UVa takes series from UNC
By Jay Jenkins / Daily Progress staff writer
May 15, 2006

Mike Ballard dazzled Davenport Field on Easter by throwing a no-hitter.
Four weeks later and in his first home start since the unforgettable performance, Virginia's senior southpaw took the ball for the Cavaliers on a different holiday.

"My mom had mentioned something about it being Mother's Day," Ballard said. "I wanted to do something similar for her, but at least I was able to just get our team a win."

It was not just a win. It was a series-clinching win against North Carolina, the No. 1 team in the country.

Ballard scattered seven hits and gave up two runs over 6.1 innings, and, thanks to timely hitting from his teammates, Virginia pulled away for a 9-2 win over UNC in front of 2,119 fans, a contingent that included Ballard's mother.

The victory improved Virginia's record to 41-11 overall and 18-9 in the ACC, one game behind UNC (41-11, 19-8) in the Coastal Division standings. The Cavaliers also won the series opener on Friday night, 2-1, before being blanked on Saturday, 5-0.

Should Virginia sweep Virginia Tech in the final league series later this week and UNC drop one game at home against Boston College, the Cavaliers would clinch the division title.

"You win two out of three against the No. 1 team in the country in your own ballpark and you play really good baseball all weekend, you can't ask for anything more," said Virginia coach Brian O'Connor. "We have positioned ourselves well in the ACC heading into the stretch run."

North Carolina wasted little time getting an early lead off Ballard (7-2). In the second inning, UNC's left fielder Kyle Shelton connected on an RBI double.

Ballard was bummed about spotting the Tar Heels an early lead, but managed to stay focused.

"After I gave up that first run, I was just trying to keep us in the game," Ballard said.

Ballard did just that, throwing four scoreless innings, and Virginia's bats came to life against UNC starter Daniel Bard.

"Ballard did a great job of holding them right there," O'Connor said. "He did a great job of not letting them extend their lead and he kept us within striking distance, and if you do that you have a chance to win."

The biggest hero at the plate was first baseman Sean Doolittle, who pitched UVa to a win over the Tar Heels on Friday.

Doolittle, who went 3 for 5 with four RBI, admitted he had a little added motivation. Out of high school, UNC recruited him strictly as a pitcher.

It was off Doolittle's first hit that Virginia tied the game up. On a 2-0 pitch from Bard in the third, Doolittle slapped a single past a diving first baseman and into right field to plate Tim Henry from second.

Virginia, which went 6 for 13 at the plate with runners in scoring position, took the lead for good in the fourth. Henry plated Patrick Wingfield on a squeeze bunt and three batters later, Doolittle did it again with another RBI single to right.

In the sixth, Greg Miclat got a slider on the inside part of the plate and connected for his second triple of the season. Miclat was unsure when he got the hit, which landed just inches inside fair territory, if Beau Seabury would score from first.

"I was looking at Coach [Kevin] McMullan and saying 'Please wave him,'" Miclat laughed. "I knew I could make it."

Seabury did score. And so did Miclat one batter later, when Henry hit a shallow fly ball to left. As Miclat raced home, UNC reliever Jonathan Hovis cut off the throw to the plate, giving UVa a 5-1 lead.

UNC tried to mount a rally in the seventh after Ballard hit a batter and gave up a double to first baseman Chad Flack. With runners at second and third, O'Connor brought Michael Schwimer into the game for Ballard.

Schwimer gave up a sacrifice fly to Josh Horton, which cut the Cavaliers' advantage to three, but worked out of the inning by getting Benji Johnson to pop up to second base.

Virginia erased any doubts in the eighth, using three hits, two walks and one UNC error to score four insurance runs.

Casey Lambert pitched the ninth for Virginia and, despite loading the bases full of Tar Heels, the junior closed out the game with a double play on a hard chopper back to the mound.

In a weekend that was expected to showcase two of the top pitching staffs in the ACC, UNC coach Mike Fox said he was impressed with the Cavaliers.

"I thought they out-pitched us," Fox said. "We were not good enough in either one of the most important phases of the game - pitching and hitting."

