News and Notes from East Carolina, Conference USA and Beyond

PREVIOUS NUGGETS

11.01.06: Kragthorpe curtails Tar Heel speculation ... Pirates in C-USA women's soccer tourney ... Backup QB Lee to start for FSU against Cavs

10.31.06: Kickoff return nets
C-USA honor for Johnson ... Pirate volleyball streaks to school record ... Mountaineers on fringe of national title picture

10.30.06: ECU's Williams: 'I just wanted it more' ... Stokes plans to give Wynn time to develop ... Central Florida's 530 yards of offense not enough

10.29.06: ECU women's volleyball extends streak ... Pirate swimmers leave Towson behind ... UTEP takes muddy victory in Grimesland

10.28.06: Cougars quarterback piling up the numbers ... ECU vs. USM part of pay-per-view twinbill ... Hokies tame Tigers in key ACC battle

10.27.06: Rice's Almond named Wooden candidate ... Pirates hosting C-USA cross country ... ECU freshman Bools shares C-USA honor

10.26.06: Tickets for Troops promotion expands ... Another C-USA honor for ECU's Icenhower ... Report: Davis would have interest in Heels

10.25.06: Ex-Pirate Adams attempts PGA qualifying ...
C-USA names football players of week ... Tar Heels will retain many football recruits

10.24.06: New thumbnails: Baker, Byrd and Thompson ... Ore golden in Hokies' win over Southern Miss ... Unbeaten start for ECU swim teams ... Tar Heels picked first in ACC hoops

10.23.06: Jenkins' three lifts Gold in scrimmage ... ECU volleyball takes sixth straight C-USA win ... Bools finishes sixth in Lady Pirate golf

10.22.06: Pirates volleyball on record streak ... Mountaineers handle Huskies, stay unbeaten ... Georgia golfer gets call to play in South Africa

10.21.06: Report: UNC-Chapel Hill's Bunting to resign ... Coaches' challenges yield few reversals ... Southern Miss prepared for Hokies

10.20.06: ECU's Roach nominated for Draddy Award ... Memphis picked first in C-USA basketball ... 4th-ranked UTEP runners coming to Greenville

10.19.06: Koren Robinson suspended by NFL ... Miami broadcaster axed over brawl comments ... Dartmouth, Holy Cross row gets investigation

10.18.06: League teams busy; ECU ends homestand ... C-USA names football players of week ... ECU's Krug captures C-USA weekly honor

10.17.06: ACC, Miami announce additional suspensions ... More suspensions also on Sun Belt's agenda ... Duke lacrosse under "60 Minutes" scrutiny

10.16.06: Coker suspends eight Miami players after brawl ... Pirate volleyball continues roll at UCF ... Szilard leads ECU women's soccer win ... Harris Poll's top 5 varies from BCS Standings

10.15.06: Stokes convenes season's first hoops practice ... Pirate volleyball wins third straight ... ECU women open basketball practice at Rose

10.14.06: EA Sports video game features ECU baseball stadium ... Pirates announce Tickets for Troops drive ... Six C-USA gridders in All-American Classic

10.13.06: Pirate basketball gets national TV dates ... ECU women's hoops getting tube time, too ... East Carolina baseball to host winter camp

10.12.06: ECU hoops scrimmages set for Homecoming ... Camels stun No. 3 UNC-Chapel Hill in soccer ... ECU picked 7th in C-USA women's hoops

10.11.06: Dougherty gets
C-USA special teams honor ... Pirate promotions abound for Tulsa game ... UCF versus Pitt on TV Friday night

10.10.06: Tulsa netter Brugues takes national title ... Miami (OH) reeling after sixth loss ... Pirates host unique diving competition

10.09.06: Buckeyes, Trojans, Gators top Harris Poll ... Denny O'Brien's Harris Poll ballot ... Gators continue success in Swamp ... Pirates stun Memphis in volleyball ... ECU soccer shuts out Herd

10.08.06: Jeff Blake bows out of hall induction ... NCAA's tax status under investigation ... North Dakota challenges NCAA mascot policy

10.07.06: Amato continues mastery of Seminoles ... ECU volleyball triumphs at home over UAB ... Millican continues bid for spot on LPGA Tour

10.06.06: Big Ten announces fines, reprimands ... Central Florida wins late field goal battle ... Millican shoots 74 in qualifying event

10.05.06: Gold captures ECU World Series with 8-7 win ... Tulsa runs past Southern Miss ... Former ECU golfer Millican in LPGA qualifying

10.04.06: TV exposure continues for C-USA teams ... Former UVa stars make $1 million gift ... SMU takes two of three weekly league honors

10.03.06: Curry to receive Stagg award ... Inspired by fallen teammate, Rice whips Army ... ECU women's golf team finishes 11th

10.02.06: Takeaways, sacks mean good things for UVa ... Gators pull even with WVU in Harris BCS poll ... Swofford presented with Homer Rice Award ... Tulsa win streak continues at ECU's expense

10.01.06: Cavs blast Duke 37-0 in Durham ... Vols deal Memphis a resounding defeat ... Pirate women's cross country wins meet

On Tuesday night when UAB regained its early-season form on defense, the Blazers offense couldn't find its way into the end zone, according to a Birmingham News report.

