SPORTS

Inside the Huddle

Jason Yurgartis
Features Editor 		James Cannon II
Staff Writer 		Josh Salman
Managing Editor 		Herbert
Oldie, but Goodie
Which of UNF's fall sports teams has the best chance at a winning record in 2008?
Football. Though they may not technically have a winning record, it's a lock that they will once again go undefeated. Definitely the men's and women's soccer teams. After this year's UEFA tournament, the upcoming 2008 Olympics and the 2010 World Cup, it's definitely the time to be watching all forms of soccer. Because I have to pick one - women's soccer. Don't ask why. Shuffleboard is looking great this year. My great-great-granddaughter brought me a new cue for my 100th birthday.
The MLB All-Star weekend has passed, meaning the season is already more than half over. What's your early World Series prediction?
FOX will once again inexplicably annoy viewers with their inane play-by-play announcers. Is it too much to ask for Vin Scully to announce all MLB games? The Mets are looking promising; a nine game winning streak is nothing to scoff at. Boston is also looking like they will be a challenging team to beat this year. It'll be the Red Sox and the Cubs in the World Series. Only this time it'll be Chicago breaking a century old curse. Oh boy, time sure does fly by. I'm still all for the Cubs - ever since I was a boy.
Will the Dream Team regain their status as the best in the world this summer in Beijing?
Only if Mike Krzyzewski steps down as head coach and allows Gene Hackman to take the reigns as coach Norman Dale in "Hoosiers." Meh. I mean when Puerto Rico, Lithuania and Argentina embarrass us, I'm not too optimistic. I think they will. Coach K doesn't play, and this group seems to have more of a team concept than in years past. Kobe even said winning the gold was more important than the NBA title. The Dream Team, what is that?
Jaguars single game tickets for the 2008 season are scheduled to go on sale later this month. Will the team have the same problems with ticket sales and blackouts as last season?
The Jags will always have problems selling out because Jacksonville is a college football town. Most Jacksonvillians would rather watch footage of Tim Tebow circumcising young boys. I'm sure people aren't happy with the rumors about the Jaguars moving. We'll see how many people will be affected by a lackluster 2007 season and the recent arrest of Matt Jones for felony possession of cocaine. As long as the team's in Jacksonville they'll struggle to sell out games. As usual the fans will complain when they can't see their team on TV, and as usual it'll be their own fault. All you whippersnappers do anymore is sit in front of the TV. The team might win once in a while if you go out to a game and show some support!

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Osprey sports prepare for takeoff

Women's Soccer
Aug. 16 Rollins College Jacksonville, Fla. TBA
Aug. 22 University of South Florida Tampa, Fla. 7:30 p.m.
Aug. 24 College of Charleston Jacksonville, Fla. 12 p.m.
Sept. 9 Georgia State University Atlanta, Ga. 3 p.m.
Sept. 9 Florida International University Jacksonville, Fla. 2 p.m.
University of Northern Colorado Tournament
Sept. 12 Oregon State University Greeley, Colo. 4:30 p.m.
Sept. 16 Rider University Greeley, Colo. 11 a.m.
Troy University Tournament
Sept. 19 Troy University Troy, Ala. 3 p.m.
Sept. 21 Alabama A&M University Troy, Ala. 12 p.m.
Sept. 24 North Carolina State University Raleigh, N.C. 3 p.m.
Sept. 26* USC Upstate Jacksonville, Fla. 7 p.m.
Sept. 28* East Tennessee State University Jacksonville, Fla. 2 p.m.
Oct. 3* Mercer University Macon, Ga. 7p.m.
Oct. 5* Kennesaw State University Kennesaw, Ga. 2 p.m.
Oct. 10* Florida Gulf Coast University Jacksonville, Fla. 7 p.m.
Oct. 12* Stetson University Jacksonville, Fla. 2 p.m.
Oct. 18* Campbell University Jacksonville, Fla. 3 p.m.
Oct. 24* Belmont University Nashville, Tenn. 4:30 p.m.
Oct. 26* Lipscomb University Nashville, Tenn. 12 p.m.
Oct. 30* Jacksonville University Jacksonville, Fla. 7 p.m.


