Sports Monday
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DTH/EMILY SCHNURL
Tar Heel sophomore Chris Helin competes in lane six during the finals
of the 200-yard backstroke. Helin finished fourth with a time of 1:48.18.
Tar Heels Get Revenge on Devils
By Mike Ogle
Assistant Sports Editor
North Carolina guard Juana Brown
made a key decision with 3:16 remain
ing in Sunday afternoon’s women’s bas
ketball game against No. 9 Duke.
She decid
ed to take the
ball to the
hole and con
sequently take
Women's
Basketball
Duke 64
UNC 73
the Tar Heels to a 73-64 victory.
“At the time, I wasn’t contributing on
offense as much as I could have, and l
wasn’t driving at all for some reason,”
Brown said. “That’s what I had to do,
just make up my mind and drive.”
Brown drove to the block from the
left wing and banked home a right
handed runner. Twenty-two seconds
later she got more respect and space on
the perimeter, and point guard Nikki
Teasley found her in the left corner.
Brown dropped a 3-pointer on the Blue
Devils, and in a flash the Tar Heel lead
had sprung from one to six to the
delight of the season-high 8,654 fans at
Carmichael Auditorium.
Brown also hit two free throws down
the stretch to give her seven points in
the final 3:16 of the game. She finished
IjP * \
DTH/JEFF POULAND
North Carolina forward Jason Capel battles Maryland's Lonny Baxter,
right, in the Terrapins' 81-73 win at Cole Field House on Saturday.
Strong Performances Help UNC Gymnasts Vault Past Tribe
By Brad Brokers
Staff Writer
As North Carolina opened its meet
against William & Mary on Friday night
at Carmichael
Auditorium,
UNC gym
nastics coach
Derek Galvin
was worried.
Gymnastics
W&M 189.425
UNC ....194.200
Fritzie Cathcart, North Carolina’s
sixth vaulter, was out with a back strain.
The Tar Heels, as a result, went with
with 13, hitting 3-of-7 3-point attempts.
“Our ‘Big Three,’ we call them -
(LaQuanda) Barksdale, Nikki and Juana
- those kids have got to have big games
on a day like today,” UNC coach Sylvia
Hatchell said.
The Tar Heels (16-11, 8 8 in the
ACC), however, might want to consid
er addingjackie Higgins to that group
after her second half effort.
She came off the bench to record a
double-double, scoring 10 points and
snatching a team-high 10 rebounds. All of
her points came in the second half, and
seven of her boards were after halftime.
UNC, 10-2 in games in which it out
rebounds its opponents, was outdone
20-15 on the boards in the first half. But
Hatchell made certain to address the
problem during intermission.
“I told them, ‘One word for the second
half is rebounding. If you win the boards,
you’ll win this game,”’ Hatchell said.
The Far Heels, especially Higgins, took
their coach’s advice to heart and came out
focused on the task, beating Duke (23-5,
12-4) 27-13 on the glass in the half.
“Most of the time if we’re down (in
rebounding), we run after the game is
over,” Higgins said.
See WOMEN'S BASKETBALL, Page 11
only five vaulters in the meet, meaning
each vaulter’s score would count.
There was little margin for error, but
UNC stayed focused, defeating the
Tribe 194.200-189.425.
North Carolina overcame its lack of
depth in the vault, recording a score of
48.150 as a team to grab an early lead it
would not relinquish.
“We didn’t have Fritzie in the lineup,
which meant that everybody had to do a
good vault,” Galvin said. “So once we
got through vault, I thought we were off
to a strong start.”
UNC Men Fail to
By James Giza
Staff Writer
On the far wall above the starting
blocks in Koury Natatorium, 26 banners
hang in Carolina blue and white - 14 on
the top, 12 on the bottom.
All but four of the banners commem
orate the ACC titles the North Carolina
swimming and diving teams have gar
nered under coach Frank Comfort - 12
with the women, 10 with the men. I he
other four celebrate various achieve
ments, including the Tar Heel men’s 14
straight Southern Conference champi
onships from 1940-1953.
A banner for the women’s ACC vic
tory on Feb. 19 will soon fill one space
on the bottom. But the 28th and final
spot will remain bare.
Despite turning in many of their best
performances of the season, the Tar
Heel men couldn't match the depth and
speed of No. 9 Virginia, finishing second
to the Cavaliers 801-662.5 in the ACC
Championships on Saturday at Koury.
DTH CARA BRICKMAN
Members of the North Carolina women's basketball team celebrate their 73-64 victory against No. 9 Duke
at Carmichael Auditorium on Sunday. The win improved UNCs record to 8-8 in ACC play and 16-11 overall.
