ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, May 4, 1996 TAG: 9605060121
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: IN THE REGION
SOURCE: FROM STAFF REPORTS
Two citation-size crappie dominated the opening day of the Cave Spring Optimist Club fishing tournament Friday on Smith Mountain Lake.
Eddie Gray of Colfax, N.C., entered the largest crappie, a 2.06-pound fish he hooked on a minnow in Gills Creek. A fraction of an ounce behind was a 2.04-pound crappie entered by Ricky Barger of Vinton. Barger was fishing the Roanoke River side of the lake.
The biggest largemouth bass during the early going was a 5.26-pounder landed by Norman Stewart of Eceles, W.Va. Stewart reported hooking his fish on a lizard while casting on the Blackwater River arm of the lake.
The top smallmouth was a 3.78-pound fish landed near Hales Ford Bridge on an artificial lure by Kevin Pott of Salem.
The contest, headquartered at Foxsport Marina, continues through noon Sunday.
ETC. Radford coach goes to Marshall
Dave Dickerson, an assistant basketball coach at Radford University, has accepted a similar position at Marshall.
Dickerson, 29, spent the past four seasons as an assistant to Ron Bradley. Prior to that, he had one-year stints as an assistant at James Madison and Gardner-Webb. He played college basketball at Maryland.
``Dave had an outstanding playing career at Maryland and understands what big-time basketball is,'' said Gregg Marshall, who recently was named head coach of the Thundering Herd.
``[Dickerson] has extensive recruiting contacts in the South and North, which is what we'll need in order to make the transition [from the Southern Conference] to the Mid-American Conference. Dave's appearance, communication skills and salesmanship ultimately landed him the position.
``He has vast experience at this level and has learned much of the game from Lefty Driesell ... With recruiting being the name of the game, Dave's addition to our staff gives us another excellent recruiter.''
* Six Washington and Lee errors combined with a strong pitching performance by Billy Kachuba enabled Virginia Wesleyan to knock off the Generals 6-3 in the first round of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference baseball tournament in Lynchburg.
Kachuba went seven innings, allowing two earned runs and striking out six. The Marlins (18-18-1) will face Bridgewater, an 8-5 winner over Lynchburg, in the winner's bracket today at 4:30 p.m.
The Generals (16-12), who will take on Lynchburg at 1 p.m. today in the loser's bracket, were led by Tucker Bixby, who went 2-for-4 with a triple and an RBI single. Matt Ermigiotti took the loss, despite giving up two earned runs in eight innings.
* The Virginia Tech women's tennis team was eliminated from the NCAA Eastern Regionals by Harvard, 5-2.
It was the Hokies' first NCAA appearance.
Sophomore Katherine Chen and freshman Dagmara Mrozek were the only Tech players to notch victories.
* The Nelson Ford 300 will bring the largest Late Model Stock field ever to Franklin County Speedway tonight. Between 24 and 26 cars are expected to start the 100-lap event.
Points leader Todd Philpott of Ferrum is looking for his first victory, while Dudley Lawhorne will be out to win his third Late Model race.
Bobby Radford, the defending track champion, returns after a two-week hiatus from short-track racing.
The Classic Modifieds, the old coupes and coaches, will make their debut tonight, and racing in all other divisions will be held. Racing begins at 7 p.m.
* VMI and Washington and Lee will present the Worrell-Fallon Memorial Award for the first time today to the most valuable players for the respective schools in the Lee-Jackson Lacrosse Classic starting at 2 p.m.
The award is named in honor of 1962 VMI graduate and former football player DeWitt ``De'' Worrell, killed in a 1994 plane crash, and Gary Fallon, the longtime W&L football coach and lacrosse official, who suffered a fatal heart attack last spring.
There will be a plaque on permanent display at both schools and smaller plaques will be awarded to the respective MVPs by Worrell's and Fallon's wives.
LENGTH: Medium: 80 linesby CNB