Trip's Tigers: News Archives February 2007

02/28/07		Men's Tennis Swept at No. 6 Ole Miss -- Tigers fall to 3-5 on the season (GoTigersGo.com)
		OXFORD, Miss. - The University of Memphis men's tennis team (3-5) fell at No. 6 Ole Miss (10-1) in non-conference action, Wednesday. Going against a top-10 program, the Tigers were unable to win a set, being swept in all three doubles and all six singles spots. The Tigers were next play at No. 45 Arizona State, Friday. The Tigers will remain in Arizona and will face Arizona and Denver on Sunday and Monday, respectively, as spring break gets underway. DOUBLES #1 Wellermann/Klaeson (OM) def. Narasimhan/Fischer (UM) 8-4 #2 Poole/Tveit (OM) def. Khougassian/Ramsay (UM) 8-2 #3 Rea/Berg (OM) def. Pilant/Heflin (UM) 8-6 SINGLES #1 Erling Tveit (OM) def. Amrit Narasimhan (UM) 6-4, 6-1 #2 Eric Claesson (OM) def. Jimmy Khougassian (UM) 6-2, 6-4 #3 Robbye Poole (OM) def. Benedikt Fischer (UM) 7-5, 6-2 #4 Jonas Berg (OM) def. Charlie Ramsay (UM) 6-1, 6-2 #5 Kalle Norberg (OM) def. Tezar Putra (UM) 6-0, 6-0 #6 Chris Rea (OM) def. Cody Loup (UM) 6-0, 6-4

02/28/07		Schoenrock and Tiger Baseball to Honor 1978 Team on Saturday -- '78 Tigers came one game from College World Series (GoTigersGo.com)
		MEMPHIS, Tenn. - As is an annual custom in Tiger Baseball under Head Coach Daron Schoenrock, a former University of Memphis baseball team is honored for their past performances on the field, as well as its contributions to the program. This year Schoenrock and 2007 Tiger squad will recognize the 1978 team in a pre-game ceremony prior to the Tiger's tilt with Indiana in the AutoZone Classic on Sat., March 3. "I know a lot of old Memphis baseball fans remember us as a team and that is exciting for us," said former Tiger and current Bartlett High School Head Coach Phil Clark. "We are excited to get together as a group for the first time in 29 years." A special team in Memphis baseball history, the 1978 crew posted a 40-9 mark and fell one game shy of the NCAA College World Series. Ranked ninth by Collegiate Baseball in the final polls, the '78 Tigers are most remembered for their offensive prowess. They combined skill, speed and power to capture the NCAA batting title with a .357 average. The NCAA South Region runner-up tied or broke five NCAA records and set 18 program marks, including recording 40 wins--a record that stood for 16 seasons before the 1994 team reeled off the current record of 52 wins. Led by Head Coach Bobby Kilpatrick, the Tigers took a No. 1 seed into the Metro Conference Tournament and used a ninth-inning, walk-off home run by Terry Pressgrove to claim its second Metro Conference Tournament Championship. The 1978 bunch was led by All-District III, All-South Independent, All-South Region and All-Metro performer Alan Robinson, Metro MVP Pressgrove, All-Metro members, Roy Henderson, Charlie Lea, Dave Parks and Mitch Webster, and All-South selection, Jeff Robinson. Their contributions to Tigers Baseball are evident in the U of M record books. Lea tossed one of Memphis' 10 no-hitters. Doug Granger turned in a program-best seven hits and seven runs in a record-setting 39-3 win over Delta State. The '78 offense posted a program-high .556 slugging percentage and 17 saves. They are still ranked in the top-five all-time at Memphis in runs scored (443) and stolen bases (104). All Tiger supporters are invited to come out and honor one of the greatest teams in Tiger history, as well as see the current Tigers in action.

02/28/07		Douglas-Roberts, Hunt Earn NABC All-District 7 Honors -- Douglas-Roberts named to first team, Hunt to second team (GoTigersGo.com)
		KANSAS CITY, Mo. - University of Memphis' Chris Douglas-Roberts and Jeremy Hunt have been named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) All-District 7 team, the organization announced Wednesday. Douglas-Roberts earned NABC All-District 7 first team honors, while Hunt was selected to the district's second team. It is the second-straight year that two Tigers were named to the NABC All-District squad. Last year, Rodney Carney and Darius Washington Jr. received NABC district recognition. Douglas-Roberts, who was named the Conference USA Player of the Week on Feb. 26, is the team's leading scorer with a 15.1 scoring average. He ranks sixth in Conference USA in scoring and fifth in field goal percentage (.540). The Detroit, Mich., native has netted double figures in 21 of his 26 games, and has posted six 20-point performances. Earlier this season, the 6-foot-6 guard scored a career-high 28 points versus Austin Peay. Hunt is the Tigers' second-leading scorer with a 13.9 scoring average and is ranked 10th in Conference USA in scoring. He also ranks fifth in three-point field goal percentage (.413). In Memphis' win over Rice Feb. 22, Hunt scored the 1,000th point of his career and became the 42nd player in Tiger basketball history to reach the milestone. In early February, the Memphis, Tenn., native netted a career-high 30 points in the Tigers' victory over UAB. In that game, Hunt tied a school record with seven three-pointers. Joining Douglas-Roberts on the NABC All-District 7 first team were Western Kentucky's Courtney Lee, Tennessee's Chris Lofton, Vanderbilt's Derrick Byars and Kentucky's Randolph Morris. On the district's second team, Hunt was joined by Austin Peay's Drake Reed, Louisville's Terrence Williams, Kentucky's Joe Crawford and Vanderbilt's Shan Foster.

02/28/07		Calipari To Appear On Fox Sports Net's Best Damn Sports Show Period Wednesday -- The Tigers' head coach served as a guest host last summer (GoTigersGo.com)
		LOS ANGELES, Calif. - University of Memphis head coach John Calipari will be a guest on the Fox Sports Net's "Best Damn Sports Show Period" (BDSSP) on Wednesday, Feb. 28. Calipari will be on the show talking about the Tigers' year and the overall college basketball season. Check local television listings for broadcast times in your viewing area. Calipari was a regular on BDSSP during the summer of 2006. He served as a guest host on the show two times (once in June and once in July), and was also on BDSSP on June 29 as the show's 2006 NBA Draft analysis. Calipari, who has guided the Tigers to a 25-3 overall record and a top-10 national ranking in both polls this season, has been a frequent guest on national television sports shows over the past year. His most recent appearance came when he was on ESPN's Rome Is Burning, hosted by Jim Rome, in mid-February. Memphis (25-3, 14-0 C-USA) returns to action Thursday, Mar. 1 with an 8:00 p.m. (CT) game at UTEP (14-14, 6-8 C-USA). ESPN will televise the Conference USA contest.

02/28/07		Three Lady Tigers Return Home As Memphis Plays in San Diego Tournament -- Three-day tournament hosted by the University of San Diego begins Friday (GoTigersGo.com)
		For Immediate Release Contact: Brandon Kolditz wkolditz@memphis.edu, (901) 871-5475 Three University of Memphis softball players will have the opportunity to play in their home town as the Lady Tigers travel to San Diego, Calif., to participate in the University of San Diego Tournament beginning on Friday. Sophomore utility Leila Dolfo (Chula Vista, Calif./Eastlake HS), sophomore second baseman Tori Gross (San Diego, Calif./Ramona HS) and sophomore catcher Kimmi Hayden (El Cajon, Calif./Valhalla HS) are all from the San Diego area. All three SoCal natives have played a significant role with Memphis since the program's inaugural season last year. Dolfo is a two-year starter at shortstop, outfield and pitcher who earned NFCA All-South Region Second Team honors. She was also named to the 2006 Conference USA All-Freshman Team and was a 2007 C-USA Preseason All-Conference selection. Dolfo is hitting .214 with a team leading seven doubles. She has six RBI and one home run. Gross is a two-year starter at second and has started 68 games. She is hitting .171 with three RBI. Gross knocked in two runs with a single in game two of a doubleheader sweep against Belmont on Tuesday. Hayden has started 67 games at catcher and designated player. She was named to the C-USA All-Freshman team last season after hitting .275 with three home runs and 10 doubles. Hayden is hitting .167 with two doubles. Memphis (10-6) will open the tournament on Friday at the USD Softball Complex against San Diego (5-4) at 4 p.m. The Lady Tigers will then face Cal State Northridge (4-7-1) at 3:30 p.m. and Loyola Marymount (12-8) at 6 p.m. on Saturday. Memphis closes the tournament on Sunday against San Diego at 10 a.m. and UC Riverside (6-7) at 2:30 p.m. All times are Pacific Standard Time. Conference USA rival UTEP will also compete in the tournament but will not face Memphis. Live stats are available through Gametracker for all of the tournament games. Links to the Memphis live stats are available at GoTigersGo.com. THIS WEEK: The Lady Tigers fly to San Diego to participate in the University of San Diego Tournament beginning on Friday. Memphis will play San Diego twice and also meet up against Cal State Northridge, Loyola Marymount and UC Riverside. The three-day tournament also includes C-USA rival UTEP. LIVE COVERAGE: Live stats of all the San Diego Tournament games are available online through Gametracker. A link to the live coverage is available on the Memphis softball schedule page at www.gotigersgo.com. LAST WEEK: Memphis placed second in the Blues City Classic in Southaven, Miss., with a 3-1 record. The lone Lady Tiger loss on the week came against tournament champion Evansville. Memphis beat Mississippi Valley State, 8-2; SEMO, 2-1 in nine innings; and Alabama A&M, 7-4. The Lady Tigers then 8-run ruled Belmont twice in a home doubleheader on Tuesday. Memphis beat the Bruins 11-3 in five and 9-1 in six innings. NEXT WEEK: Memphis will be off next week for spring break. The Lady Tigers return to action on Tuesday, March 13, as the team hosts a doubleheader with Lipscomb. LIVE WEB AUDIO BROADCASTS FOR HOME GAMES: Tiger fans can now listen live as nearly all of the University of Memphis softball team's 2007 home games will be broadcast on the Internet beginning with the home opener in the Blues City Classic against Mississippi Valley State and SEMO on Friday, Feb. 23. The games will be called by 2005 U of M graduate Daniel O'Brien. Since 2002, O'Brien has been the news and sports director for the University of Memphis radio station, WUMR. With WUMR, he has called Tiger football, basketball, baseball and Lady Tiger basketball. Fans can find links to the broadcasts on the Memphis softball schedule page at GoTigersGo.com. The live audio is being carried through CSTV All-Access. MEMPHIS CALLS GREENBROOK PARK HOME FOR NOW: After serving as the home field for the Lady Tigers in 2006, Greenbrook Park in Southaven, Miss., will again serve as the home field for Memphis in 2007. The Lady Tigers will use the field until its new on-campus stadium is complete at the Park Avenue Campus. The stadium is scheduled to be completed in March. LOADING UP ON K'S: Memphis set a new team record with 11 strikeouts against Alabama A&M. The previous record of 10 had been accomplished four times. PUT THEM OUT: Senior Kara Ross set a new Memphis single game putout record with 11 against SEMO at first base. She then matched the record against Alabama A&M as the catcher. MOTT OUT FOR SEASON: Freshman shortstop Heather Mott will miss the remainder of the season after breaking her leg in practice. The Pensacola native started all of the Lady Tigers' first 10 games and was hitting .258 with four home runs and eight RBI. SPEED DEMON: Sophomore outfielder Brittany Gooch tied the Memphis single game steals record with three against Mississippi Valley State. Sophomore Leandra Hines previously set the mark in 2006. Gooch leads the team with four stolen bases. WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW: • Wind Thees won her 200th game with an 11-3, five-inning victory in the first game of a doubleheader against Belmont. Thees, in her seventh season as a head coach, has an overall record of 201-124. • Three Lady Tigers return home as Memphis competes in the University of San Diego Tournament in San Diego, Calif. Sophomore utility Leila Dolfo (Chula Vista, Calif./Eastlake HS), sophomore second baseman Tori Gross (San Diego, Calif./Ramona HS) and sophomore catcher Kimmi Hayden (El Cajon, Calif./Valhalla HS) are all from the San Diego area. • Junior catcher Lindsay Kelso became the fourth Memphis player to hit two home runs in a game and the second this season after freshman shortstop Heather Mott accomplished the feat against Missouri. • The three home runs in the first game against Belmont matched a school record. The Lady Tigers hit three homers twice in 2006. • Lindsay Kelso's five RBI against Belmont is the most by a Memphis player since sophomore Leila Dolfo had seven in a game against Grambling State on Feb. 28, 2006. • The two 8-run rule victories against Belmont are the first for Memphis this year. • Memphis hit five home runs in a doubleheader with Belmont after coming into the contest with eight in 14 games. • Senior first baseman Kara Ross has a current five-game hitting streak, which ties for the longest this season. Lindsay Kelso is in a four-game streak and Bridgette McNulty and Leandra Hines both are in a three-game streak. • Senior third baseman Bridgette McNulty leads Conference USA in walks with 16. • Kara Ross, Lindsey Pridgen and Leandra Hines all lead the team with four multi-hit games. • Lindsay Kelso leads the team with four multi-RBI games. • Sophomore Leandra Hines leads the team in batting with a .395 clip. Eleven of her 15 hits have been bunt singles.

