From staff and wire reports
Catawba’s basketball teams will make their final road trip of the regular season tonight when they travel to Jefferson City, Tenn., to take on SAC rival Carson-Newman.
The doubleheader starts at 6 p.m.
Catawba (16-9, 8-6) is tied for third, two games behind Lenoir-Rhyne with two to play. Carson-Newman (6-19, 3-11) has had a down season but always puts up a lot of points against the Indians.
Catawba’s women (15-10, 7-7) are tied for fifth but have a chance to tie Carson-Newman (17-8, 8-6) for third with a victory.
Catawba’s teams swept the games at Goodman Gym this season.
The Indians finish the regular season against Brevard at Goodman Gym on Saturday with games at 2 and 4.
The SAC tournament in Hickory follows the regular season.
n Catawba men’s soccer Catawba announced Liam Farrell as its new head men’s soccer coach on Tuesday.
Farrell comes to Catawba from Appalachian State, where he has served as assistant men’s soccer coach since 2003. In addition to serving as recruiting coordinator at ASU, Farrell was interim head coach for three months in 2008, prior to the arrival of current head coach Shaun Pendleton.
“We are very excited to have Coach Farrell join the Catawba family and continue the legacy of outstanding soccer coaches,” athletics director Dennis Davidson said. “He brings tremendous passion and knowledge of the game as well as excellent experience at both the D-II and D-I levels. We look forward to seeing Coach Farrell move the program back towards the top of the South Atlantic Conference.”
Farrell becomes just the fourth Catawba soccer coach in the last 26 years, following Ralph Wager (1983-90), Peter Broadley (1990-98) and Craig Turnbull (1998-2008).
“That is quite a history,” said Davidson, “one that Coach Farrell was willing and eager to embrace. He has demonstrated an ability to recruit, develop and motivate student athletes to excel in the classroom and on the field.”
Farrell and his wife, Dolly, have a 6-month-old daughter, Rory. He is scheduled to complete work on a master’s degree in administration at ASU in May 2009.
n Pfeiffer athletics
Pfeiffer’s men’s basketball team put up big numbers again on Monday, outscoring Limestone 101-83.
It was the 14th time this season the Falcons have entered triple digits.
Pfeiffer (16-10, 13-6 Conference Carolinas) scored 52 in the second half and led by as many as 22 points.
The Falcons were led by Chris Donald with 20 points. Duke Johnson contributed 18, while Chris Woods added 16. Alvin Slaton had 13 points, and Mike Davidson scored 11.
Anthony Middleton had 26 points for the Saints.
n Pfeiffer’s women’s basketball team continued its strong play late in the season with an 80-64 victory against Limestone on Tuesday.
Pfeiffer (8-18, 7-13) was led by Devona Knight’s 13 points. Carly Booth (Davie) and Shanee Purnell scored 12 points apiece.
Brittney Miller scored 22 points for the Saints.
n Pfeiffer’s women’s tennis team claimed a 5-4 victory over Catawba on Tuesday.
n Pfeiffer’s Caitlin Ryan was named Conference Carolinas Women’s Lacrosse Player of the Week.
n Pfeiffer’s baseball team scored three runs in the eighth Tuesday to beat Tusculum 5-3.
n College basketballMichael Gore (South Rowan) had six points and six rebounds for Coker in an 81-60 win against Anderson on Tuesday.
n College baseball
Due to a scheduling conflict, the baseball game between Catawba and Erskine has been moved to Thursday, March 12, at 1 p.m.
An earlier postponement with Barton has now been set for Thursday, March 26, at Newman Park at 6 p.m.
n Lenoir-Rhyne, ranked 15th, beat Belmont Abbey 12-4 on Tuesday.
Zach Glass (Salisbury) had two RBIs for the Bears.
Freshman Caleb Shore (South Rowan) had his first college base hit for the Crusaders.
n Daniel Wagner (South) tied his career high with four hits as Belmont lost to Middle Tennessee 12-10 on Tuesday in extra innings.
