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PLAYER OF THE WEEK ARCHIVES
(2002-03 FOOTBALL, BASKETBALL AND BASEBALL SEASONS)
From staff, Conference USA and ECU reports
Note: Reports below appear in reverse chronological order, with the most
recent item first.
Posted 05/12/03:
Norwood hitting onslaught nets
award
East Carolina, which until recently has relied
heavily on its pitching staff to stay afloat in the Conference USA
baseball wars, finally found its groove at the plate over the
weekend — and not a moment too soon.
First baseman Ryan Norwood led a slugging rampage as
the Pirates outscored UAB 31-29 to manage two victories in a wild
and wooly three-game series.
Norwood had seven hits, including three home runs,
against the Blazers. His hitting exploits were deemed exemplary
enough by C-USA that the league office on Monday named the Richmond,
Va., sophomore co-hitter of the week.
Texas Christian first baseman Jared Lundeen shared
the weekly hitting honor with Norwood after hitting safely 5 times
in 9 at bats, and Jarrett Grube of Memphis was named pitcher of the
week on the strength of a dominating outing in which the Tigers
tamed Houston 2-1.
CO-HITTERS OF THE WEEK:
RYAN NORWOOD, EAST CAROLINA
Sophomore, 1B, Richmond, Va.
Norwood batted .500 (7-for-14) in three games vs. UAB with five
extra-base hits and four runs scored. He hit two home runs in the
series-opening 11-8 win on Friday night, including a three-run
game-winning homer in the bottom of the eighth inning. In the series
finale, Norwood registered his first career four-hit game, going 4-for-5
with a double and a three-run homer, leading ECU to a 12-9 win.
JARED LUNDEEN, TCU
Senior, 1B, Fountain Hills, Ariz.
Lundeen went 5-for-9 (.556) in a series win at Charlotte, adding a pair
of walks and a stolen base while slugging 1.667 for the weekend. He
registered at least one hit and one RBI in each game, hitting a double,
three home runs and driving in seven runs. Lundeen tied career highs
with two home runs, three hits and four RBI in Saturday’s wild 20-15
victory.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK:
JARRETT GRUBE, MEMPHIS
Junior, RHP, Coronna, Ind.
Grube earns his second Pitcher of the Week honor after helping
Memphis to a series-opening 2-1 win over Houston. He did not allow
an earned run over seven innings, surrendering just two hits and
striking out six. It was Grube’s third straight win in league play.
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Posted 05/05/03:
Tucker tucks away C-USA honor
Opponents with big reputations don't intimidate East
Carolina relief pitcher Glenn Tucker, and he recently proved it
against a pair of nationally-ranked opponents.
For his efforts, Tucker has been named Conference
USA Pitcher of the Week after hurling nine scoreless innings in
appearances last week against No. 5 N.C. State and No. 19 Southern
Miss.
The senior right-hander out of Tavernier (FL) Coral
Shores High School capped off the productive week out of the bullpen
by taming C-USA's most-fearsome hitting team for eight innings as
the Pirates thumped USM 7-3 on Sunday.
Tucker fanned seven, allowed the Golden Eagles only
three hits and issued no walks — retiring 17 straight during one
stretch — to improve his record to 4-2 while helping ECU gain its
second win in the three-game series against the league leaders.
The performance followed a one-inning stint of
scoreless relief by Tucker last Wednesday against the Wolfpack.
The Pitcher of the Week award was the second this
season earned by a member of the East Carolina staff. Davey Penny,
another senior right-hander, received the honor little more than a
month ago.
Meanwhile, a slugger for Tulane — the team against
whom the Pirates will close the regular season with a three-game
series in New Orleans May 15-17 — was named Hitter of the Week.
Jonny Kaplan received the accolade after helping the red-hot Green
Wave to four victories, including a win over No. 6 LSU.
HITTER OF THE WEEK
JONNY KAPLAN, TULANE
Senior, CF, Chesterfield, Mo.
