Published: Nov 5, 2007
Cross Country Teams Advance to Nationals
Three University of
Tampa teams won conference championships this weekend and two more won
regional competitions to put them in the running for national titles.
The
women’s soccer and volleyball teams both captured Sunshine State
Conference (SSC) championships for the third straight season, and the
men’s soccer team claimed its first SSC title in six years.
The
men’s and women’s cross country teams also earned victories at the South
Regional championship, winning a trip to the national championships.
With
the SSC championships under their belts, the soccer and volleyball
teams earned berths to NCAA playoffs. The men’s soccer team’s win in the
SSC finals — a 4-2 victory over Lynn University — marked the first NCAA
playoff berth since 2001, the year the team won the national
championship.
The women’s team captured the SSC title in a hard-fought win in overtime with a final score of 1-0 against St. Leo University.
Both
soccer teams now advance to the NCAA South Regional. The men's team
will face Lynn again as the second seed in the NCAA South Regional on
Friday at 4 p.m. at the University of West Florida in Pensacola. The
women will face the winner of Friday's match to be held at UT between
Ouachita Baptist University and Nova Southeastern University. The winner
of that match will advance to play the Spartans on Sunday at 1 p.m.
The
volleyball team claimed its SSC championship in a match against St.
Leo, with a final score of 3-1. This is the 17th SSC championship for
the Spartan volleyball team, which has won 11 of the past 12 titles. The
team now heads to Miami Shores for a game against Barry University on
Friday before concluding its regular season Saturday at Lynn University.
They will then head to the NCAA South Regional tournament, which takes
place Nov. 15-18 at a location yet to be announced. Both cross
country teams showcased record-breaking performances at the NCAA South
Regional, the women taking first place and the men taking second. It was
the second time in program history that the women have taken
first-place. The men will make the program’s first NCAA finals
appearance.
The cross country NCAA Championships will take place Saturday, Nov. 17, in Joplin, Mo.
For more information on UT athletics, visit
www.tampaspartans.com.