Four years ago, a freshman began her college career on the women’s soccer team at Miami hardly believing she was there. Today, fans couldn’t imagine the team without Britney Butcher, a senior forward who has more than proved herself as an asset to the squad.

Butcher has been playing soccer since she was four years old and competitively since she was fifteen. After attending a tournament in Ft. Lauderdale during her senior year at Bothell High School in Washington, she was asked to visit Miami and consider playing there.

“As soon as [former] Head Coach Jim Blankenship asked me down, I was sold,” Butcher said.

Butcher said she has no idea what will happen in her life after he soccer career ends.

“I can’t imagine my life without soccer,” she said. “It will always be in my life somehow whether I am playing or coaching.”

Butcher hopes that her drive and passion for soccer will lead her to give back to the sport in some fashion.

As a forward she is known for her intense, in-your-face approach to the game that has enabled her to set four all-time career records for Miami, including the most shots, goals scored, game winning points, and overall points scored.

Butcher chooses to deflect questions about her personal accomplishments, instead choosing to speak mostly of playing with her teammates.

“Win or lose every game is fun to be on the field with those girls,” she said.

Butcher said her greatest achievement as an athlete was not setting any of the aforementioned records, but growing and learning as an athlete and a person how to handle situations and treat people with more respect.

Butcher’s positive attitude even after three consecutive losses this season has greatly influenced the rest of the team.

“Britney has become a leader on the team through example,” Head Coach Tricia Taliaferro said. “She always puts forth her best effort in practice and in games.”

Taliaferro has placed the focus for the season on building a strong foundation with the younger players that make up the majority of the team and gaining experience in the ACC. Butcher said that they hoped to make a name for themselves in the new league by playing with as much strength and heart as possible.

Butcher said that the team is always looking for more support albeit financially, from other athletes or more people coming out to see their games.

Butcher offered advice for the younger players on the team.

“Four years goes by so fast,” she said. “Make the most of it as an athlete, a student, and a person.”

Stacey Arnold can be contacted at s.arnold@umiami.edu.

Women’s cross-country
University of Miami junior Melanie Schultz recorded her third career victory finishing first at the FIU/Lourdes Invitational Saturday morning at Tropical Park in Miami, Fla.
Schultz won easily completing the two-mile course in 11:22.61. FIU’s Amanda Howard was the next fastest collegian finishing in a time of 11:50.90.
Miami placed second as a team with 44 points. Host FIU won the event with 40 points. Florida Atlantic was third (46 points).
Other Hurricanes running well included senior Marilyn Ruiz who placed ninth and freshman DeeDee Phlatts who finished 10th.

Men’s cross-country
The University of Miami men’s cross country team recorded the top five individual finishes to win the FIU/Lourdes Invitational at Tropical Park for the second consecutive season.
Miami finished with 15 points while host FIU placed second with 57 points. Florida Atlantic took third (87 points).
UM junior Alex Brutvan was the top collegiate finisher completing the 5000-meter course in a time of 16:00.50. Sophomore Tom Berry placed second (16:06.38) with junior James Mullaly placing third (16:28.53).
Sophomores Jon Scheiner and Zach Castiglione rounded out the Hurricane scoring placing fourth and fifth. Scheiner finished in a time of 16:28.81 while Castiglione completed the course in 16:29.20

Volleyball
The University of Miami women’s volleyball team overcame a 2-0 deficit to defeat Cincinnati in four games, 30-28, 28-20, 30-28, 30-20, in their final match of the Furama Hotel Invitational at Gersten Pavilion Saturday evening.
The Hurricanes are now 2-2 on the season after winning one match out of three in the two-day tournament.
Redshirt freshman middle blocker Ciara Michel hit a team-high nine of Miami’s 29 blocks. The total matches UM’s individual match record that has been reached on only three other occasions. Fellow middle blocker sophomore Francheska Savage also matched a career high with six kills.
Senior rightside hitter Valeria Tipiana hit a match-high 25 kills, which matched a career high in four game matches. Junior outside hitter Karla Johnson contributed to the offensive attack with 15 kills and two service aces.
Sophomore setter Jill Robinson continued her steady play, matching a career high 53 assists in four game matches, as well as, setting a new career high with six kills.
Senior Jamie Grass made a team-high 12 digs.

