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10 I Wednesday, March 5, 2003 | The Red & Black
SPORTS
DeScenza swims her way into record books
By HILARY HILLIARD
hhilliard@randb.com
Mary DeScenza’s shoulders do a
lot of work.
They helped the freshman swim
mer break a record in 100-yard but
terfly at the SEC Championships.
Then, they turned around in the next
event and sailed her to second place
in the 200-yard — a rare double in
arguably the sport’s most strenuous
stroke.
All that work makes DeScenza’s
shoulders slightly sore.
“They just get a little overworked
sometimes,” she said in a training
room, as she untied the packs of ice
mounted on her shoulders.
You get the idea she’s down play
ing.
After all, it’s not only the butterfly
stroke that DeScenza is pressing
those shoulders with; she’s training
them for the 2004 Olympics in
freestyle, as well.
“I dropped three seconds on my
freestyle at the SECs,” DeScenza
said. “And I was never that much of a
standout free-style before.”
Instead, DeScenza has been a
standout in the stroke that earned
her her first SEC title: butterfly.
And that’s what caught the eye of
Georgia head coach Jack Bauerle.
“She has an amazing ability to
swim a lot of butterfly,” he said.
“That’s fairly unheard of at any level,
but especially this level.”
Bauerle heavily recruited
DeScenza because of those butterfly
skills.
“We knew about Mary four years
ago,” he said. “Then what stood out
— and what I’m even more convinced
about now — is that she’s a racer.”
By racer, Bauerle means DeScenza
handles competition with ease.
After posting several impressive
butterfly times, being named an SEC
athlete of the week and breaking a
record in her first SEC championship
— all, of course, in her freshman year
— DeScenza said she’s not worried
about the pressure that may be
placed on the rest of her college swim
ming career.
“I think (Bauerle) will challenge
me in the pool and help me maintain
and top my times,” she said.
Bauerle agreed, saying the next
years could be intimidating, but
DeScenza will handle them with
grace.
“Any pressure she feels will be self-
imposed more than anything,” he
said. “And it will all go right off her
back.”
COLIN OWENS | The Red & Black
▲ Mary DeScenza, a freshman
from Naperville, III., takes a
break from her cool-down laps
after competing in Saturday’s
invitational meet.
Bulldogs
look for
hitters to
heat up
By CHRIS BIGNON
cbignon@randb.com
Coming into this season,
the Diamond Dogs knew
they had the potential to put
up some pretty gaudy num
bers in the home run depart
ment.
They return last year’s co-
homerun leaders in juniors
David Coffey and Lee
Mitchell, who went deep 14
times apiece in 2002. Throw
in Justin McClain (nine
home runs last season), Clint
Sammons (seven) and
Marshall Szabo (six), and it’s
amazing to see that Georgia
has only four homeruns in 10
total games thus far in 2003.
“Without question (it’s a
surprise Georgia has hit only
four homeruns),” said
Georgia head coach David
Perno. “But we also thought
Matt (Woods) would be our
No. 1 (starting pitcher).”
But, this is baseball — a
game of streaks and slumps
— and Perno knows that as
the weather heats up in the
coming weeks, so too will his
team’s bats.
BASEBALL
v. William & Mary, 4 p.m.
Radio: WRFC-AM (960)
“It’s still early,” Perno
said. “We’re going to give
(Woods) some time, and as
far as homeruns go, once
spring gets here, the ball will
carry better, so it’s really not
a concern.”
Coffey, the Bulldogs’ regu
lar right fielder and third hit
ter in the batting order, is
homerless in 41 at bats this
season. The Perry native hit
.358 with five homeruns and
33 RBIs as a freshman on
Georgia’s 2001 SEC champi
onship team, then followed
that up by hitting .275 dur
ing his sophomore cam
paign. This year he is hitting
.439 with two triples and 11
RBIs.
Preseason All-American
third baseman Lee Mitchell
has hit with more consisten
cy (.368 average) 10 games
into this season than he did
last year, when he hit .286
with a team high 55 RBIs.
But per
haps the
biggest
surprise of
this young
season has
been the
play of
Athens’
own Jon
Armitage.
The
shortstop-
turned-
center fielder is hitting a
team-best .463 and is tied for
the team lead in RBIs with
11.
“(Armitage) is a leader
out there,” Perno said. “He
has done a great job.”
The Bulldogs (6-4) play
William & Mary (7-3) at
Foley Field at 4 p.m. today,
and freshman Michael Hyle
will get his second start of
the season.
Hyle (0-0, 11.57 ERA), a
freshman who had “Tommy
John” surgery on his right
elbow in June of 2001, start
ed against UNC-Asheville on
Feb. 25 and went two innings
in which he gave up four runs
on three hits and three
walks.
“We’re hoping to get five
innings out of (Hyle),” Perno
said. “He is very talented,
but he is coming off arm sur
gery.”
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