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February 28 , 2006

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ROLLINS ATHLETIC HIGHLIGHTS

***WOMEN'S BASKETBALL COMPLETES FIRST EVER UNDEFEATED SEASON

***MEN'S BASKETBALL STANDS ALONE WITH CONFERENCE TITLE

***SUNSHINE STATE CONFERENCE BASKETBALL TOURNEY INFORMATION

***SWIM TEAMS RUNNERS-UP AT SUNSHINE STATE INVITATIONAL

***SOFTBALL TAKES TWO OF THREE FROM ECKERD

***WOMEN'S TENNIS GOES 3-1 IN VERY BUSY WEEK

***MEN'S TENNIS SPLITS PAIR OF SSC MATCHES

ROLLINS COLLEGE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

Jennifer Musgrove

Sophomore – Women's Basketball

Palm Bay, Fla.

Rollins College sophomore point guard Jennifer Musgrove had a solid final week of the regular season as the Tars preserved their perfect season to become the first ever undefeated Rollins basketball team. She posted a double-double in the Tars home finale victory over Florida Southern, netting 10 points and gathering a career high 12 rebounds. She willed Rollins to victory on the road against Nova Southeastern, scoring five of the Tars final eight points and blocking a Sharks three point attempt as the clock wound down. She will now lead the number one seeded Tars into the Sunshine State Conference Tournament on March 1-5 at Saint Leo where Rollins will look to win their third straight title and earn the automatic berth into the South Region Tournament.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL COMPLETES FIRST EVER UNDEFEATED SEASON

Last week:

Rollins 59, Florida Southern 42

Rollins 52, Nova Southeastern 47

Season record: 26-0; 16-0 SSC REGULAR SEASON CHAMPIONS

The dream season is reality as the Rollins women's basketball team permanently etched their names in the history books, becoming the only Rollins basketball team to complete a season undefeated. They are one of just five schools, nationwide, all divisions men or women, to have completed the season with a perfect record. They are also the first team in Sunshine State Conference history enter the tournament undefeated and are the 10 th team to run the table in the SSC, with the last being the Tars squad of 2003-04.

Rollins made it interesting down the stretch, however, playing two close games to close out the regular season.

They hosted Florida Southern on Wednesday and prior to the game honored seniors Joslyn Giles, Sally Johnston and Randi Weiss, who played their last game in Winter Park. Rollins was up the entire game and held back a determined Mocs team to post a 59-42 victory. The inside game of senior Giles and the perimeter play of sophomore Jen Musgrove led Rollins as each had stellar nights. Giles netted 18 points behind an 8-11 mark from the free throw line, while Musgrove recorded a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds. Senior Sally Johnston added nine points and nine rebounds. The stingy Tars defense held the Mocs to just 23.8 percent (15-63) shooting from the field, allowing Rollins to overcome an off night on offense as they connected on just 27 percent (13-48). Rollins owned a huge advantage on the boards, out-rebounding Florida Southern 54-36.

Maybe the Tars toughest test of the SSC season came on Saturday as they traveled to Nova Southeastern for a tangle with the Sharks. Nova battled the Tars the entire evening and had the game tied at 47-47 with just two minutes remaining. Johnston broke the tie with a free throw and Musgrove hit a lay-up to give Rollins a three point lead with 30 ticks left. Musgrove connected on a free throw to extend the lead to four and blocked a Sharks three point attempt to preserve the Rollins season with a 52-47 victory. Senior forward Joslyn Giles led the Tars with 13 points while senior guard Sally Johnston and sophomore guard Jennifer Musgrove each added 10 points.

The Tars enter this week's Sunshine State Conference Tournament as the number one seed and are seeking their third straight title. They begin their run on Friday, March 2 against the winner of the Eckerd/Florida Southern game at 5 p.m. From there they will play at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 4 with the championship game at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 5, which will be broadcast LIVE on Sun Sports.

Rollins Wins SSC Championship

MEN'S BASKETBALL STANDS ALONE WITH CONFERENCE TITLE

Last week:

Rollins 76, Florida Southern 68

Nova Southeastern 79, Rollins 57

Season record: 20-7; 12-4 SSC – SSC REGULAR SEASON CHAMPIONS

Picked to finish seventh in the Sunshine State Conference preseason poll, the Rollins men's basketball team shocked the conference by grinding out win after win and captured the outright SSC regular season title, their fifth in program history. The team comprised of blue-collar, hard working players finishes the year 20-7 overall and 12-4 in the SSC and are the number one seed going into this week's championship tournament.

