Memphis Tigers News Archives

February 2005

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02/28/05		Men's Tennis To Face No. 5 Ole Miss Wednesday -- Tigers to face eighth ranked foe on the road (GoTigersGo.com)
		MEMPHIS, Tenn. - After getting through the Conference USA shootout with a 2-1 record in three consecutive matches, the schedule goes straight uphill for the men's tennis team (4-6, 2-1 C-USA) as the Tigers will travel to face Ole Miss, Wednesday, at 2 p.m. The match was originally scheduled for Tuesday, but was rescheduled due to the cold in the Mid-South. The challenge will be a significant one for Memphis as Ole Miss is currently riding a 17-match home winning streak that dates back to April 6th. At the Oxford courts, the Rebels have won 97 of their last 107 matches, including the last time the two teams faced in 2002, a 4-3 Ole Miss win. Memphis comes in after a solid weekend at the C-USA Shootout, where the Tigers hung with No. 13 TCU before the Horned Frogs closed out the match, 4-1, despite Memphis being in position at one time to go up 3-0. In doubles, the No. 58 ranked team of Scott Felsenthal and James Spence have won four of their last five matches, including a 9-7 win over the then-No. 10 doubles team of Juan Carlos Pinto and Luiz Carvalho of Mississippi State that helped Memphis into the national rankings and to the first C-USA weekly honor of the season for the Tigers. The No. 3 team of Mark Finnegan and Alex Jago are also a strength in the doubles line-up, carrying an 8-1 record into the match-up at Ole Miss. Ole Miss has played a pair of teams at the No. 1 slot as senior Catalin Gard has been paired with two different partners. Gard, the No. 4 ranked singles player in the country, is 2-1 at No. 1 with fellow senior Karim Alayli, and is 2-2 at No. 1 with sophomore Eric Claesson. It's been Gard and Claesson that have anchored the top of the doubles line-up in the last two matches for Ole Miss (a 6-1 win over No. 45 Middle Tennessee and a 4-1 loss to No. 9 Virginia, Ole Miss' lone loss of the season). Freshman Erling Tviet and sophomore Fredrik Aarum have been playing No. 2 doubles over the last few matches for Ole Miss, sporting a 3-2 mark so far this season. The duo of Bram ten Berge and Claesson has been the Rebels' lone No. 3 doubles team, brining a 5-1 mark into Wednesday's final non-conference match before Ole Miss opens SEC play. In singles, Gard is one of the premier singles players in the country, sporting a rank of No. 4 and a 6-1 record in the spring duals. Claesson is 4-0 at No. 2 ten Berge, a 6-3 sophomore, has played No. 3 singles for four of the last five matches, sporting a 1-3 mark. Tveit has also played some No. 3 singles, with a 2-0 mark, but is 3-0 at No. 4 singles and 1-0 at No. 6. Jake Klaeson is 4-1 at No. 5 for Ole Miss, and Juan Pablo Di Cesare is 4-0 at No. 6 to round out the usual singles line-up. Memphis is hoping to string together some points for a breakthrough match, as the Tigers followed the upset win in doubles at Mississippi State with a straight-set win over the No. 22 ranked singles player in the country against TCU. "We're playing really well and we have our moments when it looks like we're going to break though," head coach Paul Goebel said "We just need to put it all together. But we'll definitely have our hands full. Number five in the country is number five in the country, but it'll be a good test for us heading into the Arizona weekend." Facing ranked opponents should be old hat for the Tigers (5-6, 2-1) by now. Ole Miss will be the eighth ranked opponent for the Tigers this year, and seven of those have been ranked in the top 45. "I think we're surprising some teams," Goebel said. "We're playing really good tennis and played great doubles against TCU last weekend." Memphis got its biggest point of the weekend when senior Alex Bucewicz upended No. 22 Fabrizio Sestini 6-3, 6-3. Bucewicz finished the weekend with a 3-0 mark at the No. 1 singles spot and is now 3-3 at No. 1 and is 4-1 at No. 2 singles. He leads the Tigers with his seven dual singles wins, but juniors Alex Jago and James Spence are just one win behind Bucewicz. Spence is 3-2 at No. 1 singles and at No. 2 singles, while Jago is 4-5 at No. 3 singles and 1-0 at No. 4. The No. 4 spot in the line-up is where Memphis has its worst record, sporting a 3-6 mark through the first six matches (with one of those wins belonging to Jago). Four different Tigers have played at No. 4 with freshman Bryan Bankester and Jago posting the only winning marks at 1-0. A trio of Tigers have played at No. 5 and 6 as Memphis tries to balance its depth throughout the line-up. Senior Scott Felsenthal is 2-2 at No. 5, while Marten Tamla is 1-1. Felsenthal experienced the pains of a tournament weekend last weekend, not getting a chance to finish one of his three singles matches as the match had been decided before his No. 6 match got finished. Felsenthal is 1-3 at No. 6. Memphis will follow the Ole Miss match with a spring break trip through Arizona beginning next Tuesday. Memphis will face No. 34 Arizona (Tuesday), No. 26 Arizona State (Wednesday) and Northern Arizona (Friday) before returning to Memphis. The Tigers' next home match will be a Mar. 27th match against Georgia State at the HPER Courts on the U of M campus.

02/28/05		Rifle Garners Four All-Conference Awards -- Tigers finish second in air at league championships; next compete at NCAA Championships (GoTigersGo.com)
		MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The University of Memphis rifle team garnered four Great America Rifle Conference awards following last weekend's competition in Oxford, Mississippi. Junior Beth Tidmore (Decatur, Ga.) was a first team all-conference honoree in Air Rifle and a second team honoree in Combined Score, and was named a Scholar Athlete. Sophomore Katie Benjamin (Colchester, VT) was a second team honoree in air rifle. The Tigers competed at last weekend's conference championships, placing second in the air rifle with a team score of 2,333, just 16 points behind air champion, Nebraska, which won with a 2349. Following Saturday's team competition, the top 10 individual shooters were chosen to compete for the individual title. Memphis qualified three shooters for the top 10 competition. Tidmore qualified from second place, freshman Krissy Bahnsen was sixth and Benjamin was 10th. All three Tigers would finish one place higher in the standings as Bahnsen would finish 5th with a 688, while Benjamin would finish ninth with a 683. Tidmore and Army's Chris Abalo would finish the regular competition tied at 692, sending the battle for the conference's individual title into a sudden death shoot-off. The duo would remain tied through four rounds, and Tidmore would score a 10 on her fifth shot, while Abalo would score a nine of his fifth shot, giving Tidmore the title. On the second day of competition, the Tigers would finish seventh in the smallbore standings, firing a 2287, just three points shy of their year-high best score. The US Military Academy won the smallbore competition with a score of 2318, while Nebraska finished second with a 2314. Xavier was third in the smallbore competition with a 2307, while Kentucky and West Virginia rounded out the top five with a pair of 2304s. Kentucky would hit 128 bulls-eyes compared to 119 for West Virginia to determine the tie. The Tigers will next compete in the NCAA Rifle Championships at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., March 11-12th. This is the first time in school history that the Tigers have qualified for the prestigious event as a team. Memphis will shoot in the air rifle division. In 2004, Memphis' Beth Tidmore qualified as an individual, and placed 16th in air and 14th in smallbore. Tidmore was also selected this season as an individual qualifier. A total of 48 competitors were selected for the championships. The top eight teams in both the smallbore three-position and air rifle events were selected. The top 10 individuals in air rifle and the top 12 individuals in smallbore qualified for the individual championships. Individual and team competitions in smallbore three-position (60 shots) will be held Friday, March 11. Individual and team competitions in air rifle (60 shots) will be held Saturday, March 12. The overall team champion will be determined by combining the smallbore and air rifle team totals into one aggregate score for each institution. Great America Rifle Conference Results Smallbore Standings 1. US Military Academy, 2318 (124x) 2. Nebraska, 2314 (117x) 3. Xavier, 2307 (122x) 4. Kentucky, 2304 (128x) 5. West Virginia, 23-4 (119x) 6. Mississippi, 2300 (105x) 7. Memphis, 2287 (97x) Smallbore Individual Scores Top 10 1. Chris Abalo, Army, 686 2. Vicki Goss, Kentucky, 683 3. Misty Chanek, Nebraska, 681 4. Paul Charbonneau, Army, 679 5. Hannah Kerr, Xavier, 675 6. Chris Boggs, Kentucky, 674 7. Daniel Ault, Xavier, 679 8. Amy Smith, West Virginia, 672 9. Lucas Lenberger, Army, 670 10. Jared Rinker, Kentucky, 664 Memphis Scores 18. Beth Tidmore, 577 27. Katie Benjamin, 573 30. Brian Phillips, 572 44. J.B. Vaughan, 565 45. Krissey Bahnsen, 565 Air Rifle 1. Nebraska, 2349 (166x) 2. Memphis, 2333 (159x) 3. US Military Academy, 2329 (151x) 4. Kentucky, 2328 (136x) 5. Mississippi, 2312 (134x) 6. Xavier, 2298 (121x) 7. West Virginia, 2272 (106x) Top 10 Scores 1. Beth Tidmore, Memphis, 692 (50x) 2. Chris Abalo, Army, 692 (49x) 3. Andrea Franzen, Nebraska, 689 (46x) 4. Kristina Fehlings, Nebraska, 689 (45x) 5. Krissey Bahnsen, Memphis, 688 (46x) 6. Vicki Goss, Kentucky, 687 (41x) 7. Misty Chanek, Nebraska, 686 (37x) 8. David Amiot, Army, 686 (40x) 9. Katie Benjamin, Memphis, 683 (38x) 10. Shannon Wilson, Mississippi, 682 (33x) Memphis Scores 1. Beth Tidmore, 692 (50x) 5. Krissey Bahnsen, 688 (46x) 9. Katie Benjamin, 683 (38x) J.B. Vaughn, 565 (25x)

02/28/05		Ryan Martin Named C-USA Hitter of the Week -- Senior garners first-ever conference weekly honor (GoTigersGo.com)
		MEMPHIS, Tenn. - After a solid opening weekend in which he earned 2005 Service Academies Spring Classic MVP honors, senior designated hitter Ryan Martin was named Conference USA Player of the Week, the league office announce on Monday. Martin is the first Tiger hitter to garner weekly honors since Dan Uggla in March 2001. "This is a very deserving honor for Ryan (Martin) to be named Player of the Week for the opening he had to his senior season," head coach Daron Schoenrock said. "Ryan really showed some experience at the plate and every opportunity he had to drive runs in, he did it and we are very proud of him." Martin got his senior campaign off to a strong start, leading Memphis offensively in a 2-1 weekend and a third-place finish in the Service Academies Spring Classic. The Collierville, Tenn., native, hit a scorching .571 (8-for-14) with six runs scored, five RBI, three doubles and a home run on the weekend. He posted multiple hits in all three contests and multiple RBI performances against Air Force and Missouri. He also doubled in all three games. Martin proved to be a clutch bat in the Tigers' lineup, driving in three two-out RBI, including a two-out game-tying ninth-inning RBI double against Indiana. The Tiger's DH was 3-for-4 with three runs scored, a double and a homer to lead Memphis to a 7-6 win over Missouri. He hit .556 with runners on base and .600 with runners in scoring position. Through three games of the Tigers' schedule, Martin leads Conference USA in hitting, slugging percentage (1.000) and on-base percentage (.600). The Tigers defeated Air Force 10-4 to notch the program's fifth consecutive season-opening win and Schoenrock's first win as the U of M skipper. Memphis will now travel to UT-Martin to take on the Skyhawks on Wed., Mar. 2. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. at Skyhawk Field.