Fox also pointed out that all was not lost for UNC in its trip to Charlottesville as the team accomplished his season-long goal of avoiding a sweep on the road, something Clemson was unable to do earlier this season against UVa.

"People look at me like I am crazy when I say that," Fox said. "But you can't afford for that to happen. That might be the reason that we end up on top."

Thanks to the series win, O'Connor said Virginia should move into the discussion for hosting a regional in the NCAA Tournament.

"This weekend's series win will be very important going into the NCAA Tournament," O'Connor said. "It shows what we are capable of doing against another top team in the country. Those are big wins against one of the top teams in the country."

 

No pressure on seasoned tennis team
By Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress staff writer
May 15, 2006

With Wake Forest banging on the door of an upset Sunday afternoon in a second-round NCAA men's tennis match at Boar's Head Sports Club, the three remaining Virginia singles players on the court looked around and realized the Cavaliers were on the brink of elimination.
Deadlocked at 2-2 in the team match, only those three singles contests remained and the first team to four wins walked away with a trip to Stanford for the NCAA Sweet 16. With UVa's No. 1 player Somdev Devvarman and

No. 5 singles Marko Miklo each down a set, some of the immediate pressure fell squarely on the ample shoulders of Cavalier senior Doug Stewart, playing at No. 3.

Coastal cool

The cool Californian won his first set tiebreaker but had gotten off to a shaky start in the second, which he would eventually lose, forcing a dramatic third.

"It's all about fighting at that point," Stewart said later. "Who wants it more."

He knew his teammates. He truly believed that either Devvarman or Miklo would come back and gut out a win.

"All I had to do was win my match," he said.

Considering that both Devvarman's and Miklo's second sets went to tiebreakers, seventh-ranked Virginia could have been ousted early within a five-minute span had those two wilted under the pressure. But they both won their tiebreakers.

In fact, Devvarman used a strong serve to win his third set, 6-4 over Wake's Todd Paul, to put UVa up 3-2.

It was all up to Miklo, who quickly fell behind 0-3 in the third, and Stewart, who was up 5-4 in the third but dropped two games and was down 5-6 as things got a little edgy inside the Boar's Head indoor courts (the matches were forced indoors by weather).

In the cooker

Talk about pressure. Here's Stewart, realizing that momentum in his match had swung to Wake's Brett Ross. Drop one more game and it's 3-3 with Miklo's match up in the air.

"I just said, 'This is it,'" Stewart revealed after he charged back to win on a third set tiebreaker that gave the Cavaliers a 4-2 win and a trip to Cali. "This could be my last college tennis match, so I've got to give it everything I've got."

But if there's one thing we've learned about Stewart in the past few years it's that he appears immune to such pressure.

"This might sound kind of cheesy," Stewart said, "but I don't think of it as pressure. I think of it as fun. Being out there with the last three guys, just battling, I can't think of anything more fun than that."

It's all fun and games

He kind of shares a philosophy with Tin Cup's hero, Roy McAvoy, that either you define the moment or the moment defines you. Stewart believes that when such moments arrive, "You have to have fun with them." His words, not McAvoy's.

"If you don't and you perceive it as pressure, like, 'Oh, I just gotta win,' you're going to choke. That's how you choke," Stewart said.

As it turned out, Miklo battled back and won five straight games to lead Wake's Mariusz Adamski 5-3 just when Stewart ended the suspense first, breaking Ross to get to 6-6, then winning the tiebreaker.

Devvarman summed up the situation fairly succinctly when he said, "it actually got pretty scary for a little bit there ... Honestly, the match could have been over in Wake Forest's favor in about five minutes."

But Virginia had been there before. The Cavs, who played the toughest schedule in the nation this past season, had battled back against Notre Dame, against VCU, and had toughened themselves. They learned how to fight.

Maybe that's why they won five out of the match's six tiebreakers. Maybe that's why they're packing their bags for a trip to the Left Coast come Wednesday and yet another shot at a national crown.

Now that's toughness.

"It's something that you can't just talk about it," said UVa coach Brian Boland. "You have to experience it. That's why I think the schedule is so important, to play the best teams in the country, day-in and day-out, so when we get in those type of situations they can identify with it as they did today."

