One thing that the Miami Hurricanes’ track team has been able to count on over the past four seasons is the proven talent of senior Kenneth Frank.
Last weekend at the Hurricane Invitational, Frank qualified for the Big East Outdoor Championships with a time of 14.90 in the 110-meter hurdles. This marks the third time Frank has qualified for the event in his collegiate career.
Frank comes from Pomona, New York and he had the same reasoning for coming to Miami as a lot of other students from up north do.
“I primarily chose it for the weather,” Frank said. “But also I was looking for a school that had Division one track and that would let me do architecture and Miami turned out to be the only one.”
The architecture major had many schools after him when he came out of North Rockland High School. Syracuse, Michigan, and Notre Dame are just a few that Frank considered.
Frank, who started running competitively when he was twelve, also has a very logical superstition as it corresponds with the injury problems he has had in the past.
“My superstition is to stay away from the training room because I am sick of it and don’t want to go back in,” Frank said.
Frank runs both indoor and outdoor track and he has excelled in each over his stay here at Miami. This despite the fact that Frank endures tough practices almost everyday in the South Florida heat.
“I’ll get out there and practice my hurtles and do some rhythm workouts and then on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I get into the weight room for some training in there,” Frank said
Last season, Frank finished second in the outdoor 100-meter hurdles at the South Florida Invitational with a time of 14.67 seconds. The native from Kingston, Jamaica also two other top five finishes in 2002.
The Hurricanes travel to Gainesville this weekend at the Florida Relays. Frank has some hopes for improving his times.
“This is the best start I’ve gotten with a 14.90 and hopefully I’ll be able to place high like maybe 3rd, Frank said. “So we’ll see what happens.”
Right now, Frank has just one long-term goal in mind.
“Basically my goal for the rest of the year is to finish the season,” Frank said. “I haven’t finished one yet.”

Doug Kroll can be reached at DStorm13@aol.com.

Rowing
The University of Miami women’s varsity eight, varsity four and novice four won six of eight head-to-head races against the University of Connecticut in the first rowing contest of the spring season Saturday morning at Indian Creek , Miami Beach, Fla.
“This was certainly an exciting kick-off to our spring racing season,” said coach Debra Morgan. “Our coxswains did an excellent job leading our crews to a number of well rowed victories. We look forward to the Florida State Championships and San Diego Crew Classic. We had some extra volunteers at the finish line; the dolphins were out in force! We are certainly lucky to row here.”
The Hurricanes return to action April 4 at the Florida State Championships, Tampa Fla. and April 4-5 San Diego Crew Classic (V8 only), San Diego, Calf.

Women’s Golf
University of Miami sophomore Tina Miller fired a final round 72 to finish second at the Waterlefe/USF Invitational at Waterlefe Golf Club in Bradenton, Fla.
Miller, who posted a three-round total of 218 (74-72-72), finished one stroke behind tournament champion Drae Ward of TCU who finished with a three round total of 217 (76-70-71).
Miami junior Camilla Hilland also finished in the top-10 posting a score of 225 (78-72-75).
As a team the Hurricanes finished tied for ninth with a three-round total of 939 (317-315-307). TCU won the team total with a score of 898 (307-292-299). Host South Florida finished second (302-311-294-907) with Penn State finishing third (307-308-297-912).
Miami returns to action March 22-24 at the Stetson Invitational in DeLand, FL.

Women’s Volleyball
The University of Miami volleyball team will be competing in a number of tournaments throughout Florida this spring including those hosted by South Florida, the University of Florida, and one on the Coral Gables campus as they prepare to build on what they accomplished in 2002-2003.
Saturday, March 22, the Hurricanes will travel to Florida and compete against teams from throughout the country. UM will play host Florida at 9 a.m.; Wisconsin at 10:15 a.m.; and Louisville at 1:15 p.m. All matches will be held in the Lemerand Center.
Saturday, March 29, UM will visit South Florida. The Hurricanes will play USF at 8 a.m., Central Florida at 9:30 a.m., and Northwestern at 11 a.m.
UM will host its own tournament Saturday, April 5. The Hurricanes’ own tournament will include challenging teams from Barry, Miami-Dade Community College, Tulane, Florida International, and Florida Atlantic.

