ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, May 22, 1996 TAG: 9605220018
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO IN THE REGION
SOURCE: FROM STAFF REPORTS
MEMO: ***CORRECTION***
Published correction ran on May 24, 1996.
Ashleigh Sarver won the girls' singles title and combined with Bland
High School teammate Ashley Havens to win the girls' tennis doubles
championship Tuesday in Region C competition. Wednesday's Sports section
gave her name incorrectly.
They say good news travels fast. That's not always true, but Virginia's basketball program learned Tuesday that sometimes the news is worth the wait.
Jeff Jones, the Cavaliers' coach, announced that 6-foot-9 Craig McAndrew has signed a letter of intent to play for UVa. The Virginia coaches had been waiting for the big man's paperwork to arrive from his native Australia since Thursday, when he told them of his decision.
``The thing I like best about Craig is that, while he's only 19 years old, he's extremely mature both physically and mentally, and I think he's going to bring a toughness to our basketball team that we can definitely benefit from,'' Jones said. ``He can do a lot of things on the court. He can be a solid scorer, a good rebounder and he's an extremely effective passer.''
McAndrew, who finished high school in December 1994, played for the Australian team that finished second at the World Junior Championships in 1995 in Greece. He also was a developmental player with the Perth Wildcats in the Australian pro league. The NCAA has not determined how many seasons of eligibility McAndrew will have.
In other sports in the region:
VMI has signed its third basketball recruit of the spring, forward Eric Mann of Rock Hill, S.C.
Mann, 6-9, 205 pounds, played center in high school but is projected as a forward for the Keydets. Mann averaged 15.2 points and 12.3 rebounds in his senior season at Rock Hill High School. Rock Hill went 23-5 this past season, with Mann leading the team in rebounds and blocks (3.9 per game).
VMI's other basketball signees are 6-3 guard-forward Aaron Demory from Woodbridge and 6-9 center Chris DiNunzio of Cape Henry Collegiate School in Virginia Beach.
Four Roanoke College players have been named to the Brine Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches' Association All-America team.
Senior Kirsten Wagner was named to the first team, junior Lisa Franzino was a second-team choice and junior Amy Waldman and sophomore Ali Ogelsby were named to the third team. All four were All-Old Dominion Athletic Conference players this past season.
Practices will be held today for the NCAA Division III baseball World Series at Salem Memorial Stadium. The practices are open to the public.
Teams will take batting practice at Municipal Field and infield practice at Memorial Stadium. The first team begins practicing at 9:30 a.m. and the last will finish at 5:20 p.m.
The World Series runs Thursday through Tuesday. (Pairings in Scoreboard) Full ticket books are $25 for adults and $13 for students high school age and younger. Tickets for individual sessions are $5 for adults and $3 for students.
Several area baseball players were named to the 1996 GTE Academic All-America team in NCAA District III.
Graig Fantuzzi of Washington and Lee had the highest cumulative grade-point average of all the team members with a 4.19 in business engineering. Fantuzzi, an outfielder, hit .378 and stole 17 bases. He is three time all-academic team member and will graduate as W&L's valedictorian.
Luther Headley of Ferrum made the team with a 3.49 cumulative GPA in environmental science. The senior outfielder hit .394, scored 47 runs and had 43 RBI. Headley is a three-time all-academic selection.
Senior Mark Sappenfield of W&L carried a 3.39 GPA in journalism. Sappenfield hit .312 and had a .982 fielding average as a catcher for the Generals.
Junior first baseman Nate Shepperson of VMI was named to the GTE Academic All-District Team for Division I.
Shepperson had a 3.47 GPA in computer science. He led the team in hitting (.361), runs (34), triples (two), home runs (14) and RBI (39). He hit in a school-record 22 consecutive games.
Junior Jason Foresman, a member of VMI's wrestling team, was named to the National Wrestling Coaches Association All-Academic second team.
Foresman carries a 3.70 grade-point average in civil engineering. He went to the NCAA championships and won one of three matches, finishing the season with a 32-8 record in the 142-pound weight class. He was named to the District III GTE Academic All-District team.
PREPS Radford wins Region C girls' tennis
In Lexington, Radford won six singles matches and defeated Grayson County 6-3 to win the Region C girls' tennis title and advance to the Group A championship matches starting May 29 at Radford University.
The Bobcats weren't as fortunate in the individual competition. Bland's Ashleigh Greer defeated Radford's Mandy Harless 6-0, 6-1 for the singles title, then teamed with Ashley Havens to beat Harless and Leslie Adkins 6-1, 6-2 for the doubles crown.
William Byrd captured the Region III boys' tennis championship at Martinsville, defeating Jefferson Forest 8-1.
Miquel Castro, the Terriers' No.1 player, downed Amit Patel of Fieldale-Collinsville 6-1, 6-4 for the individual singles crown.
Northside's Justin Young and Drew Anderson won the individual doubles title, outlasting Spender Baird and Roland Stephan of Brookville 2-6, 6-3, 7-5.
Byrd, Castro, Young and Anderson advance to the Group AA semifinals at Handley High School in Winchester.
Salem's Jill Archer advanced to the singles final of the Region III girls' tennis tournament after knocking off Jennifer Witt of Fieldale-Collinsville 6-2, 6-2 at the Salem Civic Center courts.