Ranked preseason No. 1 nationally, there were a lot of expectations on Boland's Cavaliers, so when they dropped a couple of matches early, everyone wondered what was going on.

Boland would rather sacrifice the No. 1 label during the season by beefing up the competition in order to be prepared when the real test comes this weekend at Stanford.

While he prefers his players live it, feel it, he still talks about pressure and overcoming adversity as any coach worth his salt would do. He believes that pressure is an opportunity.

"Fortunately, I think our guys respond in an extremely positive way to pressure," Boland said. "I think that's going to help us as we go to Stanford."

In terms of character building and defining moments, Boland already knew what Stewart was made of. The coach believes that you learn most about a person when he's backed against the wall.

Enter Stewart, who came into the weekend ranked seventh on UVa's career singles win list with 84.

"He battles," Boland pointed out. "He's been down and out at times this year and still battled back, no matter what the situation. This was another example of Doug Stewart with his back against the wall, who managed to come through for us. It says a lot about him as a person."

The UVa coach wasn't surprised. He had learned a lot about Stewart throughout this season. The senior from Malibu, Calif., had played No. 1 singles for Virginia for the last three years, every time out.

When Boland decided to change the pecking order and slipped Devvarman into the No. 1 slot and moved Stewart to No. 3 and sometimes even No. 4, there wasn't any controversy at all. Not a peep.

"Not one instance this year has he said, 'Hey Coach, why am I playing 3 or 4?'" said Boland. "He just went out and battled and struggled (12-18 record in singles matches coming into the weekend), but wanted to be here in the end for his teammates and his program."

That's why Boland firmly believes that Doug Stewart will play the best tennis of his career on the upcoming trip to Stanford.

Pressure? What pressure? Again, Stewart will define the moment.

 

Boland's squad in NCAA round of 16
By Jerry Miller / Daily Progress staff writer
May 15, 2006

The Virginia men's tennis team saw its epic season on the brink of collapse Sunday afternoon before an unruffled Doug Stewart and a focused Somdev Devvarman stormed back in their singles matches to clinch a 4-2 victory over Wake Forest and a berth in the round of 16 in the NCAA Tournament.
The match was delayed an hour and a half due to inclement weather before a member of the NCAA Tennis Committee and Virginia's facilities operator chose to move the contest from the outdoor courts of Snyder Tennis Center to the indoor surfaces at the Boar's Head Sports Club.

Virginia beat Wake Forest

6-1 on March 24 outside at the Snyder Tennis Center.

"We always like to play outside. We really wanted to play outdoors," said Stewart, a Malibu, Calif., native who secured the match with a 7-6 (4), 2-6, 7-6 (3) win over Brett Ross at No. 3 singles. "Stanford is outdoors, and we feel we are a better team outside."

UVa, the seventh-ranked team in the nation with a 23-8 record, will play ninth-ranked Miami (20-4) on Saturday night at Stanford University in the round of 16.

It marks UVa's third consecutive trip to the round of 16.

"Miami is one of the strongest teams we've played this year," said UVa coach Brian Boland, whose team has played Miami twice this season - losing 4-3 at home on April 7 and winning 4-2 in Durham, N.C., in the ACC Tournament semifinal. "We had an absolute dogfight in the ACC semis, very similar to the match today. We were struggling and the guys managed to fight back."

Though the weather forecast called for thunderstorms all afternoon, the rain started and finished around lunchtime and did not return until after 5 p.m.

The Cavaliers are a much stronger team outdoors with three key guys having grown up playing on the outdoor courts of California.

"I think it's pretty clear Virginia men's tennis is a much better team outdoors," Devvarman said.

Virginia's game also caters well to outside play because it doesn't have a big server who can power serves by opponents. The indoor game is quicker where the big serve can come into play.

"Indoor tennis is faster," Boland said. "We don't have a lot of big guys on our team with big serves."

NCAA Tennis Committee member B.J. Burton, an associate athletic director at Virginia Commonwealth University, admitted he probably made the wrong decision in retrospect.

