ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, December 27, 1996 TAG: 9612270061
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: CARQUEST BOWL NOTES
DATELINE: MIAMI
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
Virginia fans, even those who can't attend the game, continued to order tickets Thursday as Cavalier sales for the Carquest Bowl approached the 6,300 mark.
What's more, it appears there will be some UVa fans in the stands tonight at Pro Player Stadium.
Fans who could not attend the game were urged to buy tickets that will be distributed by the Carquest Bowl committee, but UVa ticket manager Dick Mathias said he was aware of only 500 supporters who had chosen that option.
Mathias said it was possible that some Miami fans had bought tickets from UVa when the Hurricanes used up their allotment, but he still expects as many as 5,500 or more UVa fans to be in attendance.
That would be a vast improvement over UVa's attendance at the 1993 Carquest Bowl, which was held Jan.1, when fans did not have to travel so close to Christmas.
The Cavaliers reportedly sold 3,100 tickets to the 1993 Carquest Bowl and 2,000 tickets to the 1994 Independence Bowl, but the actual number of UVa fans in the stands did not approach the sales for either games.
``We've pounded the alums in this area,'' said Mathias, reflecting the aggressive approach taken by the staff of Terry Holland, in his second year as the Cavaliers' athletic director.
Mathias said it was difficult to predict the attendance for tonight's game because Miami, after selling 10,000 tickets, did not make a second order from the Carquest Bowl office.
BOWL INVITEES: Virginia tailback Tiki Barber, the ACC offensive player of the year, said he will play in the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., but has turned down an invitation to play in the East-West Shrine Game.
UVa linebackers Jamie Sharper and James Farrior reportedly will join Barber at the Senior Bowl, but two-time All-ACC punter Will Brice was passed over, as was place-kicker Rafael Garcia.
Garcia said one postseason bowl committee expressed interest in him, but would have required him to punt. Garcia has not punted in a game since 1992, when he was a senior at George Washington High School in Danville, Va.
SPECIAL TEAMS: Redshirt freshman Andy Crosland handles both the punting and place-kicking for Miami and has missed four of his last six field-goal tries after a 10-for-11 start.
Crosland has averaged 38.5 yards on 44 punts, with a long of 49 yards. Brice, whose 44.7-yard average was the best by a Virginia punter since Russ Henderson (45.9) in 1976, had 17 punts of 50 yards or more.
MARKED MACK: Virginia needs to keep its eyes on Miami strong safety Tremain Mack, named Big East Special Teams Player of the Year. Mack has blocked nine kicks over the last two seasons.
Mack, who did not return a kickoff until Game 6, finished first in Division I-A in that category with a 39.5-yard average. That included a 95-yard return for a touchdown in the Hurricanes' 38-31 win over Syracuse.
SUSPENSIONS: Miami's two second-team offensive tackles, Shabaka Abdul-Majid and J Johnson, were the most prominent of four players suspended by Miami coach Butch Davis on Sunday for a violation of team rules.
FAMILY CONNECTION: Maureen ``Mo'' Lantz, an assistant athletic director and a senior women's administrator at Miami, is the daughter of Virginia defensive coordinator Rick Lantz.
Rick Lantz coached under Lou Saban and Howard Schnellenberger at Miami from 1977-80. Then, after stints with the New England Patriots, Notre Dame and Georgia Tech, he rejoined Schnellenberger at Louisville.
LENGTH: Medium: 69 lines KEYWORDS: FOOTBALLby CNB