SWAMP SIGHTINGS (Vol.2 for 2006)

• Former Francis Marion University men's basketball coach, and current head coach at The Citadel, Ed Conroy is among seven NCAA basketball coaches and sports personalities participating in the USO and Armed Forces Entertainment tour, "Operation Hardwood III," scheduled for Aug. 23-31 in Japan.  Conroy, who recorded a 41-40 mark in three seasons on the FMU bench, will visit sailors aboard a ship in the region and coach military players who compete in a championship tournament.  The tour, part of the third Operation Hardwood series for the USO, also includes Jim Calhoun (Connecticut), Karl Hobbs (George Washington), Steve Lavin (ABC/ESPN analyst and former UCLA head coach), Dave Leitao (Virginia), John Thompson III (Georgetown), and Darrin Horn (Western Kentucky).

• Former Patriot southpaw Lee Tabor (Manning, SC) was recently promoted to the Sarasota Reds of the Class A Florida State League.  He compiled a 2-1 record with a 3.69 earned run average in nine appearances with the Cincinnati Reds' rookie-league squad in the Gulf Coast League, which has now completed its 2006 season.  Tabor struck out 27 batters in 31.2 innings, while allowing only three walks.

• FMU graduate ('91) and former baseball player Rich Pasquale (Beaver Falls, PA) was recently named assistant baseball coach at Slippery Rock University. Pasquale previously compiled a 96-76-2 mark in four seasons as head coach at LaRoche College, an NCAA Division III institution in Pittsburgh. An infielder, he played two seasons at Francis Marion, batting .322 with 52 runs scored in 47 games as a senior in 1990, and earned honorable mention NAIA All-America recognition.

• Patriot graduate ('94) and former volleyball player Nicole Smith (Baytown, TX) is preparing for her second year as head volleyball coach at the University of Arkansas-Monticello. After seven seasons as a successful coach in the Texas junior college ranks, she started the UAM program in 2005. She guided the Cotton Blossoms to a 9-18 mark in their inaugural season. She played the 1991 and 1992 seasons at Francis Marion, compiling 587 digs, 298 kills, and 103 services aces in 238 career games. She served as a student assistant coach for the Patriots in 1993.