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Division I Championships
What do NCAA champions look like?
Division I They come in all shapes, sizes and colors. You can’t peer inside to see the big hearts that they all possess, but you can always tell winners by the smiles and raised arms that say, “I did it!”
DI Men’s Basketball SEMIFINALS
Memphis 78, UCLA 63
Kansas 84, North Carolina 66
CHAMPIONSHIP
Kansas 75, Memphis 68 (overtime)
Kansas overcame a nine-point deficit with less than three minutes to play in regulation and then held top-ranked Memphis to five points in overtime to win its third Division I Men’s Basketball Championship April 7 in San Antonio. The title was the Jayhawks’ first since 1988 – Kansas also won the crown in 1952. Memphis led, 60-51, with 2:12 to play after a pair of Robert Dozier free throws, but it was subsequent misses from the stripe that doomed the Tigers’ chance for their first title. Memphis’ Chris Douglas-Roberts and Derrick Rose converted just one of five foul shots down the stretch to open the door for Kansas’ Mario Chalmers’ tying three-pointer with under three seconds to play. “It’ll probably be the biggest shot ever made in Kansas history,” Kansas coach Bill Self told the Associated Press afterward. Kansas went on to dominate the overtime, scoring the first six points and never being threatened afterward.
dI WOMEN’S BASKETBALL SEMIFINALS
Stanford 82, Connecticut 73
Tennessee 47, LSU 46
CHAMPIONSHIP
Tennessee 64, Stanford 48
Buoyed by a rare underdog role, Tennessee deployed its hallmark defensive pressure to stifle high-scoring Stanford in the Division I Women’s Basketball Championship game, 64-48, April 8 in Tampa. Stanford had scored 180 points in its previous two games, including 82 in a semifinal win over tournament-favorite Connecticut, and Tennessee star Candace Parker was still feeling the effects of a dislocated shoulder suffered in the regional final a week earlier, but the Lady Vols debunked the doubters for their eighth national championship in the 27-year history of the tournament. Parker scored a game-high 17 points but also got help from teammates Nicky Anosike and Shannon Bobbitt, who combined for 25. Anosike also contributed eight rebounds and six steals. The Lady Vols harassed Stanford into making 25 turnovers. Stanford’s Candice Wiggins, the 2008 Wade Trophy winner who had topped the 40-point mark twice in the tournament, was held to 14 in the championship game. Defending-champion Tennessee was the third institution to post back-to-back titles. The Lady Vols also won three straight from 1996-98. Connecticut won three straight from 2002-04, and Southern California won championships in 1983 and 1984.
National Collegiate Fencing TEAM RESULTS
1st: Ohio St., 185
2nd: Notre Dame, 176
3rd: Columbia, 158
Ohio State edged Notre Dame to give the Buckeyes their third fencing crown and 57th national title overall. The top-ranked Buckeye women’s squad contributed 101 points, including runner-up finishes from Siobhan Byrne in the sabre and Oksana Dmytruk in the foil. For the men, the Buckeyes’ Andras Horanyi repeated as foil champion, besting Pennsylvania’s Ronald Berkowsky for the second consecutive year. Horanyi’s 14-7 win represented a far more comfortable margin of victory than last year’s 13-12 overtime win against Berkowsky, who entered this year’s medal round as the top seed. Horanyi, the second seed, became the fifth straight Buckeye fencer to win the foil. Boaz Ellis claimed three titles in a row from 2003 to 2005. Mikhail Momtselidze contributed a runner-up finish in men’s sabre.
National Collegiate Women’s ice Hockey SEMIFINALS
Wisconsin 4, Harvard 1
Minnesota Duluth 3, New Hampshire 2
CHAMPIONSHIP
Minnesota Duluth 4, Wisconsin 0
In a rematch of last year’s championship contest, Minnesota Duluth changed the results to win the National Collegiate Women’s Ice Hockey Championship game, 4-0, over two-time defending champion Wisconsin. The Bulldogs earned their fourth championship in eight years, led by sophomore goaltender Kim Martin and freshman forward Haley Irwin. Martin, only the second goaltender to blank the opposing team in championship history, carried much of the load in the title game for Minnesota Duluth, but her teammates provided plenty of offense to ensure the title. Minnesota Duluth ended the season with a school-best record of 34-3-1. Wisconsin finished its season – a remarkable one in which it entered the championship unseeded and beat top-seed Harvard in the semifinals – at 29-9-3.
DI Men’s Indoor Track and Field TEAM RESULTS
1st: Arizona St., 44
2nd: Florida St., 41
3rd: Texas, 34
An unheralded senior who transferred to Arizona State before his junior year claimed a surprise win in the 3,000-meter run, setting up the Sun Devils for a historic victory at the Division I Men’s Indoor Track and Field Championships. Kyle Alcorn, a transfer from Oregon who entered the 3,000 ranked 14th out of 16 qualifiers, won the next-to-last event to help Arizona State become the first men’s team from the Pacific-10 Conference since 1977 to win an indoor track crown. Florida State entered the men’s competition at Arkansas as the favorite after winning last spring’s outdoor championships and cruising to victory at the Atlantic Coast Conference indoor championships March 1. But the Seminoles’ title hopes suffered when defending 200-meter dash champion Walter Dix missed the trip to Fayetteville because of a case of strep throat.
