20 Sports April 4, 2006 THE RETRIEVER WEEKLY UMBC dominates NCAA tourney with unprecedented play Weekly Sports Wrap In a puzzling move by the selection College Park Baseball tramples Georgia Tech CHAMP KIND committee, the University of Phoenix was The Retriever Weekly Guest Wrter reportedly offered a spot in the tournament Maryland won a spectacular, but unsurprising, 11-0 victory in last Friday’s weekend as a #3 seed in the Hockessin, New Jersey series opener against Georgia Tech. Junior Terrapin Casey Baron started on the mound for The America East conference’s March Bracket. The University of Phoenix, the largest Maryland (16-11, 11-2 ACC), allowing just two hits and no runs in five innings against keeps getting better. After the University of university in the country with over 160,000 Georgia Tech (10-17, 4-9 ACC). After a scoreless first inning, Maryland Freshman Wink Albany entered the NCAA tournament as a #16 degree-seeking undergraduate students, is Nolan hit a double in the second to bring home two runs, putting the Terps on the board. seed and nearly knocked off the country’s #1 largely an online community of students taking Junior Jon Greenwich scored a home run in the third with bases loaded, and Senior Ben team in the UConn Huskies in the first round courses over the Internet. Pfinsgraff repeated the feat with another home run in the fifth. of the tournament, conference officials learned “It’s certainly a bit unexpected,” replied earlier this week that the UMBC Retrievers a confused University of Phoenix official when had been invited as a #1 seed to the first reached for comment. “Maybe the selection College Park Softball crushes North Carolina annual Mid-Atlantic Also-Ran Tournament, committee had us confused with Arizona State. with the opening round of action to take place Regardless, we’re honored to have received a Junior Lindsay Klein and Senior Nikki Smith both scored their fourth respective home Wednesday at the RAC. berth, especially as high as #3.” The official runs of the year, each contributing to Maryland’s stunning 8-1 win against North Carolina “We are absolutely thrilled to be added that a lack of an athletics program State last Saturday. Terrapin Senior Crystal Crews made 11 strikeouts in 8 innings pitched participants in the first ever MAART,” said an would not stop the University of Phoenix from for Maryland (28-6, 8-0 ACC), allowing just one run in the seventh from NC State (13-31, excited UMBC official. “It is truly an honor to participating in the tournament—instead, 3-5 ACC). The Terrapins got on the board first with a run from Junior Keri Lounge in the be able to face competition from our area in officials will choose the tallest of its Delmarva first inning. Maryland had no errors and managed two hits in every inning. a tournament that hopefully will start to gain area students to represent the University. national attention.” In an effort to generate more interest in the The full field of 64 teams will be officially inaugural tournament, officials have instituted College Park Competitive Cheer earns new announced at noon Tuesday. Expected to join a few small rule changes to make games more the #1 seeded Retrievers in the Baltimore, exciting. Modifications to usual NCAA rules, title Maryland bracket are CCBC Catonsville, including moving the three-point line in by CCBC Essex and the University of Baltimore. three feet and instituting NBA regulations— Terrapins Competitive Cheer brought home its 12th title of the season last weekend, Other likely participants in the tournament players are not allowed to play defense—are earning top honors at the Reach the Beach Cheer & Dance held in Ocean City, Maryland are Harford Community College, Community aimed toward increasing team offensive on Saturday and Sunday. “The pyramid timing was spot on,” Assistant Coach Jarnell Bonds College of Philadelphia, and the Advanced production throughout the tournament. said between choked tears of joy. “The pyramid cradles Sunday night were so perfect… Technology Institute of Virginia Beach. The Mid-Atlantic Also-Ran Tournament it was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen, and I’ve been doing this for 22 years.” One name that adds intrigue to the is scheduled to tip off its opening round Terps Competitive Cheer gets down and nasty in the NCA College Nationals starting this tournament is that of the Cecil Community games at 1 p.m. Wednesday, April 5, with the Thursday, April 6 at Daytona Beach, Florida. College Seahawks. The Seahawks, a Division Retrievers taking on #16 Baltimore School of II Junior College team, won the DII National Dog Grooming at the RAC Arena. Championship last week after years of JuCo College Park Gymnastics places first at dominance. Champ Kind is a special guest writer for The chances of the Retrievers meeting the The Retriever Weekly, and he thinks that once conference championships Seahawks in the tournament, however, remain this mess works itself out, you and he should get remote. With Cecil playing in the Elkton, an apartment together. To find out when Champ The Maryland Gymnastics team scored a 198.443, finishing first in last Saturday’s Maryland bracket, the only way UMBC would next plans to take his pants off at the Baltimore East Atlantic Gymnastics League Conference Championships. Rutgers took second with a face the Seahawks would be in the tournament Aquarium, e-mail [email protected]. 