Freshmen

On the Maryland men's basketball team The Terps have an extremely weak senior class with no direction or a consistent go-to guy. ... Gary Williams has allowed the program to sink to a low level; it's time to say, `Thanks, Gary, but a new direction is needed now.' The senior class has been a definite bust, but the bigger issue is Gary Williams' future. I favor moving him out now but I doubt the administration will act for at least two more years. The obvious hope are the freshmen and the incoming recruiting class, which seems strong.

On Friday morning, Zachary Taylor, 14, said he knew only a half-dozen other teenagers who were going to Archbishop Spalding High School. By the end of a two-day retreat for freshmen at the co-ed Catholic school in Severn, he knew a lot more. "It's really easy to make friends here," Zachary said. For the past decade, Spalding has held a retreat for ninth-graders -- who come from dozens of middle schools throughout the area -- to acclimate them to a new environment. A few years ago, the school switched from an off-site event held mid-year to an event on campus at the start of the school year.

Charles Jackson and his daughter, Christyn, were lugging a huge plastic bin with an overstuffed duffel bag atop it up the steps of Cumberland Hall at the University of Maryland, College Park yesterday. His son, Aaron, a strapping 12-year-old, was managing just a small plant."What's with that?" Christyn, 18, asked. "You're the football player."Aaron shrugged. It was move-in day for more than 900 freshmen in UMCP's Scholars program, a sort of small college within the university that occupies a quadrangle of dormitories.

Despite what upperclassmen might think, the incoming class of freshmen at the Naval Academy isn't such a raggedy bunch of out-of-shape teens after all.As the Class of 2003 says goodbye to its brutal summer of training, Plebe Summer, and begins the rigors of the academic year, data tallied from its members' first few months in Annapolis show that the latest group of more than 1,000 men and women might have a little more of the right stuff than some of...

WE HAVE PASSED the midpoint of high school's freshman year in my house, and all of us are still standing, although we are not always speaking, and I thought I would take this opportunity to share my hard-won wisdom.Take it from me. Freshman year is harder than you remember it to be.Especially from this end -- the parental end.I am not sure how to describe it, except to say your child's freshman year of high school is a lot like being trapped in a bad marriage: Neither of you is going anywhere, and that only serves to make matters worse.

Liberty coach Courtney Vaughn said her young team, which includes four freshmen who see significant playing time, has continued to learn and progress throughout the season.Yesterday, in their regular season finale, the 11th-ranked Lions reversed roles, schooling visiting No. 14 Dulaney throughout their easier-than-expected 17-6 win.Liberty (12-2) used its superior ball-handling and passing to dominate the final 30 minutes, breaking open a 8-4 lead by scoring nine of the final 11 goals.On a day when most Liberty players learned they will open the Class 3A-4A West regional playoffs against rival North Carroll Thursday, the performance couldn't have come at a better time.

COLLEGE PARK -- North Carolina paraded its usual array of high school All-America freshmen into rocking Cole Field House yesterday, but it was Maryland's three freshmen who walked off the court amid the roar of the sellout crowd after an 81-64 romp over the Tar Heels.Jason Capel, Ron Curry and Kris Lang are the latest high school All-America phenoms to play in the cherished Carolina blue, but they were seeing a lot of Maryland red by the final buzzer.That red was in the form of Terps freshmen Lonny Baxter and Juan Dixon dashing the North Carolina hopes time after time with clutch plays and freshman Danny Miller sticking a few daggers into any comeback hopes.

Lee Rogers appears to be building another dynasty in Gambrills, his No. 7 Arundel Wildcats (19-3) having overwhelmed No. 5 Meade, 78-61, to win their second county title in three years at Broadneck Wednesday.The scary thing for the rest of the county is that Arundel has only two seniors and 12 underclassmen -- six juniors, one sophomore and five freshmen -- on its 14-player roster.Three freshmen -- Jill Marano (averaging 12 points a game), Najmah Fauntleroy (six) and Jen Santana (two) -- have contributed regularly to this team.

Thinking ahead: Today's college freshmen are already thinking about what kinds of investments they need for a secure financial future, according to a survey commissioned by Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. In the poll of 2,000 freshmen, 81 percent said owning a home is very important to them, 74 percent said life insurance is important and 46 percent said individual retirement accounts and pensions are important.Soup's on: There's a gender gap in soup consumption, according to food maker Progresso.

Eighteen people downed by heat exhaustion. One broken toe. One case of hypothermia. One severe asthma attack. And nearly 1,000 caked in mud and sweat, trembling with exhaustion.That's how the Naval Academy measures success.Three days after its Sea Trials -- a new daylong endurance test for freshmen -- the academy said yesterday that the event had the desired effect: It forced weary midshipmen to work as teammates to survive a grueling 12 hours of push-ups, obstacle courses, relay races and more push-ups.