Archer will take on Jefferson Forest's Kate Brown, who defeated Alissa Ujie of Rockbridge County 6-0, 6-0, in the final at 1 p.m. today. Archer and teammate Betsy Hall advanced to the doubles final at 3 p.m. today where they will take on Stacy Roberson and Carey Schneeweiss of Jefferson Forest.
In the team competition, Archer defeated Brown 6-3, 6-4 as Salem edged Jefferson Forest 5-4 in one semifinal. Salem will play Martinsville in the team final at 9 a.m. today. Martinsville downed Rockbridge County 8-1 in the other semifinal.
Glenvar's Josh Williamson defeated Lebanon's Thomas Center 2-6, 6-3, 6-1 to capture the individual title at the Region C boys' tennis tournament in Wytheville.
Williamson also defeated George Wythe's Paul McDaniel 6-0, 6-0 to help the Highlanders edge the Maroons 5-4 for their sixth consecutive regional championship.
In doubles competition, the tandem of Russell and Evan Bowling of Giles defeated Williamson and Tommy Lesperance of Glenvar 7-6, 1-6, 7-5 to win the title.
Glenvar and George Wythe advance to the Group A tournament next week.
In Low Moor, Alleghany's Joy Gauthier pitched a complete game to lift Alleghany over Salem 6-5 in a quarterfinal of the Blue Ridge District softball tournament.
Gauthier struck out six and gave up six hits, four of which came in the seventh inning as Salem scored four runs to make it close. Erica Lokey had a three-run homer in the seventh for Salem.
In the other quarterfinal, Northside pitchers Erin Weaver and Katie Hale combined to strike out 10 Rockbridge County batters as the Viking downed the Wildcats 13-5. Melinda Beckner knocked in three runs for the Vikings (13-7).
Alleghany will play Lord Botetourt in one semifinal at 11 a.m. Thursday at the Moyer Complex with Northside taking on William Byrd in the other semifinal.
Megan Richmond went 2-for-4 with a homer and Jennifer Shrader was 3-for-3 with two RBI to lead Radford past Auburn 9-3 a semifinal of the Three Rivers District softball tournament in Floyd.
The Bobcats (8-7) advance to the championship game, where they will take on top-seeded Floyd County at 4:30 p.m Thursday, with both teams advancing to the Region C tournament.
The Bobcats suffered a loss when star freshman pitcher Holly Harris left the game after six innings with a knee injury. Her status is doubtful for the championship game. Harris got the victory, holding Auburn to two hits and striking out four.
In Buchanan, Heather Vines had four hits and drove in six runs as James River downed Covington 22-7 in the quarterfinal round of the Pioneer District softball tournament.
Angie Sink was 3-for-5 with two RBI for the Knights (10-10), who will play top-seeded Glenvar in a semifinal at 4:30 p.m Friday at Green Hill Park in Salem.
In Bedford, Lisa Carr tripled home Danielle Wilson with the winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning as Liberty squeaked past Rustburg 3-2 in the first round of the Seminole District softball tournament.
Tamara Hawkins was the winning pitcher, giving up two runs on six hits. Selena Byers and Adriene Biggio had two hits each for the Minettes (14-5), who will play in a quarterfinal at 5 p.m. today in Rustburg.
Eric Lucas fired a five-hit shutout as Christiansburg rolled past Blacksburg 7-0 in a semifinal of the New River District baseball tournament.
The Blue Demons (5-12), who turned four double plays to thwart most of Blacksburg's scoring chances, will play Carroll County in Hillsville at 5 p.m. Thursday for the championship. Blacksburg finished 9-9.
Mark Akers went the distance to keep his record perfect as Shawsville beat Floyd County 8-5 in a Three Rivers District baseball semifinal at Radford University.
Akers (9-0) gave up five hits and struck out seven to send the Shawnees into a championship game meeting with the winner of the late game between Giles and Radford. Chance Hall's two-run single broke a 5-5 tie in the fifth inning to lift Shawsville (17-2).
Aaron Sherman had two hits to lead Floyd County (10-7).
In Independence, Grayson County ripped Narrows 8-2 in a semifinal of the Mountain Empire District baseball tournament. The Blue Devils (19-1) will entertain Fort Chiswell in Thursday's 7 p.m. title game.
In Buena Vista, Zack Sowers went 2-for-4 with a homer and two RBI as Craig County avenged two regular-season losses by beating Parry McCluer 10-3 in a quarterfinal of the Pioneer District baseball tournament.
Jeff Jones got the victory for Craig County, which will take on Bath County in a semifinal Thursday in Covington. Jones gave up three runs on seven hits in seven innings while striking out four.
Scott Markham struck out 12 and registered his seventh victory as Liberty nipped Appomattox 3-2 in a first-round Seminole District tournament baseball game in Bedford. The Minutemen (13-6) came from behind to win, tying the score on Brandon Painter's RBI triple in the seventh and winning on Cheyney Preston's RBI double in the eighth.
Josh Camorillo and Mike Motley each had two hits and Roy Welcher stole four bases as William Fleming nipped Patrick Henry 5-4 in a first-round Roanoke Valley District baseball tournament game. Ben Short picked up the victory for the Colonels, who beat the Patriots for the third time this season.
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