relay team of Craig Meekins (Sr./Baldwin, N.Y.), Will Ricks (Sr./Hopewell, Va.), Paul Harris (Sr./Fairburn, Ga.) and John Olsen (Sr./Staten Island, N.Y.) paced the field with an IC4A time to highlight its opening day performance at the Penn State National Open on Friday night.

The quartet of Navy runners produced a season-best time of 9:52.52 to finish 0.80-second ahead of second-place Georgetown. Its performance was also better than Tennessee (9:56.56), North Carolina (10:03.73) and Armys
(10:11.90) clocking.

Christopher Bordino (Jr./Gastonia, N.C.) continued his solid work in the weight
throw on Friday, as he uncorked a career-best toss of 576-1/4 (17.53 meters). The IC4A distance was tops among the eight throwers in the second of three flights and seventh best out of the 24 overall competitors.

Navy claimed two of the top-10 efforts in two events on the competitions first day. Chris Horel (So./Belford, N.J.) finished seventh in the invitational race of thhe 5,000-meter run with a time of 14:48.34, soon followed by John Kress (Sr./Colorado Springs, Colo.) in eighth place with a 14:49.51 showing. In the pole vault, Kraegen Bramer (Sr./Auburn, Calif.) cleared 145-1/4 (4.40 meters) for fourth place and Bo Fisher (Sr./Longview, Wash.) placed seventh with a height of 1311-1/4 (4.25 meters).

Ron Belany (Sr./Haiku, Hawaii), who qualified for the IC4A Championship in the heptathlon last Saturday, competed in two events on Friday. Belany posted the fourth-fastest 60-meter hurdles time with a time of 8.16 seconds. His performance was just shy of qualifying for the semifinals, as he placed third in his heat and was only .0036-second away from claiming the final spot. Meanwhile, he soared 2111-1/2 (6.69 meters) in the long jump to finish in 16th place.

The Midshipmen will conclude the two-day Penn State National Open tomorrow, starting with the high jump at 11 a.m.

GreatAmerican · January 31, 2008, 5:54pm

ANNAPOLIS, MD (Friday, January 25, 2008) * Senior Nick Schwob and junior Matt Swezey each tallied twice to lead Navy¹s ice hockey team to a 5-4 win over West Chester Friday night at the McMullen Hockey Arena.

With the non-league victory, the Midshipmen are now 9-17-0, while the Golden Rams fell to 20-6-2.

Navy will next face the University of Maryland tomorrow (Saturday) afternoon at 3:20 p.m. at Gardens Ice House in Laurel.

West Chester got on the scoreboard early Friday night and threatened to turn the game into a rout, getting goals from Jim Gehring at 1:01 and Steve Jones at 2:27 to take a quick 2-0 lead.

The Mids struck back on Schwob¹s first goal of the night, assisted by Chandler Brewer and Jon Westerman, at the 5:50 mark of the first period. But the Golden Rams regained their two-goal advantage before the period ended, thanks to a Pat Johnson power play tally at 11:52.

Down 3-1, Navy came out strong in the second stanza and dominated play, outshooting West Chester by a 15-5 margin. The Mids¹ aggressiveness paid off with a pair of Swezey even strength goals, the first coming at 5:27 assisted by Schwob and Donnie Horner, and the second at 18:02 assisted by Matt Keller and Charlie Daniel.

The Mids took their first lead of the night early in the third period when Drew Stoner banged home the rebound of a Swezey shot while Navy was on a power play. Schwob picked up the other assist on Stoner¹s goal, which came at 5:30.

West Chester pulled even at 4-4 late in the period when Bob MacLaughlin fired a rising shot that beat Navy netminder Eric Anderson over his right shoulder at 15:01.

With the game headed toward overtime, the Midshipmen sealed the critical victory when Schwob knocked in a rebound after Stoner had made a strong play and taken an initial shot. Senior defenseman Adam Shields recorded the other assist on Schwob¹s game winning goal which came at 16:19.

West Chester pulled goaltender Luis Perez for an extra attacker with 1:30 remaining in regulation time, and actually enjoyed a 6-on-4 advantage for the game¹s final 23 seconds after referee Doug Wood whistled Stoner for a holding penalty. But Anderson and the Navy defense kept the Golden Rams off the scoreboard to preserve the victory and send a large crowd estimated at close to 700 home happy.

Anderson finished with 29 saves for the Mids on 33 West Chester shots on goal, while Perez was credited with 38 saves on 43 Navy shots.

Puck Points: There may be some changes in the Eastern States Collegiate Hockey League playoffs set for McMullen Arena on Feb. 15-16-17the three-day format was necessary when it was believed that all six ESCHL teams would qualify for the post-season playoffsbut in an e-mail sent out late Friday by league commissioner Brian Moran, it now appears only the top four teams will qualify for post-season play, reducing the schedule to a two-day formatas it currently stands, Penn State, Rhode Island, and Delaware would easily qualify for the league playoffs, with Navy, Drexel, and Scranton battling for the fourth and final slotthat makes Navy¹s two games with Drexel next weekend (Feb. 1 in Philadelphia and Feb. 2 in Annapolis) critical if the Mids want to qualify the playoffs being held in their own building.

SCORING SUMMARY

West Chester 3 0 1 - 4

NAVY 1 2 2 - 5

First Period

WC * Gehring (Johnson, Bushman) 1:01

WC * Jones (Waite, Longo) 2:27

N * Schwob (Brewer, Westerman) 5:50

WC * Johnson (Bushman, Longo) 11:52 (pp)

Second Period

N * Swezey (Schwob, Horner) 5:27

N * Swezey (Keller, Daniel) 18:02

Third Period

N * Stoner (Swezey, Schwob) 5:50 (pp)

WC * MacLaughlin (Jones, Lewandowsky) 15:01

N * Schwob (Stoner, Shields) 16:19

SAVES

Perez (West Chester) 13 13 12 - 38

Anderson (NAVY) 12 5 12 - 29

SHOTS

West Chester 15 5 13 - 33

NAVY 14 15 14 - 43

GreatAmerican · January 31, 2008, 5:56pm

Navy def. Penn, 164.5-116.5

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

Navy Men’s Swimming Posts Big Win Over Penn

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy men’s swimming and diving team won all but three of the 16 events of its meet against Penn outright in posting a 164.5-116.5 victory over the Quakers, Saturday afternoon in Lejeune Hall.

