Spinnaker [Distributed: Wednesday, August 30, 2006]

After just one glance at the 2006-2007 athletic schedules, one might be pleasantly surprised at the universities lined up to compete against the Ospreys.

Names of previous national champions and distinguished competitive schools stand out among the lists. However, students and fans need not be astonished, as the University of North Florida is nestled right into the competitive world of Division 1.

Beginning in 2005, North Florida joined in as members of Division 1 taking on a new conference and new competition.

The athletic teams, formerly a part of the Peach Belt Conference, became affiliated with the Atlantic Sun Conference in fall 2005.

This change brought on larger schools as competition, but the 2006 season will raise the bar even higher as coaches look to test their teams.

"Upgrading the schedules is one of the steps every program can take during the transition process," North Florida's head men's basketball coach Matt Kilcullen said. "You want to give your players the experience of playing against the best."

For the University of North Florida, the transition into Division 1 will take place over four years, ending in the fall of 2009 with the scheduled full division membership.

During this time, competition will continue to strengthen along with school spirit, the rise of more tail-gate parties and blue and grey body paint.

This will provide the real look of Division 1.

The University of North Florida, has proven already that they are prepared for the competition, with five teams finishing in the top four of A-Sun standings during their inaugural seasons. UNF's volleyball, men's and women's cross country and baseball finished among the top ranks. Golf also finished among the top but was not a new face to the division.

The first year in the division also brought recordbreaking enthusiasm that will only rise as UNF settles into the division.

At the men's basketball game against rival Jacksonville University in January, Osprey pride reached its highest home crowd. Then in April the UNF baseball team brought out over 6,000 fans to watch the Ospreys take home the ball game against the University of Florida, 6-5.

Now as the 2006-2007 season begins, fresh faces are appearing on the schedules. This is stimulating news to both the athletes and their coaches.

"We are excited about our 2006 schedule and the team that we have returning," head volleyball coach Bryan Bunn said. "Every match will present a unique challenge, I am eager to see how we have developed as we begin our second year in Division 1."

The volleyball team will face off against Penn State University and the University of North Carolina Charlotte for the first time this season.

The basketball team will also face new challenges, opening the season with a trip to Queens, New York for the 2K Sports College Hoops Classic. There they will play against Big East Conference power St. John's College Nov. 10. The Classic also lines UNF up with Big Ten Conference rival Northwestern.

From there, the University of North Florida will head to Gainesville, Fl. Nov. 14, to test the University of Florida, the defending national champion.

"We are going to get experience playing in two major markets - New York and Chicago - and we are going to also face the defending national champions," Kilcullen said. "Those games will be incredibly challenging for a program only in its second year of Division 1, but we are excited about the opportunity."

This event will be covered in full force by athletics, with plans to air the game at a home party in the Arena.

On the soccer field, a fresh challenge will come for the women's team near the end of the season as they gear up for the University of Miami.

Miami will come with years of experience playing against competitive schools and will provide just the test head women's soccer coach Mike Munch is looking for.

"The match against Miami at the end of the season will be a good test for us to see how we have come in year two at the Division 1 level," said Munich.

"They have competed at the highest level a number of years."

North Florida's head men's soccer coach Ray Bunch had similar thoughts of his schedule.

"We are very pleased with our 2006 slate," Bunch said. "I feel our matches will be very competitive and allow us to improve in our second season at the Division 1 level."

The men's team will face Duke University and Georgia State for the first time during the season.

The Ospreys were scheduled to play Duke in the 2005 season, but the match was cancelled.

The scheduled meeting for the teams will be Oct. 24 and Sept. 3, respectively.

In the Osprey Spotlight: Lead an Tony Polster

It's a bird, it's a plane! No, it's just Tony Polster getting chased out of the arena by a mob of angry fans again.

The former University of North Florida's baseball pitcher is frequently called UNF's biggest fan and when you go to practically any sporting event, you will see why.

"I have never been asked to leave a game for being too loud but I have been chased out of the gym a few times," says Polster. "Twice were by players who were still in uniform and a few times it was by parents whose sons had a bad day."

Polster has also been known to rally students in creative ways by starting cheers and jumping up and down, encouraging students until they begin to join him.

"For basketball, baseball and volleyball last year I would get a program from the team we were playing and assign people to read our opponents personal profiles out loud in order to distract them. It's a good way for the fans that are there to watch the game and not talk to have a good time. I wish at golf matches that we were allowed to make some noise and try to rattle the other team. I am going to push for a rule change so that can happen," said Polster.

