1. Football team trounces Virginia Tech in Blacksburg
Entering the game as underdogs, No. 5 Miami imposed its will on Virginia Tech Nov. 5 in a dominating 27-7 victory on national television. The Hurricanes harassed Hokie quarterback Marcus Vick into six turnovers to improve to 7-1 and remain both and Atlantic Coast Conference and National Championship contender. Eventually, a home loss to Georgia Tech would shatter Miami’s chances for both titles, but after crushing the Hokies, the Hurricanes were on top of the world for a while.
2. Women’s track wins second straight ACC title
Miami’s women’s track and field team won its second consecutive ACC Outdoor Championship last weekend. Senior All-American Charlette Greggs won the 200-meter and 400-meter becoming the first person in ACC outdoor track history to repeat the 200/400 double. Senior All-American Dominique Darden took first place in the 400 hurdles, third place in the 100 hurdles and was part of the second place 4×100 meter relay team. All-American Tabia Charles took the triple jump gold, setting a new school record, stadium record and personal best.
3. Hurricanes escape at Clemson in three overtimes
Reeling from an opening weekend loss to Florida State, Tyrone Moss’ 25-yard touchdown run in the third overtime lifted No. 13 Miami to a 36-30 victory over No. 20 Clemson, preventing the Hurricanes from falling to 0-2 for the first time in 27 years. Moss finished 139 yards rushing and three touchdowns, two in overtime. His 1-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter put Miami up 20-10, while his three-yard scoring run gave the Hurricanes a brief 27-20 lead in the first overtime.
4. Diving wweeps ACC awards
University of Miami divers swept the Atlantic Coast Conference Diver of the Year Awards for the second consecutive season after Derek Starks was tabbed Men’s Diver of the Year and Heather Bounds and Melanie Rinaldi garnered Women’s Co-Diver of the Year honors.
Starks, a junior, earned First Team All-America honors on the one-meter springboard after finishing fourth in the event at the NCAA Championships last weekend. Bounds, a junior, and Rinaldi, a senior, share Diver of the Year honors after posting several impressive late-season performances.
5. Men’s basketball rallies to beat Florida State in overtime
Robert Hite scored eight of his season-high 31 points in overtime to lead Miami to an 84-78 victory over Florida State to keep the Hurricanes on the bubble Jan. 29. Hite gave Miami the lead for good at 75-72 on a three point play with less than three minutes left in overtime.
Florida State narrowed the gap to 79-78, but a three point goal by Guillermo Diaz, with only a second left on the shot clock, sealed the victory with 18 seconds remaining. Hite then added a pair of free throws to close out the scoring.
6. Baseball upsets FSU on road
Miami pitcher Scott Maine shook off a tough first inning to have a career game and freshman Blake Tekotte homered twice to lead the Hurricanes to a 7-5 win against No. 2 Florida State in front of 4,618 at Dick Howser Stadium April 16.
Chris Perez, battling the flu, struck out Dennis Guinn with the tying runs on second and third to seal the victory.
7. Women’s tennis upsets Duke in regular season finale
The Miami women’s tennis team finished the regular season tied for first in the Atlantic Coast Conference standings after upsetting seventh ranked Duke, 4-2, April 16. Miami, Duke and Georgia Tech finished the regular season in a three-way tie for first in the standings with 9-2 records in league play, respectively.
8. Men’s tennis upsets UVA in conference play
The 14th-ranked Miami men’s tennis team handed No. 8 Virginia its first ACC loss in two seasons on April 9, knocking off the Cavaliers 4-3 at the Synder Tennis Center. The victory over the Cavaliers, who entered the match with an impressive 24-match winning steak in league play dating back to 2004, marked Miami’s fourth over a higher ranked opponent this season and their second-straight over a top 10 team.
9. Harris, Leggett earn ACC titles for men’s track
The men’s and track and field team completed competition at the ACC Championships on Saturday. Tim Harris won the 800-meter dash and Lance Leggett took first place in the 400-meter hurdles, and second place in the 110 meter hurdles. Harris’ mark of 1:49.58 was an NCAA regional mark. Leggett’s mark of 13.79 in the 110 hurdles and 51.83 in the 400 hurdles were both season best marks and NCAA regional marks.
10. Women’s basketball splits back-to-back double overtime games
Katie Meier’s high-energy women’s basketball team got a workout in consecutive double overtime home games in February, losing to Duke, the then number one team, 99-93 and beating Georgia Tech 90-85 seven days later.