The Tars claimed at least a share of the regular season title with a huge home win over Florida Southern in the home finale. The Mocs stayed close the entire game, but Rollins hit big shots down the stretch to post a 76-68 win and close out the Alfond Sports Center season on an upswing. The Tars got a big performance from sophomore point guard Jonny Reibel. Reibel led the team with 23 points on the night on 8-11 shooting from the floor including 6-8 from the 3 point line. Junior forward Isaac Codrey went for 14 points and four assists on 5-8 shooting from the floor. Junior guard John Thinnes netted 10 points and five assists. And reserve guard Kevin Hogan added eight points and five assists on the evening.

Rollins then headed to Ft. Lauderdale and Nova Southeastern with the mindset that that they would have to win to stand alone atop the final conference standings. Prior to the game, however, Nova Southeastern announced that Eckerd had beaten Lynn in overtime, which handed Rollins the outright SSC title. The celebration was short lived as Rollins got to work and couldn't overcome a tough Sharks squad, falling 79-57. Leading the Tars was junior John Thinnes with 11 points. Sophomores Jonny Reibel and Chauncey Gibbs and freshman Kevin Hogan each added eight apiece.

Rollins heads into the Sunshine State Conference Tournament looking to hoist the trophy for just the second time in school history as they won in the 1990-1991 season. The top seeded Tars match-up with the winner of the Saint Leo/Florida Tech game on Thursday, March 2 at 7:30 p.m. Their semi-final contest will be Saturday, March 4 at 2:30 p.m. with the finals taking place on Saturday, March 5 at 1 p.m. The finals will be broadcast LIVE on Sun Sports.

Rollins Wins SSC Championship

SUNSHINE STATE CONFERENCE BASKETBALL TOURNEY INFORMATION

• Rollins College Men and Women Claim #1 Seeds
• Saint Leo University to Host All 16 Games March 1-5
• Men's and Women's Championship Games to be Televised LIVE by Sun Sports
CLICK HERE FOR OFFICIAL TOURNAMENT WEB SITE http://www.sunshinestateconference.com/bbtourn06.html

Pairings have been set for the opening and quarterfinal rounds of the 2006 Sunshine State Conference Men's and Women's Basketball Championships which will be hosted by Saint Leo University. All nine men's teams and all nine women's teams will compete for their respective SSC basketball tournament championships. A total of 16 games--eight men's contests and eight women's games--will be played at the Marion Bowman Activities Center on the Saint Leo campus over a five-day stretch from Wednesday, March 1 through Sunday, March 5.

SWIM TEAMS RUNNERS-UP AT SUNSHINE STATE INVITATIONAL

Last week:

Men – 2 nd of five teams at Sunshine State Invitational

Women – 2 nd of five teams at Sunshine State Invitational

The second annual Sunshine State Invitational lived up to the hype as swimmers from the state's Division II schools battled it out and gave participants a last chance to qualify for nationals. The 25 th ranked Rollins men were very successful and totaled 775 points to finish second behind the University of Tampa (898). Florida Southern came in third (454), Saint Leo was fourth (201) and Embry Riddle's club team finished fifth (30). On the women's side, the Tars were runners-up with 631 points, finishing behind Tampa with 1,016 points. Florida Southern was a close third with 630 points, followed by Saint Leo in fourth (306) and Embry-Riddle in fifth (33).

Four Rollins men stood out from the crowd, led by distance swimmer Jeff Mueller with two victories. The freshman won the mile in 16:39.82 and also posted a victory in the 400 IM with a time of 4:12.33. He also took second place in the 500 freestyle relay and was part of the Tars runner-up 400 medley relay team. Junior Trevor Hughes reached a NCAA B cut, winning the 100 butterfly in 50.67 and finished third in the 200 butterfly in 1:59.85. Hughes also swam a leg in the Tars runner up 200 freestyle relay (1:27.13), 400 medley relay (3:35.47) and 200 medley relay (1:37.19). He was joined on the 200 free and 200 medley relay by senior Bill Burris. Swimming in his last meet for the Blue and Gold, Burris also took second place in the 50 freestyle in a time of 21.19, reaching the NCAA B standard, was third in the 100 backstroke in 55.50, third in the 100 freestyle with a time of 47.31 and was part of the Tars runner up 400 freestyle relay team. Chris Sparks also had a great weekend for Rollins, winning the 200 breaststroke in 2:12.77, taking third in the 100 breaststroke in 1:02.00 and swimming a leg in each of the Tars 400 medley and 200 medley relay teams. Daniel Paulling picked up a win for Rollins, touching the wall first in the 1000 freestyle in a time of 10:21.83.