Men's Soccer
Aug. 20 Rollins College Jacksonville, Fla. 6 p.m.
UC Irvine Tournament
Aug. 30 University of California, Irvine Irvine, Calif. 10:30 p.m.ET
Sept. 1 Seattle University Irvine, Calif. 2:30 p.m. ET
Sept. 7 Gardner-Webb University Jacksonville, Fla. 12 p.m.
Evansville ProRehab Soccer Classic
Sept. 12 University of Evansville Evansville, Ind 8 p.m. ET
Sept. 14 Bradley University Evansville, Ind. 12 p.m. ET
Sept. 17 Georgia Southern University Statesboro, Ga. 4 p.m.
Sept. 20 Flagler College Jacksonville, Fla. 7 p.m.
Sept. 24 University of Central Florida Orlando, Fla. 7 p.m.
Oct. 3* East Tennessee State University Johnson City, Tenn. 4 p.m.
Oct. 5* USC Upstate Spartanburg, S.C. 2:30 p.m.
Oct. 9* Campbell University Jacksonville, Fla. 7 p.m.
Oct. 11* Mercer University Jacksonville, Fla. 7 p.m.
Oct. 14 Longwood University Jacksonville, Fla. 4 p.m.
Oct. 17* Florida Gulf Coast University Fort Myers, Fla. 5 p.m.
Oct. 19* Stetson University DeLand, Fla. 4 p.m.
Oct. 26* Jacksonville University Jacksonville, Fla. 7 p.m.
Oct. 31* Lipscomb University Jacksonville, Fla. 7 p.m.
Nov. 2* Belmont University Jacksonville, Fla. 1 p.m.
Nov. 8 Coastal Carolina University Jacksonville, Fla. 12 p.m.


Men's & Women's Cross Country
Aug. 29 Covered Bridge Open Boone, N.C. 5:30 p.m.
Sept. 12 UNF/JU XC Relays Jacksonville, Fla. 8 a.m.
Sept. 20 UF Gator Invitational Gainesville, Fla. TBA
Sept. 27 FSU Invitational Tallahassee, Fla. 7:30 a.m.
Oct. 11 Furman Invitational Greenville, S.C. 10:30 a.m.
Nov. 1 Atlantic Sun Championships Macon, Ga. TBA


Volleyball
Florida Atlantic Invitational
Aug. 29 University of Northern Iowa Boca Raton, Fla. 5 p.m.
Aug. 30 Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton, Fla. 12 p.m.
Aug. 30 Bethune-Cookman University Boca Raton, Fla. 5 p.m.
Florida State Invitational
Sept. 5 Florida State University Tallahassee, Fla. 6 p.m.
Sept. 6 South Dakota State University Tallahassee, Fla. 10 a.m.
Sept. 6 University of New Orleans Tallahassee, Fla. 4 p.m.
Sept. 9* Jacksonville University UNF Arena 7 p.m.
Sept. 12* Kennesaw State University UNF Arena 7 p.m.
Sept. 13* Mercer University UNF Arena 3 p.m.
Sept. 19* USC Upstate Spartanburg, S.C. 7 p.m.
Sept. 20* East Tennessee State University Johnson City, Tenn. 3 p.m.
Sept. 26* Lipscomb University UNF Arena 7 p.m.
Sept. 27* Belmont University UNF Arena 3 p.m.
Sept. 30 Bethune-Cookman University Daytona Beach, Fla. 6 p.m.
Oct. 4* Campbell University Buies Creek, N.C. 5 p.m.
Oct. 10* Stetson University Deland, Fla. 6 p.m.
Oct. 11* Florida Gulf Coast University Fort Myers, Fla. 5 p.m.
Oct. 17* Campbell University UNF Arena 7 p.m.
Oct. 18 Seattle University UNF Arena 3 p.m.
Oct. 24* Belmont University Nashville, Tenn. 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 25* Lipscomb University Nashville, Tenn. 3 p.m.
Oct. 28* Jacksonville University Swisher Gymnasium 7 p.m.
Oct. 31* East Tennessee State University UNF Arena 7 p.m.
Nov. 1* USC Upstate UNF Arena 3 p.m.
Nov. 7* Mercer University Macon, Ga. 7 p.m.
Nov. 8* Kennesaw State University Kennesaw, Ga. 4 p.m.
Nov. 14* Florida Gulf Coast University UNF Arena 7 p.m.
Nov. 15* Stetson University UNF Arena 3 p.m.
NCAA Division I Provisional Invitational
Nov. 21 Presbyterian College Spartanburg, S.C. 9 a.m.
Nov. 21 North Carolina Central University Spartanburg, S.C. 5 p.m.
Nov. 22 TBA Spartanburg, S.C. TBA
Nov. 22 TBA Spartanburg, S.C. TBA
* Denotes A-Sun Game

