Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, June 24, 1993 TAG: 9306240034
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SCOTT BLANCHARD
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Their first reunion, 20 years after what remains the high-water mark in Tech athletics, will be the weekend of Sept. 24-26, when the football Hokies play Maryland in Blacksburg. It also is Tech's Hall of Fame weekend.
Danny Monk, Tech's associate athletic director, said tentative plans include having the members of the '73 team as guests at the Hall of Fame banquet Sept. 24 and at the pre-football game alumni tent outside Lane Stadium the next afternoon. They'll be introduced to the crowd at halftime of the football game. At least 35 people associated with the '73 team - everyone from the public-address announcer to stars Stevens, Allan Bristow and Craig Lieder - will be invited, Monk said.
The general public's best chance to mingle with the team will be the Hall of Fame banquet. Tickets are available through Virginia Tech.
Reserve guard David Sensibaugh, now manager of program development at Eastman Chemical Co. in Kingsport, Tenn., is coordinating a private team get-together for the night of Sept. 25. He has kept in touch with Bristow - now coach of the NBA's Charlotte Hornets - Stevens and Mike Collins.
"I'd say other than that, [guys] on that team have not talked with their teammates for many, many, many years, much less seen them," Sensibaugh said. "It's going to be extra special for people to reminisce . . . not just the basketball stuff, but the stuff you go through when you're a member of the team."
Sensibaugh said Bristow and Stevens, who scored the winning points in Tech's victories that week in New York, have indicated they will attend.
Sensibaugh remembers an overachieving team that won what was at that time a more prestigious NIT, and he kiddingly plays up his role. He scored two points on 1-for-3 shooting in the championship game against Notre Dame.
"I remind Bobby that the points at the beginning are just as important as the points at the end," Sensibaugh said.
\ KIRBY WAITS: Tony Paige's Kirby decision to retire from the NFL's Miami Dolphins could benefit third-round draft pick Terry Kirby out of Virginia. Paige, formerly of Virginia Tech, is said to be reconsidering. However, Kirby was the only running back selected by the Dolphins, who will lack depth at tailback if legal problems sideline Bobby Humphrey.
\ LAGEMAN BACK: Former UVa star Jeff Lageman participated in a New York Jets minicamp only eight months after undergoing reconstructive knee surgery, although he was held out of contact work. Lageman had started 47 consecutive games before suffering torn ligaments in the second game of the 1993 season.
\ PRESEASON PUTTERINGS: Athlon's preseason football annual has named Virginia Tech center Jim Pyne to its All-America first team and named Tech defensive back Tyronne Drakeford one of its top nine in the secondary. It is the sixth preseason publication to name Pyne to its first team. Virginia running back Jerrod Washington, tight end Aaron Mundy, offensive linemen Mark Dixon and Jim Reid, defensive linemen Mike Frederick and Mark Krichbaum, linebacker P.J. Killian and safety Keith Lyle were mentioned as 1993 stars in the Athlon publication, as were Tech receiver Antonio Freeman and P.J. Preston, who is listed as a strong safety in the magazine but will play defensive end.
\ MOVEMENTS: South Florida swingman Chris Coleman, a Metro Conference all-freshman choice, and center Sean Allen were suspended indefinitely for breaking team policy and will transfer. Allen, a 6-foot-8 freshman from Wendell, N.C., is considering East Carolina. Coleman, from Prairie View, Ill., had 21 points and 17 rebounds in two games against Virginia Tech last season. He may enroll at a junior college.
Ryan Alston, who played sparingly for VMI's basketball team as a freshman, is transferring to a junior college in Idaho. . . . Florida State's Ray Donald, a former high school All-American, will not be rejoining the Seminoles after missing the 1992-93 season for academic reasons.
All-Roanoke Valley District volleyball player Jennifer Kelly has committed to Trevecca Nazarene College in Nashville, Tenn.
Del Savage, once believed headed for Virginia Tech, has signed with New Orleans after two seasons at New Mexico Junior College.
Jennifer Bradley, a first-team All-Group AAA volleyball selection from Western Branch, and Tressee Fitzgerald, a second-team All-Group A choice from Stuarts Draft, have signed with Radford.
\ TENNIS RANKINGS: Washington and Lee sophomore Marilyn Baker was seventh in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's final Division III national rankings and earned All-America status. Baker and Julie Ayers were the 24th-ranked doubles team.
Emory & Henry's Rosa Rhodes was ranked 47th in singles. W & L was the 15th-ranked women's team. The Generals ranked 20th among the men. Junior Robert McNaughton was No. 39, and he and Peter Hammond were the 15th-ranked doubles team.
\ RECRUITING: Football player Kerwin Hairston from Fieldale-Collinsville is expected to walk on at Virginia Tech . . . James Madison's basketball staff has added 6-8 forward Ameka Wilson, a transfer from Moberly (Mo.) Junior College. He is one of seven newcomers to coach Lefty Driesell's team; five are transfers . . . Late signee Jerald Honeycutt, a 6-8 forward from Grambling, La., has helped give Tulane one of the top recruiting classes in the country. Other late Metro Conference signees include 6-3 Alvin Sims, from Paris, Ky., with Louisville; 6-5 Chris King from Pensacola, Fla., with South Florida; and 6-3 Maurice Morris from Sullivan (Ky.) Community College, with Southern Mississippi.
by CNB