"In hindsight, we probably made a mistake moving the match," Burton said. "But at the time I think we made the best decision that was in the best interest for the match. We didn't play favorites."

Devvarman, the nation's 14th-ranked player, squeaked by No. 18 Todd Paul, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (3), 6-3, in a character-testing match.

Before Devvarman locked up his singles victory, the head-to-head score was knotted at 2 with Marko Miklo trailing a set at No. 5 singles and Stewart locked at one set apiece at No. 3 singles.

"It actually got pretty scary for a little bit there," said Devvarman, who indicated he gained confidence from the victory over Paul, an All-America candidate.

Virginia's Darrin Cohen cruised to a 6-1, 6-2 win over Liron Strauss at No. 6 singles after dropping the No. 3 doubles match along with Stewart.

Wake's Cory Parr handled Treat Huey, 7-5, 6-0, at No. 4 singles while Andrew Hamar beat UVa's Rylan Rizza 6-2, 6-4 at No. 2 singles.

Doubles teams Huey/Devvarman (8-3) and Nick Meythaler/Rizza (8-5) earned a crucial point for Virginia prior to singles play.

"We had such a tough schedule this year. We've had so many battles just like this," Boland said. "It wasn't anything new to the guys."

 

Princeton patient in upset of Virginia
Cavs' comeback falls short versus visiting Tigers
By Whitelaw Reid / Daily Progress staff writer
May 15, 2006

Outside of the University Hall front entrance, members of the Virginia women's lacrosse team gathered with family and friends for what was supposed to be a postgame celebration of sorts.
Near the front door of the building was a buffet - but there wasn't much eating taking place. Most of the Virginia players looked sick to their stomachs, like they had just stepped off an amusement park ride that hangs you upside down.

That's what an unexpected, excruciating loss in the NCAA Tournament will do.

Second-seeded Virginia was shocked in its first-round game against Princeton on Sunday afternoon.

The Tigers, who were trounced by UVa earlier in the season, executed a slow-down gameplan to perfection before escaping with an 8-7 victory at Klockner Stadium.

Princeton (12-5) advanced to Saturday's quarterfinals against Dartmouth, which defeated Boston University,9-4.

Virginia (15-4), which was coming off one of its best performances of the season against Duke in the ACC Tournament, ended its year on a major downer. UVa's seven goals was its second-lowest total of the season.

"We're in shock," said Virginia freshman Blair Weymouth, confirming the obvious. "I don't think it's hit any of us yet."

Not too many people could have predicted a Princeton victory. On March 25, Virginia completely dominated the Tigers in their own backyard, 16-3.

"It's definitely disappointing to end our season so quickly," said Virginia coach Julie Myers. "It's hard to swallow, but I give Princeton a lot of credit. They played a great game, were very poised and were very confident and very deliberate in what they did. They made their opportunities count. I think it was a Princeton day. They were sharp from the opening whistle and we weren't."

Princeton seemed to take a page out of its basketball team's playbook. The Tigers were extremely patient all game long. Some of their possessions lasted upward of three minutes, as they worked the ball around until finding the optimal shot.

It was the kind of strategy that would have made former Villanova basketball coach Rollie Massimino proud.

"We knew Princeton would be deliberate," Myers said. "I think that was a very well-coached gameplan. You don't want to run with us or get in a shooting match because typically our shooters are on.

"We knew they would try and hold the ball for a few minutes and then score at the end of it. I think Princeton did a great job of that."

Katie Lewis-Lamonica gave Princeton a 1-0 lead 7:04 into the game on a nice bounce shot that beat Virginia goalie Ginger Miles

The Tigers completely dictated the tempo of the game in the first half. Virginia seemed totally out of sync, turning the ball over on offense and not capitalizing on the few chances that it did get.

Virginia was able to tie the game at 2 on a goal by Kate Breslin with 13:02 left in the first half, but Princeton took control after that, scoring three straight goals to take a 5-2 lead at the break.

The second half started in the worst possible way for UVa.

Right off the draw, Princeton's Ashley Amo was able to race downfield for an uncontested shot that beat Miles for a 6-2 lead.