02/28/05		Men's Tennis Wraps Weekend With 4-0 Win Over ECU -- Bucewicz finishes the weekend with a 3-0 mark at No. 1 singles (GoTigersGo.com)
		The University of Memphis men's tennis team (5-6, 2-1 C-USA) wrapped the Conference USA weekend with a 4-0 win over East Carolina in the third place game of the Shootout, Sunday. Senior Alex Bucewicz wrapped the weekend with a 3-0 mark at No. 1 singles after sweeping ECU's Paolo Baurner, 6-0, 6-2. Memphis 4, East Carolina 0 Singles No. 1 -- Alex Bucewicz (UM) def. Paolo Baurner, 6-0, 6-2 No. 2 -- James Spence (UM) def. Flipe Fonseca, 7-5, 7-5 No. 3 -- Alex Jago (UM) def. Henrique Viana, 6-2, 6-3 No. 4 -- Marten Tamla (UM) vs. Darren Mansell, dnf No. 5 -- Scott Felsenthal (UM) vs. Nick Rose, dnf No. 6 -- Mark Finnegan (UM) vs. Robert Stasch, dnf Doubles No. 1 -- No. 58 Spence/Felsenthal (UM) def. Baumer/Rose, 8-4 No. 2 -- Bucewicz/Tamla (UM) vs. BMansell/Viana, dnf No. 3 -- Jago/Finnegan (UM) def. Stasch/Fonseca, 8-1

02/28/05		FROM MY SEAT -- In a season of troubles, Tiger Nation can count its blessings for Anthony Rice (Memphis Flyer)
		FRANK MURTAUGH ANTHONY'S DAY Too much ink is spilled on the world’s miscreants. This applies to sports, and it certainly applies to this year’s embattled University of Memphis men’s basketball team. Lost in the ugly headlines, sadly, are the jewels of the program like Anthony Rice. This Saturday at FedExForum, the U of M will say goodbye to its current senior class: Rice, Duane Erwin, and Arthur Barclay. Erwin grew into a vital member of the 2004-05 squad, representing the most consistent inside threat -- both offensively and defensively -- for a team relatively undersized. He was the Tigers’ finest player the night they beat DePaul in January, hitting five of seven shots and pulling down nine rebounds. As for Barclay, he’ll leave with mixed reviews. He was part of a “package deal,” cynics will argue, that brought the electrifying Dajuan Wagner (a high-school chum of Barclay’s) to Memphis. He made news this season as much for his fists as his play, drilling teammate Sean Banks after the Texas game, then drawing a one-game suspension for throwing a punch in the first TCU contest. I’d like to remember the guy who overcame the stigma of being a partial academic qualifier and some nagging knee injuries, a player who had one of the most unique stat lines I’ve ever seen: 10 rebounds without a field-goal attempt in the win at South Florida in January. Say what you will about Erwin and Barclay, though, Saturday should be for Rice. The Atlanta native -- on schedule to graduate with a degree in art gallery management -- is the poster child for what a Division I college basketball player can be. Few Tiger fans will remember that Rice played 20 minutes in his college debut (November 13, 2001), the same night Wagner himself took center stage at The Pyramid. Over the course of his four seasons in Memphis, Rice has yet to miss a game. (He should wind up among the program’s alltime top 10 in games played.) No Tiger has made more three-pointers than Rice’s 214 through Saturday’s game against Louisville. And he’s been as consistent as a metronome: 266 points scored as a freshman, 264 as a sophomore, 270 as a junior, 272 this season. (Rice’s career average: 8.7 points per game.) Rice’s value on the floor can be divided into three equal parts: Defense. He has consistently matched up with an opponent’s top scoring threat, be it Marquette’s Travis Diener, TCU’s Corey Santee, or Houston’s Andre Owens. Shooting. I’ve said it all season long: these Tigers go as far as their shooters take them. Rice was a combined 7 for 12 from beyond the arc in wins over Marquette and Louisville. He made only 2 of 11 in losses to Charlotte and the Cardinals last week. Ball-handling. Rice has essentially been coach John Calipari’s backup point guard for three seasons, first b ehind Antonio Burks, this season behind Darius Washington. A more natural shooting guard, Rice has predictably adapted when called upon to run the show. Calipari’s postgame comments tend to center around the play of freshman point guard Darius Washington or the team’s scoring leader, Rodney Carney. But when asked about Rice, the plaudits are delivered en masse. “He’s the best,” says Calipari. “I have to talk to him about once every three weeks to tell him I appreciate him. He guards every day, he does what he’s supposed to do, he doesn’t try and do things he can’t do. Every practice, every game, he gives you everything he has, which is what makes him unique. “You forget about him. He played great against Houston [a Tiger loss on February 5th]. He was the only guy that played. He held their best player [Owens] to two-for-nine from the floor, and made shots. No one else played. That’s because he plays every day.” As thoroughly unglamorous as Rice’s college career has been, he will ironically serve as a recruiting prototype for Calipari. “He’s a four-year starter,” stresses the coach. “Here’s a kid who wasn’t highly recruited, and he’s going to get a college degree. If you work hard and play hard, there’s a spot for you on this team.” There have been grumblings all winter long in Tiger Nation, plenty of turn-your-head-away headlines that make you wonder about the kind of student-athlete hitting the hardwood these days for the U of M. And the criticism, frankly, has been deserved. Which makes this weekend’s Senior Day so very necessary. For a young man like Anthony Rice, how fitting that he takes center stage just as he says goodbye.

02/28/05		Tigers in training -- U of M's basketball future is at Laurinburg (Commercial Appeal)
		By Gary Parrish Contact February 28, 2005 LAURINBURG, N.C. -- There's a billboard on the side of the road, about 30 minutes outside of town for those driving east on U.S. 74 from Charlotte. Laurinburg ... the best place to stop on your way to the coast. And really, that just about sums it up. Laurinburg. A place to stop. Not settle. But stop. On your way to another place. A better place. Where goals become reality. Where troubled pasts become memory. For Magnum Rolle, a 6-10 forward, that place is LSU. For Roburt Sallie, a 6-6 shooting guard, that place is Washington. But for four others on the Laurinburg Institute Prep School basketball team -- Shawne Williams, Antonio Anderson, Robert Dozier and Kareem Cooper -- that place is the University of Memphis. Naturally, they have big plans for next season. "You remember what the Fab Five did at Michigan?" Anderson said. "We're going to do better than that." Deep in the heart of nowhere There is a movie theater with two screens, a bowling alley and a skating rink. That's Laurinburg's entertainment district. There is a string of fast food joints on Main Street, a Huddle House for late nights and a restaurant that proudly proclaims to have "the best Chinese food in town!" That's Laurinburg's dining district. Driving into the community, one wonders what a bunch of mostly big-city, transplanted teenagers do here for fun because there's little-to-nothing close by. Later, the locals point out that's one of the attributes, one of the reasons the place works so well. Laurinburg is two hours from Charlotte, two hours from Greensboro, two hours from Raleigh, two hours from ... "Everything," interrupted Williams, a former Hamilton High standout. "There's nothing to do here but study and play basketball. So if you need to get focused, this is the place to come get focused." Which is exactly what Williams, Anderson, Dozier and Cooper came here to do. To get focused. To get it together. To re-start their lives, and erase classroom shortcomings. In that way, they are no different from most of the 80 or so other students at Laurinburg Institute Prep, just fifth-year seniors trying to create opportunities for themselves despite sketchy academic backgrounds. Granted, in these cases the opportunities have as much to do with rebounding as algebra. Nobody denies that. Still, the bottom line remains the same. With the help of Laurinburg Institute -- which was once lauded by Ted Koppel on ABC's "Nightline" -- some African-Americans are creating chances that might otherwise never exist. So in that respect, Walter Evans would be proud. A rich history The story of how Laurinburg Institute came to exist is as intriguing as its powerhouse basketball program. In 1904, Evans, a merchant in town, wrote Dr. Booker T. Washington at Tuskegee College, seeking help to start a school for African-Americans. In turn, Washington got the assistance of William Edwards, one of Tuskegee's first graduates and the founder of Snow Hill Institute in Alabama, not to mention the eventual great-grandfather of filmmaker Spike Lee. Aware of the situation, Snow Hill alums and newlyweds Emmanuel and Tinny McDuffie volunteered. They started their journey from Alabama to North Carolina by foot, acquired some land with help from a member of the confederate army and built a one-room, log cabin to serve as a school house. "And, as the story goes, with seven students and 15 cents in the treasury, Laurinburg Institute began," said Frances McDuffie, a graduate of Duke University who now teaches at Laurinburg. "Emmanuel and Tinny McDuffie were my great-grandparents." Fast-forward a century, and while some things have changed, others remain the same. The log cabin is gone, replaced by a small campus with modest brick buildings. And though Laurinburg Institute is no longer a place just for African-Americans to further their education and in turn create opportunities, that remains the primary agenda for the school, still run by the McDuffie family. Over the years, Laurinburg has also morphed into something else. It is the home of the most overwhelming prep school basketball program in the nation. Jazz legend Dizzy Gillespie is a notable alumni of the oldest remaining boarding school for African-Americans. So is former Bermuda prime minister Sir John Swan. But these days, most of the national attention at Laurinburg focuses on dunks and 3-pointers, many of which come courtesy of four players who plan to be at Memphis next season, and win big at Memphis next season. "I think it's great," said Tiger coach John Calipari. "They all seem to really like each other and get along, and I feel good about the future of our program because of them." Tigers' junior varsity The Laurinburg-Memphis link started about two years ago with the Tigers' recruitment of Joey Dorsey, now a freshman at the U of M. "Even after Dorsey committed to Memphis, there were a lot of schools still coming after him," said Laurinburg coach Chris Chaney. "But I believe that once a player commits somewhere, that's it. His recruitment is over. So we kept the other coaches away from Dorsey, and I think the Memphis staff appreciated that, and trusted us." So when Williams became an academic casualty at Hamilton last year, he was steered toward Laurinburg. When Dozier was looking for a place to enroll after not getting into Georgia last Fall, the Tiger staff, on the verge of signing the talented forward, again suggested Laurinburg. Same goes for Cooper. And Anderson. "Once I knew I was going to Memphis, and I needed a year of prep school, I decided to come to Laurinburg," Anderson explained. "We already had other guys here, so I thought it would be good to come here, and get to know them and used to playing with them." The result was a squad built to destroy, one many have tabbed as the best pre-college team in history. Told one Memphis assistant said Laurinburg could easily finish in the Top 10 of Conference USA, Chaney took offense. "How many schools are in C-USA?" he asked. "Fourteen." "Then I think we could do better than 10th," Chaney said. "We could maybe compete for the Atlantic 10 championship right now." Laurinburg has 13 players who signed Division 1 scholarships in November. The group is broken into an 'A' team and a 'B' team, and is so deep and talented that Chris Johnson, a 6-10 forward who signed with LSU, actually plays for the 'B' team. All four Memphis signees are on the 'A' team, and on most nights they each start. Predictably, it doesn't always go over well with college coaches. "We hear 'Memphis's JV' and all that, but we expected it," Chaney said. "We actually take it as a compliment that the Memphis staff trusts us and respects us enough to send guys here. But what you have to realize is that we also have nine other players going to other schools." Consequently, some have called Laurinburg a "basketball factory, just a feeder system for big-time college hoops." Nobody at Laurinburg denies the reputation. Likewise, nobody is apologizing, though the label, headmaster Bishop McDuffie said, trivializes what he believes his school represents. "We are about providing an opportunity for young men to better their lives, and their families' lives through education," said McDuffie, father of Frances, grandson of Emmanuel and Tinny. "In many cases for young African-American men, athletics provide a tremendous opportunity. "But the measurement for us is not that we produce athletes. It's that we produce people of character and leadership." Plus Chris Washburn, who by most accounts possesses neither attribute, and is perhaps Laurinburg's most infamous alumnus, if not the antithesis of what the place is supposed to be about. Washburn graduated from Laurinburg in the early 1980s, and starred at North Carolina State. He burned out in the NBA with three positive drug tests. But even before that, Washburn was plagued by allegations of academic fraud, and it was widely speculated that he failed to attend class at Laurinburg and N.C. State. Those allegations, as they pertained to Laurinburg, were never substantiated. Still, Washburn is the example cynics continue to use when claiming Laurinburg is a shady operation specializing in eligibility. "We don't give grades, but we do do our best to make sure our players earn the grades they need," said Chaney, noting that several of his players last season didn't qualify and thus had to enroll in junior college. "What I might do is go to a teacher and ask how a player is doing. They'll tell me he's doing 'C' work. So I'll say, 'Well, can you take him after school or on the weekend and make sure he gets to the point of doing 'B' work?' I think there's a big difference between the two, and we're proud of what we do. "The people who say we give grades know nothing about this place." Williams -- who like others is at Laurinburg thanks to an athletic scholarship valued at more than $14,000 -- agreed. "If they were giving grades and SAT scores, I'd be at Memphis right now because I came here last year in time to get eligible," he said. "But I didn't do it. We work up here. Trust me, we work." Grades come first Even if some of these basketball prodigies were initially less-than-interested in school, the set-up at Laurinburg is such that it would be difficult not to learn, even by accident. All basketball players live in a dorm and are not allowed cars. So they are basically confined to campus, unless the weather is nice and they feel like walking a mile to the store or movies. A missed class results in running. Two misses equals no practice. Three misses equals no game. Meanwhile, Laurinburg has SAT prep sessions every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday afternoon. They apparently help. "Antonio Anderson just got his latest score back, and he improved by 100 points," said Laurinburg assistant coach Tim Thomas. "Everybody we have is getting better academically." And athletically. Laurinburg wrapped its season Friday night with a 95-83 victory over Hargrave Military to win the mythical prep school national title. The final record? Forty wins. No losses. Most of the victories coming by blowout, over such teams as Virginia Tech's and North Carolina's JV squads. Early last week, Laurinburg played its final tune-up before the title game against an overmatched opponent in a gym with wooden backboards and no scoreboard. The Tigers -- that's right, Laurinburg is also known as the Tigers -- opened with a fullcourt press, ran a structured offense and led 59-27 at halftime. They won by a 123-60 score, and afterward the four Memphis signees sat around and talked about what is to come. Boy, are they excited about what is to come. Boy, are they not shy about what is to come. "We're already talking about celebrating a Conference USA championship," Williams said. "There was a lot of confusion at Memphis this season, a lot of things going on. But it's not going to be like that. All we do is win, and that's what we're coming to Memphis to do, maybe even win a national title." -- Gary Parrish: 529-2365

02/28/05		Williams keeping his options open (Commercial Appeal)
		By Gary Parrish Contact February 28, 2005 LAURINBURG, N.C. -- Shawne Williams wants to play at the University of Memphis. He likes the idea of being a star in his hometown. He likes the thought of leading the Tigers to a Conference USA title, or one day receiving a standing ovation at a game like the one Keith Lee got Saturday night at FedExForum. Still, the former Hamilton High player is making no promises. If he can enter the NBA Draft in June and be a guaranteed millionaire, odds are that's what he'll do. If that's the way this plays out, he hopes fans will understand. "I know people will be mad at me back home, but I have to keep that option open," Williams said. "I want to go to college. I want to play for Memphis. But I've never had anything my whole life. So I have to keep that option open." Tiger fans, here we go again. First you had to fret about Dajuan Wagner. Then Amare Stoudemire and Qyntel Woods. Then Kendrick Perkins. Then Darius Washington. Now Shawne Williams. It's the penalty for recruiting the best, the gamble every college coach takes when he sets his sites on a blue-chip prospect oozing with potential. "You just hope they make the right decision, not for you, but for themselves," said Memphis coach John Calipari. "It's their life. You just hope they make the right choice." Though Calipari won't come out and say it, clearly he believes the right choice for Williams will be to come to Memphis, learn the game, improve, mature and then be a lottery pick. For what it's worth, Williams agrees. In fact, it appears that's what he wants. But the former Hamilton High star turned Laurinburg Institute Prep standout turned Tiger signee is playing in two prestigious all-star games later this year: The Jordan Classic in New York and The Roundball Classic in Chicago. If he does well, Williams's NBA stock could rise like Josh Smith's did last season. If it does, his college career could become nonexistent. "It'll depend more on what he does in those practices than what he does in the games themselves," said Jeff Goodman, a national recruiting analyst for ScoutHoops.com who has seen Williams several times this season. "The practices are where you make a name for yourself. That's where you can blow up." As of now, Goodman said the consensus on Williams is that he's an intriguing talent, but nowhere near ready for the NBA. Still, ... "a lot of players who haven't been ready, like Ndudi Ebi and Travis Outlaw, have made the jump and been first-rounders," Goodman added. "So it's hard to tell." Thus, Williams won't even try to tell until after the all-star games. "If things go well this summer, who knows what can happen," he said. "But I'm the type of person, I want to go to college. I want to live that Memphis life."