2007-2008 Fall sports in review

Volleyball
Coach: Kevin Campbell
Record: 4-26
Conference Record: 1-10
Conference Place: 12th

Men's Cross Country
Coach: Mark VanAlstyne
Conference Finish: 7th

Women's Cross Country
Coach: Mark VanAlstyne
Conference Finish: 3rd

Men's Soccer
Coach: Ray Bunch
Record: 8-9-0
Conference Record: 5-4-0
Conference Place: 4th

Women's Soccer
Coach: Linda Hamilton
Record: 8-11-1
Conference Record: 6-5-0
Conference Place: 6th


Fall Sports History

Men's Cross Country
First Season: 1983
Conference Championships: 4
All-Americans: 7

Women's Cross Country
First Season: 1983
Conference Championships: 5
All-Americans: 20

Volleyball
First Season: 1991
All-time Record: 397-152
Conference Championships: 8

Women's Soccer
First Season: 1996
All-time Record: 137-66-12
All-time A-Sun Record: 10-7-2
Conference Championships: 2

Men's Soccer
First Season: 1992
All-time Record: 1322-119-21
Conference Championships: 0

Compiled by Lori Bero PERMALINK -- TOP OF PAGE

Ozzie urges more support

With this being my first update, I'd like to start out by saying, "I truly dislike Dolphins."

OK, since that's out of the way, you should know your amazingly awesome mascot, Ozzie, has had a stellar summer. A few weeks ago, I traveled to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays stadium in St. Petersburg to take part in Raymond's Birthday Party, and getting a dozen mascots together in one place is guaranteed chaos.

A bunch of great mascots like Raymond from the Tampa Bay Rays, Lou Seal from the San Francisco Giants, Ace from the Toronto Blue Jays, T.D. from the Miami Dolphins, Stanley from the Florida Panthers and Stuff from the Orlando Magic got to hangout with yours truly for the day. I'm still recovering from an unplanned seventh inning "stretch." Ouch!

Now let's get down to business. The 2008-2009 UNF Athletics season is right around the corner, and we need to take action. We need more support from you, the students, this year.

I'm not talking about just basketball. We have a lot of sports on campus that need some attention. Men's and women's soccer, volleyball, track and field, swimming, golf, cross country, tennis, baseball, softball and men's and women's basketball all need support from you. I pledge to you I will be at as many events as one bird can attend, and I challenge you to do the same. Deal?

Lastly, my other regular section will be "Ask Ozzie." Go ahead and toss me what's on your mind. UNF Athletics questions, relationship troubles and investment concerns are just a few topics of my expertise. Send what you got to sports@unfspinnaker.com.

- Ozzie

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Budget cuts take toll on athletics

By Matt Hersch
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

With many UNF departments suffering from budget cuts, the athletic department is no exception to the rule.

The budget cuts create many challenges the athletic department must face, and it is likely the department will experience very little growth next year, said Kimberly Matthews, athletics business director.

Most of the department's budget comes from the athletic fee, which is included in students' tuition, Matthews said. Because of the budget cuts, some of the original projections related to the cost per student credit hour were restricted.

Student credit hours are the main aspect negatively affected by the state budget cuts as the cost per credit hour has increased. However, the budget cuts indirectly affect UNF athletics in several ways.

"The auxiliary overhead assessment was increased from 5 percent to 7 percent," Matthews said. "UNF is charged based off of revenue generated through the athletic fee. The 2 percent increase will cost the athletic department an additional $113,000."

The athletic department was also told to expect an increase in assessments of water and electricity for office and faculty use. This includes use of scoreboards, as well as field lights.

Additionally, when UNF decided to increase tuition to help compensate for the reduced state funding, this resulted in the athletic department being required to spend more of their allotted budget in order to maintain current scholarships, Matthews said. As a result, it limits the department from increasing the number of student athletes on scholarships, which affects the recruiting capabilities of UNF coaches.

Matthews said travel costs are also being affected because teams are required to travel to play visiting teams. The increase in fuel for airfares and charter buses downsizes the budget.

