Lady Apps breeze to another easy win 
Brian Meadows Varsity Sports 

If there was ever the slightest doubt in anyone’s mind about who  the better women’s tennis team is on this mountain, be puzzled no longer. 

Appalachian answered that question in resounding fashion Monday afternoon, routing Lees-McRae 8-1 in match play. 

The Mountaineers won five of six singles matches and all three of their doubles matches. 

In singles action, a big reason why Appalachian was so successful was the fact that their number three, four, five and six seeds gave up only a combined four games in their matches against the Bobcats. Alexandra Chong Appalachian’s number three seed, was the first of these four to taste victory. 

Chong and sophomore Jennifer Fayad both defeated their opponents in straight sets with unblemished scores, 6-0, 6-0. 

“I think we kind of knew that we had the upper hand today and that we were better players, we just had to keep our minds in check,” said Chong, “because if we slipped up just a little bit they could come back.” 

Appalachian freshman Allison Lane cruised to a near flawless score (6-0, 6-1) in her match against Cara O’Brien, surrendering only one game early in her second set.  

“I feel I played better today than I have in a while,” said Lane. Appalachian’s April Fitzsimmons, despite falling behind a game early in both of her sets, also won in straight sets by tallying a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Christinia Brown. 

Vanessa Manicom, the number one seed for ASU, turned in a strong performance, but needed all three sets to beat Deniz Emre. 
Manicom never trailed in her first set, winning 6-2. 

There was a notable shift in momentum in the second set, when Emre did not allow  Manicom to win one game, winning 6-0. 
Manicom stayed composed though. She bounced back in the third set, winning 6-1, to take the match. 

“I knew I would win, but I relaxed in the second set and that’s why I lost,” said Manicom. “I realized in the third set that it wasn’t going to be as easy as I thought, so I started picking up my game.” 

Tonya Eberhart, the Mountaineers number two seed, lost in straight sets 6-4, 6-2 to Zeynep Inali. 

The first set took about an hour to play, and saw some great points as both players were returning their opponent’s shots. Eberhart fell behind 4-1, but seemed to fight off initial frustration to only trail 5-4. That was as close as she would get to Inali. 

Redemption was nearby for Eberhart, though. She teamed up with Manicom in the final doubles match of the day, which paired the number one and two seeds from both teams against each other. 

This was a battle, but quite a scintillating conclusion to the Mountaineers’ overall performance against Lees-McRae. 

Eberhart and Manicom both showed nice play at the net, helping Appalachian break an 8-8 tie, outscoring Emre and Inali 8-6 and winning 9-8. 
Afterward, Eberhart said she felt better about the way she played during doubles than during her singles match. 

Lane and Chong teamed up for ASU in the second doubles spot, defeating O’Brien and Erin Willinsky 8-3. 

Fayad and ASU freshman Donna Altenburger breezed by their opponent 8-1 in the number three doubles spot. 

“They were tough in their top two (players),” said Appalachian coach Colin Crothers, about Lees-McRae. “We knew they were strong there, it was just a matter of winning down the line, and we did that.” 

With the win, the Mountaineers move to 2-1 overall this season. 

Appalachian returns to action Saturday, March 11 when they travel to South Carolina to face Charleston Southern. The match is scheduled to begin at 10 p.m. 
 

Southern Conference News and Notes of the Week 

Mountain Dew to title sponser Southern Conference Basketball Tournament 
Compiled from Sports Info 

The Southern Conference and its marketing partner, Host Communications, Inc. (HCI), have reached an agreement with Pepsi- Cola Company making Mountain Dew the title sponsor of the 2000 Southern Conference Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournaments that will be held in Greenville, S.C., starting on March 2. 

As “official soft drink of the Southern Conference Basketball Tournaments,” Mountain Dew will receive exclusive marketing and promotional rights in the soft drink category at both the BI-LO Center, the site of the men’s tournament, and at Timmons Arena on the Furman University campus, the site of the first two rounds of the women’s tournament. 

Mountain Dew also will have logos on the floor of both arenas, the goal standards, the chairbacks of the team benches and exclusive signage on the scorer’s table. Mountain Dew will be the presenting sponsor of the six games to be televised live on the Comcast/Charter Sports Southeast Network. 

“We are pleased to welcome Pepsi and its brands to the Southern Conference Corporate Partner Program,” said Southern Conference Commissioner Alfred B. White. “The borrowed equity afforded the Southern Conference through this relationship with Pepsi immensely enhances the image of our league. The financial benefits of this partnership insures the conference’s ability to provide quality services for student-athletes at our member institutions.” 

