Spinnaker [Distributed: Wednesday, October 25, 2006]

Every team has a leader, someone who brings energy and enthusiasm to the squad. For the University of North Florida, Ozzie and Harriet Osprey take that spot, adding life and excitement to UNF athletics.

"We expect the mascots to perform with enthusiasm and energy," said Elliot Darkatsh, director of marketing and promotions. "They need to represent the university as best they can at all times, especially at all home games."

For UNF, the initial mascot search in the 1970s began with the idea of the Fighting Armadillos and the Mighty Manatee. Students, staff and community members voted and one voter wrote in 'the Osprey' on the ballot. For Darkatsh, this was a good thing.

"Imagine rooting 'Go Sea Cows' or 'Go Road Kill,'" he said.

Thirty years later and the Osprey mascots are still swooping proudly on the sidelines. The only real change is the more professional upgrade in the costume design, which recently included detachable body parts: gloves and tail. This allows the mascot to change the style of clothes while still resembling the character.

With new designs, new members were needed to portray the mascots. Though it was an empty position until recently, with little to no turnout at auditions.

"Struggles occurred during the search this season when the interested students learned there were several medical forms and paperwork involved," Darkatsh said. "Of the 10 interested at the beginning only four tried out. The two selected brought more to the table, though, than expected."

This final selection was just in time, as both Ozzie and Harriet appear at all home basketball games, a season that lies just around the corner.

Freshman Amanda Pendarvis will fill the role of Ozzie, while sophomore Fatinah Chen plans to pump up the crowd as Harriet.

"I am looking forward to the large games, like the rival between JU," Chen said. "I love the games and getting the crowd pumped up and excited. Their excitement helps me too."

Chen, who wants to keep her secret moves unknown, is jumping in and hoping to entertain and support the teams. Her co-mascot, however, acted as mascot at her own high school and is entering into the next level.

"I had a lot of fun as the mascot in high school," Pendarvis said. "I thought I'd try it here, and my special moves during the audition won me the chance."

Both mascots agree that North Florida students should attend the games to witness their secret moves in person.

Along with showing off their skills, interested students also had strut in costume, act out in emotion, and create their own skit.

Chen recalls showing how she would act if rival schools got angry with her as Harriet.

"I had to just stand there," she said. "I can't act out against fans so I stood there as these "fans" yelled at me and pretended to be mad."

The mascots will receive formal training from the mascot coordinator, Kristin Iannuzzi, the former Harriet for UNF. However, Iannuzzi is currently recovering from a shoulder injury and will be graduating in December.

The mascots will have a huge costume to fill after Iannuzzi left the university with a proud showing at the national cheer summer camp as Harriet. The Osprey competed against 30 other universities from across the country and performed various challenges. The experienced coordinator plans to pass on her knowledge.

The first official sighting of the Osprey mascots will be Nov. 19, when the UNF men's basketball team takes on Concordia. They will be perfecting their moves at volleyball matches until then.

Soccer ends conference play with home win

The University of North Florida women's soccer team split two games over the weekend, finishing Atlantic Sun Conference play with a win against Mercer University.

The Ospreys' win over Mercer University came two days after a home loss against Stetson University.

Although the Ospreys finished conference play with a 5-3-1 record, they will not be eligible for postseason play due to reclassification.

"Our goal was to finish higher than what was expected of us in the preseason polls," said Head Coach Mike Munch.

The team succeeded, tying Mercer University for third in the conference over all, while the poll ranked the Ospreys in sixth.

The Ospreys' loss to Stetson University snapped a four-game home winning streak at Hodges Stadium.

The Stetson Hatters scored the only goal of the game within the first 14 minutes of play.

Despite a strong crowd of 311 fans, eight Osprey shot attempts, and a combination of three saves from goalies Rachael Howard and Heather Gosselin, it was not enough to notch another win for North Florida.

The Ospreys rebounded with a home win against Mercer University Oct. 21 with a score of 2-1.

An aggressive Osprey offense out-shot Mercer University with 12 attempts compared to Mercer's seven.

Freshman forward Katelin Swift scored the first Osprey goal with an assist from senior forward Christine Brewer.

Senior midfielder Courtney Forson took the goal-winning kick, assisted by senior midfielder Lena Mullaney and senior defender Lisa Taylor.

Junior goalie Heather Gosselin recorded four saves for the Ospreys.

The Ospreys will be on the road to play against non-conference opponent University of Miami (7-7-1) Oct. 24 at 7 p.m.

The University of Miami has dominated their home playing field by outscoring their opponents 10-4 in the past seven games, including a home game shutout against eighth-ranked University of Virginia.

