The Bulldogs carded a 301 at Trump National Golf Club, their highest tally of the 54-hole event, and fell two spots on the team leaderboard. No. 9 Alabama closed with a 290 to finish at 872 and earn an 11-shot victory. No. 4 Purdue was second at 883, followed by No. 22 Oklahoma State at 886, the Bulldogs at 888, Kent State at 897, Northwestern, Florida State and Baylor all at 907, Texas Tech at 908 and Wisconsin at 922.

Burger’s 1-under 71 led Georgia on Tuesday, with the Bulldogs also counting a 73 from Silva Zamora, a 74 from Kendall Wright and an 83, the score posted by both Carolina Andrade and Tess Fordham.

“We were one good score away from finishing higher,” head coach Kelley Hester said. “Emilie played really well. She continues to come on. Marta was solid. I was proud of the way Kendall fought back today. Caro struggled with her putter and Tess was 2-under through four but couldn’t keep it going.”

Overall, Silva Zamora finished at 4-under 212, three shots back of medalist Caroline Hedwall of Oklahoma State. Burger wrapped up at 3-under 213. Both Bulldogs earned their third top-10 individual finish in six events played during the 2009-10 season.

In addition, Wright tied for 35th at 230, Andrade tied for 57th at 236 and Fordham placed 68th at 240. Georgia’s Kiara Hayashida, who competed as an individual in the tournament, shot 81 on Tuesday and finished 80th at 250.

“We have some things to work on, which is exactly what you would expect this time of the season,” Hester said. “We’ll get back to Athens and concentrate on those things and get better prepared for our next time out.”

The Bulldogs will return to action on March 1 when they travel to Valdosta, Ga., to compete in the Kinderlou Forest Challenge.

Lady Puerto Rico Classic
Trump National Golf Club
Coco Beach Resort
Rio Grande, P.R.
Par 72, 6219 Yards

Tuesday’s Final Results

Team Leaderboard
Alabama                         295-287-290=872
Purdue                          296-295-292=883
Oklahoma State                  300-288-298=886
Georgia                         292-295-301=888
Kent State                      297-301-297=897
Northwestern                    306-297-304=907
Florida State                   310-292-305=907
Baylor                          306-298-303=907
Texas Tech                      303-300-305=908
Wisconsin                       302-314-306=922
Oklahoma                        306-301-316=923
Michigan                        309-302-314=925
Iowa State                      315-305-315=935
Indiana                         304-316-321=941
SMU                             316-314-323=953
Penn State                      319-320-322=961

Individual Leaderboard
Caroline Hedwall, Oklahoma St.  74-65-70=209
Marta Silva Zamora, Georgia     70-69-73=212
Hannah Burke, Baylor            69-69-74=212
Emilie Burger, Georgia          72-70-71=213
Thea Hoffmeister, Purdue        66-73-74=213
Numa Gulyanamitta, Purdue       71-72-72=215
Camilla Lennarth, Alabama       74-72-70=216
Victoria Park, Oklahoma St.     74-70-72=216
Jennifer Kirby, Alabama         67-76-73=216
Maude-Aimee LeBlanc, Purdue     72-77-68=217
Brooke Pancake, Alabama         75-69-73=217

Additional Georgia Scores
T35. Kendall Wright               77-79-74=230
T57. Carolina Andrade             76-77-83=236
68. Tess Fordham                 74-83-83=240
80. Kiara Hayashida              87-82-81=250

Worley won the all-around title with a 39.500 in helping the Gym Dogs post their highest score of the season in a 197.200-195.550 win over the 11th-ranked Wildcats. Worley posted career-highs on vault (9.775), bars (9.850), beam (9.925) and floor (9.950).

“Shayla is getting better and better,” said head coach Jay Clark. “She competed on vault for the first time against Kentucky, stepped up and had a good meet.”

The Orlando, Fla., native was a last-minute addition to the vault lineup, and with her 39.500, she became the first Gym Dog to win the all-around title this season. Worley’s 9.950 on floor tied for the highest score by any SEC gymnast on the event this season.