02/28/07		Tommy West Adds Two Assistants to Tiger Staff -- James Joseph will coach running backs and Brent Pry will lead the defensive line (GoTigersGo.com)
		MEMPHIS, TENN. - Coach Tommy West announced today that he has recommended to the Tennessee Board of Regents former Auburn standout James Joseph as the Tigers' running backs coach and former UL-Lafayette defensive coordinator Brent Pry as the defensive line coach. Joseph has spent the last three seasons in the same capacity at Troy University. The Trojans captured their first-ever Sun Belt Conference title last season, and defeated Rice in the 2006 R + L Carriers New Orleans Bowl. No stranger to big-time football, Joseph played five seasons in the NFL in the mid-1990s following a standout career at Auburn University from 1986-90. He helped lead the Tigers to three consecutive Southeastern Conference championships (1988-90) and still ranks ninth in school history in rushing yards with 2,264 yards on 452 carries. He played as a true freshman in 1986 and was injured in the third game of the season against Tennessee in 1987. He was granted a medical redshirt and regained his sophomore season for 1988. He is the only Auburn player in school history to participate in five Auburn-Tennessee football games. "James was an outstanding player and I have known of him through his playing days," said West. "He has a great reputation as a recruiter in the state of Georgia and I am excited that he will be joining our staff." In 1991, Joseph was selected in the seventh round of the 1991 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles. He played four seasons for the Eagles and one season with the Cincinnati Bengals. Upon completing his NFL career, Joseph returned to school and began his coaching career. He was an assistant football coach at Auburn High School for eight seasons and earned his bachelor's degree in human development from Auburn in 1997. Pry joins the U of M staff after working the last five years at UL-Lafayette where he served as assistant head coach and defensive coordinator. He coached the Ragin' Cajuns linebackers for five years and was promoted to assistant head coach in 2004. ULL had its first winning record since 1995 when the Cajuns ended the 2005 season with a 6-5 record and a Sun Belt Conference title. "Brent has a great deal of energy and enthusiasm," West said. "His knowledge of the defensive line position and his background, particularly at Virginia Tech, make him a great fit for our staff." In 2005, ULL went on a five-game winning streak to close out the season. During that time, the defense allowed just 18 points per game. In 2004, the Cajuns allowed just 174.5 passing yards per game, which ranked 11th nationally. Under Pry, three ULL defensive players were selected in the NFL Draft. A native of Lexington, Va., Pry was an assistant coach at Western Carolina for four years (1998-2001) before joining the ULL staff. He coached the defensive line for two seasons before moving to defensive backs and special teams the latter two years. In 1998, WCU finished ninth in Division I-AA in total defense. In 2001, he helped the Catamount defense to a No. 1 ranking in touchdown passes allowed with just five. In addition, Pry's secondary was ranked third nationally in pass defense. Pry was a free safety at Maryville College in 1990 before transferring to Buffalo for the 1992 and 1993 seasons. He began his coaching career at East Stroudsburg University as an outside linebackers coach in 1993 and worked with defensive backs in 1994. From 1995-98, Pry was a graduate assistant at Virginia Tech. While there, the Hokies ranked No. 1 in the nation against the run and fourth in scoring defense en route to a Big East title and a Sugar Bowl victory.

02/28/07		Memphis unfazed by win streak -- Calipari was relieved when UMass lost; this is different (Commercial Appeal)
		By Dan Wolken Contact February 28, 2007 The University of Memphis' 17-game winning streak is the longest in the nation, but it's not the longest in coach John Calipari's career. In 1995-96, Calipari's UMass team won 26 in a row before losing to George Washington. But when the streak finally ended, the emotion was more relief than disappointment. And from there, UMass regrouped and rolled to the Final Four. "Believe me, as it wound down, the monkey was on our back," Calipari said. "We were so happy to lose a game, to get that away from us going into the NCAA Tournament." Does the same logic apply to the No. 6-ranked Tigers, who finish the regular season this week with games at UTEP on Thursday and SMU on Saturday? Not necessarily, Calipari said. This time around, the Tigers are seemingly monkey-free. Why? The reasons are difficult to pinpoint, but one could be that Memphis has yet to break into the top five, much less get a sniff at the No. 1 ranking. Despite the winning streak, the Tigers are barely registering on the national radar because they've done it in Conference USA. That makes for a different set of circumstances than in 1995-96, according to Tigers assistant coach John Robic, who was also on the bench during the UMass run. "I think part of it was all the media attention it was getting," Robic said. "We were No. 1 in the country and had been there all year long so it just kept mounting. "I don't think anybody wants to lose, but I think it helped some and then we made that final run." Often, when a team comes to the end of a long winning streak, its level of play slips, and it becomes clear that a loss is only a matter of time. Florida, for instance, won 17 in a row earlier this season, but the last two were struggles. Then, on Feb. 17, the Gators lost to Vanderbilt. Last season's Gonzaga team, a fairly good analogy to this year's Memphis team, won 18 in a row to end the regular season. But the last three, all against vastly inferior teams, came by a combined eight points. So far, that kind of pattern hasn't materialized with Memphis, which pounded Rice and Houston last week and has had just two close calls, against Southern Miss on Jan. 27 and at Gonzaga on Feb. 17. Calipari theorized that his players have remained focused because they're fully aware that the line between a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament and a much less favorable placement could be as thin as one loss. "I think part of it is, it hasn't been about the streak," Calipari said. "We're in a situation for a seed that's kind of important, and I think we're all kind of, that's nice we're winning, but it's because we have to." The Tigers are also hoping they can debunk the widely-held notion that a loss right before the NCAA Tournament is helpful. If Memphis wins two games this week and sweeps through the C-USA Tournament next week, the Tigers will enter the NCAAs on a 22-game winning streak with its last loss Dec. 20 at Arizona. "To say we deserve a loss, or we should lose one to kind of wake us up, I don't believe in that because I don't think guys are getting too arrogant," sophomore forward Robert Dozier said. "Guys know what we have to do to perform on the court." Etc.: The Tigers will have their awards banquet March 4 at the Holiday Inn on campus. The event will begin with an hour-long meet-and-greet with players and coaches beginning at 6 p.m. Tickets are $50 per person or $30 for students. Call the men's basketball office at 678-2346 to purchase tickets. -- Dan Wolken: 529-2365 Next for No. 6 Tigers Opponent: UTEP When, where: Thursday, 8 p.m. CST, at El Paso, Texas TV: ESPN2

02/28/07		Joseph, Pry join UM staff -- Only one spot remains to round out Tigers staff (Commercial Appeal)
		By Phil Stukenborg Contact February 28, 2007 Brent Pry, a former defensive coordinator at Louisiana-Lafayette, and James Joseph, a former Auburn and NFL running back, are poised to become University of Memphis football coach Tommy West's next hires. Pry and Joseph will be recommended to the Tennessee State Board of Regents to fill two of the three remaining spots on West's staff. An official announcement is expected today. Pry, 36, will coach the UofM defensive line and Joseph, 39, will coach running backs. The additions of Pry and Joseph will leave one position for West to hire to complete his staff. West is shy a receivers coach, a spot vacated by Clay Helton when he was promoted to offensive coordinator earlier this month. Pry spent six seasons as defensive coordinator under Ricky Bustle, including the last three as assistant head coach. He also coached linebackers. He was dismissed after the 2006 season when Bustle shook up his staff following a 6-6 finish. ''I'm very excited about it,'' Pry said Tuesday when contacted about the impending Memphis job. ''For me, spending five years as a (defensive) coordinator at Louisiana Lafayette was a super experience, and it was a super opportunity as well. This job presents me an opportunity to coach in a better league.'' He's looking forward to the chance to work under West, whose defensive background he respects. ''When I left (Louisiana-Lafayette), I said I wanted to work underneath a good defensive coach,'' Pry said. ''I'm getting that opportunity. And I knew it was the right place for me when Rick (Kravitz) got hired (last week as the UofM's new defensive coordinator). It was a win-win situation all the way around.'' Joseph spent the past three seasons as running backs coach at Troy. He was a member of a staff that helped Troy to an 8-5 finish in 2006, including its first Sun Belt Conference title and its first bowl game. Troy beat Conference USA member Rice, 41-17, in the New Orleans Bowl. Joseph played parts of five seasons (1986-90) in the Southeastern Conference for Auburn, where he remains ranked among the school's top 10 rushers with 2,264 yards. He scored 16 touchdowns in his career and participated on teams that won consecutive SEC titles in 1988, '89 and '90. After his college career, Joseph spent five years in the NFL. He was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the seventh round of the 1991 NFL Draft and played four seasons with the Eagles and one with the Cincinnati Bengals. Upon completion of his NFL career, Joseph was an assistant at Auburn High for eight years before joining Troy. West will start the 2007 season with six new coaches. He dismissed defensive coordinator Joe Lee Dunn after three games last fall and fired defensive line coach Craig Boller and secondary coach Tim Keane after the season ended. Offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner departed for a job with the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers, running backs coach Tommie Robinson was hired as an assistant at the University of Miami and special teams/tight ends coach left to join the UAB staff as quarterbacks coach. In addition to Kravitz, Pry and Joseph, West has hired Garret Chachere to coach special teams and Derek Jones to coach cornerbacks. -- Phil Stukenborg: 529-2543

02/28/07		Hunt gets his record cleared -- Tiger guard meets all diversion requirements (Commercial Appeal)
		By The Commercial Appeal February 28, 2007 University of Memphis senior guard Jeremy Hunt made a brief appearance Tuesday morning in Criminal Court and left with a clean slate and congratulations from the judge. Hunt was charged a year ago with domestic violence assault against his former girlfriend, but was placed on attorney general's diversion, which meant the case would be wiped from his record if he met certain conditions, including no new arrests. He met all the requirements, earned his college degree and, after being suspended last season, has been a major factor in the 2006-07 Tigers' 25-3 record and No. 6 national ranking. On Tuesday his 12-month diversion period expired, prompting Judge James Lammey to congratulate Hunt for turning his life around. -- Lawrence Buser

02/28/07		In the News: Tigers earn one-hit win over Skyhawks (Commercial Appeal)
		University of Memphis pitchers Brach Davis, Neil Schenk, Chris South and Matt Yokley combined to serve up Memphis' first one-hitter since 1994 en route to a 2-1 win over UT-Martin in the Tigers' home-opener Tuesday night at Nat Buring Stadium. Jason McCommon was the last Tiger hurler to post a one-hitter when he held Iowa to one hit in an 8-3 win 13 years ago. The win was Memphis' 12th straight against UT-Martin. In his first start of the year, Davis no-hit the Skyhawks through three innings, before giving way to reliever Schenk, a product of Briarcrest High, who kept the no-hit bid going through 41/3 innings until Chad Green drove an RBI-single to left field. The junior southpaw tied a career-high with seven strikeouts. South then came on, and induced an inning-ending double play and Yokley (2-0) wrapped up the contest by sitting down the Skyhawks in order in the top of the ninth. Ben Grisham came up with the late-game heroics in the final inning, as he lined a single up the middle to score Michael Murray from second to win the game. Senior Bill Moss broke a scoreless tie and gave Memphis a 1-0 lead in the home half of the sixth inning when he launched an Adam Ledlow offering over the leftfield wall.