Coming into the season, a big question mark on the Miami Hurricanes baseball team was the inexperience in the starting rotation. Sophomore Vince Bongiovanni has helped answer those questions.
Bongiovanni has emerged as the number two starter, holding a 4-1 record with a 2.59 ERA this season. The right-hander’s pitching has really improved from last season, when he had a 1-4 record with a 6.29 ERA as a mid-week starter and long reliever.
“As a pitcher, he has progressed a lot,” head coach Jim Morris said. “He’s learned a lot as a pitcher and he has gotten mentally tough. He’s done a lot to get to the next level.”
With the injury to ‘Canes ace Dan Touchet, who is out for the season with Tommy John surgery awaiting, Bongiovanni becomes even more important to the team’s plans to go to the College World Series for the third time in five years.
“Our goal is to go to Omaha, and we definitely have the talent to do it,” Bongiovanni said.
Bongiovanni’s success on the mound dates back to his days at Barrington High School in Illinois where he set the team’s all-time strikeout record. In his senior year, he was named to the All-State, All-Area, and All-Conference team. That year, Bongiovanni struck out 87 batters in 68 innings, including 18 strikeouts in one game. He also led his team in hitting, batting .401 with 12 homeruns and 47 RBIs.
Perhaps his success at the plate is due to being a late relative of one of his role models, former New York Yankee great Joe DiMaggio.
“Joe DiMaggio is a distant relative of mine and someone I’ve looked up to on the field,” Bongiovanni said.
Along with being a baseball star, Bongiovanni played on the basketball team in high school. Basketball remains to be one of his off the diamond hobbies. Morris says that Bongiovanni’s athleticism is one of the things that make him a very good pitcher.
“He has a high ceiling and he has not even reached it yet,” Morris said.
Bongiovanni has been very grateful for the support of his family, especially his mom and dad, who come to every game to root their son on. Bongiovanni says his family is the most important thing in his life and something that has helped shape him as a person.
“My family is a big time supporter,” Bongiovanni said. My dad has always been positive whether I’ve been good or bad on the mound.”
One of Bongiovanni’s best assets is that he is a team player and a very nice person both on and off the field. Morris praises both his character and his worth ethic.
“Vince is a nice guy who is always joking around,” Morris said. “The guys on the team like to be around him and he is an important player for this team. He is a generous guy and a very hard worker.”

Darren Grossman can be reached at DRG215@aol.com.

The Hurricanes football team started their second week of spring practice on Monday and Tuesday, while coaches tried to evaluate the many position battles developing this spring.
The biggest battle for the Hurricanes comes from the four quarterbacks fighting to replace Ken Dorsey and lead the Hurricanes offense next season.
Although coaches insist that all four quarterbacks have an equal chance at winning the starting job, head coach Larry Coker acknowledged the fact that juniors Brock Berlin and Derrick Crudup know the offense better than redshirt freshman Marc Guillon and true freshman Kyle Wright. The fierce battle between these four young men could become a lot clearer during today’s open-public scrimmage at Lockhart Field in Ft. Lauderdale.
Both defensive end positions remain open, but Coker pointed out a couple of players, along with two senior leaders, who impressed him after Tuesday’s practice.
“The defense was pretty dominant for the entire day,” Coker said. “D.J. Williams and Jon Vilma especially, and the ends, John Square and Thomas Carroll had outstanding days today.”
Square had had trouble gaining weight throughout his career, but this off-season differs from the past. Square has gained 14 pounds since last season and now weighs 216 pounds. He eats about five meals a day and he hopes to get up to 230 pounds before next season.

WOUNDED RECEIVERS
Despite coming into spring practice with a full plate of wide receivers, a rash of injuries has thinned the position down to only three healthy bodies.
Senior Kevin Beard tore his ACL towards the end of the season and sophomore Sinorice Moss had surgery on his ankle after the season. Redshirt freshman Ryan Moore won’t return for spring practice because of a nagging hamstring injury that held him out for most of the last season. Sophomore Akieem Jolla also has a nagging leg injury but wide receiver coach Curtis Johnson hopes to have him healthy soon.
With those four injuries, senior Jason Geathers, who played running back most of last year, sophomore Roscoe Parrish, and freshman Darnell Jenkins, have taken most of the wide receiver reps.
Monday and Tuesday, however, Buck Ortega impressed coaches when they tried him out at wide receiver and H-back. Ortega previously played quarterback but moved to linebacker in the middle of last season.
“He’s smart, he’s athletic, and he’s got great hands,” Coker said. “If we played Saturday and he knew what to do he would play.”

IN THE BACKFIELD
If Frank Gore stays healthy he will almost definitely start at tailback next season, but the picture at fullback does not look so clear.
Senior Talib Humphrey has impressed coaches in the last two weeks. With junior Kyle Cobia out with an injury, and last years starting fullback Quadtrine Hill getting more work at tailback, Humphrey could emerge as the starter this spring.

“The main thing is being consistent,” Humphrey said. “I can’t have three good practices and then one day have a bad practice.”

The Hurricanes have three practices next week before the Spring Game on April 5 at the Orange Bowl, which is open to the public.