The win gives Navy a 5-1 record against Eastern Intercollegiate Swimming League teams this season and assures the Mids of their first winning EISL season in eight years. Navy’s overall record also improved to 14-1 on the year, while the Quakers fell to 304 in the league and 7-5 on the season.

“It was a great team win,” said Navy swimming head coach Bill Roberts. “The team came out firing right from the opening relay. We won a lot of close races, but the key to our win, as it has been all season, was our depth.”

After Navy won the opening 200 medley relay, Erik Hunter (Fr., Placerville, Calif.) recorded a time of 8:19.52 to win the 800 freestyle by nine seconds, with teammates Sam Martinette (Fr., Richmond, Va.) finishing in second place and J.J. Helms (Fr., Conroe, Texas) placing third.

Christopher Jenkins (Sr., Chicago, Ill.) and Jack Curran (So., Silver Spring, Md.) followed with a first and second-place showing in the 200 freestyle with
times of 1:52.99 and 1:53.94, respectively, then Andrew Hetzner (So., Riverside, Calif.) won the 200 backstroke by two-tenths of a second in a time of 58.89.

Ari Molina (Jr., Arlington, Va.) won the next event, the 100 breaststroke, for Navy with a time of 1:04.52, with Kevin Kysiak (Sr., Western Springs, Ill.)
finishing two seconds later to finish in second place. Adam Meyer (So., Bethesda, Md.) promptly gave Navy its sixth win in as many events with a 5.5 second victory in the 200 fly (2:02.60).

In all, Navy scored three swimmers in the opening five individual events to build an 82-30 advantage.

Soon, Adam Niekras (Sr., Liverpool, N.Y.) won the one-meter springboard for Navy, then Alex Oldenkamp (Jr., Coppell, Texas) closed out the first half of the meet by winning the 50 freestyle in a time of 23.42.

The second half of the meet began with Oldenkamp and Penn’s Patrick Gallagher both recording a time of 52.29 to share first-place honors in the 100
freestyle, then Navy swimmers finished 1-2-3 in the next two events, the 200 backstroke and the 200 breaststroke. Billy Vey (Jr., Huntersville, N.C.)
claimed the top honors for Navy in the 200 back with a time of 2:05.91, with Meyer winning the 200 breaststroke in a time of 2:20.96.

The very next event saw Hunter join Meyer with a pair of individual event wins as he recorded a time of 4:01.82 to claim the 400 freestyle race.

After Penn’s Wei Ming Gan won the 100 fly, Niekras totaled 308.33 points to win the three-meter board and Meyer closed out the individual event portion of the meet with a clocking of 2:05.51 to win the 200 individual medley.

Penn closed the meet by winning the 200 freestyle relay.

Navy will play host to the Navy invitational Feb. 2 in Lejeune Hall, then will close its regular season with meets Feb. 8 at home against Columbia and the following day at Princeton.

GreatAmerican · January 31, 2008, 5:59pm

Navy def. Penn, 151-149

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

Women’s Swimming Rallies for Dramatic Victory

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy women’s swimming and diving team won the last five events of the meet to record a dramatic 151-149 victory over Penn, Saturday afternoon at Lejeune Hall.

The Mids closed the regular season with a 13-1 record, a mark that ties the 1987-88 team for the most wins and the best record in Navy history. The win also was the first for Navy over Penn in eight years.

“The team has been training really well,” said Navy head swimming coach John Morrison. “We said we had to go out and make something exciting happen to win today. This is a great win for our senior class to end their dual meet careers with.”

Navy won the opening three events of the meet to jump out to a 33-22 lead. After the Mids won the opening 200 medley relay (2:01.33), Tara Chapmon (So., Virginia Beach, Va.) posted a time of 9:11.51 to win the 800 free and Allison Ranzau (Fr., Alpharetta, Ga.) followed with a clocking of 2:04.87 to win the 200 free.

The Quakers not only won the next three events – the 100 backstroke, the 100 breaststroke and the 200 butterfly - they also scored three swimmers in each event to take to 67-45 advantage.

Penn’s lead was sliced to 80-70 at the first break when Navy’s Thuy-Mi Dinh (So., Anaheim, Calif.) won the 50 free (26.05) and Katie Griffin (Sr., Ellicott
City, Md.) posted a score of 277.20 to win the one-meter diving event.

Dinh came back right after the break to win the 100 freestyle with a time of 57.42 to pull Navy to within three points at 86-83. Penn, however, responded with back-to-back wins in the 200 backstroke and 200 breaststroke to take a 115-92 lead.

The three events going into the final break in the meet saw Chapmon place first (4:26.12) and Ranzau second in the 400 free, Kelly Zahalka (Jr., Richmond, Va.) won the 100 fly (1:04.94) by five-hundredths of a second, then Griffin won the three-meter springboard with a score of 321.90.

The two wins on the day allowed Griffin to end her senior season with a perfect 28-0 record and improve her two-year record to 49-1.

Zahalka won the last individual event of the meet, the 200 individual medley, with key points being scored for Navy when Tessa Snow (Fr., Hamlin, N.Y.) nplaced fourth and Natalie Albertson (Fr., St. Paul, Minn.) edged Penn’s Ainsley Cookingham for fifth place – and one point – by six-hundredths of a second.

Penn held a 145-138 lead heading into the final event, the 400 free relay, which meant Navy had to win the race and place either second or third to win the overall meet.

The Penn teams were in both first and third place after the opening 100 meters, as well as after the second and third 100 meters. The Quakers held a two-second lead for first place and a nearly four-second advantage over the Mids for third place as the last set of swimmers hit the water. The last 100 meters became a battle between Dinh and Penn’s Sara Coenen for first place, with Chapmon and Penn’s Megan Barron fighting it out for third place.

In the race for first, Dinh closed to within seven tenths of a second of Coenen after 50 meters, then she recorded a 29.78 over her last lap of the pool to Coenen’s 30.70 to give the Mids the overall victory by five-hundredths of a second (3:55.77-3:55.82).

