ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, August 1, 1996 TAG: 9608010033
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-4 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: IN THE REGION
SOURCE: FROM STAFF REPORTS
The Virginia's men's basketball schedule for 1996-97 features 14 home games and six games against in-state opponents.
The Cavaliers open the season Nov.25-27 at the Maui Invitational tournament in Hawaii. Other teams scheduled to participate include California, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana State and Massachusetts.
Virginia opens its home schedule Dec.7 with an Atlantic Coast Conference game against Clemson. The Cavaliers' road schedule includes games with Virginia Tech at the Richmond Coliseum on Feb.25, at George Mason (Nov.30), at William and Mary (Dec.4) and at Connecticut (Dec.23). (Complete schedule in Scoreboard.)
In other college basketball news in the region:
Games against Virginia Tech, North Carolina and James Madison highlight the non-conference women's basketball schedule for Radford University this coming season. (Complete schedule in Scoreboard.)
The Highlanders return just two starters from last year's squad, which finished 17-12 and won its seventh consecutive Big South Conference title and third straight trip to the NCAA Tournament.
Sophomore guard Kim Hairston of Bassett, the conference rookie of the year last season, junior Rebecca McNeil of Christiansburg and sophomore Kim Cruise of Dublin head the list of returnees for coach Lubomyr Lichonczak, who enters his seventh season at the helm.
Atlantic 10 Conference commissioner Linda Bruno announced the addition of several new yearly men's basketball awards, including one honoring former Dayton standout Chris Daniels.
The Chris Daniels Award will be given annually to Atlantic 10's most improved men's basketball player as voted by the league's coaches and media at the conclusion of the season. At the time of his death by heart attack on Feb. 8, Daniels was second in the country in field goal percentage. The Chris Daniels Award is the only award in any of the Atlantic 10's 21 sports named in someone's honor.
The Atlantic 10 also will institute a Sixth Man Award, Defensive Player of the Year Award and an All-Defensive Team to its list of postseason honors.
RiverDawgs open soccer playoffs at home
The Roanoke RiverDawgs soccer team, champions of United Systems of Independent Soccer Leagues Premier League Eastern Conference, will open the playoffs at home.
Roanoke will meet the Nashville (Tenn.) Metros Friday at 8 p.m. at Victory Stadium. The RiverDawgs (12-8, 10-4 Premier League) twice beat Nashville in the regular season. Admission to the game is $5.
The Cave Spring American League All-Stars lost to Plaza of Virginia Beach 11-2 in the semifinals of the Virginia 12-year-old All-Star state baseball tournament in Portsmouth.
The loss eliminated Cave Spring from the double-elimination tournament.
Kiwanis Field and Salem Memorial Stadium will be sites for the Dixie Pre-Majors youth baseball World Series Aug. 3-8.
Vinton, the state champion representing Virginia, and champions from 11 southern states will compete, as well as Salem, the host team.
Opening ceremonies are Friday at 5 p.m. at Kiwanis Field. Admission is $10 for a tournament pass, $4 for an adult daily pass and $1 for a youth daily pass. Children under 7 are admitted free. For more information, call the Salem Parks and Recreation Dept. at 375-3057.
Joannah Pattison of Wytheville shares the lead after the first round of the ClubCorp Junior Players Championship golf tournament at The Homestead resort in Hot Springs.
Pattison and Kelly Beth Simmons of Nicholasville, Ky., shot 78 at the Lower Cascades Course to lead the girls division.
Lee Taylor of Roanoke shot 79 and is in fifth place in the boys 13-14 division.
Only five players in the boys 15-18 division completed their rounds before rain halted play for the day.
LENGTH: Medium: 80 linesby CNB