Host Communications negotiated the one-year partnership with Mountain Dew, as Host markets, sells and administers the Southern Conference Corporate Partner Program. In terms of the title sponsorship, financial details were not disclosed. 

“We are pleased Pepsi sees the same values we do in the Southern Conference,” said Marc Kidd, president of Host Sports, the collegiate sports division of Host Communications. “Mountain Dew’s presence helps us position the Southern Conference as a league on the move.” 

“We’re delighted to join forces with the Southern Conference,” said Katie Lacey, Director of Sports Marketing for Pepsi. “Mountain Dew 
was born in the Southeast and the students of the Southern Conference Universities are part of the reason Dew is so popular. We can’t wait for the conference tournaments to start.” 

 The Southern Conference is an NCAA Division I intercollegiate athletics conference that includes 12 institutions in five Southeastern states. Members include Appalachian State, College of Charleston, The Citadel, Davidson, East Tennessee State, Furman, Georgia  Southern, UNC Greensboro, Tennessee-Chattanooga, Virginia Military Institute, Western Carolina and Wofford. Host Communications, Inc., a subsidiary of Bull Run Corporation, is a well-established and leading sports marketing and association management company. HCI, the primary marketer for the NCAA, also has significant printing, publishing, broadcast and Internet operating divisions. It also manages the National Tour Association,  Quest, the J.D. Edwards User Group, International Spa Association, National Limousine  Association and other associations. 

 Pepsi-Cola Company, headquartered in Purchase, N.Y., is the global beverage division of PepsiCo, Inc. Its brands include Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Pepsi One, Mountain Dew, Slice, Mug, All-Sport Body Quencher and Aquafina. The company also makes and markets ready to drink iced teas and coffees, respectively, via joint ventures with Lipton and  Starbucks. 
 

Georgia Southern finishes second to Tennessee at GSU/Reebok Invitational 
Compiled from SOCONSPORTS 

The Georgia Southern softball team finished runner-up at the GSU/Reebok Invitational after an early-afternoon rainstorm forced Sunday’s final games into cancellation. 

The Eagles (7-10) had made it to the championship game with a 4-1 win over Middle Tennessee State and were awaiting the winner of the semifinal that pitted number one seed Tennessee against number four Coastal Carolina. But that matchup never made it out of the fourth inning, as rain set in and stopped play. The tournament was called at 3:30 p.m., and Tennessee was determined the winner due to its top seeding heading into bracket play. 

“It’s a shame we weren’t able to play them again,” said GSU coach Kelley Kirkland. “I would have liked to had another chance to beat them, but that’s just the way it goes. I was proud of our effort and our consistency this weekend. We came in needing four or five wins and we got it. Hopefully, we will have a good week of practice and continue this momentum into next weekend’s Eagle Classic.” 

The Eagles trailed Middle Tennessee State 1-0 heading into the seventh and final inning, but a four-run  outburst advanced the hosts into the championship game. The rally started when senior Jaclyn Kaylor doubled to center. Senior McCaine Lowder safely bunted her way onto first and stole second. 

Sophomore Kelly Blazi then squeezed a hit through the left side to score Kaylor and tie the game at  1-1. 

The Eagles still were not through. Freshman Julie Peel smashed a shot to second base that resulted in a costly MTSU error. Two runs scored on that play, and another run scored on the very next at bat off senior Jennifer Harris’ infield single, giving GSU a 4-1 lead. 

Sophomore pitcher Aimee Littlejohn, who was GSU’s third pitcher of the ballgame, hammered down MTSU’s last gasp effort to record the win. She pitched only 2.2 innings but allowed only two hits and struck out two in moving to 3-5 on the year. Jennifer Martinez was handed the loss after allowing four runs off eight hits, two walks and six strikeouts. 

“This was an incredible effort by this team,” said Kirkland. “This is a huge win for us, because it was one in which we had to come back at the end to win.” 

Eight different players collected single hits. Kaylor, Lowder, Cooper and Kelly Fox all went 1-for-3 with a run scored. MTSU’s Erica Buhl went 2-for-4 in the losing cause. 

Three Georgia Southern players landed on the 10-member all-tournament team: Cooper, Peel and senior Jennifer Miller. Tennessee’s Holly Ellison was named the tournament’s most valuable player, and Danielle Jenkins of Coastal Carolina was awarded most valuable pitcher. 

In the only other game played on Sunday, Coastal Carolina topped Elon 6-1 to advance into the semifinal round. Elon exited the tournament still looking for its first win of the season. 

GSU will host another tournament this coming weekend with the first-ever Eagle Classic. Drake, Tennessee Tech, Mercer and UNC Charlotte will join the Eagles in two days of pool play and a final day of single-elimination bracket play. GSU is slated to play Mercer at 3 p.m. on Friday and UNC Charlotte at 5 p.m. 
 