Nate Johnson can be reached at NPJ44@aol.com.

Following the Miami Hurricanes’ 91-85 loss to New Mexico in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament Saturday, which ended Miami’s 2002-2003 season at 18-13, it is safe to say that that the year has been a success.
After all, Miami accomplished their ultimate goal of reaching the NCAA’s, marking their first invitation to the Big Dance in five years. Plus, coach Ferne Labati and her staff discovered a real gem in local product Tamara James, who led the Big East conference in scoring.
Yet, compared to the midway point of the season, after the ‘Canes swept their three-game January road trip and stood firm at the top of the conference standings with an 11-3 record, there is still a feeling that this team could have done more. There is a feeling here Miami really could have made a run for the top three spots in the Big East, something that Labati and senior guard Meghan Saake emphasized would be one of the ‘Canes goals at the beginning of the season.
To support my point, look at the ensuing seven game period following the Notre Dame victory, a stretch in which Miami reeled off a 3-4 record. The Hurricanes, who led the conference in team scoring for much of the season, did not break the 80-point mark once, after scoring more than 80 in all but one of their previous eight contests. Five of the seven games ended with Miami shooting less than 40 percent from the floor. And mind you, these seven games were all very winnable, the toughest being at Rutgers Feb. 4.
The difference during these seven games was very simple: other teams were able to stop Tamara James. Sure, the 5-9 freshman found a way to post double-digit scoring totals, but it’s hard for her to put up 20 points a game trying to consistently fight through double-teams. Thus, we saw a repeat of last season, in which no one was able to consistently step in the role of becoming a consistent second double-digit scorer for the ‘Canes.
Except for one player.
Sophomore point guard Yalonda McCormick, who suffered through a disappointing rookie campaign both on and off the court, completely turned things around during that stretch, morphing herself into more than just a capable point guard. McCormick became the responsible and hard-nosed floor general that Miami desperately lacked last year. She scored in double figures in all but one of those seven games, showing an impressive range on her jump shot, and an ability to drive in the lane and create multiple shot opportunities.
McCormick ended the season averaging 10.2 points per game, which tied her with Meghan Saake for second on the squad. McCormick also averaged six assists a game, with an assist to turnover ratio high in the plus range.
McCormick’s strong play made up for Shaquana Wilkins and Chanivia Broussard, two proven scorers who saw their points and minutes decrease in the second half. More importantly, the consistency of McCormick allowed Miami to run their offense towards the end of the season through three players and have a more set game plan for the Big East Tournament.
The bottom line, though, is the production of James. Expectations were high for James, who started every game her freshman season, but no one figured she would put up 21 points per game, shoot 52 percent from the field, and lead the ‘Canes in rebounding for good measure. Apparently, that wasn’t enough for the Big East to get over their Musburger-like bias against UM (Rutgers guard Cappie Pondexter won the rookie of the year award), but it was enough to give Miami a superstar, and more importantly, someone to lead the ‘Canes to the NCAA Tournament.
Last season, Miami’s season was defined by a bunch of close losses against inferior teams that cost the ‘Canes a trip to the Big Dance. This season, we remember Miami finally getting over the hump and developing the conference’s “unofficial” best rookie. Plus, they have this rookie around for three more years and McCormick for two, while Broussard and Wilkins, who will be seniors, should enjoy bounce-back seasons.
But, there were still the close losses to inferior teams, and before Miami wants to become a serious threat to the UConn’s of the world, they need to take care of business against everyone else.

You can reach Jeremy Marks-Peltz at jmp310@hotmail.com.

