By Ryan Clarke
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Florida Gulf Coast

A missed Florida Gulf Coast free throw started the Jan. 3 game with Tom Hammonds taking a shot three from 30 feet with two seconds remaining.

However, it bounced off the rim and was recovered by Delvin Franklin, who continued on for the final half second, and sealed Florida Gulf Coast's first victory in the Atlantic Sun Conference, 70-67.

The Ospreys could not match the pace of the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles, as UNF shot 40 percent from the field, next to the Eagle's 50 percent. Meanwhile, the Ospreys saw Hammonds lead the team in scoring for the eighth time this season with 14 points.

While the Ospreys trailed 33-32 at the half, they out-shot the Eagles from the field, 43 percent to 41 percent, a trend that reversed itself in the second half. Gulf Coast went 60 percent from the field, next to UNF's 37 percent. Balza mentioned his team's defensive intensity as cause for the change.

Osprey head coach Matt Kilcullen agreed, but also cited UNF's lack of presence on the offensive end for the final margin.

"We did a very poor job of handling the ball," Killculen said. "We needed to make better decisions."

Hammonds and senior guard Chris Timberlake scored nine points, all coming from behind the three-point arc.

"I wasn't really thinking about it," Timberlake said. "We just can't settle for this team to be like last year's team." Stetson

During the Jan. 5 game the two teams battled down to the wire producing the third straight overtime battle between the two opponents in Jacksonville. The Hatters for the third consecutive time won.

The Ospreys were up by as many as 13 points in the second half, but difficult free-throw shooting when the Ospreys were 21-41 altered what looked like the Ospreys' first win in almost two months. "You can't hope to win missing 20 free throws" Kilcullen said.

Despite their performance from the charity stripe, UNF had possession of the ball with six seconds remaining in the overtime period, and down 71-69.

For the second straight night, Hammonds was the one who took the final shot, but it rebounded off the back of the rim and was recovered by AJ Smith, Smith heaved the ball high into the air as the clock expired, giving Stetson their first conference win of the season, and extending UNF's losing streak to 11 games.

Hatters head coach Dereck Waugh elicited two technical fouls during the game and received a mandatory ejection to the locker room after his guard, AJ Smith, was called for a traveling violation.

"He [Waugh] took a sacrifice for our team by getting thrown out," Hatters assistant coach Wylie Tucker said. "I saw a lot of determination."

Waugh was not made available for post-game comments.

Stetson proceeded to go on a 27-14 run over the next 12.5 minutes, tying the game at 53 with 3 minutes, 28 seconds to go.

From there, the teams battled to the last five seconds where the Hatters defeated the Ospreys 69-71.

Contact Ryan Clarke at sports@unfspinnaker.com  --  PERMALINK -- TOP OF PAGE

Swimming falls to No. 25 Seminoles

By Lori Bero
STAFF WRITER

After a month-long break, the UNF women's swimming and diving team was not able to jump back into the swing of things losing to Florida State University and the University of North Carolina Wilmington Jan. 5.

No. 25 FSU beat UNF 146-84 and beat UNCW 144-87, while UNCW won the dual against the Ospreys 140-101 at the UNF Aquatic Center.

The only first-place finish for UNF (5-2 in duals) was in the 200-meter breaststroke.

Senior swimmer Krysten Nemecek was able to win the race with a time of 2 minutes, 28.82 seconds, just three seconds ahead of teammate sophomore Kristin Pike, who recorded a time of 2:31.87.

Freshman LynAnn Nelson recorded a second-place finish in both the 1,000-meter freestyle with a time of 10:38.03 and in the 500-meter freestyle with 5:15.24.

In diving, junior Debbie Rapoza finished in fifth place for UNF in the 1-meter diving competition with a mark of 222.70 and sixth place in the 3-meter diving competition with a score of 231.05.

The Ospreys will continue their season Jan. 9 against Northern Colorado at 10 a.m. in Fort Lauderdale

Contact Lori Bero at staff2@unfspinnaker.com  --  PERMALINK -- TOP OF PAGE

Ospreys forsee successful spring seasons

By Sarah Diener
SPORTS EDITOR

Many sports are starting up for the spring semester, and with each new season comes new hopes and predictions of how the team will do. Several factors can affect the outcome of the season.

Men's golf and baseball are two sports starting in February. Players and coaches alike have high expectations of their performance and have been gearing up to play their best.

Men's baseball coach, Dusty Rhodes, has his team keep up with their workouts during the off-season on their own. However, once school starts again, the team runs at 5 a.m. for an hour to get them used to working out again and acclimated to running in colder temperatures.

"We play a lot of games in cold weather," Rhodes said. "If they are going to get sore we want them to do it before we play."

Rhodes said that keeping the players in top physical condition helps to ensure a good season.

"We have a tough schedule ahead of us," Rhodes said. "We can't overlook anybody. We've got to beat them all."

Last year's Freshman All-American, TJ Thompson and junior pitcher Tyler Stohr are two players that Rhodes feels will stand out. UNF's cross-town rival Jacksonville University is someone that the team is eager to play against after a history of losses to them.

"They're [JU] a natural rival," Rhodes said. "We need to win."

Overall, Rhodes said the team plans to stay strong and will try to win the Conference Championship at the end of the season.

Scott Schroeder, men's golf head coach shares Rhodes' enthusiasm for the upcoming season. UNF's home tournament was ranked the 11th best college tournament in the country last year, and this event is something that everyone on the team is looking forward to, Schroeder said.

Senior Michael O'Neal, dubbed a standout player by Schroeder, said he's getting ready for the season by participating in tournaments like the Gate Championship and by spending many hours practicing at the Golf Plex.

"I feel really excited, and I'm ready to go out there and just play," O'Neal said.

O'Neal said that playing the Gators at the University of Florida invitational is a game he's looking forward to.

Golf begins play on Feb. 9 in Gainesville, Fla. at the Gator Invitational while baseball starts on Feb. 22 at the Jacksonville Baseball Grounds against Mississippi State.

Contact Sarah Diener at sports@unfspinnaker.com --  PERMALINK -- TOP OF PAGE