DI Women’s Indoor Track and Field TEAM RESULTS
1st: Arizona St., 51
2nd: LSU, 43
3rd: Michigan, 39
Jacquelyn Johnson won her third straight pentathlon title to lead Arizona State to an eight-point win over LSU and its second consecutive women’s indoor track and field title. Johnson became only the ninth woman in Division I indoor track history to win three championships in the same event – etching her name into the records alongside such legends as sprinter Carlette Guidry of Texas, distance runner Suzy Favor of Wisconsin and high jumper Amy Acuff of UCLA. But she’s the first to do so solely in competition demanding excellence in multiple events. Johnson clinched her third crown with a record total of 4,496 points, topping the six-year-old collegiate mark held by Austra Skuyte of Kansas State and the championships mark set by Georgia’s Hyleas Fountain in 2004 – the only year that Johnson competed in but didn’t win the event.
National Collegiate Men’s and Women’s Rifle TEAM RESULTS
1st: Alas. Fairbanks, 4,662
2nd: Army, 4,652
3rd: TCU, 4,627
Alaska Fairbanks earned its third straight national team title and 10th overall rifle championship with a 4,662-4,652 victory over host Army. Army, the 2005 national champion and 2007 national runner-up to Alaska Fairbanks, clung to a six-point lead after a strong showing in smallbore on the first day of competition. The Black Knights swept the top three positions, giving Army its first NCAA individual champion in senior Chris Abalo. The program’s most decorated shooter, Abalo edged teammates Brian Kern and Stephen Scherer, who finished second and third, respectively. In May, both Abalo and Kern will compete in smallbore for spots on the U.S. Olympic team. Scherer has already qualified for the team in air rifle. Alaska Fairbanks erased Army’s lead in the air rifle portion of the competition, placing three shooters in the final round of eight, including sophomore Patrik Sartz, who won the individual national title in air rifle over Navy’s Josh Albright, 696.4 to 693.9.
National Collegiate Men’s and Women’s Skiing TEAM RESULTS
1st: Denver, 649.5
2nd: Colorado, 619
3rd: Utah, 550
Denver overcame a 17.5-point deficit on the final day of the National Collegiate Men’s and Women’s Skiing Championships to win the team title over Colorado. John Buchar was the second straight Denver skier to win both slaloms. Colorado’s skiers built their three-day lead on the strength of four individual champions, including senior Lucie Zikova, who won her second and third career NCAA individual titles, placing first in the giant slalom and then in the slalom after earning only a fifth-place time on her first run. In addition to Buchar’s titles, Denver benefited from Seppi Steigler’s second-place finish in the women’s slalom and three third-place finishes (Jenni Lathrop in the slalom, Antje Maempel in the 15-kilometer classical cross country and Annelise Bailly in the 5-kilometer freestyle cross country). “I could not be more proud of this team,” Denver’s Alpine head coach Andy LeRoy said. “All of our athletes worked hard all year toward the goal of winning an NCAA championship, and they all skied their best when it counted.”
dI Men’s Swimming and Diving TEAM RESULTS
1st: Arizona, 500.5
2nd: Texas, 406
3rd: Stanford, 344
Depth was the difference as Arizona won three of five relays to capture its first Division I Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships title at Federal Way, Washington. Arizona set a meet record in the 800-yard freestyle relay, winning with a time of 6:12.85, more than one second better than the time it set last year. Jean Basson, Darian Townsend, Joel Greenshields and Nicolas Nilo teamed up to win the event. Townsend and Greenshields also swam on Arizona’s victorious 400-yard freestyle and 400-yard medley relay teams. A pair of individual champions also helped propel the Wildcats. Albert Subirats won the 100-yard butterfly in 45.07 seconds and Townsend took the 200-yard individual medley in 1:42.72. Auburn standout Cesar Cielo broke his own meet records en route to the national titles in the 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard freestyle events. Cielo’s 50-yard freestyle time of 18.52 seconds is the fastest ever in the event.
dI Women’s Swimming and Diving TEAM RESULTS
1st: Arizona, 484
2nd: Auburn, 348
3rd: Stanford, 343
Arizona finished well ahead of second-place Auburn to prevent the Tigers from winning their sixth title in seven years. The Wildcats totaled 484 points during the three-day meet, while Auburn had 348. Stanford, Texas A&M and California rounded out the top-five team finishers. Arizona bounced back after losing the lead in last year’s championships on the meet’s final day. The 2008 Wildcats dominated the relays, capturing all five team events. Lacey Nymeyer was a member of four winning relays, while Lara Jackson and Taylor Baughman were part of three victorious teams. Jackson and Nymeyer were also responsible for Arizona’s two individual titles as they dominated the freestyle sprints. Jackson was the 50-yard winner in 21.69 seconds, while Nymeyer won the 100 in 47.50.
Di Wrestling TEAM RESULTS
1st: Iowa, 117.5
2nd: Ohio St., 79
3rd: Penn St., 75
Iowa captured its 21st Division I Wrestling Championships team title and first since 2000. Sophomore Brent Metcalf (149) and senior Mark Perry (165) won individual national championships to help Iowa score 117.5 points. That comfortably outdistanced runner-up Ohio State (79). Metcalf was named the tournament’s most outstanding wrestler after beating Penn State’s Bubba Jenkins, 14-8, in the 149-pound final. The victory gave Metcalf a 32-match win streak and a 35-1 mark overall this season. Perry became Iowa’s 14th two-time NCAA champion when he defeated Michigan’s Eric Tannenbaum, 5-2, in the 165-pound final. It was the fifth time that the two had met, with each wrestler owning two wins. Notre Dame’s Sarah Borrmann wins the women’s saber competition during the National Collegiate Men’s and Women’s Fencing Championships. / Renee Sauer, NCAA Photos
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