02/28/05		A short introduction (Commercial Appeal)
		Antonio Anderson Position: PG/SG Height: 6-5 Key stats: Averages 12.7 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game. What he does: Anderson is a combo guard who can handle the ball and play either backcourt position. He averages 26 minutes per game at Laurinburg, which is more than any other player. Kareem Cooper Position: PF/C Height: 6-11 Key stats: Averages 15.5 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game. What he does: : Cooper is a big-bodied center with loads of potential. Think Dwight Stewart in a Tiger uniform, with a nice, left-handed jumper. Robert Dozier Position: SF/PF Height: 6-9 Key stats: Averages 14.4 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. What he does: John Calipari has referred to Dozier as a possible Marcus Camby. He plays long, and is, according to the Laurinburg coaches, the favorite prospect of Celtics general manager Danny Ainge. Shawne Williams Position: SG/SF Height: 6-9 Key stats: Averages 16.1 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game. What he does: Williams is perhaps the most skilled 6-9 player in the nation, and the only one in this group capable of making the jump to the NBA. Assuming he comes to Memphis, he's probably the early favorite to win Conference USA's Freshman of the Year.

02/28/05		U of M wins Classic finale on clutch hit -- U of M 7, Missouri 6 (Commercial Appeal)
		By David Healy Special to The Commercial Appeal February 28, 2005 University of Memphis junior Jordan Tollivar said he wasn't going to be fooled again. This time he was looking for the slider. Tollivar, a junior college transfer from Fiora, Ill., had the game-winning hit in the bottom of the ninth inning Sunday in the Tiger baseball team's 7-6 win over Missouri in the final game of the 2005 Service Academies Spring Classic at USA Stadium in Millington. His liner to right field came with two strikes and brought home second baseman Patrick Hope, whose teammates were there to greet him once he touched home plate. "He fooled me all night with the sliders," said Tollivar, speaking of Missouri relief pitcher Doug Mathis. "I knew he was going to come with it again." The win helped the Tigers (2-1) bounce back from a tough extra-inning loss to Indiana on Saturday, and more importantly, will hopefully be a foreshadowing for the rest of the season, of what can happen when a tough, gritty team plays the game the right way. The Tigers spotted Missouri a 4-0 lead in the top of the first inning when pitcher Drew Kimmelman, of Collierville, showed early jitters from making his first ever start for the Tigers. After his rough start, however, Kimmelman, a North Alabama transfer, settled down and had retired nine stright batters before he was taken out in the top of the fourth inning. The Tigers scored three runs in the first inning and two more in the second to take a 5-4 lead and senior Ryan Martin, also from Collierville, broke a 5-5 tie with a towering homer to right field in the bottom of the fifth inning. Martin had three hits and three runs in the game, while Tiger first baseman Adam Amar had two hits and two RBI. The U of M also got strong relief work from Drew Jaudon and Chris South. South got the Tigers out of a jam in the top of the ninth inning when he came on with no outs and two runners on base and didn't give up a run. "Please throw strikes," is what South said he was thinking when he came into the game. "I was trying to concentrate and keep them from scoring." Missouri (6-2), an NCAA Tournament team that had a five-game winning streak snapped on Sunday, got its first three runs of the game with a home run by Hunter Mense. Missouri, however, committed two key errors in the game, one of which was a misplayed grounder by the third basemen in the first inning that led to two more Tiger runs. Memphis, on the other hand, played spotless defense, and this, according to first-year head coach Daron Schoenrock was the key. "We knew we had to play errorless baseball and we did," Schoenrock said. "Anytime you can play errorless baseball you give yourself a chance to win." Despite the loss, Missouri still won first place in the three-day Classic, which included teams from the Naval and Air Force Academies. Missouri, Indiana and Memphis all finished the round robin event with 2-1 records, but Missouri gave up the fewest runs for the three days. Memphis finished third.

02/27/05		Baseball Hands Missouri 7-6 Defeat -- Tigers finish third in 17th annual Service Academies Spring Classic (GoTigersGo.com)
		MILLINGTON, Tenn. - Junior Jordan Tolliver looped a two-out RBI-single to right filed to score Patrick Hope and lift Memphis to a 7-6 victory over Missouri, Sunday in the final game of the 2005 Service Academies Spring Classic. With the win, Memphis improved to 2-1 and claimed third-place in the weekend tournament. Senior designated hitter Ryan Martin was named the SASC MVP after going 8-for-14 in three games. Chad House and Stephen Gostkowski were named to the SASC All-tournament team. For the second straight night the Tigers found themselves in a close ball game late, but this time they were able to execute to post the win. With the score tied at 6-6, Hope led off the home half of the ninth with an infield hit and was moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by freshman K.K. Chalmers before Tolliver provided the game-winning hit. Things got off to a shaky start for Memphis as starter Drew Kimmelman was touched for four first-innings runs, including a three-run blast to right by Mizzou leftfielder Hunter Mense. The Tigers kept themselves in the game, however, with a solid first inning of their own. Singles by House and Martin put runners on the corners and Adam Amar put the U of M on the board with an RBI-single to right. Cory Barton's two-out single plated a pair of runs to cut the lead to 4-3 after one inning of play. The Memphis bats stayed alive in the second as House and Martin again recorded hits. This time Martin followed a House single with an RBI-double to leftfield to tie the score at four apiece. Amar put the Tigers on top 5-4 with a single to center, scoring Martin. Missouri tied the contest in the top of the fifth, but Memphis regained the advantage in the bottom of the frame on a towering solo homer by Martin. MU threatened to take the lead in the ninth after Mense singled and James Boone followed with a walk. But Tiger reliever Chris South was able to shut the Tigers down and hold the tie. South (1-0) earned his first collegiate win after pitching one inning of relief. Kimmelman allowed just two hits and fanned four in four innings in his debut as a starter. U of M reliever Drew Jaudon also worked four innings and allowed two runs, while striking out a pair. Missouri reliever Doug Mathis took the loss. Memphis returns to action on Wed., Mar. 2, when they travel to UT-Martin. First pitch is slated for 2 p.m. The 2005 Service Academies Spring Classic All-Tournament team Jacob Priday, Missouri James Boone, Missouri Max Scherzer, Missouri Joe Kemp, Indiana Zach Boswell, Indiana Stephen Gostkowski, Memphis Chad House, Memphis Ryan Martin, Memphis Jonathan Matthew Johnston, Navy Thomas Hamilton, Navy Rance Fosdick, Indiana State Karl Bolt, Air Force MVP - Ryan Martin, Memphis

02/27/05		Women's Basketball to Face East Carolina in Opening Round of C-USA Championships -- The Lady Tigers will face ECU at 1 p.m., Thursday (GoTigersGo.com)
		IRVING, Texas -Conference USA regular season champion DePaul will be the No. 1 seed in this week's C-USA Women's Basketball Tournament, March 3-6 at the Dale F. Halton Arena in Charlotte, N.C. The Blue Demons, ranked No. 12 in the nation, entering the conference tournament on a 13-game winning -streak following Sunday's 77-56 victory over Marquette. As the No. 1 seed, DePaul will have a first round bye at the 2005 Pepsi C-USA Women's Basketball Tournament in Charlotte. Other teams receiving first round byes include No. 2 Louisville, No. 3 Houston and No. 4 TCU. Thursday's first round match-ups include: No. 8 East Carolina vs. No. 9 Memphis at 1 p.m., No. 5 USF vs. No. 12 Southern Miss at 3:30 p.m., No. 6 Charlotte vs. No. 11 Cincinnati at 6 p.m., and No. 7 Marquette vs. No. 10 UAB at 8:30 p.m. In Friday's quarterfinal round, No. 1 DePaul will take on the winner of the ECU/Memphis game at 1 p.m. and No. 4 TCU will face the winner of the USF/Southern Miss match-up beginning at 3:30 p.m. No. 3 seed Houston will take on the winner of the Charlotte/Cincinnati game at 6 p.m., while No. 2 Louisville will close out Friday night against the winner of the Marquette/UAB contest at 8:30 p.m. DePaul will enter the tournament attempting to become the second straight C-USA school to win the regular season and tournament titles. Houston accomplished the feat last year, which marked the first time a league team had won both since Tulane in 1998-99. Five Conference USA teams enter the league's tournament having already won 20 games. No other Division I conference has achieved that feat this season. DePaul has 23 wins and Charlotte has 21, while Louisville, Houston and TCU have each posted 20 victories. All games will be played at Dale Halton Arena and game times are Eastern. Live stats will be provided on the conference official website at www.conferenceusa.com . Saturday's semifinal games will be televised on the C-USA TV Network. Please check your local listings. The C-USA Championship game on Sunday, March 6, will be broadcasted on ESPN2, beginning at 5 p.m. (EST). For ticket information, please contact the Tiger ticket office at 901-678-2331. Thursday, March 4 Game One - (8) East Carolina vs. (9) Memphis 1:00 p.m. Game Two - (5) USF vs. (12) Southern Miss 3:30 p.m. Game Three - (6) Charlotte vs. (11) Cincinnati 6:00 p.m. Game Four - (7) Marquette vs. (10) UAB 8:30 p.m. Friday, March 5 Game One - ECU/MEM winner vs. (1) DePaul 1:00 p.m. Game Two - USF/USM winner vs. (4) TCU 3:30 p.m. Game Three - CHA/CIN winner vs. (3) Houston 6:00 p.m. Game Four - MAR/UAB winner vs. (2) Louisville 8:30 p.m. Saturday, March 6 Game Nine - Semifinal No. 1 (C-USA TV Network) 2:00 p.m. Game 10 - Semifinal No. 2 (C-USA TV Network) 4:30 p.m. day, March 7 Game 11 - Championship (ESPN2) 5:00 p.m.

02/27/05		Lady Tigers Tie With Alabama, Top Minnesota at GSC Fury Challenge -- Spring exhibition record now 2-0-1 (GoTigersGo.com)
		Memphis, Tenn. - The Memphis women's soccer team tied 1-1 with Alabama in their first game at the Germantown Soccer Club Fury Challenge showcase event on Saturday and then defeated Minnesota 1-0 in their second game at the Mike Rose Soccer Complex. The tie and win improves the Lady Tigers' spring record to 2-0-1. Memphis scored a shorthanded goal against the Crimson Tide to secure the tie in the first game. Alabama had scored its goal in the first half in about the 23rd minute to go up 1-0. After outgoing senior Leanne McGee was given her second yellow card of the game in the second half, the Tigers were forced to finish the game with just 10 players on the field. That did not stop Shoko Mikami from scoring her fourth goal in two games. Mikami, who scored a hat trick against the Japanese All-Star Team on Thursday night, put a diving header into the goal off a missed shot by Nicky McLeod that had gone off the crossbar. McLeod was credited with an assist on the play, her second of the spring. Isabel Briones played the entire game in goal against the school from her home state and made nine saves. "I thought we played alright but even though we scored our only goal in the second half, I thought we played better in the first half," said Memphis coach Brooks Monaghan. "However, I was pleased that we didn't lose our fight to come back and we were able to come back and score." In the second game against Minnesota, the teams played to a scoreless first half. It remained scoreless until Candace Halvorson recorded her first goal of the spring off a corner kick that went directly into the goal. Halvorson tucked the kick just inside the far post after the Minnesota goalkeeper misplayed the ball with just about 12 minutes to go in the game. Briones made six saves to record her second shutout of the spring. "We started a little bit slow and I thought we could have played better in the first half," said Monaghan of the second game. "We played stronger in the second half and that was a good way to end the day." "Overall, I thought it was a good weekend," said Monaghan. "These games are helping us figure out what it is we need to work on and we have been very pleased with the level of competition." The Tigers will continue their spring exhibition schedule next Saturday, March 5, when they take a trip across the state to take on the Lady Vols in Knoxville. Tennessee advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament this past season.

