THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 12, 1995 TAG: 9511120277
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C15 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KEVIN DOEPP, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 71 lines
With some of the top Division I state soccer programs such as James Madison and William and Mary knocking on his door, Cox graduate Matt Whalen threw them for a loop.
Whalen decided that academics were his top priority. And because those schools didn't have architecture as a major, he chose Virginia Tech.
``It (architecture) takes up a lot of my time,'' Whalen said. ``I chose my career over soccer, and I am having fun with it. I think that I spend more time with that than I do with soccer.''
Virginia Tech isn't among the elite soccer programs in the state. However, it is in the top five in the country in architecture.
``We have a very young team here,'' Whalen said of the Hokies soccer team. ``I think that we are building a powerhouse here and I want to be a part of it.
``Here, academics are first. They (the coaches) know it. We have a real smart team. Everyone on the team has a high GPA.''
Whalen, who was one of three freshmen to crack the Hokies' starting lineup, excels on the field just as he does in the classroom. This season he tied for second on the team in scoring, with seven goals and six assists for 20 points, and was named to the Atlantic 10's second-team All-Conference squad.
Honors like this are a regular thing for Whalen. In his senior year at Cox he was a first-team All-Tidewater selection in soccer and basketball.
``I sort of put those things in the back of my head,'' Whalen said. ``The team comes first.''
Now that he is playing just one sport, Whalen says he has more time on his hands, which will allow him to play intramural basketball.
He seemed to close the door when asked about trying out for the school's basketball team. ``As of right now I don't think so,'' he said. ``I miss it a lot, though. I gotta try to let that go.''
MONARCHS REPORT: Sophomore tennis phenom Tzipora Obziler has been named the Division I Women's College Player of the Month for October. Obziler won the T. Rowe Price National Clay Court Championship on Oct. 1, the first leg of the 1995-96 ITA Collegiate Grand Slam. With that win she became the first woman qualifier to win an ITA Collegiate Grand Slam singles title. Unseeded in the Riviera Women's All-American championships, she bowed to the third seed in the finals. She also won the singles title (flight one) at the Old Dominion Invitational. Overall she was 10-2 for the month. . . . The Monarchs wrestling team opens its season Saturday with the ODU Invitational at the field house. The Citadel, Campbell, Norfolk State, Shippensburg and Howard will compete . . National Sailing championships in Mobile, Ala., Nov. 18-20. . . . The Monarchs are ranked seventh nationally in women's sailing and coed sailing by Sailing World magazine.
SPARTANS REPORT: Norfolk State's wrestling team features three area athletes. Leading the way is All-American Corey Williams, one of two seniors on the roster. The Princess Anne graduate will defend his 134-pound Southeast Regional title. Senior Felton Woodson, a Deep Creek graduate, wrestles at 150. And Anthony Taylor, a Western Branch grad, competes at 177.
ALUMNI REPORT: Princeton's Kirsty Hale (Cox) was named the Ivy League Rookie of the Year in field hockey. She was sixth in the league in scoring with eight goals and eight assists for 24 points. Hale was also named to the All-Ivy second team. . . . Hilary Martin (Norfolk Academy) helped lead the Washington & Lee volleyball team to its first ODAC title. It defeated Roanoke in the finals 15-4, 15-13, 15-8. Martin was named to the all-tournament team. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Matt Whalen, a freshman architecture major, tied for second on
Virginia Tech in scoring.
by CNB