While Dinh’s rally was impressive, perhaps even more so was Chapmon’s effort. Down by 3.88 seconds when she first entered the water, Chapmon immediately shaved 1.48 seconds of her deficit off after her opening 50 meters. She then came home in a final time of 30.35, with Barron posting a clocking of 32.83, to secure third place by eight tenths of a second (4:02.18-4:02.26) and give Navy the overall victory.

“We talked during the last break about us needing to finish races faster,” said Morrison. "That was something we were not doing early in the meet.

“Thuy-Mi and Tara had great closing strokes in the relay. Thuy-Mi is swimming with so much confident right now, and Tara has the guts of a champion.”

“This was the most exciting second half to a meet of my career,” said Navy team captain Kristin Lowd. “I am incredibly proud of everyone on the team. We battled through injuries and illnesses and a challenging week of practices to pull this meet out.”

Navy will compete in the Navy Invitational Feb. 2 in Lejeune Hall, then will turn its full attention toward winning its second-straight Patriot League title Feb. 21-23 here in Annapolis.

GreatAmerican · January 31, 2008, 6:03pm

Navy Men’s Track & Field: Harris and Hanko Win in Final Day of Penn State National Open (1/26/08)

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

Harris and Hanko Win in Final Day of Penn State National Open

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Navy men’s track & field runners Paul Harris (Sr./Fairburn, Ga.) and Andrew Hanko (Fr./Montville, N.J.) each posted a victory in the second and final day of the Penn State National Open on Saturday. The Midshipmen totaled three event titles this weekend, as the distance medley relay team paced the competition last night.

Harris, who was a member of the winning distance medley relay on Friday, followed that effort with an impressive 1:49.29 showing in the invitational section of the 800-meter run. The effort bested his NCAA provisional qualifying mark and ranks as beat Karjuan Williamss second-place 1:49.43 showing in the first heat. Harriss effort on Saturday ranks as the third-fastest time in program history the second-quickest clocking in the nation, only 0.01-second off Alex McClarys top time from Arkansas.

Harriss day was not done at that point, as he came back to run the anchor leg of Navys 4x400-meter relay that finished second with a season-best time of 3:15.27. The quartet of Will Ricks (Sr./Hopewell, Va.), Craig Meekins (Sr./Baldwin, N.Y.), Vince Carpentier (So./Branchburg, N.J.) and Harris came just 0.19-second away from Bowie States first-place showing.

Hanko, who earned a spot at the IC4A Championship in the 3,000-meter run last week, registered a blistering, IC4A qualifying 4:09.99 clocking in the mile run to top all competitors. His performance was 3.68 seconds ahead of second-place runner Stephen Krauss time from Army. Hankos showing currently ranks as the best time among Navy runners this winter.

The Midshipmen also produced two other IC4A times on the track on Saturday. Meekins finished third overall with a season-best time of 1:52.53 in the 800-meter run.

Navys 4x800-meter relay in the invitational section placed seventh and qualified for the IC4A Championship. Lucas Burke (Sr./Bakersfield, Calif.), James Stratton (Fr./Lancaster, Pa.), Ricky Griffith (So./Piedmont, Calif.) and Ben Kozy (Sr./Houston, Texas) teamed up for a time of 7:48.68. Earlier in the day, Burke nearly missed IC4A status in the 800-meter run with a 1:54.97 showing and Griffith crossed the finish line in 2:30.39 during the 1,000-meter run.

For the fourth-consecutive week, Navy thrower Darryl Hunter (Sr./Des Moines, Iowa) produced an IC4A distance in the shot put. Hunter placed fifth overall with a toss of 5411-1/2 (16.75 meters) on Saturday.

Navy will return home next Saturday to host Army in the annual Star Meet, starting at 12 noon. The dual meet will be Navy’s last in Halsey Field House, as the Midshipmen will be moving into the 140,000-square-foot, $45 million Wesley Brown Field House in 2008-09. Navy’s new home indoor facility will feature a hydraulic banked 200-meter track, a 60-meter straightaway in the center, dual pole vault/jumping runways, dual throwing areas and a scenic view of the Severn River.

GreatAmerican · January 31, 2008, 6:10pm

Navy def. Georgetown, 6-1
Navy def. Mount St. Mary’s, 7-0

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

Navy Tennis Post Two Strong Victories

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy tennis team opened its new indoor facility, the Brigade Sports Complex, Saturday afternoon with a pair of victories over Georgetown and Mount St. Mary’s. The Mids defeated the Hoyas by the score of 6-1 and posted a 7-0 victory over the Mountaineers to improve to 3-1 on the young season.

The lineups for both Navy and Georgetown Saturday were very similar to those of a year ago when the Hoyas recorded a 5-2 win over the Mids. This year, the Mids won the doubles point and posted a trio of three-set singles victories to record the victory.

The doubles match was tied at one win apiece until Navy’s team of Alex James (Sr., Visalia, Calif.) and Ramsey Lemaich (So., Danville, Calif.) recorded an 8-6 win at No. 2 doubles over Georgetown’s duo of Will Lowell and Anthony Tan to give Navy the lone available doubles point.

The No. 1 singles match featured a pair of regionally-ranked players in Navy’s Nate Nelms (Jr., St. Mary’s, Ga.) and Georgetown’s Jeff Schnell. Nelms, the 24th ranked player in the region, would win a 6-3, 6-2 decision over the 25th ranked Schnell.

Like Nelms, Owen Bullard (Fr., Concord, N.C.) won his match at No. 6 singles in straight sets. He posted a 7-5, 6-3 win over Ted Tywang to give Navy a 3-1 lead in the team scoring.

Lemaich at No. 4 singles and James at No. 5 singles both would win their matches in three sets, with both winning their respective final set by the score of 6-4. James would clinch the overall victory for the Mids with his win at No. 5 singles over David Tillem.

Additionally in singles, Jason Hill (Jr., Marietta, Ga.) won the opening set of match against Adam Gross at the No. 3 flight in a tiebreaker (7-5) then, after
losing 6-1 in the second set, again went to a tiebreaker to decide the third set. Hill would go on to tally an 11-9 win in the breaker.

