SnakeBytes
Vol. VIII, Issue 19
LADY MOCS FACE NATIONALLY-RANKED BARRY ON TV … Fresh from their win at Saint Leo Wednesday night, coach Jarrod Olson’s Lady Mocs will get some national TV exposure Saturday in their game at Barry. The Buccaneers are 11-2, 2-0 in the Sunshine State Conference and ranked 15th in this week’s Division II Coaches’ Poll.
Saturday’s game gets underway at 1 p.m. and is being televised live on CBS College Sports Network (formerly CSTV) and also will be video streamed on the Internet at www.NCAA.com. For Lakeland area fans who have Bright House Networks Cable Service, the game should be available on Channel 139 of Bright House’s digital tier and Channel 807 on the HD package.
TICKETS AVAILABLE FOR BARRY GAMES … The FSC Athletics Department has tickets available for fans interested in attending the Moccasin games at Barry Saturday. Ticket prices are $5 for adults, $3 for senior citizens/students and children under age 12. The women’s game is being televised by CBS College Sports Network and will get underway at 1 p.m. The men’s game will follow at approximately 3:30 p.m. The tickets can be purchased at the FSC Athletics Department.
BIRTHDAY LADIES CELEBRATE … If the last two games are an indication, coach Jarrod Olson may want to make sure future recruits have a birthday that falls during the basketball season. Last Saturday was Chelsea Johnson’s birthday and, while it was Megan Dzikas who hit the game-winning basket in the final seconds, Johnson contributed 17 points to the 69-67 win.
Wednesday night at Saint Leo, Alli Fogle tossed in a career-high 20 points on her birthday to help lead the Moccasins to an 83-75 SSC road win. In addition to the performances of the birthday ladies, Michaela Hawley registered her third double-double of the season against Florida Tech with 20 points and 14 rebounds. Johnson had a season scoring high of 28 points against Saint Leo, while Hawley added 19. Johnson and Fogle each hit five three-pointers in the game. The Moccasins, who lead the SSC in scoring and three-point field goals made, are on pace to break last year’s season record of 204 three-pointers made. They averaged 7.2 three-pointers made per game last season. This season they are averaging 9.2 made per game.
MOCS’ STREAK GOES TO SIX … Everyone knows making free throws is crucial to winning basketball games and the Moccasins have done just that in their last two games. In Saturday’s 99-86 win over Florida Tech, in which the Moccasins overcame a 17-point deficit in the first half, the Moccasins were 29 of 33 from the free throw line. Brandon Jenkins, Rion Rayfield, John Thompson, Preston Fredrick and Rob Eldridge were a combined 23 of 23 in the game. Wednesday night, as the Moccasins extended their winning streak to six in a row with a 79-76 win at Saint Leo, they were 26 of 30 from the line. Fredrick, Eldridge, Rayfield and Zach Smith combined to go 17 of 17, with Eldridge hitting a pair with 13 seconds left to clinch the win. For the third straight game, Thompson posted a double-double coming off the bench. He led the Mocs with 16 points and pulled down a season-high 15 rebounds. The Moccasins will try to match last season’s longest winning streak when they go for their seventh straight Saturday afternoon at Barry. The Buccaneers are 6-6, 1-1 in the SSC and have not played since last Saturday’s 59-57 win over Eckerd. The game definitely will be a contrast in styles. The Moccasins lead the SSC in scoring with an average of 83.6 points per game. Barry leads the SSC in scoring defense, giving up an average of 57.4 points per game. The Moccasins have scored over 70 points in all but three games this season; Barry has scored over 70 points just twice this season. Saturday’s game will be broadcast live on the Internet on SportsLine Radio Network. To listen to the game, just click on the SLRN link on the men’s basketball home page. Air time will be approximately 3:15 p.m.
FORMER GATOR TO LEAD MOC SWIMMERS … Duncan Sherrard, a 14-time All-American swimmer and three-time Southeastern Conference champion at the University of Florida, is the new head swimming coach at Florida Southern. He begins his new duties Jan. 19. Sherrard comes to Florida Southern from junior college swimming power Indian River State College in Fort Pierce, where he has been the assistant coach the past two seasons, helping Indian River extend its string of national junior college championships. Indian River has won the men’s national junior college swimming title 34 consecutive years and has won the women’s national title 26 consecutive years. A four-year letterman (1998-2002) for the Gators, Sherrard still ranks in the top ten in seven events at his alma mater, including UF’s second-best 200-yard butterfly time (1:43.18). He replaces Tom Schmelz at Florida Southern.
