Monroe and Rice Sign with FAU Basketball

Florida Atlantic University men?s basketball head coach Matt Doherty announced Carlos Monroe and DeAndre Rice have each signed National Letters of Intent to play for the Owls beginning with the 2005-06 season. Monroe is a 6-7, 235 forward from Cape Coral, FL, who will be a freshman next season. Rice, a 6-3, 200 guard, starred at Frank Phillips College in Borger, TX, where he was an All-America honorable mention as a sophomore.

As a senior in 2004-05, Monroe was a Second-Team All-State (5A) selection by the Florida Sports Writers Association, averaging 19 points and 12 rebounds per game.

"We are excited about Carlos joining the FAU family," said Doherty. "He is a basketball player who brings a great deal to our program, including size, strength and skill. He is a highly-touted recruit who is coming into a program that is ready to take off. He wanted to be on the ground floor of something special and will be a big part of it."

Rice, a native of Flint, MI, averaged 22.1 points per game last year and was a National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) All-Region First-Team selection from Region 5. He shot 41 percent from beyond the arc while averaging nearly four rebounds and three assists per game. As a freshman, he posted 17.1 points and 5.0 rebounds per game while shooting over 40 percent from three-point range.

"DeAndre will bring toughness and maturity to our program," said Doherty. "He is an experienced player who has the ability to put the ball in the basket. We are thrilled he chose to join the FAU basketball family."

Monroe and Rice join Paul Graham (Fr, G, 6-4, 185, Philadelphia, PA/Philadelphia Lutheran) as Doherty?s recruiting class grows to three. Doherty was named FAU?s head coach on April 18.


Kevin Green Signs with FAU Basketball

Florida Atlantic University men?s basketball head coach Matt Doherty announced Kevin Green has signed a National Letter of Intent to play for the Owls beginning with the 2005-06 season. Green is a 5-11, 175 point guard who played for Santa Fe Community College in Gainesville, FL, as a sophomore last year.

Green averaged 10 points and led the team with five assists per game in 2004-05 while garnering Second-Team All-Conference honors. He helped lead Santa Fe to a 25-4 record, the third highest winning percentage in school history. The Saints were ranked as high as no. 4 nationally, the best ever for the program.

"Were excited to have Kevin join the FAU family," said Doherty. "He brings tremendous experience coming from Santa Fe Community College. He?s another Philadelphia native in the fold who will bring leadership and ability at the critical point guard position."

As a freshman, Green played for Brevard Community College in Cocoa, FL, where he was named Second-Team All-Conference and also received All-Freshman honors. He averaged 14 points and eight assists in 2003-04.

"I chose FAU because I wanted to be with a great program and a great coach," said Green. "I?ve followed Coach Doherty?s career going back to when he was at North Carolina, and he is someone I can trust. When you consider he recruited virtually the entire national championship team, being recruited by him is even more special for me."

In high school, Green attended Philadelphia Lutheran Christian Academy where he was an All-Public and All-City selection. It?s the same high school attended by Paul Graham, who will be a freshman next year for the Owls. Graham was the first player signed by Doherty earlier this month.

Doherty has now signed four players since taking over as FAU?s head coach on April 18. Green joins Graham (Fr, G, 6-4, 185, Philadelphia, PA/Philadelphia Lutheran), Carlos Monroe (Fr, F, 6-7, 235, Cape Coral, FL/Cape Coral HS), and DeAndre Rice (Jr, G, 6-3, 200, Flint, MI/Frank Phillips College).


FAU Football Coach Howard Schnellenberger to be inducted into the Florida Sports Hall of Fame

The Florida Sports Hall of Fame has released their 2005 class, and among that class is Florida Atlantic University Head Football Coach Howard Schnellenberger.

The induction ceremony is May 22-23. Coach Schnellenberger was also recently inducted into the University of Kentucky Hall of Fame as a distinguished Alumni, Friday, May 13.


FAU Softball Falls at A-Sun Tournament

For the first time in nine years, the Atlantic Sun Conference champion will not be Florida Atlantic University. The Owls were defeated twice on Friday at the A-Sun Tournament, eliminating FAU(37-32) from the championship and ending its record run of eight straight titles. In the first game, FAU fell to Troy 4-1 before being defeated by UCF, 3-2, in 9 innings. UCF (44-27-1) will face Troy (47-19) in Saturday's championship at FAU Field.

Against UCF, for the third straight game of the tournament, the Owls took a first inning lead. After a one-out walk by Melissa Moore, Pam Mazzarella reached on an error, advancing Moore to second. Jessica Braggins followed with an RBI-single up the middle to make it 1-0.

FAU made it 2-0 with an unearned run in the fifth before UCF's Lindsay Enders tied the game in the bottom of sixth with a one-out, two-run double.

In the bottom of the ninth, Bryttani Lindheim's two-out single drove in the winning run to give the Golden Knights the victory.

Against Troy, FAU got on the board early when Mazzarella homered in the bottom of the first to make it 1-0. FAU held that lead until the fourth when Tamra Howren hit a two-run homer to give Troy a 2-1 lead. The Trojans added two unearned runs in the fifth to account for the final scoring.

In the other game of the day, UCF defeated Jacksonville 9-5 prior to knocking off the Owls. For FAU to advance to the NCAA Tournament for the seventh straight year, it would have to receive its first-ever at-large bid.

In Saturday's championship game, UCF defeated Troy 2-1 to force a final game in the double elimination tournament format. UCF then went on to win that second game over Troy 3-1 to earn the conference?s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

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Report courtesy of FAU Sports Information Department ? Katrina McCormack, Assistant Athletic Director SID; John McMahon, Assistant SID and Radio Play-by-Play; and Dawn Elston, Assistant SID. For more information about FAU Sports, go to the FAU web site at www.fausports.com