Sports Briefs

9 Track Members Trek South for Tournament

Nine members of the North Carolina track teams will represent UNC at the 2002 NCAA championships in Baton Rouge, La., through Saturday. Seven members of the UNC women's team and two from the men's squad will join 767 other participants in the championships hosted by Louisiana State University.

Freshman Laura Gerraughty leads the way for the Tar Heels by qualifying in two events (shot put, hammer). Gerraughty will be joined by Shalane Flanagan (1500-meter run), Alice Schmidt (800-meter run), Erin Donohue (1500-meter run), Edi Ntuen (400-meter run), Carol Henry (3000-meter steeplechase) and Tiffany Flomo (400-meter hurdles).

For the UNC men's team, senior Adam Shunk will compete in the high jump and senior Michael Cvelbar will compete in the decathlon.

Gerraughty, from Nashua, N.H., leads the NCAA in the shot put this year at 57-5 and has set UNC records in the shot put and the hammer (193-5) this season.

Flanagan, a sophomore from Marblehead, Mass., is second nationally in the 1500-meter run at 4 minutes, 15.3 seconds. Flanagan was an All-America in the 1500 meter last year and has won the ACC 1500 meter title the last two seasons. She also holds the UNC and ACC championships record in the event.

Schmidt, a sophomore from Omaha, Neb., was an All-America in the 800-meter run last season and has won two straight ACC championships in the event. Her top time of 2:04.74 this season is seventh fastest in the nation.

Ntuen, a senior from Greensboro, qualified for the 400-meter run with a time of 52.78 on April 20 en route to an ACC title in the event.

Donohue, a freshman from Haddonfield, N.J., joins Flanagan in the 1500-meter run after posting a qualifying time of 4:20.72 on May 17.

Flomo will run for UNC in the 400-meter hurdles. The Columbus, Ohio, sophomore ran a 58:24 in the event to win the ACC title.

Henry, a freshman from Parry Sound, Ontario, set a school record in the 3000-meter steeplechase this year at 10:04.66, also the sixth fastest time in the nation this season.

Shunk, from Muncie, Ind., won the 2002 ACC high jump title, and his season-best jump of 7-3 is the third highest in the nation this season.

Cvelbar qualified for the championships by posting a total of 7,482 points in the decathlon on March 21. The senior from Mentor, Ohio, was an All-America in the event last year and won the 2002 ACC decathlon title as well.

Tolleson Honored With All-America Selection

Tiffany Tolleson, an outfielder on North Carolina's softball team, earned All-America honors for the 2002 season.

Tolleson, of Winter Haven, Fla., was named to the 18-member Division I second team, announced by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Friday.

Tolleson, a junior, is the fifth North Carolina softball player to earn All-America honors. Christine Kubin (1996) and Brandy Arthur (1998) earned first-team selections, and Theresa Buscemi (1992) and Kelly Ramsey (2000) earned third-team honors.

Tolleson was the team's starting center fielder and led the Tar Heels with a .411 batting average.

In her first year at North Carolina after transferring from Stetson University, Tolleson broke school single-season records for hits, runs, at-bats and stolen bases. She finished second in the nation in stolen bases per game. She earned All-ACC honors and has been invited to try out for the U.S. National Team at the USA Softball World Championships selection camp until June 3 in Chula Vista, Calif.

UNC finished the 2002 season with a record of 34-30.