NCAA Women's Basketball Scores
G. Washington .43
Virginia 62
DePau! 71
lowa 72
N.C. State 68
Alabama 88
San Fran 68
Florida 61
J. Madison 53
Duke 85
Hawaii 53
Auburn 73
Wisconsin 82
Vanderbilt 96
Kent 59
Penn State.... 86
Backboard Break Shatters UNC’s NCAA Run
■ The Tar Heels never
rallied from Darvin Ham’s
slam, which sent the game
into a 39-minute hiatus.
BYROBBIPICKERAL
SPORTS EDITOR
RICHMOND, Va. The first thing
that occurred to Jason Sasser was that he
had missed a shot.
Sure, it hadn’t been a gimme by any
stretch of the imagination —a couple of
strong dribbles to split two North Carolina
defenders before the Texas Tech forward’s
running seven-footer bounced off the op
posite side of the rim.
“Then I saw Darvin (Ham) flying
Gymnasts Mount Rally
To Topple Towson State
BYBRIAN HAMILTON
STAFF WRITER
The North Carolina gymnastics team
had set a team record in the vault for the
second time in three meets. Tar Heel indi
viduals had won all three previous events,
including a
record-tying
effort by fresh
man Jen
Gymnastics
Towson St... 193.350
UNC 193.375
DeLuca on the bars. Despite the impres
sive efforts, however, UNC was on top in
every category except the most important
one: the score.
Faced with making up less than three
tenths of a point, coach Derek Galvin called
his team into the huddle and let the Tar
Heels know what
was needed to win.
“I told them,‘La
dies, go out there
and do the best you
can. I want to see
lots of expression, I
want to see a lot of
team spirit,’” he
said. “It was impor
tant that everybody
on the sidelines put
any energy they had
left into that person
on the floor, by
AMANDA MITCHELL
set a UNC record for
highest all-around total.
cheering, praying, anything they could do.”
Whether by talent or divine interven
tion, UNC came through with the best
team performance in school histoty, a total
just barely enough to edge Towson State
193.375-193.350 in front of 427 at Fetzer
Gym Saturday.
In the cozy confines of Fetzer and with
a boisterous Senior Day crowd on hand,
the day began inauspiciously for the Tar
Heels. The UNC vaulters opened the first
rotation with a record-setting tally of
48.200, led by Joni Smith and Susan
Cunningham, who tied for first in the meet
Women Laxers Torch Tigers in Scoring Frenzy
BY TATE SULLIVAN
STAFF WRITER
Appearing to be a step faster than
Towson State the whole afternoon, the
North Caro
lina women’s
lacrosse team
blew away the
Women's Lacrosse
Towson St 4
UNC 13
slower Tigers 13-4 Sunday before a crowd
of 150 at Navy Field.
Six different Tar Heels scored in the
Tuesday
Baseball vs. Florida State. Boshamer
Stadium, 3 p.m.
Men's Lacrosse vs. Duke. Fetzer
Field, 7 p.m.
Wednesday
Women's Lacrosse vs. UMBC, Fetzer
Field, 1 p.m.
Women's Tennis at N.C. State.
Raleigh, 2 p.m.
Softball vs. Princeton, Finley Field,
2:30 p.m.
Baseball vs. Florida State, Boshamer
Stadium, 3 p.m.
Gymnastics vs. Cornell. Fetzer
Gymnasium, 7 p.m.
Thursday
Wrestling at NCAA tournament,
Minneapolis, Minn., All day
Women's Swimming at NCAA
Championships, Ann Arbor, Mich.,
11 a.m. and 7 p.m.
Baseball vs. Florida State, Boshamer
Stadium, 3 p.m.
Oklahoma St... 55
Georgia 83
Texas Tech... 82
Notre Dame 67
Tulane 75
Colorado 83
Howard 63
UConn 94
Michigan St.. 60
UMass 57
Austin Peay 52
Clemson 79
through the air, and the glass shattered,”
Sasser said. "The next thing that went
through my mind was‘ESPY. ’ Even though
Darvin had the big dunk, they're still going
to have to show my missed hook. ”
It shouldn’t be too much ofa struggle for
the Red Raider senior, though. After all, it
was that glass-smashing dunk less than
eight minutes into Sunday afternoon’s sec
ond-round NCAA matchup at Richmond
Coliseum that energized third-seeded Texas
Tech all the way to a 92-73 rout over
sixth-seeded UNC.
“After the backboard incident, it seems
like it took all the fire out of us,” UNC
point guard Jeff Mclnnis said.