195.325, NC State finished third with a 195.050, and McDaniel followed in fourth with championship game, scheduled for April 28 in 194.9. Terrapin sophomore Angie Ferg scored a career-best 9.995 on vault and tied for first Reading, Pennsylvania. place overall. Ferg also tied with Maryland teammate Kim Loew on the balance beam, with both earning a 9.925. Senior Mandy Pascual led in first place on the Uneven Bars, earning Intense Fragging and a 9.95, and senior Rachel Martinez won first place on floor exercise with a 9.45. Shooting leads UMBC to College Park Lacrosse hands Virginia 15-5 victory at LAN Party defeat playing Counter Strike. No. 3-ranked Terrapins Men’s Lacrosse landed a smashing blow on top-ranked Virginia BRICK TAMLAND The individual events started off the 12-hour last Saturday. Maryland (10-0, 1-0 ACC) scored its first goal just 15 seconds into the game, Retriever Weekly Guest Writer party with a two-hour death match. UMBC’s and followed it up with four more in the first quarter to gain a sizeable lead, never trailing Curtis McGee or “c.Mcge[n00b-kIll3r~]” won for the entire game. Terrapin Sophomore Maxwell Ritz led in scoring with 4 points and The UMBC Professional Gaming team the two-hour event having 187 kills, 185 frags, two assists, and Seniors Brendan Healy and Joe Walters scored two points apiece. Junior delivered a beatdown to the M.I.T. Ninjas last and only 2 deaths and 2 suicides. McGee also Michael Phipps earned 3 assists. Saturday afternoon in Patapsco Basement. had an efficiency rate of 0.97, a personal best The Dawgs won both the team and individual this season. His teammate Tom Ruxter (aka. competitions against the Ninjas in the game Ruxx0rpiN88) came in second with 165 kills, College Park Water Polo takes title at ECAC Unreal Tournament 2004. 159 frags, 5 deaths, and 4 suicides. Five other For those Retrievers placed Maryland came in first in last weekend’s Eastern College Athletic Conference of you who are in the top 10 of championship, defeating Harvard and Bucknell in the first two rounds and sinking uneducated, let the Deathmatch, defending champs Princeton in the finals on Sunday. According to first-year head coach me educate you. A and MIT’s highest Carl Salyer, the one word to describe the Terrapins was “Confident!” LAN party is when place was fifth. a lot of gamers come The party together, set up continued on various computers with two Last the team’s nutritional, energy enhancing diet of Dawgs won all of them, having only two team on the same Local Man Standing Doritos, Cheetos, Twizzlers (my favorite, the deaths for the rest of the night. After a horrible Area Network (and matches. McGee pull’n peel kind), M&Ms, and Bacchus. Bacchus Onslaught match against UMBC, the Ninjas thus the name proved to be the is a great, great energy drink that has twice as forfeited, unplugged their computers, and LAN), and play man with the plan much caffeine as coffee (or so I think). marched out of the basement of Patapsco Hall. various computer games. Many of these parties when he outsmarted all 12 MIT Ninja players After having my fifth Bacchus, I returned McGee’s ranking rose from 339.87 to 347.67. are played for fun among the UMBC bourgeois. by picking them all off with a Minigun, yes a to find the second Last Man Standing match I was able to catch up with UMBC’s best But what our team does is special. little Minigun, during the first match. He was underway. McGee was killing everyone with his cyberathlete after the LAN party. IN NCAA Division one gaming, Two awarded the First Blood Award for taking out Redeemer, a rocket launcher that makes a lot “Yeah, the Ninjas had no chance from the teams of Cyberathletes play against each Brian Smotten ([iRtehShiz]) within the first 10 of loud noises. Needless to say, he was first and start,” said McGee, “We train and practice about other, with the visitor choosing the computer seconds of the match with a head shot. Awarded then the Ninjas, crying like little babies, wanted eight to 12 hours a day. We also play various game of choice. MIT decided to chose Unreal the Killing Spree, Rampage Dan Hernandez to skip the next two matches and go straight into other video games to keep our reflexes up.” The Tournament, seeing as how their last encounter was the last man standing at the end of the two the team death matches. Dawgs are in action next weekend as they face on March 8 with UMBC, the Ninjas lost while hours. This reporter took a break by sampling There were five team death matches. The off against Duke and Florida here at home.