Joing Burris and Hughes on the 200 freestyle relay was Jonathan Mastin and Carson Nicely with Mastin also taking part in the 200 medley relay and 400 freestyle relay. Nicley swam the 400 free relay, 400 medley relay and joined Paulling, Sean Thomas and Sean Alexander to take second place in the 800 freestyle relay with Alexander also swimming the 400 freestyle relay.

The women's side turned out to be a battle between rivals Rollins and Florida Southern, who split their two match-ups earlier in the year. The clash lived up to its billing with Rollins winning by just a single point. Freshman Jessica Rothbiend tallied four second place finishes and a third. She was part of the Tars runner up 200 freestyle relay (1:42.36), 400 medley relay (4:10.71) and 200 medley relay (1:.53.63). Individually, she took third in the 100 breaststroke in 1:08.44 and second in the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:28.30. Corie Kelley swam a leg each in the 400 and 200 medley relay teams and was also the runner up in the 100 butterfly with a time of 1:00.12, just .06 out of first place. Andrea Bartman earned a third place finish for the Tars, finishing the 1000 freestyle in 11:31.87.

Ashley Hunsberger had a part in each of the Tars relays, joining Amanda Terr, Casey Capron and Rothbiend in the 200 freestyle relay, teaming with Rothbiend, Kelly and Capron in the 400 medley relay and teaming with Rothbiend, Kelly and Terr in the 200 medley relay.

The Sunshine State Invitational concludes the Tars 2005-06 season.  

SOFTBALL TAKES TWO OF THREE FROM TAMPA

Last week:

Tampa 1, Rollins 0

Rollins 3, Tampa 2

Rollins 4, Tampa 2

Season record: 6-1, 2-1 SSC

After a long break, the Rollins softball team got back into action with a three game set at Tampa, taking two of the games. They split Saturday's doubleheader with UT, losing the first 1-0 and winning the latter game 3-2. Tars freshman phenom, starting pitcher Nicole Anderson pitched both games for the Tars keeping the Spartan hitters in check all day. Anderson struck out 15 hitters in a combined 13 innings worth of work while allowing three runs, only one of which was earned, on five hits. The Tars' bats were silenced in the first game as they were no hit by Devlin Dougherty. However, they were able to recover in the second game as the Tars posted seven hits and three runs to earn a 3-2 victory.

The Rollins hitters were baffled by Spartan starter Devlin Dougherty in the first game. Dougherty was masterful, going the full seven innings striking out eight and not allowing a single hit in the shutout. Dougherty only allowed two base runners the entire game. Lead-off hitter Jennifer Olsen reached on a walk and Rachel Almengual reached on an error by the shortstop. Tars starting pitcher Nicole Anderson (2-1) had a good outing as well. Anderson gave up two infield singles and one unearned run while striking out seven over six innings. The Spartans got their only run of the game in the second inning. Kelly Glover reached base on a bunt single and would later score on a throwing error by Nicole Anderson. Dougherty took care of the rest.

The Tars' bats came alive in the second inning of the second game. The Tars pushed across three runs on five hits off of starter Sam Becker in the second. Sophomore center fielder Jennifer Olsen got a RBI single, freshman outfielder Ashley East added a RBI single, and junior utility player Amanda DeFilipo also added a RBI single. Anderson was able to take care of the rest. The freshman struck out eight Spartans and gave up only three hits on the way to her fourth straight complete game.

It was all Rollins in the series finale as the Tars rolled to a 4-2 victory. Rollins scattered nine hits on the afternoon but left eight on base. However, the Tars got timely hitting when they needed it and Nicole Anderson pitched very well en route to her third win.

Rollins got a big effort offensively from right fielder Jamie Rausch who went 2-3 with two runs scored and a RBI double. First baseman Stacy Saunders also had two hits as she went 2-4 with two doubles and a RBI. Nicole Anderson got into early trouble in the first when she gave up two runs. But from there she put it in cruise control once again. Pitching in her third straight game, Anderson gave up only two hits after the first inning. She pitched her fifth consecutive complete game, striking out ten batters and walking none.

Tampa got the scoring started in the first inning when pitcher Sam Becker launched a triple to right center, plating two. Rollins got one back in the second on a RBI double by Saunders and then tied it up with an unearned run in the fourth. The Tars took the lead in the sixth on an Amanda DeFilipo single. They would add an insurance run in the seventh on a double by Jamie Rausch.

