Contact: Nate Weyant, Sports Information Director

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May 1 , 2006

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ROLLINS ATHLETIC HIGHLIGHTS

***MEN'S AND WOMEN'S GOLF TEAMS TEE OFF AT NCAA REGIONAL TOURNAMENTS

***SOFTBALL ENDS SEASON WITH SWEEP OVER LYNN

***BASEBALL DROPS THREE TO NOVA SOUTHEASTERN

***WOMEN'S TENNIS SET FOR TRIP TO NCAA REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

***VETERAN SWIM COACH RICH MORRIS NAMED DIRECTOR OF HEALTH EDUCATION

ROLLINS COLLEGE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

Nicole Anderson

Freshman – Softball

Brandon, Fla.

Freshman pitcher Nicole Anderson had a solid week for the Tars as she went 3-0 in the circle to lead Rollins to a season ending sweep of the defending national champions Lynn University. For the three games, Anderson pitched 17.2 innings, allowing only 14 hits, two runs and two walks while striking out 25 batters. Her ERA for the week was 0.79.

In the Friday afternoon series opener, Anderson allowed only one run on six hits to lead the Tars to a 7-1 victory. In the first game of the Saturday doubleheader, she entered the game with one out in the fourth and went on to hold the Fighting Knights scoreless to grab the 8-4 victory. She pitched all seven innings in the nightcap, surrendering only five hits, one run and one walk while striking out eight, as the Tars finished the series off with a 5-1 victory.

The Tars have completed their regular season schedule, finishing with an overall record of 45-16 and 14-10 in the Sunshine State Conference.

MEN'S AND WOMEN'S GOLF TEAMS TEE OFF AT NCAA REGIONAL TOURNAMENTS

Both Rollins men's and women's golf teams begin their runs through the 2006 NCAA Division II Championships today in South Region Tournaments. The defending regional champion men's team tees off at The Territory in Duncan, Oklahoma, while the three-time defending national champion women play at Stonebrook Golf Club in Pensacola, Florida.

All of the action for both tournaments can be followed live at www.golfstat.com .

MEN:

Rollins enters the regional tournament as the No. 4 seed in the eight-team field and holds a national ranking of seven in the latest GCAA/Bridgestone Coaches Poll. Last season, the Tars put together one of their best tournaments in recent years, rolling to a 15 shot victory at the South Regional in Valdosta, Georgia before taking sixth at the national tournament.

Senior and All-Sunshine State Conference performer Dan Walters leads the Tars on the year, sporting a 72.83 scoring average and a low round of 68. He has been playing the best golf of the season the past two tournaments, finishing runner up at the Southeastern Collegiate and winning the Sunshine State Conference Championship.

WOMEN:

The three-time defending National Champion and top ranked women's golf team begins their quest for an unprecedented fourth title this week. They finished sixth or better in every tournament the entire season, including four victories and a second place in five spring events. In the 2005 Regional Tournament, they made it look easy, winning by 48 strokes before scoring a 35 shot win at the National Tournament.

Three-time National Player of the Year and 2006 Sunshine State Conference Golfer of the Year Charlotte Campbell again leads the Tars this season. The senior recorded a 74.71 stroke average on the year and won three tournaments. Fellow senior Mariana De Biase is also having another fantastic season on the links after taking medalist honors at the Sunshine State Conference Championships last week. She ended the year with an even 75 average and finished eighth or better in every tournament.

SOFTBALL ENDS SEASON WITH SWEEP OVER LYNN

Last week:

Rollins 7, Lynn 1

Rollins 8, Lynn 4

Rollins 5, Lynn 1

Season Record: 45-16; 14-10 SSC

The Rollins softball team set a new record for wins under coach Michelle Frew, finishing the regular season with an overall mark of 45-16. The Tars traveled to Boca Raton last weekend and swept through the Fighting Knights in the three game series, outscoring the hosts 20-6.

Hurler Nicole Anderson earned wins in all three games, throwing 17.2 innings and surrendering just two runs. She scattered 14 hits and struck out 25 with just two walks.

Senior Kallie Jo Jones led the Rollins bats, hitting .375 with an RBI and three runs scored. Amanda DeFilippo hit .364 and crossed the plate twice while Kelly Cruz tallied five runs and two RBI.

In the opener, Rollins posted a 7-1 win over the defending national champs. The Tars out-hit the Fighting Knights 9-6 and used two big innings to grab win number 43 on the season. Rollins is now 43-16 on the season and 12-10 in Sunshine State Conference action, while Lynn falls to 24-24 overall and 7-15 in the conference.   Anderson pitched all seven innings for the Tars and surrendered only six hits, one run and no walks while striking out 10. The Fighting Knights lone run of the game was a line-drive home run over the left center field fence by Christina Rolla in the bottom of the first. Anderson and the Tars defense then held the Fighting Knights in check for the rest of the game. Cruz and DeFilippo both had two hits in the game, with Cruz going 2-4 with one RBI and one run scored, while DeFilippo went 2-3 with one run scored. Freshman Jamie Rausch led the team with two RBI while freshman Ashley East scored two runs.

In Saturday's twin-bill, the Tars took both games, 8-4 in game one and 5-1 in game two. Ingrid Schumacher led Rollins at the plate in the opener, going 2-2 with a pair of RBI. Cruz batted 1-3 with Stacy Sanders hitting 1-2 and each tallying an RBI. Anderson picked up the win in relief, tossing 3.2 scoreless innings.

