WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 17
3:17 p.m. 5801 Red Road Theft
3:17 p.m. 1507 Levante Ave. Grand Theft
8:05 p.m. 1111 Memorial Dr. Burglary/Theft

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 18
2:14 p.m. 1306 Stanford Dr. Simple Assault
7:50 p.m. 5501 San Amaro Dr. Theft

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 19
1:45 p.m. 1290 Campo Sano Ave. Theft

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 20
10:05 a.m. 1500 Scodella Ave. Vandalism
2:51 p.m. 1300 Stanford Dr. Vandalism
7:00 p.m. 5202 University Dr. Theft
3:28 p.m. 1530 Liguria Ave. Burglary

MONDAY NOVEMBER 22
2:31 p.m. 5501 San Amaro Dr. Theft
2:58 p.m. 1241 Dickinson Dr. Theft
11:52 a.m. 1251 Memorial Dr. Harassing phone calls

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 23
7:45 a.m. 1535 Levante Ave. Verbal Assault
2:15 p.m. 1306 Stanford Dr. Theft

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 24
8:51 a.m. 1311 Miller Dr. Theft
9:17 a.m. 5202 University Dr. Harassing phone calls

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 27
3:15 p.m. 5185 Ponce de leon Theft

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 30
12:31 a.m. 1231 Dickinson Dr. Vandalism

For more information on crimes and crime prevention, contact Public Safety at 284-6666.

Women’s Basketball

George Mason limited the University of Miami women’s basketball team to a season-low 25 percent shooting to hand the Hurricanes a 60-35 loss Tuesday night at the Patriot Center.

Junior Tamara James led UM with 16 points while adding eight rebounds, but as a team, the Hurricanes managed only 13-of-52 on field goals on the night to fall to the Patriots (1-2).

GMU had three players to score double figures, led by Tracy Ann Holness, who also posted seven rebounds in the win.

The Patriots held UM, who would miss their first 11 shots, scoreless through the first 11 minutes of the first half, opening the game on a 17-0 run.

James scored the Hurricanes’ first bucket at the 10:39 mark, but GMU capitalized on a 3-of-26 shooting performance from the field paired with 10 turnovers by Miami to take a 27-8 lead into the half.

Miami scored the first five points to start second half, but managed just six more in the half’s first 14 minutes to trail 44-19 with just over five minutes remaining. The Patriots would hang on to the win, downing UM, 60-35.

The loss marks the first time in 26 seasons, the Hurricanes have scored 35 or fewer points. The last time UM scored 35 or less was during the 1978-79 season when Miami fell at South Florida 72-33.

The Hurricanes return to action Saturday, heading cross-town to take on inner-city rival Florida International at Golden Panther arena at 7 p.m.

Swimming and Diving

Seven members of the University of Miami swimming and diving squad will participate in the 2004 U.S. Open at the Palo Alto College Natatorium in San Antonio, Texas from Dec. 2-4.

The three-day event, which is sanctioned by USA Swimming, will feature swimmers from clubs and universities from around the country. The meet will take place in long course (50) meters. Preliminary heats will begin each morning at 9:30 a.m. while finals will begin at 6:00 p.m.

The Hurricanes will take a team of seven swimmers, who turned in qualifying times for their events. Seniors Manon van Rooijen and Katalin Ferenczi will be joined by sophomores Nancy Gajos, Andrea Hughes and Tara Erwin, along with freshmen Taylor McFarlane and Lauren Shue.

Van Rooijen is seeded sixth in both the 200 and 100-meter freestyle events. Ferenczi and McFarlane qualified for the 100-meter backstroke while Shue and Erwin are set to race in the 800-meter freestyle. Gajos and Hughes will swim in both the 100 and 200-meter butterfly event.

Monday night at the Convocation Center turned out to be one of the greatest in men’s basketball history. Records were shattered and the Hurricanes’ two-game losing streak went by the wayside as Miami defeated Florida Atlantic 84-68.

