SWAMP SIGHTINGS (Vol.1 for 2003 ; #102/2-14-03)
February 14, 2003 -
SWAMP SIGHTINGS (Vol.1 for 2003 ; #102/2-14-03)
(Interesting Notes about Patriot athletics)
- Recently named head coach of the WNBA’s Charlotte Sting Trudi Lacey got her first head coaching position at Francis Marion University. Lacey succeeded Sylvia Hatchell and directed the FMU program for two seasons (1986-88), leading the Patriots to a 53-12 mark and the 1987 NAIA District Six championship (30-6 record that year). The Patriots were ranked in the NAIA Top 20 poll every week of Lacey’s two seasons. She left FMU to take the head coaching position at the University of South Florida, where she became the school’s all-time winningest coach in only eight seasons. Her resume also includes assistant coaching positions at four other NCAA Division I institutions, as well as a four-year stint as assistant director of women’s programs for USA Basketball. She had been a Sting assistant coach for the past two years, including the 2001 campaign when the Sting advanced to the WNBA Finals. In addition to the title of head coach, Lacey was also named assistant general manager. Her appointment came as the organization also named NBA coaching veteran Bernie Bickerstaff as vice president and general manager.
- Former FMU left-handed pitcher Nat Stoner has signed a contract with the Sioux Falls Canaries of the Northern League professional organization. Stoner, a native of Scottsbluff, Neb., played two seasons at FMU (2000 and 2001), and served as a student assistant coach in 2002. He spent the last half of the 2002 summer with the Canaries after being traded from Sioux City. He pitched out of the bullpen for the Canaries, posting a 2-2 mark with a 4.91 earned run average while holding left-handed batters to a .150 batting average. The club plans to move him into the starting rotation in 2003. In his two seasons of professional baseball, Stoner owns a 5-6 mark with a 3.81 ERA. The Northern League has become the preeminent independent baseball league.
