SPORTS
- Inside the Huddle
- Double-overtime win ends season Renee Robarge
- Loss to cross-town rival JU closes season at 4-26 Lori Bero
- Second string leads Osprey effort, but falls short Kaelena Incinelli
- Seniors struggle as Ospreys lose two Ryan Clarke
Inside the Huddle
 Ace Stryker Copt Editor |
 Ross Brooks Features Editor |
 Matt Coleman Editor in Chief |
 Kaelena Incinelli Sports Editor |
| Question 1: Jaguars running back Fred Taylor became only the 21st player in NFL history to rush for more than 10,000 yards. What will it take for Taylor to get into the Hall of Fame? | |||
| Lead the Jags to a Superbowl Championship. Or be the oldest living black player, because it looks like Brett Favre plans to play until his decomposition as a corpse. | The Jags need to have a great season and land a playoff birth to help keep Taylor fresh in the minds of the voters. | A few Pro Bowl nods or Super Bowl rings. Taylor's had a great career, but he'll probably get overlooked. | Well, since Jacksonville is about 850 miles from the Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, it will take about another 1.5 million yards. |
| Question 2: Which is more unlikely: Peyton Manning throwing six interceptions or Adam Vinatieri, arguably the best clutch kicker in NFL history, missing a 29-yard field goal? | |||
| Manning had to fall apart. Even the most talented quarterback can't keep his skills up between acting spots in MasterCard, Sprint, DirecTV and NFL ads. | Every quarterback has an off game. But no one expects ANY kicker to miss a 29-yard field goal, let alone the guy who kicked back-to-back Super Bowl winning field goals. | Vinatieri missed once. Manning threw six picks. Manning by a landslide. I guess he's still faklempt from the loss to New England. | I guess neither of them are too unlikely since they both happened. Sometimes it's nice to see that these guys are only human. |
| Question 3: The PGA Tour has announced that Justin Timberlake will host a tournament. What other celebrity should get a tournament, and what should it be called? | |||
| Paul Reubens. We could call it the Pee-wee Herman Soft Touch Classic - where a good grip and a firm stroke are the surest way to a happy ending. | RuPaul's "Celebrity Drag Queen Drive Off." The competition would require all the contestants to wear drag. Imagine Tiger Woods in a sun dress and John Daly in a floral moo-moo. | "The Bill O'Reilly celebrity shout-a-thon." Participants will be timed on how long they can withstand the falafel czar's nonsensical tirades. | Adam Sandler. It should be called "I got into this tournament for one reason: money. And now I have a new reason: kicking your ...!" |
| Question 4: What's your best slogan for Tim Tebow's campaign for the Heisman? | |||
| Tebow: He may look like a train wreck, but he hits like one, too. | If you don't vote for Tim Tebow, the terrorists win. Hey, it worked for Bush. | You wouldn't know it from last year, but I can do more than run. | First he should paint himself gold, do the Heisman pose and take a picture. Then print the pictures with a caption that says "I can be your Heisman, baby." |
Double-overtime win ends season
Two seniors combine efforts to score winning goal in last collegiate game
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Sophomore forward Katelin Swift outruns Flagler's defender in Nov. 7 win. |
The 2007 UNF women's soccer season ended with a double-overtime win Nov. 7 against Flagler College.
Momentum favored UNF for much of the first half. The Ospreys outshot Flagler 23-6 during the match, although neither team was able to score
during regulation play.
Junior midfielder Elizabeth Gowan racked up three shots near the end of regulation play.
The second half ended with both teams scoreless, and missed opportunities by both teams caused the game to continue into overtime.
"I think the cold had something to do with it, but it was more a psychological thing," said head coach Linda Hamilton. "It's tough to be motivated."
Seconds before the buzzer, Flagler freshman
midfielder Annika Hogberg hit the crossbar with what would have been a game-winning score.
Two 10-minute overtime periods ensued. Five minutes into the second overtime, UNF senior midfeilder Jessica Jowers passed the ball to senior defender Lisa Taylor, who put the game away for UNF.
"It went out with two seniors impacting the goal," said senior defender Lisa Patoka.
Taylor said the team was comprised of young players, but she was glad to be a part of it.
"The season was very productive, but there's
always room for improvement," she said.
Taylor and Jowers have been playing together since the under-12 league, and they said there was
no better way to end their college career
together than both having a part in the game-
winning goal.
"It was a growing year," Taylor said. "We all learned how to play together. I enjoyed leading the team on and off the field."
Jowers said she couldn't have asked for a better team, and the seniors are excited about what the team is capable of next year. Hamilton agreed, saying she's optimistic about future seasons.
"It was a roller coaster-type season," Hamilton said. "We're going to be
doing some great things in the coming years."
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Loss to cross-town rival JU closes season at 4-26
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Senior opposite hitter Claire Yonutas serves against Jacksonville University in her last game Nov. 8. |
UNF volleyball coach Kevin Campbell said the last match of the season had elements of both triumph and defeat for her team.
In a 3-1 loss to Jacksonville University Nov. 8, UNF (4-26) started slow in games one and two, but won game three. Game four was close, but in the end JU (17-12) proved stronger.
"Tonight's game was bittersweet," Campbell said. "We fought hard all season, but didn't start the night at our highest level. The girls just stepped up in games three and four."