“We have a lot of respect for Georgetown and what they accomplished last year,” said Navy head coach John Officer. "I felt we played very well to come away with the 6-1 win today. It was nice to see that for the second-straight week we were able to pull out two singles victories after dropping the first set of the match.

“We want to duplicate many of our accomplishments from last year, but we want to quantitatively show an improvement over a year ago, as well. Georgetown beat us last year and was ranked higher than us at the end
of the year, so the win today was a great first step towards making that improvement.”

The Mids then went out later in the day against Mount St. Mary’s and dropped a combined five games in doubles and 16 in singles to record the 7-0 win.

“We played everyone on the roster tonight,” said Officer. “That meant almost everyone was playing up in the lineup, and for some guys it was a significant jump. Despite that, we still were able to come away with some convincing scores.”

Navy will play seven of its next eight matches inside the Brigade Sports Complex, something Officer is looking forward to.

“We are so excited to have this facility and to be able to play these matches today,” said Officer. "To face a very good team in Georgetown for our first
match and to come away with the win helped to make this day memorable.

“The building is already paying dividends for us. We are playing much better this early in the season than in past years, and being able to train here is a big part of that.”

Navy will return to the Brigade Sports Complex play host to Howard (12 Noon) and Villanova (5 p.m.) Feb. 2.

Navy (2-1) def. Georgetown (3-1), 6-1
Doubles (Navy wins the doubles point)
1 - Nelms/Waters (N) def. Schnell/Kevin Walsh, 8-3
2 - James/Lemaich (N) def. Lowell/Tan, 8-6
3 - Tillem/Tywang (G) def. Birger/Hill, 8-5
Finish Order - 1-2-3*

Singles
1 - Nate Nelms (N) def. Jeff Schnell, 6-3, 6-2
2 - Anthony Tan (G) def. Johnny Waters, 6-3, 6-2
3 - Jason Hill (N) def. Adam Gross, 6-7 (5-7), 6-1,
7-6 (11-9)
4 - Ramsey Lemaich (N) def. Will Lowell, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4
5 - Alex James (N) def. David Tillem, 2-6, 7-5, 6-4
6 - Owen Bullard (N) def. Ted Tywang, 7-5, 6-3
Finish Order - 1-6-2-5*-4-3

Navy (3-1) def. Mount St. Mary’s (0-1), 7-0
Doubles (Navy wins the doubles point)
1 - Nelms/Waters (N) def. Marinucci/Taylor, 8-4
2 - Mike Eisenberg/Alex James (N) def. Osorio/Plastow,
8-1
3 - Luke Albi/Kyle Jones (N) def. Dupaya/Mostowtt, 8-0
Finish Order - 3-2*-1

Singles
1 - Johnny Waters (N) def. Favio Osorio, 6-0, 6-2
2 - Alex James (N) def. Derek Taylor, 6-4, 6-1
3 - Jeremy New (N) def. Andrew Marinucci, 6-4, 6-0
4 - Jarrad Smoke (N) def. Patrick Plastow, 6-0, 6-1
5 - Joe Wiggins (N) def. Thadd Mostowtt, 6-0, 6-1
6 - Nick Birger (N) def. Rob Dupaya, 6-2, 6-1
Finish Order - 4-5-3*-2-6-1

GreatAmerican · January 31, 2008, 6:11pm

Navy Women’s Track & FIeld: Charnigo Sets School Record, Navy Bests Field at Patriot Games

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

Charnigo Sets School Record at Patriot Games, Navy Bests Field

FAIRFAX, Va. - Navy’s Jacqui Charnigo (Sr./Medina, Ohio) smashed the school record in the pole vault and provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championship as the Midshipmen women’s track & field team topped the field of 13 teams at the Patriot Games on Saturday.

In her second try at 1211-1/2 (3.95 meters), Charnigo cleared the bar to provisionally qualify for the national championship and surpass the program record of 1210-1/4 (3.92 meters) set by Amanda Hasenauer in 2003. Charnigo was not finished with her day, as she cleared 54 (1.63 meters) for second place in the high jump.

“Jacqui was amazing today - she was so strong,” stated Navy head coach Carla Criste. “She has great knee drive and just missed automatically qualifying for the national championship (139-1/4, 4.20 meters) on her second try.”

With Charnigos individual performance highlighting the day, Navy totaled 142.7 points to finish ahead of the pack. Host George Mason and Richmond tied for second with 87 points, while VCU placed fourth with 73.5 points and Gettysburg rounded out the top five with 34 points.

Navys 4x800-meter relay also came away victorious on Saturday. The quartet of Abby Gesecki (So./Nanticoke, Pa.), Vicki Moore (Sr./Burke, Va.), Allie Moreland (Jr./Ocean City, N.J.) and Kayla Sax (So./Richland, Wash.) combined for a time of 9:49.23, 4.15 seconds ahead of second-place VCU.

The Midshipmen also tallied six other second-place performances to help the cause. Janet von Eiff (Fr./San Diego, Calif.) placed second in the shot put with an impressive distance of 432-3/4 (13.18 meters), more than three feet longer than her previous personal record. Indoor team captain Lauren Burmeister (Sr./Brownsdale, Minn.) landed second in the triple jump with a mark of 372-3/4 (11.35 meters) and Jessica Schlaegel (So./Nashport, Ohio) cleared 107-3/4 (3.25 meters) in the pole vault to rank only behind Charnigo.

On the track, Navys 4x400-meter relay of Chelsea Chlebo (Fr./Fredericksburg, Va.), Jessica Orr (Sr./New Holland, Pa.), Burmeister and Gesecki teamed up for a second-place time of 4:01.87. Maureen Dooleys (Jr./Durham, Conn.) 5:17.79 clocking in the mile run was good for second place and Moore completed the 1,000-meter run in 2:59.47 to finish second.

“There were several better performances and quite a few personal bests today,” stated Criste. “Things are starting to come together and peak at the right time.”