The Hurricanes had their final tune-up against Harvard this Wednesday in front of 1,758 fans at the Homestead Challenge.
With the bases loaded and one out, Miami junior Jim Burt hit a walk off single to give the Hurricanes a 10-9 victory in the bottom of the tenth inning. With the win, the ‘Canes move to 20-4 on the season while the Crimson drop to 3-7.
“He threw me a changeup and I just sat back on it,” Burt said.
A myriad of UM pitchers combined to hold off the Harvard Crimson with George Huguet throwing two innings to get the win, moving him to 2-0 on the season.
Combining flawless defense and timely hitting, Harvard kept themselves in the game until Burt’s heroics in the tenth.
“It wasn’t pretty but we came out here and got the win,” head coach Jim Morris said. “We have played Harvard a lot of times since I have been here and they have always come out ready to play.”
UM starter Brandon Camardese pitched a pre-determined two innings before departing in favor of a shaky Hurricane bullpen.
“We had some troubles with our pitching, but George came in and buckled down in the end,” Morris said.
Every time Harvard took the lead in the contest, Miami was able to immediately respond. Led by designated hitter Ryan Braun who had three RBI’s on the night, Miami worked around a thin pitching staff and simply pounded out the victory with offense.
Miami shortstop Alex Blanco continues to shine since being named the team’s starting shortstop. Wednesday night, the sophomore, who has also pitched out of the UM bullpen, went 4 -4 with three runs scored. The four hits were a career high for Blanco.
“I just contribute to the team in any way I can,” Blanco said. “I’m learning a lot as a hitter from my pitching and I am also learning a lot about my pitching from hitting so it’s working out for me on both sides of the ball.”
A moment of concern for the ‘Canes when left fielder Richard Giannotti was hit by a pitch on the inside of his left knee in the bottom of the third inning. Although Giannotti stayed in the game momentarily, the sophomore’s prognosis doesn’t look good for the immediate future, according to Morris.
“Richard was walking around better after the game,” Morris said. “I’d say he is doubtful for Friday at best.”
After five games against inferior completion, the ‘Canes embark on a huge series against No. 2 Georgia Tech, beginning with tonight’s 7 P.M. contest. Morris is quick to point out the importance in playing well against the Yellow Jackets.
“Georgia Tech is going to be a huge series for us,” Morris said. “Any time you have a team that is ranked in the top five you have to beat them to get recognized nationally.”

Ryan Ellis can be reached at msgnyc@yahoo.com.

The Hurricane baseball team will have a chance to prove its worth to the nation this weekend.
The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, ranked No. 2 in the country, comes to Mark Light Field for a their three game series with Georgia Tech, beginning tonight. The ‘Canes are No. 13 and come off dismantling Boston College last weekend at Mark Light Field. The ‘Canes outscored their Big East opponents 35-13 in two games before Sunday’s game was called off due to rain.
The Georgia Tech series may have even more significance as head coach Jim Morris coached the Yellow Jackets from 1982-1993, winning four Atlantic Coast Conference championships.
Hitting coach Gino DiMare doesn’t think that Morris’s ties to Georgia Tech will have any affect on the series, however.
“I think the emotions of playing against Georgia Tech have died down over the years for Coach Morris,” DiMare said. “We have had plenty of chances to play them since he’s been here.”
The series will play an important role in the national standings, as the Hurricanes will have a chance to gain some national attention and improve their overall ranking.
DiMare feels that the polls have not given the ‘Canes the respect they deserve.
“We weren’t happy with our preseason rankings at all,” DiMare said. “I remember Coach Morris saying that it was kind of a slap in the face to not even be in the top 25 going into the season.”
“This series will give us a chance to move into the top eight, which is where we want to be at the end of the season.”
The Yellow Jackets (20-2, 3-0 ACC) are led by freshman outfielder Steven Blackwood and junior outfielder Matt Murton. The pitching staff is anchored by junior Brian Burks, who recently shut down the Maryland Terrapins in his first start of the season.
DiMare feels that Georgia Tech is very similar to the Hurricanes in several ways.
“Georgia Tech is a lot like us because they have many freshmen and sophomores playing key roles for them,” DiMare said. “They have many returning starters who are only sophomores, like us. They pitch well but they haven’t had any real challenges yet.”
The ‘Canes got some unexpected offense against Boston College from sophomore Richard Giannotti, who has battled injuries throughout the early portion of the season. The outfielder had a breakout game on Saturday, going 3-3 with a home run and four RBI’s.
Giannotti is happy to be completely healthy after rehabbing a partially torn left shoulder and is anxious to have more games like Saturday’s contest.
“It’s great to finally be over the injury,” Giannotti said. “When you’re hurt you have to work through it, and the mental aspect of the injury is the hardest to overcome.”
Giannotti feels that the key to winning the Georgia Tech series will be to play mistake-free ball against a team that prides itself on consistency.
“When two powerhouses go up against each other it usually comes down to one team making a key mental error,” Giannotti said. “We have to eliminate the mental errors, and you can’t emphasize that enough.”
One of the biggest surprises of the season has been the hitting of freshman Gaby Sanchez. Sanchez has yet to run into a freshman wall as he continues to provide power to a team that doesn’t have many home run hitters.
Sanchez has relied on discipline to avoid falling into a slump at the plate.
“I just don’t try to do too much when I’m at the plate,” Sanchez said. “I just go with the pitches and try not to think too much.”
Sanchez feels that the ‘Canes youth will not hurt them as they try to upset one of the elite teams in the nation.
“We don’t really care that we don’t have the experience that some teams do,” Sanchez said. “We know how good Georgia Tech is and we know what we have to do to win. We also know how good we are and how good we can be if we play hard and without mistakes.”

Eric Kalis can be contacted at elk777bc@hotmail.com.