Memphis Tigers News Archives

May 2006

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05/31/06		Memphis Leads All of C-USA With 37 Commissioner's Academic Medalists -- 37 student-athletes post a GPA of 3.75 or higher during the 2005-06 academic year (GoTigersGo.com)
		MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The University of Memphis athletic department led all of Conference USA with 37 academic medal winners it was announced by the league office, Wednesday. To earn the C-USA Commissioner's Academic Medal, a student-athlete must have a GPA of 3.75 or above during the academic year. Memphis placed 37 student-athletes in that category, surpassing its previous best of 26 honorees according to Dr. Joe Luckey, Director of Athletic Academic Services. East Carolina followed Memphis with 35 academic medalists and Tulsa had 22 winners during the past season. The student-athletes who will receive the Commissioner's Academic Medal are listed below: MEMPHIS (37) Marc Ashley, Baseball Mark Jobe, Baseball Neil Schenk, Baseball Gresh Gorman, Women's Basketball Jessica Hall, Women's Basketball Jefferson Brant, Men's Cross Country Elliot Montesi, Men's Cross Country Whitney Bolton, Women's Cross Country Carrie Corbett, Women's Cross Country Mary Claire Dake, Women's Cross Country Sarah Janecek, Women's Cross Country Emily Malinowski, Women's Cross Country Danielle Riendeau, Women's Cross Country Meghan Shinkwin, Women's Cross Country Heather Woolls, Women's Cross Country Paul Edwards, Football Brandon Patterson, Football Brandon Stewart, Football Brett Toney, Football Kyle Minter, Men's Soccer Robert Sausaman, Men's Soccer Lauren Everhart, Women's Soccer Candace Halvorson, Women's Soccer Lindsey Joseph, Women's Soccer Sarah MacGregor, Women's Soccer Kate Murphy, Women's Soccer Laura Pfeffer, Women's Soccer Melissa Savage, Women's Soccer Robyn Smart, Women's Soccer Brittany Strung, Women's Soccer Aika Young, Women's Soccer Jenna Kubesch, Women's Softball Christina Wieser, Women's Tennis J.D. Tweedy, Men's Track & Field Sivan Aballi, Women's Track & Field Chen Edri, Women's Track & Field Fehi Tuivai, Volleyball

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05/31/06		147 Student-Athletes Named to C-USA Academic Honor Roll -- Football leads the way with 28 honorees (GoTigersGo.com)
		MEMPHIS, Tenn. - A total of 147 student-athletes from the 2005-06 University of Memphis athletic teams were named to the Conference USA Commissioner's Honor Roll it was announced late Tuesday. To earn a spot on the honor roll, a student-athlete must maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher and participate in a conference sponsored sport. Rice placed the highest number of student-athletes on the honor roll, with 174. Marshall followed with 166, while ECU was third with 158. UCF was fourth with 156 honorees and the Tigers were fifth with 147 3.0 students or higher. In the Tiger athletic department, football led the way with 28 student-athletes on the honor roll, followed by 21 student-athletes with the women's soccer team. Baseball added 20 honorees to the list to round out the team with 20 or more members on the honor roll. Four other women's teams placed almost their entire roster on the honor roll, with women's soccer landing 21 of its 26 members on the honor roll, while volleyball added 11 of its 12 member. Women's tennis placed six of its seven members on the honor roll and women's cross country had nine of its 10 members named to the academic honor roll. Softball, having recently completed its first-ever year of competition, added seven honor roll recipients. Since rifle is not a Conference USA sport, the student-athletes participating in rifle are not included. But had it been a league sport, Memphis' Krissey Bahnsen, Kate Benjamin, Andrew Hahn, Brian Phillips and Beth Tidmore all would have received a C-USA Academic honor roll slot. The recipients of the Commissioner's Academic Medal for having a GPA of 3.75 or higher will be announced later Wednesday afternoon. MEMPHIS (147) Marc Ashley, Baseball Collin Bastien, Baseball Zach Clark, Baseball Alex Fennell, Baseball Stephen Gostkowski, Baseball Ben Grisham, Baseball Josh Irvin, Baseball Drew Jaudon, Baseball Mark Jobe, Baseball Brennon Martin, Baseball Scott McGregor, Baseball Michael Murray, Baseball Chris Newsom, Baseball Chris Novikoff, Baseball Neil Schenk, Baseball Tim Senter, Baseball Chris South, Baseball Jordan Tolliver, Baseball Trey Wiedman, Baseball Matt Yokley, Baseball Travis Long, Men's Basketball Megan Gooch, Women's Basketball Gresh Gorman, Women's Basketball Jessica Hall, Women's Basketball Devin Necaise, Women's Basketball Juan Arboleda, Men's Cross Country Jefferson Brant, Men's Cross Country Abraham Shaposhnik, Men's Cross Country Carolyn Corbett, Women's Cross Country Mary Claire Dake, Women's Cross Country Sarah Janecek, Women's Cross Country Emily Malinowski, Women's Cross Country Becca McMahon, Women's Cross Country Kimberly McVeigh, Women's Cross Country Daniele Riendeau, Women's Cross Country Meghan Shinkwin, Women's Cross Country Heather Woolls, Women's Cross Country Miguel Barnes, Football Joseph Burgan, Football Patrick Byrne, Football Rusty Clayton, Football Derek Clenin, Football Michael Denning, Football Alberto Diaz, Football Paul Edwards, Football Eric Evans, Football Brandon Farrar, Football Brandon Feagans, Football Lucian Godwin, Football Stephen Gostkowski, Football Tyler Griffin, Football Greg Hinds, Football Stacey Jones, Football Jake Kasser, Football Clinton McDonald, Football Brandon Patterson, Football Brandon Pearce, Football Clayton Presley, Football Brandon Slaughter, Football Andrew Smith, Football Kittrell Smith, Football Mike Snyder, Football Michael Spurlock, Football Brandon Stewart, Football Brett Toney, Football Brad Benjamin, Men's Golf Lewis Clarke, Men's Golf Josh Ray, Men's Golf Mike Regenold, Men's Golf Cameron Barber, Women's Golf Rachel Larson, Women's Golf Kathryn O'Rourke, Women's Golf Jared Britcher, Men's Soccer Stephen Cooling, Men's Soccer Bryan Dooley, Men's Soccer Tripp Harkins, Men's Soccer Frank Judice, Men's Soccer Tomo Koyano, Men's Soccer Jordan Lynn, Men's Soccer Adam Montgomery, Men's Soccer Andy Metcalf, Men's Soccer Robert Sausaman, Men's Soccer Grant Wise, Men's Soccer Joanna Alexopulos, Women's Soccer Alexandra Atkinson, Women's Soccer Katy Booth, Women's Soccer Lauren Everhart, Women's Soccer Candace Halvorson, Women's Soccer Kylie Hayes, Women's Soccer Chloe James, Women's Soccer Lindsey Joseph, Women's Soccer Beth Keating, Women's Soccer Maggie Leone, Women's Soccer Sarah MacGregor, Women's Soccer Courtnee Melton, Women's Soccer Shoko Mikami, Women's Soccer Kate Murphy, Women's Soccer Laura Pfeffer, Women's Soccer Melissa Savage, Women's Soccer Elaine Sedgewick, Women's Soccer Robyn Smart, Women's Soccer Brittany Strung, Women's Soccer Halley Sullivan, Women's Soccer Aika Young, Women's Soccer Brittany Gooch, Softball Tori Gross, Softball Kimmi Hayden, Softball Leandra Hines, Softball Nicki Johnson, Softball Jenna Kubesch, Softball Lyndsey Sterling, Softball Bryan Bankester, Men's Tennis Matt Brewer, Men's Tennis Alex Jago, Men's Tennis Michael Jetter, Men's Tennis James Spence, Men's Tennis Andrea Feichtinger, Women's Tennis Kristin Noble, Women's Tennis Flavia Russo, Women's Tennis Alex Tjioe, Women's Tennis Christina Wieser, Women's Tennis Ekin Zafir, Women's Tennis Norbert Gulyas, Men's Track & Field Jason Morgan, Men's Track & Field Elliot Montesi, Men's Track & Field Jeff Nix, Men's Track & Field Brian Prackett, Men's Track & Field Richard Swaby, Men's Track & Field J.D. Tweedy, Men's Track & Field Sivan Aballi, Women's Track & Field Whitney Bolton, Women's Track & Field Josetta Brooks, Women's Track & Field Knicole Cobb, Women's Track & Field Chen Edri, Women's Track & Field Sarah Bury, Volleyball Christen Clayton, Volleyball Laura Cote, Volleyball Kristen Hardee, Volleyball Ashley Liford, Volleyball Melissa Nance, Volleyball Nancy Nellans, Volleyball Colette Ramirez, Volleyball Hristina Slancheva, Volleyball Kori Smith, Volleyball Rebekah Strickland, Volleyball Fehi Tuivai, Volleyball

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05/30/06		Women's Tennis Inks Ondeck for Upcoming Season -- Lady Tigers sign third newcomer for 2006-07 (GoTigersGo.com)
		MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The University of Memphis tennis team wrapped up its 2006-07 recruiting with the signing of Marjorie Ondeck to a National Letter of Intent it was announced by Head Coach Charlotte Peterson, Tuesday. Ondeck is currently the No. 5 ranked singles player (with a 27-14 mark in USTA region play) and the No. 3 ranked doubles player in the USTA New England Region Girls U18 Singles rankings. In the national doubles team rankings, Ondeck is No. 89 on the season with a 5-2 mark. She had been the No. 1 singles player for St. Joseph High school for all four of her prep seasons, where she was coached by Betty Blake, the mother of ATP tennis player James Blake. Ondeck was an All-State honoree all four seasons. Ondeck is also privately coached by Matt Daly and Evan Paushter at the Tennis Club of Trumbull. "I'm excited about Marjorie because she is a very polished tennis player," Peterson said. "Her mother played on the pro circuit and Marjorie has been well-taught and well-coached throughout her junior career. She will definitely step in and compete at a high level right away." Ondeck has been playing tennis since she was three or four, but said she didn't get serious about tennis until giving up soccer when she was a freshman in high school. As a soccer player, she played premier soccer all around the Northeast. The daughter of WTA tennis professional Beth Norton, Ondeck was introduced to tennis by her mom. Norton ranked as high as No. 20 in the world during her professional career. "I am very much looking forward to Memphis," Ondeck said. "I absolutely loved the city and thought it was awesome. Coach Peterson and the team were so welcoming and nice when I visited. When I visited Memphis, I felt like it was a great place for me to come and spend four years to achieve my academic and tennis goals for college. I can't wait to work with them in the fall." Ondeck will join a pair of Canadian newcomers to make up the newcomers for the 2006-07 roster. Earlier this spring, Peterson signed Amanda Brown (Whitby, Ontario) and Dara Toulch (Montreal, Quebec), who will join Ondeck as freshmen at the university this fall. The Lady Tigers will return five letterwinners for the upcoming season, led by rising seniors Alex Tjioe and Christina Wieser. Brooke Cowie will rejoin Memphis for her junior season and Flavia Russo and Ekin Zafir will return to Memphis for their sophomore seasons this coming fall. This fall will mark Peterson's 32nd season coaching her alma mater.

