Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / Feb. 22, 2002, edition 1 / Page 13
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Slip Saily aar Heel Tar Heels Hoping Youngsters Mature Soon Second-year UNC coach John Haus expects veterans to lead his team through a difficult early schedule. Bv Ben DeSantis Assistant Sports Editor Steve Will might give you the stan dard athlete credo that he and his North Carolina lacrosse teammates will take the season one game at a time. But beneath the surface, he’s looking toward May and the NCAA tourna ment, a place UNC has visited just once in the last six years. “Winning is tradition here, and I came here to win,” said the junior attackman. “We haven’t done it yet, and it’s pissing the hell out of me.” Even with the added motivation of the team’s lack of recent success, UNC, ranked No. 13 by Inside Lacrosse Magazine, will have a tough time mak ing it back to the NCAA field of 12. The Tar Heels are a young bunch - 40 of 48 players are underclassmen - and Coach John Haus said he hopes his younger players can make a quick tran sition to the college game. “Right now, we've got a mixture of vet erans and youngsters, and there’s a wide gap there,” said Haus, in his second year at UNC. “If the older guys can kind of carry us and get us going in the early on, and the younger guys can leam a little bit and get better, I think we should be OK” But because of UNC’s early season schedule - the Tar Heels won their open er against No. 22 Ohio State, and follow it with games against No. 19 Bucknell and No. 14 Navy - Haus’ youngsters won’t have much time to adjust before being expected to contribute. “I don’t think we have any leeway,” Haus said. “I think our schedule’s such Frasl Tcx-Moc ih Nortk CikKolih\? M 7 ' ARMADILLO GRILL HohnOrv&cU Tortilks, EhckiUdisS, Frk S&U&S, h%OK! Cohr% ky tU UpstfciVs Bfcr for u/kly specials! TV’s UpsUi rs! P&tio Dmi or C&rry-ovf. 120 E. MAIN STREET CARRBORO 929-4649 jK- J£L SPjB that every team we play and every game we play, if we don’t play our best, we’re definitely going to get beat.” While Haus waits for his youth to mature, he’ll rely on the few upperclassmen he has. UNC returns three of its top four scorers: Will, sophomore attack man Andrew Junior tri-captain Austin Garrison tallied seven goals and 12 assists last season to lead the Tar Heels' midfield. Lucas and junior midfielder Austin Garrison. The trio totaled 37 goals and 30 assists for 67 points in 2001. And Haus expects his veterans, espe cially the tri-captain Garrison, to make the freshmen feel as comfortable as possible. “It’s sort of my responsibility to make iCALIENTE! • HOMEMADE MARGARITAS MOJITOS AND SANGRIA •WEEKEND DINNER SPECIALS / _ •HEALTHY CHOICES .it l^A • HOMEMADE DESSERTS \V[ f\fAuJ'jCXS) AND ICE CREAM 1* L Weekdays 11:30am-2:30pm s*^ Saturday 1 l:3oam-spm rJNjjnjT Mo-Th 5-9 pm, Fr-Sa 5- 10pm www.margaretscantina.com MEXICAN WITH A TWIST TIMBERLYNE SHOPPING CENTER. NEXT TO ECKERD • CHAPEL HILL • 942-4745 Spring Sports 2002 sure guys get to it, make sure guys are are getting acclimated to the system,” Garrison said. Garrison heads the Tar Heels’ mid field, where a lack of depth was com pounded when sophomore Lance Zimmerman was lost for the season with a tom anterior cruciate ligamenL Zimmerman, one of the Tar Heels’ top four middies last year, was scheduled to be on the starting midfield again this year. “His loss just takes more away from what depth we had at midfield,” Haus said. “When you don’t have a lot of depth, and you lose one of your top four guys, it’s going to hurt.” To pick up the slack, Haus will look for increased production from seniors Pat Jackson and Tim Gosier, junior Kyle Bell, and for freshman Bryant Will - Steve’s brother - to prove why he was one of the nation’s most sought-after recruits. Garrison said though the midfield is young and lacks depth, the group has a stronger sense of togetherness than in the previous two years. “The unity is much better than in years past,” he said. “We have much more spread-around scoring. It’s much more than relying on one guy.” Even in goal, UNC isn’t relying on just one guy. Senior Kris Blindenbacher, who started the last two years, and fresh man Paul Spellman are competing for the starting job. “We look for consistency, that’s all,” Haus said. “Kris and Paul are battling \\ * © \\ w, ' \\ YWBe • 1L- c ytfflmkL bteatyciit * Uutalt • di*i*teA. yPpßSHfc;\ -U*tce. 1988 deliu&uf. to- fyNC (®) C LSA t) (mcat) (greD 43J38> Take Kaplan. Score higher. Get SIOO back. Enroll in an LSAT, GMAT, GRE, MCAT, or DAT course between February 1-28, 2002, to get SIOO back through Kaplan's February Rebate. DAT class begins February 24! GAA members receive $75 off live Kaplan GGLMD courses. 1-800-KAP-TEST kaptest.com *Test names are registered trademarks of their respective owners. Kaplan gets you in. Friday, February 22, 2002 for the top spot right now. They’re both going to be needed on this team.” Haus needs a lot from his players, but he said he takes sole responsibility for rebuilding UNC’s program into the national powerhouse it was when he played in Chapel Hill. “I played here for Coach (Willie) Scroggs and was on two national cham pionship teams,” he said. “I told the team the other day that the tradition here is winning, and we need to start doing that again.” 5
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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Feb. 22, 2002, edition 1
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