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News Nuggets, 04.27.06
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Compiled from staff reports and electronic dispatches

Larranaga gets contract extension at GMU

George Mason athletic director Tom O'Connor has announced on the university's athletic web site that head basketball coach Jim Larranaga has signed a contract extension through the 2011-12 season.

This past season Larranaga lead the Patriots to the best season in school history. The Patriots made their first-ever trip to the NCAA Final Four and the first by any Colonial Athletic Association school.

Mason set a school record with 27 wins, tied a CAA record with 15 CAA regular-season wins, and finished the season ranked eighth in the USA Today/ESPN coaches poll, the highest-ever ranking for Mason or any CAA school.

The Patriots also downed a pair of top-10 teams, No. 10 North Carolina and No. 2 Connecticut. Mason's win over UConn matched the highest-ranked team any CAA school has defeated.

Breakfast of Champions to honor Hunt, Reale

East Carolina swimmer Sara Hunt and golfer Phillip Reale have been named the school's Most Outstanding Female and Male Scholar-Athletes for 2005-06. The duo will be honored at the 17th Annual Breakfast of Champions Saturday morning, April 29, at the Murphy Center, according to a release from the ECU athletic media relations office.

The award, sponsored by PCS Phosphate and the ECU Department of Athletics, is designed to be the most prestigious award that is presented annually to a male and female athlete. The award recognizes academic achievement at ECU, qualities of leadership, and service to the university and community.

Hunt, a senior from Goldsboro, has compiled a 3.693 grade point average as an interior design major. She holds five ECU varsity and freshman swimming records and received All-Conference USA honors each season.

A native of Glenville, WV, Reale has compiled a 3.737 GPA as a political science major with a minor in business administration. On the golf course, Reale recorded the best single-round performance in school history with a seven-under par 65 at the Mid-Pines Intercollegiate this past September. His third round score of 65 completed a 54-hole score of 209, which is the fifth lowest three round total in school history. His leadership abilities have earned him team captain honors each of the last two seasons.

Also being recognized at the Breakfast of Champions will be ECU's 2006 PCS Phosphate All-Academic Team. Along with Reale, other recipients of the honor include:

• Gillie Bailey (women's tennis)

• Robbie Derr (men's swimming)

• Mike Flye (baseball)

• Sean Harris (men's soccer)

• Abbey Hillen (women's swimming)

• Heidi Krug (volleyball)

• Anthony Leathers (men's track)

• Shawn Levesque (football)

• Amanda Mills (women's basketball)

• Will O'Neil (men's basketball)

• Jessica Potter (softball)

• Mary Puckett (women's soccer)

• Jessica Raphael (women's cross country)

• Chelsea Salisbury (women's track)

• Stephen Tausend (men's cross country)

• Henrique Viana (men's tennis)

• Michelle Williams (women's golf)

SMU captures Conference USA men's golf

The Southern Methodist Mustangs rallied from a four-shot deficit on the final day of the 2006 Conference USA Men's Golf Championship to capture the team title and an automatic NCAA Regional bid on the Par 72, 7,000-yard course at the Old Waverly Golf Club in West Point, MS.

SMU senior Will Dodson fired the low round of the tournament on Wednesday, according to the league's web site, posting a 65 (-7) to claim medalist honors with the best overall score in tournament history of 203 (-13). Dodson was the only player in the field to post three rounds under par.

SMU juniors Colt Knost (69, -3) and Brandon DeStefano (69, -3) each finished in red figures, joining Dodson on the All-Tournament team as the Mustangs finished with a 276 to tie the low-team score for a single round in tournament history. Memphis broke the old mark of 278 with its first-round score of 276 on Monday.

The Mustangs' total of 845 (278-291-276) was six shots better than runner-up Central Florida, who finished at 851 (288-283-280). The Golden Knights were led by Sonny Nimkhum, who posted a 70 to finish at 208 (-8) and second in the individual standings. UCF freshman Greg Forest posted the second-best score of the final round, firing a 67 to improve 10 shots from his round-two effort.

Tulsa finished third in the team standings with a score of 853 (285-287-281). The Golden Hurricane got a pair of 69's from Mitch Cohlmia and Sam Korbe on the final day as both golfers earned All-Tournament honors sharing fifth with Alabama-Birmingham's Garrett Osborn and Rice's Kyle Kelley at 212 (-4).

Memphis and Houston, who shared the lead going into the final round, dropped to fourth and fifth respectively, with final-round scores of 291 and 300. The Tigers finished at 856 (276-289-291), while the Cougars registered an 865 (285-280-300). Memphis freshman Brad Benjamin took third overall with a final day tally of 69 (-3), earning All-Tournament honors with a total score of 209 (-7).

SMU's Knost placed fourth with a tally of 210 (-6). The junior led the field with 15 birdies in the three-round tournament.

UAB was sixth with a score of 869, while Rice and East Carolina, which improved 14 strokes from the second round, tied for seventh with a total of 876. Host Southern Miss finished in ninth at 877. Marshall was even for the round, its best effort of the tournament to finish tenth with an 887. Texas-El Paso and Tulane rounded out the team scoring with an 896 and 937, respectively.

News Nuggets are compiled periodically based on material supplied by staff members; data published by ECU, Conference USA and its member schools; and reports from other sources. Copyright 2006 Bonesville.net and other publishers. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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