The Tars will be back in action on February 28 when they will host LeMoyne for a double header. First pitch is scheduled for 6:00 pm at Lake Island Park.

WOMEN'S TENNIS GOES 3-1 IN VERY BUSY WEEK

Last week:

Rollins 9, Saint Leo 0

Rollins 9, Florida Tech 0

Nova Southeastern 7, Rollins 2

Rollins 9, Tampa 0

Season record: 5-4, 3-2 SSC

It was a very busy week for the Rollins women's tennis team as they had their ups and downs, falling to a tough Nova Southeastern team and posting three shutout victories. The Tars scored one of the shutout wins against Saint Leo to kick off the week. Each of the three doubles matches ended with Rollins winning 8-2. Sonia Bernal and Tasi Purcell took the No. 1 match over Asmaa Tazi and Carrie Leitch while Marnie Mahler and Silvia Frandji downed Danielle Liozzo and Morgan Mander in the No. 2 position. Cassie Webster and Anaystasiya Shevchenko took care of the No. 3 doubles match, defeating Ashley Johansen and Nikki Prack. Rollins put on a show in singles play as they surrendered just four total games in the six matches. Fifteenth ranked Purcell downed Tazi 6-2, 6-1 in the No. 1 match with Webster taking care of Mander 6-0, 6-1 in the No. 6 position. Mahler, who is ranked 42 nd in the nation, blanked Leitch 6-0, 6-0 in the No. 2 match with Shevchenko defeating Loizzo 6-0, 6-0 in the No. 3 position. Bernal scored a shutout win over Johansen at No. 4 singles while Frandji also had a clean sweep, downing Prack 6-0, 6-0 in the No. 5 slot.

The dominance continued in Rollins' big 9-0 win over Florida Tech. The seventh ranked doubles tandem of Tasi Purcell and Marnie Mahler downed Belen Pandre and Michaela Horvathova 8-1 in the No. 1 doubles match with Sonia Bernal and Anastasiya Shevchenko taking Nicole David and Viktorija Bredelyte in the No. 2 match, also by a score of 8-1. Silvia Frandji and Cassie Webster scored a shutout, beating Stephanie Monaco and Kimoya Tucker 8-0 in the No. 3 position.   Mahler, the 42 nd ranked player in the nation, moved to No. 1 singles for the first time this season and defeated Horvathova 6-2, 6-1. Frandji downed Bredelyte 6-0, 6-1 in the No. 4 match with Webster taking Monaco 6-1, 6-0 in the No. 5 match. Newcomer Melanie Beck, playing in her first match of the year, blanked Rohrbach 6-0, 6-0 in the No. 6 singles position. The No. 2 and No. 3 singles matches each went to super tiebreakers with the Tars coming out on top in both. Shevchenko defeated Pandre 3-6, 6-3 (10-7) at No. 2 with Bernal winning the No. 3 match 6-2, 4-6 (10-0) over David.

Saturday was a trip to Nova Southeastern and a match-up with the surprising Sharks. The Tars could never get any momentum going and fell 7-2. Tasi Purcell and Marnie Mahler were back in dominating form as they took the No. 1 doubles match 8-3 over Alexa Korotkevich and Ulia Talalenko. That would be all the visitors would get in doubles, however, as the duo of Tsippy Waterman and Andrea Moncada downed Sonia Bernal and Anastasiya Shevchenko 8-3 in the No. 2 match and Jessica Homerlein and Anna Schmidtmann took Cassie Webster and Silvia Frandji 8-4 at No. 3 doubles. The Tars normally tough singles unit struggled on the day, dropping five of the six matches. Bernal was the lone winner for Rollins, scoring a victory in the No. 4 match over Moncada 6-3, 5-7, 10-3. Korotkevich downed Purcell 6-2, 6-4 in the No. 1 match while Talalenko defeated Mahler 6-3, 6-1 in the No. 2 position and Waterman downed Shevchenko 6-4, 6-3 in the No. 3 slot. Schmidtmann won the No. 5 singles match over Frandji 6-2, 6-2 and Homerlein defeated Webster 6-1, 6-4 in the No. 6 position.