Furman Lady Paladin golfer running wild over competition 
Compiled from SOCONSPORTS 

Furman sophomore Jennifer Perri carded a final-round 77 Sunday at the SunTrust Lady Gator Invitational to hold on to medalist honors by one stroke with a three-day 218 total. The victory is Perri’s first outright collegiate title; she tied for medalist honors at the 1999 NCAA East Regional. 

With the victory, Perri becomes the second consecutive Furman player to win the Lady Gator Title. Lindsay Smith, who currently plays on the Futures Tour, won the Lady Gator last season, becoming the first Lady Paladin to do so since 1976, when Betsy King took medalist honors. 
Perri fired 69-72 in the first two rounds and took a five-stroke lead into the final day. South Carolina’s Kristy McPherson fired a final-round 73 on Sunday to finish with a total of 219, one stroke back of Perri’s pace. 

The Furman team fired a final-round 310 to slip from third into fifth, with a three-round 925 tally. In addition to Perri’s 77, the Lady Paladins counted a 76 by Cimmie Shahan, a 78 by Stacey Burnett and a 79 by Brandi Jackson. Tara Schultz’s 80 was Furman’s non-counter on the day, while Dara Broadus, playing as an individual, carded a 91 to finish tied for 71st. 
 

Men's tennis falls to Lees-McRae college 5-3 
Compiled from SOCONSPORTS 

The Appalachian State men’s tennis team dropped its season-opener to Lees-McRae 5-3 Friday afternoon in Boone. ASU is now 0-1 and LMC is 1-0. 

The Bobcats won four of five singles matches, while ASU won two of the three doubles matches. Dan Holman won the lone single match for the Mountaineers, 6-1, 2-6, 6-2. Holman and Doug Ormsby teamed for a victory at doubles 9-7. 

The Mountaineers return to action on next Saturday at North Carolina State. 
 

Women trying on Cinderella slipper again 
Chris Boyce Varsity Sports 
Mike Boteilho Managing Editor 

It is tournament time again for the Southern Conference and our Lady Mountaineers have a title to defend. 

The Lady Apps enter the tournament as the fifth seed as opposed to last year’s magical sixth seed position. 

Appalachian State head coach Barbie Breedlove thinks favorably about the slot. 

“We knew from the beginning that we didn’t want to be in the 7-10 seedings because you’ve got to win four games to win the tournament,” said Breedlove.  “We know that we can win the tournament in three games and so being in the top six is important to us.” 

Standing in their way is fourth seeded UNC Greensboro, a team Appalachian defeated at Greensboro but lost to the Spartans in Varsity Gym. 
“I like the five seed,” said Breedlove.  “I like facing Greensboro.  We beat them at their place, I felt that we should have beat them here and I feel that we will beat them in Greenville.” 

The Mountaineers will not change their game plan for the upcoming tournament and instead will stress “Appalachian basketball.” “It’s business as usual,” said Breedlove.  “We want to play pressure defense, take care of the basketball and attack with all of our weapons.” 

The challenge of repeating as Southern Conference Tournament Champions will be big to say the least, with the team missing post players Jamie Gagliano, Tiffany Cole and a less than 100 percent Natasha Lettsome. 

In addition, the Apps second round opponent barring a miracle will be top-seeded Tennessee-Chattanooga, who waxed the Mountaineers by 20 points last time they met, but a team in which the Lady Mountaineers played tough in Moc country and could have pulled out a win. 

 Breedlove has challenged all her players to step up for the tournament, especially senior co-captain Noel Dolan. 

“I think Noel Dolan is really ready to step up and play great for us,” said Breedlove.  “This is her last tournament and it’s really important to her.  She really wants to step up and win this thing and go back to the NCAA tournament.” 

For success in this year’s tournament, the Lady Apps must rebound better than they did during the regular season. 

“The times that we’ve rebounded well we’ve been very successful.  The times that we haven’t rebounded well we haven’t been as successful,” said Breedlove. “To me, rebounding is gonna be huge on both ends of the floor.” 

Another key component to the Apps’ chances for success will be getting to the free-throw line, something Greensboro did extremely well last time the two teams faced each other. 

“We need to be attackers so we can get to the free-throw line and we’ve done that pretty well lately,” said Breedlove.  “At the same time we’ve got to play smart defense without allowing other people to go easily to the free-throw line.” 

Fouls will be important for the Mountaineers, who went to the line 27 times in their win against Wofford on Saturday. 