University students William Corey Wilkinson and Blake Roger Tillis were arrested and charged with fighting in public, underage possession of alcohol and possession of fake IDs near the journalism building at 3:08 a.m. on Feb. 6. Michael Joseph Stanhope, a visitor from another university, was also arrested and charged with underage possession of alcohol.

The fight leading to the arrests began when Wilkinson called Tillis and his friends, who he believed were members of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity, “Pi Kappa Assholes,” according to the University Police report.

However, this insult may have been misdirected.

“Mr. Tillis is not a member of our chapter and has never been a member of our chapter,” said Colin Fogarty, the president of Pi Kappa Alpha.

When asked if he identified himself to Wilkinson as a member of the fraternity, Tillis said, “I might have. I’m not sure.”

Whether or not the insult was relevant, it eventually lead to an altercation.

“I was walking home and a couple of us started fooling around with them,” Wilkinson said. “Then Mr. Tillis took it the wrong way and got in my face. We didn’t really fight, it was more of a wrestling match. No punches were thrown at all.”

According to the report, police approached the scene after hearing “loud yelling and what sounded like a fight.” When the officer arrived, Tillis and Wilkinson were fighting on the ground while Stanhope stood over them. They were told to stop, however both failed to comply with the officer’s command. When Wilkinson attempted to gouge Tillis’s eyes, the officer used pepper spray to break them up.

“I never heard them say stop,” Wilkinson said. “All I know is I looked up and got maced right in the face. I was done from there. I just laid on the ground.”

However, police tell another story.

According to the report, after receiving his first dose of pepper spray, Wilkinson continued taunting Tillis and was subsequently sprayed again. When he still continued to fight, the arresting officer attempted to physically pull him back. Wilkinson then grabbed the officer’s legs and began to fight him.

“I would never fight a police officer,” Wilkinson said. “It was three on one so I was expecting to get jumped by more people. Then I felt someone on my back, and I didn’t know who it was.”

When asked about the discrepancies in the two stories, Wilkinson said, “It’s their word against mine. We’ll find out in court.”

Police eventually gained control of the situation and attempted to question Stanhope, who had watched the entire altercation. After making eye contact with an officer, Stanhope began to back away and attempted to flee the scene, running toward Baldwin Street. Stanhope was apprehended a short time later.

“I wasn’t a part of the fight,” Stanhope said. “I just came up later when the police arrived. I started backing up because I just didn’t know what to do.”

When the offenders were released the next morning, their interactions were much more civil.

“[Tillis] gave me a ride home when I got bailed out,” Wilkinson said, “and I told him I was sorry. He didn’t really recall what had happened. We exchanged numbers. I’m sure we’ll hang out sometime. The whole thing was just a big misunderstanding.”

At the academy, an educational daycare program, University students help teach the children of people attending the Classic City Performance Learning Center to finish high school or get their GED. 

Tiffany Smith, a University student from Bainbridge, and Michele Little, a University student from Suwanee, work at Right Start for class credit.

Smith said she was hesitant about teaching at Right Start at first but quickly appreciated what the program was trying to accomplish.

About 24 kids are on the list for enrollment at Right Start, but the number of children in a class on a given day varies.

Janie Voss, the lead teacher at Right Start, began teaching at the academy three years ago when she transferred from teaching Pre-K at Gaines Elementary School. 

The children at Right Start range in age from 4 months to 4 years. Though the age range in the classroom seems daunting, she believes it has turned out to be one of the advantages of the program.

“At first we were like, ‘Oh my goodness,’ but we’ve really learned to love it,” said Voss. “My parapro does more babies, and I do the older ones. It’s like that’s your bag, and this is mine, and that works really well.”

Smith said the age range could even be beneficial.

“It seems like the younger ones can learn from the older ones,” Smith said.

 And the children aren’t just there to play. 

Parents consistently give positive feedback, and Voss sees this as directly related to the academy’s emphasis on learning.

“Their favorite things are that we’re based as an educational setting,” Voss said. “With the ‘1-2-3 Read’ program that we do, our own standards, and the Georgia Early Learning Standards, they realize that the kids aren’t here to just hang out.”

All of the kids at Right Start are eligible for free or reduced lunch, which they receive from a nearby school. 