When Polster is not working as a physical education teacher, coaching basketball and baseball, or in class working on getting his teacher's certification, he can be found relaxing on his couch watching just about any sporting game that is on television.

"At my condo I have 4 TVs in my living room so I can watch all the sports possible. I order the MLB package so I can watch just about every baseball game. I also have the college sports networks, the NBA package, and the NFL package. Whenever I am home you can bet that I have some kind of sports on," said Polster.

There were also some very exciting memories from last year in the UNF sports realm.

When asked about his favorite highlights from the 2005-2006 season, Polster replied, "I would probably have to say baseball beating the Florida Gators.

"I can't remember off hand, but there were around 6,000-7,000 people at the game in which we won. Another highlight would have to be UNF basketball beating JU. We had over 3,000 people at the game and at the end of the game we were allowed to storm the court. We are never allowed to do that again but it was fun when it lasted."

Polster also says that going to the sporting events as a freshman truly gave him a place to fit in.

"It's a good way to meet a lot of new people," Polster said. "When I came to UNF I didn't really know a lot of people except for the ones on the baseball team. But after my first year at UNF I met a ton of new people just through the games, especially at basketball and volleyball games."

Women's soccer takes season opener

Women's soccer scored first two games of the season

The home opener for the women's soccer team against Flagler College of St. Augustine proved to see how well the Ospreys have come together for the beginning of the season.

Fans from all over Jacksonville came to see players from both University North Florida and Flagler go head-to-head at Patton Park.

A 30-minute drive south of Jacksonville, fans, family and friends from both cities made it out to Patton Park to see the Ospreys and Saints go head-to-head on the soccer field.

The Ospreys led the first half 1-0 with a goal from senior Courtney Forson off a corner kick from fellow senior Lena Mullaney.

The Saints attempted several shots only to be discouraged by strong defensive plays and stops. The first half showed several different looks of the Osprey defense against the Saints' attacks.

Despite a fairly good defensive strategy to use off-side traps, the Saints showed several different defensive setups.

"We have a lot of new players," said Courtney Forson. "This game is important to see how far weve come as a team."

The Ospreys then came out in the second half with three freshman scoring their first ever goals in a collegiate game. Unassisted goals from freshman forwards Lauren Dwyer, Katelin Swift and an assist from junior midfielder Jessica Jowers to freshman midfielder Courtney Strickland helped shut out the Saints 4-0.

The game remained aggressive with the Ospreys threatening the Saints' goal. Smart plays in ball control, movement, possession and keeping the ball on the Saints half of the field made for numerous shot attempts by the Ospreys.

"They (Flagler) seemed to put their heads down after we scored the second goal," head coach Mike Munch said. "After that, the momentum swung in our direction even though the Saints had several good opportunities in the beginning of the second half."

Coach Munch showed the strength and depth of the Osprey team with his regular rotation of players, giving valuable game time to a team that includes 10 freshmen.

The game was also the first game for Flagler as a Division II school.

Despite sporting a team-high of three shot attempts from sophomore defender Elizabeth Glasgow and eight saves from goalie Hope McArthur, the Saints lost whatever momentum they had in the first half after the Ospreys scored their second goal.

"We just broke apart the second half," said freshman Saints forward Tiffany Urquhart. "We were playing more defensively than normal."

The Ospreys returned to the field Sunday afternoon to play Georgia Southern University. Down by one goal within the first two minutes of the game, the Ospreys came back with a long kick from sophomore midfielder Elizabeth Gowan. Ten minutes later, senior defender Lisa Taylor knocked in a header with an assist from junior midfielder Jessica Jowers.

"We knew we had to calm down after the Eagles scored their goal," said Taylor. "We were nervous at first but then we changed the game to our tempo."

The Ospreys managed to keep the second half in their favor and ended the game with a win in a final score of 2-1. Sticking to the original game plan with physically hard-fought plays kept the Eagles scoreless in the second half.

"We worked hard as a team," said Gowan. "It was important for us to work together to come back and score in this game."

Still elated from her first goal in a collegiate game, only two words came to mind for Courtney Strickland.

Strickland expressed pure excitement, "I don't know if there's anything else I can say to that."

Intramurals looking for Campus Champion

To help promote sports, athleticism, and to increase the level of competition, the Intramural Sport Championship System hopes to find a men's and women's championship team.