The 17-30, 17-30, 30-26, 24-30 win in the UNF Arena gave JU another point in the SunTrust River City Rumble, bringing the total to 4-2, still in favor of UNF. It also marked JU's first season sweep over UNF since 1997.
Senior outside hitter Maegan Weisert and senior opposite hitter Claire Yonutas each ended their UNF careers in the Senior Night match with a double-double.
Yonutas recorded 13 kills and 10 digs, while Weisert got 12 kills and 10 digs to earn her 41st career double-double.
The Ospreys were able to increase their hitting percentage in games one and two to .244 in game three, which allowed them to take a 20-10 lead and eventually drive the match into a fourth game.
"We realized it was our last game and didn't want to go out the way we played in games one and two," Weisert said.
Freshman Madeline Belvin recorded 35 assists, while junior middle blocker Bary Rasmussen tallied 10 kills in the match.
Freshman middle blocker/right side Kaley Read had a season-high six blocks. Freshman middle blocker Marshay Greenlee also recorded a season high with five blocks.
"We needed to come out strong," Yonutas said. "In the end, we were strong, and JU got to see that strength."
Contact Lori Bero at sports@unfspinnaker.com -- PERMALINK -- TOP OF PAGE
Second string leads Osprey effort, but falls short
The Nov. 11 loss against Florida State University in the UNF women's basketball team's regular-season opener proved consistency is critical, said head coach Mary Tappmeyer.
"If you take out a couple of stretches, we were able to play with them," Tappmeyer said.
The Ospreys lost to the 19th-ranked
Seminoles 75-48.
The Seminoles came out quickly with a 15-0 lead over the Ospreys. Sophomore forward/center Willonda Windham scored the first UNF
basket to break the shutout. Freshman point guard JulieMay Syquio knocked down a 3-
pointer after Windham to bring the Ospreys back into play.
Eleven UNF players saw time on the court, and nine of those scored. The leading scorer was sophomore guard Tiffany Williams, who came off the bench to score a career-high 14 points against
the Seminoles.
The starters finished with 14 points in the game, which is 20 points less than the Ospreys who came off the bench.
"That shows the type of depth we have," Tappmeyer said. "Tiffany Williams came off the bench and gave us a spark. She is a fearless player. The girls have to feel good, even though we lost."
After the Seminoles' 15-0 run, the Ospreys came within 10 points but trailed 41-25 at the half.
UNF and FSU were tied for rebounding at 15 rebounds each through the end of the first half. But by the end of the game, FSU led in
rebounds 40-33.
The Seminoles hit hard a second time with a 10-0 run that brought the score to 63-39 with about eight minutes left to play. The Ospreys were unable to climb out of the deficit.
UNF won its exhibition game against Flagler College Nov. 7 in the Arena with a 53-43 victory.
The Ospreys play next in the UNF Arena against the University of Central Florida 7 p.m. Nov. 15. Live game coverage will be broadcast
on www.asun.tv.
Contact Kaelena Incinelli at sports@unfspinnaker.com -- PERMALINK -- TOP OF PAGE
Seniors struggle as Ospreys lose two
The University of North Florida men's basketball team was unable to continue the trend of Atlantic Sun Conference upsets as it lost 79-50 to the University of Maryland Nov. 11 and 83-66 to the University of Tulsa Nov. 12.
The A-Sun Conference made headlines after three teams knocked off major conference opponents within the last week, but three days after UNF edged Edward Waters College in a heated double-overtime victory in exhibition play, the Ospreys gave up the game against ACC foe Maryland in its official 2007
season opener.
For the Ospreys, being down 30-23 at halftime would be as close as they would get to an
upset victory.
The Ospreys led early, jumping out to a 7-4 lead on a trifecta of buckets from junior guard/forward Tom Hammonds, freshman forward Justin Cecil and senior point guard Chris Timberlake. Hammonds and Cecil led the way for UNF, as they each put up 14 points during the game. Twelve of Cecil's 14 came from behind the arc, shooting 50 percent from the 3-point mark.
Head coach Matt Kilcullen identified several key areas, especially on defense, where the Ospreys were struggling.
"Our guys got very robot-like," he said. "We settled too much for the jump shot in the
first half."
While UNF didn't win the battle on the scoreboard, Kilcullen was pleased with the fact that against the full-court press, the Ospreys did not once commit a 10-second violation. He was, however, quick to admit his team's
weaknesses.
"In the second half, they came out with great intensity and we didn't match it," he said.
Kilcullen's point was best illustrated by a Maryland run that lasted nearly 10
minutes and saw the Terrapins outscore the Ospreys 24-7. Kilcullen said that while Maryland's frontcourt players outmatched his in size, the Ospreys also needed to show more intensity.
In a postgame conversation, Kilcullen underscored his concern over the team's two seniors, Timberlake and center James Grimball. The pair led the squad in scoring a year ago, averaging 11 points a game. So far, counting the exhibition game against Edward Waters, the two have combined for 17 points, eight turnovers and a foul-out.
"[Grimball] needs to get more aggressive," Kilcullen said.
While the Ospreys lost their season opener for the second consecutive season against a major conference opponent, Kilcullen explained his reasoning for scheduling better teams in a radio interview the next day before the game against the University of Tulsa.
"If you're not going to compete against the best teams, you might as well play," he said. "When you compete, you get
better."
UNF hits the court again at home 7 p.m. Nov. 16 against Concordia University.
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