“We are extremely excited to have someone with Duncan’s character and background take over our swimming program,” said FSC Athletics Director Pete Meyer. “He was a highly-talented swimmer himself and he’s coming from the top junior college swimming program in the country, so we feel confident he will make our swimming program competitive on a national level.”
“Florida Southern always has had a strong tradition of excellence in its athletics program and I’d like to bring that kind of tradition to the swimming program,” Sherrard said. “I’m looking forward to the challenge of building Florida Southern’s swimming program into a highly-visible part of its outstanding athletics program.”
Following his standout career at Florida, where he was team captain as a senior, Sherrard began his coaching career as an assistant at Buchholz High School in Gainesville in 2003. The following year he became head coach and guided the Buchholz girls’ team to a 3A state runner-up finish in 2004 and the 3A state championship in 2005. He was named the 3A Girls’ Swimming Coach of the Year in 2005. From Buchholz, he went to Indian River, where he helped produced 39 national champions in the 2006-07 season and 37 in the 2007-08 season. In that two-year span, Indian River swimmers have set 32 national junior college records.
A Polk County native, Sherrard graduated in 1998 from Bartow High School, where he was a two-time team captain and was state runner-up in the 100-yard butterfly and placed fourth in the 200-yard freestyle at the 1997 4A state championship. He also holds the Polk County record in the 100-yard butterfly. He received his bachelor’s degree in history in 2002 from the University of Florida. He and his wife, Diane, who was a six-time All-American swimmer at Florida, have a two-year-old daughter, Reagan, and a five-month-old son, Nathan.
SWIMMERS BACK IN THE POOL … In their first competition of 2009, the Moccasins produced eight top ten finishes in the men's competition and six in the women’s competition at the Winter Invitational hosted by Rollins Sunday at Daytona Beach. Dan Naherny had three of the men’s top ten finishes. He was third in the 200-yard individual medley, seventh in the 100-yard backstroke and ninth in the 200-yard backstroke. Kelly Dorian had the best individual finish for the Moccasins, placing second in the 100-yard butterfly. He also was seventh in the 50-yard freestyle (23.04). Jay Pelham was fourth in the 200-yard butterfly. The 1,500-yard freestyle relay team placed sixth (5:48.45) and the 200-yard freestyle relay team placed 10th (1:36.36). For the women, Kelly Ruf placed ninth in the 50-yard freestyle and Caroline Kennon was ninth in the 100-yard butterfly. Recording tenth-place finishes were Malinda Turner in the 200-yard backstroke, Kaitlyn Smith in the 500-yard freestyle and Kelsey Duncan in the 100-yard butterfly. The 1,500-yard freestyle relay team placed sixth and the 200-yard freestyle relay team placed eighth. With a total of 123 points, FSC finished fifth in the six-team men’s field. The Lady Mocs were seventh in an eight-team field with 85 points. The Moccasins will be back in action Saturday at the Saint Leo Invitational at 10 a.m. at the New Tampa YMCA, 16221 Compton Drive in Tampa.
DATES FOR UPCOMING FUNDRAISERS … The dates for several upcoming fundraising golf events for Moccasin athletics have been set. The Blade & Bleu Tournament to benefit men’s basketball will be Apr. 30 at Lone Palm Golf Course. The Joe Niekro-Pro Celebrity Tournament to benefit the baseball program is set for Jan. 15 at Lone Palm. The Hinson-Bates Tournament to benefit the women’s golf program will be played Mar. 23 at Grasslands. The Nell Phelps Tournament, which also benefits women’s golf, will be played Apr. 7 at Eaglebrooke. For more details on the events, contact men’s basketball coach Linc Darner about the Blade and Blue event, contact baseball coach Jim Tyrrell about the Joe Niekro event, and women’s golf coach Robbie Davis or assistant coach Norm Benn about the Hinson-Bates and Nell Phelps events.
THE MOCS REPORT … Keep up with FSC athletics on The Mocs Report on WLKF (1430 AM) in Lakeland. FSC Sports Information Director Bill Turnage joins “Mayhem in the AM” host Seth Mela at approximately 7:45 a.m. on Thursday mornings to discuss Moccasin athletics.
MOCCASIN UPDATES ... SnakeBytes is just one way to follow the Mocs. Fans also can get the latest scores and schedule updates at 680-3954 or toll-free at 1-800-825-MOCS.
