News and Notes from East Carolina, Conference USA and Beyond

PREVIOUS NUGGETS

10.28.06: Cougars quarterback piling up the numbers ... ECU vs. USM part of pay-per-view twinbill ... Hokies tame Tigers in key ACC battle

10.27.06: Rice's Almond named Wooden candidate ... Pirates hosting C-USA cross country ... ECU freshman Bools shares C-USA honor

10.26.06: Tickets for Troops promotion expands ... Another C-USA honor for ECU's Icenhower ... Report: Davis would have interest in Heels

10.25.06: Ex-Pirate Adams attempts PGA qualifying ...
C-USA names football players of week ... Tar Heels will retain many football recruits

10.24.06: New thumbnails: Baker, Byrd and Thompson ... Ore golden in Hokies' win over Southern Miss ... Unbeaten start for ECU swim teams ... Tar Heels picked first in ACC hoops

10.23.06: Jenkins' three lifts Gold in scrimmage ... ECU volleyball takes sixth straight C-USA win ... Bools finishes sixth in Lady Pirate golf

10.22.06: Pirates volleyball on record streak ... Mountaineers handle Huskies, stay unbeaten ... Georgia golfer gets call to play in South Africa

10.21.06: Report: UNC-Chapel Hill's Bunting to resign ... Coaches' challenges yield few reversals ... Southern Miss prepared for Hokies

10.20.06: ECU's Roach nominated for Draddy Award ... Memphis picked first in C-USA basketball ... 4th-ranked UTEP runners coming to Greenville

10.19.06: Koren Robinson suspended by NFL ... Miami broadcaster axed over brawl comments ... Dartmouth, Holy Cross row gets investigation

10.18.06: League teams busy; ECU ends homestand ... C-USA names football players of week ... ECU's Krug captures C-USA weekly honor

10.17.06: ACC, Miami announce additional suspensions ... More suspensions also on Sun Belt's agenda ... Duke lacrosse under "60 Minutes" scrutiny

10.16.06: Coker suspends eight Miami players after brawl ... Pirate volleyball continues roll at UCF ... Szilard leads ECU women's soccer win ... Harris Poll's top 5 varies from BCS Standings

10.15.06: Stokes convenes season's first hoops practice ... Pirate volleyball wins third straight ... ECU women open basketball practice at Rose

10.14.06: EA Sports video game features ECU baseball stadium ... Pirates announce Tickets for Troops drive ... Six C-USA gridders in All-American Classic

10.13.06: Pirate basketball gets national TV dates ... ECU women's hoops getting tube time, too ... East Carolina baseball to host winter camp

10.12.06: ECU hoops scrimmages set for Homecoming ... Camels stun No. 3 UNC-Chapel Hill in soccer ... ECU picked 7th in C-USA women's hoops

10.11.06: Dougherty gets
C-USA special teams honor ... Pirate promotions abound for Tulsa game ... UCF versus Pitt on TV Friday night

10.10.06: Tulsa netter Brugues takes national title ... Miami (OH) reeling after sixth loss ... Pirates host unique diving competition

10.09.06: Buckeyes, Trojans, Gators top Harris Poll ... Denny O'Brien's Harris Poll ballot ... Gators continue success in Swamp ... Pirates stun Memphis in volleyball ... ECU soccer shuts out Herd

10.08.06: Jeff Blake bows out of hall induction ... NCAA's tax status under investigation ... North Dakota challenges NCAA mascot policy

10.07.06: Amato continues mastery of Seminoles ... ECU volleyball triumphs at home over UAB ... Millican continues bid for spot on LPGA Tour

10.06.06: Big Ten announces fines, reprimands ... Central Florida wins late field goal battle ... Millican shoots 74 in qualifying event

10.05.06: Gold captures ECU World Series with 8-7 win ... Tulsa runs past Southern Miss ... Former ECU golfer Millican in LPGA qualifying

10.04.06: TV exposure continues for C-USA teams ... Former UVa stars make $1 million gift ... SMU takes two of three weekly league honors

10.03.06: Curry to receive Stagg award ... Inspired by fallen teammate, Rice whips Army ... ECU women's golf team finishes 11th

10.02.06: Takeaways, sacks mean good things for UVa ... Gators pull even with WVU in Harris BCS poll ... Swofford presented with Homer Rice Award ... Tulsa win streak continues at ECU's expense

10.01.06: Cavs blast Duke 37-0 in Durham ... Vols deal Memphis a resounding defeat ... Pirate women's cross country wins meet

The East Carolina volleyball team won its seventh straight match, sweeping Southern Miss 3-0 (30-26, 30-27, 30-16) on senior night in Minges Coliseum Friday evening, according to an ECU athletic media relations release.