02/27/05		Women's Tennis Falls to UAB, 5-2 -- Lady Tigers Back in Action at Middle Tennessee, Friday (GoTigersGo.com)
		MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The University of Memphis women's tennis team (2-6, 1-3 C-USA) wrapped a three-match in three days weekend with a 5-2 loss to UAB Sunday morning. Senior Marlene Dirnstorfer and junior Andrea Feichtinger picked up the two points for Memphis, scoring singles victories at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively. Dirnstorfer picked up a 6-2, 6-0 win over Gulsah Esen, while Feichtinger picked up a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Julia von Sampson. UAB, who had swept all three doubles matches, used the depth of the line-up to close out the win with straight set wins at No. 3-6 singles. UAB 5, Memphis 2 Singles No. 1 - Marlene Dirnstorfer (UM) def. Gulsah Esen, 6-2, 6-0 No. 2 - Andrea Feichtinger (UM) def. Julia von Samson, 6-1, 6-4 No. 3 - Ornischa Maier-Knapp def. Brooke Cowie (UM), 6-1, 6-4 No. 4 - Samrin Tanzeem def. Kristin Noble (UM), 6-2, 6-0 No. 5 - Annemieke Elsholz def. Christina Wieser (UM), 6-0, 6-2 No. 6 - Jana Wild def. Alex Tjioe (UM), 6-4, 6-0 Doubles No. 1 - von Sampso/Antonio Nugent def. Dirnstorfer/Cowie (UM), 8-3 No. 2 - Essen/Maier-Knapp def. Feichtinger/Tjioe (UM), 8-4 No. 3 - Elsholz/Wild def. Noble/Kathrin Kohl (UM), 8-4

02/27/05		No. 11 Louisville 53, Memphis 44 (Daily Helmsman)
		The Associated Press February 27, 2005 MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) Taquan Dean scored 14 points and Francisco Garcia added 12 to lead No. 11 Louisville to a 53-44 victory over Memphis on Saturday night. The Cardinals (24-4, 12-2 Conference USA) used a 12-0 run midway through the second half to take the lead. Although the Tigers tied the game once, they never overcame the Cardinals as Juan Palacios scored six straight points and had a block down the stretch. Darius Washington scored 14 for Memphis (16-12, 9-5), which shot 19.6 percent for the game and hit only one of its 23 shots from outside the arc. Leading scorer Rodney Carney was scoreless, missing all nine of his shots, including four 3-pointers. It was a game that featured tough defense and physical play on both ends of the court, contributing to poor shooting nights all around, little offensive punch and a load of turnovers. The game was the final regular season conference game in the heated rivalry as Louisville is leaving Conference USA after this season to join the Big East. The series dates to the mid-1960s and the Missouri Valley Conference. The two teams, who played periodically before the Valley days, also were members of the Metro Conference before the current C-USA. They'll continue the series over the next four years, although conference bragging rights won't hang in the balance. Memphis defeated Louisville 85-68 at Freedom Hall earlier this month, marking the Cardinals' worst home loss in the Rick Pitino era. Louisville's revenge factor, the rivalry and a raucous crowd made for an intense night. But the first half was a rite of survival for both teams as they went to intermission tied at 23. Louisville survived a 28-percent shooting and eight turnovers in the first half, while leading scorers - Garcia and Larry O'Bannon - sat on the bench with three fouls each. Memphis was able to stay close despite even worse shooting - 19 percent - and missing all 12 of its 3-point shots. Carney missed all five of his first-half shots, while starting guards Washington and Anthony Rice were a combined 2-of-13. Memphis closed the half 2-of-16 from the field, including Joey Dorsey's tip at the buzzer to tie the score. The Tigers' poor shooting allowed the Cardinals to stay in a zone through part of the first half while their offensive threats were on the bench, preventing Washington from penetrating like he did in the earlier meeting when he scored 25 points. That changed in the early stages of the second half as Memphis started going to the basket, building the lead to 39-28 with 9:41 left. But Louisville had a run of its own remaining, answering with 12 straight points to take the lead for good.

02/27/05		All except the end -- Tiger Nation has a great run nearly all day (Commercial Appeal)
		By Zack McMillin Contact February 27, 2005 At the southwest corner of FedExForum, at Linden and Third, some freelance ticket brokers (for lack of an official term) held up custom-made signs that read: NEED TICKETS. ''Hardest ticket of the year,'' said one man, who did not want to be identified. ''Bout time,'' said another. From their vantage point, at 7 Saturday night, you could hear roars washing over the immediate downtown vicinity. More than a thousand fans, mostly clad in blue, were congregated down the street, in the front plaza just off Beale Street. The occasion? A University of Memphis basketball game. But not just any game. It was Louisville, the Tigers' ancient rival (dating to 1957, anyway), and ESPN's "GameDay" crew had erected its huge sound stage on the corner. The fans, many of whom had been Downtown since early Saturday morning, would see the night end on a down note, with 11th-ranked Louisville overcoming an 11-point second-half deficit to take home a 53-44 victory. That avenges the 85-68 whipping Memphis gave Louisville in Freedom Hall earlier this month. ''We were saying, 'You don't play too many games like this in your career,''' said UofM senior forward Arthur Barclay. ''It was a great environment and I'm happy we had a great turnout like this. ''But I'm sad we lost.'' If the Tigers' first season in FedExForum had not always run smoothly, it could not have been orchestrated much better on Saturday. Chuck House, a UofM fan, had rented a parking lot from which Tiger Nation staged an all-day, most-of-the-night party. When the team emerged from the arena after their afternoon shootaround, they walked through the crowd. ''It was neat for our players to get a taste of everything going on,'' UofM assistant coach Ed Schilling said on the UofM's pregame radio broadcast. ''It was special.'' When the doors opened, the atmosphere felt retro, like old times at the Mid-South Coliseum -- except with an estimated 18,000 fans crowding into the Grizzlies luxurious $250 million digs instead of 11,200 at the old roundhouse. Most everyone in the bursting full student section wore Tiger blue shirts that read, simply, ''Beat Louisville.'' They waved signs (''Dick Vitale for Mayor,'' read one) and even attempted that out-of-synch jump-around thing so popular at student sections around the country. That Keith Lee, the star of the 1985 Tiger Final Four squad, sat right behind the bench just added to the feel. The game matched the pregame hype in terms of intensity and drama, with defense setting the tone and creating a 40-40 tie with 5:30 left. Artistically, it was not one of the prettier games in the long history of the series, which Louisville now leads, 50-34. Memphis finished the game shooting a measly 19.6 percent from the field, Louisville not much better at 30.2 percent. The two schools put more points on the scoreboard when they met at the Liberty Bowl during the football season. Even if it wasn't a masterpiece, it was still memorable. ''Our city and our fans and our university was just so into it,'' said UofM coach John Calipari. ''I think it came across great across the country.'' -- Zack McMillin: 529-2564

02/27/05		Tigers fall apart -- U of M loses big lead, big game to Cards (Commercial Appeal)
		By Gary Parrish Contact February 27, 2005 The University of Memphis was leading by double-digits. Francisco Garcia was benched with four fouls. There were less than 10 minutes until the final buzzer, and the celebration of another win over Louisville was on its way to getting started Saturday night. And why not? "Under those circumstances, you don't lose that game," said UofM senior Duane Erwin. "But we found a way to lose that game." How about many ways? All of which combined to allow Louisville to exit FedExForum on the right side of a 53-44 game that featured mostly wrong for the Tigers and a collapse reminiscent of the one Marquette suffered against the Cardinals two weeks ago. Memphis (16-12, 9-5) turned a 39-28 advantage with 9:41 remaining into a 9-point loss. The Tigers only scored on free throws in the final 14:26, and missed their last 14 field goal attempts while 11th-ranked Louisville (24-4, 12-2) closed on a 25-5 run to send the 18,000 partisans home disappointed. And John Calipari. "That's a disappointing loss," said the UofM coach. "That was ugly." Ugly. Complete with ugly statistics, a brownbag boxscore. Memphis shot 19.6 percent from the field for the game, including a 1-of-23 effort from 3-point range. Credit Anthony Rice with the lone make against seven misses. Jeremy Hunt was 0-for-7, Darius Washington was 0-for-4, Waki Williams was 0-for-1 and Rodney Carney missed all four 3-pointers he took. Speaking of, Carney actually finished 0-for-9 from the field, and was held scoreless for the first time in his Tiger career. Two weeks ago against Louisville, the junior wing scored 24, and he had averaged 24.5 points in his previous four outings. "In my opinion," Carney said, "I was just out there hurting the team." Also hurting the team was the Cardinals' game plan, one that had drastically changed since Memphis beat Louisville, 85-68, on Feb. 9 at Freedom Hall. In that game, the Tigers ran away early, and it was Washington doing most of the running, zigging and zagging his way to 25 points. This time, Louisville refused to play that way. The Cards slowed things down on offense, and played a significant amount of zone defense, which baffled the Tigers. A typical possession featured Washington dribbling at the top of the key, endlessly waiting for something to materialize. Most times, nothing did. So Memphis went 6-for-31 in the first half, and 5-for 25 in the second half, including that 3-point field goal percentage of .043. "We wanted it to be a slowed-down game," said Louisville coach Rick Pitino. "This defense tonight was spectacular in every phase of the game." Added Memphis senior Arthur Barclay, who finished with five points and two rebounds: "We couldn't buy a basket out there. We have games like that sometimes." Louisville junior Taquan Dean led the Cardinals with 14 points and eight rebounds despite battling mononucleosis. Garcia added 12 points, but only played 23 minutes because of foul trouble. Washington paced Memphis with 14 points, one assist and four turnovers. Only one other Tiger -- Rice, who finished with seven points -- scored more than six points. Memphis, which has now lost two straight to Charlotte and Louisville, returns to the court Wednesday at Saint Louis. "Now we just need to keep winning games," Calipari said. "I've got to get this team ready for this next game now because these last two were draining." -- Gary Parrish: 529-2365

02/27/05		Calkins: Except for the ending, day perfect (Commercial Appeal)
		By Geoff Calkins Contact February 27, 2005 Lee Wade surveyed the scene, the tents, the hordes, the joy washing over her town. Wade is a Memphis fan. She couldn't stop smiling, no matter how hard she tried. "Can you believe it?" she said, as fans streamed into FedExForum. "We've already had this much fun and we've still got the game to go." Ahhh. The game. You can't have everything, you know? The Louisville Cardinals defeated the Memphis Tigers Saturday night, 53-44. So much for fate. So much for happy endings. So much for the perfect finish to a perfect day. And it was a perfect day, right up to the point that Memphis forgot how to put the ball in the basket. "I've never seen anything like this," said Jay Adkins, another Memphis fan. "I've never seen anything this large and beautiful." It was a party, a reunion, a celebration of what Memphis basketball can still be. Thousands poured into the city. The streets ran with blue. The ESPN set drew a merry gang to the plaza outside FedExForum. Across the street, a parking lot brimmed with fans. "We're going to tear down the goal posts!" yelled B.J. Clay. Tear down the goalposts? "It was a joke," he said. But that's exactly how it felt. Like a tailgate done right. And everyone had signs, big signs, small signs, funny signs, taunting signs. "Erwin -- the only Red we like." "Last Dance with the Ladies in Red." "Marry Me, Dickie V." Yes, that's what it said. Someone must have gotten into the hooch. In the early afternoon, the team showed up. It was billed as a walk-through, except everyone stopped. Darius Washingon got himself some hot dogs. Slathered mustard on the lot. "Arthur Barclay just cut around everybody and went straight for the dogs," said David Smith, another fan. "It was beautiful. There was no pretense at all." Then everybody packed into FedExForum to watch Memphis smash the Cards. There wasn't much doubt, at that point. The day just had to end well. Never mind that Rodney Carney couldn't shoot. Never mind that the guys were utterly undone by Rick Pitino's devilish new zone. When the Tigers willed themselves to a 39-28 lead with 9:41, all that was left was finding 18,000 brooms. Except, uh, why didn't someone put Chuck House in charge of the second half? He's the fan who arranged all the pregame stuff. Know anything about attacking a zone, Chuck? Anything about shooting? Could you talk to Carney if you have the time? The Tigers scored just five points the rest of the way. They hoisted bad shot after bad shot. "We couldn't buy a basket," said Barclay. "We just could not make a basket," said John Calipari. "In my opinion," said Carney, "I was out there hurting the team." Calipari kept screaming for the players to drive. The players looked as if they didn't have a clue. Carney wound up with scoreless for the first time in his career. The Tigers wound up with four piddling assists. Memphis shot 19 percent from the floor and didn't have a field goal in the final -- you ready for this? -- 14:26. So Louisville ran off with the victory, with the victory and the day. The Cardinals bounced toward their locker room as the stunned crowd filed out. R.C. Johnson looked on in disbelief. "It was a great day for the university," he said. "But I hate to see it end like this." To reach Geoff Calkins, call him at 529-2364 or send an e-mail. You can hear his radio show, "Sportstime with George Lapides and Geoff Calkins," from 8 to 10 a.m. Monday through Friday on WHBQ-AM (560).