Miami runners have been enjoying the spotlight throughout the past year.

Former Hurricane Davian Clarke attempted to win his second Olympic Medal in Athens this past summer competing for his native Jamaica, while 2004 NCAA Champion Lauryn Williams won a silver medal in the 100 meters. Alex Brutvan is the latest Hurricane ready for national attention.

A junior Business major from Boca Raton, Brutvan ran both cross-country and track in high school, earning MVP honors from his team and in individual competition, winning a district championship in the 3200-meters as a junior and a senior and having top-five finishes in the 1600-meters, 3200-meters and 4×800 relay at the FHSAA Class 2A State Finals.

As a ‘Cane, Brutvan was the top finisher for Miami in all of their cross-country meets during the 2003 season, won two events and finished 57th at the NCAA South Region Championships.

After cross-country season, Brutvan suffered a stress fracture in his fibula, which he recovered from before track season. Brutvan’s track campaign qualified him for both the Big East Championships and the USATF Junior Nationals. However, he unfortunately did not compete due to a stress fracture in his femur that he suffered during outdoor season.

“I was falling apart last year,” Brutvan said jokingly.

With the nightmare of last year’s injuries behind him, Miami’s inaugural ACC campaign gives Brutvan an optimistic outlook on things to come.

“I’d like to be an All-South Regional Top 25,” he said, “possibly Top 20 ACC.”

Fulfilling personal goals are just one of the many plans Brutvan has for this season along with being co-captain of what he considers to be the best cross-country squad he’s ran with, although some of the standouts from previous seasons are gone, like senior Matt Mulvaney, who transferred to Michigan and is attempting to walk-on to their squad.

“James [Mullaly] and I hold captain’s practices on days we can’t work with our coach and we try to set examples and make lot of decisions with the team on those days,” he said.

Brutvan’s examples have started showing early this season, taking the top collegiate position at the FIU/Lourdes invitational at Tropical Park on Sept. 11 with a time of 16:00.50. Sophomore Tom Berry finished second and Mullaly finished third.

Along with his cross-country success, Brutvan wants to return to track for the 2005 season.

“If I can stay injury free, I’m hoping to run both indoor and outdoor this year…especially after last year,” he said. “I want to settle the score.”

Rodolfo Tomarchio can be contacted at r.tomarchio@umaimi.edu.

The Hurricanes should write a thank-you-note to Mother Nature and strength and conditioning coach Andreu Swasey. Due in no small part to the dogged summer humidity and Swasey’s legendary summer workouts, the Hurricanes, unlike the Seminoles, had enough left in the tank to pull out a victory in the Orange Bowl on Friday night.

Fans at the game may have noticed that throughout the second half Florida State players cramped up like they had jumped in the pool right after a big meal.

“They were cramping up at the beginning of the third quarter,” UM’s gigantic left tackle Eric Winston said. “You didn’t see many of our guys cramping up. I cramped up after we won but I wasn’t coming out of the game.”

“We won that game sometime during the summer,” Winston added. “I really felt like they didn’t have that much left going into overtime.”

Vindication

Brian Monroe came to Miami last year and locked up the starting punting job with his powerful leg. However, as the season wore on, it became clear that Monroe’s mind was stopping his leg from doing its job. Monroe averaged just 35.7 yards per punt in his freshman season but he showed vast improvement against FSU.

“After last year, everyone’s been doubting me,” Monroe said after the game. “I just had to wait my time until the first game and show them what I got.”

With a renewed sense of confidence, Monroe averaged 42.6 yards on seven punts, three of which he laid to rest inside the 20-yard line. Monroe’s most impressive feat however, may have been catching a high snap while standing in front of his own goal line and then booting a career long 60-yard punt in the face of serious pressure.