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05/29/06		Michael Murray and Will Petersen Earn All-Tournament Honors -- Tiger juniors combine to hit .467 with eight RBI (GoTigersGo.com)
		MEMPHIS, Tenn. - University of Memphis junior shortstop Michael Murray and outfielder Will Petersen were named to the 2006 Conference USA All-Tournament team as announced by league officials. Murray, who hit .286 in the regular season, exploded in the eight-team postseason field and finished the week with a team-leading .538 (7-for-13) tournament average. In addition, he slugged .692 with four RBI, four runs scored and three walks. He was equally as impressive in the field, posting 16 assists and six putouts. The highlight of Murray's week came in the 7-4 semifinal loss to No. 1 Rice when he lined a two-out, bases loaded triple to rightfield to cut the Owls lead to 5-4. Murray went 2-for-4 with three RBI versus the top-ranked Owls and 3-for-4 in the Tigers' 13-2 win over UAB. Murray hit safely in all four contests. Petersen hit .412 (7-for-17) in the four tournament games. He too hit safely in all four games, producing multiple hits in each of the first two games. For the week, the Tiger junior scored four runs, stroked three doubles and added four RBI. He went 2-for-3 with two doubles and three RBI in Memphis' win over UAB on Thursday. Petersen finished the year on a 12-game hit streak. Memphis finished the season with a 32-28 record--the program's second 30-win season since 1995. The 2-2 C-USA Tournament showing was the Tigers' best since going 2-2 in 2001. ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM C Ty Wallace, Tulane IF Greg Buchanan, Rice IF Isa Garcia, Houston IF Michael Murray, Memphis IF Joe Savery, Rice OF Jordan Dodson, Rice OF Will Petersen, Memphis OF Jake Stewart, Houston DH Brad Lincoln, Houston P Bobby Bell, Rice P Bryce Cox, Rice P Luis Flores, Houston P Shane Mathews, East Carolina MVP: Joe Savery, Rice

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05/28/06		Tigers fall to No. 1 seed Rice -- Victory total 19-game improvement over '05 (Commercial Appeal)
		By Our Press Services May 28, 2006 HOUSTON -- Bill Moss went 3-for-4 and Michael Murray had three RBI, but fourth-seeded Memphis was unable to pull off the upset, falling to top-seeded Rice, 7-4, in the Conference USA Championships on Saturday at Reckling Park. The Tigers finish the season at 32-28 -- a 19-game turnaround from 2005's 13-42 mark. Advertisement Rice (49-10) got on the scoreboard with three runs in the top of the third inning. Greg Buchanan opened the inning with a single through the right side and then Brian Friday drew a walk. Josh Rodriguez singled to right field to load the bases for Joe Savery, who lined a single to centerfield, scoring the first two runs of the game. Following a Tiger pitching change and a pop-out to second base by Adam Zornes, Jordan Dodson reached base on a fielder's choice, scoring Rodriguez. Memphis pushed across its first run in the third. With one out, Moss singled and then Adam Amar hit a double down the left-field line, advancing Moss to third. Kyle Norrid grounded out to the pitcher, with Moss scoring from third on the play. After Rice upped its lead to 5-1 in the fourth, the Tigers cut into the lead in the fifth with a three-run triple by Murray that drove in Will Petersen, Moss and Robbie Goss to slice the lead to 5-4. But Rice answered with single runs in the sixth and eighth innings.

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05/27/06		Track and Field Teams Wrap Up Mideast Regional -- Aballi posts top showing on day two (GoTigersGo.com)
		MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The Memphis track and field teams wrapped up the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships on Saturday with four throwers competing in their second events of the two-day meet at the University of Tennessee. Sivan Aballi posted the highest finish of any U of M athlete on day two of the meet. The sophomore rebounded from a somewhat substandard effort in the shot put on Friday, to log a 13th-place finish in Saturday's discus with a throw of 148-03" (45.18m). J.D. Erickson, who placed seventh in the discus on Friday, could never get off his best effort in the shot put, but still managed to place 15th. After fouling on his first two attempts, the senior came up with a toss of 54-01.25" (16.49m) in his final put, but missed out on the event finals. Susan King placed 18th in the discus with a mark of 144-03" (43.98m), which, when coupled with a 12th-place showing in the shot put, gave her two top-18 showings in her first Regional meet. After qualifying for NCAA Championships in the shot put on Friday, Gail Lee was unable to come up with a similar result in the hammer, fouling on each of her three attempts and failing to advance to the event finals. The Mideast Regional meet figures to be the final meet of the season for each of the U of M athletes outside of Lee, who automatically qualified for NCAA Championships in the shot put with a fifth-place showing in Knoxville. Erickson also has an outside shot at being selected for a bid to the NCAA meet in the discus after placing in the top-eight at Regionals. However, it is a rather unlikely possibility given his 61st national ranking. The 2006 NCAA Outdoor Championships are scheduled for June 7-10 at Sacramento State University in Sacramento, Calif. Lee is first set to take to the circle for qualifying rounds of the women's shot put at 7:15 p.m. (PST) Thursday, June 8. The final round of the women's shot put will be held Saturday, June 10, at 12:30 p.m. Should Erickson receive and at-large bid, qualifying rounds in the discus are set for Wednesday, June 7, at 7 p.m., with finals slated for Friday, June 9, at 6:15 p.m.

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05/27/06		No. 1 Rice Eliminates Tigers, 7-4 -- Memphis finishes season 32-28, 19-game turnaround (GoTigersGo.com)
		HOUSTON - No. 1 Rice (49-10) 003 201 010 - 7 14 2 No. 4 Memphis (32-28) 001 030 000 - 4 10 3 Bill Moss went 3-for-4 and Michael Murray had three RBI, but Memphis was unable to pull of the upset, falling to top-seeded Rice 7-4 at Reckling Park on Saturday afternoon. The Tigers finish the year 32-28--a 19-game turnaround from 2005's 13-42 finish. Rice got on the scoreboard with three runs in the top of the third inning. Greg Buchanan opened the inning with a single through the right side and then Brian Friday drew a walk. Josh Rodriguez singled to right field to load the bases as Joe Savery stepped to the plate. Joe Savery lined a single to centerfield, scoring the first two runs of the game. Following a Tiger pitching change and a pop-out to second base by Adam Zornes, Jordan Dodson reached base on a fielder's choice, scoring Rodriguez. Memphis pushed across its first run in the bottom of the third. With one out, Moss singled and then Adam Amar hit a double down the left field line, advancing Moss to third. Kyle Norrid grounded out to the pitcher, but Moss was able to score from third on the play. Rice answered in the fourth inning. Buchanan led the inning off with his second straight single to centerfield before Friday laid down a bunt down the third base line. The runners advanced to second and third on a throwing error by Tiger pitcher Drew Jaudon. A Rodriguez single scored Buchanan, and a Savery ground out to second base plated Friday. The Tigers cut into the lead in bottom of the fifth inning with a three-run triple by Murray. The three-bagger scored Will Petersen, Moss and Goss to slice the lead to 5-4. However, Rice answered with single runs in the sixth and eighth innings. In the sixth, Rodriguez and Savery singled before Aaron Luna was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Rodriguez scored when Kenny Ford walked. In the eighth, Savery singled and was later brought in on a Dodson double. Owls starter Craig Crow (8-1) earned the win for Rice, striking out nine and walking one. He allowed four runs, but only one was earned. Cole St. Clair came on to pitch the ninth and earn his 10th save of the season. Lance Scoggins (2-4) was tagged with the loss, allowing three earned runs on four hits in just two innings. Jaudon struck out a pair in 5.2 innings of solid relief for the Tigers. Murray and Trey Wiedman each added a pair of hits for the Tiger offense that produced 10 base knocks on the afternoon. Memphis' 2-2 mark in the C-USA Tournament is the best showing since 2001. Memphis posted a school-record 130 doubles and now rank second in school history with 699 hits.

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05/27/06		Calipari To Appear On ESPN's Outside The Lines Sunday Morning -- Show set to air at 8:30 a.m. (CT) (GoTigersGo.com)
		MEMPHIS, Tenn. - University of Memphis head coach John Calipari will appear on ESPN's Outside The Lines Sunday (May 28) morning. The show, slated to air at 8:30 a.m. (CT), will focus on the new technology -- including text messaging -- that college coaches use in recruiting. Calipari, who guided the Tigers to a school-record 33-4 record and an NCAA Tournament Elite Eight appearance in 2005-06, has been a frequent guest on national sports shows this year. He was on ESPN2's "Quite Frankly With Stephen A. Smith" two times during the NCAA Tournament in March, and also on the show's New York studio set in mid-April. Calipari served as a guest host on Fox Sports Net's "Best Damn Sports Show Period" in early April.

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05/27/06		Lee Qualifies For NCAA Championships in Shot Put on Day One of Mideast Regionals -- Erickson just misses NCAAs in discus (GoTigersGo.com)
		KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - In her first outdoor season at the U of M, 2005 Indoor All-American Gail Lee has added another achievement to her long list of accolades, as the junior placed fifth in the shot put on day one of the NCAA Mideast Regionals to automatically qualify for NCAA Championships in two weeks. Fellow thrower J.D. Erickson just missed a top-five showing of his own, placing seventh in the discus and falling short of a trip to NCAAs by two spots. Lee, who ranked fourth in the region in the shot put entering the meet, came up just short of her top efforts, but still managed a throw of 53-01.00" (16.18m) to claim a top-five finish and a trip to her first NCAA Outdoor Championships. The Fort Worth, Texas native will have a second opportunity to qualify for the NCAA meet when she competes in the hammer on Saturday. Erickson set a new personal best by nearly three feet with a throw of 180-7" (55.04m) in his seventh-place showing in the discus, missing out on the top-five by less than three feet. He too will have a second chance to qualify for the NCAA meet when he takes part in the shot put on Saturday. In other results from Friday, Susan King finished 12th in the shot put with a throw of 48-03.25" (14.71m) in the first of her two events of her first Regional meet. The junior will also take part in Saturday's discus.

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05/27/06		Amar's key RBI lift Tigers by So. Mississippi (Commercial Appeal)
		By Our Press Services May 27, 2006 C-USA baseball tournament HOUSTON -- Adam Amar's three-run double keyed a four-run fifth inning and lifted Memphis to an 8-5 victory over Southern Mississippi on Friday night in an elimination game at the Conference USA tournament. Southern Miss led 4-2 in the fifth inning when Amar doubled off Cliff Russum with the bases loaded to put the Tigers ahead to stay. Memphis made it 6-4 when Amar scored on a single by Robbie Goss. Amar finished with five RBI for fourth-seeded Memphis (32-27), which must beat top-seeded Rice twice today to advance to the title game. Trey Sutton had two RBI for Southern Miss (38-21), which must wait until Sunday to learn if it will play in its fourth straight NCAA tournament. Dusty Davis (4-1) worked 41/3 innings in relief of starter Ben Grisham, striking out four with one walk and allowing four runs. Matt Yokley struck out two in three innings for his second save. Russum (7-6) allowed six runs, five earned, in five innings with two strikeouts and two walks.

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05/26/06		Erickson Places Seventh in Discus to Lead Tigers on Day One of Mideast Regional -- Lee qualifies for NCAA Championships in shot put for Lady Tigers (GoTigersGo.com)
		KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - In her first outdoor season at the U of M, 2005 Indoor All-American Gail Lee has added another achievement to her long list of accolades, as the junior placed fifth in the shot put on day one of the NCAA Mideast Regionals to automatically qualify for NCAA Championships in two weeks. Fellow thrower J.D. Erickson just missed a top-five showing of his own, placing seventh in the discus and falling short of an automatic trip to NCAAs by two spots. Lee, who ranked fourth in the region in the shot put entering the meet, came up just short of her top efforts, but still managed a throw of 53-01.00" (16.18m) to claim a top-five finish and a trip to her first NCAA Outdoor Championships. The Fort Worth, Texas native will have a second opportunity to qualify for the NCAA meet when she competes in the hammer on Saturday. Erickson set a new personal best by nearly three feet with a throw of 180-7" (55.04m) in his seventh-place showing in the discus, missing out on the top-five by less than three feet. He too will have a second chance to qualify for the NCAA meet when he takes part in the shot put on Saturday. In other results from Friday, Susan King finished 12th in the shot put with a throw of 48-03.25" (14.71m) in the first of her two events of her first Regional meet. The junior will also take part in Saturday's discus. Chen Edri placed 12th in the javelin with a throw of 139-07" (42.54m), improving on her 13th-place finish in the event at the 2005 Regional meet. Willie Green missed out on a spot in the finals in the 100m by five positions, placing 13th in prelims with a time of 10. 43. Green, Daniel Bandy, Marcus Thomas and Daemien Jefferson also missed the finals in the 4x100m relay, taking 13th in prelims with a time of 40.90. Norbert Gulyas placed 17th in the discus with a toss of 167-11" (51.19m), bettering his 22nd-place showing in the event at the 2005 Regional meet. Brandon Winbush had somewhat of a disappointing performance in the long jump, as he took 18th place in the long jump with a leap of 23-11.50" (7.30m), falling well short of his fifth-place finish at the 2005 Regionals. Sivan Aballi also had a disappointing, 25th-place finish in the shot put with a throw of 45-06.50" (13.88m), but will have a second opportunity to shine in her first Regional meet, as she too is set to take part in the discus on Saturday. Day two of the 2005 NCAA Mideast Regional Championships will get underway at 11 a.m. EST Saturday.