The weekend ended with a swing over to Tampa as the Tars rebounded with a 9-0 victory against the Spartans. Rollins grabbed an early advantage with big wins in the top two doubles matches. The team of Marnie Mahler and Tasi Purcell downed Necat Akman and Allison Beck 8-2 in the No. 1 position while Sonia Bernal and Cassie Webster defeated Lindsay Pine and Heather Eli 8-0 in the No. 2 match. The No. 3 match of Anastasiya Shevchenko and Silvia Frandji against Caitlin Scudder and Katie McCabe was played very tight with Rollins coming out on top, 9-8 (3). Singles play was all Rollins as the Tars easily won five of the six matches and pulled out a close one in the No. 4 position. Purcell shutout Akman 6-0, 6-0 in the No. 1 match while Mahler took Sarah Belaidi 6-0, 6-1 at the No. 2 position. Bernal picked up win number four in a row with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Pine in No. 3 singles and Shevchenko came out with a 1-6, 7-6(5), 1-0(1) win over Scudder in the No. 4 match. Frandji took the No. 5 match 6-1, 6-3 over Beck and Webster won 6-3, 6-2 over Riki Yonack in the No. 6 position for the Tars.

Rollins returns to action on Wednesday, March 1 with a trip to St. Augustine and Flagler College. Competition is schedule to begin at 3 p.m.

MEN'S TENNIS SPLITS PAIR OF SSC MATCHES

Last week:

Rollins 9, Saint Leo 0

Lynn 6, Rollins 3

Season record: 3-4, 1-1 SSC

It was a tale of two matches as Rollins opened the week by jumping all over Saint Leo to the tune of 9-0, but couldn't overcome a powerful Lynn squad, falling 6-3 at home.

Against Saint Leo, the Tars were hitting on all cylinders from the start, taking a quick 3-0 lead after doubles. Carlos Custodio and David Tafur defeated Mike DiGiacomo and Neil Watson 8-4 in the No. 1 match while Brian Compton and Jonathan Gomez took Tommy Haller and David Farinez 8-6 at the No. 2 position. Adrian Tan and Mike Compton scored an 8-2 win in the No. 3 match over Greg Strange and Saif Noorsumar.

Rollins continued to roll in singles play as they took each match in straight sets. Nineteenth ranked Custodio downed DiGiacomo 6-3, 6-2 in the No. 1 match with Tan keeping his unbeaten streak alive with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Haller in the No. 2 position. Tafur, the 48 th ranked singles player in the nation, won the No. 3 match 6-1, 6-3 over Watson while Brian Compton took the No. 4 singles match 6-3, 6-3 over Farinez. Gomez downed Strange 6-1, 6-0 at No. 5 and Schwartz took Noorsumar 6-1, 6-4 at No. 6 to complete the Tars third straight win.

The Lynn match was a different story as the Fighting Knights were just too much for the Tars. Rollins dropped two of three doubles matches with the team of Brian Compton and Jonathan Gomez winning the No. 2 match for the Tars, downing Regnier Azevedo and Dennis Verduin 8-3. Carlos Custodio and David Tafur dropped an 8-3 decision to Jan Macko and Lorenzo Cava in the No. 1 double match while Adrian Tan and Mike Compton fell 8-3 to Dennis Riegraf and Julien Carsuzaa at the No. 3 position.

Jonathan Gomez, who dropped his first three matches of the year, picked up win number four in a row with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Azevedo in No. 5 singles. Albin Hubscher scored a victory for the Tars in the No. 6 singles match, defeating Tom Whittaker 6-3, 6-2.

Lynn's Cava upset nineteenth ranked Carlos Custodio 6-2, 6-2 in the No. 1 singles match with Carsuzaa handing Tan his first collegiate loss and stopping his winning streak at six with a 6-1, 6-4 win at No. 2 singles. Eighteenth ranked Riegraf defeated #48 Tafur 6-2, 6-1 in the No. 3 singles match while Macko downed Brian Compton 6-3, 6-7(4), 10-8 in the No. 4 singles match-up.

Rollins will return to action on Tuesday, February 28 with a trip to Daytona and a match-up with Embry-Riddle, the fourth ranked team in NAIA. Competition is schedule to begin at 2:30 p.m.

NEWS AND NOTES

ROLLINS HONORS TWO VERY SPECIAL MEN TO TARS ATHLETICS AT ANNUAL SCHOLARSHIP GALA

The Rollins Athletic Department held the annual Scholarship Gala to benefit Rollins student-athletes last Saturday, which was deemed a huge success by all in attendance. At the event, which was emceed by Central Florida News 13 Sports Director Denise Cullen, Rollins benefaction Harold Alfond was awarded the Alfond Award of Exellence and legendary coach Boyd Coffie was honored with the Distinguished Achievement in Athletic Award.

Click here to view the program

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 . 

http://www.rollins.edu/athletics/documents/2006myersmillerflyer_000.pdf