When Amo scored with 13:02 left in the game to put the Tigers up 7-2, Virginia looked cooked.

As the brown and orange-clad Princeton fans chanted and cheered, UVa fans sat in stunned silence.

But a goal less than two minutes later by Megan O'Malley seemed to light Virginia's fuse. UVa, suddenly playing with more urgency, scored three more times within the next four-plus minutes to make it 7-6.

Another goal by O'Malley with 4:11 left tied the game at 7. Princeton players looked frazzled. Klockner Stadium was rocking.

However, the Tigers retook the lead when Lewis-Lamonica answered with a goal at the 2:14 mark.

Weymouth and Nikki Lieb each had chances to tie the game in the closing minutes, but were turned away by Princeton goalie Colleen O'Boyle who played an excellent game, registering nine saves.

Virginia's last gasp came with 17 seconds left. The Cavs had a 2-on-1 advantage as they raced the ball downfield, but a pass from Tyler Leachman was just out of the reach of Jess Wasilewski, essentially ending the game.

"We had a lot of character on our team," Weymouth said. "Coming back from five goals down like that is pretty unbelievable. I'm sure we can beat them. Give us two more minutes and we probably would have.

"We just let them get away too early and then it was tough playing catch-up in the second half. We tied it, but then couldn't seal the deal."

Myers said she felt terrible for her seniors.

"They have meant so much to our program," Myers said. "It's been such a quality, tight-knit group. For us not to have another game with them is what I think hurts more than losing this game."

Virginia senior Kim Connors seemed numb.

"I think I'm still in denial," she said. "I didn't think it was going to end so early."

NOTE: In the men's NCAA Tournament, No. 8 seed Georgetown beat Navy, 9-7, on Sunday. Georgetown advances to play Virginia on May 21 in Towson, Md.
 

Virginia reaches final 16
U.Va. moving on to round of 16 Cavaliers win close matches to stop upset bid by Wake Forest
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER May 15, 2006
MEN'S TENNIS
U.VA. 4 WAKE 2

CHARLOTTESVILLE - On tennis courts not far from each other, second-set tiebreakers were under way in No.1 and No.5 singles, and the anxiety was palpable among the University of Virginia fans at the Boar's Head Sports Club yesterday. U.Va. had lost the first set of each match, and the team score was 2-2.

First team to 4 would win. If both tiebreakers went to Wake Forest, then so would this second-round showdown in the NCAA men's tennis tournament.

"We definitely did not want to end our year this way," U.Va. sophomore Somdev Devvarman said afterward.

The Cavaliers will play again, thanks in particular to the gutty efforts of Devvarman, Marko Miklo and Doug Stewart.

At No.1 singles, Devvarman won the tiebreaker and went on to capture the match. At No.5 singles, Miklo won his tiebreaker, too, and the junior from Slovakia was leading 5-3 in the third and final set when Stewart, at No.3, secured a 4-2 victory for U.Va., the No.8 seed in the 64-team tournament.

Stewart didn't spare the crowd drama either. The senior from Malibu, Calif., won his first set in a tiebreaker. Then, after losing the second, Stewart found himself trailing 6-5 in the third. But he broke Brett Ross' serve for only the second time in the match to force another tiebreaker, and in this one Stewart romped 7-3.

U.Va. finally could exhale.

"It doesn't get much closer than that," Cavaliers coach Brian Boland said.

Virginia, which began the season ranked No.1 nationally, is one of 16 teams headed to Stanford, Calif., where the NCAA tournament resumes this weekend. U.Va. (23-8) will face ACC rival Miami in a third-round match Saturday. The Cavaliers lost in the NCAA quarterfinals last year.

The match against Miami will be played outdoors, and for that, Boland is thankful. Unlike Wake, Boland said, U.Va. isn't especially suited to the indoor game, and so he wasn't happy when the NCAA, concerned about an ominous weather forecast, moved yesterday's match from the outdoor Snyder Tennis Center to the indoor Boar's Head Sports Club.