02/27/05		U of M Postgame (Commercial Appeal)
		Play of the game Francisco Garcia had been quiet all game. Plagued by foul trouble and errant passes, the Louisville junior looked like something other than the favorite to win Conference USA's Player of the Year for about 39 minutes. But with 35.6 seconds remaining, he made a play to clinch things. Garcia took an inbounds pass near midcourt and beat Jeremy Hunt to the open basket. Garcia made the layup, and was fouled. He hit the ensuing free throw to give Louisville a 51-44 advantage that secured the victory. Stat of the game Memphis made just 1-of-23 3-point attempts, which was no doubt its undoing. Hunt was 0-for-7, Rodney Carney was 0-for-4 and Darius Washington was 0-for-4. The only make belonged to Anthony Rice, who was 1-for-7 with the good shot coming with 17:39 remaining. X's and O's Louisville clearly learned from its earlier loss to the Tigers, and was not going to get beat the same way. This time, the Cards rarely pressed, and played a significant amount of zone. The strategy worked, and kept Washington from running up and down and all around the court at will like the previous meeting at Freedom Hall. The Tigers' 44 points were their lowest total of the season. Washington was held to four field goals. Trends Memphis had not won a game this season while scoring less than 60 points. The Tigers are now are 0-7 in such contests. Odds and ends Keith Lee, who led the Tigers to the Final Four in 1985 and is the school's all-time leading scorer and rebounder, sat in the front row of seats behind the Tiger bench in what is a rare appearance for him at a Tiger basketball game. The UofM recognized him just after halftime, and the crowd responded with an extended standing ovation that ended with a roar when public address announcer Chuck Roberts finished his intro with a hearty: ''KEITH LEE!'' ''That felt great,'' Lee said, but declined further comment. Lee did go back to the media area to see Dick Vitale, the ESPN personality with whom he seems to share a bond. The two hugged and talked briefly. Lee wasn't the only former Tiger great in attendance. Elliot Perry and James Bradley were there, and then there were a plethora of recognizable football players like Marcus Bell, Tony Williams and Patrick Willis. ''It was like old home week,'' said UofM associate athletic director Bob Winn. While the past of Tiger basketball was represented with the presence of Lee, the possible future was also at FedExForum. Sitting right around Lee was Laurinburg Institute Prep standout Shawne Williams, Mitchell High's Thaddeus Young and Ridgeway High's Pierre Niles, as well as other prospects. Williams has signed with the Tigers, and plans to enroll and play at Memphis next year. Young and Niles are considered the prizes of the 2006 local class, and are both being heavily recruited by John Calipari and staff. Just like Wednesday night at Charlotte, Calipari was complaining about fouls early and often. Apparently, Rick Pitino got tired of it quickly, which created one of the funnier moments of the first half. Coming out of a timeout, Calipari was arguing about a call. So Pitino sent Ellis Myles sprinting to the other end of the court. "Hey ref. Ref! REF!" Myles yelled. "You can't keep talking to him the whole game." Will Hudgens may be the Tigers' starting quarterback next season, but he sure won't be their power forward. Hudgens participated in a shooting contest during the first timeout of the second half. He was soundly beaten, but seemed to avoid injury, which must have made Memphis football coach Tommy West breathe easier. When Rodney Carney let go a 3-point shot from the right corner with 2:25 left in the game, he was 0-for-8 for the game. The carom off the rim meant he finished with zero points on 0-for-9 shooting from the field and 0-for-4 from three point range. ''I wasn't making shots and I wasn't being as aggressive as I usually am,'' Carney said. ''Everyone plays me physical and aggressive like that. They are a great team. They got me frustrated.'' Carney came into the game averaging 24.5 points in his previous four games, and Pitino said the entire gameplan was to deny open looks to Carney and Memphis freshman point guard Washington. ''We were going to make them beat us in other areas,'' Pitino said. It was the fifth time this season the Tigers have held a team below 40 percent shooting and still lost. What's next The Tigers return to the court Wednesday when they play at Saint Louis. SLU, coached by Brad Soderberg is 7-20 this season, including 4-10 mark in Conference USA. The Billikens are led by Reggie Bryant, a senior guard who is averaging about 13 points per game. Saint Louis lost at DePaul on Saturday afternoon by a 53-49 score. -- Gary Parrish and Zack McMillin

02/27/05		'GameDay' visit fires up the faithful -- Early risers make sure ESPN's broadcast is 'awesome, baby!' (Commercial Appeal)
		By Phil Stukenborg Contact February 27, 2005 They arrived early, a steady stream of University of Memphis basketball fans, along with a smattering of ESPN "GameDay" followers, and a dozen or so courageous souls wearing University of Louisville colors. ESPN's "College GameDay" set up shop on the plaza in front of FedExForum Saturday -- almost 12 hours before tip-off -- to give the game between Conference USA rivals Memphis and Louisville a proper buildup for ESPN's national telecast. On a clear, cool morning better suited for a mid-October football game, the Tiger (basketball) Nation gathered in the plaza to provide a festive backdrop, complete with the band, cheerleaders and those prerequisite E-S-P-N signs (plEase aSk memPhis to daNce, dEe waSh diaPer daNdy). Some fans were hoisting babies in the air. Others waved huge flags, mostly Tiger themed, although one -- owned by former Tiger band member Shawn Schacht -- was of a Louisville Cardinal with a huge blue X obscuring the menacing redbird. On-set analyst Digger Phelps stirred up the crowd, one that didn't need much help, by waving his arms and leading several Tiger cheers. Host Chris Fowler, analyst Jay Bilas and reporter Andy Katz played it more low-key. It was an event, an early-morning downtown street party that had the feel of a pre-game football tailgate gathering, or, better yet, one of those pep rallies held before an NCAA Tournament basketball game. Tiger athletic director R.C. Johnson and his wife, Melba, made an appearance. So did Memphis Convention & Visitors Bureau president Kevin Kane and nightclub owner Silky Sullivan. Memphis Grizzlies president of business operations Andy Dolich was in the crowd, too. Each was reveling in the national attention ESPN's cameras were generating, describing the positives from their own perspectives. ''You can't buy this kind of exposure,'' Johnson said. ''You couldn't go out and hire this done.'' In between blaring numbers from the Tiger band, Dolich was praising the back-to-back basketball sellouts at the Forum. In addition to Memphis-Louisville, the Grizzlies-Nuggets game Friday night was sold out. ''It's what R.C. and I have talked about for a long time,'' Dolich said. ''You can't have too many successful shows on Broadway ... or, in this case, Beale Street. We've been saying (FedExForum) is the front porch for Memphis and today there are a lot of people on that front porch.'' A crowd estimated at 1,500 to 2,000 milled in the plaza during the show. The parking lot behind Sullivan's club, and across the street from the Forum, served as the tailgating headquarters and a gathering spot after the ESPN crew finished its one-hour set, which included a segment with Tiger coach John Calipari. ''This is what sports can do for a community,'' said Kane, surveying the festival-like atmosphere and soaking in the national exposure. ''This was a billboard for the city and the university.'' Charles Rafael, a season-ticket holder since 1968, has lived in Birmingham the past 21/2 years, but has kept his tickets and attends about half the games. He said Calipari deserves the credit for getting "GameDay" in for a visit. ''It's the first time for 'GameDay' to be outdoors and not on campus,'' said Rafael, 59. ''This is unique and that's because of John Calipari. Whether you like him or not, he gets things done that other people can't.'' Rafael spent the morning collecting autographs on a basketball of the ESPN GameDay crew, beginning with Katz. Tiger football players Trey Adams, Will Hudgens and Derek Clenin spent the wee hours of the morning in line to receive wrist bands for choice student seating. Brian Chambers of Memphis also was an early arrival, about two hours before the 10 a.m. telecast. He brought his sons, 9-year-old Austin and 13-year-old Andrew. Austin is an ESPN junkie who was wearing a 'Memphis is Awesome with a Capital M, Baby!!!' T-shirt. ''They couldn't sleep last night because they were so excited,'' Brian said. Asked when he would have made it downtown if he was old enough to drive, Austin didn't hesitate. ''Two o'clock in the morning,'' he said. -- Phil Stukenborg: 529-2543

02/27/05		Tiger Notes (track, tennis, rifle) (Commercial Appeal)
		By From Our Press Services February 27, 2005 Tiger duo earn wins at C-USA Indoor -- Houston men, women capture league crowns HOUSTON -- The University of Memphis track and field teams showed a flair for the dramatic on day two of the Conference USA Indoor Championships as they saw their two individual titles and a runner-up finish come on the final attempts in an event. Along with the three spectacular finishes Saturday, the Memphis teams claimed two other second-place finishes in the meet held at University of Houston. The host Cougars won both men's and women's titles. The Tigers finished sixth and the Lady Tigers 12th. Senior Janon Busby and junior J.D. Erickson took home crowns in the triple jump and shot put, respectively, as both recorded their winning marks in their final attempts of the competition. Busby saved his best for last, logging a leap of 50-091/4 . Erickson won with a personal-best mark of 57-031/2 . The other Memphis athlete claiming honors on her final throw was Gail Lee, who placed second in the women's shot after recording an NCAA provisional qualifying mark of 50-103/4 with her final toss. Also finishing second were two U of M men, senior Daniel Kiss and junior Willie Green. Kiss clocked a time of 7.86 seconds in the 60-meter hurdles final, but fell just short of the winning mark of 7.81 seconds. Green had a time of 6.79 seconds in the 60-meter dash finals. Other developments Tigers fall: Despite a straight set 6-3, 6-3 win from senior Alex Bucewicz over No. Fabrizio Sestini, the University of Memphis men's tennis team (4-6, 1-1) dropped a 4-1 decision to No. 13 TCU in Fort Worth, Texas in the Conference USA Tennis Shootout. With TCU up 1-0 after winning the doubles point, Jordan Freitas downed Marten Tamla, 6-2, 6-3 at No. 4 singles. Bucewicz answered back with the first, and only, point Memphis would score, winning at No. 1. TCU advanced to the championship, where it will face No. 37 Louisville. Memphis will play for third place and face East Carolina this morning. Lady Tigers fall: The University of Memphis women's tennis team (2-5, 1-2 C-USA) dropped a 6-1 decision to visiting DePaul. Senior Marlene Dirnstorfer posted the Lady Tigers' only point with a 6-4, 6-4 win at No. 1 singles. Lady Tiger wins shootoff: In the finals of the air rifle portion of the Great America Rifle Conference Championships at Oxford, Miss., University of Memphis shooter Beth Tidmore defeated Army's Christopher Abalo in a five-shot shootoff for the conference individual title. Tidmore had scored a 593 and Abalo a 594 in the team competition to reach the finals. Nebraska captured the team air rifle title with a total of 2,349. Memphis finished second with 2,333 points. Army was third (2,329), Kentucky fourth (2,328), Ole Miss fifth (2,312) Competition wraps up today with smallbore.

02/27/05		Hoosiers outlast Tigers (Commercial Appeal)
		By The Commercial Appeal February 27, 2005 Indiana pushed across three runs in the top of the 10th inning Saturday and held on to beat the University of Memphis, 9-8, at the Service Academy Spring Classic Saturday at USA Stadium in Millington. The Hoosiers improve to 3-0 while Memphis falls to 1-1 under new coach Daron Schoenrock. Joe Kemp had two hits, including a homer, scored three runs and had three RBI to pace the Hoosiers. Former CBHS player Chad House went 3-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored to pace the Tiger offense. Cory Barton drove in a pair of runs for the U of M. Neil Schenk, a freshman from Briarcrest making his first collegiate start, gave up five hits and four runs in four innings of work. Reliever Tim Senter, the last of four Tiger pitchers, took the loss, In other games Missouri 10, Indiana State 1: James Boone hit a three-run homer and Missouri (6-1) won its fifth straight game, taking advantage of five errors by the Sycamores (1-2). Navy 5, Air Force 3: The Midshipmen (2-3-1) scored all of their runs in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings to rally for the win. Thomas Hamilton went 2-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI for Navy. Air Force falls to 3-7. -------------------- Service Academy Spring Classic Today's games (at USA Stadium) Navy vs. Indiana, 9 a.m. Air Force vs. Indiana St., noon Memphis vs. Missouri, 3 p.m. --------------------

02/26/05		Baseball Falls to Indiana, 9-8 in Extra-Inning Thriller -- Tigers face Missouri on Sunday at 3 p.m. (GoTigersGo.com)
		MILLINGTON, Tenn. - A strong 10th -inning rally by Memphis fell short as Indiana outlasted the Tigers 9-8 Saturday afternoon in the 2005 Service Academies Spring Classic. Memphis drops to 1-1, while Indiana remains undefeated at 3-0. After falling behind 9-6 in the 10th the Tigers put together a strong rally in a bid to pull off the come-from-behind win. Senior outfielder Jordan Hart drew a walk to lead off the frame and Robbie Goss was then hit by a pitch. Hart and Goss each advanced on a wild pitch before junior catcher Cory Barton drove Hart in with a single through the left side. Memphis cut the lead to 9-8 on an RBI-single off the bat of junior Patrick Hope. A walk by Chad House loaded the sacks with one out, but Memphis was unable to produce anymore offense The Hoosiers jumped on the board early, with a pair of runs in the first inning and two more in the third to claim a 4-1 lead, before the Tiger bats came alive in the sixth. Ryan Martin, who had two hits on the night, ignited the sixth-inning rally with a one-out single. He came around to score on a two-out triple by Hart, cutting the Hoosier's advantage to 4-2. The Tigers pulled with in one run when Barton knocked Hart home with a single to right field. Back-to-back doubles by freshman K.K. Chalmers and House knotted the tilt at 4-4. House advanced to third on a passed ball, and gave the Tigers the go-ahead run when he scored on a wild pitch from IU reliever Chris McCombs. The lead was short-lived, however, as the Hoosiers responded with two runs in the eighth inning on RBI's by Tyler Cox and Reggie Watson, giving them a 6-5 lead. Memphis did not go down with a fight. Jordan Tolliver drew a two-out walk in the ninth and Martin drilled a double into the rightfield corner to score Tolliver from first and tie the ballgame at six apiece. With two-outs, the Hoosiers plated three unearned runs in the 10th to take a 9-6 lead before holding off the strong Tiger surge. Joe Kemp was the star for IU. The senior went 2-for-4 with three runs and three RBI. He also came on in relief to claim the win. Junior College transfer Tim Senter took the loss for Memphis after giving up three unearned runs in two-and two-thirds innings of relief. Freshman lefthander Neil Schenk had a solid outing in his first collegiate appearance. The Briarcrest High product fanned four in five innings. House led Memphis offensively with three hits, while Martin, Barton and Chalmers each had two. Memphis will wrap up the opening weekend of play on Sunday when they face Missouri in the SASC finale at 3 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on WUMR FM 91.7.