The championship system is based on a point system. The point system rates an athlete both on how many sports the athlete plays and how well he or she performs. An organization can enter more than one team into a sport, but only one of the teams can be rewarded points toward the ISCS competition.

The only exceptions to this rule is if an organization officially enters two teams into the championship system for all sports.

Organizations that wish to enter the ISCS competition can enter through the Intramural Office located in the Arena, room 1044. Teams must fill out an entry form, name a team captain, have an official team name that will be used throughout the year, and fill out a roster sheet that is limited to only 18 players.

7 point sports
7-7 flag football, 5-5 basketball

6 point sports
Volleyball, co-ed rec softball

5 point sports
Co-ed rec outdoor soccer
Innertube water polo
Slip n' slide kickball

4 point sports
Sand volleyball
Co-ed rec indoor soccer
4-on-4 flag football

3 point sports
Walleyball
Punt, pass, kick competition
BASEketball
Free throw and 3-point contest
Homerun derby
Mini triathlon
Racquetball
Dodgeball
Tennis

From the Cheap Seats

Disclaimer: The opinions offered here do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the university or its Athletics Dept.

A sports cliché is an expression that has been used in sports so frequently that it is tired and meaningless. Nothing of any importance has ever been said this way, and they're used as a cop-out so the coach/player won't have to go out of their comfort zone and risk offending someone.

See if you recognize any of these, here's what they really mean:

"He has a low center of gravity, or built low to the ground"...nice way of saying short and fat.

"He has eyes in the back of his head"...really means he's running for his life.

"He's all heart"...usually means his skills leave a lot to be desired.

"He's a good guy in the locker room"...means less likely to be seen on the police blotter.

A "finesse" player...means the player can't take a hit, while a "scrappy" player is usually undersized but physical (think "Scrappy Dog" from Scooby Doo). This also goes for the saying "Pound for Pound, he's the best..."

"We've got an intriguing match-up"...means the announcers are stuck doing this game.

"The season's a marathon, not a sprint"...means you're probably 0-10 to start off.

"It's a rebuilding year"...meaning tickets won't be hard to come by, because the team stinks.

"The quarterback isn't being asked to win the game, just not to lose it." Isn't that basically saying the quarterback gets no credit if they win, and all the blame if they lose?

When you hear these, just disregard them completely. Hopefully this will help you cut through the bull and see it for what it really is -time-filling fodder to help the announcer sound like they know what they're talking about.

Volleyball warmed up for home tournament

Four games down, a whole season to go.

The University of North Florida volleyball team has jumped right into the season as heach coach Bryan Bunn led his team through its season-opening series in Alabama Aug. 25 and 26 and then in the University of North Florida Arena Aug 29.

The Ospreys started up the season with the Troy Spiketacular facing Tulsa University, St. Mary's and host Troy University.

North Florida fell to TU and St. Mary's 3-0 for both matches but finished the tournament with a 3-1 win over Troy.

With their return to Jacksonville, North Florida opened their home court to the University of Central Florida Golden Knights Aug. 29.

Osprey fans flocked to the Arena to watch the opening home game, though North Florida fell to the University of Central Florida 3-1.

Junior Maegan Weisert and senior Emily Kohler led in kills with a total of 16.

Senior Tara Taylor led the Ospreys in devensive digs win 25, while senior Magen Wood led in blocks with 6.

The game leaves the University of North Florida with a 1-3 record.

The team now awaits the competition in its own UNF Labor Day Classic Sept. 1 and 2. The tournament will be held in the Arena, with many opportunities for prize drawings, free pizza, and free athletic memorabilia.

Admission for students is free with a UNF ID.

The Ospreys will challenge the Appalachian State University Mountaineers Sept.1 at 7:30 p.m.

On Sept. 2, UNF will face Murray State at 12:30 p.m. and Idaho State at 7:30 p.m.

This will be the Osprey's first encounter with all three schools.

Print Edition

SPORTS

Welcome the new look of Division 1

The Ospreys are scheduled to play against current national champions during their second year in Division 1

In the Osprey Spotlight: Lead an Tony Polster

Women's soccer takes season opener

Women's soccer scored first two games of the season

Intramurals looking for Campus Champion

From the Cheap Seats

Volleyball warmed up for home tournament

Sports in Brief

Baseball Walk-on Tryouts

Mascot try-outs coming soon

Volleyball picked to win Conference

Flight Schedule

Osprey Scoreboard

UNF Intramurals

Volleyball and CoRec Soccer Captain's Meeting