Times wires
Monday, May 30, 2011
South Carolina made official Monday what coach Steve Spurrier hinted at all spring — suspended quarterback Stephen Garcia will return on a probationary basis.
Garcia, a former Jefferson High standout, was suspended for the fifth time in his college career — and second time during spring practice — April 6 after an incident at a life skills seminar where he "exhibited behavior that is unacceptable for one of our student-athletes," athletic director Eric Hyman said. Garcia has several guidelines to adhere to.
"We will give him another chance, and hopefully he can do the right things and represent the university in a first-class manner," Spurrier said.
Garcia's status will be re-evaluated before fall camp opens.
Baseball: UF, the No. 2 overall seed, and FSU, the overall No. 5 seed, are among eight teams from Florida — most of any state — selected for double-elimination NCAA regions. Virginia is the overall No. 1 seed.
In Gainesville, region top seed Florida plays No. 4 Manhattan College at 4 p.m. Friday, with No. 2 Miami facing No. 3 Jacksonville at noon. The Hurricanes are in the field for the 39th consecutive year, extending a record. For tickets, call toll-free 1-800-344-2867. All of the Gainesville Region games are on ESPNU.
In Tallahassee, region top seed FSU plays No. 4 Bethune-Cookman at 4 p.m. Friday, with No. 2 UCF facing No. 3 Alabama at noon. For tickets, call toll-free 1-888-378-6653.
Stetson, the No. 2 seed in Columbia, S.C., opens against South Carolina. Florida International, the No. 2 seed in Chapel Hill, N.C., opens against James Madison.
The ACC and SEC tied for most teams selected, seven.
A surprising selection was St. John's (35-20), which lost to Seton Hall in the Big East tournament championship game Sunday at Bright House Field in Clearwater.
The 16 region winners move on to the best-of-three Super Regions, playing to advance to the College World Series, which begins June 18 at new TD Ameritrade Park Omaha after 61 years at Rosenblatt Stadium.
Basketball: Penn State officials plan to interview Duquesne coach Ron Everhart, 49, today for its coaching opening. In 17 seasons with McNeese State, Northeastern and Duquesne, Everhart has never made the NCAA Tournament.
Lacrosse: Colin Briggs scored five goals and Virginia edged Maryland 9-7 in Baltimore for the men's title.
Tennis: USC's Steve Johnson and California's Jana Juricova won NCAA men's and women's singles titles. Johnson beat Tennessee's Rhyne Williams 4-6, 6-2, 6-1, and Juricova downed Stanford's Stacey Tan 6-0, 7-6 (7-2).