Contact Matt Hersch at sports@unfspinnaker.com  --  PERMALINK -- TOP OF PAGE

Enthusiasm mounts for upcoming season

By Laura Franco
STAFF WRITER

With summer more than halfway through, the fall UNF athletic teams are gearing up for their upcoming seasons. Here's what some coaches and players had to say about their predictions, goals and biggest match-ups for 2008-2009. Men's Soccer

The men's soccer team placed third in the Atlantic Sun Conference with an 8-9-0 record for the 2007-2008 season.

Head coach Ray Bunch hopes to place in the top three again this upcoming season and improve the team's overall finish while staying healthy and avoiding injuries.

Bunch believes the team will be stronger and more matured due to the seven or eight freshman and sophomores that started last year's games.

The team is working on getting more "clean sheets," which means no goals are scored from the other team in an entire game, said Matthew Hollyoak, team captain and sophomore defender.

"Hopefully we can score more goals from the back," Hollyoak said. "Overall, we want to be more solid in defense and more clinical in taking chances."

Bunch said he wants to spread goal scoring more evenly throughout the team, not just among several players.

As for their biggest match-up this fall, both Bunch and Hollyoak said although Jacksonville University is the team to beat, there is competition throughout the A-Sun conference.

"[JU is] our biggest rivalry, but we have many rivals in the A-Sun conference," Bunch said. "All games are competitive."

The team needs to look out for A-Sun teams such as Stetson University and Campbell University, Hollyoak said.

The 2008-2009 men's soccer season starts Aug. 20 against Rollins College. Women's Soccer

For the 2008-2009 season, the coaching staff will see the first recruiting class that they themselves have brought in play.

"It's positive to see," head coach Linda Hamilton said. "There are 13 new players overall, a mixture of freshman and transfers, but majority freshman."

Hamilton added the team is working on getting better from spring and getting a better understanding of the new coaching system.

"The team has a great shot of winning with our incoming freshman adding to the talent of our returnees," said senior Rachael Howard, the team's captain and goalkeeper.

One of the personal goals Howard is working on is to have more shutouts than last year.

As for the team, Howard said some of its goals are to win games by getting the lead early and maintaining it.

Hamilton said she hopes to see the team finish in the top three and use their non-conference games to prepare for the A-Sun conference tournament.

The University of South Florida, one of the non-conference teams, is a big match-up for UNF, Hamilton said.

"[USF is] our opening game," Hamilton said. "They're another Florida school and a non-conference team."

The team will also play Oregon State University and North Carolina State University, an ACC school the team is very excited to play, Hamilton said.

For Howard, the team's biggest match-ups are against Kennesaw State University and Georgia State University.

"Kennesaw State, because we've gotten close but never beat them," Howard said. "And Georgia State, because I know a lot of players from there and it'll be interesting to watch."

The women's soccer team opens their season Aug. 16 against Rollins College. Volleyball

One of the goals of the women's volleyball team is becoming a solid and stable team, especially considering the changes the program has undergone within the past year.

"For this coming season, with so many new players, our success will be determined by how quickly we come together," head coach Kevin Campbell said. "We will focus on working together during pre-season camp, in practice and with team-building activities. The sooner we come together, the more successful we are for the year."

There are scheduled to be six returnees and six to seven new players this season.

Key returnees are senior middle blocker Bary Rasmussen, sophomore middle blocker Kaley Read, and Madeline Belvin, a sophomore setter.

"The combination of our new and veteran players gives us the right balance of offense and defense," Campbell said. "I believe we can do very well this season."

Rasmussen said one of the goals she's working on is becoming a better leader and letting her voice be heard.

For the team, she said "it's all about accountability and not being selfish."

As for the team's biggest match-ups, Rasmussen said the team has a lot to prove against Florida Gulf Coast University.

"Last year, we traveled to their gym, and it was one of our worst games," Rasmussen said. "It was just bad attitudes, poor executions and not playing together as a team."

Florida State and Northern Iowa are strong teams UNF will play against in the pre-season, but JU is the team's biggest rival, Campbell said.

"We face [JU] as our first conference match," Campbell said. "It also happens to be our first home match, so we're hoping for a big crowd. It will be a very exciting game and a measure of how our team has come together at that point."

The JU game will be played Sept. 9 at win the UNF arena.

Contact Laura Franco at staff2@unfspinnaker.com --  PERMALINK -- TOP OF PAGE