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05/26/06		Tiger Baseball Holds Off No. 5 Southern Miss 8-5, Advances to Semi-final Matchup With No. 1 Rice -- Memphis advances to semifinal play for the first time since 2001 (GoTigersGo.com)
		HOUSTON - No. 4 Memphis (32-28) 101 040 020 - 8 12 2 No. 5 Southern Miss (38-21) 040 001 000 - 5 11 1 Adam Amar's three-run double highlighted a four-run fifth inning and helped propel No. 4 seed Memphis to an 8-5 win over No. 5 seed Southern Miss during an elimination game at the 2006 Conference USA Championship at Reckling Park. Trailing 4-2 entering the top of the fourth inning, the Tigers used back-to-back leadoff singles from Cory Barton and K.K. Chalmers to start the rally. After a flyout and intentional walk to Bill Moss, Amar cleared the bases with a double to right center to hand Memphis its first lead of the game. "Well, it's another typical game - that's the way our wins have been all year." Memphis head coach Daron Schoenrock. "We have to create momentum in different ways. We've been a big-inning team and kind of deny the big inning." Two batters later, Robbie Goss slapped an RBI-single into left field to plate Amar and hand the Tigers a 6-4 cushion. USM pulled to within a run in the sixth inning when Marc Maddox laced an RBI-single up the middle to score Bo Davis. In the eighth inning, Memphis added two insurance runs thanks to RBI-singles from Cory Barton and Chalmers for an 8-6 lead. Those runs would be important as USM threatened in its final at bat. The Golden Eagles used leadoff singles from Maddox and Toddric Johnson to bring the tying run to the plate, but Tiger reliever Matt Yokley induced a flyout and struck out the final two batters to end the rally and the game. Memphis' Dusty Davis allowed only one run off six hits with four strikeouts in 4.1 innings out of the bullpen to collect the win and improve to 4-1. Yokley picked up his second save after scattering two hits over the final three shutout innings. USM starter Cliff Russum collected the loss and fell to 7-6 after giving up six runs (five earned) off eight hits with a pair of strikeouts in five innings. Moss went 3-for-4 with a double, run and RBI to lead the Tigers, who outhit USM 12-11. Chalmers went 2-for-5 with two runs, an RBI and two stolen bases to boost his theft total to 39, tying the Memphis single-season record. Goss went 2-for-4 with a run and RBI, while Barton finished the night 2-for-3 with a run and RBI. Maddox batted 2-for-4 with an RBI, and Johnson went 2-for-5 to lead USM. Outfielder Drew Carson went 2-for-5 with a run and outfielder Jody Blount batted 2-for-4 with a run and RBI in the losing effort. With the win, the Tigers improved to 32-27 overall and advanced to the C-USA Championship semifinals against No. 1 seed Rice at 12:30 p.m., Saturday. Memphis must defeat Rice twice on Saturday to advanced Sunday's championship game. Southern Miss fell to 38-21 overall and must now wait for the NCAA Selection Show at 11:30 a.m. (CDT), Monday, on ESPN to learn its postseason fate. It was the first time in the 11-year history of the C-USA Championship that the top four seeds advanced to the semifinals. USM appeared to grab the momentum early in the game. Memphis starter Ben Grisham ran into control problems in the second, walking three Golden Eagles and hitting another. Those pitching miscues, combined with three singles, led to a four-run frame for Southern Miss. An interference call on a ground ball resulted in a double play, but Trey Sutton came through with a two-out single to score a pair of runs to make up for the base-running mistake.

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05/26/06		No play in Orlando for Shawne Williams (The Memphis Edge)
		Proof that Shawne Williams' stock is rising among NBA people is that he has already turned down an invitation to play at the predraft camp in Orlando next month. He'll attend and go through an extensive physical like essentially everybody else. But his agent, Happy Walters, said he will not participate in any games, which is usually an indication a prospect is safely in the first-round and probably in the Top 20 . . . if not the lottery. In a related note, Rodney Carney will take the same route. Like Williams, he will go through the physical but not play in Orlando, according to his agent Chris Emens.

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05/26/06		Williams headed to NBA (Commercial Appeal)
		By Gary Parrish Contact May 26, 2006 Shawne Williams spent Thursday at the Los Angeles Lakers' practice facility conducting his first private workout as a full-fledged professional. Everything was cool, until he looked up. "I saw somebody in this room up top looking down, and then I knew it was Phil Jackson," Williams said by cell phone from L.A. "It was the weirdest thing ever in life. I just couldn't believe how this is really real." Really real, and really official now that Williams has signed with Immortal Sports Agency. The byproduct is that the 6-9 forward no longer has the option of returning for his sophomore season at the University of Memphis, meaning those college classes have been substituted with a whirlwind tour of workouts that includes next week's evaluations for the Bulls, Knicks and Sixers. "He's going to work out for teams as high as fifth or sixth in the draft and a good portion of the teams down to 15," said Happy Walters, who will represent Williams along with Bill McCandless. "He's definitely a first-round pick." Williams was the overwhelming selection for Conference USA's Freshman of the Year while averaging 13.2 points and 6.2 rebounds per contest, and following the Tigers' loss to UCLA in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament he didn't eliminate the idea of returning to school. However, when the Hamilton High product via Laurinburg (N.C.) Institute Prep took residency at Athletes' Performance three weeks ago it became clear he was in the draft for good despite his public statements about keeping his options open. The cost of training at Athletes' Performance -- a world-class facility featuring a clientele of Brett Favre, Curt Schilling and Mia Hamm -- reportedly ranges from $10,000 to $20,000. So upon admission, Williams had all but forfeited his eligibility considering he would've been asked to repay charges without the help of an outside influence to maintain his amateur status with the NCAA. Rather than fight that battle, Williams made the only logical move. He signed with Immortal Sports and turned his focus forward. "This is what I've always wanted to do," Williams said. "I'm working harder than I've ever worked because now I'm looking at this as a job." Speaking of jobs, John Calipari now apparently has one in front of him. The seventh-year Memphis coach will enter next season having lost his top three scorers, considering Rodney Carney (17.2 points per game) was a senior on last year's team and sophomore point guard Darius Washington (13.4 points per game) has, like Williams, labeled himself an early entrant into the NBA Draft. Technically, Washington still has until June 18 to withdraw and return to Memphis. But sources within the program have long told The Commercial Appeal there is little chance of that happening, and that Washington, who is now training at IMG Academy in Florida, will remain in the draft despite having no first-round guarantee. Add it up, and the Tigers are projected to have just 10 scholarship players, eight of whom will be freshmen or sophomores. But one guy not concerned is Williams, who insisted he'll follow his old teammates every game while expecting nothing short of another league title and run in the NCAA Tournament. "It's just like (former Tiger) Billy Richmond said about us; they're going to be loaded like a baked potato," Williams said. "I feel Antonio (Anderson) will be able to take the place of the shooter that Rodney was, CDR (Chris Douglas-Roberts) is one of the best finishers out there and Robert Dozier is just another me. So everything that left is coming back, just in other people. And I don't believe the fans have to worry at all." -- Gary Parrish: 529-2365

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05/26/06		Tigers triumph behind McGregor (Commercial Appeal)
		By Our Press Services May 26, 2006 HOUSTON -- Freshman Scott McGregor struck out seven in his third complete-game win of the year, while shortstop Michael Murray had a 3-for-4 performance with three runs scored to lead Memphis to a 13-2 win over UAB on Thursday at the Conference USA Championships. The Tigers, now 1-1 in the tourney, advance to take on Southern Miss, a 5-1 loser to Rice, at 6:30 tonight. Advertisement McGregor no-hit the Blazers through four innings, and the Memphis offense posted three runs in the first and third innings, before a five-run sixth.

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05/25/06		Eleven Track and Field Athletes Headed to Mideast Regionals -- Lee and Erickson lead U of M squads to Knoxville (GoTigersGo.com)
		MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The Memphis track and field teams will be well represented at the NCAA Mideast Regional Track and Field Championships on Friday and Saturday at the University of Tennessee's Tom Black Track, as the Tigers and Lady Tigers will send a total of 11 athletes to compete in Knoxville. Heading the list of competitors will be throwers Gail Lee and J.D. Erickson, who are each expected to contend in multiple events, while, on the men's side, five of the seven competitors, including Erickson, are native Memphians. Lee enters the meet ranked fourth in the region and 12th nationally with a mark of 54-07.50" in the shot put, while also ranking 16th in the hammer with a toss of 184-02". The 2005 Indoor All-American in the shot will look for a top-five showing on Friday in hopes of earning a trip to NCAA Championships in two weeks. Erickson, a graduate of Christian Brothers High School who is set to compete in three events over the two-days, ranks 10th in the shot put with a mark of 58-03.25", 14th in the discus with a mark of 177-04" and 26th in the hammer with a mark of 187-09". Other athletes from the Memphis area are Brandon Winbush, who will compete in the long jump, and Daniel Bandy, Marcus Thomas and Daemien Jefferson, who are all members of the 4x100m relay team. Winbush, a graduate of Bartlett High, enters the meet ranked 29th in the long jump with a mark of 24-02.25", but will look for a better result on Friday after qualifying for NCAA Championships in his top event at last year's Regional meet. Bandy, from West Memphis High, Thomas, from CBHS, and Jefferson, from Craigmont High, will join Willie Green on the Tiger 4x100m relay team, which ranks 15th in the region with a time of 40.38. Green will also take part in the meet as an individual, competing in the 100m, in which he ranks 15th with a time of 10.20. Other U of M athletes making the trip up I-40 will be Lady Tigers Susan King, Sivan Aballi and Chen Edri, along with Tiger Norbert Gulyas. King and Aballi will each take part in both the discus and shot put, with King ranking 13th in the discus (160-08") and 14th in the shot (49-08.50"), while Aballi ranks 16th in the discus (156-09") and 19th in the shot (48-10.75"). Edri will take part in the javelin, where she ranks 21st with a throw of 143-06", while Gulyas will take part in the discus, where he ranks 22nd with a mark of 172-07". The NCAA Mideast Regionals are set to get underway at 11 a.m. EST on Friday with field events, to be followed by track events at 4 p.m. The meet will follow much the same schedule on Saturday, with field events beginning at 11 a.m. and track events commencing at 5 p.m. Live results can be followed throughout the competition at utsports.cstv.com.

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05/25/06		Tiger Baseball Advances With 13-2 Seven-Inning Rout of UAB -- Freshman Scott McGregor tosses third complete game of the year (GoTigersGo.com)
		HOUSTON - No. 4 Memphis (31-27) 300 305 2 - 13 13 0 No. 8 UAB (19-37) 000 010 1 - 2 5 4 Freshman Scott McGregor struck out seven in his third complete-game win of the year, while shortstop Michael Murray had a 3-for-4 performance with three runs scored to lead No. 4 Memphis to a 13-2 seven-inning win over No. 8 UAB. The Tiger advance in the loser's bracket of the C-USA Championships to take on the loser of the Rice-Southern Miss contest tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. McGregor, who improved to 7-3 on the year, no-hit the Blazers through four innings and the Memphis offense posted three runs in the first and third innings, before a big five-run sixth. The Tiger offense came out with a more aggressive attitude. Will Petersen got things going in the first with a walk and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Bill Moss singled through the left side to score Petersen and put Memphis on the board. A throwing error by UAB leftfielder Steven Turner allowed Moss to move to third. Adam Amar's sacrifice fly and an RBI-single by Robbie Goss made it 3-0 after just a half-inning of play. "Our guys attacked the balls in the zone a little bit better and we put more pressure on the defense," Memphis head coach Daron Schoenrock. "I thought it was huge that we go out and score the three spot in the first inning and we come back and hang a zero. I thought it was huge for McGregor to go out and hang some zeros early in the game." Memphis extended the lead with three runs in the fourth. Goss led off the frame with his second hit of the day. An RBI-single by Michael Murray, a throwing error by the UAB defense and a run-scoring double by K.K. Chalmers made it 6-0. Ryne Lovdahl broke up McGregor's no-hit bid with a leadoff double in the fifth. He came around to score the Blazer's first run of the afternoon on a fielder's choice ground ball by J.R. Bond. The Tigers answered with a five-run sixth that put the contest out of reach. Memphis sent 10 batters to the plate and knocked out five hits in the frame. Trey Wiedman doubled to the left centerfield gap and Murray followed with an infield single. Will Petersen drove both runners in with a double to the rightfield corner. The Tiger junior score on the next at-bat on Moss' single through the left side to give Memphis a 9-1 advantage. Junior third baseman Kyle Norrid capped the inning with a two-run double to right. A wild pitch allowed Murray to score and Will Petersen's RBI double gave Memphis a 12-run lead. UAB battled to score a run in the seventh for the 13-2 final. Petersen posted two doubles and a team-high three RBI to lead a 13-hit Tiger offensive attack. Petersen, Bill Moss, Kyle Norrid and Robbie Goss had two hits a piece for the Tigers.

