4107
Boys' netters hopes to repeat championship
_ J oseph M iller
number-one
player of the
Staff Reporter
For the
the Boys' ^
Team has l
capturing
League tit]
State Chari
and in 200
hope to re]
in attainin'
again, as v
players to
this year tl
catch.
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harder tha:
because tei
senior pla)
Ward Lewi
for 26 year
and coach
everything
change, bu
positive oc
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like w e re s
Lewis said
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baseball in
switched t<
he was 19,
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spring tr a d
h bega
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Saturday. T]
meets this s
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"It's nice
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what events
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try it all out
sophomore,
Last year
Track and F:
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4x4 team, tv
a high jump
Taylor Now
placed secor
and went to
Kelli Walter:
Super, junio
Dewart, juni
State last sec
*
E qut
m L auren P ai
this season won't be as
smooth-sailing as the past
Insert
Sports
March 2007
Callagan has been taking
tennis lessons since the
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tennis
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is playing
;o. His
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----------------
be on the
year. He
itter than
Low seeds to look out for in the big tournament
Under-the-radar teams to watch
Every year in college
basketball there are the
"traditional powers"
that hang around in the
tournament. This year
is different. The Duke's,
Connecticut's, and
Gonzaga's of the nation
are being replaced with
teams that are in the
power conferences, but
usually lie in the shadows.
Teams like Washington
State, Oregon, and
Virginia Tech aren't used
to being in the spotlight.
These under-the-radar
power schools include:
Washington State
Cougars
(23-5,12-4)
-The Cougars
are led by
their sure
handed point
guard, Derek
Low. With
coach Tony
Bennett who
preaches
defense, the
Cougars
might
turn some
heads in the
tournament.
Virginia
T
,
l£C il
Hokies (20-
8 10-4) -The
Hokies have
been one of the surprise
stories of the year so far,
led by their two senior
guards who are averaging
double figures in points.
The Hokies have already
made some noise in
the regular season by
upsetting the North
Carolina Tar Heels twice.
They seem to be ready
for more upsets come
tournament time.
Oregon Ducks (22-
7,10-7) -Oregon is led by
their point guard, Aaron
Brooks. The Ducks will go
only as far as Brooks can
take them. If he and his
teammates can get on a
shooting streak,
the Ducks
may be able
to stir the pot
of the NCAA
tournament.
Pittsburgh
Panthers
(24-5,11-3)
-The Panthers
are led by
their 7' Aaron
Gray, senior
f center, who
is averaging
Kyle Weaver, junior guard for 14.3 points and
the Washington State Cougars, o n rebounds
goes on a breakaway against
Stanford. Weaver, averaging 11.5 Per g a m e -
points per game, will be relied They may
be
on by ^ Cou8ars in lhe n CAA a little over-
— rated, because
Photo courtesy ^
of ™
espn.com
they have played only four
ranked teams all season, and
they were 0-4.
Air Force Falcons
(23-6,10-5) -The key to
success in the NCAA
tournament is good guard
play and a presence in the
key to keep everything
together. The Falcons have
both with senior forwards
Nwaelele and Burtschi who
are averaging 14.5 and 13.2
points per game, and senior
Matt McCraw at the point
guard averaging 11.3 points
per game.
You would expect to
see Gonzaga on this list of
potential contenders, but
due to the recent arrests of
Josh Heytvelt and Theo Davis
for possession of a controlled
substance, and the fact that
winning their conference is
now in jeopardy, we decided
Gonzaga didn't deserve a spot
on our list.
oing to be
:ause we
rtderdog
swis
to have
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ital
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ith them."
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This year's potential "George Mason"
teams
Southern Illinois
Salukis (22-5,13-3) -
Southern Illinois, who has
made it to the tournament
consistently before, but
never made it out of the
opening rounds of the
tournament, now has a
physical presence down
low in Randal Falker who
is averaging 13.1 points and
7.6 rebounds per game.
Vermont Catamounts
(23-6,15-1) -The Catamounts
have a guard averaging 16
points per game, a forward
averaging 12.7 points per
game, and a good center
in Chris Holm who is
averaging 10.4 points and
12.2 rebounds. They’ve
already had the experience
of playing "Cinderella" when
they beat Syracuse back in
2005.
Jamaal Tatum, senior guard for the
Southern Illinois Salukis, drives
past a Creighton defender. Tatum
is averaging 15 points a game, and
is the Salukis' leading scorer.
Photo courtesy of ESPN.com
Virginia
Commonwealth Rams
(24-6,16-2) -The Rams
are making a name for
themselves by scoring a
lot of points, led by three
guards averaging in double
figures.
pete for
qualify
to state
said. It
cpected;
i that is
place
ear ago
itablish
sistent
Who we think will get to the Final Four and who will be National Champs
It's always tough to
predict what can happen in
the zany world of college
sports, but this is how we
think the tournament will
play out.
(Disclaimer: Picks were made
before the bracket was an
nounced so its possible that
some of these teams may be
in the same bracket and will
not be able to reach the Final
Four.)
Zak Laster's picks-I spent a
lot of time thinking about this
and I came up with the Final
Four of Ohio State, UCLA,
Texas A&M and Florida. The
Ohio State Basketball Team
will get a chance to avenge the
loss of the Ohio State Football
Team, but will fall short to the
UCLA Bruins.
JonHelmkamp's picks-I think
UCLA, with their defense,
Florida, with their offensive
The Equ
began its se
promising s
competition
"M y goal
off, but mos
State," Sam«
sophomore,
Samanth«
sophomore,
first place ir
Seat Equitat
followed by
Hillary Obye, junior, who
I £fced second. Elizabeth
Sloop, senior, exited the ring
Greg Oden, freshman center
for the Ohio State Buckeyes,
gets his hand on the opponent's
shot. Oden, only a freshman, is
a candidate for the Player of the
Year award.
Photo courtesy of ESPN.com
attack, Ohio State, with Greg
Oden manning the post, and
Texas A&M, led by Acie Law
IV, will make it through to
This is Dru Sloop's fourth
year as coach of the team.
"All of the teams, horses,
the Final Four. It’s absolutely peat as National Champions
impossible for me to go against of College Basketball.
Ohio State when they have Alex Tadros' Picks-I'm not
Greg Oden, the big man really sure but I'm going
down low, and Mike Conley
to have a Final
Four of Ohio
Jr. as an out
State, Florida,
side threat. I
North Carolina
think Ohio
and Texas, with
State will be
Ohio State be
the National
ing national
Champs of
champs.
college bas
Jeff Bilyeu's
ketball, beat-
ingFloridain
Picks-I know
a Pac-10 team
a shoot out.
will be in there.
Greg Bean’s
I don’t think
Picks-I think
Florida will be
th e F in a l
in, it's to hard to
Four w ill
win that many
be Florida,
_____ _____
m esinarow .
UCLA,
Ohio Kevin Durant' fr^hman guard
State, and
TexasLonghorns d.pspast j.
t to take
North Caro- gUarcj Durant is averaging 25.6
lina. I think points per game going into the
Florida is NCAA tournament.
going to re-
PhotocourtesyofESPN.com
Sloop, Obye and Roberts it
would be great for people to
support the team.
Last year, the team placed
fifth in state, and Shiguru
Tsutsumi, coach, sees room
; season
iders
ve high
team and
to get it
l.
vs;
ason
.
the
ave one
o lead,"
the safe bet and
saY UCLA will
be the National
Champs.
ide was
linst
lost, 5-
eam has
this year
>erience
perience
iad to a
positive outcome.
Boys Rugöy smiting Momentum
continued on page 10