The play was an act worthy of postseason
plaudits.
With 12:08 left in the opening stanza,
Red Raider Jason Martin pulled down a
with scores of 9.750.
Yet for the first time inahomemeet this
season, the Tar Heels were not ahead after
the first rotation of events, as Towson
State’s 48.650 on the bars enabled them to
snare the lead.
UNC needed more big performances in
order to stay within striking distance of the
Tigers, and the duo of DeLuca and Nicole
Austin stepped up with career routines on
bars. Austin earned a 9.875, followed by a
9.900 for DeLuca, which tied the indi
vidual record set in 1989.
Though the vaults hadn’t been enough
to take a lead, Galvin said he was still
confident his team could pull close.
“To be honest, I thought we’d be very
strong on bars,” he said. “They were phe
nomenal on bars at the University of Den
ver a week ago. I didn't know if we could
do better than Denver, and we did. Jen
DeLuca and Nicole Austin just had incred
ible routines.”
Still, UNC trailed up until the final
rotation, but the floor exercise saw the Tar
Heels prove once again that superstars
perform big when the pressure is on. Sopho
more Amanda Mitchell capped off a record
setting day of her own with a 9.850 on
floor, matchingthe school individual mark.
The performance also catapulted Mitchell
to the highest all-around total in UNC
history, as she finished with an astonishing
38.925 on the day.
Coupled with a9.825 from Cunningham
and a 9.700 from Ashley Simpson, the Tar
Heels pulled off the unlikely comeback.
“Coach told us to be enthusiastic and
get into everyone’s routine and push each
other along,” co-captain Jenn Wilder said.
“I thought we did that, and I guess it
worked.”
Galvin said: “We had so much emotion
in the first three events, I didn’t know if
we’d have any energy left. But they put
together some of the best floor routines
we’ve done all year."
blowout, and Erin McGinnis, Lori
Pasquantonio and Sarah Dacey all tallied
hat tricks. UNC (4-1) has scored in double
digits in all of its victories.
Dacey wreaked havoc on TSU’s (1-2)
defense the entire game, blowing by de
fenders at will. The junior midfielder’s
penetration often led to quick and easy
goals by the Tar Heels.
“We had a little more speed in the
midfield,” Dacey said. “Our transition was
really good and we had a step on them the
SPORTS SCHEDULE
Friday
Women's Golf at Lady Gamecock,
Columbia, S.C., All day
Wrestling at NCAA tournament,
Minneapolis, Minn., All day
Women's Swimming at NCAA
Championships, Ann Arbor, Mich.,
11 a.m. and 7 p.m.
Softball vs. South Florida, Finley Field,
2 p.m.
Saturday
Women's Golf at Lady Gamecock,
Columbia, S.C., All day
Wrestling at NCAA tournament
Minneapolis. Minn., All day
Women's Tennis at Virginia,
Charlottesville, Va., 10:30 a.m.
Women's Swimming at NCAA
Championships, Ann Arbor, Mich.,
11 a.m. and 7 p.m.
Men's Tennis vs. Georgia Tech, Cone:
Kenfield Tennis Center, 1 p.m.
Baseball at Virginia, Charlottesville,
Va., 2 p.m.
SPORTS
MONDAY
(iljr Saihj ear Heel
missed trey attempt
by teammate Cory
Carr. Martin passed
off to Sasser, who
split the defense
with a running
hook.
When that shot
didn’t fall, Ham
flew through Tar
Heel big men Serge
Zwikker and
Antawn Jamison to
scoop the rebound
in midair and fol
low with a two-
SERGE ZWIKKER and
Antawn Jamison were
both cut by the
shattered backboard.
handed jam that shattered the Hydro-Rim
manufactured backboard,
“I really didn’t realize what I did until
I turned back and looked at the rim, ” Ham
Spring Scrimmage Spells New Focus
%% %<e ’
M ' *B®' “ ;D
DTH/ERKPEREL
Fullback Chris Watson charges downfield in UNC's spring football scrimmage
Saturday. Watson rushed for two touchdowns in the game.
whole afternoon.”
On one play, Dacey received an outlet
pass from Carla Nappi and outraced nu
merous Tiger defenders to the crease for
the goal.
“We expected to face a good team to
day,” Dacey said. “It was tough competi
tion for us, but we shot much better than
we have. The team as a whole was in
tense.”
See WOMEN’S LACROSSE, Page 7
Men's Lacrosse vs. Maryland, Fetzer
Field. 2 p.m.
Women's Lacrosse at Vanderbilt
Nashville, Tenn., 6 p.m.