The food includes such items as sandwiches, nachos and chicken wings, which the teachers have to cut up to make easier for the children. 

Students at Classic City have to provide their own lunches by packing their own, going off-campus or purchasing something from the in-house Jittery Joe’s. Students run the coffee shop for credit in a class on entrepreneurship.

Smith and Little mentioned the importance of the in-class “foster grandparents,” mostly retirees who receive a stipend for helping out in the classroom through the Georgia Council on Aging. 

Maxine Love, who participates in the program and ran her own daycare for four years, said her experience with children could contribute to the Right Start classroom.

“I am a grandmother, so I thought that I could come out and make myself active and helpful,” Love said.

At the end of the day the children participate in fun activities.

Little turned on the CD player and the kids danced to Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean.” They jumped around, spun in circles and kicked their feet out to the music. Voss and Smith brought over two girls from their classroom across the hall to join in, and despite a few arguments over a toy microphone, they all seemed to have a good time.

“Students with young parents, they don’t get the opportunity to interact with peers,” said Smith. “They get to encounter more education when they come here, and I can see that this interaction really helps them a lot.”

On Saturday, Palin delivered the keynote speech at the populist-conservative National Tea Party Convention in Nashville, Tenn. Although Palin has not announced plans to run for President in 2012, the audience made their opinions clear by chanting “run, Sarah, run” throughout her campaign-style speech.

The Red & Black asked several students their opinions of Sarah Palin and her possible candidacy in 2012.

Ackall

ANDREW ACKALL

freshman biology major from Atlanta

“Her motives are sly.”

Conner

SARAH CONNER

senior microbiology and Spanish major from Norcross

“I admire her as a woman for balancing her job and her family, but I don’t think she should be president.”

Clark

JESSI CLARK

freshman political science major from Johns Creek

“I think her ideas for the country are ideas that would work.”

O'Brien

MALLORY O’BRIEN

junior telecommunications major from Marietta

“The only thing I like about Sarah Palin is the fact she brought Tina Fey back to Saturday Night Live.”

From fiscal year 2008 to fiscal year 2009, the University’s highest-paid faculty received an average raise of about $13,250, or 5.31 percent. The top administrators, including some vice presidents, deans and University President Michael Adams, received an average pay increase of about $12,300, or 4.55 percent.

“Our very best, top-flight research faculty … make salaries that are at or above the vice presidents and deans,” said Tom Jackson, vice president for public affairs. “People often make the assumption that the deans and the vice presidents are the highest paid people at the University, and they’re not.”

The majority of the highest paid professors come from the Terry College of Business. Only two — Henry Schaefer from the chemistry department and Susan Wessler from plant biology — are Terry outsiders.

The salary of any University employee is determined by the person’s direct superior. Professors report directly to the department heads and deans of the different colleges. Deans report to the provost, as do four of the vice presidents. The three senior vice presidents report directly to the president.

Adams, who earns the highest salary at the University, is considered an employee of the Board of Regents rather than the University. So the regents decide his salary — more than $600,000 in fiscal year 2009, a 2 percent increase from fiscal year 2008.

Most, but not all, of the University’s administrators and top faculty got raises in fiscal year 2009. Schaefer and Annette Poulsen, head of the department of banking and finance, took pay cuts last year.

But Robert Sumichrast, dean of the Terry College of Business, explained that a change in salary might not be the result of a pay cut or raise but of a faculty member taking on more or less responsibility. For example, a professor might choose to teach summer classes one year, but only teach during the academic year the next.

This principle also works the other way. Stephen Baginski, an accounting professor, received an increase of slightly more than 26 percent between fiscal years 2008 and 2009.

“Sometimes faculty will teach additional courses. It’s not their base salary that’s changed,” Sumichrast said. “For those additional activities … they could get paid extra.”

In general, he said, faculty and department heads are evaluated on their teaching, awards, publications, research and service when salaries are considered.

“Raises are all based on merit,” he said. “It’s not just where because you’ve been here for another year, you get a pay raise.”

Tim Burgess, senior vice president for finance and administration, pointed out there are a number of reasons some employees don’t receive raises.