His concerns were justified. The Deacons nearly avenged the 6-1 loss they'd suffered to U.Va. in the regular season.

"You're going to have matches like this [in the NCAAs]," Boland said. "It just happened earlier than we expected."


 

O'Connor building bright future for UVa. baseball
The Best Seat in the House
Chris Graham
chris@augustafreepress.com

It is the best of times for Virginia baseball.

The program is coming off back-to-back NCAA regionals appearances - which had never been accomplished before at the University of Virginia - and it appears certain that coach Brian O'Connor's crew is headed back to the postseason next month.

The good news for UVa. fans - it's only going to get better.

"It will be exciting to see how this team does down the stretch run. We've got a lot of youth on the field - and they've done a tremendous job. I'll be excited to see how they handle the pressure down the stretch," O'Connor told the "ACC Nation" radio show last week.

From freshmen David Adams and Jeremy Farrell to sophomores Brandon Guyer and Sean Doolittle leading the offense to Doolittle and classmates Jacob Thompson and Michael Schwimer heading the pitching staff, the youths are taking charge in 2006 - and laying the foundation for a bright future.

The future is now, though, as the young Cavaliers continue on their quest to serve up notice that they're ready to take their place among the college-baseball elite.

"This is probably our most complete team. We've had great pitching and defense here the two-plus years that I've been here and some good offensive teams - but this is by far our most productive offensive ballclub. That's made us a complete team - and up until this point, it probably is our best team," said O'Connor, whose team was hitting a blistering .328 and scoring eight runs a game in 2006 through the end of last week - up from .290 and six runs a game a year ago.

The pitching, already strong - last year's staff posted a team earned-run average of 2.74 - is also getting better, lowering the team ERA to a glittering 2.56 through the end of last week.

Senior lefthander Mike Ballard told "ACC Nation" last month that the marked improvement in Virginia baseball that has been seen since O'Connor first stepped foot on Grounds has to do with simple good old-fashioned hard work.

"The amount of work that we put in is just unbelievable. It's a night-and-day difference from what it was beforehand," said Ballard, who was recruited by O'Connor's predecessor, Dennis Womack.

"They get us really prepared - with all the running and conditioning and mental toughness and physical toughness that we work on. That really prepares us for the long, grueling season - and it allows us to go out there and compete at such a high level and come out on top a good amount of times," Ballard said.

"I feel like a lot of the credit goes to how they push us so hard," Ballard said.

O'Connor said he takes pride in how he and his players and assistant coaches go about their business every day.

"When I came here, I tried to set the program to a level where there's a lot of accountability. The players hold each other accountable, the coaches hold the players accountable, and we go about our business in a very, very professional workmanship type of manner," O'Connor said.

"I think when you go about your business full throttle all the time, when you get in challenging situations on the back half of ballgames, where you're under the pressure to perform, they've been in that situation every day at practice - and they've been held accountable to perform at that level. And it's paid off," O'Connor said.

"All of these kids who are in our program, a lot like the other ACC programs, they all want to accomplish greatness, and they all want to win a championship and get to Omaha - and I think the way you do that and the way you build a program is through hard work, keeping pressure on the players, but also showing them confidence and that you believe in them. That's the formula that we've used here - and it's been successful," O'Connor said.

Another part of the formula that O'Connor laid out when he took the Virginia job has to do with getting UVa. fans on the team's side. The excitement over the weekend series with top-ranked North Carolina would seem to be an indication that he has been successful there as well.

"I felt when I took the job here that creating a fan base and an excitement around our program was a very critical part of our success in the future," O'Connor said.

"We're battling history in this league - there are so many great historical baseball programs in this league. We're just trying to build on what we've done and keep trying to move forward and trying to develop some consistency. I'm really happy where we're at right now - and if we continue to have success on a consistent basis, who knows what can happen here?" O'Connor said.
 

Last call for 'Cocktail Party'
By CARTER STRICKLAND
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 05/15/06

Athens — Georgia President Michael Adams recently has made a push to curb on-campus alcohol abuse and change an image of the school that has spilled into the public consciousness.