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05/25/06		Two Former Tigers to Play in NFL Europe League title game Saturday -- Tony Brown named league's Co-Defensive MVP, while Derrick Ballard selected to all-defensive squad (GoTigersGo.com)
		MEMPHIS, TENN. - Former University of Memphis stars Tony Brown and Derrick Ballard are set to play in this weekend's NFL Europe League championship game. Both Brown and Ballard are members of the Amsterdam Admirals. Tabbed as World Bowl XIV, the game will be played this Saturday at LTU Arena in Dusseldorf, Germany. The game is slated for an 11 a.m. CT kick-off and will be aired by the NFL Network. The game pits the defending-champion Amsterdam Admirals against the Frankfurt Galaxy. Both teams finished the regular season with 7-3 records. Amsterdam won both of the regular-season contests between the clubs. Brown (DT), who lettered for the Tigers from 1999-02, was allocated to NFLEL by the Carolina Panthers. He registered 40 tackles, 4.0 sacks and five passes defended for Amsterdam. He played in all 10 games, starting nine games. On Thursday, Brown was selected as the league's Co-Defensive MVP. Ballard (LB), who lettered for the Tigers from 2000-03, was allocated to NFLEL by the Atlanta Falcons. He registered 30 tackles, 2.0 sacks, four passes defended and one forced fumble. He started all 10 games. Ballard was also selected to the All-NFL-Europe League defensive team this week.

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05/25/06		Shawne Williams hires agent, won't return to U of M (Commercial Appeal)
		By Gary Parrish Contact May 25, 2006 What has been an educated guess for a while is now official. Shawne Williams has signed with Immortal Sports Agency out of Los Angeles, meaning he no longer has the option of returning for his sophomore season at the University of Memphis. "After the great year we had at the University of Memphis, I feel I am ready for the challenge of the NBA," Williams said in a prepared statement. "I am looking forward to playing against the best players in the world and continuing to improve." Though Immortal Sports just confirmed its relationship with Williams, the 6-9 forward all but forfeited his amateur status two weeks ago when he took residency at Athletes’ Performance, a world-class training facility in Los Angeles that industry insiders told The Commercial Appeal cost anywhere from $10,000 to $20,000. For Williams to return to Memphis under NCAA rules following that development would’ve meant him repaying every expense, and considering his impoverished background, it was reasonable to assume playing for the Tigers again was, at that point, no longer a realistic option. Williams is projected as a first-round pick. With good workouts, some analysts believe he could sneak into the lottery. A mock draft posted this week on ESPN.com has Williams going 20th to the New York Knicks. Meanwhile, sophomore guard Darius Washington continues to train at IMG Academy in Florida in preparation for the NBA Draft. And while he has publicly left the option of returning to Memphis on the table, sources within the program have long said there is little chance of that happening, and that Washington will remain in the draft despite having no first-round guarantee. — Gary Parrish: 529-2365

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05/25/06		Late Tiger rally falls short against Eagles -- UAB next for U of M in elimination game (Commercial Appeal)
		By Our Press Services May 25, 2006 HOUSTON -- Toddric Johnson drove in two runs, Barry Bowden threw 6 2/3 scoreless innings and Southern Mississippi beat Memphis, 6-2, on Wednesday night in the first round of the Conference USA tournament at Reckling Park. Southern Miss, which led 6-0 in the ninth and held on, advances to play Rice today, while the Tigers face UAB in an elimination game today at 12:30 p.m. Advertisement Johnson had run-scoring singles in the seventh and ninth innings for Southern Miss. Bowden (3-2) struck out six and walked two before being replaced in the seventh by Scott Massey. Marc Maddox, Michael Ewing, Kevin Coker and Luke Adkins had one RBI apiece, and Johnson and Trey Sutton had three hits each for the Golden Eagles. Will Petersen and Adam Amar each drove in runs in the ninth off closer Daniel Best for the Tigers. Philip Utley (4-5) allowed five runs in 6 1/3 innings for Memphis.

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05/24/06		Tiger Baseball Falls to Southern Miss 6-2 in Day One of C-USA Tournament -- K.K. Chalmers extends hit streak to 10 games (GoTigersGo.com)
		HOUSTON - No. 5 Southern Miss (38-19) 202 000 101 - 6 14 0 No. 4 Memphis (30-27) 000 000 002 - 2 11 2 Southern Miss starter Barry Bowden held Memphis scoreless and struck out six in 6.2 innings and centerfielder Toddric Johnson went 3-for-5 with two RBI to lead the Golden Eagles to a 6-2 win over the Tigers in the opening round of the 2006 Conference USA Tournament. Memphis falls to 30-27 and will face UAB at 12:30 p.m. in the loser's bracket. The Golden Eagles jumped on Tiger starter Philip Utley early, getting a first-pitch double from leadoff hitter Trey Sutton, followed by an RBI-single by Marc Maddox. USM went up 2-0 two batters later on a sac fly to left by Michael Ewing. Southern Miss extended its cushion to 4-0 in the third frame on an RBI-single by Ewing and another sacrifice fly, this one by Luke Adkins. A run-scoring single by Toddric Johnson chased Utley from the contest and made it 5-0. Johnson struck again in the ninth with an RBI-single to give the Golden Eagles a 6-0 advantage. Memphis avoided being shutout for the first time this year, with a pair of tallies in the ninth inning. Pinch hitter Robbie Goss led the inning off with a walk and K.K. Chalmers followed with a double to the right centerfield gap. A single by Will Petersen scored Goss to put the Tigers on the board and a fielder's choice by Adam Amar made the 6-2 final. Utley allowed five runs on 12 hits and struck out two in a losing effort. He pitched 6.1 innings before giving way to Marcus Davis, who fanned a pair in 2.2 innings. USM closer Daniel Best picked up his career-high 12th save in 1.1 innings. Chalmers, Petersen and Kyle Norrid all posted multiple hits for the Tigers. Memphis dropped the season-series to UAB, 2-1. The Tigers won the Friday night series-opener, but were swept by the Blazers in a doubleheader the next day.

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05/23/06		Tiger Trio Earns All C-USA Recognition -- Junior Adam Amar headlines Tigers postseason honors (GoTigersGo.com)
		HOUSTON - University of Memphis first baseman Adam Amar highlighted a group of three Tigers to earn All-Conference USA honors as league officials announced today. Amar, who was named Co-Hitter of the Week yesterday, was tabbed a First Team performer. He is joined by sophomore centerfielder K.K. Chalmers and freshman pitcher Scott McGregor, who both were named the C-USA Second Team. McGregor also earned All-Freshman accolades. A former walk-on for the Tigers, Amar has developed into the league's most feared hitters, leading all C-USA players with a .410 average. His average is 20 points higher than next highest average. Amar has had a breakout year and continues to climb the University of Memphis career charts. The junior first baseman has a career-high 80 hits, 60 RBI and 10 home runs. He currently ranks seventh all-time at Memphis with 135 RBI. The Lake Mary, Fla. native has a pair of multi-home run performances this year. A two-time Conference Hitter of the Week honoree, Amar hit three homers in an 11-4 win over #14 Tulane and capped the regular season with a pair of round-trippers in a 6-for-6 outing against ECU on Saturday. Chalmers has also had a solid season and leads the league with 37 stolen bases. He is two swipes shy of the Memphis single-season record set by former Tiger standout and head coach Dave Anderson in 1981. Known for his speed and outstanding range in centerfield, Chalmers has flashed impressive numbers at the plate in the sophomore campaign. He is currently enjoying a nine-game hitting streak that has seen his average jump from .287 to the current .318. In addition, the Tiger leadoff hitter has 28 RBI, 10 home runs, six doubles and six triples. McGregor rounds out the trio, and is the third Tiger to ever earn All-Freshman recognition, after posting some of the best freshman numbers in the league. The Tiger righthander served as the No. 1 starter for the majority of the season and has a team-best 6-3 record, including a 4-1 mark in eight C-USA starts. He leads the team in starts (13) and innings pitched (73). Memphis is 9-4 in his 13 starts. McGregor has gotten his career off to a solid start, holding Oklahoma to one unearned run in his first collegiate outing--a performance that garnered C-USA Pitcher of the Week honors. The freshman followed that performance with a pair of complete-game wins over #14 Tulane and #20 Southern Miss to pick up his first two C-USA victories. The three honorees is the most-ever to be named as All-C-USA players for Memphis. The No. 4 Tigers will take on No. 5 Southern Miss in the final game of the C-USA Tournament's opening day of action on Wed., May 24. First pitch is set for 7:30 p.m. at Rice's Reckling Park.

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05/23/06		Final Stop for TSF Spring Tour Set for Thursday in Southaven -- DeSoto Athletic Club will be the site of the final of six stops for the 2006 Spring Tour (GoTigersGo.com)
		MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The final stop on the Tiger Scholarship Fund (TSF) Spring Tour will take place Thursday from 5:30 - 7:00 p.m. at the DeSoto Athletic Club, located on 3146 Goodman Road. The event will be hosted by Chuck Roberts Commercial Real Estate and will wrap up the six-stop tour that began back in April. Men's basketball head coach John Calipari and John Flowers from football will attend the Thursday night event. Fans are encouraged to come out to support the Tigers and to bring fellow Tiger fans to the event. The TSF is the fundraising branch of the University of Memphis Athletic Department and is charged with fundraising $5 million each year that is used to directly fund scholarships for Tiger student-athletes competing in 19 sports. RSVPs are appreciated and can be done either by phone at 901-678-2334 or via email to dlarivir@memphis.edu.

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05/22/06		Adam Amar Tabbed Conference USA Co-Hitter of the Week -- Tiger junior went 11-for-19 with four home runs last week (GoTigersGo.com)
		HOUSTON - For the second time this season, junior slugger Adam Amar was honored by Conference USA, being tabbed the league's co-Hitter of the Week, league officials announced Monday. Amar led the Tigers to a sweep of East Carolina last weekend to finish the C-USA regular season with a fourth-place ranking in the league standings. The Tiger junior splits the league's weekly honors with Rice shortstop Brian Friday. Amar was 11-for-19 (.579) in four games last week, leading the Tigers to a sweep of East Carolina and the No. 4 seed in the C-USA Championship. He hit safely in all four games and homered in three. Amar had four total home runs, drove in seven runs and scored five times. He finished one hit shy of tying school and conference records with a 6-for-6 outing on Saturday in which he drove in the game-winning run in the bottom-of-the-ninth inning. Amar finished the regular season with a league-leading .410 batting average and 10 home runs. In addition, the Tiger first baseman hit .459 in league games--the third-highest league batting average in C-USA history. Amar continues to climb the U of M career charts, ranking in a sixth-place ties for RBI (135) and hits (187). He leads the team with 80 hits this year, good four fourth on Memphis' single-season list. Amar and the Tigers have reached the 30-win plateau for just the third time since 1995 and will make their first appearance in the C-USA Tournament since 2004 on Wed., May 24. No. 4 Memphis will face on No. 5 Southern Miss at 7:30 p.m. at Rice University's Reckling Park in the opening round of play.

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05/22/06		What I Plan on Doing on My Summer Vacation: Megan Gooch -- Rising senior women's basketball player to travel to Spain for a month of classes (GoTigersGo.com)
		MEMPHIS, Tenn. - It's not often as a college student-athlete that you get the opportunity to participate in a study abroad program. As a college basketball player, individual workouts start shortly after the fall semester begins and then continue on once the season is over with during the spring semester. Summers are also typically spent in at least one summer session, trying to knock out some credit hours while you are not traveling for competition. For women's basketball player Megan Gooch, this summer will mean a return trip to Spain, where she is taking advantage of a one-month study abroad program at the Universidad Pontifica de Salmanca through the University of Memphis Study Abroad office. It will be Gooch's second visit to Spain in as many summers, adding yet another stamp in a passport that has gotten a lot of use since coming to the University of Memphis from her native Georgetown, Texas. As a sophomore, Gooch was part of a Lady Tiger team that traveled to Playa del Carmen, Mexico, in Cancun to play in an in-season tournament. Last summer, Gooch combined basketball and her faith to participate in a three-week tour of Spain with Athletes in Action. In Salamanca, Gooch will live with a host family for a month and will take six credits, which will allow her to complete her minor in Spanish with one year of her college eligibility remaining. Salamanca is a college town with more than 40,000 university students and has been designated as a world heritage site by UNESCO. The program runs from May 31 - July 1 and is one of 17 programs that the University of Memphis Study Abroad office is currently offering over the summer. Last year, the Study Abroad office helped 145 students take opportunities to continue their college education in classrooms around the world. This summer, the Study Abroad office plans to send over 80 students abroad for summer programs. The office offers programs overseas for a semester, academic year or for the summer in over 160 institutions in 40 countries. Gooch was voted the women's basketball Most Improved player following her junior season and was recently inducted into the Omicron Delta Kappa Honor Society this spring. She played in 27 of Memphis' 28 games this past year, and posted her first career double-double of 12 points and 12 rebounds against East Carolina. Her 19 blocks on the season as a junior were a single-season best for her. She is one of three rising seniors for the 2006-07 Lady Tiger basketball roster, and will team with fellow seniors Devin Necaise and Ashley Howard to lead a young Lady Tiger team that will consist of nine newcomers. And on Gooch's return stateside after completing her minor - summer school at the University of Memphis beginning in July.