Kaplan had at least two hits in all four Tulane
victories last week, finishing the week 9-for-19 (.474). The Green
Wave’s leadoff hitter opened the week by going 3-for-5 with a double
and three RBI in a 9-5 win over No. 6 LSU. Kaplan two hits in each
win over Cincinnati, doubling twice and stealing a pair of bases
against the Bearcats.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK
GLENN TUCKER, EAST CAROLINA
Senior, RHP, Tavernier, Fla.
After pitching a scoreless inning of relief at No. 5 North Carolina
State on April 30, Tucker helped the Pirates win a series against
first place Southern Miss with eight shutout innings of relief on
Sunday. He allowed just three hits to the league’s top-hitting team,
returning 17 consecutive batters during one stretch. Tucker struck
out seven and did not walk a batter, setting new career-highs for
innings pitched and strikeouts.
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Posted 04/01/03:
Penny on the money with Player
of Week Award
East Carolina
pitching ace Davey Penny has been name the Conference USA
pitcher of the week. (Photo: ECU) |
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East Carolina pitching ace Davey Penny is quite a
penny-pincher when it comes to dispensing gifts to hitters. The
senior right-hander, a product of Clayton High School., has not
allowed an earned run in four starts dating back to February, and
this week, Conference USA took notice.
Penny has been named the conference's pitcher of the
week after posting his third victory of the year and running his
streak of consecutive innings without giving up an earned run to 30
over a span of four starts.
In his most recent mound appearance, Penny went the
distance Friday night, striking out seven and scattering seven hits
while taming league foe Cincinnati 5-2. Neither of the Bearcats'
runs were earned.
For Penny — who last gave up an earned run on Feb.
21 against Central Florida — it was his first complete game since
his sophomore season.
Meanwhile, Charlotte's Randall Poplin made it a
Carolinas sweep of C-USA awards, taking home the hitting honors
after a paricularly productive week at the plate that helped the
49ers to four wins.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK
DAVEY PENNY, EAST CAROLINA
Senior, RHP, McGee’s Crossroads, NC
Penny tossed his first complete game since his
sophomore season and did not allow an earned run on Friday night
against Cincinnati, extending his streak of consecutive innings
without giving up an earned run to 30. Penny struck out seven
batters and walked just two during his nine-inning performance. He
has not allowed an earned run since Feb. 21 against UCF, a span of
four consecutive starts.
HITTER OF THE WEEK
RANDALL POPLIN, CHARLOTTE
Junior, C, Monroe, NC
Poplin led the 49ers to a 4-1 week by going
11-for-23 (.478), producing four multiple-hit games and scoring
seven runs. He had a double, a home run and 14 RBI on the week,
doubling his RBI total from the previous 18 games of the season.
Poplin produced four multi-RBI games, including a team season-high
six vs. Winthrop. The transfer from Spartanburg Methodist Junior
College hit safely in each outing and also added a pair of walks.
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Posted 01/06/02:
Mikulas earns share of weekly
C-USA award
East Carolina's
Gabriel Mikulas led the way
as the Pirates ambushed Marquette in
Minges Coliseum's Williams Arena for the
second year in a row. (Photo: AP) |
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East Carolina forward Gabriel Mikulas has been
honored by Conference USA for his performance in the Pirates'
victories over visiting Marquette and UNC-Pembroke.
A junior from Cordoba, Argentina, Mikulas was named
co-player of the week along with DePaul guard Joe Tulley, the league
office announced Monday.
Mikulas scored 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds,
both game highs, to lead ECU to a 73-70 upset of No. 9 Marquette. He
followed that performance with eight points and seven rebounds in
limited action in the Pirates' 93-47 rout of Pembroke. Mikulas was a
perfect 14-of-14 from the charity stripe and has helped ECU (10-2)
to its best start in 46 years.
The selection of Mikulas marks the first time an
East Carolina player has received the player of the week award since
the school's basketball program formally entered C-USA at the
beginning of the 2001-02 season.