02/28/07		College basketball: Memphis a major force in C-USA (Jackson Sun)
		By TOM WEIR USA TODAY MEMPHIS - John Calipari throws open a door and looks out on a University of Memphis parking lot with impish pride. "They didn't tow me," Calipari shouts as he spots his illegally parked Audi. "We must be winning." Memphis is indeed winning. The Tigers are 25-3 and riding a 17-game winning streak, the nation's longest in men's Division I basketball. Only Memphis and the Big South's Winthrop are undefeated in conference play, and Memphis ran its home winning streak to 29 Sunday with a 77-64 victory against Houston. Given that Memphis is where Conference USA will play its league tournament, it's a good possibility the Tigers will glide into the NCAA tournament on a 22-game roll. During the winning streak, Memphis' average margin of victory has been 21.1 points by a team that starts one junior (6-9 forward Joey Dorsey), three sophomores (6-6 guards Antonio Anderson and Chris Douglas-Roberts and 6-9 forward Robert Dozier) and a freshman (6-2 guard Willie Kemp). But despite the team's hot streak, Calipari is talking like a strategist from the Cold War era. He peppers his conversation with references to the "propaganda" that could knock the No. 7-ranked Tigers to a lower seed in the NCAA tournament because of perceptions about the diminished strength of Conference USA. "I just don't want it to become propaganda because the more it's said the more it becomes believable," Calipari says. "You don't think our guys are watching TV and hearing they should be a 4 seed or a 5 seed?" He adds: "You don't want opinions to become propaganda. You don't have a sequestered group picking these seeds, and the tournament is all about seeding, believe me." Calipari has been battling that so-called propaganda since Louisville, Marquette, Cincinnati and DePaul moved to the Big East in 2005. This season, the RPI ratings that evaluate strength of schedule for teams rank Conference USA 11th in Division I, behind the Mountain West, the Western Athletic Conference and the Atlantic 10. In this week's USA TODAY/ESPN Coaches poll, Memphis was the only C-USA school among the 47 that received at least one top-25 vote. But Memphis' RPI ranks ninth, one slot behind Duke and two behind defending national champion Florida. "We had a top-five nonconference schedule," says Calipari, whose team had losses at Arizona and Tennessee in December and knocked off Gonzaga in overtime on the road Feb. 17. "And people don't want to accept this, but our league has gotten stronger than it was a year ago. Six teams moved up 50 or more (places) in the RPI." Regardless of Memphis' schedule, the Tigers are having their most surprising season since the Calipari era began in 2000. Last year's Elite Eight team saw Rodney Carney and Shawne Williams go to the NBA as first-round picks, and Darius Washington go to Europe. "People say, 'They lost 50 percent of their points, 50 percent of their rebounds, how can they be better?' " Calipari says. The answer, he says, is that he has one of his best passing teams in his 15 years of college coaching. "There was no way we were going to be as talented as last year, but what we are is a better team, passing the ball and taking better shots," Calipari says. "We don't shoot it better. We probably miss more wide-open threes than any team in the country. But if we're making threes, we'll beat you by 30." That's not much of an exaggeration. Faith in Hunt pays off Memphis has exceptional depth, with nine players averaging at least 12.4 minutes. The only senior who gets significant playing time is 6-5 sixth-man Jeremy Hunt, who is second on the team in scoring (13.9 points a game). Hunt, 23, has been a successful reclamation project for Calipari. The Memphis-raised guard was dismissed from the team in 2005 after two assault incidents. At the time, Calipari said the dismissal was permanent, but he relented after Hunt went on to earn his degree in African-American studies. Hunt is working on a second major, in communications. "Believe me, there was a gnashing of the teeth before taking him back," says Calipari, adding Hunt is under "double-secret probation." "He's got things he has to do throughout the year. If he breaks the contract he's gone," Calipari says. "There's a curfew. It's all well beyond what a normal athlete would have to do. It's probably unfair, but what was he going to do? Say no?" Calipari says Hunt earned his way back by completing his degree in four years and continuing to come to every game, plus at least three practices a week. "That's a humbled guy," Calipari says. "He's repentant about what he did." Anderson says: "Getting Jeremy back was huge. He stayed out of trouble all last year and minded his business. Now Jeremy is a big leader on this team, telling guys what to do, what not to do, because he's been down that road." Hunt has turned down opportunities to start, content to be the spark off the bench. He says his continuing probation "is nothing too hard, nothing I can't handle" and "I'm just very thankful, very blessed to be in this position, to get a second chance." The rapid emergence of Memphis' young players, Hunt says, is because "Coach Cal doesn't treat them like young players. He puts pressure on them to see how they'll respond, and he's getting on them like they're seniors." Tigers not soft One of the players Calipari has ridden hardest is Dozier, who's averaging 10.5 points and 5.7 rebounds a game. Inheriting the big-man role from the physical Carney has led to the 215-pound Dozier sometimes being portrayed as soft. "Every day, I've heard something about me being soft since I've been here," Dozier says. "It's been Coach's argument with me since the first day I got here." Mention Dozier to Calipari, and his eyes widen and he whistles. "Potentially, oh my goodness," says Calipari, who predicts Dozier can eventually outperform first-round pick Carney if he trains hard next summer. Calipari says Dozier's probable NBA future and the fact that Memphis has had three first-round picks since 2002 have overcome any recruiting issues the Tigers face as a member of Conference USA. "There's really only one league they're talking about," Calipari says. "That's the NBA." If Memphis wins out, conventional wisdom dictates the Tigers will wind up with a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament. Calipari, however, disagrees. "If we could run the table," he says, "we're probably a No. 1 seed." Really, Coach? Calipari, smiling, says, "Propaganda."

02/27/07		Men's Tennis to Face No. 6 Ole Miss, Wednesday -- Tigers travel to Oxford for a third straight season (GoTigersGo.com)
		MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The University of Memphis men's tennis team (3-4, 1-1 C-USA) will face its fifth nationally-ranked opponent of the season with a Wednesday match at No. 6 Ole Miss, beginning at 2 p.m. Memphis, which has gone 2-2 in its last four matches, including an 0-2 mark against ranked opponents, will be facing Ole Miss for the 3rd straight year in Oxford, but this is a significantly different roster than the Tigers' last trip to Ole Miss which saw the Tigers fall, 7-0. Junior Jimmy Khougassian, a transfer from Arkansas, should be a bit familiar with former SEC foe Ole Miss. Khougassian has played atop the Tigers' singles line-up over the last four matches, and is looking to snap a three-match losing streak that started against another SEC ranked opponent (Mississippi State's Philippe Frayssinoux). Fellow junior Amrit Narasimhan, also playing his first match at Oxford since joining Memphis from Tyler Junior College, leads the Tigers with a 5-2 mark since the spring dual season began. Narasimhan is 3-1 at No. 2 singles and 2-0 at No. 3 singles. Narasimhan has won four of his last five singles matches, including a 7-6, 7-6 thriller against conference foe East Carolina. Narasimhan and doubles teammate, Benedikt Fischer, have the team's best doubles mark, sporting a 3-3 record at No. 1 doubles. Freshman Charlie Ramsay has had one of the better results of the year among Conference USA student-athletes. Ramsay ranks third in the league in wins at No. 4 singles, where he is 4-3 on the season. The match against Ole Miss will be the first of back-to-back matches against ranked foes. The Tigers will face No. 45 Arizona State on the road, Friday, then will face Arizona and Denver, Sunday and Monday, respectively. Both Arizona and Denver were ranked earlier in the season, but fell out of the rankings that were released, Tuesday.

02/27/07		Pitching Staff Tosses Program's First One-hitter since 1994 in 2-1 Win Against UT-Martin -- Memphis defeats UT-Martin for 12th-straight time (GoTigersGo.com)
		MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Memphis 2, UT-Martin 1 UT-Martin (1-5) 000 000 010 - 1 1 0 Memphis (4-1) 000 001 001 - 2 5 2 University of Memphis pitchers Brach Davis, Neil Schenk, Chris South and Matt Yokley combined to serve up Memphis' first one-hitter since 1994 en route to a 2-1 win over UT-Martin in the Tigers' home-opener Tuesday night at Nat Buring Stadium. Jason McCommon was the last Tiger hurler to post a one-hitter when he held Iowa to one hit in an 8-3 win 13 years ago. The win was Memphis' 12th-straight against UT-Martin. In his first start of the year, Davis no-hit the Skyhawks through three innings, before giving way to reliever Schenk, who kept the no-hit bid going through 4.1 innings until Chad Green drove an RBI-single to left field. The junior southpaw tied a career-high with seven strikeouts. South then came on, and induced an inning-ending double play and Yokley wrapped up the contest by sitting down the Skyhawks in order in the top of the ninth. Yokley picked up the win to improve to 2-0 on the year. "I can't say enough about our pitching staff tonight--the combination of all three," said Head Coach Daron Schoenrock. "I thought Brach (Davis) was really, really crisp and sharp early. We actually saw something in the strike zone that we were working with. With their hitters pulling off of lefthanders, we elected to go with Neil and it turned out to be a great gamble. He came up real big for us tonight. As the innings wore on--his second, third, fourth inning--you could start seeing some confidence come back. That was great to see. Then Chris South came in and did exactly what we wanted him to do in getting the double play ball." Ben Grisham came up with the late-game heroics in the final frame, as he lined a single up the middle to score Michael Murray from second to win the game. Grisham's hit was his second game-winning at-bat in three games. "I really liked (Ben) Grisham's at bat," said Schoenrock. "That was probably the best at bat of the game. He really stayed on the ball and drove it up the middle. He almost hit it too hard where they had a chance to throw (Michael) Murray out, but he had a great jump and made a good turn at third." Senior Bill Moss broke a scoreless tie and gave Memphis a 1-0 lead in the home half of the sixth inning when he launched an Adam Ledlow offering over the leftfield wall. Moss posted three of the Tiger's five hits. Martin took advantage of a Tiger throwing error to put Douglas Nicodemus in scoring position for Green, who knocked tied the contest at 1-1 in the top of the eighth with the Skyhawks lone hit. UT-Martin starter Ledlow was solid in six innings of work. He allowed three hits, and just one run--the Moss homer. Reliever Travis Webb was the losing pitcher, giving up a run on two hits in 2.1 innings. Memphis, who has now won four consecutive games, will hit the field again on Fri., Mar. 2 when they take on Northern Iowa in the first annual AutoZone Classic. First pitch is set for 3:30 p.m. at AutoZone Park.

02/27/07		Memphis Overpowers Belmont in Doubleheader Sweep -- Kelso hits three home runs as Lady Tigers outscore Bruins, 20-4 (GoTigersGo.com)
		For Immediate Release Contact: Brandon Kolditz wkolditz@memphis.edu, (901) 871-5475 Game One Belmont 100 11 - 3 4 5 Memphis 001 46 - 11 11 1 Win-Johnson (4-3). Loss-Batte (0-5) Save-None 2B - (BEL) Hoeye (2) (Mem) Dolfo (6) HR - (BEL) McMillian (2), Stanley (1). (MEM) Kelso 2 (2), Pridgen (1) Game Two Belmont (2-8) 000 001 - 1 2 2 Memphis (10-6) 300 024 - 9 9 2 Win-Kubesch (6-3). Loss-Parks (1-3) Save-None 2B - (MEM) Dolfo (7), Rowan (1) HR - (MEM) Kelso (3), McNulty (2) SOUTHAVEN, Tenn. - Coming into the day with eight team home runs, the University of Memphis softball team belted five homers in route to a doubleheader sweep of Belmont at Greenbrook Park on Tuesday. Junior transfer Lindsay Kelso hit three home runs and knocked in seven RBI, while scoring six runs. The catcher went 3-for-5 in the two games as Memphis improved to 10-6 on the season after beating Belmont 11-3 in five innings and 9-1 in six. "I felt really good in batting practice today and hit a couple out," Kelso said. "It just felt good and carried over with me." Kelso raised her season average to .309 and is tied for the team lead in RBI with 11. The Phoenix, Ariz., native hit a walk-off two-run home run in the fifth inning of the first game after hitting a three-run shot in the fourth. Kelso then just missed a home run in her second at-bat of the second game as Belmont centerfielder Meghan Pipkin caught a hit with home run distance at the wall. In her next at-bat, Kelso hit a two-run shot to left-center in the fifth inning for her third homer of the day. "The good thing about her is she's so smart," said Memphis head coach Windy Thees. "The bad thing is she's so smart and analytical. I think today she just said that she was going to hit it and hit it hard. When she does that, that's what happens. There is a reason she was an All-American in junior college. I'm just really happy to have her here." Thees picked up her 200th career victory with the first win of the doubleheader. The second-year Memphis coach now has an overall record of 201-124 as a head coach and is 38-32 with the Lady Tiges. "That's pretty special for me," Thees said. "It's special for me as a coach and special for the girls and the way they did it. I'm pretty proud. My 100th win was a run rule, and I'm glad my 200th win was a run rule as well." Four of the Lady Tigers' eight home runs entering the day were hit by freshman shortstop Heather Mott who is out for the season after breaking her leg in a practice. After hitting five home runs in the two games, Memphis now has 13 for the season. Senior centerfielder Lindsey Pridgen hit her first home run of the year in the first game, a leadoff home run to begin the fourth inning. Senior third baseman Bridgette McNulty added her second homer of the year in the first inning of the second game, a three-run shot that proved to be the game winner. "I challenged my players and told them that Heather Mott is still leading our team in home runs," Thees said. "We really needed to make that change. The team took up the challenge, and hopefully they keep the momentum going for the rest of the season." Senior Memphis Nicki Johnson (4-3) pitched all five innings for her fourth win in the first game. Johnson allowed three runs on four hits and walked one with three strike outs. "Nicki fought through some things and didn't have her best stuff today," Thees said. "But to come out and get a run rule win and be able to hold them off, she did a really good job." Senior Jenna Kubesch (6-3) had a no hitter going through the first four and two-thirds innings before allowing a two-out hit in the fifth. The Weimar, Texas, native struck out seven and allowed only two hits for her team-leading sixth victory. The only Belmont run off Kubesch was unearned in the sixth. "Jenna found her good stuff today," Thees said. "She looked like a whole different pitcher from this weekend. Today's Jenna. This was the Jenna that was at LSU and at Florida State. She really had great stuff and great command of her pitches. All her pitches were working." The Lady Tigers were trailing 1-0 in the first inning of the first game after a Belmont solo home run. Memphis tied the game in the bottom of the third on an RBI single by senior first baseman Kara Ross to score Kelso. The Bruins then took a 2-1 lead in the fourth before Memphis put four runs on the board in the bottom of the inning on home runs from Pridgen and Kelso. The Lady Tigers scored six runs in the bottom of the fifth capped by Kelso's walk-off two run shot. In the second game, Memphis took an early three-run lead in the first inning on McNulty's home run after sophomore Leila Dolfo's second double of the day and a Kelso walk. The Lady Tigers were held scoreless until the fifth inning when Kelso hit a two-run shot. Memphis then scored four runs in the sixth inning. After Pridgen led off with a single and freshman outfielder Leigh Rowan doubled, sophomore second baseman Tori Gross hit a two-run single. Belmont then put Kelso on with an intentional walk and then walked McNulty to load the bases with two outs, allowing Ross to hit a walk-off two-run single. Memphis will next travel to California as the team participates in the University of San Diego Tournament in San Diego. The Lady Tigers will open the three-day tournament on Friday against San Diego at 4 p.m. (PST).

