The Hampton University women's golf team dominated at the Florida A&M Spring Invitational, winning the women's division with a two-day score of 648. Senior Cheryl Chua won the individual title and had the tournament's lowest round. Every Lady Pirate finished in the top 10, led by freshman Zora Moore in second and senior Mikea Granberry tying for third. The team is preparing for upcoming competitions and looking to continue their strong performance.

1. Just as the 2015 Masters Tour-
nament teed off, the Hampton
University women’s golf team
dominated the Florida A&M
Spring Invitational in Tallahassee,
Florida.
The Lady Pirates looked like
masters in their own right, notch-
ing a two-day score of 648 (326-
322) to beat Savannah State’s 680
(326-322) and win the women’s
division. Senior transfer student
Cheryl Chua won the individual
title and her second-round score
of 73 was the lowest round of the
tournament. It was also Hampton’s
best round of the season.
Chua attributed her several
first-place finishes to “self-moti-
vation and my desire to excel and
perform my best.”
“I want to win for myself, my
coach, my team, and my school,”
she continued.
Every competing Lady Pirate
finished in the Top 10 at the
FAMU Invitational. Freshman
Zora Moore’s 19-over placed her
second in the tournament, and
senior Mikea Granberry tied for
third, shooting 20-over 164 (82-82)
in one of her last tournaments at
Hampton University.
“[The FAMU Invitational] has
always been one of my favorite
tournaments,” Granberry said,
reflecting on her years at Hamp-
ton. “It was a little sad knowing I
will never play in that tournament
again.”
Freshman Britney Smith
cracked the Top 10 as well, placing
fifth with a 21-over 165 (83-82),
and senior Crystal Smitherman
rounded out the Lady Pirates’
performance, finishing tenth with
a 51-over 195 (98-97).
“Everyone from the freshmen
to the seniors were able to play
a role in making our season fun,
rewarding and successful,” said
Smitherman.
Next on the schedule is the
MEAC Showcase later this month
and the PGA Minority Collegiate
Championships in May. The team’s
bond and preparation will help
them reach the finish line against
stiff competition.
“My team has definitely been
my biggest support here at HU,”
said Chua. “I am very grateful for
them. We all get along very well
and I enjoy traveling and compet-
ing with them.”
“I’m glad we finished strong
and I’m looking forward to com-
ing in first place in two weeks,”
Granberry said.
Buying in to coach Mitchell
Chua, who hails from British
Columbia, Canada, acknowledged
head coach Reginald Mitchell as
the reason why she transferred
years ago from South Carolina
State, whose golfing program
folded against Hampton.
“He was very convincing about
the potential of the golf team and
the academic side of Hampton,”
Chua said. “I knew playing for his
team would be a good fit. I [get]
along well with Coach Mitchell.”
Granberry, a senior broadcast
journalism major from Houston,
echoed similar sentiments.
“Mitchell has been my coach for
the last four years and I couldn’t
have asked for a better coach to
keep the golf team fun and com-
petitive,” she said.
Coach Mitchell makes the Lady
Pirates practice five to six days
a week, including two days of
workouts. Smitherman says it’s his
belief in “dedication, hard work
and perseverance” that have been
the key to the team’s success this
year.
Clearing the air
Golf is not the easiest sport to
understand, and Smitherman gets
that. Her hope is that breaking
down the scoring system for the
student body might spark some
intrigue across campus.
“A golfer’s score is the differ-
ence between the player’s number
of strokes and par score,” she ex-
plained. “If the hole you are on is
‘par five,’ your goal is to complete
that hole in five strokes.”
Smitherman continued, describ-
ing how completing a hole in five
or less strokes is ideal, but if you
do it in six or more, it’s a bogey,
which hurts your score. Golfers
can earn double- or triple-bogeys
depending on how many swings
over par they are.
The Lady Pirates softball team
is in the midst of a five-game win-
ning streak, with conference play
right around the corner. Dur-
ing the streak, the Lady Pirates
defeated Liberty University after
losing their first match-up earlier
that day.
The ladies went on to win their
double header against North
Carolina A&T, sweeping them in
both games; and in a three-game
series against Delaware State,
the Lady Pirates held the Lady
Hornets to two runs in total. The
Lady Pirates put up nine, 11 and
10 in the series against them.
Coach Joe DiPietro stated the
team held the mind set that, “One
game is one game, and we had
a great series against Delaware
State, but tomorrow we go to
Morgan [State]. So you start all
over.”
“As long as you’re focused and
go out there and do what every
girls’ capable of, we may not out
score Morgan 30-2 like we did Del
State, but you know, building off
that is only going help our players
have success this week,” DiPietro
continued.
It is hard to score a few runs in
any game, let alone double digits
twice, and just short of that in
another game (nine runs), but with
the Lady Pirates offense producing
the way it has over their last five
games, it remains to be seen if they
can continue their streak.
“Everybody has just been hit-
ting, it hasn’t just been one or two
people,” said sophomore outfielder
Taylor Clark. “It’s been the whole
lineup, and people have been get-
ting on base, and people have been
hitting with runners in scoring
position.”
It would help tremendously
if the Lady Pirates run scoring
pace carried them all the way up
through inner-league play, where
the games will count the most in
the standings as they look towards
a playoff bid.
“I think we are ready,” said
Margaret Wilkins, a shortstop and
graduate sports administration
major.
“We just have to take it one day,
and game at a time in order to
conquer it like we
know we can,”
she said.