02/26/05		Tigers Fall To Cardinals, 53-44 -- Darius Washington scores 14 to lead Memphis (GoTigersGo.com)
		MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - Taquan Dean scored 14 points and Francisco Garcia added 12 to lead No. 11 Louisville to a 53-44 victory over Memphis on Saturday night. The Cardinals (24-4, 12-2 Conference USA) used a 12-0 run midway through the second half to take the lead. Although the Tigers tied the game once, they never overcame the Cardinals as Juan Palacios scored six straight points and had a block down the stretch. Darius Washington scored 14 for Memphis (16-12, 9-5), which shot 19.6 percent for the game and hit only one of its 23 shots from outside the arc. Leading scorer Rodney Carney was scoreless, missing all nine of his shots, including four 3-pointers. It was a game that featured tough defense and physical play on both ends of the court, contributing to poor shooting nights all around, little offensive punch and a load of turnovers. The game was the final regular season conference game in the heated rivalry as Louisville is leaving Conference USA after this season to join the Big East. The series dates to the mid-1960s and the Missouri Valley Conference. The two teams, who played periodically before the Valley days, also were members of the Metro Conference before the current C-USA. They'll continue the series over the next four years, although conference bragging rights won't hang in the balance. Memphis defeated Louisville 85-68 at Freedom Hall earlier this month, marking the Cardinals' worst home loss in the Rick Pitino era. Louisville's revenge factor, the rivalry and a raucous crowd made for an intense night. But the first half was a rite of survival for both teams as they went to intermission tied at 23. Louisville survived a 28-percent shooting and eight turnovers in the first half, while leading scorers - Garcia and Larry O'Bannon - sat on the bench with three fouls each. Memphis was able to stay close despite even worse shooting - 19 percent - and missing all 12 of its 3-point shots. Carney missed all five of his first-half shots, while starting guards Washington and Anthony Rice were a combined 2-of-13. Memphis closed the half 2-of-16 from the field, including Joey Dorsey's tip at the buzzer to tie the score. The Tigers' poor shooting allowed the Cardinals to stay in a zone through part of the first half while their offensive threats were on the bench, preventing Washington from penetrating like he did in the earlier meeting when he scored 25 points. That changed in the early stages of the second half as Memphis started going to the basket, building the lead to 39-28 with 9:41 left. But Louisville had a run of its own remaining, answering with 12 straight points to take the lead for good.

02/26/05		Memphis Basketball Postgame Quotes -- No. 11 Louisville 53, Memphis 44 (GoTigersGo.com)
		Memphis Head Coach John Calipari "(Louisville playing zone defense) got us to stay on the perimeter. They didn't think they could guard us man, and they were probably right. We were able to get the ball where we wanted to. If you're not willing to drive it, then we'll throw inside, which is what we did later to get us back to playing the right way. The zone hadn't bothered us like this all year. I'll tell you what usually happens, we make threes." "We just got to keep winning games. You know you win the next two, you win a couple in the tournament, you lose in the finals, you can still get in. You know I'm not thinking about that right now. I got to get this team ready for this next game now because these two last games were draining games. We got to come out and be high energy and really passionate for this next game." "We had our chances. We just weren't aggressive at the end. The enormity of the game may have hit them at that point." Louisville Head Coach Rick Pitino "Defense will win games for you, and I tell our team all the time to not outscore people. If we have a great night then so be it, but if we don't, we must rely on our defense. Another thing about the game when Memphis beat us was we did not get a chance to play zone." "I think Memphis is 13-6 when they make six threes or more, but 3-6 when they do not. We drew a line in the sand and did not let the three-point shot beat us. We were going to make the three point shot a brick wall. We were going to make them beat us in other areas."

02/26/05		Memphis Basketball Boxscore -- No. 11 Louisville 53, Memphis 44 (GoTigersGo.com)
		Official Basketball Box Score -- GAME TOTALS -- FINAL STATISTICS LOUISVILLE vs MEMPHIS 02/26/05 8:00 pm at Memphis, Tenn. (FedExForum) --------------------------------------------------- VISITORS: LOUISVILLE 24-4 (12-2) TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS ## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN 02 MYLES, Ellis........ f 3-7 0-0 2-8 5 6 11 4 8 4 1 1 0 28 32 GARCIA, Francisco... f 3-10 1-5 5-5 0 1 1 4 12 0 5 1 1 23 52 GEORGE, Otis........ f 1-5 0-0 0-2 3 3 6 4 2 4 2 2 3 24 11 JENKINS, Brandon.... g 0-4 0-2 2-2 1 5 6 3 2 0 0 0 2 36 34 O'BANNON, Larry..... g 1-2 0-0 0-0 1 3 4 3 2 2 1 0 0 12 01 WADE, Lorrenzo...... 2-3 1-2 0-0 0 0 0 4 5 0 0 0 0 16 03 PALACIOS, Juan...... 2-9 0-4 4-7 2 4 6 0 8 0 5 2 1 25 05 DEAN, Taquan........ 4-13 4-11 2-3 0 8 8 2 14 1 1 0 3 33 12 GIANINY, Brad....... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0+ 15 JOHNSON, Perrin..... 0-0 0-0 0-2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 TEAM................ 2 4 6 Totals.............. 16-53 6-24 15-29 14 34 48 24 53 11 15 6 10 200 TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 7-25 28.0% 2nd Half: 9-28 32.1% Game: 30.2% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 4-13 30.8% 2nd Half: 2-11 18.2% Game: 25.0% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 5-12 41.7% 2nd Half: 10-17 58.8% Game: 51.7% 4,1 -------------------------------------------------- HOME TEAM: MEMPHIS 16-12 (9-5) TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS ## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN 10 Carney, Rodney...... f 0-9 0-4 0-0 4 0 4 4 0 1 0 0 0 21 11 Erwin, Duane........ f 1-5 0-0 4-6 4 7 11 3 6 1 4 4 0 29 55 Barclay, Arthur..... f 1-1 0-0 3-6 1 1 2 4 5 0 0 2 1 22 23 Rice, Anthony....... g 2-12 1-7 2-2 0 1 1 2 7 1 1 0 1 38 35 WASHINGTON, Darius.. g 4-15 0-4 6-8 2 6 8 2 14 1 4 0 2 39 01 Williams, Waki...... 1-3 0-1 0-0 0 4 4 2 2 0 1 0 0 13 05 Hunt, Jeremy........ 1-9 0-7 4-6 1 4 5 2 6 0 2 0 1 23 14 Njoya, Simplice..... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0+ 15 Dorsey, Joey........ 1-2 0-0 2-4 4 5 9 4 4 0 3 0 2 15 TEAM................ 3 3 Totals.............. 11-56 1-23 21-32 16 31 47 23 44 4 15 6 7 200 TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 6-31 19.4% 2nd Half: 5-25 20.0% Game: 19.6% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 0-12 0.0% 2nd Half: 1-11 9.1% Game: 4.3% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 11-17 64.7% 2nd Half: 10-15 66.7% Game: 65.6% 5,2 ------------------------------------------------ Officials: Rick Hartzell, Paul Janssen, Steve Olson Technical fouls: LOUISVILLE-None. MEMPHIS-None. Attendance: 18000 Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total LOUISVILLE.................... 23 30 - 53 MEMPHIS....................... 23 21 - 44

02/26/05		Men's Soccer Takes Home Fifth Annual Memphis Cup Trophy -- Cormac McArdle named tournament MVP (GoTigersGo.com)
		MEMPHIS, Tenn. - After a three-year drought, the University of Memphis men's soccer team took home the fifth annual Memphis Cup Trophy on Saturday after beating Christian Brothers University, 1-0, and Rhodes College, 4-0. The last time the Tigers won the Memphis Cup was in its inaugural year in 2001. Last year the U of M was defeated, 1-0, to CBU in the tournament championship. Taking home tournament MVP was Tiger forward Cormac McArdle who scored one of Memphis' four goals against Rhodes College. Goalkeepers Gavin McInerney and Tyler Strom teamed up to earn back-to-back shutouts in the tournament for the Tigers. "Our fitness looked good today," said Memphis head coach Richie Grant. "It was good to get two games in one day and a great opportunity to play against other teams in the area. Now we'll just get ready for our next spring game." The Tigers scored all the points they would need five minutes into the first half against CBU when Harrison Kiser knocked in a reflection off a Dayton O'Brien corner kick. Memphis dominated in the first half against the two-time defending Memphis Cup Tournament winning Bucs. The U of M collected nine shots in the half, with three on goal. McArdle and Marcus McCarty both had three shots in the half with one each on goal. The Tigers also out cornered the Bucs 8-0 in cornerkicks, with all eight coming in the first 30 minutes. Memphis then outshot CBU 5-3 in a scoreless second half. "We created a good amount of chances in the first half," Grant said. "But we didn't finish the second as strong as we would have liked." Memphis closed out the tournament by scoring two goals in each half against Rhodes College. O'Brien gave the Tigers the game-winner off an assist from McCarty in the first half. Stephen Cooling then gave the U of M a 2-0 lead at halftime with an unassisted goal. In the second half, O'Brien picked up his second assist on the day on a goal by McCarty. O'Brien finished with four points in the two games while McCarty had three. McArdle finished the scoring run for Memphis with a goal on a penalty kick to give the Tigers a 4-0 victory over the Lynx. "It was a good performance by Memphis," said Rhodes College head coach Phil Gordan. "The man of the match was Cormac. He caused us problems all day long." CBU took second in the tournament after beating Rhodes in the first game, 5-4, on penalty kicks after a 0-0 score at the end of regulation play. "It was good to get all the college programs in the area together," Gordan said. "There is a sense of community. All of us know each other and have respect for one another. We always look forward to these match-ups in the spring." 1st 2nd CBU 0 0 -- 0 Memphis 1 0 -- 1 Scoring - Memphis: Harrison Kiser (Dayton O'Brien) 1st 2nd Rhodes 0 0 -- 0 Memphis 2 2 -- 4 Scoring - Memphis: Dayton O'Brien (Marcus McCarty), Stephen Cooling (unassisted), Marcus McCarty (Dayton O'Brien), Cormac McArdle (penalty kick)

02/26/05		Men's Tennis Falls at No. 13 TCU, 4-1 -- Alex Bucewicz knocks off No. 22 ranked singles player in country in straight sets at home (GoTigersGo.com)
		FT. WORTH, Texas - Despite a straight set 6-3, 6-3 win from senior Alex Bucewicz over No. 22 Fabrizio Sestini, the men's tennis team (4-6, 1-1) dropped a 4-1 decision to No. 13 TCU in Ft. Worth, Saturday. The Tigers started out strong in doubles as the doubles duo of Mark Finnegan and Alex Jago picked up their eighth straight win of the year, 8-5, at No. 3 over the team of Radu Barbu and Jacopo Tezza (TCU's No. 3 and 2 singles players, respectively). But TCU came back to get an 8-5 win at No. 2 doubles and a clash between two ranked doubles teams went to a tiebreaker, where the no. 13 ranked team of Rafael Abreu and Sestini downed the No. 58 Memphis team of Scott Felsenthal and James Spence, 9-8 (4), clinching the doubles point. With TCU up 1-0, Jordan Freitas downed Marten Tamla, 6-2, 6-3 at No. 4 singles to stretch the lead to 2-0. Bucewicz answered back with the first, and only, point Memphis would score, winning at No. 1, before Abreau downed Finnegan at No. 5 to make it 3-1, TCU. Radu Barbu used a 7-6, 6-1 win over Alex Jago at No. 3 to clinch the victory and send TCU to tournament championship, where they will face No. 37 Louisville. With the loss, Memphis will play for third place. The Tigers will face East Carolina, Sunday morning at 9 a.m. in the third-place match. No. 13 TCU 4, Memphis 1 Singles No. 1 - Alex Bucewicz (UM) def. No. 22 Fabrizio Sestini, 6-3, 6-3 No. 2 - Jacopo Tezza vs. James Spence (UM), dnf No. 3 - Radu Barbu def. Alex Jago (UM), 7-6, 6-1 No. 4 - Jordan Freitas def. Marten Tamla (UM), 6-2, 6-3 No. 5 - Rafael Abreau def. Mark Finnegan (UM), 6-4, 6-2 No. 6 - Jacob Martin vs. Scott Felsenthal (UM), dnf Order of Finish: 4, 1, 5, 3 Doubles No. 1 - No. 13 Abreau/Sestini def. No. 58 Felsenthal/Spence (UM) 9-8 (4) No. 2 - Freitas/Martin def. Bucewicz/Tamla (UM), 8-5 No. 3 - Finnegan/Jago (UM) def. Barbu/Tezza, 8-5 Order of Finish: 3, 2, 1