Gymnastics at N.C. State, Raleigh, 7
p.m.
Sunday
Women's Golf at Lady Gamecock,
Columbia, S.C., All day
Women's Tennis at James Madison,
Harrisonburg, Va., 10 a.m.
Men’s and Women’s Track and Field
at 10-Team Meet, Belk Track/Fetzer
Field, noon
Men's Tennis vs. Notre Dame,
Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center, 1 p.m.
Softball vs. East Carolina, Finley Field, 1
p.m.
Women's Lacrosse vs. Stanford,
Nashville, Tenn., 1 p.m.
Baseball at Virginia, Charlottesville, Va.,
2 p.m.
said. “Sasser was giving me chest bumps
and I just wanted to flex.”
Glass flew to the opposite end of the
floor and down the players’ tunnel, and
play was suspended for 39 minutes.
“I should’ve boxed out; he just came out
of nowhere,” said Zwikker, who, along
with Jamison and Ham, received minor
cuts on the play. “He was just a little bit
quicker. It was a nice dunk.”
But Ham’s jam served as more than a
glass-breaker; it served, in the end, as an
early back-breaker for UNC.
The slam evened the score at 16, mean
ing the game virtually started over after a
five-minute warm-up, but the Tar Heels
were never quite the same. They were as
emotional and physical as the first eight
minutes, but they seemed spooked by Texas
Tech’s offense.
Baseball Batters Bobcats in Sweep
BY LEE TAFT
STAFF WRITER
Despite the chilling weather, North
Carolina’s bats were hot Sunday as the Tar
Heels blasted 11 hits against Ohio en route
to a 6-4 victory at Boshamer Stadium.
UNC was led by the relief pitching of
winner B. J. Finnerty, who gave up four
hits while strik
ing out three
batters in four
and two-thirds
innings, and
Corey
Richardson,
Baseball
Ohio 4
UNC 6
Ohio 1
UNC 12
who struck out two in the ninth to record
his sixth save of the season.
The win completed a weekend sweep
over the Bobcats that improved the Tar
Heels' record to 16-7. On Saturday, UNC
drilled Ohio 12-1.
UNC started the Sunday game a bit
sluggish, recording hits yet stranding run
ners in both the first and second innings.
Things picked up for the Tar Heels in
the third, however, as Justin Raniszeski
led off with a single. He then advanced to
second on Brian Whitlock’s sacrifice bunt,
and Jarrett Shearin moved to first after
beinghitby apitch. Moments later, Michael
Stoner crushed an Ashley Hoskins pitch
off the scoreboard, putting UNC up 3-0.
Ohio responded quickly, picking up
three runs in the top of the fourth as UNC
pitcher Eric Severance gave up a hit and
walked four straight batters before Finnerty
came on in relief.
Severance's difficulties on the mound
have plagued him all season, and his effort
in Sunday’s contest proved no different.
“Severance really has a good arm and
has good mechanics,” UNC coach Mike
NCAA Men's Basketball Scores
Texas 62
Wake Forest. 65
lowa 73
Arizona 87
Santa Clara 51
Kansas 76
Stanford 74
UMass 79
New Mexico 62
Georgetown . 73
Temple 65
Cincinnati 78
B.C 89
Ga. Tech 103
Louisville 68
Villanova 64
“I just feel that we didn’t handle it well
after the backboard broke,” Mclnnis said.
“We came back onto the floor, and we
were standing around watching.”
Mclnnis said the Tar Heels weren’t sur
prised by Tech's momentum after the break
after all, they had just shattered a
backboard. But UNC just could never
match it.
T exas T ech ran the floor as if they owned
it, hitting their next four shots to take a 10-
point lead before Ademola Okulaja con
verted two charity throws to put UNC
back into the game. Ham had one assist
during that four-minute run; Sasser had a
trey and a helper.
The Red Raiders’ lead was 12 by half
time, and Texas Tech’s mini-run after the
backboard break was a preview of the sec
ond half to come Red Raider domina
BY JOSEPH ROUSON
ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR
Before spring practice began, the North
Carolina football team had all the right
people in all the wrong places on offense.
Sure, the Tar Heels had standout tailback
Leon Johnson returning for his final sea
son. And the rest of the UNC backfield,
with the exception of quarterback, wasn’t
exactly short on experience.
So the North Carolina ground attack
was primed to dominate in the spring. And
it made sense that LJ & Cos. would carry
the burden for UNC’s offense, considering
the Tar Heels had suffered the brunt of
their losses at QB and receiver.