A key con-
tributor during
the past couple
games with her
offense and de-
fense is freshmen
pitcher, Allyson
Babinsack. Babinsack was named
ECAC Division 1 South Pitcher of
the week (3-31-15). Babinsack’s
last outing included four innings
pitched, with five strikeouts,and
only one run was given up during
her time on the mound. Offen-
sively, Babinsack was able to get
a hit, and one RBI as well. Her
game is well rounded, and extreme-
ly productive as of late.
“To me it is a great accomplish-
ment knowing that all my hard
work so far has paid off, not only
for me but, all of us,” Babinsack
said with humility.
Any pitcher knows that their
responsibility is to just throw the
ball, and get it across the plate,
and the defense will
take care of the rest.
Babinsack spoke
highly of her team-
mates’ ability to do
just that.
“I couldn’t have
done it without a
great team behind
me,” she said
Coach DiPietro commented on
the diverse performance Babinsack
has shown while on the team.
“The good thing with Allyson is
that not only is she a good pitcher,
but she’s our four hitter as well,”
DiPietro said. “She’s been swinging
the bat with a little more force,
little more comfort, little more
consistency.”
Babinsack is batting .291, with
23 hits and 26 RBI’s, showing
opponents she is more than just a
talented pitcher. With a stellar de-
fense playing behind the pitcher’s
mound, the team is focused on
winning together. Confidence is
high, as it should be playing the
way Lady Pirates have. “It’s only
going to carry us further, we have
tons of momentum going into
these [conference] games.” Babin-
sack said.
As the Lady Pirate’s progress,
and play out the rest of the season,
it will take patience, and stability
both offensively and defensively.
“It’s a matter of comfort,”
Coach Dipietro said in terms of
trying to keep his team loose, and
on a roll, moving on from their
series against Delaware State.
The Lady Pirates softball team
will be putting their hot streak on
the line when they travel north to
face their next opponent, Morgan
State, starting another double
header against the Bears. That
series begins April 9.
FRIDAY, APRIL 10, 2015
THE HAMPTON SCRIPT 7
SPORTS
Jelani Scott | Hampton Script
Lady Pirates Golf performed exceptionally in their trip to Tallahassee, exuding the HU Standard of Excellence.
hamptonpirates.com | Hampton Script
HU Softball has been on a role in recent games and with a lot of conference games on the way can they continue?
Women’s Golf Wins Big at FAMU Tourney
Lady Pirates Continue Streak
And the
New
NCAA
Champs
Are...
Duke
March Madness is over and at
the close of the NCAA Basketball
Tournament the new champions
are the Duke Blue Devils
This Monday, Duke and Wiscon-
sin met and went to battle on the
court in front of 71,149 people to
determine the national champion
for the 2015 season. In a hard
fought game that saw both teams
tied 31-31 at the end of the first
half, The Blue Devils were able to
grind it out and defeat the Badgers
68-63 when the final buzzer
sounded.
Duke’s freshmen stepped up
and were ready to play against the
Badgers, proving that age is only a
number when it comes to hustling
for the win. Freshman Guard
Tyus Jones, served as a catalyst for
the Blue Devils’ ultimate victory,
accounting for a little over a third
of the teams’ points (23) that
night. At the same time he grabbed
5 rebounds and an assist in the
midst of his scoring performance.
Freshman starters Jahill Okafor (10
Pts, 3 Rebs) and Justise Winslow
(11 Pts, 9 Rebs, 1 Ast, 3 Blks) also
contributed much-needed points
and rebounds, while freshman
guard Grayson Allen (16 Pts, 2
Rebs, 1 STL) came off the bench
and proved to be an effective sixth
man for the Blue Devils.
While the Badgers’ could not
capture the championship, senior
forward Frank Kaminsky still put
on a stellar performance scor-
ing 21 points while also tallying
12 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and
1 block. Wisconsin was able to
end the undefeated streak of the
Kentucky Wildcats during the final
four on Saturday night, which was
the cause of much controversy with
UK Students rioting and also the
distasteful comment that Wildcat
guard Andrew Harrison made after
a reporter asked about Kaminsky.
It was an interesting outcome to
this year’s tournament, consider-
ing neither of the two teams in
the final game were the University
of Kentucky. Much of the buzz
for college basketball this season
revolved around the Wildcats and
their efforts to keep their winning
streak alive. According to odd-
sshark.com, heading into the tour-
nament Kentucky was the heavy
favorite with the odds of them
taking the championship being 6 to
5. Even after Kentucky was out of
the tournament, headlines were still
buzzing about the Wildcats due to
the rioting and Harrison’s com-
ment, But in the end the Big Blue
left on top were the Blue Devils.
This is the fifth national title that
Duke has won in the program’s
history and their first since 2010
where they defeated the Butler
Bulldogs 61-59. This is also Head
Coach Mike Krzyzewski’s fifth
championship since taking leader-
ship of the program in 1980.
Now that this season is in books
one can’t help but be curious of
whether Duke can repeat this
performance next season or not.
Considering that most of this
year’s team were either freshmen
or sophomores, it may not be too
farfetched to predict that Duke may
be in the NCAA Finals for another
couple of years or at least be a
fierce competitor. With a few years
left with that squad and some new
recruits, we could see Krzyzewski
and the Blue Devils deep in future
tournament brackets and perhaps
on route to title number six.
JELANI SCOTT
STAFF WRITER
JORDAN GRICE
SPORTS EDITOR
WESLEY EGGLESTON
STAFF WRITER
“We just have to take
it one day, and game
at a time in order to
conquer it like we know
we can,”