ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, April 6, 1997 TAG: 9704070142
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-8 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: IN THE REGION
SOURCE: FROM STAFF REPORTS
Al Clark emerged as the front-runner for Virginia Tech's starting quarterback job in the Hokies' second spring football scrimmage Saturday.
Clark, a rising junior, completed seven of 14 passes for 128 yards, including a 58-yarder to fullback Marcus Parker, and a 10-yard scoring toss to receiver Michael Stuewe. Tailback Ken Oxendine rushed for 24 yards and a touchdown to lead Tech's ground attack.
Tackle Carl Bradley, linebacker Jamel Smith and end John Engelberger stood out on defense. Bradley had five tackles, a quarterback sack and blocked a field-goal attempt. Smith registered six tackles, including three sacks, and Engleberger also had three sacks and five tackles.
UVa's Taylor stars: Ends Shannon Taylor (Patrick Henry) and Travis Griffith grabbed the limelight as Virginia's defense was dominant in the Cavaliers' football scrimmage.
Taylor, a rising sophomore, led the UVa defense with eight tackles, including two for losses, had a quarterback sack and caused a fumble. Griffith, a redshirt freshman last fall, registered two quarterback sacks, had seven tackles, including five for losses, and recovered a fumble.
Virginia's offense scored three touchdowns, including a 65-yard pass from freshman quarterback David Rivers to wide receiver Kevin Coffey. Sophomore Will Thompson also connected on a 14-yard scoring pass to Brian McCarthy, and tailback Thomas Jones ran five yards for a touchdown.
The Cavaliers will hold their annual spring game next Saturday at 1:30 p.m. at Scott Stadium.
VMI spring game: Quarterback Al Lester threw two touchdown passes to freshman wide receiver Richard Holland to lead the "Keydet" team to a 21-14 win over the "VMI" team in the annual spring game at Alumni Memorial Field.
Lester, who completed 9-of-15 passes for 167 yards, teamed with Holland for scoring strikes of 68 and 12 yards.
The "VMI" team was led by senior tailback Avi Hopkins' 71 yards and a touchdown. Freshman QB Robbie Chenault hit on 11 of 18 passes for 104 yards for "VMI."
BASEBALL
Dampeer sets career mark
Second baseman Kelly Dampeer (Northside) became Radford's career home run leader as the Highlanders swept a Big South doubleheader from Liberty University at Dedmon Center Park.
Dampeer, who has 35 career homers, set the record with a two-run shot in the bottom of the first inning of the first game. Radford (17-18, 4-5), which trailed in both games, rallied for two runs in the bottom of the seventh to take the first game 5-4. Radford's Brian Elms scored the game-winner on a wild pitch by Flames' reliever Tim Harrell.
Liberty (13-18, 3-3) jumped out to a 4-0 first-inning lead in the second game, but Highlanders' starter Tim Manwiller (4-3) recovered to hold the Flames scoreless on three hits over the final six innings as Radford rallied for a 5-4 victory.
Virginia Tech: Virginia Tech and Rhode Island each benefited from a six-run inning as the teams split an Atlantic 10 doubleheader in Kingston, R.I. The Rams took the first game 10-2, and the Hokies won the second 16-5.
Rhode Island, which trailed 2-1 in the first game, put the game away with six runs in the fifth. Right-hander Sean Carroll worked six innings to pick up the win for the Rams (7-10-1, 2-3).
Tech scored six runs to break open a scoreless game in the nightcap. Matt Griswold, who was 6-for-7 for the day, hit a two-run homer to highlight the inning. Griswold, who extended his hitting streak to 24 games, was 4-for-4 with five RBI in the second game.
Ferrum: North Carolina Wesleyan jumped out to a 5-0 lead and coasted to a 7-2 victory over the Panthers in a Dixie Conference matchup of Division III powers in Ferrum.
Starter David Peacock allowed just one earned run and struck out six before being replaced by reliever Scott Tharrington in the sixth inning for the Battling Bishops (22-4, 8-1).
Left fielder Pat Daly and right fielder Sharron Braxton each went 2-for-4 for Ferrum (22-4, 7-2). Catcher Riley Hodges put the Panthers on the board with a solo homer in the second.
VMI: Keydets pitcher Jay Adams surrendered four hits and two earned runs in seven innings to pace VMI to an 8-4 win over Davidson in the second game of a Southern Conference doubleheader in Davidson, N.C.
The victory earned the Keydets a split after the Wildcats scored the game-winning run in the bottom of the ninth to take the first game 5-4.
VMI's John Yates belted a three-run homer to go along with two doubles in the second game.
GOLF
Tech seventh at Augusta
The Virginia Tech men's golf team is in seventh place after two rounds of the Cleveland Golf/Augusta State Invitational in Augusta, Ga.
The Hokies fired rounds of 296 and 292 for a total of 588 at the Forest Hills Golf Club. Augusta State leads the three-round tournament with a total of 574.
Individually, Tech senior Curtis Deal had rounds of 71 and 73. Deal's two-round total of 144 ties him for 12th overall.
Virginia State Championship: Ferrum is tied for fourth and Roanoke is in sixth place after one round of the 49th Virginia State Division II-III Golf Championship at the par-72 Stoney Creek Golf Course.
Bluefield leads the field after the first day with a team total of 300. The Panthers are tied with Emory & Henry in fourth place at 327, while Roanoke shot a 329.
