Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, February 15, 1991 TAG: 9102150049
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOHN SMALLWOOD SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
After all, in their first meeting on Dec. 6, Bridgewater pounded the Wildcats 107-35. By canceling the rematch, Wooldridge corrected a scheduling error and made it possible for the Eagles to participate in next week's ODAC Tournament and defend their championship.
Going into play this week, Bridgewater (17-6 overall, 14-1 in the ODAC) had remaining games scheduled against Randolph-Macon Woman's College (0-16, 0-16), Eastern Mennonite and Roanoke. Had the Eagles played all three, they would have reached the NCAA limit on games before the ODAC Tournament.
When he found out about Bridgewater's situation, Wooldridge said he contacted the other teams involved and asked if any would cancel the game.
None would.
After talking with the athletic directors involved, Wooldridge used his authority as commissioner on Sunday to cancel Thursday night's game.
"At that time, I'm looking at a school that was 14-1 [Bridgewater] and in second place, a team that was 15-0 in first [Roanoke], and another that's got four or five wins [Eastern Mennonite]," Wooldridge said. "The thing in my judgement that least affected anybody was to cancel the Randolph-Macon Woman's game. Even if they had won, they couldn't have moved out of last place."
R-MWC coach Joanne Todd protested Wooldridge's decision, which also prevents Bridgewater from qualifying for the ODAC regular-season title.
"It definitely leaves a bitter taste with me," Todd said. "Granted, it would have taken a miracle for us to beat [Bridgewater] because they are so much better than us, but you never know what could have happened."
Wooldridge's move was upheld by the executive committee of the ODAC, which includes Hampden-Sydney athletic director Louis "Weenie" Miller, Emory & Henry athletic director Lou Wacker and Sweet Briar athletic director Bonnie Kestner.
Wooldridge said he knew he wouldn't please everybody by making the decision he considered best for everyone involved, but added he had no idea it would cause the furor it has.
"It was a no-win situation," Wooldridge said. "I was damned either way. I think I made the right decision, the only one I could make. It seemed like a reasonable decision at the time, but it might not seem reasonable now considering all of the phone calls I've gotten about it."
Under NCAA rules for Division III basketball, a team can play a maximum of 26 regular-season games, with a conference tournament counting as one in that total.
"We had just scheduled too many games," Bridgewater coach Laura Mapp said. "We picked up an additional game to our schedule with Guilford [on Dec. 15], in anticipation of them coming into the league next year.
"It was an error, and I'm sorry it happened. It was handled in the commissioner's office, and, I suppose, at this point, it's best left at that."
The semifinals and championship games of the ODAC men's and women's tournaments are scheduled Feb. 22-23 at the Salem Civic Center.
"Why have a tournament, if you're not going to try to get everyone in," he said. "How do you tell the Bridgewater kids, who earned the right on the court, that they can't play in the tournament because of a scheduling quirk."
Todd still was unhappy.
"We asked our girls, and they absolutely did not want to drop the game," she said. "I think this was a slap to them. They like to play basketball and wanted to play. That's what it's all about or supposedly so."
Wooldridge said he could see how Todd could react that way, "but how bad do you think Bridgewater would have beaten them knowing they had kept them out of the tournament? I think 107-35 was a bit of a humiliation."
He added the possibility of Bridgewater receiving a bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament also played in his decision.
Roanoke (22-1, 17-0) is ranked No. 9 in Division III and No. 1 in the South Region. Bridgewater is fifth in the region. The ODAC does not have an automatic bid, and last season Roanoke, which finished 24-5, became the first ODAC women's basketball team to get an NCAA bid.
"The women's coaches in this league have told me I ought to do everything I can to get an automatic bid," Wooldridge said. "To me, eliminating the second-best team with a regional ranking from our tournament would hurt our teams' chances of getting in the NCAA. Bridgewater and Roanoke are the only teams with a chance to get in the tournament."
But Hollins coach Jerry English, who is chairman of the ODAC women's basketball coaches, said Wooldridge's decision might be worse for the league in the long term.
"A lot of coaches are concerned about this," English said. "I'm concerned about what can happen down the line. Yes, it was an honest mistake by Bridgewater, but when you start canceling league games to correct things, what does that say about our view of Division III? Is national ranking more important than the student-athlete? This is not Division I.
"If we want an automatic bid, what kind of message does that send to the NCAA that we have to cancel a game to help improve the standing of our league?"
by CNB