02/26/05		Busby and Erickson Claim Event Crowns on Day Two of C-USA Indoors -- Kiss, Green, and Lee grab runner-up finishes (GoTigersGo.com)
		Houston - The University of Memphis track and field teams showed a flare for the dramatic on day two of the Conference USA Indoor Championships as they saw their two individual titles and a runner-up finish come on final attempts in an event. Along with the three spectacular finishes, the Memphis teams claimed two other second-place finishes on the second day of the meet, which was held at the Yeoman Fieldhouse on the campus of the University of Houston. Senior Janon Busby and junior J.D. Erickson took home crowns in the triple jump and shot put, respectively, but left the issue in doubt until the last possible moment, as both recorded their winning marks in their final attempts of the competition. Busby had registered three fouls and two sub-par jumps in his first five attempts, but saved his best for last, logging a leap of 50-09.25" (15.47m) to win the men's triple jump, an event which he entered as a solid favorite. The tally was Busby's second scoring performance of the meet, as he recorded a fourth-place finish and five points with his personal-best leap of 6-09.75 (2.08) in Friday's high jump. Erickson had faired slightly better in his first five throws in the men's shot put, notching two quality tosses, but solidified the victory in his final put with a personal-best mark of 57-03.50" (17.46m). The Memphis native also recorded his second scoring performance of the meet, as he previously placed second in Friday's weight throw with a season-best toss of 60-00.00" (18.59m). The other Memphis athlete claiming honors on her final throw was Lady Tiger Gail Lee, who placed second in the women's shot put, becoming a third U of M athlete to score in two events. In what turned out to be a two horse race between Lee and South Florida's Chandra Brewer, the junior recorded an NCAA provisional qualifying mark of 50-10.75" (15.51m) with her final toss, but was edged out by Brewer's heave of 51-07.75" (15.74m). With today's performance, along with her winning toss of 61-07.00" (18.77m) in yesterday's weight throw, Lee recorded a total of 18 points for the Lady Tigers. Also claiming runner-up tallies were two U of M men, senior Daniel Kiss and junior Willie Green, who logged eight points apiece for the Tigers. Kiss, who entered the meet in a neck-and-neck race with defending champion, Andrew Carruthers of Houston, clocked a time of 7.86 seconds in the 60m hurdles final, but fell just short of Carruthers winning mark of 7.81 seconds. Green, on the other had, was a surprise to even be in the finals of the 60m, as he had not run the event in any meet leading up to C-USA Championships. However, he posted a time of 6.79 seconds in the finals, missing a personal best by just one one-hundredth of a second, and taking home runner-up honors. Five additional Tiger athletes netted scoring performances on day two of the meet. Austin Hunter, Norbert Gulyas and Brandon Winbush each scored three points as Hunter was sixth in the 400m with a time of 48.90 seconds, Gulyas was sixth in the shot put with a season-best toss of 51-01.25" (15.27m) and Winbush was sixth in the triple jump with a season-best leap of 46-00.25" (14.03m). Winbush's tally was his second top-eight performance of the meet, as he also placed fifth in Friday's long jump. The two remaining day two scorers for the U of M men were Abraham Shaposhnik and Jason Morgan. Shaposhnik placed seventh in the 800m with a time of 1:58.46 to record two points, while Morgan finished eighth in the men's heptathlon with a school-record total of 4,470 points to claim one point. Daniel Bandy, who placed sixth and grabbed three points in Friday's long jump, was the only other individual scorer for the U of M men. The 4x400m relay team of Courtney Taylor, Abraham Shaposhnik, Sam James and Austin Hunter claimed one additional point for the Tigers, who ended the meet with a sixth-place total of 68 points. Houston won the men's team title with 156.50 points. On the women's side, three Lady Tigers, outside of Lee netted scoring performances. The highest of these finishers was Sheena Ohlig, who placed fifth and scored four points in the 60m hurdles with a time 8.75 seconds. Ohlig had also previously run a time of 8.72 seconds in Friday's preliminaries to set a new school record in the event. Also scoring for the Memphis women were Chen Edri and Annette Uzoh. Uzoh claimed one point for the Lady Tigers on Friday night as she finished eighth in the weight throw with a personal-best toss of 51-01.00" (15.57m). Edri, who entered the meet ranked fifth in the conference in the high jump, had a somewhat disappointing performance, but still managed to log one-half point with a leap of 5-04.50" (1.64m). The Lady Tigers ended the meet with a twelfth-place total of 23.50 points. Houston, with 117 points, also took home top honors for the women. Upon completion of the C-USA Indoor meet three U of M athletes, Lee, Kiss and Busby, have provisionally qualified for NCAA Indoor Championships and turn their attention towards that meet, in hopes that their marks are good enough to make the field for the March 11-12 event. The remainder of the Memphis track and field teams will now begin to prepare for the outdoor season, which will begin on March 19 with the Spring Opener, hosted by Rhodes College in Memphis.

02/26/05		Women's Tennis Falls to DePaul, 6-1 -- Will face UAB, Sunday, at 9 a.m. (GoTigersGo.com)
		MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The University of Memphis women's tennis team (2-5, 1-2 C-USA) dropped a 6-1 decision to DePaul University in league action, Saturday morning. Senior Marlene Dirnstorfer posted Memphis' only point with a 6-4, 6-4 win at No. 1 singles. DePaul then used straight set decisions in the other five singles matches and a sweep of doubles to take the match, 6-1. Memphis will face UAB, Sunday morning, at 9 a.m. at Well Works (formerly Wimbledon Tennis Club). DePaul will face UAB later Saturday afternoon, beginning at 2 p.m. on the U of M campus. DePaul 6, Memphis 1 Singles No. 1 - Marlene Dirnstorfer (UM) def. Beatrix Csordas, 6-4, 6-4 No. 2 --- Marina Parashkevova def. Andrea Feichtinger (UM), 6-2, 6-3 No. 3 - Gergana Ganeva def. Brooke Cowie (UM), 6-0, 6-2 No. 4 - Petra Ruhusova def. Kristin Noble (UM), 7-5, 6-2 No. 5 - Brenda Leung def. Christine Wieser (UM), 6-2, 6-4 No. 6 - Bojana Murisic def. Alex Tjioe (UM), 6-0, 6-2 Doubles No. 1 - Parashkevova/Csordas def. Dirnstorfer/Cowie (UM), 8-0 No. 2 - Ganeva/Ruhusova def. Feichtinger/Tjioe (UM), 8-2 No. 3 - Murisic/Leung def. Kathrin Kohl/Noble (UM), 8-6

02/26/05		Men's Tennis Blanks No. 75 DePaul -- Picks up first win over a ranked opponent (GoTigersGo.com)
		FT. WORTH, Texas - The University of Memphis men's tennis team (4-5, 1-0 C-USA) picked up its first win over a ranked opponent, with a 4-0 sweep of No. 75 DePaul in first round action at the Conference USA Tennis Shootout held at TCU, Friday. The Tigers won the No. 1 and 2 doubles matches 8-4, 8-2, then got straight set wins at the top three singles spots to claim the 4-0 victory. With the win, Memphis advances to a second round match against No. 13 TCU, Saturday at 1:30 p.m. With the loss, DePaul drops into the consolation bracket, and will face Saint Louis at 1:30 p.m., Saturday. Memphis 4, No. 75 DePaul 0 Singles No. 1 - Alex Bucewicz (UM) def. Mark Henderson, 6-2, 6-2 No. 2 - James Spence (UM) def. Robert Kotroczo, 6-0, 6-3 No. 3 - Alex Jago (UM) def. Sam Davidson, 6-0, 6-2 No. 4 - Mark Finnegan (UM) vs. George Wang, DNF No. 5 - Marten Tamla (UM) vs. Jack Komar, DNF No. 6 - Scott Felsenthal (UM) vs. Eric Huffman, DNF No. 1 - No. 58 Felsenthal/Spence (UM) def. Henderson/Huffman, 8-4 No. 2 - Bucewicz/Tamla (UM) def. Komar/Wang, 802 No. 3 - Finnegan/Jago (UM) vs. Davidson/Kotroczo, DNF

02/26/05		A red-hot rivalry -- Emotions high for C-USA swan song (Commercial Appeal)
		By Gary Parrish Contact February 26, 2005 John Calipari has clout. He doesn't mind using it. In the past, the University of Memphis coach lobbied strongly enough to make Conference USA do away with its divisions. For the future, he helped convince the powers-that-be that a 14-game schedule is the way to go. One thing Calipari couldn't do? Persuade league officials to cancel this rematch with 11th-ranked Louisville. For that, he is disappointed. "I tried," Calipari said. "But I guess we're going to have to play it." And then kiss each other goodbye. Tonight at 8:05 the Tigers (16-11, 9-4) and Cardinals (23-4, 11-2) will meet at FedExForum in a regular-season game as C-USA foes for the final time. Sure, they'll play again next year. And the next. And for at least two years after that, swapping sites each time. But none of those games will decide a league championship. They won't be for C-USA bragging rights. So in many ways, tonight is the end of an era. Because barring a meeting this postseason, it'll be the last time the Tigers and Cardinals play in the same league before Louisville bolts to the Big East and leaves Memphis in a depleted C-USA. With respect to this rivalry, it's a development neither side can enjoy because it takes away a fundamental reason to hate each other. In case you forgot, Memphis and Louisville love to hate each other, dating back, presumably, to the first meeting between the two schools on Jan. 6, 1948. "With the players and tradition, this goes way back and is one of the biggest rivalries in the country," said Milt Wagner, who has been on each side, worn both red and blue as a player at Louisville and sat on the bench as an assistant coach at Memphis. "When you talk about rivalries, you have to talk about Memphis and Louisville," Wagner said. "Every time Memphis and Louisville play, the atmosphere is always going to be unbelievable because it's some of the best fans in the country." In addition to the history, tonight's contest has real, present-day implications, and for both schools. For Memphis, it's arguably a must-win game in respect to keeping alive its quest for an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. For Louisville, it's an opportunity to repay the Tigers for an 85-68 blowout at Freedom Hall two weeks ago that left the Cardinals -- or at least Taquan Dean -- anxious for this rematch. Asked whether he was ready for another shot at Memphis, Dean didn't mince words. "Oh, that's what we're looking for," he told The Courier-Journal. "When we meet again it will be a different story. You can count on that." The previous story was total dominance by the Tigers, who entered 17-point underdogs and left 17-point victors. Memphis led by as many as 28 points on that rainy Wednesday night in Kentucky, and handed Louisville what has been its lone loss in the past 13 games. "So many people today have a tendency to blame officials or blame themselves when they lose, but quite frankly, Memphis was brilliant," Louisville coach Rick Pitino told The Courier-Journal this week. "You have to give credit. They were great. Even if we played a good game, they would have still won that night." But what about this night, before what is expected to be a capacity crowd thanks to the game officially becoming a sellout Friday afternoon? Can the Tigers beat Louisville twice in a season for the first time since 1997? Can they frustrate Francisco Garcia, and hold the junior wing to less than eight points again? Who knows? But one thing Memphis does know, is that it better, or risk positioning itself for a third NIT bid in five years. "We need this one," said point guard Darius Washington. "I'm excited. I mean, this is what college basketball is all about." -- Gary Parrish: 529-2365 -------------------------------- Cardinals at Tigers When, where: Today, 8:05 p.m., at FedExForum. TV, radio: ESPN, WMC-AM (790), WKBQ-FM (93.5). Tickets: None available. ESPN College GameDay: Broadcast live from FedExForum from 10-11 a.m. (ESPN2) and 7-8 p.m. (ESPN).