02/27/07		Lady Tigers to Face UTEP, Thursday -- Memphis looking to snap two-game losing streak (GoTigersGo.com)
		The University of Memphis women's basketball team will travel to Tulsa, Okla., for a Thursday afternoon game against No. 5 seeded UTEP in Conference USA Women's Basketball action. Memphis, which is the No. 12 seed, is looking to snap a two-game losing streak after dropping the last two regular season games on the road at Houston and Rice over the weekend. Memphis, which last won a Conference USA Championship in 1998, will need to avenge an earlier season loss at UTEP in order to advance to the quarterfinal round. Memphis last appeared in the C-USA Quarterfinals in 2005 has advanced past the first round in the league tournament 8 of the 11 times it has been held. Memphis is looking to avoid a first-round elimination for a second straight year, a trend that first took place when the Lady Tigers were eliminated in the first round in 2002 and 2003. In the last meeting between the two teams, Memphis faced the Miners and 7,212 of their closest friends as UTEP set a new school attendance record. The loss rounded out a bumpy Lady Tiger trip that started with the Lady Tigers' flight out of Memphis being cancelled due to ice in the Memphis area on Friday. The team then was without freshman guard Hope Adams, who had remained in town for a family emergency, while the remainder of the team flew in to El Paso the day of the game, landing at 3:30 local time in El Paso for a 7 p.m. game. The overall series between the two schools is tied at 1-1, with Memphis having beaten UTEP last year in Memphis before falling in El Paso this year. That game earlier this year featured 13 Miner blocks and 40 points in the paint as center Izabela Piekarska led all players with six blocks, while Kasia Krezel and Tasha Marisett added two blocks apiece. Forward Timika Williams had a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds, as UTEP opened the game on a 22-1 run that put Memphis in a whole it could not dig out of. Aroha Jennings led Memphis with 18 points, while Paris Leonard added 15 points and nine rebounds. But the Lady Tigers were out-rebounded 47-40 and shot just 31.9 percent while allowing UTEP to pick apart the Lady Tiger defense and shoot 47.8 percent. Memphis vs. UTEP This is the third meeting in the series between UTEP and Memphis. The series is knotted at 1-1 after UTEP avenged a loss to the Lady Tigers last season with an 80-58 win in El Paso. The two teams have never met on a neutral floor and this will be the first-ever meeting between them in the conference tournament. Lady Tigers in the Conference USA Tournament Memphis is 11-9 in games played at the Conference USA Tournament and has advanced to at least the quarterfinal rounds in 8 of the previous 11 tournaments. Memphis has only failed to advance to the quarterfinals in back-to-back years one time before. The 2002 and 2003 teams both lost in the first round, the 2003 team suffering a loss in the first round the only time the tournament has been held in Memphis. The Lady Tigers fell to Marshall, 80-73, last season in the first round. Necaise Named Academic All-Conference Team Devin Necaise earned the program's first-ever Conference USA All-Academic Team Honor, Monday. Necaise, who sports a 3.36 GPA in marketing management, will graduate from the university in May. Davis Scoring Streak at 18 Consecutive Games Freshman guard Alysse Davis scored two just two points at Rice, but managed to extend her consecutive-game scoring streak to 18 straight games. The freshman has been held scoreless just five times this season in 30 games. She is averaging 5.2 points and 2.4 rebounds per game and has posted eight blocks over the last four games. The Rice game marked the first time since a home game against East Carolina back on Jan. 20th that Davis has not hit a three point field goal though. Rice Shuts Down Lady Tiger's Long Distance Game In the loss at Rice, Memphis managed just one three-point field goal. Freshman Jazmyn Green hit the lone bucket of the day on seven attempts. That marked just the second time this season Memphis had hit just one three-point field goal (the win over Lipscomb was the first), and was the second-lowest three-point field goal percentage on the year (.143). The seven attempts also marked the first time all season Memphis had not attempted double-digit attempts from beyond the arc. Davis Scoring Streak at 18 Consecutive Games Freshman guard Alysse Davis scored two just two points at Rice, but managed to extend her consecutive-game scoring streak to 18 straight games. The freshman has been held scoreless just five times this season in 30 games. She is averaging 5.2 points and 2.4 rebounds per game and has posted eight blocks over the last four games. Jones Scoring Streak at 15 Games Like Davis, fellow freshman Robin Jones has seldom been held without a bucket this season. The freshman has scored in 15 straight games and has been held scoreless just three times this season, meaning she has scored in 27 of her first 30 college games. Jones also has a rebound in 28 of 30 games, having been held without a rebound at East Carolina and in her first collegiate game against Winthrop. Adams Just Shy of 100-100 Mark Freshman guard Hope Adams is just 11 points and eight rebounds shy of becoming a member of the 100-100 club. Adams enters the UTEP game with 89 career points and 92 career rebounds. This will be her first-ever look at UTEP as she missed the game in El Paso earlier this year due to a family emergency which forced her to remain back in Memphis. Necaise Two Threes Shy of School Record Senior guard Devin Necaise needs just one more three-point field goals to tie a Memphis single-season record. The current record is 64 and is held by LaTonya Johnson, who set it in 1995-96. Necaise, who has hit 63 threes so far this year, now has knocked down 179 career three-point field goals, which is just one shy of the Conference USA career top 10, where DePaul's Ashley Luke sits in 10th place with 180 career threes made. All those three-point shots have helped Necaise in the career record book. She passed Terri Galloway for 16th place all-time in the career scoring book with 10 points against Houston. Fantroy Needing Big Night From Teammates Against UTEP Freshman point guard Se'erra Fantroy was held without an assist at Rice and that means she is now six assists away from the 100-assist mark heading in to the UTEP game. Only one time in Memphis history has a Lady Tiger freshman had more than 100 assists in a single season, and that was Ruth Ann Forsythe in 1983-84. Fantroy has been held without a single assist in just three games so far this season (Samford, Marshall and Rice). Her assist to turnover ratio also dropped below one following the Rice game, as she has 94 assists against 95 turnovers. Fantroy is also eight rebounds shy of her 100th career rebound. Thornton Scores Double-Digits for Third Time in Four Games Sophomore Ashley Thornton managed to work around a pair of significantly taller Rice post players to score 12 points in the loss at Rice. The 12 points marked the third time in four games that Thornton has scored double-digit points. The lone exception was a four-point night at Houston. As her scoring has gone up, her rebounding has tailed off a bit, as she is averaging 5.2 rebounds per game over the last five games, where she was averaging 8.5 boards a night six games ago. Part of her rebounding total dropping may be her shot falling though as her offensive rebounds have dropped from four to six a game to 1 to 3. Gooch Moves to Sixth on Career Blocks List Senior center Megan Gooch had a three blocks in the loss at Houston. She now ranks sixth in the Memphis record book with 57 blocks and is just one shy of moving in to the career top five. The senior had her best scoring output of the season at home on Senior Night, scoring six points, then matched that one game later with six points at Houston. She also tied a season-high with five rebounds against Houston, adding three blocks and a steal. Jennings Held to Single Digits Against Rice Junior forward Aroha Jennings was held to single digit scoring against Houston, managing just five points, her second-lowest scoring output in league play. She has been held to single digit scoring in three of the last six games after going six straight games where she scored double-digits. Jennings, who had grabbed 22 rebounds over three games (7.3/game) heading in to the final conference regular season weekend, managed just six rebounds over two games in Houston (3.0/game). In the last meeting with UTEP, Jennings scored 18 points with six rebounds, adding four assists and two steals while playing 29 minutes. Necaise Strong From the Charity Stripe Somewhere on opposing team's scouting reports there is a list of which Lady Tiger to foul in crunch time. On the bottom of that list is probably senior Devin Necaise, who is hitting 96.2 percent from the free-throw line this season and who is an 89.3 percent career free-throw shooter. Charge! Memphis has drawn 31 offensive charges in the first 28 games of the season. Jazmyn Green leads the team with 10 charges drawn, while Aroha Jennings has nine charges drawn. Ashley Thornton has six charges drawn. Devin Necaise has three on the season, while Megan Gooch, Robin Jones and Paris Leonard all have one. Davis Hits Double-Digits For Second Straight Game Freshman Alysse Davis scored double-digit points for the second straight game with 11 points against Houston. It marked the first time in her young career that she has scored double-digit points in back-to-back games. Green Leads Team Against Houston Freshman Jazmyn Green led the team with eight rebounds and five assists in the loss to Houston. She was also one of four Lady Tigers to score double-digit points against Houston, finishing with 16 points. She worked hard to get to the free-throw line, where she was 6-for-9. How Our Previous Opponents Are Faring (AP Rankings/ESPN coaches rankings) So how are our non-conference opponents faring? See below: Winthrop (5-23 overall, 2-10 Big South): Snapped nine-game losing streak with a 71-47 win vs. Charleston Southern; plays at Coastal Carolina, Wednesday. Dayton (11-18 overall, 6-8 Atlantic 10): Fell to Richmond, 66-63; plays LaSalle, Friday at noon in the A-10 Conference Tournament. No. 20 Louisville (23-5, 9-5 Big East): Fell to West Virginia in overtime, 76-71; is the No. 5 seed for the Big East Tournament and will face St. John's, Saturday, at noon. Samford (17-12, 12-8 OVC): Defeated Eastern Illinois, 70-49; hosts Tennessee Tech Tuesday night in first round of OVC Tournament. UL Monroe (14-15, 4-14 Sun Belt): Fell at New Orleans, 79-69; will face Arkansas State on the road in the first round of the Sun Belt tournament,Wednesday. Central Arkansas (13-14, 7-8 Southland): Defeated Nicholls State, 71-62; Season Complete as UCA was a provisional Division I school this year. Lipscomb (8-18, 6-10 A-Sun): Lost to Campbell, 80-68; plays at North Florida, Thursday. No. 10 Georgia (24-5, 11-3 SEC): Defeated Arkansas, 69-51; secured No. 2 seed for SEC Tournament; will face winner of Kentucky/Arkansas game, Friday, at 3:30 p.m. (ET). UT Martin (16-13, 10-10 OVC): Defeated Murray State, 52-50; will play at Morehead State, Tuesday in first round of OVC Tournament. Creighton (11-16, 8-8 Missouri Valley): Won at Wichita State, 71-68; hosts Indiana State, Thursday. Southeastern Louisiana (17-10 overall, 9-5 Southland): Lost at Northwestern State, 55-53; plays at McNeese State, Thursday. Arkansas (18-12, 3-11 SEC): Fell to Georgia, 69-51; plays Kentucky in the first round of the SEC tournament, Thursday. UT-San Antonio (11-15, 7-7 Southland): Defeated Texas A&M-CC, 61-43; plays at Sam Houston State, Thursday. Kentucky (17-12, 6-8 SEC): Fell at Florida, 83-79; plays Arkansas in the first round of the SEC Tournament, Thursday.

02/27/07		Memphis Student Tickets For C-USA Tournament To Go On Sale Before Each Tiger Game -- Tickets are ten dollars and students must have University ID (GoTigersGo.com)
		MEMPHIS, Tenn. - University of Memphis students interested in purchasing tickets for the Tigers' games in the 2007 Conference USA Tournament can do so prior to the start of each Memphis contest. The cost is $10 per session. The Conference USA Tournament runs from Mar. 7-10 at FedExForum. Memphis has secured a tournament first round bye and will play its first game in the C-USA Tournament quarterfinals on Mar. 8 at 6:00 p.m. (CT). The tournament semifinals are Mar. 9, with the championship game to follow on Mar. 10. Memphis students must show their University ID to purchase the game tickets. After purchasing tickets, students are asked to go to the Memphis ticket desk at FedExForum to get a wristband, which allows them to sit in the student section. There are limited seats in the student section, but efforts will be made to accommodate all students who attend the Tigers' C-USA Tournament contests. A reminder to students that the designated student section is for Memphis' C-USA Tournament games only.

