FOOTBALL
The Charlotte Touchdown Club and the Football Writers Association of America have announced the 2002 watch list of candidates for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, awarded annually to the nation’s top defensive college player, and three members of the Miami Hurricanes defense are among the 64 players listed. Defensive tackle William Joseph, defensive end Jerome McDougle and middle linebacker Jonathan Vilma are the three Miami defensive stars who made the preseason list. Joseph (Miami, Fla./Edison HS) led the team in quarterback sacks (10 for 69 yards) and tackles for loss (19 for 85 yards) last season and ranked fourth on the team in tackles with 61. McDougle (Pompano Beach, Fla./Ely HS) emerged as one of the nation’s finest defensive ends in 2001. Vilma (Coral Gables, Fla./Coral Gables HS) led the team in tackles last year with 79 (54 solos) in his first season as a starter. Two Miami Hurricanes – Warren Sapp (1994) and Dan Morgan (2000) – have been awarded the Bronko Nagurski Trophy in past years.
MEN’S
BASKETBALL
University of Miami seniors John Salmons and Elton Tyler were both selected in the 2002 United States Basketball Association draft on Wednesday. Tyler was selected by the Brevard Blue Ducks with the 15th overall pick, while Salmons was taken by the Florida Sea Dragons with the 35th overall pick. Salmons, a second-team All-Big East selection, averaged 13.1 points, 6.0 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 1.8 steals per game this season. Tyler, the only Hurricane to compete in four NCAA Tournaments, averaged 11.9 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.5 blocks last season. The two seniors led Miami to a 24-8 record and the school’s fourth NCAA tournament berth in the last five seasons. Miami’s 24 wins were the most in school-history. The Hurricanes lost 93-80 to Missouri in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
MEN’S TENNIS
The No. 43-ranked Miami men’s tennis team defeated No. 46 Georgia Tech, 4-3, in its regular-season finale on Sunday afternoon at the Bill Moore Tennis Center. The Hurricanes (10-8) opened the match strong taking the doubles point. Joel Berman and Tarik El Bassiouni teamed up to beat Joao Menano and David Wright, 8-6, at No. 2 doubles, while Jose Lieberman and Andrew Golub defeated Roger Anderson and Fabio Campos, 8-4, to give Miami the 1-0 advantage. In singles action, Lieberman downed the Jackets West Nott at No. 5, winning in straight sets by a count of 6-3, 6-4. El Bassiouni defeated Tech’s Stephen Moros at No. 6 by scores of 6-1 and 6-4. A pair of three-set matches decided the final outcome as both the No. 1 and 2 singles matches went the distance. Miami wrapped up the match at No. 2, as Tomas Smid defeated the Jackets’ David Wright after Wright won the first set by a 6-4 score. Smid then rallied to win the next two sets by scores of 6-1 and 6-4. At the No. 1 position Tech’s 35th-ranked Roger Anderson and Miami’s 16th-ranked Todd Widom put on outstanding display with Anderson winning in an epic third-set tiebreaker. The Hurricanes return home to host the BIG EAST Tennis Championship April 19-21.