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Sports Monday No Madness For Women Hoopsters Everything seemed on point around 9 p.m. Friday. North Carolina’s volleyball team had just notched another victory and, within an hour or so, the men’s basketball team was set to have its first practice of the season. Midnight with the Heels could begin. And so the event opened, only about 15 minutes late. And Stuart Scott talked, an agonizing 15 minutes longer than he probably should have. And events followed. Games were played, some prizes won, and practice began. A good time was had by all. What more could a basketball fan possibly want? How about an appearance by the women’s bas ketball team? Hp m rl KELLIE DIXON WHISTLING DIXIE And by that, I don't necessarily mean a patronizing introduction capped by their dismissal from the floor. This question hit me as the men’s team scrimmaged, so I investigated. After the close of Friday’s events, I asked Steve Kirschner, associate athlet ic director for communications, where the women’s team was. “They chose not to participate,” he told me. I asked a second time. Surely, I mis understood. Nope, I got it right. Of course it should be noted that the women’s team was given the opportu nity to be involved, but they declined. Their reason? According to them, the athletic department’s definition of par ticipation apparently coincides with them simply waving and then sitting to watch their male counterparts play. How exciting for them. Women’s basketball forward Chrystal Baptist wasn’t too jazzed by this idea. Neither were her teammates. “We just felt like we were told that either we could be introduced or there was nothing for us to do,” Baptist said. But Baptist did find something to do. She created about 150 fliers protesting the event that she and fel low teammate Jenni Laaksonen and manager Christa Waddell distributed during the volleyball game. The fliers stated: “Did you know: Carolina women’s basketball team is not allowed to participate in Midnight Madness after a 26-9 season and an 11th national preseason ranking for the 2002-2003 season. What are the men? (8-20). Wanna know why? Ask the administration.” Sure the 8-20 comment was a little harsh, but the facts remain. Midway tlirough the 1985-oil season, the men’s team moved to the Smith Center. Since then, the women have considered Carmichael Auditorium their home. Yet, the men open their season on Carmichael’s floor. For them to invade the women’s “home” and limit their involvement in such an event is a ridicu lous thought, especially for a school that considers itself a beacon of equality. There is only one reason why the men don’t hold this shebang down on South Campus - turnout. This year’s turnout paled in comparison to previ ous years, and the biggest contributor was not the fliers Baptist and her team mates handed out. Last year’s dismal season probably thinned the crowd - also keep in mind that there was little promotion done for the actual event. The simple truth is Carmichael seats 10,180. The Smith Center, 21,750. The men barely drew about 7,000 on Friday night. You do the math. It’s not a matter of which team is bet ter. There are a lot of schools that split time at their midnight-madness-type events. Georgia advertised its two-hour event for the men’s and women’s squads, complete with kickoff activities and scrimmages by both teams. Or teams opted not to hold it at all, something I think would be a bad idea. The women’s team opened its sea son at 9 a.m. Saturday in a less herald ed fashion, practicing in front of their families and a few friends or passers-by. That’s not fair. The women’s team isn’t asking to have their own scrimmage, although that’s not a bad idea Instead, they are asking to be involved in the activities before or after the men take the court. That shouldn’t be too much to ask. Kellie Dixon can be reached at kldixon@email.unc.edu ;GBflP'V V Jhw- jp | ** —■ f "J j| DTH/KATE BLACKMAN UNC’s Holly Strauss (14) and Laura Greene (11) prepare for an incoming kill against Wake on Friday. Familiar Scene Unfolds as UNC Falls to State Bv lan Gordon Senior Writer It was the movie you’ve seen over and over again but continue to watch. Even though you knew how it would end, it all seemed, for just a while, so compelling, so different. All that has happened to the North Carolina foot ball team this hap pened once N.C. State —34 more UNC 17 Saturday, as if the team tried to create a scene-by-scene reproduction of its prior performances from the first half of the 2002 season. The inconsistent-but-at-times-explo sive offense, the big-play-less defense and the costly turnover met again at Kenan Stadium, seemingly for another reprisal of the same plot, this time against an ensemble cast from Raleigh. By late Saturday afternoon, though, filming was complete. After showing so much energy in jumping to a 17-7 third quarter lead, the Tar Heels fell back into their familiar roles, giving