Wagner had two doubles and scored three runs.
n Charlotte’s Justin Roland (East Rowan) had two RBIs in a 6-5 loss to Clemson on Sunday and was 1-for-1 with a run scored in an 8-4 victory against Oakland on Tuesday.
n Alex Britt (Salisbury) pitched a scoreless inning of relief for Mars Hill in a 5-2 victory against North Georgia on Tuesday.
n Whit Merrifield (Davie) was 1-for-3 with an RBI as South Carolina beat Duquesne 6-0 on Monday.
n 7th-grade hoops
Seth Martin swished a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Southeast’s boys a 53-52 win over Knox.
Trailing 52-50, Trey Williams took the inbounds pass and fired downcourt to Martin, who drilled a 22-footer in front of the Southeast bench.
Williams led the Patriots with 22 points. Martin finished with 12, Colton Laws had 10 and Maquan Stout added five.
n West Rowan’s girls topped Corriher-Lipe 34-18.
Michaela White had 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Bulldogs (3-4). Berkley Alessandrini had five points and five rebounds.
Mary Noble and Katie Crider played well on defense for West.
Kacie Stamey led the Yellow Jackets with seven points.
n Cannon wins swim title
Concord’s Cannon School girls swim team repeated as NCISAA state champions, while the boys team finished second at Curran Aquatic Center in Cary.
Cannon’s boys finished second behind Covenant Day School.
n Catawba softball
Catawba’s softball team rolled to a doubleheader sweep of Anderson on the road on Tuesday afternoon.
The Indians (6-4) romped 9-3 and 16-2.
Mackenzie White (Carson) hit a grand slam in the seventh to break open the first game.
Allie Marshall had a two-run single in the third and doubled home a run in the fifth.
Meghan Cobb pitched a complete game and scattered nine hits.
n In the second game, Catawba pounded out 17 hits.
White had three more hits, including her second home run of the day. Carly Sabat went 4-for-4. Khourtni Hester also homered.
Cassie Markham drove in two runs. Brittany Thornburg had a two-run double.
Jamie Wells picked up the win, allowing two runs on five hits over four innings.
n Girls prep basketball
In Tuesday playoff games …
Anna Freeman scored 22 points, Candace Fox had 14 and Catawba signee Elizabeth Merritt 11 as East Davidson routed West Lincoln 78-49.
n Kim McNeil scored 20 points as Ashe County pummeled West Davidson 67-27.
Salisbury goes to Ashe on Thursday.
n Ashlei Clodfelter scored 22 points to lead North Davidson to a 59-53 victory against Person.
n Kelsee Cheek scored 20 points as Robinson beat R.J. Reynolds 52-50.
n Shay Jones scored 20 points for Mount Tabor in a 73-51 victory against Watauga.
n South Caldwell, a 4A wild card won its first round game.
n CCC first-year team Providence Grove took No. 1 seed Bunker Hill into overtime before losing.
n Virginia beats SeminolesTALLAHASSEE, Fla. ó Debbie Ryan wasn’t overly concerned when her veteran Virginia basketball team missed its first eight shots and spotted Atlantic Coast Conference-leading and host Florida State an early seven-point lead Tuesday night.
“They were very high emotionally but I kept reminding my team they had to come down,” Ryan said of the Seminoles, who were celebrating Senior Night and a chance to lock up a share of the ACC regular season title.
She was right as No. 22 Virginia (22-7, 8-5) overcame an 11-point first half deficit to upset No. 11 Florida State, 68-63.
Virginia senior forward Lyndra Littles scored 17 of her game-high 24 points in the second half, including a pair of free throws with 21.3 seconds remaining to give the Cavaliers a 66-60 lead. Littles gave Virginia the lead for good at 61-60 by converting a backdoor lob play.
Junior Monica Wright finished with 18 points and senior Aisha Mohammed added 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Cavaliers.
“When we came back out in the second half, I thought Lyndra and Monica really settled down,” Ryan said. “We absolutely played some of our best defense in the second half.”
Florida State (23-6, 11-2) managed just 27 second half points as the Cavaliers clamped down defensively and on the boards.