It was a different script, at least from the last two games, but it yielded the same result — another tough-to-explain Conference USA loss.

Southern Methodist turned a two-point fourth quarter deficit into a 22-9 victory before a crowd of 13,125 Tuesday night with big plays on both sides of the ball.

The first came from freshman running back James Mapps, who didn't play much in the first three quarters. He used fresh legs to run for a 30-yard touchdown with 7:37 left in the game. Five minutes later, with UAB desperately trying to get a drive started, SMU cornerback Tony Hawkins picked off a Chris Williams pass in the left flat and ran 11 yards into the end zone to ice the victory.

About 30 minutes later, UAB head coach Watson Brown stood outside a quiet locker room trying to explain the latest in a string of excruciating losses.

"You've got to find a way to win close games," Brown said. "Good teams do that and we haven't been able to do that lately. I don't know if it's tougher (to lose a close game). Losing is losing."

It wasn't that long ago that UAB (3-6, 2-3 C-USA) controlled its own C-USA destiny. But following successive losses to Rice, Marshall and SMU, it would take three straight wins to close out the regular season for the Blazers to reach bowl eligibility.

"The last three weeks have changed everything for us; now we are fighting for our lives," said Brown. "It is tough times for us."

SMU, on the other hand, is a win away from becoming bowl eligible after improving to 5-4 overall and 3-2 in conference play.

The East Carolina men and women's swimming and diving teams are off to undefeated starts this season due in part to the diving performances of juniors Ryan Hunt and Christie Icenhower.

Against William & Mary, each set new varsity diving records on the one-meter board with 11 dives for Hunt and 10 by Icenhower, according to a release from the ECU athletic media relations office.

Hunt received a total score of 457.81 to break the former record of 452.42 set by Rob Derr against VMI in 2002. He has finished in first place in all six events he has competed in this season.

Icenhower equaled the performance of her male counterpart by setting the varsity record on the one-meter boards with a score of 391.28 and then qualified for the NCAA Regional the following day at Towson. She was an NCAA Zone qualifier on both boards last season.

"I am excited to see how well they are diving at this point in the season," said Pirate diving coach Rich MacDonald. "We still have a lot of work to do in order to get to where we want to be in February and March but they have set a great foundation in which they can work from. They continue to set themselves up to do some very special things this season."

Icenhower holds all five of the Pirates' varsity diving records, while Hunt is also the varsity record holder on the three-meter boards and ranks second on the ECU all-time list in three other events.

East Carolina returns to competition on Saturday in a quad-meet against Duquesne, Marshall and West Virginia. The meet is scheduled for a noon start in Huntington, WV.

Eleven women's soccer student-athletes, including East Carolina's Nicole Moore, were named to the 2006 Conference USA All-Academic Team. The all-academic team consists of 11 student-athletes that have earned a 3.2 cumulative grade point average or better and are a starter or key reserve on the women's soccer team.

Six seniors, three juniors and two sophomores make up the inaugural All-Academic Team. Southern Methodist, host of the 2006 women's soccer championship at Westcott Field in Dallas, and Houston each placed two student-athletes on the academic squad.

SMU senior Olivia O'Rear, the 2006 C-USA Player of the Year, was also recognized for her academic achievements with a 3.64 grade point average in marketing. Teammate Kimber Bailey joins O'Rear on the all-academic squad. The junior has a 3.86 GPA as a chemistry major and was also named to the All-Conference USA second team.

Houston seniors Jennifer Dry and Sarah Fisher were both honored. Dry has a 3.96 in kinesiology, and Fisher has earned a 3.85 GPA in engineering.

Two sophomores have perfect 4.00 GPA's: ECU's Moore in exercise physiology and Marshall's Erin Johnson in bio-medical sciences.

Memphis senior Shoko Mikami earned 2005 C-USA Player of the Year honors and All-Conference first team honors this season. Mikami has a 3.64 GPA in anthropology/interdisciplinary studies.

Goalkeepers Amy McClintock of Rice and Jennifer Manis of Central Florida join Mikami on the squad. McClintock, who earned NSCAA National Player of the Week honors on Sept. 13, was recognized with a 3.59 GPA in biology and kinesiology. Manis was named to the All-Conference USA second team this season and the biology major has a 3.77 GPA in her junior year.

Tulsa senior forward Katie Ward (3.96, mathematics) and Texas-El Paso junior striker Jami Tullius (3.81, mechanical engineering) round out the 2006 All-Academic Team.

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 electronic services and other sources. Copyright 2006 Bonesville.net and other publishers. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.