But recent trends in college football dic
tated that UNC didn’t need a stepped-up
rushing game. As defenses have geared up
more for the run, offenses have taken to the
air.
“You’re having to throw the ball more
because people are trying to stop the run,”
UNCcoachMackßrownsaid. “(Defenses)
are going to have nine guys around the
football some.
“If the quarterback can’t put the ball in
the right guy’s hands, and if the talent’s
even, you’re going to be beat.”
Yet the Tar Heels lacked a quarterback
with much Division I experience and were
sans Octavus Barnes, their go-to receiver.
So Mack Brown brought in offensive coor
dinator Greg Davis and his four-receiver
scheme and signed junior college signal
caller Chris Keldorf.
Asa result, Johnson and his rushing
cohorts may not be so overworked in 1996.
“Chris has been what we needed an
experienced player, an older player, a ma
ture player at (quarterback), ” Mack Brown
said. “We’re using ... things that put a lot
of pressure on the quarterback, but Chris
has picked it up very quickly.”
Keldorf ran the first-team offense in
Saturday’s Blue-White scrimmage at
Kenan Stadium, completing 11 passes for
168 yards and a touchdown. True, his
numbers came against UNC’s second
* ,:
l iilio . . DTH/EWKPEREL
UNL pitcher BJ. Finnerty pitches in Sunday's 6-4 win over Ohio. Finnerty
earned the win against the Bobcats, giving up four hits and one run.
Roberts said. “He has just struggled throw
ing strikes in his last couple years here.
“He’s trying to work through it. He has
a great work ethic it’s just one of those
things. Everything today was just down
stairs and low, and he just couldn’t get it
done.”
The Tar Heels soon stopped the bleed
ing, breaking the game open in the bottom
of the sixth with three runs.AntawanSmith
Va. Tech 60
Kentucky B4
Georgia 76
Purdue 69
Drexel 58
Syracuse 69
Arkansas 65
Marquette 56
E. Michigan 81
UConn 95
Princeton 41
Miss. State ... 63
lowa State 67
Utah 73
Monday, March 18,1996
)t iaihj ®ar llwi
INFOLINE
549-6711
category 8044
Call for times,
scores and
information for the
NCAA Basketball
Tournament.
tion.
“I wouldn’t say (the Tar Heels) lost their
See BACKBOARD, Page 7
string defense, but he exhibited compe
tency in operating Davis’ attack.
And much to UNC’s relief, Keldorf s
ability to run the wide-open scheme has
taken a load off freshman Jason Peace and
sophomore Oscar Davenport, who is nurs
ing an injured knee he suffered against
Clemson in November.
The other half ofUNC’s offensive equa
tion rests with the receivers. With Bames
out, the Tar Heels at times have had only
four or five wideouts at their disposal,
which has thrown a gigantic wrench into
UNC’s pass-oriented plans.
To ease the situation, Brown moved
former defensive back Greg Williams over
to receiver and shifted Chuckie Parquet to
wideout. Also, Na’ Brown, Darrin Ashford
and L.C. Stevens, who nabbed five balls
for 69 yards and a touchdown Saturday,
have picked up their games to lessen the
effects of Bames’ absence.
“Darrin Ashford has been the highlight
of the receivers,” Mack Brown said.
Other than Davenport and Bames,
whose injured knee has kept him out of
practice completely, the Tar Heels for the
most part have avoided the injury bug. The
only other names on UNC’s disabled list
are running back Jon Linton (elbow), free
safety Omar Brown and comerback Terry
Billups (shoulder), all of whom are ex
pected to be at full speed in the fall.
While the new offense has garnered the
lion’s share of attention this spring, the Tar
Heel defense has practiced in relative ob
scurity. UNC’s ‘D’ returns most of its start
ers from last year’s unit, which limited foes
to 267 yards per game.
But in Saturday’s scrimmage, defensive
linemen Vonnie Holliday, Greg Ellis and
Mike Pringley, among others, made their
presence known in major fashion. UNC’s
first-string defenders sacked Peace eight
times and generally wreaked havoc on the
reserve unit.
Mack Brown said, “They’ve got to be
really careful that they don’t feel good
about themselves to the point where there’s
not the same urgency (as in 1995).”
had a lead-off single into left field, followed
by Julian Dean’s sacrifice bunt. Richie
Grimsley then drew a walk and later ad
vanced to second on Robby Mclver’s
fielder’s choice, which forced Smith out at
third. Raniszeski loaded the bases by get
ting hit by a pitch.
With the bases loaded, Roberts in-
See BASEBALL, Page 9
12