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MISSISSIPPIAN THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER
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Diamond Rebs out of NCAA tournament BY AUSTIN MILLER Sports Editor
The Ole Miss baseball team (3025, 13-17 SEC) learned Monday that its season would not continue this weekend in an NCAA Regional as the Diamond Rebels miss the postseason for the first time since 2002, ending a streak of eight consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. The season also ends with Ole Miss registering its fewest wins in head coach Mike Bianco’s 11-year tenure. “I’m not surprised,” Bianco said. “Certainly not after what’s happened the last two days, particularly, but also the last three or four days in the (conference) tournaments. If you don’t make it to Hoover, you’re always uncomfortable about the situation, but you’re hopeful.” A rash of upsets in conference tournaments this past weekend – No. 6 seed New Mexico in the Mountain West, No. 6 seed Belmont in the Atlantic Sun, No. 5 seed Seton Hall in the Big East, and No. 8 seed Arkansas-Little Rock in the Sun Belt – and Georgia’s improbable run to NCAA Tournament eligibility at the Southeastern Conference Tournament stole at-large bids and shrank the bubble for teams like Ole Miss. “There were days where I thought things went our way, and there were days it didn’t, but over the last couple of days, certainly, I thought it didn’t really go our way and it would not be realistic
this week OXFORD
MIDTOWN FARMERS MARKET The Oxford Midtown Farmers Market announced it will now be open on Wednesdays from noon to 5:30 p.m. as well as it’s regularly scheduled time on Saturday. Wednesday - Noon - 5:30 p.m. Saturday - 7 a.m. - 11 a.m. FORD CENTER
LOU SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Musician Eric Lindell scheduled to perform at Proud Larry’s Friday, June 3 at 9:30 p.m.
inside SPORTS
THIEMANN MAKES SECOND APPEARANCE AT QUARTERFINALS FILE PHOTO | The Daily Mississippian
Junior shortstop Blake Newalu misplays a popfly in a 6-5 win over Kentucky. The Diamond Rebebls miss the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2002 and finishes with the fewest wins (30) in Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco’s 11-year tenure.
to think we were getting in,” Bianco said. With a solid RPI (41) and strength of schedule (23), Ole Miss found itself in the conversation for an at-large bid, but, in the end, its record and absence from
the SEC Tournament positioned the Diamond Rebels on the outside looking in for the NCAA Tournament. Hopes of a postseason bid ended for Auburn (29-29) after a 0-for-2 effort at the SEC Tourna-
ment because at-large teams must be above .500 to be eligible for the NCAA Tournament. However, the biggest surprise Monday was the exclusion of See TOURNAMENT, PAGE 5
National Pan-Hellenic Council helps community BY JOSH PRESLEY The Daily Mississippian
African-American Greek organizations have come a long way in the past several years but on some college campuses their community service and philanthropy go unnoticed. At the University of Mississippi, many of the AfricanAmerican sororities and fraternities seem to mostly fly under the radar, no matter how many good deeds they do. The National Pan-Hellenic Council is an organization comprised of nine traditionally African -merican sororities and fraternities, sometimes referred to as the “divine nine,” and all nine of these organizations are represented on the Ole Miss campus. None of them have houses on
campus anymore and some of them never did. In light of this fact, these fraternities and sororities often struggle with finding places to conduct their meetings, parties and other get-togethers and they also struggle with simply being noticed. Chioma Udemgba, Theta Psi Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha president, said it can be very challenging for a sorority or fraternity that doesn’t have its own space on campus. “There are just so many obstacles that come with not having a place that’s your own,” Udemgba said. “We’re always shuffling between places.” “We don’t have an office or a place where we can have our regular chapter meetings or a place where we can all sit together and
eat or hang out or anything like that,” Udemgba continued. ”We have our meetings in the Union and if somebody else wants the room then we have to leave.” Finding a place to have parties and group get-togethers can also be a problem, she said. “Right now most of the stuff we do is at the plaza at the Residential College and that’s fine, but it presents a lot of problems,” she continued. “You have to get permission to do it and you have to take into account that people live there if you’re going to have music.” Still, Udemgba said, some of the buildings on campus are usually very helpful with providing a space to meet. “We kind of depend on people being accommodating,” she said.
“There are some people that are year and said she feels that the really flexible with allowing us to small size of the African Ameriuse their space.” can Greek organizations does hurt One of the major frustrations, their stature on campus. Udemgba said, is not being rec“With the houses and numbers, ognized for all the community the bigger sororities are more services the NPHC organizations prominent,” Harris said. “If you do. want to run for a position on the “When I was trying to orga- ASB council or something, you’re nize a fundraising event, I went going to get more attention on to some of the administrators on campus if you’re in one of the campus and in one of the offices bigger sororities or fraternities.” the lady I was talking to had never Coulter Ward, assistant dean even heard of us,” Udemgba said. of students for student affairs, “You think you’re doing something thinks that while the traditionally good for the community and you African-American Greek organirealize that influential members of zations do face adversity and get that community don’t even know less attention, they are still strong you exist.” groups and do a lot for the comBracey Harris, a freshman jour- munity. nalism major, is one of the few “Other sororities dominate with African-American girls to pledge a traditionally white sorority this See PAN-HELLENIC, PAGE 4