Anthony King recorded Miami’s first ever triple-double, as he had 11 points, 10 rebounds, and an astonishing 13 blocks. King shattered the previous school record of eight blocks in the first half. King also set a new ACC record with the feat.

“Anthony’s performance tells me one thing: that he plays his role,” Head Coach Frank Haith said. “He doesn’t try to do more than what his role is, and we can all learn from that.”

Robert Hite led the way for the Hurricanes with a career-high 38 points and Guillermo Diaz added 27 on 11-for-13 shooting for his new career high. Haith was more impressed with the way Diaz handled the ball than his point total. Diaz finished with four assists, zero turnovers, three steals, and even added four rebounds.

Anthony Harris also had a career night with 10 assists, even though he struggled from the field, going 1-for-10.

The Owls were able to hang around in the first half, as the Hurricanes only took a 33-30 lead into halftime. It took the Owls five minutes to first get on the board, largely due to the interior defensive play of King, who blocked six of the Owls first 10 shots.

The second half was largely dominated by Miami, which outscored FAU 51-38 in the half. Hite and Diaz couldn’t miss at times as Hite had 28 of his 38 after the break. The half even included an alley-oop to Diaz that ended up as the No. 3 play on SportsCenter’s top 10 plays of the day.

Miami was able to shoot 49 percent from the field while holding FAU to 37 percent. Mike Bell of the Owls led them with 23 points off the bench. Owls Head Coach Sidney Green was impressed by Miami’s athleticism.

“We have a fine player in Mike Bell, but they have five or six Mike Bells,” Green said. “And that’s why they’re an ACC school and we’re an Atlantic Sun school. They did what they were supposed to do.”

The 1,533 at the Convocation Center saw Miami pull ahead by 15 with 13:30 to play in the ballgame, but FAU came back after an 11-0 run that cut the lead to 51-47. After an 11-2 run of their own, Miami never looked back, largely in part to a number of fast breaks by Diaz and Harris.

Miami will have their toughest test of the early season when they go up to Gainesville to take on the ranked Florida Gators tomorrow at noon.

“We’re all looking forward to that opportunity on Saturday up in Gainesville,” Haith said.

Douglas C. Kroll can be contacted at d.kroll@umiami.edu.

1 Another Comeback for Brock and the Gang

This time, the Hurricanes erased a 17-point second half deficit to beat a formidable Louisville team 41-38. Brock Berlin threw three touchdown passes and led Miami on its game winning drive, which ended with a one-yard Frank Gore touchdown with under a minute left. Devin Hester returned a punt 78 yards to pay dirt to put the Hurricanes ahead 34-31 midway through the fourth quarter, but Louisville came back with a touchdown drive of its own, forcing the ‘Canes to come through with one more miraculous drive. Head Coach Larry Coker felt the same way he did after the Florida State victory. “A tremendous win,” Coker said. “The guys didn’t flinch. They didn’t give up. Our guys really, really fought to the end.”

2 Hurricanes Outlast Florida State

The football team had to wait an extra four days to play its first ACC game because of Hurricane Frances, but it turned out to be worth the wait, as Miami came back from a 10-point fourth quarter deficit to stun Florida State in overtime 16-10. Frank Gore scored the winning touchdown on an 18-yard run after the defense forced a Chris Rix fumble on the previous possession. The Hurricanes also got some help from a missed field goal, something that has defined this rivalry. Florida State’s Xavier Beitia had a 34-yarder blocked by Devin Hester with 3:58 to play. The kick would have sealed a victory for the Seminoles. Instead, it gave Miami the ball back with a chance to tie the game. “We never got tired; we were hungry all the way to the end,” Head Coach Larry Coker said. “It’s a monumental experience, a game you’ll remember for the rest of your life. It was just a great finish, a great finish.”