“Across the University, there are employees that get no increase because of their job evaluation,” he said.

There were no pay raises at all this year, fiscal year 2010. But in most years, the Georgia legislature and the Board of Regents appropriate a lump sum of money to the University to be used specifically for pay raises.

“If the University had decided we’re not going to give any pay raises, I think the legislature would have taken that money back,” Burgess said.

Dorfman

More students will be able to take advantage of the University’s undergraduate pass/fail course option, which allows students to enroll in courses outside their majors on a pass/fail basis.

Only about 10 students per semester participate in the pass/fail course option, but the changes proposed at the committee’s Monday meeting will work to increase that number.

Ann Crowther, associate vice president for instruction, said the point of the option is to encourage students to take challenging courses outside of their academic areas.

However, the policy does not allow some groups of students to participate.

“The current policy, as it stands, bans every part-time student from taking part in this policy — I take offense to that,” said Jeffrey Dorfman, co-chair of the committee. “The current policy, as it stands, bans every freshman from taking part — I take offense to that, too.”

The initial policy states the pass/fail option is available to students with second year status and at least 30 credit hours toward graduation during the preceding academic year.

“Our original thought was: get here, get established, then explore,” Crowther said.

Under the new policy, second year status will no longer be required and the 30 credit hour requirement will be reduced to 15 hours.

The policy now in place also states students must take a minimum of 12 hours of A-F based courses during the same semester in order to enroll in a pass/fail course.

Crowther and Gayle Andrews, the committee’s other co-chair, said these requirements were unfair to part-time students.

However they wanted to make clear the pass/fail option should not be used to allow students to get around withdrawal deadlines.

The new policy removes the 12 hour requirement, adding that only one pass/fail course may be taken per semester. 

Only three pass/fail courses will be counted toward an undergraduate degree.

Many parts of the old policy will remain the same in the new policy. 

Students wishing to take a pass/fail course must have a minimum GPA of 2.0. 

Pass/fail courses may only be taken as general electives. Core courses, major or minor requirements and college or institutional requirements may not be taken on a pass/fail basis.

Dorfman said the changes to the policy will give more students incentives to take harder classes outside their majors.

“The whole point of coming to the University of Georgia is there are uncountable classes at the University,” Dorfman said.

The new policy will be sent to the University Council’s executive committee for approval but will not take effect until summer 2011.

The University has spent millions of dollars on new parking decks in order to increase the amount of parking spaces on campus. There are now about 21,000 parking spaces on campus — of which 19,317 are for students — including those designated as scooters, motorcycles and disability spots.

Parking Service’s priority system limits the number of permits sold, which leaves some on waiting lists but also prevents traffic jams. Photo by: Jackie Reedy.

Students who do not receive permits are placed on a waiting list and are eligible for parking when a spot becomes available.

Don Walter, Parking Services manager, said the University prides itself on providing parking for such a large number of students. He emphasized  although there are waiting lists for some lots, there are readily available permits in East Campus lots.

“At other schools, people hunt for spaces,” Walter said. “We think we’re leading the pack.”

Louisiana State University has more than 23,000 parking spots, of which 18,500 are for students. But LSU’s 25,215 students do not have to hunt for spaces. There is no waiting list and the school even has extra spaces.

“We are able to accommodate everybody with what we have and still have a few thousand [spots] left over,” said Gary Graham, LSU director of parking.

Unlike the University, which has a constant demand for parking which led to the construction of two new decks last year, Graham said LSU does not need to expand parking to make room for more cars.

“It’s been pretty static over the last two years,” Graham said. “The resident areas can get a little tight, but other than that, we are able to accommodate everybody.”

The University of Florida, with a total of 19,440 on-campus spots, distributes 10,973 student parking decals among its 49,679 student population.

Ed Poppell, UF vice president of Business Affairs, said any large university is bound to face some kinds of parking problems.

However, he said the city of Gainesville has a very successful transit system with over 9 million passengers per year.

“Parking is one of the biggest problems on most any large university campus,” Poppell said. “On our campus we say, ‘We have enough spaces, but just not in the right places.’”