“Fouls will be critical, especially with our depth specifically in the post,” added Breedlove about the losses of Cole and Gagliano, two of the Mountaineers’ premier post threats. 

Gagliano will be a huge loss for the Lady Apps, but it allows them to have someone to rally around, and bring their level of competition to the next level. 

“The day after Jami went to the hospital, we came together as a team and made sure that everyone understood that the most important thing was Jami’s health and well being” said Breedlove. “As far as a team, we take the approach that we have a lot of character in this program and we are not going to feel sorry for ourselves and we are not going to be oh woe is me. We are going to take the cards as they are dealt, and play those cards.” 

Despite the lack of depth, the Lady Apps do have one thing in their favor: They are defending champs. “I think you go in with a bit of confidence and a lot of pride because we are the defending Southern Conference champions,” said Breedlove. 

And that kind of confidence that coach Breedlove is talking about is displayed by every player on this team. 

 The Lady Mountaineers are a very good team, and they have the ability to knock off anyone in this league. 

Hopefully they will not have to worry about the three-point bombs that teams attacked them with during their losing streak, and play Appalachian basketball. 
 

ASU Basketball award winners 

Tyson,Player of the year, Buzz Coach of the year 
Compiled from Sports Info 

 Appalachian State University head men’s basketball coach Buzz Peterson and Mountaineer point guard Tyson Patterson have been named the 1999-2000 Southern Conference Coach of the Year and Player of the Year, respectively, announced on Feb. 28. 

The awards are voted on by the league’s head coaches. 

Patterson, a senior from Winston-Salem, leads the team in assists and steals and is second in scoring. 

This season, Patterson set new school records in single-game, single-season and career assists, as well as single-game, single-season and career steals. 

He also set a school and Southern Conference record with a 12-for-12 shooting performance at Western Carolina on Jan. 24. 

He leads the conference in steals and assist/turnover ratio, is second in assists and 12th in scoring. 

Earlier this season, Patterson became just the second Southern Conference player to register 1,000 career points, 500 career assists and 200 career steals. 

He is currently fourth in both career steals and career assists in Southern Conference history. Patterson was a an All-Southern Conference selection last season. 

Peterson is in his fourth season as head coach of the Mountaineers. He has a 76-38 overall record and has led Appalachian to three consecutive Southern Conference North Division Championships. 

The Mountaineers have also registered 20 or more wins in each of the last three seasons, the first time in school history that a team has achieved that feat. 

Peterson was the 1997-98 Southern Conference Coach of the Year, his second year at the school. 

A 1986 graduate of North Carolina, he began his coaching career as an assistant at Appalachian from 1987-89. 

Appalachian enters the 2000 Mountain Dew/Southern Conference Tournament as the top seed from the North Division. The Mountaineers are 20-8 overall and finished the conference regular season 13-3. 
 

Lettsome all-conference in Women's Basketball 
Compiled from Sports Info 

The Appalachian State University women’s basketball team’s Natasha Lettsome  was one of 10 players named to the Southern Conference all-League Team. The all-League team was voted on by a panel of Southern Conference coaches. 

A starter in just seven of 25 games, Lettsome led the Mountaineers from a reserve role. 

The team’s top scorer (13.8 points per game) and rebounder (7.8 rebounds per game), Lettsome, a junior from the Virgin Islands, has proved invaluable to the Mountaineers. 

The 6-foot-1-inch post player ranks high in the Southern Conference standings in several individual categories. 

She is ranked fifth in rebounding and field goal efficiency at 50.9 percent, making 138 of her 271 field goal attempts. She is listed seventh in the league in scoring. 

 Lettsome is one of two Mountaineers to garner post-season accolades. Point guard Jaymi Wilson was named to the Southern Conference all-Freshman team earlier in the week. 
 

Two make all-conference 
Compiled from Sports Info 

Appalachian State University guards Tyson Patterson and Rufus Leach have been named  to the 1999-2000 Southern Conference all-conference team. 

The tema was  announced on Feb. 29. 

The whole list of award winners is on www.soconsports.com. 

The awards are voted on by the league’s head coaches. 
 

Men look to have their dancing shoes on 
Anthony Holderied  Varsity Sports 

As the 2000 Southern Conference Tournament tips off today, the championship game looks to be just as hard to predict as the first round. 

In what could possibly be the most wide open tournament the Southern Conference has seen in a long time, the competition is heavy from top to bottom. 

In the past two seasons, the number one seeds have gone the distance, but this year, the champion could easily emerge from the first round. 

One of the best games the tournament may have to offer is today’s Western Carolina-Tennessee-Chattanooga first round squabble. The Catamounts knocked off the Mocs in Chattanooga in early January.  Both teams split their season slate with the respective power in each team’s division, being Davidson and Charleston. Western also beat the Cougars. 