"They (Miami) will be a big test for us," said Munch. "We need to show the best of our abilities."

In the Osprey Spotlight: Cross country, Ryan Austin

One of the University of North Florida's senior cross country runners, Ryan Austin, is bringing a whole new meaning to the phrase "it runs in the family."

Both Austin and his twin brother Aaron have been key components of the University of North Florida cross country team for the past four years.

Their mother is also a longtime runner, running nearly every day for the last 30 years to stay in top shape, while their father also runs several times a week.

For Austin, running cross country has been a part of his routine since seventh grade, after his basketball coach encouraged him to start running for the purpose of conditioning.

He has been passionate about it ever since.

Austin even chose to attend the University of North Florida four years ago because of the cross country program. "Coach [VanAlstyne] believed in my brother and I even though we weren't superstar high school runners," Austin said.

Since then, Austin has had many proud moments on and off the course.

Running with his brother Aaron their junior year ranks the best.

Aaron was recovering from a serious knee injury and trained with Austin all summer. They both qualified for the traveling squad.

"There is nothing I enjoy more about running than competing alongside my brother," Austin said. "It's a twin thing. It's like you feel energy together and you can beat anyone."

The feeling of accomplishment and the sense of camaraderie also brings positive energy to the Osprey.

His only dislikes are the constant state of exhaustion and the risk of injury.

He is a business management major and says the discipline, teamwork and competitive attitude from cross country tie into what he is learning in school.

After he finishes school and cross country, he plans to enter the ministry in hopes of becoming a pastor.

He will continue to run in triathlons to stay in shape and exercise his competitive streak.

"It's been great running here at the University of North Florida," Austin said. "It's something I will miss, and I thank God that he has blessed me like he has."

Austin will have his last collegiate race Oct. 28 at the Atlantic Sun Championship.

Volleyball scores point for conference

With only four Atlantic Sun Conference games to go, the University of North Florida volleyball team improved its A-Sun record to 4-1 after defeating Stetson University 3-1.

The Ospreys brought in the home win, and third consecutive win, as senior Tara Taylor led the team with a record breaking performance.

Taylor tallied 18 digs during the match, 520 total during the season, to break the Osprey season record of 508.

She also holds the team record in digs, recording 42 against Murray State earlier in the season.

North Florida got contributions across the court, with junior Amy Stroder recording 16 kills and 15 digs, while teammate Maegan Weisert tallied 17 kills and 12 digs.

As a team, North Florida hit just 15 errors, while Stetson University recorded 27 errors.

The Ospreys also hit .317 for the match, with Stetson University recording .130.

The University of North Florida will take on Florida A&M University Oct. 25 at 2 p.m. in Tallahassee.

Swimming gets set for the 2006 season

The University of North Florida swimming team is starting the 2006 season with 10 new swimmers on its roster.

The Ospreys finished the 2004-2005 season with four first-place team finishes including eight upperclassman who had top-10 individual finishes. Although the UNF athletic department is in its second year of Division I status, the swimming and diving team has always been competing at a Division I levels in the Pacific Coast Conference.

The Atlantic Sun Conference, which the other UNF teams compete in, does not offer a swimming championship.

"We (Atlantic Sun Conference) need six teams in order to create a conference championship for swimming," said Head Coach Beth Harrell. "It's possible to build a conference meet if we have associate teams."

The freshmen class could have strong breakthrough performances in the pool from swimmers Justine Kane and Maria Bianchi.

From the senior class, strong swimmers that look to finish their collegiate swimming careers are Monique Salles-Cunha, Jenn Shields, and Lindsey McKelvey.

Salles-Cunha is a transfer from Duke University but has Jacksonville ties from her career at Fletcher High School. While at Fletcher, Salles-Cunha led her team to conference and district titles in 1997, won four straight conference championships in the 100-breaststroke and was a four-time all-district selection.

Shields earned two top-four finishes and five top-10 finishes from 2004-2005.

McKelvey had two top-30 finishes including a 50-freestyle time of :27.25 and a 200-freestyle with a time of 2:09.28.

The Ospreys will be competing in 10 swim meets, and five will be home competitions.

"Our home fans have created additional enthusiasm for our meets," said Harrell. "Some of our toughest (home) competitions are going to be against College of Charleston, Georgia Southern, Gardner-Webb."

The women's swimming and diving team will have six seniors and a two-time Olympic gold-medalist, Courtney Shealy, as a new assistant coach to help guide the Ospreys through another season.

