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Head Coach Danny Price

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Senior Willie Collazo

Location: Miami, Fla.
Founded: 1972
Enrollment: 32,196
Nickname: Golden Panthers
Colors: Blue and Gold
President: Dr. Modesto A. Maidique
Athletic Director: Rick Mello
Baseball Administrator: Rich Kelch
Home Stadium (cap.): University Park (2,000)
Surface, Dimensions: Grass, 325-375-400-375-325
Head Coach: Danny Price (Florida International ’74)
Career Record: 877-444, .664 (22 seasons)
Record at FIU: same
Assistant Coaches: Rolando Casanova (Florida International ’78), Mark Calvi (Nova Southeastern ’91)
Volunteer Assistant Coach: Mark Shives
Athletic Trainer for Baseball: Mike Pawlusiak
Baseball SID: Brian Smatt
Conference: Sun Belt
2000 Record: 42-20
’00 Conference Record, Finish: 15-12, 3rd
’00 Postseason: 3-2 Sun Belt Tournament, 2-2 Coral Gables Regional
Position Starters Returning/Lost from ’00: 6/2
Pitchers Returning/Lost from ’00: 5/2
Letterwinners Returning/Lost from ’00: 15/5
2001 Record: 40-18
2001 Conference Record, Finish: 16-11, 3rd
2001 Conference Tournament: 0-2
website: http://fiu.edu/orgs/athletics

NCAA HISTORY

• This is the Golden Panthers seventh overall and fifth consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
• Florida International has not had to travel far to play in regionals appearing in the Atlantic Regional (Tallahassee, Fla.) in ’91, ’97 and ’98, the Atlantic II Regional (Coral Gables, Fla.) in 1995 and the Coral Gables Regional the last two years. This will be its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament outside of Florida.

TEAM NOTES

• FIU’s 40 wins are tied for the most of any team in the Sun Belt Conference. This is the fifth consecutive season the program has had 40 victories or more.
• FIU is 12-6 against 2001 NCAA Tournament teams including 2-0 against Bethune-Cookman, 2-0 versus Seton Hall, a 3-0 win over Rutgers, 3-1 against South Alabama, 2-1 at Middle Tennessee State, 1-1 at Central Florida and 1-3 against Miami.
• The Golden Panthers have never played UCSB or UWM. They swept a three-game series from Notre Dame early in the 1999 season.
• The Sun Belt Conference ranks among the top 10 in Division I RPI. With the addition of Middle Tennessee State to the conference, five of the 10 schools in the SBC advanced to NCAA Regionals last season, with conference member Louisiana-Lafayette advancing to the College World Series. This season, the Sun Belt Conference has placed three teams in the NCAA Tournament (South Alabama and Middle Tennessee State).
• The Golden Panthers are tied for 11th in the nation with 111 stolen bases. Junior OF Barry Paulk leads the team with 28.
• Florida International ranks second in the Sun Belt and 19th nationally with a 3.64 ERA.
• The Golden Panthers’ 73 home runs this season are only six behind the all-time school record. They are also hitting .310 as a team.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

• Head Coach Danny Price moved into 40th place all-time on the NCAA coaches win list. His 22-year record stands at 877-444.
• Senior lefthander Willie Collazo is 11-0 which tied the FIU mark for consecutive wins. He leads the team with a 2.84 ERA and has struck out 136 in 120 1/3 innings.
• Senior RF Mike Quintana ranks among the top 10 nationally with 16 home runs. He was a Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Week on March 19 after hitting four HR and driving in 10 runs against conference opponent Louisana Tech. He is batting .333 on the year with 54 RBI.
• Sophomore righthander Ozzie Lugo is out for the remainder of the season with a stress fracture of the back. The freshman All-American had appeared in 15 games, going 0-1 with six saves registering a 4.11 ERA. He had allowed 11 hits and 14 walks while striking out 29 in 15 1/3 innings.