Tulley led DePaul to a pair of home wins over
Loyola-Chicago and Western Carolina last week, shooting .632 from
the field (including .583 from behind the arc) and a perfect 7-of-7
from the line while averaging 19 points per contest.
In the 95-74 victory over Loyola-Chicago, Tulley
rallied the Blue Demons from a three-point halftime deficit by
scoring all of his game-high 21 points in the second half. He also
scored a team-high 17 points in the 82-62 win over Western Carolina.
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Posted 11/26/02:
Heath snatches league's defensive award
Tulane's Moore and Marler receive offensive, special
teams honors
East Carolina's Travis Heath,
left, strips the ball from Texas Christian's Ricky
Madison, right, late in the game on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2002,
at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium. Heath took the ball 81 yards down
the sideline for the winning touchdown as the Pirates upset
then No. 22 TCU 31-28. (AP Photo - Stan Gilliland) |
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East Carolina's Travis Heath has been quite successful
recently at gaining possession of valuable items.
On Saturday, the junior safety from Tarboro pilfered the
ball from Texas Christian running back Ricky Madison and bolted 81 yards
for what turned out to be the winning touchdown in ECU's 31-28 upset win
over the Horned Frogs.
His most recent deft acquisition came about off the
field, when he claimed ownership of this week's Conference USA Defensive
Player of the Week Award.
Heath was one of the three weekly award winners
announced Monday by the league. The others were Tulane teammates Mewelde
Moore and Seth Marler, who played key roles in the Green Wave's 31-10
trouncing of Southern Mississippi on Saturday.
The decisive play in the ECU-TCU game was Heath's
spectacular effort along the ECU sideline which transformed a
threatening Frog drive into a sprint in the opposite direction that was
pivotal in the game's outcome.
East Carolina coach Steve Logan was impressed enough by
the play and how it changed the game's fortunes that he couldn't recall
a feat of greater impact during his career.
“It’s as dramatic of a play that I’ve ever been a part of,"
he said. "It certainly turned the game around. With the struggles that we’ve
had on defense, we needed a big play. I would say that’s as big as it gets.”
The play represented a potential 14-point turnaround as
TCU was on the move at the ECU 19 in the fourth quarter with a
five-point lead. The highlight received recognition on ESPN as one of
its top 10 'Plays of the Day.'
Heath also had four tackles on the day, including one tackle for loss,
plus recorded two quarterback pressures.
He is the fifth Pirate to receive a C-USA weekly award this season.
Running back Art Brown has won the league's offensive player-of-the-week
honors while safety Kelly Hardy and linebacker Chris Moore have both won
the defensive award. Last week, linebacker Christshawn Gilliam won
special teams player of the week after blocking two punts at UAB.
Moore, Tulane's multi-purpose running back, had a big
day running and catching passes in the Wave's win over USM to earn this
week's Offensive Player of the Week Award, while Marler, a
kicking/punting specialist who aided the cause with three field goals
and a series of booming kickoffs, was named Special Teams Player of the
Week.
OFFENSIVE AWARD:
MEWELDE MOORE, RB, Tulane: Moore rushed a career-high 32 times for 136 yards
while also catching a team-high five passes for 58 yards in Tulane's 31-10
win over Southern Miss. Included in his big rushing day was the 1,000th yard
of his season, marking the second straight year he has gone over 1,000
yards. The Baton Rouge native wrapped up the victory with a five-yard TD run
in the fourth quarter. The game marked Moore's 15th 100-yard game, a new
C-USA record.
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DEFENSIVE AWARD:
TRAVIS HEATH, S, East Carolina: Heath scored the game-winning touchdown
midway through the fourth quarter of ECU's 31-28 upset of No. 22 TCU when he
stripped the ball from a Horned Frog runner and returned the fumble 81
yards. The play represented a potential 14-point turnaround as TCU was
driving at the ECU 19 at the time with a five-point lead. Heath also had
four tackles, including one tackle for loss, plus recorded two quarterback
pressures
SPECIAL TEAMS AWARD:
SETH MARLER, K/P, Tulane: Marler connected on three-of-three field-goal
attempts in against Southern Miss. The veteran celebrated his final home
game by booting field goals of 37 yards, 38 yards and 51 yards, a
season-high. Marler also handled kickoff duties, booting all of his seven
kickoffs into the end zone with just three being returned.