Roanoke's Corry Gallagher is tied for sixth individually after firing a 77.
LACROSSE
UVa routs Tar Heels
Virginia had a rare chance to bury North Carolina in men's lacrosse, and the Cavaliers did.
Doug Knight scored three goals and had five assists as the second-ranked Cavaliers used a 9-0 run in the second half to pound the Tar Heels 20-5 in an ACC game in Charlottesville.
The margin of victory was the largest by Virginia (7-2, 2-0) over North Carolina (2-5, 0-3) in conference play, and the Cavaliers' 20 goals were also their most against a North Carolina team.
Roanoke: Junior midfielder Jason Davenport jumpstarted a sluggish Maroons' attack with a pair of goals to open the fourth period as Roanoke remained unbeaten in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference with an 18-11 victory over Virginia Wesleyan in Salem.
The third-ranked Maroons (5-2, 4-0), who led the unranked Marlins 11-8 at the half, outscored the visitors 6-2 over the final 18 minutes to maintain their perfect record in the series with Virginia Wesleyan (8-0).
Jeff Jones led Roanoke with four goals and three assists. Goalie Blake Anthony had 25 saves for Virginia Wesleyan (5-5, 2-3).
VMI: Casey Hard scored five goals to lead a balanced UMBC attack as the Retrievers hammered the Keydets 26-8 in Lexington.
UMBC (5-2) used a 10-0 run over two periods to put the game away as seven different players scored at least three goals for the Retrievers. Andrew Rogers paced VMI (1-7) with three goals, while Rob Ayers added two.
Virginia Tech women: Sara Koontz scored two of George Mason's three overtime goals as the Patriots defeated Virginia Tech 13-10 in Blacksburg.
Tech (3-8) scored four goals in the final seven minutes of regulation to erase a 10-6 deficit and send the game into overtime. Goalie Melissa Wagner had a career-high 19 saves for the Hokies.
SOFTBALL
Pickel rescues Radford
Melissa Pickel scored on a wild pitch with two out in the bottom of the seventh inning to give the Highlanders a 5-4 win and a doubleheader split with Dayton in Radford.
Dayton won the first game 2-1 as catcher Sara Rizzo singled in the winning run in the sixth inning. Radford's Sheree Fletcher took the loss, despite striking out seven batters and allowing six hits in seven innings.
Radford rallied from a 4-3 deficit to score two runs in the seventh inning to win the second game.
Ferrum Invitational: Roanoke's Nikki Potter had six hits, including a double and a triple in three games as the Maroons went 1-2 in the first day of the two-day tournament in Ferrum.
The Maroons defeated Meredith 6-4, lost to Methodist 2-1, and dropped a 7-2 decision to Christopher Newport.
TRACK AND FIELD
Maroon freshman shines
Freshman Shelli Stevens (Blacksburg) had two first-place finishes to lead the Roanoke College women's track team at the Lynchburg Track Classic.
Stevens won the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 16.19 seconds, and came back to capture the 400-meter hurdles in a school-record 1:08.39.
Roanoke freshman Leah Ann Agee (Cave Spring) was second in the 400 with a time of 1:02.58. The Maroons' 400-meter relay team finished second in a school-record 54.83.
Virginia Tech women: The Virginia Tech women set school marks at the Maryland Invitational in College Park, Md.
Freshman Jennifer Cook broke a 14-year old record with a first-place time of 14.28 in the 100-meter high hurdles. Freshman Brandi Smith set a record in the triple jump, with a first-place leap of 12.11 meters.
VMI-Tech dual meet: VMI's Jason Clendenin won two events to lead VMI to a 92-67 victory in a dual meet with Virginia Tech in Lexington.
Clendenin captured the hammer with a throw of 172 feet, 21 1/2 inches and won the shot put with a throw of 55 feet.
ETC.
Deane is Cav of Year
Harold Deane, a third-team All-ACC selection, was named the 1997 Bill Gibson Cavalier of the Year by Virginia coach Jeff Jones at the Cavaliers' men's basketball banquet.
Deane, a four-year starting point guard, was Virginia's third-leading scorer (12.9 ppg.) as a senior. He also received awards for most assists (4.5 per game), best free-throw percentage (80.7) and best defensive player.
Senior Jamal Robinson, Virginia's 1996-97 team captain, received the Michael McCann Leadership Award. Freshman forward Colin Ducharme, who led the team in blocked shots (41) and field goal percentage (55.7), was named the Cavaliers' rookie of the year. Sophomore center Chase Metheney was named the team's most improved player, and junior forward Norman Nolan won the rebounding award (7.4 per game).
Tech scholar-athletes: Katie Ollendick (Blacksburg) and Marek Pfeil (Blacksburg) received the first Skelton Awards to highlight Virginia Tech's sixth annual Athletic Directors' Honors Brunch.
The Skelton Scholarships, given by Margaret Groseclose Skelton and her husband, Dr. William Skelton, are awarded to the male and female student-athletes with the highest GPAs, and who have competed on a team for at least two years.
Ollendick, a junior track star, has a 4.0 grade average in human nutrition, while Pfiel, a junior tennis player, has a 3.8 grade point average in finance.
Dave Braine, Tech's director of athletics, honored 193 student-athletes, including 17 who had a perfect 4.0 grade point average for the 1996 calender year.
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