LEWISTON – Liz Wanless was named a 2003 American Volleyball Coaches Association Division III Third Team All-America selection.

Wanless ’04 (Belleville, Ill.) earned her fourth consecutive Regional All-America honor earlier this fall, but had not been recognized nationally until this year.

In her four-year career, Wanless set a Bates record with 2,275 kills. She enjoyed her best season this fall, netting career highs with 579 total kills, 4.79 kills per game while posting a career best .330 hitting percentage. Wanless was a First-Team All-

NESCAC selection for the third time and made the All-Conference team for the fourth consecutive year.

Coffin named rookie of week

LEWISTON – Meg Coffin of Bates was named the Maine Women’s Basketball Coaches Association Rookie of the Week.

Coffin ’07 (Westford, Mass.) scored 16 points off the bench in the Bobcats’ 84-61 loss to Southern Maine last Tuesday. She was 6-for-9 from the field, 4-for-5 from the free throw line and added two steals in 18 minutes off the bench.

Maine places 3

on N.E. I-AA team

ORONO – Three University of Maine football players have been honored with selection to the All-New England I-AA team.

On offense, junior tailback Marcus Williams (Amherst, Mass.) and senior offensive lineman Pete Richardson (Millinocket, Maine) were both named to the squad. Williams finished the season with 1,284 yards and 12 touchdowns on 248 carries, becoming the first Black Bear to rush for 1,000 yards twice in a career. Both Williams and Richardson were named first team All-Atlantic 10 selections last week.

Maine is represented on the defensive squad by junior defensive back Brandon McGowan (Jersey City, N.J.). A second team All-Atlantic 10 honoree, he finished the 2003 season as Maine’s leading tackler with 89 total tackles, including 51 solo stops. He also had 2.5 tackles for loss, one interception with three pass break-ups, and a pair of fumble recoveries.

Hamilton hoop coach to retire

CLINTON, N.Y. – Tom Murphy, one of the winningest coaches in Division III men’s basketball history, is retiring from his post at Hamilton College.

Murphy, who coached the Hamilton Continentals for 34 years, announced his retirement Monday.

“I have been fortunate to work with some very dedicated and committed student-athletes,” Murphy said. “Whatever success we have had can be attributed to the hard work of the players.”

After getting off to a rocky 16-62 start in his first four years, Murphy has not had a losing since. His record now stands at 587-254.

Sexson traded

to Diamondbacks

PHOENIX – Right after trading off a power pitcher, the Arizona Diamondbacks acquired a power hitter who ranks among the best in the game.

The Diamondbacks got Richie Sexson from Milwaukee in a nine-player deal Monday that sent infielder Craig Counsell and second baseman Junior Spivey to the Brewers.

First baseman Lyle Overbay, catcher Chad Moeller and left-handers Jorge De La Rosa and Chris Capuano also were dealt to Milwaukee.

In addition to Sexson, Arizona received left-hander Shane Nance and a player to be named.

“I’m pretty excited,” Sexson said in a conference call. “I enjoyed my time in Milwaukee, but as a player, we obviously play to win, and it got tough in Milwaukee.”

The deal was finalized after Curt Schilling passed his physical with the Boston Red Sox.

De La Rosa was one of four players sent to Arizona for Schilling, and could not be traded until the Schilling deal was finalized.

“He was the Red Sox’s best pitching prospect,” Brewers general manager Doug Melvin said. “He’s ahead of our young pitchers. We were reluctant to do the deal unless he was in the deal.”

The Diamondbacks had long coveted the 6-foot, 7-inch Sexson as the right-handed power hitter the lineup lacked.

“This is an exciting player,” Arizona general manager Joe Garagiola Jr. said. “This is a player who turns a game around with an at-bat.”

Sexson tied Barry Bonds for third in the majors with 45 home runs last season, and had 124 RBIs. Arizona had no player with more than 26 home runs last year.

Sexson, who played in every inning of every game last season, has a career .378 average at Bank One Ballpark with six home runs and 16 RBIs.

He has a .273 average with 191 home runs in six major league seasons with Cleveland and Milwaukee.

Jerry Colangelo, the Diamondbacks’ managing general partner, said that despite Schilling’s departure, he expects the team to contend in the NL West.

“We in no way are giving up an inch in our opinion regarding our competitiveness in going forward,” he said. “This is a team that we feel can win.”

Sexson, 28, will make $8.6 million next year, the final season of his contract. Colangelo said that despite the franchise’s financial constraints, the Diamondbacks don’t consider this just a one-season acquisition.

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there, but the bottom line is we have the ability to sign him,” Colangelo said. “We’re not looking at this as a one-year deal.”

Sexson said he hadn’t talked about anything beyond this season, even with his agent.

“I really don’t know what the future holds for me,” he said. “Obviously, Arizona is sure someplace I would love to stay for a long time.”

He was the Brewers’ most popular player, but with the franchise looking to cut its already meager payroll to about $30 million next season, his salary was too high.

“We were faced with the reality of losing Richie Sexson and probably getting nothing in return except for a few draft choices,” Melvin said.

Despite its financial situation, Milwaukee is taking on some significant salaries with the deal. Counsell will earn $3.15 million next year and Spivey $2,367,500.

Counsell, a scrappy utility player and the MVP in the 2001 NL championship series, has been plagued by injuries the past two seasons. He is from the Milwaukee area and still lives there in the offseason. Counsell has two World Series rings, with Arizona in 2001 and Florida in 1997.

Spivey, selected by his manager Bob Brenly for the 2002 All-Star game, was sidelined by an ankle injury part of last season and never could regain his starting job from rookie Matt Kata.

Overbay, a left-handed hitter, was given the first-base job by the Diamondbacks as a rookie at the start of last season after a rapid rise through the minor league system. But he struggled and was sent back to Triple-A Tucson.

Moeller hit .268 last season but fell out of favor for unexplained reasons and played little the last few months.

De La Rosa, 22, was 6-3 with a 2.80 ERA for Double-A Portland and 1-2 with a 3.75 ERA for Triple-A Pawtucket last season.

Capuano came back from reconstructive Tommy John elbow surgery in 2002 and made his major league debut, going 2-4 with a 4.64 ERA in nine games.

Nance was 0-2 with a 4.21 ERA in 26 relief appearances for Milwaukee.

The Diamondbacks’ payroll, about $94 million last season, is at $77.5 million and will stay around $80 million for the coming season, Colangelo said. Arizona’s overall payroll rose by about $3 million with the Sexson trade, he said.

The team cleared $12 million – and up to $14 million considering incentives – in salary for next season by trading Schilling.

NBA suspends Tim Duncan

NEW YORK – Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs was suspended for one game by the NBA on Monday for pushing an official to the floor.

The two-time league MVP and five-time all-star made contact with Jack Nies in the third quarter of the Spurs’ loss Saturday night to the Golden State Warriors.

Duncan was setting a pick near the Spurs’ 3-point line as Nies was trying to untangle himself from another player. Duncan cut to the high post, put both hands on the official to clear some room, and Nies tumbled to the floor. The official quickly got up and called a technical.

– From staff, wire reports

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