Rollins cruised in the nightcap, as Anderson held Lynn to just five hits. Jones went 2-3 with a run scored and an RBI. Rausch blasted a two-run homer in the third and batted in another for a game high three RBI.  

BASEBALL DROPS THREE TO NOVA SOUTHEASTERN

Last week:

Nova Southeastern 16, Rollins 2

Nova Southeastern 10, Rollins 4

Nova Southeastern 7, Rollins 4

Season record: 25-24; 5-16 SSC

The Rollins baseball team was roughed up last week, dropping three to Sunshine State Conference foe Nova Southeastern. The Tars struggled on the mound and at the plate in the series and will look to bounce back this week as they will close their home slate against Lynn on May 5-6.

First baseman Stefano Foggi had a good week at the plate, hitting .429 with Jessie More batting an even .400 with two RBI. Gene Howard stayed above .400 on the season as he went 4-11 with a double and three runs batted in. On the mound, David Nathanson, Eduardo Chile and Mario Lombardo each took losses.

On Friday, Rollins rolled up 11 hits, but left nine men stranded and surrendered 17 hits to Nova Southeastern as the Sharks roughed up the Tars 16-2.   Junior third baseman Gene Howard shined bright for Rollins (25-22, 5-14 SSC), going 3-4 with an RBI and raising his season batting average to .417. Senior Brent Magnuson went 2-4 with Ryan McKenzie tallying an RBI double and scoring a run. David Nathanson suffered the loss on the hill, allowing 12 runs, 10 earned, on 12 hits with one strikeout and one walk in five innings of work. Michael Eppich and Mark Jigarjian also took the mound for Rollins. For Nova Southeastern, (28-19, 9-10 SSC) Antony Bello surrendered 11 hits and two runs, one earned while throwing all nine innings for the victory.

Rollins continued their struggles on Saturday as they fell behind early in both games and were never able to get rolling as they dropped both games by scores of 10-4 and 7-4 on Saturday. The Tars starters were roughed up for 18 hits and 14 runs, but just eight were earned as Rollins was also banged for a combined seven errors in the games. Jesse More led the Tars at the plate, going 4-7 with two RBI on the day. Stefano Foggi, Anthony Soto and Rob Cloar each tallied a pair of hits with Cloar notching three RBI and two runs scored. Shawn Langlois led Nova Southeastern (30-19; 11-10 SSC) at the plate, hitting 6-9 with an RBI and four runs scored. Eduardo Chile took the game one loss, allowing seven runs on eight hits in 3.1 innings of work. Jon Spier tossed seven strong for the Sharks, scattering eight hits and four runs in the winning effort. Mario Lomabardo was tagged with the game two loss, scattering 10 hits and allowing seven runs, just one of which was earned, with three strikeouts. Lou Leo was the winner in relief, allowing one hit in three innings.

The Tars will honor seniors Eduardo Chile, Rob Cloar and Brent Magnuson this weekend as they will host Lynn University in a Sunshine State Conference series. Game one is set for Friday, May 5 at 7 p.m. with Saturday's doubleheader slated for 1 p.m. at Alfond Stadium.

WOMEN'S TENNIS SET FOR TRIP TO NCAA REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

For the 12th straight season, the Rollins women's tennis team is headed to the NCAA Division II Tournament. The Tars will match up with Eckerd College on Thursday, May 5 at 12:30 p.m. in Miami Shores, Florida. The other half of the bracket features host Barry University and Florida Southern College. The finals of the Southeast Regional Tournament are slated for Friday, May 6 at 9:30 a.m.

Rollins finished the season ranked 12 th in the latest Fila/NCAA Division II National poll after sporting a record of 13-11. The Tars took fifth place in the Sunshine State Conference Tournament, falling to Nova Southeastern in the quarterfinals before posting two shutouts in the back draw. Rollins head coach Beverly Buckley tallied her 300 th career victory with the Tars 5-0 win over Florida Southern last Sunday.

Junior Tasi Purcell enters regionals at the nation's 14 th ranked singles player while doubles partner, sophomore Marnie Mahler, checks in at 27 th . Together they are ranked sixth in doubles play and number two in the region.

VETERAN SWIM COACH RICH MORRIS NAMED DIRECTOR OF HEALTH EDUCATION

Long-time Rollins College coach and faculty member, Rich Morris, Ed.D., has recently been named director of health education and student-athlete well-being, announced Rollins Director of Athletics Pennie Parker. Morris will continue to guide the Tars' nationally ranked men's and women's swim teams as well as the health and wellness curriculum and how it impacts campus health programming.  

“Rich's extensive background in health education and leadership ability will prove to be a large asset to not only the athletic department, but also the campus community,” said Parker.

Morris earned a B.S. in health and physical education in 1977 from Temple University. He then went on to receive a master's of health and physical education from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga in 1984 and a doctorate of education in exercise physiology from UCF in 1997.   Morris has coached the Rollins men's and women's swim teams for the past 14 seasons and led the program through their transition into the NCAA. In 2006, the Tars broke a combined nine records and finished runners-up at the Sunshine State Invitational.

"I am very excited for this opportunity," said Morris. "Our department strives to be the source of health and wellness for the campus, and this position gives me the ability to focus on that."