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05/21/06		C-USA's newfound unity has Banowsky satisfied (Commercial Appeal)
		By Gary Parrish Contact May 21, 2006 DESTIN, Fla. -- Britton Banowsky has been in charge of Conference USA for nearly four years, and he's endured one of the more drastic shake-ups in NCAA history. Louisville exited. So did Cincinnati. For the remaining schools, including the University of Memphis, the challenge to be competitive without the advantage of having a Bowl Championship Series label has proved difficult. C-USA's status in the NCAA hierarchy slipped in a way that was, in fairness, probably unavoidable given the circumstances under which the Big East grabbed five key members. Still, things are moving forward. C-USA has a football title game that was wildly successful last year (Tulsa beat UCF before a crowd of more than 50,000), and baseball (with the addition of Rice) is better than ever. On the other hand, men's basketball, long the league's premier sport, finished 13th in the RPI last season despite the Tigers going 33-4 and earning a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament before losing to UCLA in the Elite Eight. Before the C-USA Spring Meetings concluded Thursday at the Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort and Spa, Banowsky addressed those issues ... and more. He acknowledged the need for improvement in some areas and detailed what needs to happen for his league to grow in every aspect. Q: How did these meetings go overall, having, for the most part, just completed your first year of schools competing against each other under the new league alignment? A: I thought there would be a period of time where once we started competing against each other and we had winners and losers, then it would be more difficult to move together as a group. But what we encountered was just the opposite. Our group is working as well together as they ever have and better than any conference that I've ever been associated with in terms of working hard on the issues and cooperating at all levels. And so I continue to be very encouraged by the approach taken by our members to the conference. They all seem to have a genuine desire to see the conference grow and succeed. Q: Is there one thing you've identified as something that must improve over the next year? A: All of our sports are important, but I've got to say improving in men's basketball. There is no greater priority for us. Q: How has the transition phase been? A: I think our transition was a fairly seamless one, or as seamless as it could be given the dramatic nature of the circumstances. We've now gotten through one competitive year. We've benchmarked it, and we're getting after it. We have great resources and wonderful communities. Our markets are terrific and our universities, for the most part, are growing, not only in enrollment but also in community demographics and those kinds of things. So the future looks pretty bright for us. Q: Is that BCS hurdle too much to jump? A: I think Memphis, for example, is a case in point. John (Calipari) had a team this year that was a No. 1 seed. I mean, there are barriers for us, and (the non-BCS status) is a barrier. But it's not an insurmountable barrier. Q: Looking ahead, where do you want this league in five years? What are the long-term goals? A: Five years from now I want to be able to look back on this and say three things: One, that we flat-out won national championships in a variety of our sports because we want to compete at the very highest level. Two, that we've graduated our student-athletes. That's equally important. And three, I want us to be connected with our communities. Again, we have great markets. So I want to win those championships, graduate our kids and have the people in our communities caring about us. - Gary Parrish: 529-2365

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05/21/06		First baseman's career day keys Tigers -- Amar has 2 HRs, 6 hits; U of M secures 4th seed (Commercial Appeal)
		By Bryan Brasher Contact May 21, 2006 The 2006 Memphis Tigers have been tough for the average college baseball fan to figure out from one month to the next. In mid-April, the Tigers were eight games over .500 and seemed destined for an at-large spot in the NCAA's postseason. By early May, their losses outnumbered their wins and some questioned whether they'd even make the eight-team Conference-USA tournament. But after a regular season with enough highs and lows bring on motion sickness, the Tigers seem to have reached another high at just the right time -- and no one is flying higher than Memphis first baseman Adam Amar. Amar went a career-best 6-for-6 Saturday with two home runs, a double and three singles. His final hit -- an RBI single in the bottom of the ninth inning -- gave Memphis an 11-10 come-from-behind win over East Carolina at Nat Buring Stadium. With the win, Memphis clinched the fourth seed in next week's C-USA tournament. The Tigers will face Southern Miss at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Reckling Park in Houston. "We wanted our seniors to go out the right way, and we wanted to finish with 30 wins," said Amar, a 6-foot-4, 245-pound junior who bats in the cleanup spot. "These seniors have worked so hard to help turn this program around. I'm glad I was able to help them go out with a win." Memphis spotted East Carolina a five-run lead in the first inning and spent much of the game just trying to catch up. The Pirates (32-24, 10-14) did their early damage with RBI singles by Dale Mollenhaur and Jake Smith and a wind-assisted two-run home run by Ryan Tousley. The Tigers (30-26, 13-11) countered in the bottom of the inning with a two-run, line-drive homer to left field by Bill Moss and trailed only 4-2 after three innings. But ECU got home runs from Bryan Henderson and Tousley in the fourth, chasing Memphis starter Ben Grisham and pushing its lead to 6-2. Mollenhaur went deep for East Carolina again in the fifth with a line drive shot that skipped off the top of the fence in right, and the Pirates seemed ready to blow the game open. But three solid innings of pitching from Tigers senior Drew Jaudon silenced the Pirates' bats, and the Tigers offense finally caught fire in the bottom of the sixth. The Tigers got runs on a home run by Amar and a double by Joseph Lieberman in the sixth. Then in the seventh, Amar tied the game at 7 with a three-run shot to right center. "Adam has really worked hard to become a tremendous college hitter," said Memphis coach Daron Schoenrock. "One of our strengths as a team is our ability score runs, and having Adam hitting like that in the middle of our lineup certainly doesn't hurt." Memphis took its first lead in the eighth when Cory Barton, K.K. Chalmers and Will Peterson began the inning with three straight home runs. But the Tigers bullpen couldn't hold the lead in the ninth. East Carolina scored its first ninth-inning run on an error by Lieberman in left field. They inched closer when Jacob Dean scored on a wild pitch by the Tigers' Matt Yokley and tied the game on a two-out single by Smith. Amar struck the final blow for the Tigers in the ninth, singling to left to score Barton with the winning run. "Our coaches always tell us it's not how you start, it's how you finish," said Amar, who drove in five runs. "That was the story of this game, and it's been the story of our season." In addition to Amar's career day, Chalmers (3-for-5), Moss (2-for-5), Lieberman (2-for-5) and Barton (2-for-2) all had multiple hits. Yokley (2-3), who was shaky in two innings of relief, picked up his second win. Lead-off hitter Harrison Eldridge went 3-for-4, and catcher Jake Smith went 4-for-5 to lead East Carolina.

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05/20/06		Tiger Baseball Outslugs East Carolina 11-10 to Earn Second-Straight Series Sweep -- Adam Amar goes 6-for-6 with two home runs (GoTigersGo.com)
		MEMPHIS, Tenn. - East Carolina (32-24, 10-14 C-USA) 400 210 003 - 10 15 2 Memphis (30-26, 13-11 C-USA) 200 002 331 - 11 18 1 Adam Amar led the Memphis offense with a 6-for-6 performance, including the game-winning single in the bottom of the ninth innings to lead the Tigers to an 11-10 come-from-behind win over East Carolina in the series finale. The U of M slammed a season-high six home runs in the contest, including back-to-back-to-back homers for the first time in 23 years. Memphis, who has now won six-straight C-USA games, finishes the regular season with a 30-26 record and a fourth-place finish in the Conference USA standings. The 30 wins marks just the second time since 1995 that the Tigers have reached the milestone win. Trailing 7-2 after five innings, the Tigers staged a furious comeback that began with Amar's first drive of the afternoon, a solo shot over the centerfield wall. Kyle Norrid then doubled down the leftfield line and scored when Joey Lieberman produced an RBI-double to the leftfield corner to make it 7-4. A three-run blast to rightcenter by Amar tied the tilt at 7-7 in the seventh. Memphis used the strength of back-to-back-to-back homers by Cory Barton, K.K. Chalmers and Will Petersen to take a 10-7 lead after eight. The three-straight home runs was the first time the feat has been accomplished Denis Gourgeot, Eric Kinnaman and Tim Dulin went deep in three consecutive at-bats against Tulane in 1983. ECU answered in a big way in the top of the ninth. Pinch-hitter Adam Hodges led off with a single and a one-out, infield single by Jake Dean moved Hodges to second. Harrison Eldridge followed with a double to leftfield to close the Memphis lead to 10-8. Dean made it a one-run game when he scored on a wild pitch by Tiger freshman Matt Yokley. The next batter, Jake Smith singled up the middle to tie the game at 10. The Tigers had more late-game heroics in store in the ninth. Barton was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning and Bill Moss also was hit by a pitch, setting up the game-winning single by Amar. In an action-packed contest, things did not get off to a good start for the Tigers. Each of the first three ECU hitters reached base and a two-run blast by Ryan Tousley put the Pirates on top 4-0 early. Moss crushed his sixth homer of the year over the leftfield wall to make it 4-2 after the first inning of play. The Pirate offense then got back-to-back homers from Brandon Henderson and Tousley in the fourth, and another solo shot from Dale Mollenhauer in the fifth to take what looked to be a commanding 7-2 lead. Memphis outhit East Carolina 18-15 in the contest. The Tiger offense, that is ranked 20th in the nation in scoring, has now reached double-digits in hits in eight of its last nine games. Chalmers added three hits, while Moss, Lieberman and Barton had two. Barton homered in his final official at-bat. Yokley picked up the win after fanning two in two innings. Drew Jaudon had a solid "Senior Day" outing, holding the Pirates to just one run in four innings of relief. Cody Leggett was tagged with the loss. No. 4 Memphis will now prepare for a meeting with No. 5 Southern Miss in the C-USA Tournament. The Tigers and Golden Eagles will play in the 7:30 p.m. game on Wed., May 24. Listen live to "The Voice of Tiger Baseball" Jeff Brightwell as he calls the play-by-play action on WUMR FM 91.7. Pre-game coverage begins at 7:15 p.m.

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05/20/06		Tiger offense red-hot again (Commercial Appeal)
		By Our Press Services May 20, 2006 The University of Memphis picked up where it left off Thursday night, pounding out 20 hits en route to a 14-6 win over East Carolina on Friday afternoon at Nat Buring Stadium. The victory gives the Tigers (29-26, 12-11 C-USA) their first series win over the Pirates (32-23, 10-13) and secures at least a fifth-place finish in the Conference USA standings. It did not take the Tigers long to get out of the gates. K.K. Chalmers drew a walk to lead off the Memphis half of the first inning. Will Petersen, Bill Moss and Adam Amar each singled in the next three at-bats. Moss' single up the middle scored Chalmers to put Memphis on the board 1-0. Joey Lieberman capped the inning with a two-run double to right centerfield to make it 3-0. Lieberman has six RBI in the series. Memphis answered a third-inning home run by ECU catcher Jake Smith with a run of its own on a fielder's choice groundball by Kyle Norrid. All nine Tiger starters recorded a hit, while eight finished with multiple hits. Cory Barton led the Tigers with a 4-for-5 performance and three RBI. Amar added three hits and Petersen drove in four. Scott McGregor cruised through 52/3 innings but got into trouble in the sixth before giving way to reliever Neil Schenk, who tossed 31/3 innings of relief to earn the win.

