ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, April 23, 1996 TAG: 9604230112
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: FROM STAFF REPORTS
Five Ferrum softball players made the All-Dixie Conference team, including player of the year Julie Shifflett and rookie of the year Liz Urban.
Shifflett, a senior outfielder, led the conference in batting (.472), RBI (46) and home runs (eight). She was joined on the first team by Panthers teammates Shannon Jost at first base and Audra Freeman at second base.
Urban, a freshman third baseman, has a .439 average with eight doubles, nine triples, six home runs and 38 RBI. She heads the second team and is joined by teammate Roben Sutphin, a four-time all-conference honoree.
John Brackett of North Carolina Wesleyan was chosen as coach of the year.
On the field Monday in Ferrum, Michelle Francis drove in two runs and Shannon Jost knocked in another as the Panthers won the second game of a doubleheader 6-1 over Bluefield to close the regular season.
Ferrum (25-19) lost the first game 4-3 with Jost going 2-for-4 with a run and Francis 1-for-3. Bluefield is 13-10.
In other college sports
* Virginia built a four-run lead in the first three innings and went on to a 9-4 baseball victory over VMI in Charlottesville.
Ryan Gilleland (Jefferson Forest) went 3-for-3 with a triple, steal and a career-high four runs scored, and E.J. Anderson doubled twice and drove in three runs for the Cavaliers.
Craig Zaikov (6-1) went the distance for UVa (30-15), striking out a career-high 11. Ed Allen (3-1) took the loss for the Keydets (15-27).
* Methodist won the team competition and Bryan Wright was the individual medalist at the Dixie Conference golf tournament in Williamsburg.
Wright shot rounds of 75 and 71 to beat Kevin Angle of Greensboro in a playoff for individual honors. R.J. Weaver was Ferrum's top player, finishing eighth with a 159 total. Ed Alvarez of the Panthers was another shot back.
Ferrum was fourth in the team standings at 651, trailing Methodist (617), Greensboro (624) and Christopher Newport (633).
* Angel Muncaster was chosen most valuable female and Jonathan Wong was voted most valuable male by the Virginia Tech swimming and diving teams.
The diver of the year was freshman Jackie Davoud, who set an Atlantic 10 Conference record at this year's championships.
* For the first time since 1992, Roanoke College is the top seed in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference women's lacrosse tournament, which begins today. (Bracket in Scoreboard)
The Maroons and No.2 seed Washington and Lee receive byes in the first round and will begin play in the semifinals, which will be held at Roanoke on Friday. The championship game will be 2 p.m. Sunday at Roanoke.
In today's first-round matchups, No.4 Randolph-Macon entertains No.5 Bridgewater at 4:30 p.m. No.3 Lynchburg College meets No.6 Guilford at 4:30 in Lynchburg.
* Ferrum is ranked ninth nationally in the latest NCAA Division III baseball poll. The Panthers (29-7-1) lost in the championship game of the Dixie Conference tournament to Methodist, the top-ranked team in this week's national poll.
LENGTH: Medium: 59 linesby CNB