The other first round match that could be interesting is East Tennessee State versus The Citadel. 

 In the regular season, ETSU took the only meeting between the two on the road, winning 65-53. 

 Key Buccaneer victories have come against Wofford, Georgia Southern and twice against Western. The Citadel has knocked off Chattanooga, Western and Davidson. 

Second round games may be the hardest to get a handle on.  Assuming that Rashun Coleman and the Mocs can get by Western, they will give Appalachian more than it can handle. The last three meetings between the two teams have resulted in ASU victories of three points or less, including last year’s double overtime tournament thriller. 

UNC Greensboro will more than likely slide by 4-10 conference record holder Furman on the way to grappling with the Eagles from Georgia Southern. 

Another great game here features the offensive minded Eagles against the offensive stopping Spartans. 

UNCG dropped a loss to GSU back in January in the only meeting of the season. The Spartans swept Davidson in the regular season and beat Chattanooga with their tenacious defense, but were swept by division leader Appalachian. 

Georgia Southern swept Chattanooga but was mopped up by first-seeded College of Charleston. The Eagles also defeated Davidson by one in the season finale. 

Charleston will likely draw ETSU in the second round, a game they should win handily if the pounding they gave the Bucs back in January is any indicator. 

The remaining possible second round game that could be one to watch is between Davidson and Wofford. 

 Although usually a favorite for the tournament’s final four, the Wildcats have their work cut out for them after being  stunned by several weaker opponents this season. Wofford also has big game experience with a victory at Clemson earlier this year. 

Appalachian State struggled slightly coming down the stretch, but will be tough against Chattanooga. 

 Coach Buzz Peterson and the Mountaineers have a knack for getting to the big game. 

They should also be able to take out Georgia Southern, if the Eagles should happen to escape their toss up with Greensboro. 

After Davidson defeats Wofford, and they should, Southern Conference fans get a pre-championship championship game, when Davidson meets Charleston. 

Although Charleston will be the favorite in this one, Cougar coach John Kresse will remember getting bumped off by the Wildcats at home in January. 

Predicting this year’s championship is like predicting the next time it will rain in Boone. 

However, if history is any indicator, it would be a wise assumption that the Mountaineers and Cougars will meet again for the ticket to the dance. 
 

Rufus sets a new fire as player of the week 
Compiled from Sports Info 

Appalachian State guard Rufus Leach has been named the Southern Conference Co-Player of the Week, sharing the award with Furman freshman Karim Souchu. Leach, a junior from Maxton, led the Mountaineers to a pair of victories last week. 

He scored 18 points against UNC Greensboro and added 26 against Western  Carolina on Saturday. For the week, Leach made 14 of 23 field goal attempts (.609) and drained eight of 14 three-point attempts. 

In the win against Western Carolina, Leach hit six three-point field goals, including one with 35 seconds remaining, scoring ASU’s final points in Varsity Gym.  Leach, ASU’s sixth man, leads ASU in scoring this season and is the nation’s top scorer among players who have not started a game.  Appalachian enters this week’s Mountain Dew/Southern Conference Tournament as the top seed from the North Division, winning its third consecutive North Division title. 

The Mountaineers are 20-8 overall and 13-3 in league play. 

With the award, Leach and Souchu are the only Southern Conference players to win the award twice this season. Also, with Leach’s two awards and Tyson Patterson’s one award, Appalachian is the only school in the conference to claim the award three times this season. 
 

Jaymi Wilson makes the all freshmen team 
Compiled from Sports Info 

Appalachian point guard Jaymi Wilson was awarded Southern Conference all-Freshman Team acclaim on Feb. 28 as voted by the league’s head coaches. 

The 5-foot-7-inch Wilson, from Morganton, was the lone Mountaineer represented on the squad. 

Wilson has seen action in all 27 games this season and has been a starter in the last 23 for Appalachian. 

Wilson is fifth for the Apps in playing time, averaging 24.5 minutes per contest. 

Sixth on the team in scoring at 6.2 points per game. 

Wilson leads the team in three-point field goal percentage, making 26 of 61 for a 42.6 percent efficiency. 

Wilson and the Mountaineers finished the regular season with an overall record of 13-14 and a league mark of 9-9. 

The freshman floor leader looks to help the Mountaineers defend their conference tournament crown at the Mountain Dew/Southern Conference Basketball Tournament this week at Greenville, S.C. 

Seeded fifth following the final standings, the Apps face number four seed UNC Greensboro at 11 a.m. in the quarterfinal round at Timmons Arena on the campus of Furman University. 
 
 

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