The saying is a result of one of UF’s initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and congestion on campus by enforcing certain regulations, such as the university’s “auto-free interior campus,” where only buses and service vehicles are allowed on the interior of campus from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

“We have significant policies on our campus limiting what students can do and where they can park,” Poppell said. “We have also continuously increased the price of our decals, encouraging people to find alternative means of transportation.”

At the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the parking is highly selective. With 16,000 total parking spaces on campus, the school allows only 3,900 of its 28,136 students to park on campus. Unlike the University, UNC does not offer parking to incoming freshmen.

“There are a lot of folks who prefer to utilize the transit system,” said Randy Young, spokesman for the UNC Department of Safety. “We’ve gone to inordinate measures to make sure that the congestion and dependence on single-occupancy vehicles are attended to here on campus. We have 6,000 people on the Commuter Alternative Program.”

The program offers students an incentive to walk, ride bikes or use transit on campus by rewarding them with prizes and merchant discounts.

The University has a similar program called the Alternative Transportation Program, with a student participation of 1,200.

The program allows students who walk or take the bus to receive 22 days of free parking per year in specified parking locations.

The University also instituted the priority system, which guarantees all permit holders a parking space on campus.

The system was put into place in 2002. Before the system, permits were sold to anyone who wanted to purchase one, but there was no guarantee that there would be an available space. This resulted in traffic jams and overcrowded lots.

The priority system tries to solve that problem.

“I can tell you that there are some things that are completely unique to Georgia,” Walter said. “I think we’re the only ones in the country to have the priority system, where students get a chance to compete for all the spots on campus. They don’t do that at other campuses because it’s so difficult to manage.”

Zachary Joseph Gardner was arrested and charged with possession of marijuana, a fake ID and drug related objects on Feb. 5. He was arrested in Russell Hall at 6:06 p.m. 

Sara Elizabeth Dover was arrested and charged with underage possession of alcohol and giving false information on Feb. 6. She was arrested in New College at 1:26 a.m. 

Chad Hallmark was arrested and charged with underage possession of alcohol and criminal trespass on Feb. 6. He was arrested in an academic building at 1:54 a.m. 

William Corey Wilkinson and Blake Roger Tillis were arrested and charged with underage possession of alcohol, possession of a fake ID and fighting in public on Feb. 6 after police came across the two students fighting near the journalism building. The fight allegedly began after Wilkinson referred to Tillis and his friends as “Pi Kappa Assholes.” The arresting officer was forced to use pepper spray before both students were arrested at 3:08 a.m. 

Nancy Hutanu was arrested and charged with underage possession of alcohol on Feb. 8. She was arrested in Payne Hall at 4:02 a.m. 

Jonae Alexandria Perrin was arrested and charged with underage possession of alcohol on Feb. 5 at 4:50 p.m.

Beatrice Ruth Pollard was arrested and charged with underage possession of alcohol on Feb. 5 at 4:50 p.m.

Kacee Copelan, Grace Yim and Laura Braswell were arrested and charged with possession of marijuana on Feb. 5. They were arrested in the West Deck parking garage at 2:35 a.m.

Natacha Patricia Denis was arrested and charged with underage possession of alcohol on Feb. 5. She was arrested in the Hull Street parking deck at 3:12 a.m.

Anya Marcele Javadi was arrested and charged with duty upon striking an unattended vehicle on Feb. 4 at 1:30 p.m.

Christopher Markel was arrested and charged with DUI and failure to obey a traffic control device on Feb. 4. He was arrested at the intersection of Cedar Street and East Campus Road at 1:42 a.m.

Andrew Michael Haber was arrested and charged with driving without headlights and possession of a fake ID on Feb. 4. He was arrested at the intersection of Baxter Street and Lumpkin Street at 4:34 a.m.

Samuel Lane Strozzo was arrested and charged with underage possession of alcohol on Feb. 3. He was arrested on Baldwin Street near the Fine Arts building. 

The following was reported by the Athens-Clarke County Police:

 Lauren Victoria Akin, 20, was arrested and charged with possession of a fake ID, underage possession of alcohol and disorderly conduct after she climbed through a McDonalds drive-thru window. She was arrested at the McDonalds located on West Broad Street at 2:57 a.m.

