ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, April 11, 1996 TAG: 9604110035
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-4 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: COLLEGE NOTEBOOK
SOURCE: DANIEL UTHMAN
For the first time in the relatively brief history of soccer in the Roanoke Valley, four members of the Roanoke Star Under-18 team have signed to play at NCAA Division I schools.
Two will play at the University of Richmond - Tait Duus of Cave Spring High School and Mark Wise of North Cross - while Cave Spring's Brian Sharp will play for Virginia Tech and Russell Hutchison of E.C. Glass in Lynchburg is off to the University of Maine.
And it's not just the boys who are making it big. Carrie Moore, who plays girls' soccer at Patrick Henry and with the U-18 Roanoke Star girls' team, has a full scholarship to William and Mary.
``For a town our size, we're getting a lot of Division I players,'' said Danny Beamer, executive director of the Roanoke Valley Youth Soccer Club. ``We're competing against clubs 20 and 30 years older. We've achieved pretty quickly a higher level of play.''
Each youngster had Division I dreams, but each realized them in a different way.
Sharp said he likes the Hokies' playing style and that Tech is close. ``Everybody knows about Tech,'' he said.
Wise discovered Richmond while attending camp there as a 13-year old. ``From the first day, I loved everything about it,'' he said. He set a goal of playing for the Spiders and reached it when coach Tim O'Sullivan made him an offer.
Both Wise and Duus will be close to the NCAA men's soccer final four, which will be played at UR Stadium for three more years.
Duus has played Division I soccer before, only with a German club. He spent four months of 1994 with Division I HSV Homburg and is sitting out this season at Cave Spring.
RECRUITING: VMI received a signed letter of intent Wednesday from 6-9, 225-pound Chris DiNunzio of Cape Henry Collegiate High School in Virginia Beach.
DiNunzio began his high school career at First Colonial High School, also in Virginia Beach, but injury and academic problems didn't allow him much time on the basketball court. He has spent the past two years at Cape Henry and this season averaged 12.5 points and 12 rebounds while earning second-team all-Tidewater Conference of Independent Schools honors.
``He is a very good athlete,'' said DiNunzio's high school coach, Dave Cameron. ``His game is developing. He can run and jump on the Division I level. The physical tools are there.''
The Keydets also will welcome back next season guards Darryl Faulkner and Warren Johnson, who have been sitting out for academic reasons.
Terrence Newby, 6-2, of Jordan-Matthews High in Siler City, N.C., is expected to sign with North Carolina today. The Tar Heels could be close to a commitment from McDonald's All-America forward Vassil Evtimov.
Newby, a baseball draft prospect, is a point guard who also will play baseball for the Tar Heels. He averaged 14 points and five assists this season.
Evtimov, meanwhile, plans to visit Chapel Hill this weekend. The 6-9 Bulgarian is also looking at Pitt, UConn, Indiana State and Villanova, but sources say his father would like him to go to UNC.
Another Tar Heels target, 6-7 Texan Ryan Mendez, committed to Stanford after UNC showed a preference for Evtimov.
MAROONS MOVE: Roanoke College has granted women's softball varsity status for the 1996-97 school year, giving the school its 16th intercollegiate sport (nine women's, seven men's).
The Maroons have been playing softball for two years as a club team and have a 9-6 record this spring. Their home games will be played at the Moyer Complex in Salem.
Baseball is likely to be the next sport on Roanoke's list. The administration and admissions office apparently have decided that offering a greater variety of athletic pursuits is a good way to attract students and student-athletes.
Baseball may be the next sport added, but there hasn't been as much interest in it as there was in softball. According to athletic director Scott Allison, a club baseball team would have to come before a varsity squad.
AROUND THE REGION: The Radford University men's lacrosse team's 4-5 start is the best beginning for the Highlanders since they began NCAA Division I competition in 1985.
Radford's 31 softball victories is a single-season record. The Highlanders are 31-20 under first-year coach and Salem native Charlie Gunter. Radford was 20-33 last season, also a single-season record.
Former Ferrum College football players Walter Bryant, Brian Hilgert, Millard Vining and David Waddell will compete in the 1996 National All-Stars College Football Classic on Saturday in Louisville, Ky.
The game offers players from all college divisions a chance to showcase their talent for pro scouts.
Roanoke College basketball coach Page Moir has been named the NABC/Sears Division III South Region coach of the year and junior guard Jason Bishop was second team all-South.
TECH CLINIC: The Virginia Tech football staff will conduct its annual coaches clinic Friday and Saturday in Blacksburg.
The clinic is designed to meet the needs and interests of high school and junior high coaches in the area. The methods and techniques used by Tech coaches will be discussed as well as presentations and ideas from top high school coaches Karl Buckwalter of McLean High School, George Curry of Berwick (Pa.) High School, Bo Henson of E.C. Glass, Bob Parker of Indian River, Phil Robbins of Powell Valley and Kevin Saunders of William Campbell.
COVERT OPERATION: VMI's Alumni-Varsity football scrimmage last weekend ran into some problems when it was discovered the game could impact the eligibility of last fall's redshirt freshmen. As a result, no official statistics were kept and there was no official score.
The alumni kept it close for three quarters before the varsity pulled away. Roanoke native Pete Lampman Jr., class of 1989, played on the alumni's defensive line and looked forward to putting a hit on all-American tailback Thomas Haskins. Afterward, he said, ``The only time I got a hand on him was when I patted him on the back in the locker room.''
LENGTH: Long : 113 linesby CNB