Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, May 8, 1995 TAG: 9505080131
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: STAFF REPORT
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Hampden-Sydney, which upset the Maroons two weeks ago, received the final spot in the eight-team NCAA field and will meet 1994 champion Salisbury (Md.) State in the first round.
``It was disappointing, especially with the season we had,'' said coach Bill Pilat, whose Roanoke team finished 12-3. ``We feel that Roanoke has a rich tradition in lacrosse [and] that this definitely was one of the best teams in school history. We won [a school-record] 12 games and felt that we were deserving.''
Virginia, an overtime loser in last year's Division I championship game, was seeded second this time and will receive a first-round bye, as well as a second-round home game.
The Cavaliers (11-2) will meet the winner of the first-round game between seventh-seeded Brown (9-5) and 10th-seeded Cornell (8-5). Brown, an NCAA semifinalist last year, was the former home of UVa coach Dom Starsia.
UVa, which had been ranked third in the coaches' poll before moving up to second Sunday, is not in the same bracket as any of the other three ACC teams in the field, including Duke, which routed the Cavaliers 17-10 in the ACC tournament.
There is no connection between the selection committee and the panel that does the weekly rankings, although in Roanoke's case, the selections reflected a drop to ninth in the final poll released Sunday. The Maroons were ranked sixth as recently as April 23, but dropped three places without playing a game.
Roanoke, which reached the Division III championship game in 1992, failed to make the field when it was 10-4 in 1993 and when it was 8-5 in 1994. The Maroons were eighth in the final poll in '93 and ninth last year.
``It seems like pretty much if you beat Roanoke, you're going to the tournament,'' Pilat said. ``Our problem is that the one team we can't beat is Roanoke. We can't even schedule Roanoke.''
by CNB