Contact: Nate Weyant, Sports Information Director

407-646-2661

January 23 , 2006

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ROLLINS ATHLETIC HIGHLIGHTS

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***MEN'S BASKETBALL RED HOT ON THE ROAD

***WOMEN'S BASKETBALL MAKES IT 15 STRAIGHT WINS

***SWIM TEAMS SPLIT IN DOUBLE DUAL

***SSC ANNOUNCES BASEBALL/SOFTBALL PRESEASON POLLS

***NEWS AND NOTES

ROLLINS COLLEGE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

Jen Musgrove

Sophomore – Women's Basketball

Palm Bay, Fla./Melbourne Central Catholic

Point guard Jen Musgrove has stepped up as the floor general for the Rollins women's basketball team and is a big reason the Tars are off to a 15-0 start. The sophomore filled up the stat sheet last week, averaging 12 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game. Against Tampa, she poured in 11 points and pulled down six boards while also dishing out seven assists and nabbing two steals. Musgrove rolled up 13 points in the Tars win at Barry on Saturday to go along with five rebounds, three steals and two blocks. On the season, she is scoring 8.7 points per game, which ranks third best on the team.

MEN'S BASKETBALL RED HOT ON THE ROAD

Last week:

Rollins 67, Tampa 60

Rollins 71, Barry 58

Record: 11-5; 5-2 SSC

The Rollins College Road Warriors notched a pair of huge Sunshine State Conference victories last week, taking care of Tampa and Barry away from the friendly confines of the Alfond Sports Center. As has become their forte, the Tars put together timely runs to knock opponents back on their heels and were hot from the field when the game was on the line. The wins move the Blue and Gold to 11-5 overall and more importantly, 5-2 in the Sunshine State Conference, just one game back of second place Nova Southeastern.

Rollins couldn't have asked for a better start to the Tampa game as the Tars stifling defense held the SSC's best offense, who averaged nearly 80 points a game, to just 19 in the first half in the 67-60 victory. A master of the zone defense, coach Tom Klusman jammed up the middle and UT resorted to low percentage, long-range shots. Rollins, however, had their offense clicking and took a 17-5 lead after the first 10 minutes. Tampa began to score toward the end of the half, but the Tars matched every bucket and grabbed a 36-19 advantage heading into the break. The Tars extended the lead to 21 points in the middle of the second half as a Tampa player was ejected for a scuffle, which resulted in four straight points for Rollins. Tampa went on to out-score Rollins 32-18 down the stretch, but offensive rebounds and clutch free throws sealed up the Tars victory.

Point guard Jonny Reibel (Chicago, Ill/Hoffman Estates) poured in a career high 25 points to go along with six rebounds, five assists and four steals. The sophomore was 6-11 from the floor (4-8 three pointer) and 9-10 from the charity stripe. Isaac Codrey (Winter Park, Fla./Lake Howell) and John Thinnes (Cincinnati, Ohio/La Salle) each rolled up nine points for Rollins with Deon Troupe (St. Petersburg, Fla./St. Petersburg) chipping in seven.

Saturday brought a trip to south Florida as Rollins took advantage of a depleted Barry squad and came home with a 71-58 win. The Bucs came out firing and took an eight point lead seven minutes in. Rollins came charging back and after lay-ups by Gregg Sweeney (Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Xavier) and Thinnes, the Tars grabbed a 20-19 lead. Barry took a four point lead late, but seven straight points from Rollins, capped off with a Codrey trey with three second left, gave the Tars a 29-26 halftime lead. Rollins rolled in the second half, shooting 52 percent (12-23) from the field and 84 percent (16-19) from the charity stripe for the 13 point win.

The Tars were led by Codrey, who finished with 15 points on 4-6 shooting. Junior forward Jon Smith (Hamilton, Ohio/Hamilton) finished with a season high 13 points on 4-5 shooting. Junior guard Troupe netted 13 points while grabbing four rebounds. Junior center Jordan Kolosey (St. Petersburg, Fla.) had one of his best games of the season as he finished with eight points and three boards. 

