BRIEFS

BASEBALL

With six position players and three
pitchers returning for the Rams, the team
has been picked to fi nish second in the
CAA for the 2008 season. The squad
fi nished 37-23 last season en route to
winning the CAA championship. Old
Dominion is picked to fi nish fi rst.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Senior Jamal Shuler (Jacksonville,
N.C./Jacksonville) and junior Eric
Maynor (Raeford, N.C./Westover) scored
26 points apiece in the Rams’ 78-68
victory Saturday at Old Dominion. The
win was VCU’s fi rst in Norfolk since
Jan. 10, 2004. Shuler’s efforts earned
him CAA co-player of the week honors,
along with Dre Smith of George Mason.
The Rams improved their record to 14-4
overall Wednesday with an 82-65 win at
Hofstra and continue to lead the CAA
with a 7-1 conference mark.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

VCU suffered its fi rst conference loss
of the season last Thursday to No. 15 Old
Dominion, 86-66. Senior Krystal Vaughn
(Baltimore, Md./Lake Clifton-Eastern)
and junior Quanitra Hollingsworth
(Chesapeake/Great Bridge) became
the fi rst teammates in women’s college
basketball history to reach the 1,000-
point-career-scoring mark in the same
game. The pair led both teams in scoring
with 21 and 17 points, respectively. The
Rams recovered to defeat James Madison
Sunday, 61-60, with a game-winning,
overtime free throw from sophomore
Kita Waller (Gainesville, Ga./Gainesville)
with 1.9 seconds remaining. VCU
snapped its six-game losing streak to
James Madison. The team is now 14-2
overall with a 4-1 CAA record.

MEN’S TENNIS

Coach Paul Kostin earned his 500th
win at VCU when his team downed
Drexel, 5-0, last Friday. The Rams
swept the VCU 4×1 Invitational at the
Thalhimer Tennis Center. The Rams
beat Drexel, James Madison, Richmond
and Longwood, all in 5-0 fi nals. Senior
Damien Lacombe (Perigueux, France)
won two matches and the Rams now
stand at 4-0. The win over Richmond
was the Rams’ 20th consecutive over
the Spiders.

MEN’S TRACK AND FIELD

Junior Guy Alton (New Kent/New
Kent) finished in third place and
sophomore Piotr Dybas (Jaslo, Poland)
fi nished in eighth for the Rams in the
mile run at Niswonger Invitational in
Johnson City, Tenn. Sophomore Stephen
Mutisya (Machakos, Kenya) earned a
fourth-place fi nish in the 5,000-meter
with a time of 15:09.29, and senior
Cary Chaffee (Richmond/Hermitage)
fi nished in sixth place in the 3,000-
meter at 8:39.32. Freshman Jeffrey
Hernandez (Alexandria/T.C. Williams)
and sophomore Alfonso Clark (Virginia
Beach/Bayside) fi nished the 800-meter in
seventh and eighth place, respectively.

WOMEN’S TRACK AND FIELD

Junior Verniece Johnson (Mineral/
Louisa) won the long jump for the
Rams at the Terrapin Invitational
l a s t w e e k e n d . S e n i o r D a n i e l l e
Williams (Virginia Beach/Salem) posted
a personal-best time of 10:23.83
in the 3,000-meter, which was good
for fourth place. Fellow senior Frankie
Moore (Chesapeake/Great Bridge)
fi nished fi fth in the high jump, and the
duo of senior Kira Hauser (Hillside,
N.J./Hillside) and junior Natalie Duncan
(Alexandria/West Potomac) placed
seventh and tenth, respectively, in
the shot put.

VCU ATHLETICS

A record 55 percent of VCU student
athletes earned a spot on the
Athletic Director’s Honor Roll for
their performance in the fall semester.
The list honors student athletes who
maintain a 3.0 GPA or better. Of the
139 members of the list, 12 achieved
a 4.0 GPA.