News and Notes from East Carolina, Conference USA and Beyond

PREVIOUS NUGGETS

09.30.06: Wave home after record road trip ... NIT selection committee adds two ... ECU women's golf gets underway

09.29.06: NCAA graduation rate inches higher ... ECU tennis alumni will hold Oct. 7 reunion ... Tulane's return home to be televised

09.28.06: ECU rolls out Mini Pack deal on football tickets ... O'Leary cites mistakes in loss to Southern Miss ... Finances major factor in Bunting's status

09.27.06: Struggling Cavaliers face winless Duke ... Upon further review: Review unwarranted ... ECU netters get singles wins in Port City

09.26.06: ECU diamond slate loaded with home games ... East Carolina 2007 Baseball Schedule ... Rice's Lloyd collapses at workout, dies ... Golden Knights-Golden Eagles collision on TV ... C-USA announces football players of week ... ECU gets tie in women's soccer

09.25.06: O'Brien: Buckeyes, Auburn, USC, WVU tops ... Ohio State, Southern Cal lead Harris BCS poll ... Blazers topped in OT for Bulldogs' first win ... Tulsa edges Navy on blocked kick ... UTEP tops East Carolina 3-0 in volleyball

09.24.06: Clemson recognizes 1981 national champs ... Ref gets assignment involving Stoops family ... ECU volleyball falls at Tulane, hosts UTEP

09.23.06: ACC football struggling despite expansion ... Cavs may have found their quarterback ... Southern Miss freshman setting records

09.22.06: Pirate baseball announces fall scrimmages ... Tulane football in ESPN spotlight today ... Southern Miss AD will chair NCAA group

09.21.06: Holland addresses crowd behavior ... WVU game at center of Pirate Club weekend ... AFCA cuts ties with Hula Bowl

09.20.06: Bad officiating costs Oklahoma against Oregon ... ECU women's hoops will travel to Cancun ... Pirate volleyball a shutout winner over A&T

09.19.06: Memphis ousts defensive coordinator Dunn ... ECU's Kasey Ross earns
C-USA weekly honor ... Sept. TV calendar filling up for
C-USA teams

09.18.06: Mountaineers have some things to work on ... New Jersey will test prep players for steroids ... ECU women's soccer falls 1-0 to Penn

09.17.06: Knife trouble nothing new at Northern Colorado ... South Carolina QB will rejoin team ... Pirate volleyball sweeps Grambling State

09.16.06: Yahoo report says Bush accepted benefits ... Pirate volleyball gets fourth shutout ... ECU women's soccer edged by Seahawks

09.15.06: Amato post-Akron comments fueling reactions ... Stabbed N. Colorado punter watches team ... Pirate volleyball topped by Herd

09.14.06: NFL rosters filled with C-USA alums ... Southern Miss coach Bower calls Pack "scary" ... Rice goalkeeper McClintock gets national honor

09.13.06: Pirate punter Dougherty on Guy watch list ... ECU golfers finish ninth at Mid Pines ... East Carolina sweeps Campbell in volleyball

09.12.06: WVU, Pirates to be shown on ESPN 2 ... UAB's Felder honored for game- saving strip ... C-USA volleyball accolade for Pirates' Krug

09.11.06: Buckeye cheerleader drinks, drives, hits veep ... Houston's Kolb sets school mark in rout ... Krug sets ECU volleyball assists mark

09.10.06: Aundrae Allison on Biletnikoff watch list ... SEC's artificial noise penalties reinstated ... ECU volleyball falls to North Florida

09.09.06: UAB focuses on covering Aundrae Allison ... Ga. Southern mourns death of Erk Russell ... Shelby named to ECU women's hoops staff

09.08.06: NCAA's Brand calls for 80 percent grad rate ... ECU women's soccer gets regional ranking ... Soccer Buzz recognizes ECU's Nicole Moore ... Pirates get volleyball sweep over UNCW

09.07.06: Tigers, Pack, Deacs highlight ECU hoops slate ... Record contradicts Tressel's poll vote claim ... Winston- Salem State coach gets extension

09.06.06: Holland featured speaker at power lunch ... College games shorter after rule changes ... Full day in
C-USA includes Pirates vs. Blazers ... C-USA names football players of the week