Posted 11/19/02:
Gilliam earns league's Special Teams award
UAB QB Hackney, Louisville LB Lee pick up offensive,
defensive honors
Even though East Carolina fell short in its fourth quarter rally at UAB last
Saturday, the performance of Christshawn Gilliam was eye-catching enough to
gain the senior linebacker the Conference USA Special Teams Player of the
Week Award.
As a member of ECU's punt return unit, Gilliam blocked two punts against
against the Blazers. His second block was scooped up by teammate Anwtane
Yelverton and returned 26 yards for a touchdown.
Gilliam also finished with seven tackles on the day.
The weekly award is the second of Gilliam's career. He was named Defensive
Player of the Week last season after the Cincinnati game.
He has 32 tackles this season, including seven for losses, and has
established himself as one of the team's big playmakers both on defense and
special teams.
Gilliam is the fourth Pirate to win a C-USA weekly award in 2002. Earlier
this season, running back Art Brown won the offensive award and free safety
Kelly Hardy and linebacker Chris Moore earned defensive honors.
UAB quarterback Darrell Hackney shattered his own school record with 424
yards passing in Blazers' 36-29 win over the Pirates to earn this week's
Offensive Player of the Week Award while Louisville linebacker Chad Lee was
named Defensive Player of the Week after recording nine tackles, forcing a
fumble and recovering two fumbles in the Cards' 20-17 double-overtime win
over Southern Miss
OFFENSIVE AWARD:
Darrell Hackney QB UAB — Hackney enjoyed his finest game of his young career
as he shattered the UAB Division I-A record for passing yards in a game with
424 in a victory over East Carolina. Hackney completed 20-of-34 passes with
three touchdowns and no interceptions. After ECU had tied the game at 29-all
with 4:09 remaining, Hackney led the Blazers on a 9-play, 89-yard
game-winning drive in the final minutes of the game.
DEFENSIVE AWARD:
Chad Lee LB Louisville — Lee notched nine tackles, forced one fumble and
recovered two fumbles in Louisville's double-overtime win at Southern Miss.
Lee's biggest play came with less than eight minutes remaining in the fourth
quarter and the game knotted at 17-17. USM had the ball at the Cardinals'
20-yard-line, but Lee forced and then recovered a fumble by Derrick Nix.
SPECIAL TEAMS AWARD:
Christshawn Gilliam LB East Carolina — As a member of ECU's punt return
unit, Gilliam blocked two punts against UAB Saturday. His second block was
scooped up by teammate Antwan Yelverton and returned 26 yards for a
touchdown.
Posted 10/08/02:
Pirates land two of league's three weekly awards
TCU kick returner Dunbar gains special teams
recognition
East Carolina was dominant enough on both sides of the ball in its 59-24
rout of Army last Saturday that two of the most prominent performers in that
runaway victory were selected as Conference USA's offensive and defensive
players of the week, the league office announced on Monday..
Running back Art Brown and inside linebacker Chris Moore were instrumental
in leading the Pirates to their second conference victory of the young
season.
Brown rushed for 161 yards on 27 carries and scored four touchdowns. The
Winston-Salem junior, who has at least one touchdown in every game this
season, scored three touchdowns rushing and one receiving as he became the
first Pirate since 1996 to reach the end zone four times in a game.
Currently tied for eighth in the nation in scoring, Brown is averaging 10.8
points per game. Saturday's performance was his second 100-yard rushing
performance of the season. He currently ranks second in C-USA in rushing and
leads the team in receptions with 16.