up 27 unan swered points to lose 34-17 to N.C. State before a live audience of 60,250 at Kenan Stadium. “The momentum swings that do hap pen in football, you’ve got to be able to handle those,” said UNC coach John Bunting. “Sometimes with the youth of our team, we don’t handle those things well. Until we learn to, we’ll have these types of problems and not be able to overcooA. ti.cir..” For UNC (2-4, 0-2 in the ACC), the same actors played the same stock char acters Saturday afternoon, while State (7-0, 2-0) provided familiar foils to the home team’s protagonists. Starring as the overpowering running back was Wolfpack freshman phenom T.A. McLendon, who amassed 164 yards on 22 carries despite playing with a cast on his broken right wrist. McLendon scored two touchdowns, including the go-ahead score with 7:09 left in the third quarter, to tie the school fresh man record of 12 TDs set by Ted Brown. “This kid is really, really good,” said State coach Chuck Amato of McLendon. “He rushed for 160 yards with one hand. What’s he going to be like when he’s 100 percent?” Waldrop Moves Beyond Running Into Academia By Chris Gilfillan Staff Writer Today, the NCAA record holder in the indoor mile doesn’t, even consider himself a runner anymore. In 1974, Tony Waldrop, then a senior at North Carolina, set the world and NCAA record for the indoor mile at 3 minutes, 55 sec onds. In 2002, he was named to three ACC 50th Anniversary teams - men’s cross $ For the next several months, The Daily Tar Heel will profile former UNC athletes who were among the ACCs best. Next week: Women’s Cross Country Volleyball Turns Frustration Into Motivation to Sweep Wake Forest By Daniel Blank Staff Writer In the hours before Midnight with the Heels on Friday, the North Carolina women’s volley ball team played with something to prove before the largest home crowd of the season. Frustrated with their lackluster win Thursday night against Duke, the Tar Heels swept Wake Forest 3-0 in front of 5,623. “I think we came out a lot more intense; we had a better game plan (Friday),” said setter Eve Rackham. “I think we went into (the Duke match) a little lackadaisical and weren’t really focused.” UNC coach Joe Sagula said the players took it upon themselves to wake up and plav a crisper match against the Demon Deacons. But at the onset of Friday’s match, the Tar Heels (17-1, 5-0 in the ACC) came out sloppy, allowing a focused Wake Forest squad (8-10,2- 3) to build an early seven-point lead. Af, mn| Wiini \ . . J % : WBT^KKbB Above: UNC quarterback Darian Durant eludes a pair of Wolfpack defenders in Saturday's 34-17 loss to State. Below: Tar Heel Donti Coats tries to slow down 'Pack running back T.A. McLendon (44). But even though McLendon had 89 yards rushing and a touchdown at the half, it was after the break when N.C. State took control of the game by making a concerted effort to run the ball. The Wolfpack ran on 13 straight plays to start the second half and gained 117 yards. Not only was McLendon beating the Tar'Heels’ defense on perimeter runs, but he and understudyjosh Brown (18 carries, 88 yards) also were able to successfully cut back against over-pursuing tacklers. “When things start to go wrong for us, we kind of lose the ability to pull it together,” Bunting said. In a game that figured to see a good offensive balance for State, heralded quarterback Philip Rivers was 16 of 25 for 170 yards and one touchdown. Although his numbers were down, he made few See FOOTBALL, Page 9 country, indoor track and outdoor track. But now the six-tjme All- American has hung up his spikes and is running a different race. Waldrop now is working in his sec ond year as the vice chancellor for research and grad uate studies at UNC. Before that he had worked as Former All-American Tony Waldrop holds the NCAA record for the indoor mile with a time of 3:55. vice chancellor for research at the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign. UNC clawed to within one at 21-22, when they became victims of a questionable call in which it appeared Wake used four hits to return the ball. The call awoke the crowd, and on the sub sequent points the fans sarcastically counted out the number of Wake Forest hits and mocked the Deacs whenever the third hit cleared the net More importantly, the team responded to the adversity by winning the next five points and nine of the next 11 to close out the match. “It kinda gets us determined, and we did make the next play after that,” Sagula said. “We have enough experience and poise to say, ‘lt’s not going to fluster us that much.’ At home, with the great crowd, it allows us to have confidence and feel like we could come back.” Tar Heel outside hitter Molly Pyles ignited the team, going four for five on kill attempts in the first game. She led the team with 11 digs and 13 kills. The sophomore said ;hc ''•as been playing bet ter since she started relating more on the court “I started out the season a little weaker than I wanted, so I really tried to sit down and focus the day of the match, all day,” Pyles said. “When I play tense, that’s when I make mistakes.” Wake Forest 0 UNC 3 A* _ JL k i f “Running had so dominated my life that I felt as though I should take a break,” Waldrop said. “Now that break has spanned longer than I thought it would. “When I was running, it affected when I ran, when I ate, and what I ate. I ran through weekends,” Waldrop added. “All of that governed all of the rest of the things I was going to do.” Asa Morehead Scholar at UNC, his primary focus was academics, but ath letics weren’t neglected. He became an All-American in cross country as a sophomore in 1971 and finished 11th in the NCAA that year. But, despite this success, Waldrop considers cross country his worst sport. “I still enjoyed the challenge of run ning longer distances,” Waldrop said. Greene Leads Tar Heels to New Heights UNC outside hitter Laura Greene's defense has helped establish the Tar Heel volleyball program and put her on top of the record books. See Page 9. DTH/BRIAN CASSELLA “But as I ran, I found that I enjoyed the competition of the shorter distances.” In indoor track and field, Waldrop was named an All-American twice, in the mile and the 1,000 meters, and in outdoor track he was an All-American three times throughout his career in the 800 meters, the 1,000 meters and the mile. Also, in Waldrop’s senior year, he ran 10 sub-four-minute miles during the out door track season en route to claiming the 1974 ACC athlete of the year award. After graduating, Waldrop continued his commitment to running by acting as a graduate assistant from 1975-1978. “The big advantage of running under Tony was that we could train with him,” See WALDROP, Page 9 INSIDE: ■ Field hockey drops a pair in Virginia. Page 9 ■ Women's soccer survives Clemson. Page 9 ■ Men's soccer falls at VCU. Page 9 After taking the first game, the Tar Heels took control of the match, never trailing by more than two points the rest of the night. 'That stat can be attributed to UNC’s defense. The Tar Heels, which lead the ACC in blocks, out-blocked Wake 12-4. Holly Strauss, who is third in the conference in blocks, knocked down three solo blocks and collected five block assists. But the defensive star of the night was Laura Greene, who finished the night with eight digs. “I think tonight was one of our best defen sive matches in weeks, and Laura Greene was phenomenal,” Sagula said. “She single-hand edly created that defensive momentum.” After playing three consecutive difficult matches, Rackham said the Tar Heels were determined to sweep the Demon Deacons. “We made a point of it in the locker room (after the second game),” Rackham said. “We said, ‘We’re soing to take this l?st mune: • going to finish this game right here. vVe ie not messing around anymore.’” The Sports Editor can be reached at sports@unc.edu. 'Pack Backs Run Wild In 2nd Half By Adam D. Hill Staff Writer The past two seasons, N.C. State has won on the strength of Philip Rivers’ arm. The air attack either propels the Wolfpack out to an early lead or can be counted on to pull them out of trouble later in the game. On its first drive Saturday, State seemed as predictable and formulaic as always. Rivers completed five of his first six passes for 60 yards, marching his squad 80 yards for the Wolfpack’s first touchdown in less than four minutes. But by halftime North Carolina, with its defense giving arguably its best per formance of the year, had stifled the Wolfpack passing game and lead 17-7. With their usual formula faltering, the Pack turned to a facet of its offense usually relegated to second fiddle - the ground game. Abandoning their vaunted passing attack, the Wolfpack - “like Virginia Tech,” State coach Chuck Amato said - took to the ground, sweeping around the end, veering off tackle and rurv' • draws up the middle. “The line was telling the coaches, we can run on these guys,” Wolfpack run ning back T.A. McLendon said of the halftime conversation. “Then we just went out there and did it.” They did. Of State’s 14 third quarter plays, 13 of them were of the rushing variety, for a total of 113 yards. All tolled, the Wolfpack accumulated 258 yards on the ground and four rushing touchdowns. “It was a beauty to see,” Amato said. “You’ve got a Heisman Trophy candi date out there handing the ball off every play. (The offensive line) stood up and knocked them off of the ball. It’s a ter rible feeling when there’s nothing you See RUNNING GAME, Page 9 ACC 50th Anniversary Top UNC Men's Cross Country Runners Player Years Played Jim Beatty 1954-1956 Wayne Bishop 1958 John Cline 1994-1997 Jim Cooper 1979-80,1982 Jim Farmer 1984-1987 Larry Henry 1958-1961 Gary Hofstetter 1977-1980 Ralph King 1975-1978 Art Mallet 1963-1964 George Nicholas 1983-1986 Tony Waldrop 1971-1974 Andre Williams 1994-1997 usr COMPILED BY BLUE RIBBON COMMITTEE FOR THE 12
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