02/26/05		Tigers vs. Louisville (Commercial Appeal)
		8:05 p.m., FedExForum TV, radio: ESPN, WMC-AM (790), WKBQ-FM (93.5) Records: Tigers 16-11 (9-4 Conference USA), No. 11 Louisville 23-4 (11-2). Series standing: Louisville leads, 49-34. Latest line: Louisville by 31/2 . Notables The UofM has invited former Tiger great Keith Lee to FedExForum today and is expecting him to make his first appearance at a Memphis game in many years. Despite being out of the spotlight for the past decade, Lee remains an icon in this city after leading the Tigers to the Final Four in 1985. The school has reserved seats for Lee behind the Memphis bench, and would like to, at some point, recognize him. "Keith is arguably the greatest to ever play here," said Memphis coach John Calipari. "I want him to get that standing ovation, and for people to be able to honor him. I hope him coming will close a hole that's been here for a while." ... ESPN's GameDay coverage will originate from outside FedExForum this morning and air live from 10 to 11. Fans are encouraged to trek downtown, and create an environment for the event. ... This is the Tigers' 12th game on national television this season. They are 5-6 in those games. ... Brad Nessler, Dick Vitale and Erin Andrews will handle the broadcast of the game for ESPN. ... As of Friday, the UofM's CollegeRPI.com ranking was 114. Louisville's was 26. ... Though this is the last Conference USA regular-season game between Memphis and Louisville, this series is not over. As part of the Cardinals' "penalty" for leaving C-USA in favor of the Big East, Louisville has agreed to play Memphis once each year through the 2008-2009 season. Two of those games will be at Freedom Hall; two will be at FedExForum. It remains undetermined where next season's game will be. ... Both the Tigers and Cardinals will be wearing blue wristbands tonight as part of the NCAA's "Don't bet on it" wristband campaign. The campaign is designed to bring awareness to gambling issues that could potentially plague college basketball. ... The Tigers have won seven of their past eight games against Louisville in Memphis. The only loss in that stretch was a 74-59 defeat on Feb. 2, 2000, which was the season before Calipari took over the program. Scouting the Tigers Memphis is coming off an 80-77 loss at No. 21 Charlotte Wednesday night, the Tigers' first defeat in four games. Freshman point guard Darius Washington led the UofM with 29 points on 11-of-22 shooting, but he had no assists and five turnovers. In Conference USA games, Washington is averaging 18.4 points, which is second in the league behind only Charlotte's Curtis Withers. Memphis is holding opponents to 38.1 percent shooting, which ranks second in C-USA. Still, the Tigers' past two opponents (Southern Miss and Charlotte) have combined to shoot 45.1 percent from the field. Memphis is 10-4 at FedExForum this season, including a 5-1 mark in league play. Rodney Carney, the UofM's leading scorer, is averaging 24.5 points in the Tigers' past four contests. Scouting the Cardinals Louisville, coached by Rick Pitino, is coming off an 84-66 win over Saint Louis last Sunday. The Cardinals haven't played since, which means they should be rested for tonight's rematch with Memphis. Junior forward Francisco Garcia is Louisville's top player, and is averaging 16.0 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game. His biggest moment lately was a 24-foot game-winner at Marquette last week that helped Louisville avoid its third Conference USA loss. The Cards have won 12 of their past 13 games dating to Jan. 8. The only loss in that stretch was an 85-68 defeat to Memphis at Freedom Hall on Feb. 9 in which the Tigers led by 28 in the second half. Louisville is 7-1 on the road this season. The lone loss came at Houston to open C-USA play. Taquan Dean is the Cards' third-leading scorer and one of the best shooters in C-USA. He scored 15 against Saint Louis earlier in the week despite a diagnosis of mononucleosis. Key matchup: Darius Washington vs. Taquan Dean/Brandon Jenkins The biggest problem for Louisville in the last meeting was that it couldn't press or really do anything with Washington, the Tigers' freshman point guard. Washington got to the basket at will against the Cards, creating layup after layup until Memphis had opened a 28-point lead that led to the blowout. If the Louisville point guards aren't better defensively tonight, it could be more of the same: Washington layups and a Memphis win. -- Gary Parrish

02/26/05		The 10 toughest losses (Commercial Appeal)
		March 11, 1972 Louisville 83, Tigers 72 (Missouri Valley Conference playoff at Vanderbilt) If you wonder why Tiger fans seem sometimes paranoid, this game (and that 1957 NIT title loss to Bradley) provides some of the explanation. The Tigers and Cardinals each finished with 12-2 records in the Missouri Valley, and, despite the irrefutable evidence of Memphis's 2-0 head-to-head record with the Cardinals (and a margin of victory of 23 points), the league mandated a playoff game in Nashville, at Vanderbilt's Memorial Gym. All 15,581 tickets sold out quickly, and every seat in the converted opera house was filled more than two hours before the game. At one point, the governors of each state came to midcourt to calm both sets of fans. You know the old saying: It's mighty hard to beat a team three times in one season. Thanks in part to a halftime buzzer- beater that seized momentum, the fourth-ranked Cardinals defeated the 11th-ranked Tigers. Denny Crum's first team, led by Jim Price, would go on to the Final Four. March 2, 1986 Louisville 70, Tigers 69 at Freedom Hall To this day, Milt Wagner says he was fouled. To this day, Andre Turner says he got all ball. Whatever the case, nobody at Freedom Hall doubted whether Milt -- the Ice Man, they called him -- would sink both free throws to give Louisville a victory to clinch the Metro Conference's regular-season title. Led by freshman center Pervis Ellison, Louisville would win handily vs. the Tigers in the Metro Tournament and then would beat Duke in the finals for Denny Crum's second NCAA title. Feb. 18, 1984 Louisville 85, Memphis 78 at the Mid-South Coliseum The Tigers were ranked eighth in the country and riding a 12-game winning streak when the unranked Cardinals dominated the second half. Milt Wagner had a 34-point effort in one of the great shooting displays ever at the Coliseum. Louisville, which would again sweep the season series, was 12-7 against the Tigers in the Dana Kirk era. March 14, 2003 Louisville 78, Tigers 75 at Freedom Hall in C-USA Tournament In one of the best games in series history, Memphis, ranked 16th in the nation, overcame a 16-point first-half deficit to take a lead in the final four minutes. But a three-pointer by Taquan Dean with 11.1 seconds left lifted Louisville, ranked 20th, to a one-point lead and made the difference. Feb. 3, 1996 Louisville 74, Memphis 56 at Freedom Hall The 11th-ranked Tigers ran into a determined Louisville team, led by DeJuan Wheat and Samaki Walker, in the first regular-season meeting between the teams in four years. Memphis went 6-5 the rest of the way and lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to Drexel. Feb. 19, 1983 Louisville 75, Tigers 66 at the Mid-South Coliseum The Tigers were ranked 13th in the country when ninth-ranked Louisville, led by Milt Wagner, Lancaster Gordon and Rodney McCray took the first of three wins over the Tigers that season -- including an OT thriller at Freedom Hall to end the regular season. Nov. 29, 1975 Louisville 79, Tigers 74 at Mid-South Coliseum In this season opener eighth-ranked Louisville poured cold water on the expectations surrounding the 19th-ranked Tigers. Wayne Yates's second team would start the season 0-4 but, led by Bill Cook and Alvin Wright, would rally to earn an NCAA Tournament bid. Feb. 16, 1981 Louisville 95, Tigers 65 at Freedom Hall Earlier that season, in Dana Kirk's second season as coach, the Tigers had stunned the defending national champs with a 60-55 overtime victory. Louisville got revenge in a big way, with the 30-point margin of victory the largest ever in the series. March 3, 2001 Louisville 65, Tigers 56 at Freedom Hall John Calipari's first Tiger team went into Freedom Hall and got blitzed by a fired-up Louisville team feeding off the emotions surrounding Denny Crum's final regular-season game as Cardinals' coach. The outcome was never in doubt, and the game turned into a giant celebration for Louisville and Crum. Feb. 3, 2000 Louisville 74, Memphis 59 at The Pyramid The low point in a low season for Tiger fans, Crum won his last regular-season meeting against the Tigers in Memphis and gave the Cardinals their only win ever at The Pyramid.

02/26/05		U of M fans have their favorites, too (Commercial Appeal)
		As far back as I can remember, Memphis State's seasonal success has been judged by the outcome of the Louisville games. And the one game that will forever stand out in my memory will be in January 1957 in the North Hall of Ellis Auditorium in Memphis. Louisville, coached by the fabled Peck Hickman, was heavily favored. I had had an emergency appendectomy and was lying in pain in St. Joseph Hospital the morning of the game. The doctor said he would release me "in a couple of days," but I told him, "Memphis State is going to beat Louisville for the first time tonight, and I'm going to be sitting on that bench when they do. So, either you release me now, or I'm walking out of here." He released me. And that night I was sitting on the end of the Tigers' bench when Jake Butcher, the smallest player on the court, sank six straight free throws to give Memphis State an 81-78 upset to catapult the Tigers into the NIT, where they missed the championship by one point in a disputed game against Bradley. But it was that Louisville win that put the Tigers on the national map where they remain. Bill E. Burk Memphis • • February 20, 1990. My wife and I were just getting ready to leave for the Mid-South Coliseum when she went into labor. Being the good husband that I am, I decided to go with her rather than go to the game. The delivery room at Baptist East had a TV in it so we were able to watch the game while the labor continued. As if she knew, our new baby waited until the game was over before making her debut in this world. We were all winners that night: the Tigers won, 82-68, and we got a beautiful baby girl. Glenn Munson Memphis • • With Louisville jumping to the Big East, the Tigers must find a new rival to create new memories. My favorite Tiger-Cardinal game came in coach Larry Finch's first year. Finch inherited a team on probation and three key players lost to graduation and the NBA. No Keith Lee, no William Bedford and no one expected him to win. However, Finch guided the Tigers to a 26-8 season, a Metro Tournament championship and was named Basketball Times Rookie Coach of the Year. With the Tigers on probation, I remember Metro conference officials took a vote whether they should allow the Tigers to compete in the conference tournament. The vote was in favor of the Tigers! Denny Crum was furious! With Finch guiding the way a "no name" Memphis State swept the Metro tourney before beating Crum's Cardinals for the third time in 1987, 75-52. Our family drove to Louisville for the tourney. I can still see the look on the faces of Herbert Crook and Pervis Ellison and a very quiet Freedom Hall. Alan Starc Nashville • • My favorite Tiger-Cardinal basketball memory was last year (Feb. 4, 2004) when we upset the highly ranked Cardinals in front of a live ESPN audience. As the final ticks went down, me and my friends stormed the court with other UofM students. That was the last time I was in The Pyramid; what a way to kiss that arena goodbye. Khalid Khowaja Memphis • • The Metro Tournament Finals in Louisville, 1987. What a game! Louisville was coming off a national championship year and Memphis was on probation. Vincent Askew & Company took it to Pervis Ellison and the rest of the Cards. Memphis wins and the Cards are sent packing. The Cards were devastated and later voted not to go to the NIT. (Sour grapes?) Best of all, after the game my husband and I go to the medical office of a dear friend (a diehard Louisville fan) and find out I am pregnant with my second son -- now a 17 year old diehard Memphis fan! Elaine Green Woods Jackson, Tenn.

02/26/05		Late bucket drops Lady Tigers (Commercial Appeal)
		By The Commercial Appeal February 26, 2005 ST. LOUIS -- The University of Memphis women's basketball team certainly didn't get the momentum it wanted heading into next week's Conference USA women's tournament in Charlotte. Saint Louis, the league's doormat, edged the visiting Lady Tigers, 59-58 in overtime. The loss leaves the U of M with a 12-15 mark, 5-9 in league play, while the Lady Billikens finish 4-23 and 3-11. The defeat likely leaves the Lady Tigers as the No. 9 seed, where they would face eighth-seeded East Carolina. Victoria Crawford, who scored 16 of her 18 points in the second half and in overtime, had a chance to win the game for Memphis, but missed a shot in the dying seconds. Jennifer Sullivan had 12 points and six assists for the Lady Tigers, while Raven Rogers added 14 rebounds. Marquita McFarland had 20 points and 12 rebounds for Saint Louis, which eliminated Tulane from the conference tournament with the victory. Her driving layup with 17 seconds left in the extra session provided the game-winning points. The Billikens were down by 51-49 with 18 seconds left in regulation before Heather King sank a short jumper from the right side to force the extra session. McFarland hit two free throws to put Saint Louis up 53-51 in the first minute of overtime. Lady Tiger Tamika Butler then sank a layup from the right baseline to tie the game.

02/26/05		Tigers triumph in coach's debut -- Starter Gostkowski limits Falcons to 2 hits (Commercial Appeal)
		By Phil Stukenborg Contact February 26, 2005 So how else would one have expected University of Memphis baseball coach Daron Schoenrock's debut to turn out? He was, after all, an assistant under legendary Mississippi State coach Ron Polk, working with the Bulldogs pitching staff the past three seasons. And he spent a year, in the mid-1990s, as a pitching coach in the Chicago White Sox organization. Friday night in the opening round of the Service Academies Classic at Millington's USA Stadium, Schoenrock's experience showed. Memphis, getting a career-best performance from starter Stephen Gostkowski, beat Air Force, 10-4, before about 300. Gostkowski, who was 1-5 with a 6.66 earned run average last year, pitched as if he intends to earn Conference USA honors in two sports. A record-setting field goal kicker for the Tiger football team, Gostkowski, a junior, allowed two hits and a run in six innings and struck out a career-high nine. ''I thought Stephen really pitched well,'' Schoenrock said. ''He commanded the strike zone as good tonight as I've ever seen him, and I've seen him pitch quite a bit. He threw a lot of (first-pitch) strikes, which is big. And when he gets ahead he's got some weapons to make guys swing and miss.'' Although he made 11 starts a year ago, Gostkowski was dropped from the coveted weekend starting rotation to a midweek spot as he struggled to find his control. He had no such problems on a chilly Friday night. He walked one and rarely worked deep into the count. ''That's what has haunted Stephen in the past,'' Schoenrock said. ''He has been the guy who has gotten behind in the count and worked a lot of deep counts. But he threw a lot of (first-pitch) strikes, which puts hitters on the defensive.'' Gostkoswki retired nine of the first 10 Falcons he faced and didn't allow a hit until Air Force's Karl