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05/19/06		Baseball Wins East Carolina Series with 14-6 Decision -- Tigers post first-ever series win over the Pirates (GoTigersGo.com)
		MEMPHIS, Tenn. - East Carolina (32-23, 10-13 C-USA) 001 013 100 - 6 12 1 Memphis (29-26, 12-11 C-USA) 301 003 34X - 14 20 3 The University of Memphis picked up where it left off Thursday night by pounding out 20 hits en route to a convincing 14-6 win over East Carolina, Friday afternoon. The win gives the Tigers their first-ever series win over the Pirates and secures at least a fifth-place finish in the Conference USA standings. It did not take the Tigers long to get out of the gates. K.K. Chalmers drew a walk to leadoff the Memphis half of the frame. Will Petersen, Bill Moss and Adam Amar each singled in the next three at-bats. Moss' single up the middle scored Chalmers to put Memphis on the board 1-0. Joey Lieberman capped the inning with a two-run double to right centerfield to make it 3-0. Lieberman now has six RBI in the series. Memphis answered a third-inning home run by ECU catcher Jake Smith with a run of its own on a fielder's choice groundball by Kyle Norrid. The Pirates then staged a rally that produced the game's next four runs to give the Pirates a 5-4 lead. An RBI-triple by Dale Mollenhauer cut Memphis' lead to 4-2 in the fifth. ECU erupted for three runs in the sixth to chase Tiger starter Scott McGregor. Adam Witter led off the frame with a single to right and moved to second when Tiger rightfielder Josh Irvin mishandled the ball. A run-scoring double by Ryan Tousley made it 4-3. Another defensive error by the Tigers allowed ECU to plate its fourth run of the game and an RBI-single by pinch-hitter Adam Hodges gave the Pirates their first and only lead of the game. The U of M responded in a big way in the home half of the sixth when Petersen followed singles by Michael Murray and Cory Barton with a three-run blast over the centerfield wall. The drive was Petersen's ninth of the year and gave Memphis the lead for good at 7-5. It was all Memphis in the seventh and eighth innings as the Tiger offense batted around in both frames. A solo shot to leftfield by Amar gave the Tigers an 8-5 cushion and RBI's by Murray and Barton made it 10-6. Memphis put the finishing touches on the win with four runs in the eighth for the 14-6 final. All nine Tigers starters recorded a hit in the contest, while eight finished with multiple hits. Barton led the Tigers with a 4-for-5 performance and three RBI. Amar added three hits and Petersen drove in four. McGregor cruised through 5.2 innings but got into trouble in the sixth before giving way to reliever Neil Schenk, who tossed 3.1 innings of relief to earn the win. ECU starter Shane Mathews took the loss Memphis has now won five-straight C-USA games and will go for its second consecutive series sweep tomorrow in the regular season and series finale. Eleven Tiger seniors will be honored for their contributions to the Memphis baseball program before the game. First pitch set for 1 p.m. Listen live to "The Voice of Tiger Baseball" Jeff Brightwell as he calls the play-by-play action on WUMR FM 91.7. Pre-game coverage begins at 12:45 p.m.

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05/19/06		Stephen Schuh Selected to Rimington Trophy Watch List -- Award honors nation's top center (GoTigersGo.com)
		DALLAS, TEXAS - Memphis center Stephen Schuh was among 39 players selected to the Dave Rimington Trophy spring watch list as announced by the group today. This season marks the seventh year of the Rimington Trophy recognizing the most outstanding center in college football and the first as a regular member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA). The spring watch list consists of college football's top men in the middle and will be updated once prior to the beginning of the season. Five sophomores, 11 juniors and 23 seniors make up the strong field. "With only one returning finalist (Dan Mozes, West Virginia) from last season, the competition will be wide open which will certainly make for an exciting race," said Dave Rimington. "Center is a very difficult position to evaluate, and of course play, so I wish all of the candidates and their respective teams a successful season." Schuh joined the Tigers as a walk-on in 2003 and lettered as a back-up center the last three seasons. He played in a total of 11 games in 2003 and 2004 seeing limited action behind former Rimington Trophy candidate Gene Frederic. Schuh was presented a scholarship prior to the 2005 season, and started the last seven games at center. He played all of the team's offensive snaps in the final three games of the season, and did not register a muffed snap at center this past year. Schuh was also part of an offensive line that set the tone for All-American running back DeAngelo Williams who led the nation with an average of 178.5 yards rushing and 18 touchdowns in 2005. He also was instrumental in Memphis ranking fifth nationally in rushing offense, while the Tiger offensive line gave up just nine sacks in 2005, which led C-USA and was good for a top-five finish nationally. 2005 Rimington Trophy winner Greg Eslinger (Minnesota) was a sixth round draft pick of the Denver Broncos. In addition, 2005 marked the inaugural presentation of the President Gerald R. Ford Legends of Center Award, accepted on behalf of President Ford by John Cappelletti (1973 Heisman Trophy Winner, Penn State University) at the annual Rimington Trophy banquet. The seven-year-old trophy is presented by Canon, MidAmerican Energy Holdings, USA and Black & Decker. The award is hosted by the Boomer Esiason Foundation. Minnesota's Greg Eslinger, Michigan's David Baas (2004 co-winner), LSU's Ben Wilkerson (2004 co-winner), Virginia Tech's Jake Grove, Miami's Brett Romberg, Ohio State's LeCharles Bentley, and Nebraska's Dominic Raiola are past recipients. Esiason created his foundation in 1993 to support research and treatment of cystic fibrosis. Esiason and Dave Rimington were teammates on the Cincinnati Bengals from 1984-87. Rimington, the award's namesake, was a consensus first-team all-America center at Nebraska in 1981 and 1982 during which he became the John Outland Trophy's only double winner as the nation's premiere college interior lineman. The winner is selected by determining the consensus All-American center pick from four existing All America Teams including: • American Football Coaches Association • Walter Camp Foundation • Sporting News • Football Writers Association of America Because the selectors of these four All-America teams can place centers in a "mix" of offensive linemen that includes guards and tackles, their 11-man first teams can often have two centers. The Rimington Trophy policy is to count all players that play primarily the center position for their respective teams as centers, even though they maybe listed as guards or tackles on the four All-American teams. The winner will be honored at the awards banquet at the Rococo Theater in Lincoln, Nebraska, in January of 2007. 2006 Spring Rimington Trophy Watch List Pete Bier Army Sr. 6'4" 282 lbs Mark Bihl Michigan Sr 6'5" 297 lbs Antoine Caldwell Alabama So. 6'4" 294 lbs Aaron Danenhauer Tulsa Sr. 6'5" 302 lbs Robby D'Angelo Southern Miss Jr.r 6'1" 277 lbs Kyle DeVan Oregon State Jr. 6'2" 293 lbs Sterling Doty Houston Sr. 6'2" 285 lbs Robby Felix UTEP So. 6'3" 270 lbs Mark Fenton Colorado Jr. 6'4" 290 lbs Dustin Fry Clemson Sr. 6'3" 315 lbs Cedric Gagne-Marcoux UCF Sr. 6'2" 280 lbs Leroy Harris North Carolina St. Sr. 6'3" 295 lbs Tanner Jenkins Arkansas State Sr. 6'1" 292 lbs Brandon Jones Texas Tech Sr. 6'3" 305 lbs Nick Jones Georgia Sr. 6'3" 295 lbs Ryan Kalil Southern California Sr. 6'4" 290 lbs Jason Karcher Wyoming Sr. 6'3" 291 lbs Adam Korby Idaho So. 6'2" 292 lbs Robbie Krutilla Western Michigan Jr. 6'3" 308 lbs Doug Legursky Marshall Jr. 6'3" 308 lbs Kory Lichtensteiger Bowling Green Jr. 6'3" 305 lbs Enoka Lucas Oregon Sr. 6'4" 299 lbs Jonathan Luigs Arkansas So. 6'4" 305 lbs Kurt Mann Nebraska Sr. 6'4" 280 lbs Dan Mozes West Virginia Sr. 6'4" 290 lbs Dave Ochoa Kansas Sr. 6'4" 295 lbs James Rossi Navy Jr. 6'1" 269 lbs Samson Satele Hawaii Sr. 6'3" 311 lbs Lyle Sendlein Texas Jr. 6'5" 305 lbs Stephen Schuh Memphis Sr. 6'1" 288 lbs Adam Spieker Missouri Jr. 6'3" 310 lbs Darnell Stapleton Rutgers Sr. 6'3" 305 lbs Scott Stephenson Iowa State Sr. 6'4" 305 lbs John Sullivan Notre Dame Sr. 6'4" 280 lbs Cody Wallace Texas A&M Jr. 6'4" 296 lbs Chris White South Carolina Sr. 6'3" 316 lbs Anthony Wollschlager Miami Sr. 6'4" 281 lbs Eric Wood Louisville So. 6'4" 290 lbs Kyle Young Fresno State Jr. 6'5" 335 lbs

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05/19/06		Lieberman's grand slam sinks ECU (Commercial Appeal)
		By Our Press Services May 19, 2006 A game after losing to Ole Miss in a dramatic ninth-inning rally, it was Memphis' turn to create late-game heroics as junior designated hitter Joey Lieberman lined a one-out, walk-off grand slam over the left-field wall on Thursday night to give the host Tigers a 9-6 win over East Carolina (32-22, 10-12 C-USA) in the series-opening contest. Lieberman capped the Tiger comeback with his team-leading 13th home run of the year -- one of four U of M homers. He finished a rally that saw Bill Moss, Adam Amar and Kyle Norrid all reach on one-out singles. The Tigers are 28-26, 11-11.

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05/19/06		C-USA landing some big-time coaching names (Commercial Appeal)
		By Gary Parrish Contact May 19, 2006 DESTIN, Fla. -- A group of men stood in this resort's lobby the other day, just talking and laughing and acting like any other group of men. They wore trunks. They wore T-shirts. They looked completely normal ... except nobody treated them that way because the unsuspecting vacationers who had brought their families to the beach for the week are used to only seeing big-time college basketball coaches on TV, not in the lounge chair next to them asking to borrow a bottle of sun block. "Some of our coaches have big names and big backgrounds and are recognizable," said Conference USA associate commissioner Chris Woolard. "When you look at the names of the coaches in our league, it's hard to argue C-USA can't be one of the best leagues in the country." It's easy to bash C-USA. From the pitiful RPI ranking to its status as a non-BCS league, there are plenty of reasons to look at this basketball conference and dream of the day the University of Memphis receives an offer to leave for bigger and better things. Still, there's genuine hope. And it revolves around the fact that with the additions of former Indiana coach Mike Davis and former North Carolina coach Matt Doherty this off-season -- to UAB and SMU, respectively -- C-USA now has some seriously accomplished/famous coaches representing five of its members. Granted, it's not the ACC (Duke's Mike Krzyzewski, North Carolina's Roy Williams, Maryland's Gary Williams, Georgia Tech's Paul Hewitt and Florida State's Leonard Hamilton) or the Big East (Connecticut's Jim Calhoun, Louisville's Rick Pitino, Syracuse's Jim Boeheim, Villanova's Jay Wright and Marquette's Tom Crean). But C-USA's list of coaches compares favorably with most other BCS leagues, and it's probably significantly better than all other conferences labeled mid-majors. (Quick: Name five coaches in the Mountain West or WAC.) "Every program has different challenges," C-USA commissioner Britton Banowsky said before his league's annual spring meetings adjourned Thursday. "But like I've said before, if you have the people in place who have gotten it done before and who know how to get it done, then you have a high chance of success." The credentials are impressive. Consider that C-USA now has two Final Four coaches (Memphis' John Calipari at UMass in 1996 and Davis at Indiana in 2002), two Associated Press National Coaches of the Year (Southern Miss' Larry Eustachy at Iowa State in 2000 and Doherty at North Carolina in 2001), and another coach (Houston's Tom Penders) who has won 566 career games and been to three Sweet 16s (in 1988 at Rhode Island, 1990 and '97 at Texas) and an Elite Eight (1990). Add that group to some first-time head coaches who were assistants at big-time programs -- Tulsa's Doug Wojcik at North Carolina and Michigan State; Tulane's Dave Dickerson at Maryland -- and the pieces for improvement and notoriety seem to be in place. "We have a lot of coaches who know what it looks like at the highest level," Doherty said. "We know where we want things to go at our universities and in this league." Now they just have to get going. "We all have to go win games," Davis said. "Who you are, where you are or what you've done doesn't matter unless you win games. So that's what we've got to do." -- Gary Parrish: 529-2365 -------------------- New big-name Coaches in Conference USA Mike Davis, UAB Made his name at: Indiana (115-79 in six seasons) Hoosier highlight: Coached Indiana to 2002 NCAA championship game, where it lost to Maryland Hoosier lowlight: In 2004, coached Indiana to first losing season since 1970. Matt Doherty, SMU Made his name at: North Carolina (53-43 in three seasons) Heel highlight: Carolina went 26-7 in Doherty's first season. Heel lowlight: In 2002, coached first Carolina team since 1975 to miss the NCAA tournament.

