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Wednesday, Nov. 04, 2009

GCSU teams picked fourth

Preseason polls, especially to coaches, are not overly relevant.

And both Georgia College & State head basketball coaches were happy with one thing when the Peach Belt Conference preseason polls came out.

“I’m glad we weren’t first,” women’s head coach John Carrick said. “I don’t really want to be picked that high.”

Both GCSU teams were picked to finish fourth, the women tying with Columbus State and getting a first-place vote. The men were four points behind No. 3 USC Aiken and nine behind Clayton State.

“The league is so balanced,” men’s head coach Terry Sellers said. “Being picked fourth, that wasn’t a surprise. I thought we’d be picked somewhere in the middle of the pack.

“People might not realize how much Shaun Keaton, Ken Kemp and Justin Brown meant to our program.”

That trio graduated from last season’s 22-7 team that reached the NCAA tournament. Senior guard Graham Martin was a preseason all-conference pick for the men. He averaged 11.8 points and 3.4 rebounds last season and is 117 points away from 1,000 for his career.

“I hope he’s all-conference at the end of the year,” Sellers said. “We certainly need him to have an all-conference caliber year.”

The women have more returning regulars, with the newcomer class highlighted by former Jones County standout Chimere Jordan. Jordan transferred to GCSU after two solid years at Gulf Coast (Fla.) Community College but is still rehabbing from an ACL injury. Carrick said she has been in about eight practices, so conditioning is an issue. He said she’ll be ready for Thursday night’s exhibition at Mercer.

The men have three starters back, Ty Rowland and Josh Hurst joining Martin.

“We do have a solid nucleus back,” Sellers said. “The league lost so many good players from last year.”

TV BECKONS BEARS

Mercer’s men and women had a few tweaks made to their basketball schedules this week, courtesy of CSS-TV. A doubleheader with Kennesaw State on Jan. 27 has been changed to a men’s game at 7 p.m., with the women’s game moving to noon on Jan. 16 on CSS.

Times for the home doubleheader on Feb. 1 against Florida Gulf Coast have been pushed back to 6:30 p.m. for the women and 9 p.m. for the men, with both games on CSS.

Both Mercer teams welcome Georgia College & State on Thursday in an exhibition doubleheader. The men’s game is part of Coaches vs. Cancer campaign with admission of $10 for adults and $5 for students, all proceeds going to the American Cancer Society.

AROUND MERCER/A-SUN

• Mercer won’t finish with a winning record, but the men’s soccer team is still playing. The Bears earned a fifth seed and visit fourth-seeded North Florida on Friday in the first round of the conference tournament.

Mercer is 5-10-2 overall and finished 4-5 in A-Sun play, only two points from being a third seed. The Ospreys nipped the Bears 2-1 in at Bear Field on Saturday, Mercer’s sixth one-goal loss of the season.

• Crunch time continues for Mercer’s volleyball team. The Bears are eighth in the six-team race for the conference tournament, with four matches left. Mercer is 8-17 overall and 6-10 in the A-Sun. Lipscomb has clinched the first seed with Florida Gulf Coast and Jacksonville nailing down spots.

Belmont is next at 10-7, followed by Campbell and Kennesaw State at 9-7 and East Tennessee State at 7-9. The Bears, winners of two straight, host Stetson on Friday night, with seniors being honored and then Florida Gulf Coast — the tournament host — on Saturday. Then they visit North Florida and Jacksonville next weekend.

The odds aren’t with Mercer. Campbell or Kennesaw State would have to go 0-4 and ETSU no better than 2-2. Kennesaw State has a break with Stetson, winless in 17 conference matches, visiting on Saturday. Campbell closes out with three of the top four teams and North Florida.

And the Bears would have to go at least 3-1.

• If the Mercer women’s soccer team doesn’t see another overtime shootout for awhile, especially in the postseason, the Bears will be happy. Mercer and Jacksonville played to a tie at 2 in regulation of a first-round matchup in the A-Sun tournament on Friday, then went through two overtimes before losing in a shootout.

The Bears couldn’t get anything into the net in the shootout while the Dolphins won after connecting on three. The loss ended Mercer’s season at 9-7-2. a year after the Bears lost to Belmont in the tournament championship in, yes, a shootout.

Lizzy Shaughnessy served to Oliva Tucker, whose header in the 11th minute broke a goalless streak of 547 minutes for Jacksonville goalkeeper Alexa Rooney.

One consolation is the naming of three players to the all-conference teams and one to the all-freshman unit. Tucker, a sophomore from Peachtree City, was a first-team selection for the second straight year after leading Mercer in goals and points. Hudson and junior Sara Elliot made the second team, and Patricia Anne Upson was among the top freshmen.

AROUND GCSU/PEACH BELT

• Blanchard Woods Park in Evans is the host for the PBC men’s and women’s soccer tournament, which started Tuesday night with women’s first-round action on campus sites. Fourth-seeded GCSU hosted fifth-seeded North Georgia at 7 p.m., with the winner advancing to Friday’s semifinal at 7:30 p.m.