3 Bradley wins Indoor Singles Title

Senior Megan Bradley claimed the 2004 ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championship singles title at the University of Michigan Varsity Tennis Center.
Bradley overpowered California’s Suzi Babos 6-2, 6-2, to win the singles championship. With the win, Bradley improves 19-1 this season. She lost just one set in five victories.
“This was the best I’ve played all week,” Bradley said. “I knew I had more experience than her and just focused on making my shots and not getting ahead of myself.”
Cal’s Babos was looking to become the fifth freshman to win the ITA National Indoors. This was her first loss in 14 matches this season

4 King records school’s first triple-double;

Hite and Diaz have career games
After two disappointing losses to South Carolina State and Xavier, the men’s basketball team had a performance to remember Monday night in beating Florida Atlantic 84-68 at the Convocation Center. Sophomore forward Anthony King had the school’s first-ever triple-double with 11 points, 10 rebounds and 13 blocks, an ACC record. King broke a school record with eight blocks in the first half, not letting the Owls get anything accomplished in the low post. Not to be outdone by his teammate, Robert Hite had 38 points, 28 coming in the second half. Sophomore Guillermo Diaz also had his best game as a Hurricane with 27 points, going 11-for-13 from the field.

5 End of an Era for Women’s Volleyball

University of Miami senior outside hitter Elizabeth Tyson became only the second player in Miami history to reach the 1,000 career kills mark when she recorded a match-high 12 kills in the Hurricanes’ 3-0 (30-19, 30-17, 30-19) sweep over visiting South Florida on senior night. The Hurricanes improved to 17-9 overall record while remaining 11-5 in the ACC. The Hurricanes played an emotional match with five seniors: Tyson, Valeria Tipiana, Mallorey James, Jamie Grass and Ashley Youngs, playing in their final home match of their careers. The players are all original members of Head Coach Nicole Lantagne Welch’s first recruiting class. Together, the quintet has made history for Miami volleyball with an 82-31 overall record in four years.

QUARTERBACK – Even
Brock Berlin continued his stellar senior season with four more touchdown tosses against Wake Forest. Berlin has a chance to show the Hokies how much he’s improved since they destroyed the ‘Canes last year and picked off Berlin twice.

Bryan Randall is a big mobile quarterback who has given the ‘Canes fits in the past. Like Berlin, he is having a career year with more touchdowns and less interceptions than in years past. Randall has also run for over 400 yards on the season.

RUNNING BACK – VT
The tag team of Frank Gore and Tyrone Moss has done a good job this season and the ‘Canes will need them to elevate their game against a tough Hokie defense. Gore needs 181 yards in his last two games to reach 1,000 on the season.

Mike Imoh has come back strong after a three-game suspension to start the season. He has 1,031 all-purpose yards, 708 of which have come on the ground. The Hokies also have juniors Cedric Humes and Justin Hamilton if Imoh runs into off-field trouble again.

WIDE RECEIVER – UM

Roscoe Parrish, the team’s leading receiver, is another ‘Cane looking for redemption against the Hokies. The Hokies stripped Parrish easily and scored a touchdown to start last season’s massacre. Ryan Moore’s return from injury gave this unit a huge boost last game.

Almost all of the Hokie receivers are freshmen. Josh Hyman is the most impressive of the bunch but Eddie Royal has also given opposing defenses trouble. Although they are young, they have the ability to make big plays.

OFFENSIVE LINE – UM

Center Joel Rodriguez and right tackle Chris Myers are playing in the Orange Bowl for the last time. These two will lead a line that has had an up-and-down year so far. In both the Hurricanes’ losses the running game was pitiful but they have performed well since then.

V-Tech has a lot of experience on the line with three juniors and two seniors. Will Montgomery took over the center spot after much-hated Jake Grove graduated. Grove took a cheap shot at defensive tackle Santonio Thomas and sprained his ankle in last year’s game.

DEFENSIVE LINE – Even

Alton Wright, who has sat on the bench since arriving from junior college two years ago, brings an excitement that the d-line has missed all season. Wright, a back up, plays at top speed and has three sacks to show for it in his senior year.

The Hokies Kevin and Jonathan Lewis are brothers who play next to each other at defensive tackle sometimes. Darryl Tapp is the most dangerous d-lineman on the Hokie defense with 7.5 sacks and 53 tackles on the season.