That push has not been restricted by the campus borders. Adams, working through the SEC, has requested CBS curb its use of "World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party" in promoting the annual Georgia-Florida game it televises each year from Jacksonville.

"There are better images," Adams told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "We have requested they not use that nomenclature. The indication is they are sensitive to our concern."

But, Adams added, CBS has made it clear it is within its rights to use the tag line if it sees fit. CBS officials did not respond to interview requests.

"There are things we can all do to change the culture," Adams said. "We are trying to develop [a different culture] here and there."

Discussions have continued with Jacksonville to develop better management of the city's Landing area, a popular drinking spot the weekend of the Georgia-Florida game, so the image portrayed to America is not one of college debauchery.

"I don't think they want that, either," Adams said.

But, he added, it's easier never to have had that atmosphere than to change it once it exists. Student leadership should play a role in any transformation in culture and image, Adams said.

"I think the students would understand there are some boundaries and everybody is paying attention," he said.

After last year's game, a University of Florida student was beaten to death about a block from the Landing. While the incident was not believed to have been related to the game, it put the city — and the game — under the spotlight.

Susie Wiles, a spokeswoman for the Jacksonville mayor's office, told the Gainesville (Fla.) Sun at the time that alcohol was believed to be a factor, and that the game's "informal [cocktail party] marketing ... is not helpful.

"Obviously, any time there are large numbers of individuals and alcohol is involved, unfortunately we can expect some issues," Wiles told the Sun in November. "The death of this young man was a tragedy. It certainly is a blemish on the record of this game."

A year earlier, the body of another Florida student who had attended pregame parties at the Landing was found next to a parking garage, where he had apparently fallen to his death. Officials determined his death was alcohol-related.

Last September, Georgia and Florida renewed their contract with Jacksonville to keep the game in that city through 2010.

"It was a tough call, but a sensible one," Adams said at the time.

Adams said several factors, not the least of which is the atmosphere surrounding the game, would be weighed when making a decision to extend the contract with the city.
 

Grand jury may consider new charges in Duke lacrosse case
Benjamin Niolet, Staff Writer

DURHAM - A Durham grand jury is scheduled to meet today, and the session could mean new charges in the investigation of a reported rape at a Duke lacrosse team party.
Two of the team's players were indicted in April on charges of first degree rape, first degree sex offense and first degree kidnapping. They are accused of assaulting an escort service dancer in a bathroom of a house at 610 N. Buchanan Blvd. Their lawyers say the men are innocent, and lawyers representing dozens of team members say that no sex or assault occurred at the March 13 party.

But the woman says she was attacked by three men, and Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong said he has been working on bringing charges against a third person.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN TODAY? If Nifong decides to submit the case, police investigators and possibly other witnesses will try to convince grand jurors in a secret session that the state has probable cause to bring a case forward. Grand jurors will hear only the prosecution's side of the case. The standard required for a true bill of indictment is far lower than the beyond-a-reasonable-doubt standard required for a conviction.

IF INDICTMENTS ARE ISSUED, WHEN WILL THEY BECOME PUBLIC? On April 17, a judge ordered the indictments in the lacrosse case sealed. The names of the players who were indicted were not released until 5 a.m. the next day when the players surrendered at the Durham County jail. If Nifong again requests that the indictments be sealed, the law allows a judge to keep them secret until the person is arrested or appears in court.

WHEN WILL ALL THE EVIDENCE BE REVEALED? State law requires prosecutors to turn over all of their case files to defense lawyers, but nothing requires the evidence to be turned over to the public. In open court hearings, lawyers often discuss some of the evidence, but the state's case may not be revealed until trial. No trial dates have been set. When a report on the DNA testing is complete, Nifong is required by law to turn it over to all 46 members of the lacrosse team who submitted DNA samples.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? The cases against Reade William Seligmann, 20, of Essex Fells, N.J., and Collin Finnerty, 19, of Garden City, N.Y., are moving forward. Finnerty has a court date in June. Seligmann is scheduled to appear in court Thursday. His attorney, Kirk Osborn, has filed a series of motions challenging Nifong's handling of the case and asking a judge to bar the prosecutor from further involvement.