Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, April 2, 1993 TAG: 9304020209
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-10 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: By BRIAN DEVIDO SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
BLACKSBURG BOYS HOPEFUL WITH NEW TENNIS TALENT
Just when you thought it was safe to go back onto the tennis courts, along comes Blacksburg with a couple of out-of-state talents.Returning just two of the top six players from last year's New River district champions, the Indians may have appeared to be in trouble.
But not for long.
Forget the snow and rain, which caused New River Valley coaches to cancel many practices and matches.
Blacksburg has come up with a couple of headaches of its own for opposing teams to worry about.
Enter Mark and Mike, better known as the Pfiel brothers. The duo from Utah hopes to give Blacksburg the extra oomph it needs to win a state crown.
Mark, a 6-foot, 170-pounder, fills the top slot for the Indians.
"He has a legitimate shot at an individual state title," Blacksburg coach Carter Turner said. "He's real disciplined and has real smooth ground strokes."
Justin Turner will play at the No. 2 slot and freshman Robert Gibb will be the team's No. 3 player.
Mike Pfiel will play at the No. 4 position.
And Carter Turner doesn't think he's jumping the gun by talking about state titles.
"This is one of the best Blacksburg teams ever fielded," he said. "We talked about how this year could be something special. If we have a goal, it's a state title."
Elsewhere in the New River Valley:
\ CHRISTIANSBURG hopes to stay in the hunt for second-place in the New River district. "Blacksburg's loaded," said Christiansburg coach Jack Williams. "I think it'll just be a scramble for second." The Blue Demons return Chris McHose and Greg Habeeb from last year's second-place squad. Freshman Jesse McHose, Chris' brother, fills the third slot.
\ RADFORD, like most other teams in the New River Valley, hasn't practiced much because of the snow and rain. The Bobcats return Matthew Long, Adam Neal and Andy Clark. Long has the No. 1 spot on the team. "He's got good ground strokes," Radford coach Larry Mannon said. "He can play with most people."
\ PULASKI COUNTY is in trouble after finishing second in the Roanoke Valley District last year. Tim Hill, who didn't play last year but played as a freshman, returns to the team as the No. 1 player. Also returning to the team is senior Tim Rigney, who didn't play last year after playing each of the two previous years.
Pulaski County coach John Freeman joked about the experience of the rest of his team. "Our team colors should be green and rust," he said. "Rust for Hill and Rigney, who haven't played in a while, and green for everybody else."
\ FLOYD COUNTY hopes to continue its success of last year. The Buffaloes won the Mountain Empire District and return three players to this year's squad.
Frankie Turpin, Matt Gallimore and Evan Arno will shore up the top three spots on the team. John Boyd, who was expected to fill the No. 3 spot, got whiplash in a car accident and could be out the rest of the year. "With what little practice we've gotten in, the attitude is pretty good," Floyd County coach Jack Ness said. "We've even shoveled snow off the courts to practice."
\ AUBURN may have lost its top player to graduation, but don't count the Eagles out. Nathan Mann, last year's Mountain Empire district singles champ is gone, but Auburn returns the other five starters from last year's 4-5 squad that finished fourth in the district.
Mike Dingus, Phillip Renfroe, Scott Blevins and Benji Hagy will all fight for the top spot on the team. "That will give them some good competition in practice and hopefully that'll carry over into the matches," Auburn coach Steven Huppert said.
\ NARROWS will be older and more experieced this year. Although the Green Wave had a losing record in 1992, it lost only one player to graduation. Jay Webb will be the number-one player and Chad Wheeler will be number two. "We're improved from last year," Narrows coach Steve Bienstock said. "We think we can have a winning season. The kids are working hard."
\ GILES could not be reached for comment, despite many phone calls to coach C.J. Thomas.