02/27/07		2007 slate includes Tuesday tussle -- ESPN2 airing midweek game vs. Marshall (Commercial Appeal)
		By Phil Stukenborg Contact February 27, 2007 The University of Memphis football team will open at home against Mid-South rival Ole Miss, appear on national television for the seventh straight season and welcome Tulane, Rice and SMU on its Conference USA schedule. Those were among the highlights of the 2007 schedule, which was released Monday by the UofM. The Tigers open against Ole Miss Sept. 1 at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium -- one of seven home games -- and play C-USA opponent Marshall at home on ESPN2 Tuesday Oct. 2. Tulane, Rice and SMU, C-USA West Division opponents, come onto the schedule for a two-year rotation, while UTEP, Tulsa and Houston rotate off. The schedule also has Memphis playing at home for three of its final four games: Nov. 3 vs. East Carolina, Nov. 17 vs. UAB and Nov. 24 vs. SMU. ''I thought it came out pretty good,'' Tiger athletic director R.C. Johnson said of the schedule. ''The key games, as you get down into November, are at home and I like that. And I like having a nationally televised game during the week because that doesn't affect us a bunch because most of our fan base is local. They don't have to drive 200 or 300 miles to a game.'' The Tigers -- after having appeared in bowl games three straight seasons -- slipped to 2-10 a year ago, but Johnson saw an encouraging sign in ESPN deciding to carry the Marshall game. ''At least we have kept our steak (of consecutive years on ESPN) alive,'' he said. ''I think there's a feeling the program just had a blip on the scale rather than it being a trend.'' Johnson said ESPN is considering finding a date to carry the season-opener against Ole Miss. ESPN has carried three of the past four Ole Miss-Memphis games, including the last two played at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium (a 44-34 Memphis win in 2003 and a 10-6 Ole Miss win in 2005). ''ESPN is looking at that game,'' Johnson said. ''I think something will happen with Ole Miss. It could be played the Thursday or Friday before (the originally scheduled Saturday Sept. 1 date). In each of Tiger coach Tommy West's six seasons, the UofM has made at least one appearance on ESPN or ESPN2. In 2004, the Tigers, led by All-America running back DeAngelo Williams, made four appearances. ''I love Tuesday games,'' West said, referring to the Marshall games. ''And, to me, it's an honor to play on ESPN. Outside of our success (three bowls in four years), our ESPN games have had more to do with our recruiting success than anything.'' After the opener against Ole Miss, the Tigers will play non-conference games at Arkansas State (Sept. 8) and at home against Nicholls State (Sept. 15). The trip to Jonesboro, Ark., to play ASU will rekindle memories of the 2004 game at Indian Stadium when a nationally ranked UofM had to rally in the closing minutes to escape. Nicholls State replaces Chattanooga, which had a conflict and could not play Memphis in '07. Chattanooga, a 1-AA program, has played in Memphis each of the past three seasons. Nicholls State, of the 1-AA Southland Conference, was 4-7 a year ago. Johnson said UT-Martin was considered as a replacement for Chattanooga, but UTM had a conflict and was unable to make it work. The Tigers open their C-USA season Sept. 22 at Central Florida's new on-campus stadium, marking the 10th straight year the UofM has opened league play on the road. Johnson said while it's been an unfortunate quirk in the schedule, playing the league opener on the road has been ''self-inflicted'', caused by the presence of the Mid-South Fair. While he's generally pleased with the schedule, Johnson said he wished there could have been a traditional off date. With the mid-week game against Marshall, the Tigers will be off the Saturday before (Sept. 29) and he Saturday after (Oct. 6), but not enjoy a traditional off week. West said that's OK. ''It gives us a lot of time to rest in the middle of the season,'' West said. ''A 12-game season is a grind, so it gives us a little time to rest and heal from our injuries.'' Johnson said tickets prices will remain the same as they were in 2006.

02/27/07		League's RPI better than last year's (Commercial Appeal)
		By Dan Wolken Contact February 27, 2007 While the perception nationally has been that Conference USA is weaker than it was a year ago, University of Memphis coach John Calipari disagrees. And he's got the numbers to back him up. Just consider: Last season, Conference USA ranked 13th in the Ratings Percentage Index among all conferences. This year, Conference USA is ranked 11th. Last year, the average RPI of the 12 teams was 170. This year, it's 152. Last season, seven C-USA teams were ranked below 200 in the RPI. This year, just three teams are worse than that. Several teams in the league have made big jumps in the RPI including Central Florida (from 190 to 109), Rice (from 218 to 154), Tulsa (from 203 to 126), Southern Miss (from 246 to 132) and Tulane (from 217 to 180). So what Calipari wants to know is: Why does Memphis get less credit for its 14-0 league record currently with an average victory margin of 20.1 points than it did for finishing 13-1 last year with an average victory margin of 16.1? "I'm hearing about this league stuff, and they tried that on us a year ago, and I think we did OK," Calipari said. "The only thing we can do is say, hey you're not giving us credit for this league. It's better than you think." The biggest factor in the suffering perception of C-USA has been UAB and Houston having less impressive seasons than they did a year ago. UAB won't be going to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in four years, and Houston is a long shot to get an NIT bid. But purely from an RPI standpoint, Memphis has been far more impressive in its C-USA run this year than last. The question is, will that matter to the NCAA Tournament selection committee for seeding purposes? According to Joe Lunardi, who does "Bracketology" for ESPN, Memphis is a No. 3 seed currently with an opportunity to move up to a No. 2 if the Tigers can win out. Meanwhile, Calipari will spend the next two weeks trying to make the case that his team's league record should be rewarded. "Just about every coach that plays us says, you're better than you were a year ago," Calipari said. "And we were a No. 1 seed last year. I know all these other teams got way better, but we're better than we were a year ago according to the people that play us." Douglas-Roberts honored Memphis sophomore guard Chris Douglas-Roberts has won the C-USA player of the week award for the second time this season. Despite several strong performances by other players last week, Douglas-Roberts got the honor for his performances in victories over Rice and Houston. Douglas-Roberts had 14 points and five assists in 18 minutes against Rice and 19 points with four steals against Houston. The Tigers' leading scorer made 13-of-23 field goals (56.5 percent) for the week. Travel woes After losing 66-64 at Tulsa on Saturday, the last thing UCF wanted to do was hang around town. But the Golden Knights had a miserable time getting back to Orlando on Sunday due to flight cancellations and delays. After spending four hours at the ticket counter, the team finally went back to its hotel. Then, the team had to split up and fly stand-by to get back to Orlando. All told, the trip took nearly 24 hours, which cut short a day of preparation for Wednesday's second-place showdown with Houston. "We had a 4:45 (a.m.) wake-up call to get to the airport by 5:15 to catch a flight," coach Kirk Speraw said. "We had a lot of issues. I don't think our guys got back into their rooms until about 1:30 or 1:45 in the morning." Coming on strong Don't look now, but UAB is looking like the one team playing well enough to possibly upset Memphis in the C-USA Tournament next week. And the irony is, it all started after Memphis beat the Blazers, 70-56, in Birmingham on Feb. 8. After the game, coach Mike Davis said he felt better about his team after that game than he had in weeks. Turns out, he was right. UAB has won four of five, and with wins at Southern Miss and at home against Tulane, the Blazers would finish 9-7 in the league and possibly snag the No. 4 spot and a first-round bye. "We still have a long way to go, but we have a better feel for what we're going to do from a systems standpoint," Davis said. -- Dan Wolken: 529-2365

02/27/07		Memphis wins final home game of '07 (Daily Helmsman)
		MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - Chris Douglas-Roberts scored 19 points to lead No. 7 Memphis to a 77-64 victory over Houston on Sunday, extending the nation's longest winning streak to 17. Joey Dorsey added 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Tigers (25-3, 14-0 Conference USA), who also won their 29th consecutive home game. Memphis weathered a pesky defensive start by the Cougars with a late run in the first half to put the game out of reach. Houston (15-13, 9-5) cut the Tigers lead to less than 10 only once in the second half. Senior Jeremy Hunt finished with 14 points for Memphis. Dorsey was 8-of-10 from the field. Robert McKiver led Houston with 32 points, hitting 13 of his 28 shots. Memphis defeated Houston 79-69 on Jan. 11. Winthrop of the Big South and Memphis are the only teams in the country undefeated in their respective conferences. The Tigers already had clinched the outright C-USA championship earlier in the week, but Memphis players downplayed the accomplishment, saying they wanted to maintain momentum into the postseason. Memphis closed the first half with a 19-5 run to erase a 21-19 Houston lead. The run helped Memphis carry a 38-26 lead into halftime. McKiver led the Cougars with 13 points in the first half, connecting on 5 of his 11 shots. Despite McKiver's conversions, Houston shot 33 percent before the half, including Oliver Lafayette, the Cougar's second-leading scorer, misfiring on six of his seven shots. Lafayette would end the day with 7 points, missing eight of his 10 shots in the game before fouling out. Houston pressured Memphis out of its offensive rhythm in the first 13 minutes, picking up the Tigers at halfcourt and pushing them outside their normal offensive sets. Memphis missed seven straight shots, enabling Houston to gain a 21-19 lead on Dion Dowell's 3-pointer with just over nine minutes left in the half. At that point, Memphis started running, getting down the floor before Houston could set up. That contributed to the Tigers taking a 12-point halftime lead. McKiver kept the Cougars from getting blown out at the start of the second half, scoring 12 straight points to cut the Memphis lead under double digits. That gave McKiver 25 of Houston's 42 points at the time. aMcKiver's production wasn't enough to hold Memphis at bay, as the Tigers continued to stretch the second-half lead, eventually reaching 21 points with 1:39 left.

02/27/07		Tigers take Service Academies title (Daily Helmsman)
		By: Tim Miller Sports Reporter Issue date: 2/27/07 Winning and University of Memphis baseball didn't always go hand-in-hand. These days, however, the Tigers are more than respectable - they're good. After losing to No. 11 Ole Miss 12-9 on opening day, Memphis (3-1) swept three games last weekend in Millington to claim the Service Academies Spring Classic title for the first time since 1996. The Tigers knocked off BYU, Akron and Missouri en route to the tournament championship. "It was real special for our guys," said Coach Daron Schoenrock. "We talked specifically about trying to go win that thing." The Tigers relied on lively bats to win 32 games in 2006. The club ranked 30th in the nation with a .315 team batting average. This weekend pitching was the key to the three Memphis victories. The Tigers held opponents to a combined five runs. In the championship game against Missouri on Sunday, redshirt freshman Marc Ashley allowed no runs and two hits in 5.2 innings of action. Will Hudgens, a quarterback for the Memphis football team, made his collegiate debut on the diamond in relief duty. Hudgens entered the game in the eighth inning with Memphis trailing Missouri, 1-0. The sophomore struck out two hitters in 1.1 innings and picked up the win after the Tigers scored five runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to take the lead. "There wasn't a lot of pressure because you have a great defense behind you," Hudgens said. "The coaches told me to just throw strikes and let the defense work behind me." The Tigers were solid in the field, committing only one error during the tournament. Centerfield K.K. Chalmers made a highlight-reel catch when he crashed into the outfield wall to rob Missouri catcher Trevor Coleman of an extra-base hit in the seventh inning of a tight game. Schoenrock said this type of production on the mound and in the field will be vital for a Memphis team that looks to earn its first NCAA regional bid in 13 years. "The key to this weekend is we pitched very well and played good defense," Schoenrock said. "That's what is going to propel this team. I think our bats will come alive because we have experienced hitters. As we get more games under our belt, I think our offense will start rolling a little bit better, and I expect that to happen. But the success of the team is going to hinge on how far this pitching staff can take us." Senior shortstop Michael Murray took home SASC MVP honors. He finished 3-for-4 at the plate and drove in the game-winning run against Missouri. Schoenrock said Murray's most important contributions came in the field. "Michael made some huge defensive plays for us," Schoenrock said. "The only thing that shows up in the stat book is what he does offensively." Murray said he spent the offseason trying to improve his glove. "I've been working so hard on my defense," Murray said. As for the rest of the season, Murray said the Tigers are excited to show what they can do as a team. "We know what it takes," Murray said. "We look at each game as a day-by-day situation. Definitely I don't think we've played our best ball yet. Hopefully we continue to build with each game."

