ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Thursday, October 10, 1996             TAG: 9610100062
SECTION: SPORTS                   PAGE: B-2  EDITION: METRO 
                                             TYPE: IN THE REGION 
SOURCE: FROM STAFF REPORTS


HOKIES' ACE TRUMPED BY KNEE WOES

Cornell Brown isn't the only standout athlete at Virginia Tech with knee problems.

Ace Custis, the Hokies' All-Atlantic 10 Conference forward in basketball, will undergo arthroscopic surgery today on his left knee to repair torn cartilage. Brown had similar surgery Monday.

Custis, who led Tech last season in scoring (13.4 points per game) and rebounding (9.5 per game), injured the knee Sept.19 during a conditioning drill. The injury originally was thought to be a sprain, but continued swelling prompted doctors to schedule surgery today at Montgomery Regional Hospital.

If the procedure does not reveal any further damage to the knee, Custis should be able to rejoin workouts in a few weeks. Custis underwent reconstructive surgery on the same knee that forced him to miss the 1992-93 season.

In other sports news in the region:

Roanoke's Chip Sullivan sewed up the 1996 Middle Atlantic PGA Player of the Year award when the final round of the PING MAPGA Southern Chapter Championship was rained out in Hot Springs.

Sullivan shot a 1-under 69 on The Homestead Resort's Cascades Course and stood second behind Williamsburg's John Stone through one round of the scheduled 36-hole tournament.

Roanoker Billy King finished fourth in the tournament, while Virginia Tech golf coach Jay Hardwick was ninth.

George Pickral shot a 2-over-par 73 to take medalist honors and lead Rockbridge County to the Blue Ridge District golf title at Lexington Golf and Country Club.

The Wildcats finished three strokes ahead of runner-up Northside, which also advances to the Region III tournament Monday on the same course.

Northside's Jacob Jarrett was second in the individual standings, two strokes behind Pickral. (Scores in Scoreboard. B4)

Jamie Parker scored two goals in a span of seven minutes in the second half as Washington and Lee edged homestanding VMI 2-1 in men's soccer.

VMI (4-8) had taken a 1-0 halftime lead on a goal by Mike Polhamus. The Generals (7-1) are off to their best start since 1964.

Fans traveling from north of Lexington to Blacksburg for Saturday's football game between Virginia Tech and Temple may want to avoid interstates 81/64.

Repairs are underway to a sink hole on the shoulder of I-81/64 between milepost markers 209 and 210, near the Augusta/Rockbridge county line, reducing traffic to one lane. The Virginia Department of Transportation urges fans to consider alternate routes.


LENGTH: Medium:   59 lines





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