Rites of Spring

Between the final strains of One Shining Moment and home-opener
kickoffs, most Americans spend the warm-weather months in
hibernation from college sports. Yet on rivers, fields, courts
and diamonds across the nation, young men and women put their
hearts and bodies on the line one more time before their athletic
careers become another set of scrapbook memories. As shown in
these pictures of NCAA Division I championships, some of the most
electrifying moments in amateur sports take place on college
campuses during springtime.

Tennis

MEN'S TEAM CHAMPION
Stanford
MEN'S SINGLES CHAMPION
Alex Kim, Stanford
MEN'S DOUBLES CHAMPIONS
Graydon Oliver and Cary Franklin, Illinois

WOMEN'S TEAM CHAMPION
Georgia
WOMEN'S SINGLES CHAMPION
Laura Granville, Stanford
WOMEN'S DOUBLES CHAMPIONS
Amy Jensen and Claire Curran, California

Rowing
WOMEN'S TEAM CHAMPION Brown

Lacrosse
WOMEN'S CHAMPION Maryland

Lacrosse
MEN'S CHAMPION Syracuse

Golf

WOMEN'S TEAM CHAMPION Arizona
WOMEN'S INDIVIDUAL CHAMPION Jenna Daniels, Arizona
MEN'S TEAM CHAMPION Oklahoma State
MEN'S INDIVIDUAL Champion Charles Howell, Oklahoma State

Softball
TEAM CHAMPION Oklahoma

Track & Field
Men's Team Champion Stanford

Track & Field
Women's Team Champion LSU

COLOR PHOTO: BILL EPPRIDGE Six boats shot forward at the start of the women's varsity eights at Cooper River Park in New Jersey.

TWO COLOR PHOTOS: STEPHEN MORTONSingles champ Kim (below) kept two fists on the racket, while doubles champ Oliver thrust his in the air.

THREE COLOR PHOTOS: BILL EPPRIDGENeither Syracuse (left) nor Ohio State (below) could outstroke Brown's women, who celebrated their second consecutive title.

TWO COLOR PHOTOS: CHUCK SOLOMONPrinceton attacker Lauren Simone (far left) took a hit from Maryland midfielder Courtney Hobbs, and Maryland's Meg Carrington outran a host of black jerseys as the Terrapins won the final 16-8 and claimed their sixth straight title.

COLOR PHOTO: SIMON BRUTY Orange defenseman Marshall Abrams gave the shaft to Johns Hopkins midfielder Rich Schwester in the semis.

COLOR PHOTO: RICH FRISHMANIt wasn't always bright in Sunriver, Ore., as Julia Kraschinski (right) and Cristina Baena (below) helped Arizona win its second straight team title.

TWO COLOR PHOTOS: JERRY LAIZURE/RICH CLARKSON & ASSOCIATESIn Oklahoma City the Sooners won the Women's College World Series as Jennifer Stewart (left) pitched Oklahoma to a 3-1 win over UCLA in the final.

TWO COLOR PHOTOS: BILL FRAKESFlorida's Bernard Williams cruised to victory in the 100-meter dash, while in the decathlon, BYU's Curtis Pugsley hung third in the pole vault and sixth overall.

THREE COLOR PHOTOS: BILL FRAKESSouthern Cal's Natasha Danvers exulted in winning the 400-meter hurdles; UTEP's Angeliki Tsiolakoudi overthrew all comers in the javelin; and LSU's Joyce Bates blew by the field in the 100 hurdles.