Navy will return home next Saturday to host Army in the annual Star Meet, starting at 3 p.m. The dual meet will be Navy’s penultimate competition in Halsey Field House, as the Midshipmen will be moving into the 140,000-square-foot, $45 million Wesley Brown Field House in 2008-09. Navy’s new home indoor facility will feature a hydraulic banked 200-meter track, a 60-meter straightaway in the center, dual pole vault/jumping runways, dual throwing areas and a scenic view of the Severn River.

GreatAmerican · January 31, 2008, 6:14pm

Navy focusing on key matchup with Army
by Ron Snyder, The Examiner

Annapolis (Map, News) - Chris Harris attended a military high school and spent a year at a military prep school, but he never envisioned a career in the armed services until Navy changed his mind.

“Nothing quite prepares you for life at a service academy,” he said. “But going to military schools before helped teach me about structure and routines.”

That’s why the 6-foot-2, 175-pound sophomore has thrived at Navy for Coach Billy Lange, who convinced him he could fulfill his lifelong goal of playing Division I basketball at a school that would prepare him for a successful career when his playing days were over.

“Coach Lange is passionate about the game and his players,” Harris said. “[It] makes you want to play for him.”

Harris quickly has developed into one of Navy¹s main scoring threats, making seven three-pointers en route to finishing with a career-high 29 points to power his team to an 85-74 win at defending Patriot League champion Holy Cross on Wednesday.

The victory ended a 17-game losing streak against the Crusaders dating to 2000, creating a pivotal game for the Midshipmen (9-10, 2-2 Patriot League) against archrival Army (8-10, 1-3) on Sunday at noon in front of an expected sellout crowd of 5,710 at Alumni Hall in Annapolis.

Navy was expected to be one of the conference¹s worst teams in the opinion of the league¹s coaches, but is tied with Lehigh for third place, two games behind Lafayette (13-6, 4-0).

“That win was unbelievable for us,” Harris said. “I’ve just lost to Holy Cross twice, so I was even happier for seniors like Greg Sprink who hadn’t beaten them in four years.”

Navy has gone 7-4 in its past 11 games, and Harris is a big reason why the Midshipmen have saved their season. Harris is averaging 13.3 points and 3.4 assists, in addition to making 47.7 percent of his three-point shot attempts after averaging 3.4 points in 13 minutes per game last season.

Harris came to Navy after attending Benedictine High School in Virginia, which proceeded a year at Fork Union Military Academy. He went to Fork Union hoping to generate interest from Division I schools after getting little exposure in high school.

Harris said last season was a learning experience, and he attributes his improvement this year to Lange’s strategy to get him more involved in the offense.

“It’s not easy for a freshman to come in and take a leadership role on a
team,” Lange said. “It took Chris some time to make that transition, but he has proven to be a player the rest of the team can depend on.”

<a href="mailto:rsnyder@baltimoreexaminer.com">rsnyder@baltimoreexaminer.com</a>

GreatAmerican · January 31, 2008, 6:16pm

Former Lady Ram Morgan Hill’s Navy bunch to be broadcast today on ESPNU (Portales News-Tribune)

Former Lady Ram Morgan Hill’s Navy bunch to be broadcast today on ESPNU By Mickey Winfield: Freedom New Mexico

Another year at the Naval Academy means more confidence, more playing time and more exposure for Portales native and former Lady Ram Morgan Hill.

Hill is a sophomore at the Annapolis military academy, and this year, shes better prepared to tackle the unique hardships that playing a sport at a military academy presents.

I know where everything is now. I kind of feel like I know how everything works, Hill said. I know when Im going to have to go to classes, I know when I have to go to practice, I know when Im going to have to go study. Im more conditioned to the routine this year and that makes it easier.

Theres a lot of difference in last year, Morgans dad Greg Hill said. This year, she doesnt have to deal with the adjustments of being a freshman heading off to school, being away from home and also playing college basketball.

Hill and the Middies are playing Army in a big rivalry game today, which will be shown on tape-delay on ESPNU. The game tips off at 12:30 MST and the tape-delayed broadcast will begin at 4:30 MST on ESPNU.

Im excited about it, Hill said. I think its cool because since Im so far away from home, people dont usually get to see me play. So far this season, the Middies are 4-15, 0-4 in the Patriot League.

In her 18 games played this year, Morgan has started seven games and she averages nearly 20 minutes per game.

Morgan is fourth on the team in scoring, averaging 6.2 points per game, and she leads the team in field goal percentage, at .447. Shes also fourth on the team in rebounds, averaging 3.2 boards per contest.

The Navy games are usually online and that gives her parents and grandparents a chance to watch nearly all of her games.

Its nice to watch, shes starting a few games now, and we didnt miss any of her games when she was growing up, Greg said.

Its so exciting, Hill said. I love getting to play and if Im going to play I want to be able to contribute because thats not fair to my team if Im out there on the floor and not doing my job. I want to be getting rebounds or getting points or something. I like getting to play a lot better than being on the bench.

She grew a lot, Greg said. And she came back a different person. Shes a lot stronger person in terms of voicing her feelings and shes not the soft girl that left.

Even though Morgan knows that ESPNU is hard to find in the area, she offers up a solution for her friends and family to see her play today.

Of course I want everybody to watch, Hill said. That would be so exciting because we had a lot of people that would come to our high school games and enjoyed watching us play so that would be cool if they could all watch on TV.

GreatAmerican · January 31, 2008, 6:18pm

LAUREL, MD (Saturday, January 26, 2008) * Sophomore defenseman Patrick Heitman had a breakout game offensively, scoring three times and assisting on another to pace Navy¹s ice hockey team to an 8-5 victory over the University of Maryland Saturday afternoon at Gardens Ice House.

Navy improved its overall season record to 10-17 with the non-league victory, while the Terrapins record fell to 6-14-3. Maryland had lost Friday night to Penn State-Berks, 3-2 while the Mids were defeating West Chester, 5-4.

Uncharacteristically, the Mids jumped on top early Saturday afternoon, getting a goal from senior Nick Schwob at 1:09 to grab a 1-0 lead. Maryland tied the game a short time later, with a power play goal off the stick of J.D. Ziegenbein at 10:57.