“[Confidence] was pretty much the main thing that I had to work on,” Monroe said. “[Last season] I would just get down on myself if I did a bad kick, I would worry about it and every time I would kick, I would worry about that same kick.”

With Monroe’s head clear of distractions, the offense should feel a little less pressure this season.

Different Nights

Sinorice Moss came to Miami three years ago as an unheralded recruit whose big brother, Santana, helped return Miami to the top of college football.

Ryan Moore came to UM rated by many recruiting services as one of the top high school wide receivers in the country.

Moore finished last season as the ‘Canes No.1 receiver while Moss had trouble breaking into the starting rotation. That fact is hard to believe when one considers that Moss caught four passes for a team high 112 yards, including the game tying touchdown with 30 seconds remaining while Moore dropped three passes right in his hands.

“A lot of times I was four or five steps ahead of myself,” Moore said. “I was thinking about what I was going to do before I caught the ball…Everybody has bad days.”

“It felt great to step up and make a big play for the team,” Moss said. “I was fortunate enough to be that guy to make that play.”

Tidbits

Students can thank a university donor from Perry Ellis for providing those stylish orange tee’s and Power Bar for the towels on the seats…UM track star, Olympic silver medalist, and ‘Canes fullback Talib Humphrey’s girlfriend Lauryn Williams carried an American Flag onto the field while the crowd gave her a well-deserved ovation…Freshman Calais Campbell showed that he has most spirit than half the student body combined by pumping up the crowd on every defensive play of the game.

Offense: D
For three-and-a-half quarters, there was no Hurricane offense. Just because Brock Berlin was able to right himself before it was too late and the receivers started to make plays at the end of regulation doesn’t mean that the unit gets a free pass for its many mistakes.

Quarterback: D +
To Berlin’s credit, this is not the first time he has led the Hurricanes from behind late in the game. However, his decision-making was shaky and he simply had a tough time completing passes for most of the game.

Running Backs: C+
Frank Gore turned it on at the end of the game, and it looks like he still has speed and shiftiness despite injuring both of his knees. Tyrone Moss was a non-factor, however, and the Hurricanes will need production from the sophomore in big games down the road.

Wide Receivers/
Tight Ends: C+
Sinorice Moss came out of nowhere to have a huge game, but Ryan Moore was nonexistent and Roscoe Parrish looks like a deer in headlights after every catch. Kevin Everett and Greg Olsen give the ‘Canes an awesome one-two punch at tight end.

Offensive Line: B
The o-line provided Berlin with plenty of protection at the end of the game, while Florida State’s defense kept tiring. You have to tip your cap to Eric Winston and the rest of the gang for holding it together at the end of the game.

Defense: A+
Wow. Somehow the Hurricanes lose Sean Taylor, Jon Vilma, D.J. Williams and Vince Wilfork, yet manage to play like the best unit ever assembled Friday night.

Defensive Line: A
The d-line made Chris Rix’s life miserable, as Baraka Atkins made many plays and Thomas Carroll recovered a pair of fumbles. Orien Harris was causing havoc despite facing double teams.

REPORT CARD CONTINUES, PAGE 15
Linebackers: B+
The LBs slid under the radar in this game because the big plays were made by the secondary, but Leon Williams, Roger McIntosh and Teraz McCray proved that they will be able to handle the pressure of replacing Vilma and Williams.

Secondary: A+
Antrel Rolle is simply not human, and I am going to put this out there right now: Rolle is the best player in college football, regardless of position. Greg Threat and Kelly Jennings stepped up in big situations too.
Special Teams: B
Brian Monroe is punting like a totally different person now. Jon Peattie missed two field goals, but Hurricane fans shouldn’t be too worried.

Coaching: C
Head Coach Larry Coker needs to tell Offensive Coordinator Dan Werner that this is not sandlot football. Direct snaps to wide receivers on third down should be used against Rutgers, not Florida State. Come on guys, we’re better than that.