02/26/07		Analyzing the Tiger analysts (Memphis Edge)
		Before I go any further, I want to issue a disclaimer: The following is not an argument about where Memphis should be ranked, where Memphis should be seeded or how good Memphis is. Rather, I want to comment on what I’ve been hearing, mainly on local talk radio, about the Tigers. Most of it is shallow mimicry, people saying the same intellectually lazy things over and over again about the Tigers’ schedule, Conference USA, the losses to Georgia Tech, Arizona and Tennessee, etc. The problem is, what you hear is two-dimensional analysis about an incredibly multi-dimensional sport. I can guarantee, in a month these same people will be talking about how it baffles the mind that some No. 7 seed made a deep run while some No. 1 or No. 2 seed lost early. But this is the difficulty in analyzing college basketball. In my opinion, there is no sport where there are more variables that can impact the outcome of every game. Then, you get to the NCAA Tournament, and some of those variables are suddenly eliminated and others are altered, which is why there are so many seemingly shocking upsets. For instance, the Tigers’ 18-point loss to Tennessee is the one that seems to be held against them more than any of their three losses. But it's a completely irrelevant result in trying to determine how the Tigers will perform in the NCAA Tournament (or the Vols, for that matter), and I can make that argument without even talking about where the game was played. Here's the argument: Tennessee played a Dec. 1 game against Murray State, then had five days to prepare for Memphis on Dec. 6. In that time span, Memphis played Manhattan on Dec. 2, Marshall on Dec. 4, then had to travel to Knoxville on Dec. 5. No matter how good Memphis is, Tennessee was going to be far more prepared, far better rested and far more mentally ready for a big game. In an NCAA Tournament scenario, both teams travel the same day. Both teams are playing at an unfamiliar arena. Both teams have had essentially the same amount of rest time. Many of the factors that can impact how a game is played are thus taken out of the equation. Did Chris Douglas-Roberts’ stomach virus impact the way the Arizona game was played? Absolutely. If there were rematches, would Doneal Mack’s emergence impact the way every game in November and December was played? Absolutely. To what degree, I couldn’t say. Nobody could. The point is, in college basketball, past results are often a poor predictor of future results since the circumstances are constantly changing. This is not to say that the outcomes of games aren’t important. The past performances are important for the purposes of getting into the NCAA Tournament and seeding. But the truth is, we can talk about it all we want, but there is only one opinion that matters. And that’s the opinion of the 10 people in Indianapolis who put together that bracket. You and I can discuss what factors we think are important or where different teams should be seeded. And after the bracket is released, you’ll hear plenty of people screaming into microphones about injustices and travesties. But the truth is, if the Tigers come out as a No. 2 seed, you have to accept it because that’s what the committee says they are. And the same thing holds true if they get a No. 5 seed. All the other analysis is useless. by Dan Wolken

02/26/07		FROM MY SEAT: Three Times a Column (Memphis Flyer)
		BY FRANK MURTAUGH FEBRUARY 26, 2007 I'll blame it on the curse of indecision, my inner Hamlet. Just couldn't decide among three topics this week, so I'll share some thoughts on each. One at a time. # Jeremy 2.0. Last Thursday night, Jeremy Hunt became the 42nd player in Memphis Tiger history (and the eighth under John Calipari) to score his 1,000th career point. Based on where Hunt was a year ago -- "permanently" suspended from the program for his involvement in a pair of altercations, though still enrolled in school -- he's probably the least likely member of this elite club to have reached the milestone. And one of the first to do so as a sixth man, making waves off the Tiger bench unlike many seen in recent U of M history. After the Tigers' blowout victory over Rice, I asked Hunt if he had actually benefited from the year off, that being so close to the program, yet so far away during his suspension, made him a better player and person today. "Last year was a test," he said. "It was to see if I could grow up or not. I took on a lot of things, and it definitely panned out. If this team hadn't let me back, I wouldn't be here. So I thank everybody involved with that. It feels like a big accomplishment." "I didn't know [Hunt was that close]," said Calipari, "and I really didn't want to leave him in the game. But they told me he just needed four points. I'm happy for him." Needless to say, the coach and his players have their sights on larger things than individual achievement this season. But for Jeremy Hunt -- 1,000-point scorer, college graduate -- redemption is mighty sweet.

02/26/07		Baseball to Host UT-Martin in Home-Opener -- Tigers look to stretch win streak to four games (GoTigersGo.com)
		MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Head Coach Daron Schoenrock and the Memphis Tigers will open it home schedule Tuesday afternoon, when they play host to the UT-Martin Skyhawks. Game time is set for 4 p.m. at Nat Buring Stadium. The Tigers come into Tuesday's game with a week of action under their belts. Memphis went 3-1 and took home its first Service Academies Classic championship in 11 years. Senior shortstop Michael Murray was named MVP of the Classic, while Joey Lieberman and Matt Yokley were named to the All-tournament team. Those three weren't the only Tigers that have excelled in the opening week of play. Senior Ben Grisham batted .429 with three RBI, including a game-winning sac fly against BYU, a double, triple and a save on the mound. Junior K.K. Chalmers swiped three bags this week, moving him eight stolen bases from the Tigers' all-time stolen base record. Senior second baseman Bill Moss stroked his 41st and 42nd career doubles to move into fifth-place all-time at Memphis. The Tiger pitching staff yielded a 1.61 ERA and held opponents to a .147 batting average in the three games in Millington. Five of the eight pitchers that saw action this weekend held the opponents scoreless. In his first career start, redshirt freshman Marc Ashley allowed one hit in a 5.2-inning outing against Missouri. Lance Scoggins and Will Hudgens held the opposition hitless in their appearances. Junior transfer Mark Doll was solid in the Tiger debut. He struck out four and held Akron scoreless and picked up the win in 4.2 innings of relief. Yokley's outing was nearly identical to Doll's as he tossed 4.1 innings of scoreless relief to earn the win against BYU. The Collierville High product fanned five and held the Cougars to just two hits. UT-Martin is 1-4 with its lone win coming in a 3-2 win against Bradley on Feb. 25. Junior outfield Kyle Dudley leads the team with a .500 (9-for-18) average, seven runs scored and 14 total bases. Shortstop Lance Renton, who was a prep teammate of Memphis first baseman Adam Amar, is tied for the team lead with four RBI and is second on the squad with five hits. The Skyhawk offense is hitting .268 as a team. The UTM pitching staff has a 9.71 ERA and opponents are hitting .371 against them. Ace Ryan Rockholt is 1-1 with a 1.69 ERA and seven strikeouts to lead the staff. Adam Bowker and Chad Cameron each have ERA's of 3.00 or lower, but neither has worked more than three innings. Tuesday's starter Adam Ledlow is 0-1 with a 15.00 ERA. Opposing hitters are batting .333 against him in three innings of work. Memphis is 27-3 all-time against UT-Martin--its best winning percentage against any opponent. Dating back to the 2001 season, the Tigers have won 11-straight against the Skyhawks. Memphis swept last year's season series, with a 9-7 win in the 2006 home-opener. It took Memphis 11 innings to come away with a 5-4 win at Union City the last time the two teams met on the diamond.

02/26/07		Douglas-Roberts Named C-USA Player Of The Week -- Second time this season he has earned the league's weekly honor (GoTigersGo.com)
		IRVING, Texas - Sophomore Chris Douglas-Roberts has been named the Conference USA Player of the Week for his performances for the week of Feb. 19-25, the league office announced Monday. It is the second time this year that Douglas-Roberts received the conference's weekly award, as he also earned the honor in mid-December. It is also the fourth time this season that a Tiger player took home the weekly award. In addition to Douglas-Roberts' two times, Jeremy Hunt received the honor in early January and Joey Dorsey earned the award in early February. Last week, Douglas-Roberts led Memphis to a 2-0 week with a pair of wins over Houston and Rice. The victories improved the Tigers' win streak to 17 straight, which is the nation's longest current streak. The wins also extended Memphis' homecourt win streak to 29 straight, which is the third-longest in the country. In the Feb. 22 game with Rice, the Detroit, Mich., native scored seven of the Tigers first 11 points and finished the game with 14 points in 18 minutes of play. He also dished out a career-high-tying five assists against the Owls. In Sunday's game with Houston, the 6-foot-6 guard netted 19 points and tied his career-best with four steals. For the week, the sophomore averaged 17.5 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 3.5 apg and 2.5 spg in 45 minutes of play. He shot .565 (13-of-23) from the field, with a 7-of-10 performance from the free throw line. Memphis (25-3, 14-0 C-USA), ranked No. 6 in the Associated Press poll and No. 7 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll, returns to action Thursday, Mar. 1 when it travels to El Paso, Texas, to face UTEP (14-14, 6-8 C-USA). The game, to be televised by ESPN, is slated for an 8:00 p.m. (CT) start.

02/26/07		Necaise Named to All-Academic Team -- Senior honored for work in the classroom (GoTigersGo.com)
		MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Senior guard Devin Necaise was named to the Conference USA All-Academic Team as was announced by the league office, Monday. Necaise was one of six female student-athletes to earn the honor, and was joined by Southern Miss' Kendra Reed and Kristin Chaney, Marshall's Kendra King, UCF's Keunta Miles and Tulane's Jami Montagnino. "Devin is the true epitome of a student-athlete," Head Coach Blair Savage-Lansden said. "It's great to see her academic accomplishments being rewarded. She is just a really well-rounded person who just competes and strives to achieve her best at everything she does." Necaise is just one three-point field goal shy of tying a Memphis single season record with 63 threes made already this season. One more will tie her with LaTonya Johnson's mark of 64, set in 1995-96. Necaise moved to 16th in the Lady Tiger record book with 10 points scored at Houston in a loss this weekend, and she has 1,056 career points heading in to Thursday's game first round game against UTEP. A three-time All-C-USA Academic Honor Roll selection, Necaise carries a 3.36 GPA in Marketing Management. In a game at East Carolina earlier this season, she became the 18th Lady Tiger in school history to pass the 1,000 career point mark. Necaise has appeared on the Tiger 3.0 Club in six of seven semesters and on the Dean's List twice. She currently ranks fourth in the league in three-point field goals made per game (2.18/game) and 10th in three-point field goal accuracy (35.6 percent). For her career, she has knocked down 179 field goals from three-point range, which ranks her second in Memphis career history and just one shy of the Conference USA top 10 in career history. The daughter of Pat and Paulette Necaise, Devin is on pace to graduate in May. Necaise and her teammates will leave Tuesday for Tulsa, where the Lady Tigers will face No. 5 seed UTEP, Thursday, at 3:30 p.m. That game can be heard on WUMR, 91.7 FM or on Yahoo! Sports, which is available from the www.gotigersgo.com website under Audio. 2007 Conference USA Women's Basketball All-Academic Team Student-Athlete, School --- Class / Position / Hometown GPA/Major Kristin Chaney, Southern Miss --- Senior / Guard / Little Rock, Miss. / 3.75, Sport Administration Kendra King, Marshall --- Sophomore / Forward / Fairfax, Va. / 3.46, Nursing Keunta Miles, UCF --- Senior / Forward / Fort Lauderdale, Fla. / 3.298, Criminal Justice Jami Montagnino, Tulane --- Senior / Guard / Baton Rouge, La. / 3.4, Exercise Science Devin Necaise, Memphis --- Senior / Guard / Necaise Crossing, Miss. / 3.36, Marketing Management Kendra Reed, Southern Miss --- Sophomore / Guard/Forward / Bay St. Louis, Miss. / 3.69, Biological Sciences

02/26/07		Memphis Hosts Doubleheader with Belmont -- Series tied between two teams at 1-1 (GoTigersGo.com)
		For Immediate Release Contact: Brandon Kolditz wkolditz@memphis.edu, (901) 871-5475 The University of Memphis will host Belmont in a doubleheader on Tuesday beginning at 2 p.m. at Greenbrook Park in Southaven, Miss. Memphis head coach Windy Thees will be going for her 200th victory on Tuesday. In her seventh season, Thees is one win away from the plateau and has a 199-124 overall record. Sophomore Leandra Hines leads the Lady Tigers in batting with a .400 clip. Eight of her 12 hits have been bunt singles. Hines and senior Lindsey Pridgen lead the team in multiple hit games with three. The Tigers set a new team record with 11 strikeouts against Alabama A&M. The previous record of 10 had been accomplished four teams. Senior first baseman Kara Ross also set a new Memphis single game record for putouts with 11 against SEMO at first base. She then matched the record with 11 as the catcher against Alabama A&M. Last week, Memphis placed second in the Blues City Classic in Southaven, Miss., with a 3-1 record. The lone Lady Tiger loss on the week came against tournament champion Evansville. Memphis beat Mississippi Valley State, 8-2; SEMO, 2-1 in nine innings; and Alabama A&M, 7-4. Belmont comes to Memphis with a 2-6 record and has lost three straight. The Bruins went 1-3 last week in the MT Breast Cancer Strikeout Classic hosted by Middle Tennessee State. After facing Belmont, the Lady Tigers will fly to San Diego to participate in the University of San Diego Tournament beginning on Friday. Memphis will play San Diego twice and also meet up against Cal State Northridge, Loyola Marymount and UC Riverside in the three-day tournament. Live stats of Tuesday's games are available online through Gametracker. Live audio will also be available for the games with Daniel O'Brien calling the play-by-play. A CSTV XXL All-Access or Memphis All-Access subscription is required to listen to the feed. A link to the live coverage is available on the Memphis softball schedule page at www.gotigersgo.com.