Head diving coach Melisa Hyams also brings Olympic and U.S. national champion experience to the coaching staff.

The Ospreys begin their season Oct. 28 at Campbell University in Buies Creek, N.C.

Lacrosse joins sports clubs on campus

Freshmen disappointed, start campus club

As the University of North Florida's student body continues to grow, the students' interests continue to expand.

So, what do you do when the university doesn't have a club that represents your particular interest? You start your own.

Josh Williamson and Michelle Wofner of the 2006 freshmen class decided to do just that, starting the UNF Lacrosse Club.

Both Williamson and Wofner were members of their high school lacrosse teams, disappointed when they arrived at UNF to find that there was not a lacrosse team of any kind.

Using Facebook, the two began to organize and facilitate a way to share information between those who were interested in lacrosse at UNF.

The Osprey lacrosse interest group now consists of over 100 members, 40 who wish to play on either the men's or women's teams.

The men's team is currently registered as Division II in the Florida Lacrosse League and will play other recreational teams around the state of Florida.

The FLL was founded in 1973 and has 14 teams in two divisions. Division I has nine post collegiate teams, while Division II has one post collegiate team and four college club teams.

At the last meeting of the FLL, the Tampa Bandits were welcomed into Division I and the University of North Florida into Division II.

The league agreed to hold the crossovers in Jacksonville and Palm Beach this year, with the championships being awarded to Jacksonville.

He and Wofner are both hopeful that lacrosse will become an official sport at UNF in the future.

For now, there are 12 scheduled games between October and March, with the hopes of playoffs after the regular season

From the Cheap Seats

Alright fans, time to take a needed respite from the heat of the gridiron to sit down and talk basketball.

Teams around the country are now in the middle of a three-week stretch that will take us up to tip-off, and with that in mind, I'd like to give you my rundown on the contenders and pretenders for this years season: The University of Florida will win it all - in the regular season.

With five starters back and a bench that's as good as any in the country, there's no reason for them not to win their third straight South Eastern Conference title, and be a No. 1 seed come March.

But the NCAA tourney does funny things to teams, so we'll have to wait and see.

If Florida is No. 1, then the University of North Carolina is No. 1-A.

It's a wonder that Roy Williams had as much success as he had last year, after losing all five starters from his championship team two years ago.

Williams welcomed a host of newcomers and piloted them into the second round of the NCAA tourney.

Tyler Hansbrough is going to give Joakim Noah steep competition for player of the year, after finishing second in the ACC scoring race, behind only Duke University's JJ Redick. Keep an eye on Tar Heel forward Reyshawn Terry as well.

Bill Self has brought sexy back to Lawrence, Kansas.

Like the Gators, the Jayhawks return all five starters, but the intriguing story line here is that not all of them may keep their jobs.

Freshman forward Darrell Arthur and fellow newcomer, point guard Sherron Collins will push for time and be big contributors off the bench.

Collins is as good a floor general as can be found. Rock Chalk Jayhawk, look for them in the Final Four.

Despite getting an orange and blue style clobbering in the National Championship Game, UCLA is still a threat.

Yes, they've lost the 30 minutes and 13 points per game that Jordan Farmar contributed last year, but they keep Arron Afflalo and get Luc Richard Mbah A Moute, two big contributors from last years team.

Lorenzo Mata, a solid performer off the bench last year, will step into the fifth spot, bringing even more to an already impressive line up.

Meet 7-foot-1-inch, 255-pound Greg Oden. Greg Oden, meet NBA.

At least, that's what many of us thought when we first read about the stud from Indianapolis.

Then, one NBA age limit rule later, Oden arrived in Columbus, Ohio, ready to bring the Buckeyes back to the national title scene.

A problem arises though as Oden will be out until January with a wrist injury.

While the Buckeyes still might strong contender, this is a team with some serious issues.

Gone are Je'Kel Foster, Terence Dials, J.J. Sullinger and do-it-all forward Matt Sylvester, four starters that made the Buckeyes' season last year.

While expectations around Columbus are high, there is no reason to pick them to be any higher than a five seed for the NCAA Tournament.

The season starts next month, so keep an eye out for these teams.

Print Edition

SPORTS

Ozzie and Harriet back in the nest

Soccer ends conference play with home win

In the Osprey Spotlight: Cross country, Ryan Austin

Volleyball scores point for conference

Swimming gets set for the 2006 season

Lacrosse joins sports clubs on campus

Freshmen disappointed, start campus club

From the Cheap Seats

Sports in Brief

Golf tournament renamed to honor longtime supporter

Flight Schedule

Osprey Scoreboard