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05/18/06		Joey Lieberman's Walk-off Grand Slam Gives Tiger Baseball 9-6 Win Over East Carolina -- Lieberman tags 13th homer of the year (GoTigersGo.com)
		MEMPHIS, Tenn. - East Carolina (32-22, 10-12 C-USA) 030 002 001 - 6 17 0 Memphis (28-26, 11-11 C-USA) 001 020 114 - 9 16 2 A game after losing to #18 Ole Miss in a dramatic ninth-inning rally, it was the University of Memphis' turn to create late-game heroics as junior designated hitter Joey Lieberman lined a one-out, walk-off grand slam over the leftfield wall to give the Tigers a 9-6 win over East Carolina in the series opening contest on Thursday evening. Lieberman capped the gutsy Tiger comeback with his team-leading 13th home run of the year--one of four U of M round-trippers on the night. He followed a rally that saw Bill Moss, Adam Amar and Kyle Norrid all reach on one-out singles. ECU took a one-run lead in the top of the ninth after Harrison Eldridge hit what looked to be a groundout to Amar at first, but turned into a double when the ball hit the bag and hopped down the rightfield line. He came around to score on an RBI-single to leftcenter by Adam Witter. The Tiger comeback started after the Pirates posted three runs in the top of the third inning. Cory Barton put Memphis on the board, 3-1, with his third homer of the year. Will Petersen knotted the tilt at 3-3 with a long two-run drive over the centerfield wall. ECU answered with a pair in the sixth on a run-scoring single by Eldridge followed by an RBI-double by Dale Mollenhauer. An infield single by Moss scored Ben Grisham to cut the Tiger's deficit to one run at 5-4. Memphis again evened the slate in the eighth on a solo home run by Kyle Norrid. Norrid finished the night with three hits and two runs scored. Dusty Davis was the winning pitcher after striking out a career-high seven in five innings of relief. Moss led the team with four hits, while Chalmers and Grisham also collected two hits each. ECU reliever Jason Neitz took the loss. The four runs scored on the grand slam were all the Pirate lefty allowed. Starter Brody Taylor was solid in seven innings, striking out five and scattering 10 hits. Memphis and ECU will meet again tomorrow with the first pitch set for 2 p.m. Listen live to "The Voice of Tiger Baseball" Jeff Brightwell as he calls the play-by-play action on WUMR FM 91.7. Pre-game coverage begins at 1:45 p.m.

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05/18/06		Memphis Baseball Host East Carolina in Final Conference USA Series -- Tigers and Pirates Battle For Posaition in C-USA Tournament (GoTigersGo.com)
		MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Head coach Daron Schoenrock and the Memphis Tigers look to rebound from Tuesday night's tough loss to #18 Ole Miss when they host the East Carolina Pirates in the last Conference USA series of the year, Thurs., May 18-Sat., May 20. See above for game times. The Tigers and Pirates are both 11-10 in C-USA play-good for a three-way tie for third inthe league standings, with Southern Miss.

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05/18/06		Tiger Notes: Baseball, Track, Football (Commercial Appeal)
		By Phil Stukenborg Contact May 18, 2006 Baseball team chasing goals One preseason goal has been reached, several others are within its grasp. That's the situation for the University of Memphis baseball team as it prepares to end its regular season with a three-game Conference USA series against East Carolina beginning tonight at 6:30 at Nat Buring Stadium. ECU (32-21, 10-11) and Memphis also play single games at 2 p.m. on Friday and at 1 p.m. on Saturday. The Tigers (27-26 overall, 10-11 in C-USA) have clinched a spot in the C-USA Tournament, which starts Wednesday at Reckling Park on the campus of top-ranked Rice. Earning a tournament berth was among the goals for coach Daron Schoenrock's team, which went 13-42 a year ago. As for others that could be reached the next three days, Schoenrock would like for his team to: Move closer to a 30-win season End the year with a winning record at home Secure either a No. 4 or No. 5 seed in the conference tournament. It would take a series sweep to reach the 30-win plateau by this weekend. The Tigers would also need to a sweep to end with a winning record at Nat Buring, where they are 12-13. Winning 2-of-3 against ECU would assure the Tigers of avoiding the No. 6 seed, which will draw No. 3 Tulane, a perennial league power, in an opening-round game at 9 a.m. Wednesday. ''I thought 30 wins was a realistic goal when the season began,'' said Schoenrock, who more than doubled last year's win total with an infusion of transfers and junior college talent. ''I think there's only been two 30-win teams here in the last six years.'' In fact, there have been only two 30-win teams at the UofM in the last 11 seasons. Dave Anderson went 34-24 in his first season as coach in 2001, and Jeff Hopkins, now the successful head coach at Collierville High, went 32-28 in 1995. As the fourth or fifth seed in the tournament, the Tigers would play ECU again or Southern Miss in the first round. ''Instead of having them worry about seeding, I want them to see the goal of 30 wins being reachable,'' Schoenrock said. ''But it won't be easy. We're facing a pretty good pitching staff, one of the best in the league.'' ECU, with a respectable team earned-run average of 3.99, is led by lefthander Brody Taylor, who is scheduled to start tonight. Taylor is one of two starters with ERAs under 4.00. Taylor is 7-2 with a 3.00 ERA and has struck out 62 -- with only 18 walks -- in 78 innings. T.J. Hose is 3-3 with a 3.84 ERA. The Tigers lost a heart-breaking game to 18th-ranked Ole Miss Tuesday night in Oxford when Collierville's Zack Cozart hit a walkoff homer in the bottom of the ninth inning. It was the first time the UofM had lost on 22 occasions carrying a lead into the ninth. Schoenrock is confident his team will bounce back, like it has several times this season after tough defeats. ''What I really like is our offensive approach and the fact our pitching has been better in the last week to 10 days,'' Schoenrock said. ''We've eliminated walks and we've been throwing strikes.'' Philip Utley, who struck out 10 in a victory at Central Florida last weekend, will start tonight. He is 4-4 with a 6.18 ERA. ''I just want to finish strong,'' Schoenrock said. ''Except for a eight-game winning and losing streaks back-to-back (in April), we've been pretty consistent all year.'' Senior day Schoenrock said 11 senior members of the Tiger baseball team will be honored before Saturday's regular-season finale. They are pitchers Marcus Davis, Drew Jaudon, Tim Senter, Stephen Gostkowski and Josh Langley, along with position players Robbie Goss, Patrick Hope, Cory Barton, Jordan Tolliver, John Peterson and Collin Bastien. Barton, the team's starting catcher, and Tolliver, a key infield reserve, served as co-captains. Gostkowski is not scheduled to attend. The kicker was taken in the fourth round of last month's NFL draft by the New England Patriots. Odds and ends The men's and women's track teams are idle this weekend while preparing for next weekend's NCAA Mideast Regional at Knoxville. Seven members of the men's team and three members of the women's team have qualified. On the men's side, J.D. Erickson has qualified in three events (shot, hammer and discus) and on the women's side Gail Lee (shot, hammer), Sivan Aballi (shot, discus) and Susan King (shot, discus) have qualified in two events each. ... Gostkowski, who spent last weekend at the Patriots' mini-camp in Foxboro, Mass., will be working with Brad Seely, one of the NFL's most respected special teams coaches. He was given the locker vacated by quarterback Doug Flutie, who recently announced his retirement. -- Phil Stukenborg: 529-2543

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05/18/06		C-USA concocts formula for hoops success (Commercial Appeal)
		By Gary Parrish Contact May 18, 2006 DESTIN, Fla. -- Chris Woolard walks around this resort toting a huge, three-ring notebook, the kind a college student with some serious study habits, or perhaps a guy who shows wallpaper samples, might own. In other words, it's thick. "Been working on it for a year," said Woolard, and then he smiled with a sense of optimism because the Conference USA associate commissioner is hopeful his labor will create a better basketball league, one that never again suffers from the low RPI rankings that devastated almost everybody last season besides the University of Memphis. "There's more than hope," said commissioner Britton Banowsky, whose league's annual spring meetings will end today. "There's an expectation that we will be better." Woolard's research shows there is a solution to last season's troubles -- C-USA ranked 13th among leagues in the RPI with seven schools rated 190th or worse -- beyond just having higher-quality players on higher-quality teams. It's all about scheduling, but not necessarily scheduling better. Smarter, rather. And to win. That's the trick. "The biggest factor in the RPI is Division 1 wins," explained Woolard, who has examined virtually every schedule of every team in every league that finished higher in the RPI than C-USA last season. "The biggest factor is winning, and that's what we didn't do well, is schedule in a way that our teams won their Division 1 non-conference games." More specifically, the way the Missouri Valley Conference did in a feat that will be remembered as the first time a league collectively cracked the RPI. The MVC scheduled in a way that allowed it to finish sixth in the conference standings and produce six teams with top-40 RPIs, despite the actual schedules being something less than overwhelming. Take Bradley, for example, the team Memphis eliminated in the Sweet 16. The Braves scheduled mostly winnable games outside the league and finished 7-3 in non-conference play with only one game -- a December win over Western Kentucky -- coming against a top-60 opponent. Still, they entered the MVC with an RPI of 67 and finished with an RPI of 33. Wichita State took a similar approach, as did Missouri State, Southern Illinois, Northern Iowa and Creighton. Consequently, all six schools entered league play with significantly more wins than losses, and the by-product was that every game between those in the top half of the MVC benefited the winner and loser because somebody was always notching a top-40 win while somebody else was strengthening their schedule rating by losing to a top-40 team. Meanwhile, most of C-USA's programs limped through the non-conference part of their schedules, and only five teams entered league play with winning records, while eight of the 12 had RPIs of 228 or worse. So while the MVC's non-league success created a situation where members were feeding off each other in a positive way, C-USA's lack of non-league success did the same in a negative fashion. It's hard to drop in the RPI when you're consistently playing top-40 teams, just like it's hard to advance in the RPI when you're consistently playing teams ranked in the 200s. "The thing the Missouri Valley Conference did -- and they did a great job -- is win 70 percent of their non-conference games," Woolard said. "What they realized is that if you go into league play with a good winning percentage as a league then you're going to have a good (final) RPI as a league." So it's better to go 10-3 against a poor schedule than 7-6 against a good schedule? "There's no question," answered Woolard. "If you go into conference play with a winning percentage of 70 against Division 1 opponents as a league, you're going to be in the top five or six leagues in the country (in the RPI). Then you'll have teams with top-40 RPIs. So it's important to just go win games." The interesting detail of this new strategy is that C-USA has actually proposed a plan that would use financial incentives to encourage programs to, above anything else, schedule for wins. "There's some neat stuff," said UofM coach John Calipari. "I think it's great." Among the possibilities are bonuses for winning at least 70 percent of non-league games, having a top-40 RPI, making either the NIT or NCAA Tournament and improving by a certain percentage on the previous season's win total. "The incentives program will be to encourage teams to come into conference play with a better non-conference record," Woolard said. "That's what hurt our top teams last year; the lower teams with bad non-league records. And we don't want that to happen again." Thus the plan, which is proof of two things. One, that C-USA recognized it was subpar last season. Two, that it isn't justifying the failure with excuses -- like the departures of Louisville and Cincinnati or Hurricane Katrina's effect on Tulane -- but rather addressing the issue head-on. "We don't want anybody to think we were happy last year because we weren't," Woolard said. "But what we do want people to know is that it's going to be better, and that we're doing the things to make it better."

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05/18/06		C-USA Notes: Basketball, Football (Commercial Appeal)
		By Gary Parrish Contact May 18, 2006 Forum to host men's tourney DESTIN, Fla. -- In an expected move, Conference USA athletic directors on Wednesday unanimously voted to return the league's men's basketball tournament to Memphis for a third consecutive year. The vote still needs next month's ratification by C-USA's board of directors to become official, but that's considered a formality. So barring a surprisingly change of plans, the 2007 event will be played at FedExForum March 7-10, with the University of Memphis serving as host. "I think the group felt so comfortable with the job Memphis did last year; there was just so much support for maintaining momentum," said C-USA commissioner Britton Banowsky. "We really didn't focus on any alternatives." Before recommending Memphis as host the league bounced around the idea of changing the format of its most high-profile event. One idea was to continue giving the top four seeds byes while placing all first-round games at host sites where the No. 5 seed would host the No. 12 seed and so forth. But ultimately C-USA opted to continue as last year with the top four seeds getting byes and the other eight playing first-round games at FedExForum. "I love it being in Memphis," said Tulsa coach Doug Wojcik. "With FedExForum and Beale Street and the crowds, it's a great place to be." Beyond the obvious advantages of holding the event in Memphis is the fact that the Tigers are projected to win C-USA again. For financial reasons, it's crucial to the league that the host school not be eliminated in the first or second round. "What you don't want to do is just say everybody should get an equal chance (to host) because if you go play at a school that finishes 12th and they lose in the first round, then it's a terrible tournament," said C-USA associate commissioner Chris Woolard. "So you've got to be selective with what group you allow to look at hosting it. ... You want to consider bids from institutions that have a chance to make it to the last day. That's definitely a major consideration." In a related note, the league athletic directors voted to hold the 2007 women's tournament in Tulsa. Official announcements are expected today. Football not so busy While C-USA's basketball coaches have been debating everything from the number of league games to which schools should have which schools as mirror opponents, the football coaches have been less active. "We did most of our planning last year, so now we're having to just come up with stuff to talk about," said UofM coach Tommy West. "There's just not much business." Family comes first Despite their meetings ending Wednesday at about noon, most of the basketball and football coaches remained here at the Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort and Spa overnight. One of the exceptions was new SMU coach Matt Doherty, who left around 4 because of other obligations. "It's my wedding anniversary," he said. "So I'm flying home to see my family." Home is still in Boca Raton, Fla., where Doherty formerly coached Florida Atlantic after his stint at North Carolina. But everybody will be in Dallas soon. "We have closed on a house," Doherty said.