Dixon, Terps Topple Tar Heels
Maryland guard Juan Dixon
scored 18 second-half points
to help the Terrapins avenge
a loss to UNC on Jan. 27.
By Bret Strelovv
Assistant Sports Editor
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Maryland
didn’t want to depend on the 3-point
shot as a
major source
of offense
against North
Carolina.
T h e
UNC 73
Maryland 81
Terrapins hoisted up 27 trifectas in UNC’s
75-63 win on Jan. 27, and since then had
been determined to feed the post.
But the perimeter suited Juan Dixon
just fine Saturday.
Dixon caught fire from behind the
arc in the second half, drilling four
3-pointers en route to 18 points to lead
After overcoming adversity on the
vault, the Far Heels performed solidly in
their remaining events.
Brooke Wilson finished first in the all
around, amassing a score of 39.400,
nearly tying a career mark of 39.425 that
she set against Rhode Island onjan. 29.
Monica Middleton, who finished sec
ond overall with a score of 38.825, set a
personal record in the all-around.
“I was pleased with our team score,”
Galvin said. “Brooke and Monica both
hit every event, and we had a lot of peo
ple with a lot of strong performances.”
gg jH
“We were
defeated by per
haps the best team
in the Atlantic
Coast Conference
over the last 20
years,” Comfort
said.
N.C. State
edged Florida
State for third,
507.5-488.5, and
Maryland round
ed out the top five
w ith 384.5 points.
The lone gold
medal for UNC
UNC freshman
Sean Quinn
won the Tar Heels'
lone gold medal with
his victory in the
200-yard breaststroke.
came courtesy of freshman Sean Quinn
in the 200-yard breaststroke. Heavy
favorite Ed Moses of UVa. - who could
threaten the world record in the 200-
meter breaststroke at Olympic trials this
summer - was disqualified in the pre
liminary rounds Saturday morning.
Quinn took full advantage of the sit
uation, turning in a school-record time
the Terps to an
81-73 victory
against UNC at
Cole Field House.
Dixon, who fin
ished with a team
high 23 points,
carried the
Terrapins on his
back during
crunch time. He
took five of
Maryland’s last
eight field goal
attempts and
scored 11 points
in the final 7:10.
Freshman guard
Joseph Forte
scored a game-high
26 points on
11-of-16 shooting and
blocked two shots.
“I was having a lot of fun,” Dixon
said. “That’s why I think I’m playing so
well right now.”
Dixon picked an opportune time to
be an assassin. Less than five minutes
into the second half, North Carolina
(17-11, 8-6 in the ACC) sliced a 10-point
Terrapin lead to six when Joseph Forte,
who finished with 26 points, knocked
After UNC completed both its beam
and bars routines superbly, the Tar
Heels just needed a sound performance
in the floor exercise to seal the victory.
The Tar Heels swiftly obliged.
Led by Wilson and Julie Pasqualini,
UNC scored a 48.525, unleashing a daz
zling set of routines. Pasqualini, in
receiving a score of 9.800, performed a
routine mixed with energy and enthusi
asm that energized the crowd of 460.
Wilson scored a 9.900, highlighted by
a repeat performance of the full-in,
which the junior introduced last week.
Tar Heels
Beat Butler,
Stay Perfect
UNC senior attackman
Chase Martin (left) had
three goals and an assist
as the Tar Heels defeated
Butler 13-7 Saturday at
Fetzer Field. UNC is 2-0
this season. See Page 8.
i
Capture Banner
of 1:57.90 for his first ACC medal
“I thought maybe when I was a senior
I might have a chance,” Quinn said.
“Circumstances changed in the morning
-1 had my chance and I just went for it”
The Cavaliers had even more chances
-and capitalized on almost all of them.
Leading the way for UVa. was senior
Austin Ramirez, who captured individ
ual golds in the 200,500 and 1,650-yard
freestyles. With the victories in the latter
two events, Ramirez became the second
man in ACC history to capture gold four
years straight in two different events.
Gold medal performances by UVa.
senior Doak Finch (400-yard individual
medley, 200-yard butterfly) and fresh
man Chris Mousetis (200-yard back
stroke, 200-yard IM) contributed to the
Cavaliers’ lopsided win.
“We were out gunned, but we did the
most we could do,” said UNC senior
David Weeks, who touched third in the
200 butterfly. “It’s really frustrating, but
it’s not like we just laid down.”
Cavalier coach Mark Bernadino
down a short jumper.
After a Maryland timeout, Dixon
drilled a 3-pointer, and LINC wouldn’t
get within six the rest of the game.
The Terps (21-7, 10-4) were able to
maintain their lead by containing Forte
for a large chunk of the second half.
