(Interesting Notes about Patriot athletics)

-      Two former Francis Marion University women’s basketball coaches have their teams in the 2002 NCAA Division I Tournament………..Sylvia Hatchell, who coached the Patriot women between 1975 and 1986, has her 24-8 University of North Carolina Tar Heels seeded fourth in the Midwest Region. UNC will host a four-team regional, March 16 & 18. North Carolina will meet Harvard University on Saturday evening, while the University of Minnesota and UNLV will clash in the other first-round game. Hatchell, who won two national championships at Francis Marion (1982 and 1986) and a third at UNC (1994), recently became only the sixth women’s coach to record 600 career wins………..Wes Moore, who guided the Patriots for three seasons (1995-98), has his 23-7 University of Tennessee-Chattanooga Lady Mocs seeded 13th in the Mideast Region. Chattanooga will face fourth-seeded Penn State University on Friday in State College, Pa. Creighton University and Florida International University meet in that region’s other first-round contest. Moore’s 1998 Francis Marion squad reached the Division II Final Four. Senior 5-10 guard Damita Bullock was a freshman on the Patriot squad and is now the sharing the Lady Mocs’ scoring lead at 11.6 points per game.

 

-      Three Francis Marion University graduates and former Patriot athletes recently concluded very successful seasons coaching girls’ high school basketball. Former Patriot shortstop and 1976 graduate Perry Stokes guided the Timmonsville High School girls’ squad to a 27-4 record and the Class A state championship. To reach the state finals, his Lady Whirlwinds downed a Scott’s Branch team (19-10 record) coached by former FMU cross country and track runner and 1983 graduate Randy White in the lower state championship contest. Former Patriot pitcher and 1992 graduate Scotty Keefe directed the Carolina Academy girls’ team to a 25-4 record and a runner-up finish in the SCISA AA Tournament. Both White and Keefe are also members of the FMU Athletic Hall of Fame.