Rollins will hook up with Palm Beach Atlantic in a non-conference match-up on Tuesday, January 14 in West Palm Beach. The Sailfish are 4-16 on the year and have dropped their last three. PBA is 3-11 versus the SSC this season with a pair of wins over Florida Tech and a three point win against Saint Leo. Rollins is finally back at home on Saturday, January 28 as they will host Nova Southeastern in a mammoth Sunshine State Conference contest. The Sharks are 5-1 in the conference and in second place, one slot above the Tars. NSU has won five straight and will match-up with Florida Southern on Wednesday before traveling to Winter Park. Tip off is set for 4 p.m. at the Alfond Sports Center.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL MAKES IT 15 STRAIGHT WINS

Last week:

Rollins 71, Tampa 58

Rollins 76, Barry 60

Record: 15-0, 7-0 SSC

The Rollins women's basketball team continues to easily dispose of opponents and roll through the schedule as they passed a pair of tests on the road with flying colors last week. The Tars outlasted Tampa 71-58 on Wednesday and came back with a 76-60 win over Barry on Saturday. The victories set a new school record for most consecutive wins to begin a season as Rollins is now 15-0 and ranked 10 th in the nation. The win over Tampa gives Glenn Wilkes' squad a two game cushion in the SSC standings as UT fell to 4-2 while Rollins sits at 7-0.

The Blue and Gold were hot from long range to begin the contest at Tampa, jumping ahead 13-8 early. The Spartans came back and knotted the score at 14 apiece until Jen Dyer (Wake Forest, N.C./Wake Forest-Rolesville), came off the bench and gave the Tars some instant offense to put the Tars up by seven with 90 seconds left in the half. UT, however, rolled off five unanswered points to end the period and made the score 34-32 at the break. They continued their run into the second half and took a one point lead before five straight points from Jen Musgrove (Palm Bay, Fla./Melbourne Central Catholic) gave Rollins the lead for good. Tampa threatened late and cut the lead to four with five minutes remaing, but the Tars converted from the line down the stretch and came out on top, 71-58.

Senior forward Joslyn Giles (Winter Haven, Fla./Winter Haven) once again paced the Tars with 14 points while freshman guard Dyer added 13. Junior forward Larissa McDonough (Ormond Beach, Fla./Father Lopez) led the Tars with a game high nine rebounds and tied her career high with four blocks. Musgrove continued her steady ways and set a new career high with seven assists.

The Tars matched up with a pesky Barry squad on Saturday and had trouble putting the Bucs away, but were once again solid when it counted and earned their 15 straight win with a 76-60 victory. Rollins had trouble shaking the hosts from the beginning as they held a slim one point lead five minutes in. That all changed when the Tars' spark from the bench, Jen Dyer, entered the game and 9-4 run to put Rollins up six. They were able to push the lead to double-digits three times only to see Barry come back and get close. The two teams went into the break with Rollins holding a 39-32 lead. The advantage ballooned to 13, 56-43, behind a Giles lay-up with 12:35 to go, but a slew of Tars turnovers brought Barry back into the game as they pulled to within four, 56-52 with just eight minutes to go. Barry then began to foul the quicker Tars and the visitors connected on 9-11 free throws down the stretch for the 16 point victory.

Senior forward Joslyn Giles finished with a career high 23 points on 10-17 shooting from the field. Her consistent scoring kept the Tars afloat throughout. Sophomore guard Jennifer Musgrove finished with 13 points, three steals and five rebounds. Junior forward Larissa McDonough finished with 10 points on 3-9 shooting. And freshman guard Jennifer Dyer netted 10 points on 4-7 shooting.

The 15-0 Tars travel to 5-12 Palm Beach Atlantic on Tuesday, January 24 as they have a break from the rugged Sunshine State Conference schedule. The Lady Sailfish have won four of their last five, including an 81-54 victory over Clearwater Christian in their last outing. On Saturday, Rollins will match-up with the very strong Nova Southeastern Sharks at 2 p.m. in Winter Park. NSU sits at 3-3 in the SSC and 10-7 overall.

SWIM TEAMS SPLIT IN DOUBLE DUAL

Last week:

WOMEN:

Rollins 88, Saint Leo 32/Tampa 73, Rollins 41

MEN:

Rollins 108, Saint Leo 8/Tampa 70, Rollins 50

Both the Rollins men's and women's swim teams defeated Saint Leo handily, but fell short against nationally ranked Tampa in a double dual on Saturday. In the men's competition, the Tars beat the Lions 108-8 and lost to host UT 71-50 while the Rollins women handled Saint Leo 88-32 and came up short against the Spartans 73-41.

Freshman Jessica Rothbiend (Pinehurst, N.C./The O'Neal School) scored a pair of second place finishes and swam a leg in the Tars two relay teams to lead the women on the day. She stopped the clock at 1:10.9 in the 100 breaststroke and went 2:32.0 in the 200 breaststroke, each runner-up finishes. Rothbiend teamed with Hillary Rose (Wellesley, Mass./The Winsor School), Corie Kelly (Longwood, Fla./Lake Brantley) and Ashley Hunsberger (New Britain, Pa./Central Bucks West) to take third place in the 200 yard medley in 1:59.5 and hooked up with Hunsberger, Kelly and Casey Capron (Avon, N.J./St. Rose) for third place in the 200 freestyle relay (1:47.0).

