Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, June 19, 1994                   TAG: 9406190139
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: C-13   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

ALFANO HAS A LONG LIST, - AND IT'S A GOOD ONE.

The Hokies couldn't have signed a player in the spring if they had wanted.

"That's what you aspire to do," said Alfano, who had reached the 15-scholarship NCAA limit. "It lets you come up with a better list of juniors and sophomores."

Those are the players who will be influenced by Tech's Metro Conference championship and first trip to the NCAA women's tournament, "but this is not a class we settled for," Alfano said. "All of these players were at the top of our list."

Floyd County standout Lynette Nolley, the Group A player of the year, will be joined by three players from Pennsylvania - Renee Maitland, Michelle Hollister and Sonya Melton.

"That was a unique situation," said Alfano, stressing there were no special plans to target Pennsylvania. "We saw Renee at one camp, Michelle at another and Sonya at a third. They're all from the same area code, which is even more ironic."

Alfano compared Nolley to current Tech guard Christi Osborne, Maitland to Lisa Leftwich and Melton to Angela Donnell. Hollister, a 2,000-point career scorer, can play either forward spot.

"My biggest concern now is just keeping everybody happy," Alfano said. "They're too good to red-shirt, even though 15 is a lot of players."

Here is a roundup of the women's programs followed by the Roanoke Times & World-News:

\ VIRGINIA: Debbie Ryan is accustomed to seeing her recruiting classes ranked among the best in the country, so she was slightly taken aback this spring not to see UVa get much recognition for its year.

"It doesn't matter to me how we're ranked," Ryan said. "I think it compares very favorably to my best classes. I particularly like the athleticism of the group. That was a real priority."

The marquee player is 6-foot Monick Foote, rated the nation's No. 1 prospect by the Blue-Star Report, from Sanford School in Hockessin, Del. Ryan says Foote is a taller Tonya Cardoza, the leading scorer on UVa's 1991 NCAA runner-up team.

Virginia also signed the Group AAA state player of the year, point guard Tiffany Bower from Monacan High outside Richmond, and made a late push to get Parade All-American Mimi McKinney, the Cavaliers' fourth player from Palos Verdes, Calif.

\ RADFORD: First-team All-Timesland selection Rebecca McNeil is the most recognizable of four Radford signees, a group that includes transfer Dede Logemann from Yapavai (Ariz.) Junior College. All four could be on the floor together, with 5-4 Candice Miles from Bladensburg, Md., at point guard and 5-7 Wilma Walton from Wheeling, W.Va., as the shooting guard. McNeil and Logemann are post players.

When an injury left sophomore Michelle Desvouges unable to continue her career, coach Lubomyr Lichonczak went out this spring and signed Monique Miller, an athletic 5-8 wing player from Miami-Dade Community College.

"A lot of players go to junior college because they've had difficulty, but we've been fortunate to get some outstanding student-athletes," said Lichonczak, noting that junior-college transfer Samantha Gilbert recently was named a Dean's Scholar at Radford.

\ FERRUM: Coach Donna Doonan will have back the nucleus of last year's 16-9 team, and she has increased the Panthers' talent level with a five-player class that includes 5-8 Kim English from Staunton River. Doonan has her eyes on uncommitted Amy Barker from Bassett.

\ HOLLINS COLLEGE: First-year coach Kellie Kennedy got the numbers she wanted and established a presence in Southwest Virginia area with commitments from 5-6 James River twins Ane and Amanda Johnson, 5-9 Amy Worley from Blacksburg and 6-1 Janet Stallard from St. Paul. Kellie Duncan, from Turner Ashby, is a promising point guard.

\ ROANOKE COLLEGE: Coach Susan Dunagan, who has gained a reputation for her recruiting along the Interstate 81 corridor, went unusually far afield to get 5-6 Jessica Ficarro, a district scoring champion and 3-point threat from Manassas Park. Dunagan's only regret was the inability to land a true point guard.

\ WASHINGTON AND LEE: The Generals made one 3-pointer in 21 games last season, so coach Terri Dadio was particularly pleased to get Ericka Shapard, a point guard who set a school record with 34 3-pointers last year for Casady High School in Oklahoma City. Shapard also was a three-time state tennis champion.