ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, November 26, 1996 TAG: 9611260106
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: FROM STAFF REPORTS
Pairings were set Monday for the NationsBank Holiday Hoops Classic scheduled for a three-day run at the Salem Civic Center beginning Thursday, Dec.26.
The feature game on the first day of the high school basketball tournament matches Salem against Gar-Field, a Group AAA team that is a member of the Cardinal District. Gar-Field is coached by former William Byrd star and William Fleming assistant coach Andy Gray. The game starts at 7:45 p.m.
Other first-round games in the tournament find Patrick Henry taking on William Byrd at 3:45 in the same bracket as the Salem-Gar-Field game.
In upper bracket games, Glenvar meets Cave Spring at 2 while defending champion Riverside of Durham, N.C., catches Northside at 6.
Four games are scheduled each day with a full consolation bracket so that all eight teams will participate in three games each.
In other sports news in the region:
* Franklin County two-time All-Timesland pitcher Larry Bowles has signed a baseball scholarship with Virginia Tech.
Bowles, a senior, will try to make All-Timesland for a third straight year.
Bowles was 8-0 last year and averaged nearly 1.5 strikeouts per inning pitched. He also played left field and hit .455 with 29 RBI as he paced the Eagles to the Roanoke Valley District title.
* Scott Shirley of Roanoke has signed a letter of intent to play baseball for George Washington University. The right-handed pitcher is a senior at Cave Spring High School.
* Three Virginia football players and one Virginia Tech player were named to the GTE Academic All-District Team.
Roanoke native Tiki Barber, a senior running back majoring in commerce, was joined by teammates Jeremy Raley and Stephen Phelan. Raley is a senior offensive lineman majoring in health and physical education, while Phelan, a junior, is concentrating on history.
Salem resident Brandon Semones, a senior majoring in marketing education, represented the Hokies.
To be eligible, players must have a cumulative grade point average of 3.2 and be a starter or key reserve on the field. The players are eligible for selection to the national team, to be announced Dec.17.
In related news, Washington and Lee players Aaron Wilkinson, Stefan Neumeister, Jack Boyd, Omar Moneim and John Thrall were named to the All-District III team. Wilkinson, a senior fullback, was named for the third straight year.
* Senior midfielder Mike Fisher and sophomore midfielder Ben Olsen from Virginia have been named finalists for the Hermann Trophy, awarded to the nation's top collegiate player by the National Soccer Hall of Fame.
Fisher, last year's winner, has been among the 10 finalists for three consecutive years. He led Virginia in scoring with 42 points on 11 goals and 20 assists. He is the all-time scoring leader for the Cavaliers with 167 points and can become the second player to win the trophy twice. Al Trost of Saint Louis won in 1969 and '70.
Olsen was second in scoring for the Cavaliers with 35 points on nine goals and 17 assists.
The winner will be announced in a ceremony Dec.14 in Richmond.
* Virginia women's soccer players Karem Esteva, Angela Hucles, Dina Padula and Jennifer Rawlings were named to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America All Region Soccer Team.
Defender Esteva and forward Hucles made the first team, while Padula, a forward, was named to the second team and third team honors went to midfielder Rawlings.
* Four Virginia women's field hockey players were named All-Americans, led by first-team selection Meridith Thorpe. Thorpe, the only sophomore named to the first team, scored 32 goals and had six assists as a forward.
Joining Thorpe were forward/midfielder Michelle Vizzuso (second team), back Heather Hale (third team) and goaltender Michelle Cusimano (third team).
* Bethany Eigel, a Christiansburg resident and James Madison runner, placed 46th among 176 runners at the NCAA Cross Country Championships on Monday.
Eigel completed the 5,000-meter race in 18:33. She is the first Dukes runner to qualify for the event.
* Former world boxing champion Aaron Pryor will be signing his recently published book ``Flight of the Hawk'' from 3-5 p.m. today and Wednesday at the Patrick Henry Hotel lobby.
LENGTH: Medium: 81 linesby CNB