Tom Timmerman of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch uncovers a diamond in Sal Zizzo, who hoped to go in the Major League Baseball draft until an injury between his junior and senior years of high school sidetracked him. While the attention of most Wake Forest supporters will be on quarterback Riley Skinner and the Demon Deacon football team's bid for an improbable ACC title, David Scott of the Charlotte Observer writes about another Deacon with a strong arm, goalie Brian Edwards, whose distribution has initiated many Wake counters. John Packett of the Richmond Times-Dispatch looks at how Virginia striker Adam Cristman has adjusted to his changing role since the arrival of German star Yannick Reyering.

The Tallahassee Democrat sports editor Randy Beard profiles North Carolina star Heather O'Reilly, who admits she didn't full appreciate her freshman season that ended with a 6-0 win over Connecticut in the final. The Raleigh New-Observer profiles UNC's new star, Yael Averbuch, who is deadly from long range."In the women's game, if you can kick the ball like a mule, you're going to be lethal," UNC coach Anson Dorrance says. "And she just hits the ball a ton." Haley Ford used to make 12-hour trips to Dallas from her hometown of Midland to play youth soccer. The Midland Reporter-Telegram examines the fast track she has ridden as a freshman at Notre Dame.