The Hurricanes wanted to make sure their first game in the Atlantic Coast Conference was memorable. They accomplished that goal, and then some, by winning a 16-10 overtime thriller over Florida State in front of 78,622 fans at the Orange Bowl on Friday.

Frank Gore scored an 18-yard touchdown after the Hurricanes’ defense shut down the Seminoles in overtime to clinch the victory. The ‘Canes (1-0, 1-0) have won six straight games against FSU (0-1, 0-1) and three in the last 11 months.

Quarterback Brock Berlin struggled mightily for the first three-and-half quarters but was able to lead the Hurricanes down the field at the end of regulation to tie the score at 10 on a 30-yard touchdown pass to Sinorice Moss. Berlin completed 20 of 36 passes for 255 yards, an interception and a touchdown.

The ‘Canes were led offensively by Moss and Gore, as the junior wide receiver caught four passes for 112 yards and a touchdown and the junior tailback gained 94 yards on 18 carries with a touchdown. Tight end Kevin Everett added three catches for 42 yards.

The defense had its way with Florida State quarterback Chris Rix, who completed only 12 of 28 passes for 108 yards. Rix threw two interceptions in the loss.

Head Coach Larry Coker said that his defense’s conditioning ultimately decided the game.

“Our defense was phenomenal,” Coker said. “They didn’t seem like a tired football team. They were hungry until the end.”

The game began with little action, as both defenses swarmed Rix and Berlin throughout the first half. A fumbled snap by Berlin led to a 45-yard Xavier Beitia field goal to give the Seminoles an early 3-0 lead.

-larry coker

The Hurricanes were driving into Seminole territory early in the second quarter when Roscoe Parrish coughed up the ball on a direct snap play. Florida State’s Antonio Cromartie recovered the fumble and returned it 61 yards for a touchdown to give the ‘Noles a 10-0 lead at the half.

The third quarter was especially uneventful for Hurricane fans, as the offense was unable to take advantage of a pair of scoring opportunities. Baraka Atkins forced a Rix fumble midway through the period, but Jon Peattie missed a 42-yard field goal attempt on the ensuing drive.

The Hurricanes wasted no time in the fourth quarter, however, as Greg Threat intercepted Rix’s pass attempt on the first play of the period and Berlin completed a 63-yard pass to Moss on the next play. The ‘Canes had a first-and-goal opportunity at the FSU two but could not get into the end zone. An 18-yard Peattie field goal made the score 10-3.

“I was disappointed when we kicked the field goal because we didn’t get the touchdown,” Coker said. “Those are things that we are going to get better at; we’re going to get good at.”

Florida State had an opportunity to demoralize Miami with about 4:00 to play, but Beitia’s 34-yard field goal attempt was blocked by Devin Hester. Two plays later, Berlin was picked off by Cromartie and FSU was given another chance to run out the clock.

The Hurricanes stopped the Seminoles on their next possession and Berlin got the ball on the Miami 20-yard line with 1:22 remaining. Berlin connected with Parrish for 24 yards on second down and a personal foul on Eric Moore moved the ball to the Florida State 41. Three plays later, Berlin hooked up with Moss for the tying score.

“When Brock threw it I just made sure I caught it and I knew there were a lot of FSU guys around, but I didn’t want to go down and was able to get into the end zone,” Moss said.

Florida State got the ball first in overtime, but Rix fumbled the ball on third down and Thomas Carroll made the recovery for the Hurricanes. Gore wasted no time after the ‘Canes got the ball back, gaining seven yards on first down before ending the game with an 18-yard dash on second down.

Coker said the victory will go down in history with the many classic Miami/Florida State showdowns.

“This is a game you remember the rest of your life as a coach,” Coker said. “I was proud of the fans, they were phenomenal. They stayed with us. It was a great finish in the closed end of the Orange Bowl.”

Eric Kalis can be contacted at e.kalis@umiami.edu.