02/26/07		Women's Tennis Drops Conference Opener -- Lady Tigers fall to 1-5 on the season (GoTigersGo.com)
		The University of Memphis women's tennis team (1-5, 0-1 C-USA) dropped its league opener on the road at UAB, 6-0. Since it was UAB's second match of the day and since the Lady Tigers were already short-handed, the two teams played just singles. UAB 6, Memphis 0 No. 1 -- Gulsah Esen def. Marjorie Ondeck (UM), 6-4, 6-2 No. 2 -- Nischa Maier-Knapp def. Dara Toulch (UM), 6-2, 6-1 No. 3 -- Julia von Samson def. Ekin Zafir (UM), 6-1, 6-1 No. 4 -- Samrin Tanzeem def. Amanda Brown (UM), 6-1, 6-0 No. 5 -- Antonia Nugent def. Christina Wieser (UM), 6-1, 2-6, 6-4 No. 6 -- Seden Soyalp def. Flavia Russo (UM), default

02/26/07		Tiger Scholarship Fund Unveils New On-Line Auction -- New items will be posted every two weeks! (GoTigersGo.com)
		The Tiger Scholarship Fund would like to introduce the new Tiger online auction. You will have the opportunity to show your support for the Tigers in a whole new way. This will be a unique opportunity for fans and friends of the University of Memphis Tigers to bid on autographed items, game-worn apparel, on-field and on-court experiences, the opportunity to travel with the teams, Tiger gear and much, much more. New items are posted for auction every two weeks so there's always a chance to bid! The first batch of items are now online and feature basketball-themed items including a team autographed basketball, team autographed and framed poster, Tiger gear, and a fantastic "NCAA Tournament Travel Package" including airfare with the team, hotel, and tickets. Be sure to bid now at http://auctions.gotigersgo.com/ and check back often for a new set of auction items, they will be updated every two weeks. All proceeds benefit Tiger Athletics.

02/26/07		Tigers Announce 2007 Football Schedule -- Seven home games highlight Tiger schedule (GoTigersGo.com)
		MEMPHIS, TENN. - Seven home games highlight the 2007 University of Memphis Tiger football schedule as well as eight key Conference USA match-ups. Memphis will open the season against Ole Miss at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium on Sept. 1. This is the fourth consecutive year that the Tigers are opening up with the Rebels. In the history of the series, which began in 1921, the Tigers have opened the season against the Rebels 29 times. The U of M will then travel to Arkansas State on Sept. 8 and will host Nicholls State on Sept. 15. Nicholls State was added as a late replacement for Chattanooga, which had a schedule conflict that they could not resolve. The Tigers open their Conference USA season on Sept. 22 at UCF, marking the 10th straight year that Memphis is opening its league schedule on the road. Marshall will travel to the Liberty Bowl on Tuesday, Oct. 2, followed by Middle Tennessee on Oct. 13. The meeting with Marshall has been slated for broadcast by ESPN2. Additional games could be selected for broadcast by CSTV and ESPN and would be released at a later date. For the first time since the restructuring of Conference USA, Rice, Tulane and SMU are on the Tigers' schedule as they travel to Rice and Tulane on Oct. 20 and Oct. 27. Memphis will close out its regular season with a home game against SMU on Nov. 24. Additional league meetings include home games with East Carolina on Nov. 3 and UAB on Nov. 17 as well as a road contest with Southern Miss on Nov. 10. Three of Memphis' C-USA opponents participated in bowl games last year as Rice played Troy in the New Orleans Bowl; East Carolina faced USF in the PapaJohns.com Bowl and Southern Miss defeated Ohio in the GMAC Bowl. 2007 Memphis Tiger Football Schedule Sept. 1 Ole Miss Sept. 8 at Arkansas State Sept. 15 Nicholls State Sept. 22 at UCF Oct. 2 Marshall (ESPN2) Oct. 13 Middle Tennessee Oct. 20 at Rice Oct. 27 at Tulane Nov. 3 East Carolina Nov. 10 at Southern Miss Nov. 17 UAB Nov. 24 SMU

02/26/07		Calipari Scheduled To Be On ESPN.com Chat On Monday -- The chat room session with the coach begins at 1 p.m. (CT) (GoTigersGo.com)
		MEMPHIS, Tenn. - University of Memphis head coach John Calipari is scheduled to be in the ESPN.com chat room at approximately 1 p.m. (CT) on Monday, Feb. 26. To get in the chat room with Coach Calipari, go to the ESPN.com web site front page, scroll down and the list of chat room participants will be in the right column. Calipari will answer questions about his No. 7/7 Tigers and their 25-3 record and also give his insights on the overall college basketball season. Memphis is 25-3 overall and 14-0 in Conference USA. The Tigers have the nation's longest win streak at 17 straight, and also have the country's third-longest homecourt win streak at 29 straight.

02/26/07		Tiger Basketball Banquet Scheduled For March 4 -- Contact the men's basketball office at 678-2346 to purchase tickets (GoTigersGo.com)
		MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The 2006-07 University of Memphis men's basketball awards banquet is scheduled to be held Mar. 4 at the Holiday Inn on campus (3700 Central Avenue), beginning at 6:00 p.m. (CT). A social hour and a "meet-and-greet" with the players and coaches starts at 6:00 p.m. (CT), followed by the banquet at 7:00 p.m. (CT). The cost for the banquet is $50 per person and $30 per student. Tables of 10 can be purchased for $500. For more information on the banquet or to purchase tickets or tables, contact the men's basketball office at 678-2346.

02/26/07		Tigers streaking -- Playing together, Tigers finish off regular season at home undefeated (Commercial Appeal)
		By Dan Wolken Contact February 26, 2007 When University of Memphis coach John Calipari arrived at FedExForum on Sunday and discovered that Houston had altered its starting lineup, he began to fret. Per their Senior Day tradition, the Tigers were starting two senior walk-ons, Clyde Wade and Jared Sandridge. And with Houston's lineup change, Sandridge would be matched against Oliver Lafayette, one of the most athletic players in Conference USA. "(Lafayette) hasn't made a basket in like two weeks, but he would against Jared, and we couldn't afford to have him get going," Calipari said. But with the No. 7-ranked Tigers, who ran their nation-leading win streak to 17 with a 77-64 victory over Houston, there are far more solutions than problems these days. Instead of messing with tradition, Calipari took a suggestion -- from sophomore Kareem Cooper, of all people -- and for the first time in his career started a game in a 2-3 zone, a defense he typically finds distasteful. It was a small gesture, to be sure. But it represented everything that has gone right this season for Memphis, which improved to 25-3 overall and 14-0 in C-USA with only road games at UTEP and SMU standing in the way of the program's first-ever unbeaten conference record. From the team's biggest stars to the last players on the bench, Memphis for more than two months has operated as one, playing for each other and working together toward accomplishments that are suddenly close enough to reach. "We didn't want to isolate Jared on Senior Day," sophomore guard Chris Douglas-Roberts said. "We weren't going to let them do that, so we protected Jared on his day because that was their gameplan coming in." Though the zone didn't last long -- two minutes, to be exact -- the Tigers once again proved that their defense has staying power. Sparked by reserves Andre Allen and Doneal Mack, the Tigers found their defensive identity late in the first half. And once they did, only the margin of victory was in question. After 13 closely contested minutes, the Tigers turned up the pressure and got steals from Robert Dozier (for a dunk), Allen (for a Joey Dorsey putback) and Douglas-Roberts (for a rim-rocking breakaway), all in the final 6:40 before halftime. Suddenly, a 22-21 Memphis lead became 38-26. "They kind of came at us, and we weren't making shots, we weren't making plays and we weren't playing no defense," senior guard Jeremy Hunt said. "But once we got going, we never looked back. We knew they'd make a run because they've probably had this game marked on their schedule because we beat them down there. We just wanted to make it hard on them." The Tigers did just that, holding the Cougars to 9-of-28 from 3-point range, a statistic Houston needed to be far more proficient in to beat Memphis. Only junior guard Robert McKiver was able to get going, scoring 32 points on 13 of 28 shooting. The rest of the team made just 11 field goals. Though McKiver's shooting kept Houston in the game for a while -- he cut the lead to 51-42 with 12:33 to go -- Memphis quickly answered with a baseline runner by Douglas-Roberts (19 points on 7 of 14 shooting) and a 3-pointer by Willie Kemp. Houston also had no answer for forward Dorsey, who had 10 rebounds but made a bigger impact offensively, scoring 16 points on a variety of post moves. With the win, Memphis got to share with an announced crowd of 16,924 its first perfect home record (16-0) since moving to FedExForum. "This is a heck of a team, and they want it as bad for themselves as any of us want it for them," Calipari said. "They're doing it together, so it's kind of fun to be on the ride." -- Dan Wolken: 529-2365

02/26/07		Tigers replay (Commercial Appeal)
		AS The Game Turned The second Houston-Memphis meeting turned out much like the first, with the Tigers grabbing a commanding lead with a late first-half spurt, then holding the Cougars at arm's length throughout the second half. A decisive 10-2 run over the final 3:40 before halftime was the difference. Freshman Doneal Mack hit a 3-pointer from the corner for a 31-24 lead, then sophomore Chris Douglas-Roberts picked the pocket of Dion Dowell and scored on a breakaway dunk 13 seconds later. After a nice up-and-under move by Mack, the Tigers had a double-digit lead and went into the locker room with a 38-26 advantage. AS THE ROTATION TURNED John Calipari's general rule is that two first-half fouls equals a trip to the bench until halftime. But after freshman Willie Kemp made a couple defensive mistakes, Calipari brought junior Andre Allen back into the game with 8:22 left in the first half despite his two fouls. That decision paid off, as a steal by Allen with 6:28 left picked up the Tigers' defense, which had been stale up to that point. "That was a heck of a thing to change the complexion of the game," Calipari said. RIM GEMS Douglas-Roberts' dunk with 3:23 left in the first half was a thing of beauty. It started aggressive defense against Dowell that led to a steal, then out-running everybody to the basket and springing into a two-handed jam. Houston coach Tom Penders called timeout as soon as the ball went through the net. "I try to get one or two of those a game to just spark us up because we all need plays to lift us," Douglas-Roberts said. HIDE YOUR EYES Memphis' free throw shooting -- especially in bonus situations -- continues to baffle Calipari. The Tigers made just 13-of-24 from the line Sunday, and three of their misses were on the front end of one-and-one situations. The Tigers have cost themselves points all season by missing front ends, including in the second half at Gonzaga when hitting a couple could have held the Bulldogs at bay. SCORER'S TABLE Houston's box score was so lopsided, it was surreal. Junior Robert "Fluff" McKiver had 32 of the Cougars' 64 points and took 28 of their 58 field goal attempts, including 16 of their 28 shots from 3-point range. Nobody else reached double figures in scoring. LOCKERROOM CHATTER "Every coach that watches us says, 'They're better than they were a year ago.' What was our seed a year ago? (A No. 1) So why is it we've got to be a three or a four this year? Is there a reason? If we're better than we were a year ago, maybe everybody else is better too, I don't know. But I keep hearing this, three, four, five seed. I'm like, OK. All we can do is take care of business and take care of basketball and do it on a national stage and on national television, which is what we continue to do." -- Calipari ODDS and ENDS Mack had a rousing return Sunday after missing last Thursday's game against Rice to attend his grandmother's funeral. Mack had nine points in 16 minutes. Mack made two key buckets Sunday despite heavy contact. "I've been getting in the weight room because I'm trying to get ready for the tournament. I know the competition is going to be another level, and I want to be ready for that playing through contact, so (Calipari) can play me." Calipari won his 173rd game at Memphis Sunday, tying him with Zach Curlin (1924-48) for second in the school's record books. Calipari is 47 victories behind leader Larry Finch. Point guard Derrick Rose, the Tigers' top-rated recruit, has been selected to the 30th annual McDonald's All-American Game on March 28 in Louisville. LOOKING AHEAD Tigers at UTEP, Thursday, 8 p.m.

