ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, December 20, 1996 TAG: 9612200035
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
They're twins, they're ex-Cave Spring High School football standouts, and on fall Saturdays they make people cheer at Virginia's Scott Stadium.
Of course, we're talking about the Catalano brothers.
What were you expecting? Another story on the Barbers?
While Tiki and Ronde Barber have been making headlines, nobody has been more of a fixture at UVa sporting events than sophomores Rich and Darren Catalano, members of the Cavaliers cheerleading squads.
Rich is a member of the Orange team, which leads cheers at UVa's away football games and men's basketball games. Darren is captain of the Blue team, which is at all home football games and women's basketball games.
``If you had told me two years ago that I would be doing this, I never would have believed it,'' said Rich, who, at 5 feet 8 and 180 pounds, is 10 pounds lighter than his twin.
``But when I think back, we'd go to basketball games in high school, and we were always getting something started in the stands.''
That was in the winter. In the fall, the Catalanos were starting outside linebackers on the 1994 Cave Spring team that went 6-4.
They moved to Roanoke in the summer before their senior year from West Harrison, N.Y., where their football team had played for the city championship. Their father, Tony, is chief financial officer for Transkrit Corporation, which had moved its headquarters earlier that year.
``It came down to whether we would go to Salem or Cave Spring,'' Darren said. ``We had heard before we got here that Cave Spring had a 14-game losing streak, but we already had a house [in Hunting Hills], so we figured it would be more convenient.''
That just made it sweeter when the Knights opened the 1994 season with a last-minute 15-14 victory over Northside. The Catalanos played a role in Cave Spring's resurgence and gave some thought to continuing their football careers in college.
Instead, they decided to enroll at Virginia, where football was an option only at the intramural level. Indeed, Rich was contemplating a rugby career when he made a chance visit to the weight room in UVa's Memorial Gym.
``I saw this big dude lifting, and he had a Virginia Cheerleading T-shirt on,'' Rich said. ``He was doing this weird technique, and I was asking him about it. It turned out he was one of my future fraternity brothers. Then I met another cheerleader at a party, and he got me really interested.''
Admittedly, one of the interesting things was that there were women involved.
``We had never really paid attention to it, but we went to the first game, and it was really impressive with all the stunts - the pyramids, the basket tosses and the tumbling,'' Rich said. ``The gymnastics aspect of it almost blew me away.''
What they came to find out was that most of the male cheerleaders were like them, former high-school football players or wrestlers.
``We're pretty small guys for cheerleaders,'' Darren said. ``Most of the guys are really big, at least 6 feet tall or taller. I can see how people make fun of cheerleaders and stuff, but at the college level, most of the guys have an athletic background.''
Still, it took a little explaining when friends learned of the Catalanos' new avocation.
``When they called to tell us, they said, `Ma, believe it or not, cheerleaders are well-respected,''' their mother, Phyllis, said. ``They were worried about our reaction to it. We were proud of them.''
The Catalanos both cheered last year for the Blue team, making their debut for the Cavaliers' home game with Florida State, when UVa handed the No.2-ranked Seminoles their lone conference loss in five years of Atlantic Coast Conference play.
But first, they had to pass a rigid examination before two coaches.
``They don't want you going out there and doing anything that's going to put you in danger or the girl in danger,'' Rich said, ``or doing anything that's going to look bad. Everything's got to be clean-cut, and it's got to be safe.''
Unlike some schools, Virginia does not give cheerleading scholarships. However, the cheerleaders have access to the athletes' meal plan, they are outfitted with Reeboks, and the promotions department takes care of their expenses.
Also, they have use of the training facilities.
``I've had more injuries in cheering than I had in four years of football,'' said Rich, who will be cheering at the Carquest Bowl next week in Miami. ``It just goes from your shoulders to your wrists to your knees. Right now, I'm dealing with shin splints. ... It's great.''
It is not uncommon for the Catalano brothers to run into Tiki or Ronde Barber, maybe the best-known players on UVa's football team. In a game of word association, they are the first twins from Cave Spring that come to mind.
``That's not such a bad thing,'' Rich Catalano said. ``If you're going to be compared to somebody, those are two pretty good guys to be compared to.''
LENGTH: Medium: 91 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: NHAT MEYER/Staff. Former high school football playersby CNBRich (left) and Darren Catalano now cheer for the Cavaliers. color.