09.05.06: Holtz discusses loss to Navy, challenge at UAB ... UAB pleased with performance vs. Sooners ... U of L's Bush has surgery for broken leg

09.04.06: Ole Miss survives Memphis in Sunday opener ... Blazers narrowly miss upset bid at Oklahoma ... Early showdown tonight for 'Canes, 'Noles ... Cavaliers turn back Pirates in volleyball final

09.03.06: NCAA president Brand at Elon on Wednesday ... Pirate volleyball 2-0 after topping Georgetown ... National honor for Memphis soccer player

09.02.06: Miners prevail over Aztecs in season opener ... East Carolina has Wright stuff in volleyball ... ECU women's soccer gets another shutout

09.01.06: UAB game off limits to Peterson's Dad ... Tulsa rolls past Stephen F. Austin in opener ... Pirates announce nine women's track signees

Virginia spoiled Duke’s 2006 edition of Homecoming by defeating the Blue Devils, 37-0, at Wallace Wade Stadium on Saturday afternoon, according to a release on the Duke athletics website.

Virginia got on the scoreboard just over three minutes into the first quarter when wide receiver Emmanuel Byers tossed a 21-yard touchdown pass to fellow wideout Fontel Mines. The drive was set up by a 22-yard punt return by Mike Brown.

After stopping Duke on fourth down and one yard to go at the Blue Devils’ 29 yard line, the Cavaliers went ahead 10-0 on a 31-yard field goal by Chris Gould.

A blocked punt by Virginia’s Josh Zidenberg led to a one-yard rushing touchdown by Jason Snelling with 6:07 remaining in the opening period.

Just prior to halftime, the Cavaliers took advantage of Duke’s third turnover when defensive end Jeffrey Fitzgerald scooped up a fumble and darted 23 yards for a touchdown, sending the teams to intermission with a 24-0 Virginia lead.

Fitzgerald then intercepted a Duke pass deep in Blue Devil territory on the final play of the third quarter, setting up a 12-yard scoring strike from quarterback Jameel Sewell to tight end Tom Santi.

Mikell Simpson’s two-yard touchdown run with 28 seconds left accounted for the final margin.

Next up for the Cavaliers is a trip to Greenville to play East Carolina at 6 p.m. this coming Saturday.

Erik Ainge came out hot and didn’t cool down Saturday in passing for 324 yards and four touchdowns in Tennessee’s 41-7 rout of Memphis at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, according to a Nashville Tennessean report.

The Vols (4-1) have now won 20 of the 21 games in the series, and unlike several of the recent meetings, this one was never close.

Ainge threw two of his touchdown passes to Jayson Swain, one to Robert Meachem and his final one to Bret Smith.

Redshirt freshman tailback LaMarcus Coker rushed for 125 yards on 26 carries in his first career start. It was the second straight 100-yard rushing game for the former Antioch High star.

The Vols played reserves most of the way in the fourth quarter, and redshirt freshman quarterback Jonathan Crompton led a scoring drive.

Memphis (1-3) didn’t have any success against the Tennessee defense, which had allowed just 82 total yards and three first downs until the Tigers recovered a Bo Hardegree fumble deep in Tennessee territory late in the game. That fumble set up the Tigers’ only touchdown.

The East Carolina women's cross country team finished first at a meet hosted by ECU on Saturday at Lake Kristi. The first-place finish was the highest finish for the Lady Pirates since Oct. 4, 2004, spanning 20 events.

Nicole Briggs led the way for the women for the fourth consecutive week with a time of 18:54. Michele Milner won for the women, just eight seconds ahead of Briggs. Five of the top-ten runners on the women's side were from East Carolina, according to an ECU athletic media relations release.

The men's team finished in third-place and has been steadily improving throughout the course of the season. Stephen Tausend was the highest men's finisher, finishing in fifth place and a time of 26:46. Will Collins finished tenth (27:24) and John Loehr finished 12th (27:30). The men's team had five runners in the top-20.

"The girls have been working really hard and I think after this win their confidence and enthusiasm is soaring," said head coach Curt Kraft. "The men ran the best they have all season and did very well running together as a group."

News Nuggets are compiled periodically based on material supplied by staff members; data published by ECU, Conference USA and its member schools; and reports from electronic services and other sources. Copyright 2006 Bonesville.net and other publishers. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.