April 14, 2004

Salisbury to Host Three Events on CAC’s Championship Weekend

Softball, Tennis and Track to Determine Conference Champions
Salisbury, Md - Salisbury University will serve as host site for three of the Capital Athletic Conference’s championship events this Saturday and Sunday, April 17-18. 

Based on the regular season round-robin, the SU softball team earned the top seed for this year’s conference tournament and hosts the two-day, double-elimination tournament on campus. Salisbury, 26-5 overall and ranked fifth in the latest national poll, hopes to capture its eighth straight CAC title. Saturday’s first game (seed #2 vs. seed #3) begins at 10 am, with Salisbury’s first game scheduled for noon.

The men’s and women’s tennis championship and the men’s and women’s track championship both return to Salisbury based on a rotation of host sites. The two-day tennis tournament begins with preliminary rounds on Saturday morning, and concludes with finals matches on Sunday afternoon. The one-day track championship meet begins with field events at 10 am on Saturday, and running events to follow, beginning at 12:30 pm.

“We’ve always competed well at home, so it’s a bit more special to have the event here,” said SU’s Head Track & Field Coach Jim Jones. “I think we’ll challenge for both titles. We’re looking forward to a great meet.”

The SU men’s and women’s track teams both finished second at last year’s conference championship. Three Sea Gull men and three women will be trying to defend their individual events championships from 2003. Senior Justin Johnson is the reigning CAC champion in both the 110-meter hurdles and the 400-meter hurdles; junior Tristan Gilbert is the defending 1,500-meter champion; and junior Brad Ellis is the returning 3,000-meter steeplechase champion.

On the women’s side, junior Melissa Lewis is the defending hammer champion; sophomore Amy Lang the 5,000-meter champion; and senior Tori Peddicord the 200-meter champion. First and second place finishers in each event earn all-conference honors.

In tennis, the Sea Gull women will be swinging for their third straight conference crown, with five returnees from last year’s squad. The SU men placed second in 2003 and hope to capture their first title since 1999.