Moore, a redshirt freshman, wreaked havoc on the Army offense, causing three
turnovers, all of which led to Pirate touchdowns. Moore set the tone early
in the game as he caused a fumble on Army's second play from scrimmage,
following that up shortly thereafter with an interceptions midway the first
quarter. Both plays gave ECU the ball deep in Army territory.
Moore also had an interception in the fourth quarter which he returned 41
yards for a touchdown. A product of Havelock High School, Moore who entered
the game as the nation's leading tackler among freshmen. Against the Black
Knights, he accounted for five tackles and two pass breakups.
This marks the second week this season that ECU has earned a player of the
week honor. Senior cornerback Kelly Hardy was named defensive player of the
week following the Pirates` win over Tulane on Sept. 14.
Kick returner Latarence Dunbar of Texas Christian was named the league's
special teams player of the week.
OFFENSIVE AWARD
ART BROWN, RB, East Carolina: Brown rushed for 161 yards on 27 carries and
accounted for four touchdowns to lead the Pirates to a 59-24 win over Army.
Brown, who has at least one touchdown in every game this season, scored
three TDs rushing and one receiving as he became the first Pirate since 1996
to reach the end zone four times in a game.
DEFENSIVE AWARD
CHRIS MOORE, LB, East Carolina: Moore caused three Army turnovers, all of
which led to Pirate touchdowns. Moore set the tone early in the game as he
caused a fumble on Army's second play from scrimmage, then made the first of
two interceptions midway of the first quarter. Moore also had an
interception in the fourth quarter which he returned 41 yards for a
touchdown. Moore also accounted for five tackles and two pass breakups.
SPECIAL TEAMS AWARD
LATARENCE DUNBAR, KR, Texas Christian: With the score tied at 10, Dunbar
returned the second half kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown, giving the Frogs
a lead they would not relinquish in a win over Houston. It was the third
kickoff return for a touchdown in Dunbar's career, becoming the first TCU
player to accomplish that feat. For the day, he returned three kicks for 139
yards.
Posted 09/15/02:
ECU's Hardy picks off weekly award
USM's Nix and Houston's Bell also honored
East Carolina's Kelly Hardy is this week's Conference USA Defensive Player
of the Week, the league office announced Monday.
A product of Kinston High School, Hardy tallied seven tackles, including six
solos, and had a key interception in the Pirates` 24-20 win over visiting
Tulane last Saturday night. His first-quarter pickoff and subsequent 31-yard
return set up a field goal and gave the Pirates momentum.
Hardy also had a pass breakup and a third-down stop. For the season, the
senior free safety is second on the team in tackles with 29 and is tied for
the team lead in pass breakups with three.
It marks the second time in Hardy's career that he has earned the C-USA
weekly award. He also gained the honor during his sophomore season in 2000
after a win against Duke. He is the first Pirate of the 2002 season to win a
conference player of the week award.
Running back Derrick Nix of Southern Mississippi won the league's weekly
offensive award and kicker Dustin Bell of Houston was the special teams
player of the week.
Here are thumbnails of the award winners' Saturday performances:
OFFENSIVE AWARD
DERRICK NIX, RB, Southern Miss: Nix carried 21 times for 196 yards and two
touchdowns as Southern Miss won its Conference USA opener over Memphis. The
196 yards was the third-highest total in his career and he now has 474
rushing yards in three games in 2002. Nix is the first player to win
back-to-back player of the week award since Tulane’s Patrick Ramsey in
November, 2000.
DEFENSIVE AWARD
KELLY HARDY, FS, East Carolina: Hardy recorded seven tackles (six solo) and
returned an interception 31 yards to set up a field goal in ECU’s win over
Tulane. He also had a pass breakup on third down to end a drive.
SPECIAL TEAMS AWARD
DUSTIN BELL, K, Houston: Bell connected on field goals of 44, 37 and 43
yards in Houston’s win over Louisiana-Lafayette. His 44-yarder was a
career-long and he also added three extra points on the night. Bell is
6-for-6 on field goal attempts this season.
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02/23/2007 01:22 PM |