02/26/07		U of M wins Academies tournament -- Tigers rough up Missouri relief corps (Commercial Appeal)
		By Rich Whybrew Special to The Commercial Appeal February 26, 2007 Sunday afternoon marked a day of success for the Memphis Tiger baseball team as it defeated Missouri, 5-1, capturing the Service Academies Spring Classic championship at Millington. The game opened as a battle between pitchers, with freshman Marc Ashley holding Missouri to one hit and no runs until he was relieved by senior Dusty Davis late in the sixth inning. Neither team scored through the first seven innings. However, Memphis (3-1) ran into trouble in the top of the eighth inning, as Davis beaned Missouri sophomore Kyle Mach. Mach quickly stole second, putting him in position to score when junior Brock Bond smashed a double into center field. With two outs and a man on second, the Memphis coaching staff made the decision to pull Davis and send in sophomore Will Hudgens. Hudgens quickly struck out the next batter to end the inning, sending Missouri back out to the field with a 1-0 lead. The U of M came back with a vengeance, with junior K.K. Chalmers leading off with a single. He then stole second, allowing him to later score when senior Bill Moss put up a game-tying double. When senior Adam Amar followed with a single, it became evident that there was a weakness in Missouri's relief staff. Missouri brought in senior left-hander Brant Combs, only to yank him when Memphis senior Michael Murray singled to drive in Moss with the game-deciding run. Missouri was unable to close the inning without taking more damage. Memphis senior Ben Grisham doubled, driving in Amar, and sophomore Eric Farrell singled to drive in both Murray and Grisham. The Tigers ended the inning with a 5-1 lead, which they kept as Hudgens quickly retired the next three at bat to end the game. Murray, the tournament MVP, was thrilled with his team's performance, pointing out that Sunday marked the first time since 1996 Memphis has won the Service Academies championship. "This is definitely a big win, and a big step for the program," he said. "It was a tight game, but we found a way to pull through." Coach Daron Schoenrock attributed the win to careful play and good pitching. "We played another errorless game," Schoenrock said. "And Marc Ashley really gave us a good start." Schoenrock also said that winning the tournament was a big boost for his team. "We obviously went up against a very good ballclub," he said. "This is a good win for our guys."

02/26/07		Calkins: On day to honor seniors, Calipari can take a bow (Commercial Appeal)
		With slightly more than eight minutes left in the game, already up by a dozen, the Memphis Tigers forced a shot-clock violation. The fans cheered. Not loud enough, evidently. Because Memphis coach John Calipari went slightly nutso, waving his arms, jumping up and down, asking for more from the crowd. If he could have benched all 16,924 at that moment, he might have. Then, after a few minutes, he would have sent them all back to their seats, determined to do better next time. This is how Calipari coaches. This is how he coached the Tigers to a 77-64 win over Houston on Sunday. Willie Kemp went under a pick instead of over? Out he came. Antonio Anderson didn't give the ball back to Kemp at the right moment? Have a seat, Antonio. Joey Dorsey didn't show enough hustle on defense for a small span? In goes Kareem Cooper. And if this seems excessively knee-jerk and impatient, all Calipari has to do is point to two numbers. Seventeen -- that's the Tigers' winning streak. Twenty-nine -- that's the Tigers' home winning streak. "What else is there to say?" said Memphis guard Chris Douglas-Roberts. "I think he's the best coach in America." Mind you, Calipari isn't going to win any national coach of the year awards because he isn't fresh and undiscovered. Also, the Tigers didn't stink last year. Prizes aren't awarded for consistent excellence. But now that the home portion of the schedule is over, now that Memphis has won its 16 home games by an average of more than 25 points, isn't it a reasonable time to stop and marvel at what Calipari has built in Memphis? The Tigers are ranked No. 7 in both polls. They have the longest winning streak in the country. They don't lose games at home, they're on national TV more than Ryan Seacrest and, barring an unforeseen stumble, they'll follow up last year's No. 1 seed with a No. 2 or a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Can you imagine that? It's the Lawrence Welk era in Memphis. Ah one and ah two. (That dated reference is for what Calipari fondly calls the blue hairs). But it's remarkable, really. And unprecedented. The previous best back-to-back seedings came in 1985 and 1986, when the Tigers were No. 2 and No. 3 seeds. "What we've done here is build a program," Calipari said. "Not for one year, not for two years. We've built a program." Sure, say the skeptics. He's built a program by playing junk. Unlike his predecessors at Memphis, Calipari gets to coach against the wretched programs of the newly-depleted Conference USA. That's one way to look at it. Except, without Calipari, who's to say this program wouldn't be every bit as wretched as the rest of them? What separates Memphis from UAB or Tulsa right now? Or Sunday's opponent, Houston? History? So how come Houston has played in more national championship games than Memphis? Besides, history wasn't doing Memphis much good before Calipari arrived on campus. Each of the two years before Calipari arrived, the Tigers were 3-5 against teams now in C-USA. Want a longer period? Fine. How about seven years? That's how long Calipari has been in Memphis. In the seven seasons before he arrived, the Tigers were 23-19 against teams now in Conference USA. They were 3-4 against UAB in their previous seven games before Calipari. They were 3-4 against Houston. That doesn't sound like a team poised to dominate or even transcend its conference. It sounds more like a team poised to rise or fall right along with its conference. Calipari has prevented that from happening. He's taken a negative and made it a positive. And he's shown, in the process, that while recruiting is the key to everything he does, it's not by any means the only thing he does. "He gets us to play hard," said forward Robert Dozier. "We might not always like it, but we understand what he's doing." When Dorsey forgets he's in there to rebound, he comes out. When Doneal Mack lets missed shots affect the rest of his game, he comes out. "By the way," Calipari said, "you see how Mack is playing now?" Fabulously, is what he meant. Dorsey is playing as well as ever. And the whole thing works because Calipari -- in addition to the tough love -- has proven to these players that he cares about them. Why else would he have come out in a zone Sunday? Calipari hates zone. But he did it because he was determined to start his three seniors in their last home game. In addition to Jeremy Hunt, that meant Clyde Wade and Jared Sandridge. Only problem: Sandridge had no chance of guarding Houston's Oliver Lafayette one-on-one. "He wasn't going to let them isolate Jared on Senior Day," said Douglas-Roberts. Hence, the zone. On Senior Day, Calipari's heart trumped Calipari's stubbornness. There were smaller examples just like that throughout the entire game. Another came with 19 seconds left. Calipari wanted to bring Dorsey out because he thought the kid deserved a big ovation. But to do that, he had to send someone in the game in place of him. "You can't force a player to go in with 30 seconds left because it's embarrassing," Calipari said. "The reason I know that is I was that guy at one time." So Calipari asked Cooper if he'd be willing to go in. Cooper stood up without a question. And as Dorsey jogged out to the roar of the crowd, Calipari said something that made all the difference. "Hey," he told Cooper. "Thank you for going in." To reach Geoff Calkins, call him at 529-2364

02/26/07		College basketball: Tigers win 17th in a row (Jackson Sun)
		The Associated Press MEMPHIS - The depth of No. 7 Memphis was just too much for the Houston Cougars. The Tigers overcame an early Houston lead fueled by aggressive defense, then wore down the Cougars and coasted to a 77-64 victory on Sunday, extending the nation's longest winning streak to 17. Chris Douglas-Roberts scored 19 points to lead Memphis. Joey Dorsey added 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Tigers (25-3, 14-0 Conference USA), who also won their 29th consecutive home game. Memphis weathered the pesky defensive start by the Cougars with a late run in the first half to put the game out of reach. Houston (15-13, 9-5) never threatened the Tigers in the second half. "We're deep, and that helps us," Douglas-Roberts said. "Eventually, a team that is not as deep as us will get worn out because we're constantly running up and down." Senior Jeremy Hunt finished with 14 points for Memphis. Dorsey was 8-of-10 from the field. "Somebody asked me the one player in the league I'd like to have," Houston coach Tom Penders said. "Douglas-Roberts is great. All these guys are great. But Dorsey, he's a stud." Robert McKiver led Houston with 32 points, hitting 13 of his 28 shots. While McKiver had a stellar day, he was pretty much alone offensively. No other Cougar was in double figures, and the rest of the Houston players were a combined 11-of-30 shooting. That was contrary to one of Penders' keys to keeping up with the nationally-ranked Tigers - that Houston needed a great game, while catching Memphis on an off-day. "We needed more guys to step up," Penders said. "We had to have more than one guy show up." Memphis defeated Houston 79-69 on Jan. 11. Winthrop of the Big South and Memphis are the only teams in the country undefeated in conference play. The Tigers already had clinched the outright C-USA championship last week, but Memphis players downplayed the accomplishment, saying they wanted to maintain momentum into the postseason. "What everybody is saying when they are watching our team play is 'Man, do they play hard. Wow, they chase down balls and rebound. They really pass to each other,'" Memphis coach John Calipari said. "The last thing they say is: 'Man, are they deep.' That's the consensus everybody tells me."

02/25/07		Memphis Splits Final Day of Blues City Classic -- Lady Tigers place second in tournament (GoTigersGo.com)
		For Immediate Release Contact: Brandon Kolditz wkolditz@memphis.edu, (901) 871-5475 Evansville (7-1) 120 011 2 - 7 8 2 Memphis (7-6) 010 000 0 - 1 4 1 W: Murphy (3-1). Loss: Kubesch (4-3). Save: None. 2B: (EVAN) Rather (1). HR: (EVAN) Mooney (5), Rather (2). Alabama A&M (0-13) 020 010 1 - 4 3 4 Memphis (8-6) 203 002 x - 7 6 1 W: Kubesch (5-3). Loss: Miles (0-5). Save: None. HR: (ALAM) Mack, 2 (4). SOUTHAVEN, Miss. - The University of Memphis softball team split its final two games of the Blues City Classic on Sunday at Greenbrook Park to place second in the tournament. The Lady Tigers fell to tournament champion Evansville, 7-1, and then beat Alabama A&M, 7-4, to finish 3-1 in the classic and improve to 8-6 overall. Senior first baseman/catcher Kara Ross, senior pitcher Jenna Kubesch and senior first baseman Melissa Nance were all named to the all-tournament team. Ross went 2-for-3 with two RBI in the Lady Tigers' victory over Alabama A&M (0-13). Sophomore Leila Dolfo scored the winning run for Memphis in the third inning on a two-run single by freshman outfielder Leigh Rowan, who started her first game of the season. Kubesch (5-3) picked up her second win of the tournament after pitching 5 and 2/3rd innings of relief for her fifth win. The Weimer, Texas, native allowed two runs on three hits and matched a career high with 10 strikeouts, while also knocking in her first RBI of the season. Dolfo started the game and pitched an inning and a third without allowing a hit. The sophomore allowed two runs on three walks and had one strikeout. The 11 Memphis strikeouts is a program best. Memphis scored five unearned runs off Alabama A&M starter Krissy Miles (0-5). Miles pitched all six innings and gave up seven runs on six hits and five walks. The Lady Tigers took a 2-0 lead in the first inning on a two-run single by Ross. Sophomore Leandra Hines, who scored two runs and went 1-for-2, and junior Lindsay Kelso scored in the inning. Alabama A&M then tied the game in the second inning and did it all without a hit. The Bulldogs scored two runs on four walks and an error. Centerfielder Re'Quincia Mack added two solo home runs in the fifth and seventh for Alabama A&M Memphis took the lead for good in the third on a three-run inning led by Rowan's two-run single. The Lady Tigers then added two more runs in the sixth inning. Against Evansville, Memphis fell behind early as the Purple Aces took a 3-0 lead in the second inning off Kubesch who started the game. Kubesch allowed three runs on four hits and was lifted before recording an out in the second inning for senior Nicki Johnson. Johnson pitched the remaining six innings and allowed four runs on four hits with four strikeouts. Memphis scored its lone run in the game in the bottom of the second on a throwing error by the shortstop. The Lady Tigers finished with four hits in the game. Evansville pitcher Danny Murphy (3-1) recorded her third victory after pitching six and a third. Kubesch took the loss. Evansville's Lisa Fehlman was named the tournament's MVP after hitting 8-for-13 (.615) with five RBI, two home runs and two doubles on the weekend. Ross was named to the all-tournament team after hitting .500 with three RBI, two runs scored and a home run. Nance hit .417 in the classic with two runs scored and a RBI, and Kubesch went 2-1 with a 2.68 ERA and 20 strikeouts in 15.2 innings. The Lady Tigers will next host Belmont in a doubleheader on Tuesday beginning at 2 p.m. Live audio and stats are available for the game at www.gotigersgo.com. Blues City Classic Finish 1. Evansville (4-0) 2. Memphis (3-1) 3. Southeast Missouri (2-2) 4. Mississippi Valley State (2-2) 5. Central Arkansas (1-3) 6. Alabama A&M (0-4) Tournament MVP: Lisa Fehlman (EVAN) All-Tournament Team Danny Murphy (EVAN) Liz Mooney (EVAN) Laura Rather (EVAN) Jenna Kubesch (MEM) Kara Ross (MEM) Melissa Nance (MEM) Lauren Bradley (SEMO) Megan McDonald (SEMO) Erica Hardin (MVSU) Shelly Hadallar (MVSU) Sarah Garcia (UCA) Re-Quincia Mack (AAMU)