LINEBACKERS – VT

Rocky McIntosh and Tavares Gooden have returned from injuries, but in their absence this unit found two future stars in freshmen Jon Beason and Romeo Davis. Entering this season the position lacked depth and experience but they have improved.

Vince Hall and Xavier Adibi, both red-shirt freshmen, make big impacts from the middle linebacker position. Adibi was injured in the first game of the season but he came back and has made big plays every game. Hall is second on the team in tackles.

SECONDARY – UM

Antrel Rolle is the only senior starter on this defense (besides the injured Santonio Thomas). The coaches will look to the All-American cornerback to shut down V-tech’s young wide receivers. Devin Hester looks like the future at this position.

Eric Green has played in 47 games in his career and he starts at one corner spot with Jimmy Williams as the other cornerback. Williams has four interceptions on the season while safety Vincent Fuller has three picks.

SPECIAL TEAMS – Even

Opposing teams are getting better at not allowing Miami’s dangerous kick and punt returners hurt them, but Devin Hester and Roscoe Parrish are still a couple of time bombs waiting explode. Punter Brian Monroe continues to have a huge season after struggling last year.

Head Coach Frank Beamer always has solid special teams units that can block a kick or punt that can change the game. Kicker Brandon Pace has hit three field goals from beyond 40 yards and has made 80 percent of his attempts on the year.

The ACC title will be on the line Saturday at the Orange Bowl when the Hurricanes battle the Virginia Tech Hokies.

The Hurricanes defeated Wake Forest handily two weeks ago while Virginia Tech had a huge win against intrastate rival Virginia last week.

Miami comes into the game ranked No. 10 in the Bowl Championship Series while the Hokies are No. 12. The winner of this game will get an automatic bid into the BCS.

Virginia Tech enters the game with a 9-2 record, with losses coming to top-ranked USC and unranked North Carolina State. However, the Hokies arguably should have beaten USC and their loss to NC State was a 17-16 game.

The Hokies have been playing their best football as of late. They have not lost since Sept. 25 and have obtained victories over Virginia and West Virginia and solid road wins against North Carolina and Georgia Tech.

“They have really got good during the year. They have improved a lot from the beginning of the season,” Head Coach Larry Coker said.

The Hokies’ offense is led by Bryan Randall, who has hurt many teams with his playmaking skills and mobility. Randall has 17 touchdowns to just seven interceptions on the season. The Hokies running game features Mike Imoh and Cedric Humes. These two backs have combined for over 1,000 yards and 11 touchdowns, with an average per rush of just under five.

“They can really run the ball and their quarterback is outstanding,” Coker said. “He knows their offense and he knows their offense. He is a lot like our quarterback in a way because he doesn’t need to throw for a million yards; he just wants to make plays to win the games.”

Defensively, the Hokies have been playing well and shut down Virginia last week, holding them to only 10 points. The Hokies defeated Miami in Blacksburg last season, but Coker said that wouldn’t play a factor in this game.

“That was last year and if we would have won 31-7, it still would have been last year. It won’t help us this year, and we need to do what we have to do to win this game,” Coker said.

For Miami’s part, the Hurricanes have rebounded nicely from back-to-back losses to North Carolina and Clemson with two straight victories against Virginia and Wake Forest. In order for the Hurricanes to win, they have to play well on both sides of the ball. The key will be keeping the Hokies offense off the field and controlling the tempo.

“They are going to make some plays and we are going to make some plays, but we can’t allow them to control the clock and control the offense,” Coker said.

Playing for an ACC title in their first season in the conference is special for both teams. Both Miami and Virginia Tech came from the Big East last season, and now, the two former Big East schools will be playing for the ACC Championship. Therefore, this game means a little bit more to the Hurricanes.

“We know they are good because we have played them for years…This is a championship game,” Coker said. “There are only about half a dozen teams playing for anything right now.”

Darren Grossman can be contacted at d.grossman@umiami.edu.