Junior Matt Swezey continued his hot scoring streak a short time later, connecting at 13:14 to give Navy a 2-1 lead. Heitman then scored his first of the day at 15:21 to put the Mids ahead 3-1, but the Terps¹ Ziegenbein tallied again at 17:01 to close the gap to 3-2 after the first period.

Maryland knotted the contest at 3-3 with a shorthanded goal from Jon Marks at 5:08, but that¹s when Heitman and the Mids took over. The St. Louis, Missouri native picked up the second and third goals of his USNA career at 6:43 and 11:33 of the second stanza to give Navy a 5-3 advantage, and classmate Chandler Brewer found the back of the net at 17:39 to put the Midshipmen on top 6-3 after two periods.

Schwob scored his second goal of the game just 1:30 into the third period to put Navy in front by four, 7-3, but the Terrapins tallied twice within a five-minute span – at 2:38 and shorthanded at 7:24 – to make it interesting at 7-5.

But the Mids gave their faithful following reason to head home happy when Schwob got Navy¹s second hat trick of the game, scoring on the power play with only 32 seconds remaining on the clock to make the final score 8-5.

Sophomore Navy netminder Jeremey Estevez got the start and finished with 25 saves on 30 Maryland shots. Two Terrapins split the goaltending duties, with sophomore Bryan Barr recording 20 saves in 3112 minutes, and Chris Rij collecting 21 saves in the game¹s final 2812 minutes. Navy outshot Maryland by a 49-30 margin.

Navy will be in action three times next weekend, visiting Drexel Friday at 5:45 at the class of ¹23 Rink in Philadelphia, then hosting those same Dragons Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at McMullen Hockey Arena. The Mids then host George Mason on Super Bowl Sunday, also at McMullen, at 5 p.m.

SCORING SUMMARY

NAVY 3 3 2 - 8

Maryland 2 1 2 - 5

First Period

N * Schwob (Westerman, Heitman) 1:09

M * Ziegenbein (unassisted) 10:57

N * Swezey (Daniel, Gross) 13:14

N * Heitman (Culliton) 15:21

M * Ziegenbein (Sams, Shor) 17:01

Second Period

M * Marks (Costello) 5:08 (sh)

N * Heitman (Anliker) 6:43

N * Heitman (Culliton) 11:33

N * Brewer (Daniel) 17:39

Third Period

N * Schwob (Stoner) 1:30

M * Drazen (unassisted) 2:38

M * Quinn (Sams) 7:24 (sh)

N * Schwob (Swezey) 19:28 (pp)

SAVES

Estevez (NAVY) 8 7 10 - 25

Barr (Maryland) 15 5 x - 20

Rij (Maryland) x 9 12 - 21

SHOTS

NAVY 18 17 14 - 49

Maryland 10 8 12 - 30

GreatAmerican · January 31, 2008, 6:19pm

Brown, Army Rally Past Mids, 69-67

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Army’s Jarell Brown scored a career-high 35 points, including the game-winning basket with 13 seconds left to lead Army past Navy, 69-67, in men’s basketball action on Sunday at Alumni Hall. The loss drops Navy’s record to 9-11 overall and 2-3 in the Patriot League, while Army improves to 9-10 and 2-3. The contest was played in front of a sold-out crowd of 5,710, just the fifth sellout at Alumni Hall in school history.

The Mids fell behind 11-0 at the start of the contest, but rallied with a 13-2 run, fueled by Adam Teague (Jr./Hickory, N.C.). Teague hit a pair of three-pointers in Navy’s run to tie the game 13 with 11:32 to play. The lead see-sawed back and forth for the remainder of the first half, before the Mids closed on a 9-2 run, highlighted by a Chris Harris (So./Mechanicsville, Va.) 30-footer at the buzzer for a 38-34 lead.

The Mids slowly expanded their lead, taking a nine-point lead (55-46) on a lay-up by Greg Sprink (Sr./Cardiff by the Sea, Calif.) with 10:55 to play.

However, Army rallied behind Brown. Brown scored 22 of his 35 points in the second half, including 16 of them in the final 10 minutes. Army would embark on a 15-5 run over four minutes to take a 67-63 advantage with 2:31 to play.

The Mids would get defensive stops and tied the game at 67-67on a Teague lay-up on an offensive rebound with 42 seconds to play.

With just 13 seconds left in the game, Brown drove the lane and hit a baseline floater over the Navy defense for a 69-67 lead.

After successive timeouts, Navy got a pair of good shots from Mark Veazey (Fr./Lilburn, Ga.) and an open three-point attempt at the buzzer from Harris that bounced off the side of the rim and Army held on, 69-67.

“Our focus just wasn’t there in spots today, and until we start focusing for 40 minutes, we will continue to be in games like this,” said Navy head coach Billy Lange. “We had great stretches defensively, but we gave it away with our offense. We stood a lot in the final two minutes. When we execute, we can play very well, but lack of execution in key spots has hurt us in all of our losses.”

The Mids shot just 21-of-61 (.344) from the field and went 11-of-33 (.333) from three-point range. The Mids were 9-of-18 (.500) from long distance in the first half, but went just 2-of-15 (.133) in the second half.

“I was disappointed with the way we played. The effort was there, but our focus and execution has to get better,” said Lange. “I said at the start of the year, that there are about one or two possessions each game that determine the outcome of the game. That was definitely the case today. This league is too competitive and balanced to take possessions off.”

Sprink and Harris each scored 20 points to lead Navy. The duo, however, combined to shoot just 11-of-36 from the field, including 7-of-22 from three-point range. Harris added five assists, while Sprink had six rebounds and three assists.

Veazey also gave the Mids a spark in the second half. Veazey scored nine points, grabbed six rebounds, dished out two assists and blocked two shots in the second half, for his most complete game of the season.

Josh Miller and Doug Williams added 11 and 10 points, respectively, for Army. The Black Knights shot 26-of-57 (.456) from the field and were 5-of-13 (.385) from three-point range. Army did commit 20 turnovers against Navy’s 18, while the Mids outrebounded Army, 39-38.

“We didn’t lose the game because of Jarell Brown. We lost the game because Army played great and made the plays they needed to,” said Lange. “We are still learning how to play mature and execute when we need to. The game was decided early on when we fell behind 11-0.”