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05/17/06		C-USA basketball tournament returning to Memphis in 2007 (Commercial Appeal)
		By Gary Parrish Contact May 17, 2006 DESTIN, Fla. – In an expected move, Conference USA athletic directors today unanimously voted to return the league’s men’s basketball tournament to Memphis for a third consecutive year. The vote still needs next month’s ratification by C-USA’s board of directors to become official, but that’s considered a formality, meaning the 2007 event will be played at FedExForum with the University of Memphis serving as host. "I think the group felt so comfortable with the job Memphis did last year; there was just so much support for maintaining momentum," said C-USA commissioner Britton Banowsky. "We really didn’t focus on any alternatives." In a related note, the league athletic directors also voted to hold the 2007 women’s basketball tournament in Tulsa.

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05/17/06		Leila Dolfo Named to NFCA All-South Region Second Team -- Freshman earns regional honor as a utility player (GoTigersGo.com)
		MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Memphis freshman softball player Leila Dolfo has been named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-South Region Second Team as a utility player after a season in which she played multiple positions and was one of the top hitters for the Lady Tigers. One of just two freshmen selected as one of the 31 members of the South Region teams, Dolfo was also one of only two Conference USA players selected, alongside University of Houston pitcher Angel Shamblin. "We are very excited for Leila to receive this well-deserved honor," said Coach Windy Thees. "She was a key player for us all year and was ready to play wherever we asked her to, whether it be pitcher, shortstop, or outfield." In her first collegiate season, Dolfo played in 52 of 54 games, starting each of those, with 22 starts coming in rightfield, 20 at shortstop, six at pitcher and four at designated player. The C-USA All-Freshman honoree ranked seventh in the league with 38 RBI and 12 doubles, while leading the U of M in walks (25) and ranking second in RBI, doubles, homeruns (5), slugging pct. (.503) and total bases (78). In addition, Dolfo was third on the team in on-base pct. (.393), hits (47) and runs (32) and fourth in batting average (.303), while going 3-5 with a 3.20 ERA in the circle and claiming Memphis' first-ever victory in C-USA play at UAB. "This is a great accolade for our team and for the University of Memphis," said Thees. "For Leila to be voted one of the top 16 utility players in the country is an outstanding accomplishment, especially when it comes in a region that includes the SEC and several other top conferences."

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05/17/06		A Matter of Degree -- Darius Washington faces a life-changingdecision: the NBA or a B.A.? (Memphis Flyer)
		BY FRANK MURTAUGH MAY 17, 2006 Darius Washington has until June 18th to change his mind and return to the University of Memphis for his junior year instead of opting to shoot for an NBA contract. Here's hoping -- with the help of his parents, coach, or the mother of his child -- Washington comes to his senses. This has nothing to do with the value Washington might bring the 2006-07 Tiger basketball team. With star recruit Willie Kemp arriving to man the point- guard position (backed up by Andre Allen), Washington's role would shift to that of a shooting guard, where he'd have to share minutes with sophomore-to-be Antonio Anderson. That move to the periphery of Coach John Calipari's rotation is certainly a factor in Washington's decision to leave college (and probably the reason you haven't heard a word of protest from Calipari). But it doesn't make the decision any less misguided. On the same day Washington announced his intentions last month, his teammate Shawne Williams -- the 2005-06 Conference USA Freshman of the Year -- surprised no one by saying he'd be entering the June 28th NBA draft too. That's where the similarities between Washington and Williams end. Tiger fans should consider the season they cheered Williams a bonus. Had a few variables been different, Williams would have jumped straight from Hamilton High School to the NBA. Having already lost a brother to violence, Williams is a classic example of what the NBA once called a hardship case. His talents are such that he'll be drafted in the first round and thus receive a guaranteed NBA contract. He'll be an instant provider for a family much in need. Which brings us back to Washington, whose girlfriend gave birth to a little boy -- Darius III -- last December. So the role of family provider is clearly on Washington's mind as well. The difference, though, is that Washington is no lock to be drafted at all, much less in the first round, where a contract is assured. His financial security rests in the hands of NBA talent scouts, a risk-reward scale that could tip either way. Put Washington in the exact same life position where he finds himself today, but take away his basketball skills. A far-fetched scenario, to be sure, but in that situation, the wisest thing for a a 20-year-old father would be to earn his college degree. His child's future would be as dependent on that degree as his own. And this is where Calipari has failed the player he proclaimed central to his program the last two seasons. Since his days at the University of Massachusetts, Calipari has professed to coach with his players' best interests in mind. If that means a star player should turn pro early -- see Marcus Camby -- Calipari has publicly supported the decision, as counter as it may be to the mission of an academic institution. Marcus Camby and Dajuan Wagner -- both top-10 draft picks -- are in one category. Darius Washington is in another. Here's a remarkable trend from the Calipari era in Memphis: In six years, Calipari has coached four players who have earned C-USA Freshman of the Year honors. Unless Washington (or Williams) changes his mind, not one of these four players has reached his junior year. I've rung the bell several times in support of an improved graduation rate under Calipari, but the fact is, the program is graduating its fringe players (Modibo Diarra, Nathaniel Root), while its stars fall short. If life lessons are still part of a college coach's responsibility to his players, the coach with the handsome raise at Memphis is missing the mark. Washington should track down Wagner for a feeler on NBA life and the virtues of leaving school early. Once a high school phenom making national headlines, Wagner was out of the NBA last season, taken down by chronic injury and illness. You have to hope he banked his money. And I hope I'm wrong about Washington. I hope 10 years from now -- when Washington is 30 and his son 10 -- Washington finds himself a decade into a rewarding career as a pro basketball player. But what if he doesn't? He'll still be 30, Darius III will still be 10, and what will the future hold? Will Calipari be there with the right advice? If not, the story of Darius Washington will hold consequences much more poignant than a pair of missed free throws.

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05/17/06		Calipari accepts 16 games -- C-USA teams to play 2 more league contests (Commercial Appeal)
		By Gary Parrish Contact May 17, 2006 DESTIN, Fla. -- Last year John Calipari fought against it and won. But now he's conceding on the issue of playing 16 Conference USA basketball games -- against his personal wishes and best interest -- in the spirit of aiding the rest of the league. "There was some talk about keeping it at 14 games, but I think what's happened is that it's just so hard for some of these schools to get non-conference games," Calipari said Tuesday after emerging from a five-hour debate here at the C-USA Spring Meetings. "I understand what some of these other schools are going through, so it's hard for me to sit there and argue with them ... even though I did because it could hurt me. But I'm fine with it, and we'll be fine." When the NCAA raised the limit of regular-season games by one to 29 this offseason, C-USA was put in a position where it almost had to increase the number of league games from 14 to 16. Otherwise, member schools would find themselves playing 14 conference games and 15 non-conference games, a ratio that is rare in modern-day college basketball and difficult to achieve for everybody in C-USA not named Memphis. For example, a school like Central Florida can't get home-and-home deals with many quality opponents. Furthermore, paying teams to visit Orlando -- a practice commonly referred to as "buy games" that can cost anywhere from $40,000 to $80,000 -- is a financial nightmare because the money can't be recouped from a sparse crowd. So for UCF, the more league games, the better. "Scheduling has become very, very difficult, and this would be two less games that you have to schedule," said UCF coach Kirk Speraw. "It would be easier on some teams." On the flipside is Memphis, a high-profile program that has no problem scheduling home-and-home series, evidence being current agreements with schools like Arizona, Gonzaga, Tennessee and Cincinnati. Furthermore, buy games are huge cash-flow producers at FedExForum, considering the Tigers will likely sell at least 15,000 season tickets this season. Using an average ticket price of $20, that's $300,000 in revenue. Subtract the estimated $80,000 that would go to the opponent, and the UofM would still turn a net profit of $220,000 per buy game. So for Memphis, the fewer league games the better. "With 16 (conference) games I can't go get another (non-conference premier) home game," Calipari said. "I was going to get a home game (with another premier school), but I can't do that now. Now we just better hold tight where we are." The switch to 16 league games -- which should be finalized over the next two days -- means C-USA will move to a format under which every member plays every other member once and five particular members a second time. That means Memphis will continue a home-and-home set-up with UAB, Southern Miss and Tulsa and add two more schools to that list. All Calipari is asking is that one of them be Houston, which at this point projects as the second-best team in C-USA. "We'll accept what the league does, but I just hope the league protects us," Calipari said. "The idea is to keep the top strong and bring everybody else up." Chris Woolard agrees, but he's making no promises. "There's a consensus that we need to move to 16 league games, but then the question is how do you add the additional games; that's why our meeting ran so long," said Woolard, the C-USA associate commissioner who serves as a liaison to men's basketball. "Every guy is looking for something different, and that's where you've got 12 guys with 12 agendas, and that's when we have to step in and do what's best for the conference and have those guys trust that we're going to put in the time and effort to come up with the right matchups. "I guarantee you all 12 teams won't like the two teams they get. But we'll do it in a fair and equitable way."

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05/17/06		Cozart homer sends Rebels past Tigers -- Ole Miss 7, Memphis 5 (Commercial Appeal)
		By Associated Press May 17, 2006 OXFORD, Miss. -- Zack Cozart's walkoff three-run home run lifted Ole Miss to a 7-5 victory over Memphis Tuesday night. The Rebels (34-19) trailed 5-4 entering the ninth when Justin Henry reached on an error by pitcher Matt Yokley with one out. Chris Coghlan singled and Cozart followed with a drive to left field off Yokley to end the game and give Ole Miss a win in its final non-conference home game of the regular season. Reliever Cody Satterwhite (9-2) struck out three and allowed one run in the victory. Yokley (1-3) struck out two in one inning. It was the second straight dramatic victory for Ole Miss, which beat Arkansas Sunday on a ninth-inning single by Coghlan. He finished this one with two hits, including a two-run triple in the seventh which gave Ole Miss a short-lived 4-2 lead. Memphis (27-26) scored three runs in the sixth to take a 5-4 lead. Will Petersen had a two-run single to highlight the inning. The game was delayed 55 minutes because of rain.

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05/17/06		C-USA Notes: Basketball, Football (Commercial Appeal)
		By Gary Parrish Contact May 17, 2006 League tourney likely to return next season DESTIN, Fla. -- Minutes removed from winning the Conference USA Tournament on his home court last March, John Calipari was in a hallway at FedExForum getting peppered by a visiting reporter exploring the theory that the University of Memphis held an unfair advantage as hosts and the event should be rotated on a yearly basis. As usual, Calipari didn't flinch. He basically told the guy that the C-USA Tournament needed Memphis as a host more than Memphis needed the advantage of hosting the C-USA Tournament while challenging any other city -- Birmingham, Tulsa, Dallas, etc. -- to assemble a package that could compare with FedExForum, Beale Street and crowds that eclipse 10,000. As it turns out, it appears nobody could, which is why the league is likely to approve as early as today a recommendation that the C-USA Tournament return to Memphis in 2007. "If I was at another school, I wouldn't want it at Memphis either," said UofM athletic director R.C. Johnson. "But from the logistics to facilities to entertainment to the success we've had in hosting it in the past, there's no reason for it not to be in Memphis." No Cal-Huggs this year The proposed move to 16 league games for men's basketball will have an effect on Calipari's plans for the upcoming season. Memphis is already committed to home games with Ole Miss and Cincinnati and road games with Arizona, Gonzaga and Tennessee in addition to a trip to the Maui Invitational, which for accounting purposes represents one official game despite it actually being a three-game event. That means there are seven additional non-league games to schedule instead of nine under a 14-game league setup, and it's possible all seven will be buy games (Manhattan is a new possibility that could replace Winthrop). Calipari is hesitant to make the schedule too difficult since it's all but certain his top three scorers from last season -- Rodney Carney, Darius Washington and Shawne Williams -- will be playing professionally. There had been some