The Pirates are now 17-9, 8-4 in Conference USA while Southern Miss drops to 13-13, 5-6 in C-USA action.

Mignon Dubenion led the Pirates with 13 kills on the night, with a .455 hitting percentage. She also added four blocks. Kelley Wernert and Melissa Zentner also tallied double-figure kills, with 12 and 11, respectively. Hannah Fenker recorded a team-high 11 digs while Trish Monroe chipped in 10. Heidi Krug dished out
41 assists in the victory.

The Pirates compete in Minges Coliseum this afternoon at 1 p.m. against Central Florida.

The East Carolina swimming and diving teams swept their second meet in as many days as both the men and women's teams defeated host Towson in a dual meet Saturday afternoon at Burdick Pool, according to an ECU athletic media relations release.

Junior Rebecca Perry won a pair of individual events and swam the anchor leg in the 400-medley relay as ECU (5-0) extended its win streak to five straight meets with a 158-81 non-conference women’s swimming and diving victory over the Tigers (3-1).

Perry took first place in the 50-free with a time of :24.11 while earning a victory in the 100-free by touching the wall in :52.23. She also swam the anchor leg of the Pirates’ victorious 400-medley relay team, which finished with a mark of 3:55.53.

Junior Megan Pulaski won a pair of events for the Pirates, finishing first in the 1000-free (10:37.05) and the 500-free (5:06.94).

"We swam very well today, especially with this being our second meet of the weekend," said Pirate head coach Rick Kobe. "It was a great team effort and we're very excited to come away from the weekend still unbeaten."

On the men’s side, junior Ryan Hunt swept both diving events to lead the Pirates (4-0) to a 135-108 victory over the Tigers (2-2).

ECU returns to action on Saturday, Nov. 4, as the Pirates will face Duquesne, Marshall and West Virginia.

A 24-hour period of steady rain created sloppy running conditions Friday for the 2006 Conference USA cross country championships hosted by East Carolina.

The muddy course, however, did not keep defending champion Texas-El Paso from winning its second-straight C-USA men's title, nor did it prevent the UAB women from capturing their first cross country crown at a windy Lake Kristi in Grimesland on Saturday, according to an account on the league website.

UTEP repeated as conference champions for the first time since capturing 11-consecutive Western Athletic Conference titles from 1973-83. The Miners scored a meet-record 21 points, bettering their 2005 total of 23, after entering this year's event undefeated with four meet titles.

For the second-consecutive year, UTEP sophomore Patrick Mutai won the men's individual title with a winning time of 24:31.96, followed by teammate and first team all-conference honorees Stephen Samoei and Nicodemus Ng'etich. Samoei, a junior and 2005 All-American, finished second in a time of 24:32.23, while Ng'etich, the 2006 C-USA Freshman of the Year, crossed the finish line in 24:54.13 for fourth. Wrapping up the scoring for the Miners were sophomores Japheth Ng'ojoy and Dominie Tanu. The duo finished sixth (25:16.59) and eighth (25:39.94) for second team all-conference merits.

Tulsa finished second among the men's teams with 40 points. The Golden Hurricane were led by first team all-conference performances from juniors Edwin Henshaw, who placed third overall with a time of 24:44.22, and Brett Turowski's fifth-best mark of 25:00.61.

Rice came in third place with 70 points, while Central Florida scored 96 for fourth and Houston tallied 134 to round out the top five on the men's side.

The women's race was a lot closer as one point separated the top two finishers. UAB tallied 54 points, while defending champion Rice scored 55 points for second. The 2005 race saw Rice winning and UAB finishing second.

UAB was without its top runner and 2005 C-USA individual champion Elizabeth Ambrus, who missed the championship with a foot injury. Ambrus's credentials improved last season as she not only won the conference title but was named the 2005 C-USA Athlete of the Year for cross country and earned 2005 All-South Region honors.

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.