The previously planned golf fundraiser tournament at Deerwood Country Club continued as scheduled Monday, but it was played with strong emotions in memory of Huber.
While UNF disputes with Besch & Smith concerning the project to fix UNF's soccer field problems, difficulties arise concerning morale, money and Mother Nature.
JU scored two second half goals to pull away to a 3-1 victory, but head coach Linda Hamilton didn't see any of the four goals at Southern Oak Stadium Friday night.
If the average fan from last season walked into a practice this year, they would be hard pressed to find a familiar face. The team has eight new players.
UNF (2-6-2) has been shut out five times this season including Friday's loss to Furman (5-2-1). Granted, each loss was to a bigger, non-conference team.
The home opener is set for Nov. 16 against the Southern University Jaguars. UNF has not lost a home opener since 2008. Other non-conference matchups include games against nationally pre-season ranked opponents Ohio State (No. 10), Indiana (No.16) and Michigan State (No. 3).
University of North Florida golfer Kevin Phelan won medalist honors at the Bradenton Sectional Qualifier to earn a spot in the field for the 2013 U.S. Open Championship on June 13-16.
"Just based on those talks and where he was in his recovery and in his being he felt and his mom felt -- and I'm %100 behind him -- that it was in his best intrest to play this last season at a different school," Driscoll said. "It was really more of a fatherly approach than anything else."
The deciding set was played on the far end of the sand volleyball courts at Jacksonville University, so in order to get a better view both teams lined up against chain link fence to get a closer look at the action.
UNF would add six more runs, and a total 17 hits for the game. The team totaled 32 runs in the three game series, and grabbed three wins against NKU (6-30, 1-11 A-sun) over the weekend.
Former UNF basketball player Stephen O’Reilly turned himself in to authorities in Florida after a warrant for his arrest was issued for the fatal stabbing of his roommate.
Weeks, who attended Clay High School in Green Cove Springs, finished the game 4-for-5. Weeks notched all four elements of the cycle with a home run (4), a triple, a double and a single. He also had two runs scored and a team-best five RBI.
“In their last five wins, we were one of those teams [that played them tight]. We were the only team in the last five minutes that was a possession away from being there,” Driscoll said.
With 21 seconds left and UNF clinging to a two point lead freshman Ray Rodriguez, who had attempted only one free-throw all season, stepped to the line.
"I've been working coach all week," said Beech. "David Jeune got me open, Will Wilson, Andy Diaz all the seniors they were looking for me. I got open shots and I hit them. It was fun."
“You don't leave as a legacy something that can't financially carry itself -- that's a bad legacy,” Delaney said. “I think it's more likely that we won't have football than we will.”
After the game, Driscoll said that starting lineup changes may be in UNF's future. Driscoll will likley be looking to improve UNF's slumping offense. UNF is averaging 56 points in its last three games, nine points below its season average of 65.
During pre-game warm-ups Wallace was the most vocal player on the court. You could see the energy exuding from him as he stalked up and down the court, taking time to pump up each of his teammates.
Junior Travis Wallace led the team in more than one aspect Saturday night. His energy and vocal leadership kept the team's head in the game, even when the Ospreys fell behind by 19 points midway though the first half. His presence inside and perfect free throw shooting (6-6) led all scorers with 18 points.
The team goes as Smith goes. In the last four UNF victories, Smith’s contributions averaged over 25 points per game. In the last four UNF defeats, Smith’s average was 10 points per game.
University President John Delaney officially asked the University Board of Trustees for permission to begin exploring the idea of adding a football team to the athletics program at UNF.
Only last semester, Athletic Director Lee Moon was asked about the possibility of UNF starting a football program. His response was, "Not in my lifetime."
Moon said that he has been polling fraternities and sororities to test the climate for football on campus, after receiving permission from President John Delaney.
"It's a good league and every night you better be ready to play, and if you don't buy into that or you don't believe that, you have something seriously wrong with you," Driscoll said.
UNF has started to develop balanced inside-outside scoring with the inside scoring of Wallace and the long range ability of Parker Smith, but freshman Beau Beech has started to become a viable third scoring option.
By the middle of the first half, Smith was so hot Stetson fans were yelling, "No!" the second he was catching the ball in anticipation of the three points that were sure to follow.
Playing strong competition can reveal a lot about a team, including strengths and weaknesses. UNF showed they can hang with the big boys of the NCAA, playing well in spurts against Memphis and FSU, but if UNF wants a shot at the A-Sun Title they will need to make a few key improvements.
An unlikely run by UNF's volleyball team in the Atlantic-Sun Conference Tournament ended Saturday when the Ospreys lost a five set match to ETSU (23-25, 24-26, 25-18, 25-22, 12-15).
Crosstown rivals UNF and JU met for the third time this season in the first round of the Atlantic Sun tournament. The fourth-seeded Ospreys swept fifth-seeded Jacksonville 3-0 (25-16, 25-22, 25-13) at Lipscomb's Allen Arena.
"His dad was a coach and a Vietnam vet who had a lot of great qualities," Driscoll said. "He taught is son this, don't expect to be praised when you do things well, but expect to be discplined when you do things wrong, that's what Jerron lives by."
A pumped up crowd wearing t-shirts carrying the words, "Kick the Fins", cheered the UNF volleyball team to a straight set victory over JU Sat. Nov. 4.
UNF (18-11, 9-7 A-sun) won its fourth straight...
With UNF's hopes of post season play over, the Ospreys had a chance to play spoiler. A victory over JU would have eliminated them from post season play, but UNF wasn't able to defend in the last third of the field.
Regardless of my constant desire to see their destruction, I do respect the skills displayed by the skaters at UNF. It' has to be difficult to navigate the lunch crowd, especially with those mini skate boards that look like they came out of a cereal box.
When the final whistle chirped on a hot and muggy Sunday afternoon match against Stetson, the UNF women's soccer team found themselves on top of the Atlantic Sun Conference standings.
In a Sept. 11 in a match against Bethune-Cookman, Pridgeon reached 1,000 digs to go along with 1,322 kills for her college career. She is the only active player in the Atlantic-Sun Conference to have at least 1,000 digs and 1,000 kills.
On Thursday night, Sept. 13, I received some devastating news. I was notified via iPhone that a football player that I've never met, on a team that I have never rooted for, was injured in a game that involved two teams that I hate.
This player didn’t stand out because of her powerful 5-foot-9 frame, her long bleach blonde hair or because of the bulky knee brace that engulfed her left knee. In order to notice Anna Budinska, you didn’t need to see her, all you needed to do was listen.
Hey Mojo,
It's me, Travis. You don’t know me, but I know you. I know you well enough to refer to you by Mojo, a nickname I use mostly because typing Maurice Jones-Drew every time takes too long.