Navy senior Bobby Doyle knows that every time he and his fellow slotbacks take the practice field, their performances are being analyzed and graded. The competition at the position this fall is tight. "If you have a bad day and you don't push through it, potentially you could lose your spot," said Doyle, Navy's most experienced slotback. "That's one thing that [slotbacks coach Joe DuPaix] tells us: We compete day to day, week to week." Unlike the previous three seasons - when the Midshipmen relied heavily on Reggie Campbell and Shun White, a pair of speedsters - Navy does not have one clear-cut standout at slotback.

The old saying "Less is more" ought to be the theme for the Loch Raven girls indoor track team. The No. 9 Raiders are getting used to accomplishing more with nine girls than most teams accomplish with three or four times that many. At the Baltimore County championships two weeks ago, the Raiders finished second behind a huge Hereford team, but they only lost 89-72. Hereford picked up 18 points in the pole vault and the Raiders have no pole vaulters. "We don't have depth or a lot of backups," Raiders coach Adam Hittner said.

As kids head back to school tomorrow, freshmen at Aberdeen High School may find the first day a little less daunting. During the summer, more than 100 incoming ninth graders got a look at the school, the upperclassmen and their peers, when they participated in the school's first freshman field day. With more than 400 new freshmen expected to attend the school this year, the event was part of a multipronged approach to improve freshman transition, said...

Freshman move-in officially began at 9 a.m. yesterday at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. But Karin Readel, a faculty member who has supervised seven of these things, knew to show up early. "Will they wait until 9?" she asked. "Nooooo." Sure enough, at 8:20 a.m., families began arriving at UMBC's Patapsco Hall in their minivans and SUVs stuffed with suitcases, computers, flat-panel TVs, toilet paper, bedding supplies, refrigerators and cases of bottled water. Readel, a senior lecturer in the geography department, stood in the center of it all. She has been the faculty mentor at Patapsco Hall for seven years, meaning she has weekly office hours at the dorm, takes students to plays and cultural events, and counsels them when they miss home or are going through a breakup.

Blacksburg, Va. -- Maryland men's basketball coach Gary Williams has pleaded all season for patience - from the fans, from the media, even from himself. It has to do with the fact that he is working with the youngest team he has had during his 19 years in College Park and three decades as a Division I head coach. One thing is clear as the Terps return to Atlantic Coast Conference play this afternoon here against Virginia Tech: Williams has plenty of company in coaching such neophytes. In fact, the Terps (10-6, 0-1 ACC)

Morgan State University police have arrested two male freshmen in connection with the on-campus stabbings early Wednesday of three other male freshmen, officials said yesterday. None of the wounds was considered life-threatening, but campus officials said they did not have an update on the victims' conditions yesterday. Richard A. Gibbs Jr., 20, of East Baltimore and Anthony Showell, 20, of Atlantic City, N.J., were both charged yesterday with attempted second-degree murder as well as assault and deadly weapons violations, said university spokesman Jarrett Carter.

Morgan State University police think that at least two freshmen were involved in the stabbings of three other freshmen early yesterday outside a residence hall, a college spokesman said. Two of the male victims were treated and released from Good Samaritan Hospital. A third male victim was taken to Johns Hopkins Hospital, where he remained yesterday evening with injuries not believed to be life-threatening, said spokesman Clinton Coleman. Shortly after midnight, a female freshman left a dorm-room party and was harassed by at least two men outside the Thurgood Marshall residence hall, Coleman said.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- For the second night in a row, the work-in-progress Maryland Terrapins showed promise and grit but didn't quite seem ready to succeed on a shiny new stage against a well-balanced, more experienced opponent. Maryland, occasionally playing three freshmen at once, lost to Missouri, 84-70, in the consolation game of the CBE Classic on the second night of basketball at the just-opened Sprint Center. Lehigh@Maryland Friday, 4 p.m., Comcast SportsNet, 1300 AM

Matchup -- Navy (0-0) at Temple (0-0) Time -- 7:30 p.m. Site -- Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia TV -- ESPNU Radio -- 1090 AM Series -- Temple leads 4-3 Navy offense vs. Temple defense -- Navy's offense led the nation in rushing last season for the second year in a row and will be going for an NCAA-record three straight. The offense, led by junior quarterback Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada, is strengthened by the return of its top two rushers, fullback Adam Ballard and slotback Reggie Campbell.

On Friday morning, Zachary Taylor, 14, said he knew only a half-dozen other teenagers who were going to Archbishop Spalding High School. By the end of a two-day retreat for freshmen at the co-ed Catholic school in Severn, he knew a lot more. "It's really easy to make friends here," Zachary said. For the past decade, Spalding has held a retreat for ninth-graders -- who come from dozens of middle schools throughout the area -- to acclimate them to a new environment. A few years ago, the school switched from an off-site event held mid-year to an event on campus at the start of the school year.