The Mids are now just 6-7 this year when leading at halftime, including an 0-3 mark in the Patriot League. The Mids held seven-point leads at halftime against Bucknell and Lafayette and a four-point lead today.

Navy will look to get back on track on Wednesday night with a 7:30 pm tip-off at American in Washington, D.C. American enters the contest with an 11-9 record and is 3-2 in the Patriot League.

GreatAmerican · January 31, 2008, 6:21pm

Army def. Navy, 58-49

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

Poor First Half Costs Navy in Loss to Army

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Army held the Navy women’s basketball team to three points over the final 12 minutes of the first half on its way to taking a 20-point lead at halftime and eventually posting a 58-49 victory over the Midshipmen, Sunday afternoon at Alumni Hall.

Navy fell to 0-5 in the Patriot League and 4-16 on the season with the loss, while Army improved to 4-1 in the league and 13-7 on the year with the win.

An old fashioned three-point play by Navy’s Kelly Altschul (So., Highland Village, Texas) with 12:19 remaining in the first half cut the Army lead to 16-9, but over the remainder of the half the Black Knights outscored the Mids 16-3 to take a 32-12 advantage at the break.

Following the Altschul basket and free throw, Navy was held scoreless for the next 10 minutes until Angela Myers (Fr., San Antonio, Texas) made a layup with 2:29 remaining on the clock to make the score 30-11. Between the two field goals, Navy turned the ball over five times and missed 12 consecutive shots from the field.

Navy shot just 15.6 percent from the field in the first half, including a 0-of-5 effort from beyond the three-point stripe. Conversely, Army converted 42.9 percent of its first half field goal attempts and was 1-of-4 in three-point attempts.

“Our inability to score in the first half was the difference in the game,” said Navy head coach Tom Marryott. “We went a 10-minute span where we couldn’t get anything to fall.”

Army quickly took a 22-point lead early in the second half and held a 21-point advantage at 47-26 with 13:30 left to play. The Mids managed to whittle the margin down to eight points on three different occasions, but could pull no closer.

The Mids shot the ball much better after halftime, sinking 48 percent of their shots from the field and making 4-of-7 three-point field goals attempts in the second half. Navy’s defense also improved in the second half as Army shot 37 percent from the field and made only 2-of-4 three-point attempts. Additionally, both teams turned the ball over seven times over the final 20 minutes of the game.

Navy’s Cassie Consedine (Fr., Bartlesville, Okla.) led all players in the game with 17 points and 12 rebounds and her three blocked shots tied Army’s Erin Anthony for the most in the game. Consedine, however, was the lone Mid to reach double figures in points on the afternoon. Army, meanwhile, had three players tally double digits in points, with Nalini Hawkins pacing the Black Knights with 15 points and six assists.

“We saw in the second half that we are capable of playing with the best teams in the league, but we saw in the first half what can happen when we don’t play and shoot with confidence,” said Marryott. “We have to be able to put two halves and 40 minutes together in order to be successful.”

Navy will close the first half of the Patriot League season with games Wednesday against American in Alumni Hall and Saturday at Colgate.

GreatAmerican · January 31, 2008, 6:22pm

Army 69, Navy 67

By Christian Swezey
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, January 28, 2008; Page E07

The Army-Navy men’s basketball game yesterday in Annapolis came down to this: With the score tied in the final seconds before a sellout crowd, Army senior Jarell Brown, the second-leading scorer in the Patriot League, was being defended by Navy senior Greg Sprink, the league’s leading scorer.

Brown got past Sprink, the other defenders were too slow to react and Brown scored on a driving layup with 13 seconds left for the final points in Army’s 69-67 victory before 5,710 at Alumni Hall.

The Midshipmen (9-11, 2-3) had two shots on their final possession. Freshman Mark Veazey missed a 10-foot jump shot with 1.3 seconds left and sophomore Chris Harris missed a three-pointer at the buzzer.

“We got a great look,” Harris said. “I feel like I was set, I just missed the shot.”

And the day belonged to the Black Knights (9-10, 2-3). Brown, a 6-foot-2 guard, finished with 35 points. It was the most by an Army player in the series since Kevin Houston scored 38 in a 58-52 loss in 1987. Brown took 26 of Army’s 57 shots (46 percent), nine of its 13 three-pointers and scored 14 points in the final 6 minutes 17 seconds.

On their final possession, the Black Knights set at least a half-dozen screens for Brown until he finally broke from the defense and got the ball.

“He’s a great player,” Navy Coach Billy Lange said. “We could have thrown the whole Navy fleet at him. They run their plays, they run their entire offense around him.”

Said Army Coach Jim Crews: “Jarell moves without the ball very well. We tried to change up the offense, we kept changing our emphasis and spacing.”

Brown entered averaging 19.1 points; Sprink averaged 21.1. Sprink finished with 20 points but was left to rue two points that he did not convert.

With around six minutes to play and the Midshipmen leading 58-52, Sprink was alone with the ball at the basket in front of Navy’s most boisterous fans. He eschewed a layup and virtually certain two points and instead tried a spinning dunk, which he missed. A few seconds later, Brown was fouled as he made a layup; following the three-point play, Navy’s lead was 58-55.

The game featured several oddities. Army scored the game’s first 11 points yet, a few minutes later, turned over the ball on six straight possessions.

Meantime, Navy did not make a two-point basket until around eight minutes were left in the first half.

Navy took its largest lead at 46-37 following a basket by Sprink with 15:27 to play. Sprink and Harris each finished with a team-high 20 points. Veazey added nine points, all in the second half.

But the result yesterday kept intact one other oddity: Army and Navy have alternated wins and losses in their past 10 meetings dating from 2003. Navy leads the series, 66-41.

“We didn’t lose the game because of Jarell Brown. We lost the game because Army played great and made the plays they needed to,” Lange said. “We are still learning how to play mature and execute when we need to. The game was decided early on when we fell behind 11-0.”

GreatAmerican · January 31, 2008, 6:24pm

Navy’s rally attempt vs. Army just misses
Midshipmen can’t connect on three-pointer at buzzer

By Rich Scherr | special to The Sun
January 28, 2008

His team had allowed a career-high 35 points to Army guard Jarell Brown and missed out on a buzzer-beating victory when Chris Harris’ open three-point attempt from the corner bounced out as time expired.

