MOC weekend report

By News-Argus Staff
Published in Sports on March 12, 2004 1:59 PM

• Print
• Email

The Mount Olive College softball team plays five games in three days as the Trojans head to Florence, S.C., to compete in the Francis Marion University Patriot Invitational.

Mount Olive (7-8) opens play tonight against nationally fourth-ranked North Florida. The Trojans play two games Saturday, taking on UNC Pembroke at 11 a.m. and Wheeling Jesuit at 7 p.m.

The Trojans conclude tournament play Sunday with a 10 a.m. game against USC Spartanburg and a 2 p.m. contest against Tusculum.

Mount Olive picked up a pair of NCAA Division II Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference wins this week as the Trojans swept a doubleheader at Barton Tuesday.

Freshman Shauna Cowdrey pitched her first collegiate shutout in game one, then picked up another win in relief in game two as the Trojans won in 10 innings. Mount Olive is 3-0 this season in extra-inning games. The Trojans have already equaled their win total for all of last year.

Tennis

The Mount Olive men's and women's tennis teams return to action this weekend as the Trojans play host to a pair of CVAC matches.

The Trojans play host to Limestone Saturday at noon in a men's-women's tennis doubleheader, then plays host to Coker (S.C.) College at 1 p.m. Sunday.

Matches will take place at the Walker Tennis Center on the campus of Mount Olive College.

The men's team earned its first-ever national ranking as the Trojans are ranked No. 40 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association national rankings. Mount Olive (4-4, 1-3 CVAC) is also ranked No. 10 in the Mid-Atlantic Region.

Rafael Bustos is 5-3 overall and 3-1 in the CVAC at No. 1 singles, while Renato Varella is 5-1 and 2-1 at No. 5 singles.

The women's tennis team is playing its first home match of the season after having two previous home contests postponed due to the weather. The Trojans (1-6, 1-3) hope to snap a five-match losing skid.

Lucia Henkle, last year's CVAC Freshman of the Year, is 4-3 overall and 3-1 in the CVAC this season at No. 1 singles.

Basketball

Fans who are unable to attend the NCAA II East Regional tournament can follow Mount Olive's games on the internet.

Go to the Mount Olive College website at www.moc.edu and click "Athletics" for a link to "Live Stats." At press time, there was also a possibility that an audio webcast for Mount Olive's games would be available. If an audio webcast is available, the link will also be on the Mount Olive College athletics web page.