Georgia track and field welcomed eight transfers for the 2010 season. Clockwise from the left: Allen Brandon (Ohio State), Alesha Asijie (Red Mountain), Nikola Lomnicka (Clemson), Aaron Evans (Memphis), LaTroya Darrell (Central Arizona) and Cory Holman (Rend Lake). Photo by JON-MICHAEL SULLIVAN

The different pieces were delivered from various locations all across the country — from South Carolina out to Arizona. Their arrival marks the ongoing commitment to one distinct purpose — winning a championship.

Georgia track and field received a large influx of talented transfers this past offseason, which has translated into immediate effect during the early stages of this indoor season. One promise drove each of these accomplished athletes to Georgia’s doorstep — the promise of more.

“For me, I wanted to be in a better conference and the SEC is by far one of the best conferences in the nation,” said sophomore Aaron Evans, a transfer from the University of Memphis. “Now I’m running against better people, with better coaches, and in better facilities since the resources here at Georgia are just endless.”

In addition to Evans, who won the 800-meter dash at the Kentucky Invitational in his debut, two other new Bulldogs left NCAA programs to compete in Athens.

Sophomores Nikola Lomnicka (Clemson) and Allen Brandon (Ohio State) also transferred from programs of high athletic pedigree.

BEN DAVIES

Lomnicka kick-started her Bulldog career with NCAA provisional qualifying marks in the weight throw in the season’s first three meets.

Her personal-best mark (65 feet, 10.25 inches) came at the Virginia Tech Elite meet and launched her into the No. 3 spot in the all-time Georgia record books.

Former Buckeye Brandon has delivered positive results at every meet as well, notching the fifth-best mark in the pole vault in school history en route to three top-five finishes.

Junior college standouts LaTroya Darrell (Central Arizona) and Cory Holman (Rend Lake) add even more weight to a bulky transfer class. Holman burst onto the heptathlon scene at the Razorback Invitational by scoring 5,527 points to place himself at No. 2 in the school record books behind teammate Tommy Barrineau. Similarly, Darrell earned a NCAA provisional qualifying mark in the triple jump at the Hokie Invitational, one week after winning the event in Lexington, Ky.

MICHAEL AYERS

Along with Holman and Darrell from the junior college ranks came transfer Alesha Asijie out of Red Mountain in Mesa, Ariz., where Asijie claimed the 2009 NJCAA hammer throw title. Since coming to Athens, the junior placed second in the weight throw (60, 3.25) at the Hokie Invitational.

Exemplified by their placement at the highly competitive meets, as well as in the school record books, these fresh faces came in ready-made packages and looked to contribute the moment they set foot on campus.

“Those [transfer] kids, it’s just a little bit easier to coach immediately,” said assistant coach Petros Kyprianou, who serves as the Bulldogs proficient recruiting coordinator. “You can basically speak the same language with them because they have been through all this for at least one year. It is definitely huge for us.”

Even more worrisome for Georgia’s opponents is that the best may be yet to come.

Highly touted transfers Michael Ayers and Ben Davies will not be able to compete this season due to league rules. With Ayers and Davies transferring from Tennessee and Florida, respectively, rules state that athletes switching schools within the SEC conference must sit out for one year.

Ayers was a two-time All-American in the decathlon for the Volunteers, while Davies was rated as the No. 1 decathlete in the nation coming out of high school.

The force of this dynamic recruiting class may not be fully felt until 2011, which happens to fit right into a farsighted plan set by Georgia’s coaches.

“Our ultimate goal is to showcase all of these kids next year when we host the SEC Championships,” said Kyprianou. “This has been a long process, it has been three years that this coaching staff has been putting this team together so that we can present our best possible team at home.”

As for the present, the effects of each of Georgia track and field’s newest Bulldogs should offer plenty in 2010.

Success is not out of the question for a team with such talent, and the current squad believes the improvements will mirror results.

“We can score at the SEC [Championships] and all of the other meets coming up this year, so we are going to be pretty good,” Lomnicka said.

An ample amount of time — and luck — was put into collecting all of these necessary parts, now the only objective left is to piece it all together.

As with all good puzzles, some assembly is required.