
                         THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
                 Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, June 9, 1994                    TAG: 9406090691 
SECTION: SPORTS                     PAGE: C6    EDITION: FINAL  
SOURCE: BY ABE GOLDBLATT, STAFF WRITER 
DATELINE: 940609                                 LENGTH: Long

COACHES' GROUP NAMES NSU'S STURRUP ATHLETE OF YEAR

{LEAD} Although she came up short in defense of her 100-meter title at the NCAA Division II championships, Norfolk State All-American Chandra Sturrup has been named the women's Division II Athlete of the Year along with Janet Hill of Cal State-Los Angeles by the U.S. Track & Field Coaches Association.

The award was based on each athlete's performance throughout the 1993-94 season. In addition to winning her second consecutive NCAA indoor long-jump title, Sturrup was second nationally in the 55-meter dash and fifth in 400 meters during the indoor season, and she also was a member of NSU's second-place 1,600-meter relay team.

{REST} Outdoors, Sturrup ran just two meets before being sidelined by a knee injury. But she qualified nationally in the 100 and 200 meters, as well as the long jump, where she turned in the best mark of anyone in Division II this year with a leap of 21:05 1/2.

At the NCAA Division II outdoor championships, Sturrup elected to sit out the 200 and the long jump. Although not 100 percent, she finished fifth in the 100 and anchored the 400-meter relay team to a fourth-place finish.

MORE TRACK: Spartanettes who joined Sturrup as All-Americans were Robin Turner, Ruchelle Thomas, Karen Sinclair, Mikki Hughes, Angela Villman and April Holmes. Turner, one of just two seniors on coach LaVerne Sweat's squad, has won All-American honors 19 times, including the outdoor season. Among the men, senior Harold McCants won All-American honors after finishing sixth in the 400 at the NCAA, his best finish nationally outdoors. . . . William and Mary junior Marcia Homan , who placed third in the 5,000 meters in the NCAA championships, earned her fourth All-American certificate. Lisa Rayner (high jump) and Steve Swift (10,000) were other Tribe athlete to win All-American honors.

BASEBALL REPORT: With practically the entire roster returning from its Colonial Athletic Association championship team, Old Dominion has recruited only two players for next season. Assistant coach Tim Parenton says Ron Walker, a pitcher/third baseman from Shawnee High School in New Jersey, has signed to play for the Monarchs, while pitcher Justin Kridern of Montgomery (Md.) Junior College is expected to sign. Last season, Walker hit 10 home runs and batted .518. On the mound, the righthander struck out 110 batters in 50 innings. Meanwhile, here's where the returning Monarchs are playing ball this summer: Cape Cod League: Kevin Gibbs (if he doesn't make Team USA), Anthony Eannacony, Matt Quatraro; Tidewater Summer League: Ryan Beard, Jason Harris, Jesse James, Robert Morgan, Marty Plank, Tommy Staples, Brett Wheeler; North Woods League (Wisconsin): Brian Fiumara; AABC (New York): Dan Almonte, Quentin Lindsey; Great Lakes League: John O'Reilly; New Jersey College League: Maika Symmonds. . . . William and Mary first baseman/leftfielder Mike Ruberti was named a second-team GTE Academic All-American by the College Sports Information Directors of America. Ruberti, a senior, holds a 3.36 GPA in business management. This past season he batted .390 with 12 home runs and 57 RBIs.

SOFTBALL: Turan Smith, who guided Norfolk State to a 42-6 record, the most victories in school history, has been named the state's college-division Softball Coach of the Year by the Virginia Sports Information Directors.

The VaSID All-State team:

Pitchers: Angela Smith (Norfolk State) and Emily Welpott (Longwood).

Catcher: Kim Kumpf (Virginia Wesleyan).

First base: Jennifer Mongold (Bridgewater).

Shortstop: Jen Kooker (Eastern Mennonite).

Third base: Kerry Suniega (Chirstopher Newport).

Outfield: Angela Williams (Norfolk State), Robin Hutcherson (Longwood) and Kerry Johnson (Bridgewater).

A second baseman was not named. Honorable mentions included Shane Sams and Beverly Withers of Norfolk State, and Jackie Cordery and LaDonna Flanagan of Virginia Wesleyan.

FORE: The 19th annual Spivey Rentals/ODU Golf Scholarship Classic gets under way Friday at Sleepy Hole Golf Club with a two-man Florida best ball, followed by a two-man best ball on Saturday and a two-man best ball on Sunday.

Last year, the two-man team of Robin Rubrecht and Mike Ramsey won the championship flight, and Mike Darr of Virginia Beach made a hole-in-one and won two round-trip airline tickets to Europe. Tournament proceeds will benefit the ODU Intercollegiate Foundation for golf scholarships.

ADD ODU: John Jackowski, general manager of American Eagle Airlines at Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport from 1989 to 1993, has been named athletic ticket manager at ODU. Jackowski is a graduate of Christopher Newport and served as an assistant in the athletic marketing office last year at ODU. . . . Senior Kristin Graham has been named All-Star Crew by Sailing World magazine. . . . Monarchs sailors winning Intercollegiate Yachting and Racing Association first-team All-American honors include junior Patrick Downey, helmsman of the Monarchs' 1992 ICYRA Sloop National championship team; senior Christine Accettella, who placed seventh in the ICYRA Women's National championships last week, and freshman Bill Hardesty, who was the 1993 High School National Singlehanded champion.

by CNB