After Forte’s jumper, he went 11:34
without attempting another field goal.
“Forte is a great player, and it ain’t
easy guarding him,” said Dixon, who
shouldered much of that burden. “I just
wanted to go out there and contain him.”
The Terrapins didn’t do much to con
tain Forte in the first half. He was a one
man wrecking crew, hitting 6-of-9 shots
to pace the UNC offense with 14 points.
“Joseph has certainly done a good
job, and he’s improving a lot,” UNC
coach Bill Guthridge said. “We’re cer
tainly glad that we have him.”
Forte had to make up for a dormant
UNC post attack. The Tar Heels amassed
only six points in the paint in the first half.
See MEN'S BASKETBALL, Page 11
As the centerpiece of Wilson’s routine,
the full-in consists of a double backflip
with a full twist.
Now, with three meets remaining and
the EAGL championships in the near
future, the Tar Heel gymnasts are peak
ing at the right time.
“We’re doing great; every meet we’ve
gotten a little better,” Wilson said.
“We have three more meets, and the
team is trying to go higher and higher.”
The Sports Editor can be reached at
sports ®unc.edu.
INSIDE:
■ Softball splits four
in tourney. Page 9
■ Irish knocks off
women's tennis.
Page 8
■ Men's golf tees it
up in Puerto Rico.
Page 9
knew exactly where to credit his team’s
recent surge - North Carolina. “They’ve
been so good we’ve had to try to build
our program and bring it up,” he said.
“That’s what makes the league better.”
UNC had won the previous six ACC
titles before UVa. snatched it last year.
This weekend’s finish marked the first
time since 1987 that the Tar Heels went
more than two years without winning
the championship.
Comfort, for his part, didn’t appear
too worried that the Cavaliers’ streak
would continue much longer.
“Every couple of years somebody
rises up in the conference and does a
superb job and beats us," he said. “And
we make our adjustments. You look at -
in 12 years - what our men have done
and in 12 years what our women have
done, and it sort of speaks for itself.”
The banners do speak for themselves.
But the wall is missing something for now.
The Sports Editor can be reached at
sports@unc.edu.
Balanced
UNC Sinks
Pirate Ship
The North Carolina baseball
team improved to 13-0 and
picked up the 2,000 th win
in UNC history this weekend.
By Joe Disney
Staff Writer
Success in college baseball doesn’t
always come from the same source
every game.
In North Carolina’s three-game sweep
of Seton Hall this weekend at Boshamer
Stadium, the still undefeated Tar Heels
couldn’t have proved that any better.
UNC used a combination of pitch
ing, hitting and timely defense to defeat
the scrappy
Pirates (0-3)/
“We haven’t
been spectac
ular in any
phase of the
game,” UNC
coach Mike
Fox said.
“We’ve made
mistakes, but
we just haven’t
Baseball
Seton Hall 5
UNC 7
Seton Hall 8
UNC 15
Seton Hall 0
UNC 8
made them at critical times.”
The Tar Heels (13-0) never trailed in
Sunday’s 7-5 victory, making key plays
on big swings by Ryan Earey and Tyrell
Godwin. In the bottom of the fourth,
Godwin drilled a two-run home ran to
give UNC a 5-2 lead. He went 3-for-4 in
the game with three RBI.
Earey, who totaled 10 RBI on the
weekend, drove in Dan Moylan in the
seventh to give the Tar Heels their final
run of the day and a two-run cushion.
The lead was appreciated by reliever
Derrick DePriest, who pitched the final
2 1/3 innings for his third save. DePriest
stilled a rally in the seventh when he got
Ray Navarrete to fly to center with run
ners on the comers and two out.
UNC freshman Scott Autrey (3-0)
picked up the win from a five inning
starting performance in which he gave
up five hits and three earned runs.
Saturday’s 15-8 win came from the
usually unbeatable combo of explosive
hitting and timely defense.
The majority of the offensive output
came from the designated hitter Earey,
who drove in seven runs with two singles,
a two-run homer and a sac fly to right.
“My teammates are getting on base
and giving me the chance to put the ball
in the air and maybe get a base hit and
score some runs,” Earey said. “I’m just
looking to make contact.”
Earey has made more than just “con
tact,” going 6-for-11 this weekend with
two home runs and two solid pitching
outings in setup for DePriest.
UNC’s pitchers induced five double
plays to wipe out offensive spurts. In the
end, senior BJ. Finnerty picked up the
win in relief of Chris Elmore.
far Heel pitching dominated on
Friday as UNC took an 8-0 victory, the
2000th win in program history. Lefty
Eric Henderson went seven innings,
allowing no runs and striking out five.
The Sports Editor can be reached at
sports@unc.edu.
14