To Navy coach Billy Lange, however, it was the first three minutes yesterday - in which the Midshipmen surrendered the game’s first 11 points - that were the most costly in a 69-67 loss to the Black Knights before an announced sellout of 5,710 at Alumni Hall.

“We’ll all talk about the end of the game - Chris’ missed three - and Brown getting 35. How about the fact that it was 11-0 in front of 5,700 fans on our home floor?” Lange said. “That’s the game. You can’t fall in a hole like that.”

The loss to their traditional rivals kept the Midshipmen (9-11, 2-3 Patriot League) from reaching the .500 mark. They lead the all-time series 66-41, with another meeting - the more emphasized N-Star game - next month at West Point.

They will try to earn a split in the season series for the fifth straight season.

Despite its early troubles, Navy - which entered with a team scoring average that was more than 25 points per game higher than Army’s - eventually took command on the strength of three-point shooting by Greg Sprink and Harris, who each scored 20 points, and reserve Adam Teague, who added 13.

But after hitting nine threes in the first half - and just two other field goals - the Midshipmen went cold while also hurting their cause with key mistakes.

Perhaps the most crippling came with Navy leading 58-52, when Sprink got the ball after a steal and was open for what looked like an easy layup. Instead, the senior went for a flashy slam and lost the ball on his way up.

Moments later, Brown scored on a fast-break layup, drew a foul from guard Kaleo Kina - his fourth - and made the free throw to cut the lead to three.

“It’s a five-point swing, and it also puts Kina up with four fouls and we had to take him out of the game,” Lange said. "So it’s probably worth more than five points. It’s worth our unity and our chemistry and our flow.

“It’s a choice that I’m sure he wishes he could go back on.”

Brown then took over, scoring 14 points in the final 6:17 by slashing to the basket and making long-range jumpers. His driving layup with 14 seconds left gave Army (9-10, 2-3) a 69-67 lead, which held when Harris’ three-point attempt bounced off the rim at the buzzer.

“They didn’t come out on me. It was a great look,” Harris said. “I don’t feel like I was set, and I just missed the shot.”

ARMY-Williams 2-3 6-7 10, Nelson 2-8 0-0 5, Miller 5-8 1-2 11, Carter 0-0
0-0 0, Brown 13-26 5-5 35, Richard 3-6 0-1 6, Sizemore 0-2 0-0 0, Thompson
0-1 0-0 0, Royal 0-0 0-0 0, Bates 0-0 0-0 0, Walker 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 26-57
12-15 69.
NAVY-Veazey 4-7 1-3 9, Sprink 6-18 6-7 20, Harris 5-18 5-6 20, Garcia 1-3
0-0 3, Kina 0-6 1-2 1, Colbert 0-0 0-2 0, Richards 0-2 1-2 1, Teague 5-7 0-0
13. Totals 21-61 14-22 67.
Half-Navy 38-34. 3-point goals-Army 5-13 (Brown 4-9, Nelson 1-3, Richard
0-1), Navy 11-33 (Harris 5-14, Teague 3-5, Sprink 2-8, Garcia 1-2, Kina
0-4). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Army 38 (Brown 7), Navy 39 (Veazey 7).
Assists-Army 15 (Miller 8), Navy 15 (Harris 5). Total fouls-Army 20, Navy
16. A-5,710.

GreatAmerican · January 31, 2008, 6:26pm

Navy misfires against Army
by Ron Snyder, The Examiner

BALTIMORE (Map, News) - Navy quickly is discovering it will go as far in the Patriot League as its three-point shooting will take it.

The Midshipmens latest proof came in a 69-67 loss to Army, which was sealed when guard Chris Harris missed a game-winning three-pointer in the final seconds on Sunday at Alumni Hall in Annapolis.

Navys performance, in which it shot just 11-of-33 from beyond the arc, was a stark contrast to the Midshipmens last outing, when they made 13 three-pointers en route to their first victory over Holy Cross in 18 games dating to 2000.

But against Army, the Midshipmen could not find their shooting touch in front of a capacity crowd of 5,710, especially in the second half. After Army jumped out to an 11-0 lead, the Midshipmen led by as many as nine in the second half despite making just 2-of-15 of their three-point shots.

Harris and senior guard Greg Sprink scored 20 points each for Navy (9-11, 2-3 Patriot League), which had no answer for Army guard Jarell Brown, who scored a game-high 35 points, including a game-winning layup with 13 seconds remaining.

The Midshipmen are in sixth place in the Patriot League, two games behind league-leading Lafayette (13-7, 4-1), entering Wednesdays game at American (11-9, 3-2) at 7:30.

Army (9-10, 2-3) entered Sundays game as one of the Patriot Leagues best defensive and worst offensive teams. But the Black Knights won for the second time in three games in Annapolis because they outscored Navy, 23-12, during the final 10 minutes a span in which Navy made just two field goals in the final 6:47.

I thought we gave the game away with our offense, Navy coach Billy Lange said. Our toughness mentally, our shot selections and our passing were not there at times. Youve got to give Army credit because a large part of that was because of them.

Trailing 58-52 with 6:38 remaining, Army began its final comeback after Sprink came away with a steal only to miss a dunk on a fast break. Brown, who scored 14 of his teams final 17 points, recovered the loose ball, and scored a layup while being fouled by Kaleo Kina. His free throw pulled Army to within 58-55 with 6:17 left, and gave the Black Knights the momentum they would not relinquish.

I thought our guys hung in there, Army coach Jim Crews said. We started off fast and then let Navy in the game. Our turnovers, fouls and rebounding put us in the hole and once we cleaned that up good things started happening.

Still, Navy had a chance to win until Harris, who has made a team-high 57 three-pointers this season, clanged the game-winning shot from the right wing off the rim.

They didnt come out on me and I had a great look, Harris said. I dont feel like I was set and I missed the shot.

<a href="mailto:rsnyder@baltimoreexaminer.com">rsnyder@baltimoreexaminer.com</a>

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