Rose added a third place finish in the 200 backstroke in 2:24.2 with Kelly taking third in the 100 butterfly with a time of 1:04.7. Distance swimmer Andrea Bartman (York, Pa./Roland Park Country Day) had a successful day for Rollins, taking third in the 1000 freestyle (11:47.6) and third in the 500 freestyle (5:47.9). Christine Mosher (Chester Va./Thomas Dale) was the third place finisher in the 200 IM, touching the wall in 2:29.1.

The men's stellar freestyle corps had an unusually quiet day, but the Tars still gathered a large amount of points in other events.

Bill Burris (Moorestown, N.J./Moorestown), Chris Sparks (Wilmington, Del./The Tatnal School), Trevor Hughes (Long Beach, N.Y./Long Beach) and Carson Nicely (Knoxville, Tenn./Bearden) took second place in the 200 medley relay in 1:43.2 to begin the day. Sparks then won the 200 yard breaststroke in 2:22.2 and took second in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:05.2 to highlight the Tars individual effort. Alex Richmond (Palm City, Fla./Martin County) was also a winner for Rollins, taking the 200 backstroke in 2:13.1 with teammate P.J. Dandridge (Gilbertsville, Pa./Perkiomen School) in second place with a time of 2:21.3. Jeff Mueller (Tampa, Fla./Tampa Prep) emerged as the third victorious Tar, winning the 500 in 4:57.9 while also taking second in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:51.3.

Daniel Paulling (Greenville, Tenn./Greenville) rolled up a pair of runner-up finishes, taking second in the 1000 freestyle in 10:30 and second in the 200 butterfly in 2:08.3. His mark in the 1000 was easily his top time of the season and was just 10 ticks out of first place. Other top finishers for Rollins were Bill Burris in the 50 freestyle (3 rd ; 22.0), John Shedd (Daytona Beach, Fla./Trinity Catholic) in the 200 IM (3 rd ; 2:11.2), Tyler Maddox (Indianapolis, Ind./Brebauf Jesuit) in the 200 breaststroke (3 rd ; 2:41.0) and Paul Wahbe (Townson, Md./Loyola) in the 500 freestyle (3 rd ; 5:14.6). The Tars ended on a high note as the 200 freestyle relay team of Burris, Nicely, Hughes and Jonathan Mastin took third in a time of 1:30.3.

The Rollins men's and women's swim teams are again on the road for their next meet. They will travel to Georgia for a clash with Savannah College of Art and Design on Saturday, January 28.

SSC ANNOUNCES BASEBALL/SOFTBALL PRESEASON POLLS

Baseball tapped fourth/Softball chosen fifth

SOFTBALL:

The Rollins College softball team, coming off a sixth place finish last year, was picked fifth in the 2006 Sunshine State Conference preseason poll. The Tars gathered 92 points in the poll, which was conducted among the SSC's coaches and Sports Information Directors. Rollins is under the direction of head coach Michelle Frew, who will be entering her 10 th season with Rollins. She will be seeking her 300 th victory this season as she comes in with a record of 276-171.

SSC Poll
1. Florida Southern, 23 (14)

2. Saint Leo, 44 (2)

3. Lynn, 54 (2)

4. Barry, 87

5. Rollins, 93

6. Tampa, 102

7. Florida Tech, 118

8. Nova Southeastern, 131

9. Eckerd, 129

BASEBALL:

The new look Rollins baseball team, coming off two straight postseason appearances, was picked fourth in the 2006 Sunshine State Conference preseason poll. Rollins tallied 90 points, which was headlined by defending National Champion Florida Southern. First year head coach Jon Sjogren will sport a young but talented lineup this season to go along with one of the best all-around pitching staffs in the SSC. Sjogren headed up the Bryant University program the past 15 years, which included a victory over Rollins in the 2005 NCAA World Series.

SSC Poll:

1. Florida Southern, 23 (14)

2. Tampa, 32 (4)

3. Lynn, 69

4. Rollins, 90

5. Barry, 95

6. Nova Southeastern, 95

7. Saint Leo, 120

8. Florida Tech, 130

9. Eckerd 156

NEWS AND NOTES

SAVE THE DATE!! – MYERS-MILLER TEAM GOLF TOURNAMENT

The annual Myers-Miller Rollins Team Golf Tournament will be held this year on Monday, April 24th at Interlachen Country Club .  Save the date and look for more information next week at www.rollins.edu/athletics .  This will be a tournament you will not want to miss!