THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 11, 1994 TAG: 9408110687
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C8 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY HARRY MINIUM, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 65 lines
One thing can be said of the Old Dominion men's and women's basketball teams with certainty: They won't be ducking any tough opponents next season.
The school released schedules for both teams Wednesday, and both have been strengthened considerably over last season.
The men host North Carolina, South Carolina and Wyoming, and travel to Virginia, Tulane, Washington, Arizona State, St. Joseph's, Southern Illinois and the Hawaii-Nike Festival.
ODU's home opener, often reserved for one of the Monarchs' weaker opponents, comes against Towson State, which upset St. John's last season.
``It's unquestionably the toughest schedule an Old Dominion men's team has ever played,'' athletic director Jim Jarrett said.
The same can't be said for the ODU women, whose schedules were among the nation's most rigorous in the 1980s. But the Lady Monarchs will be facing their most challenging slate since 1990-91, whwen they finished 5-21.
The ODU women, winners of the last three CAA titles, will host Tennessee, winner of the 1989 and 1991 national titles, and ACC power North Carolina State.
The Lady Monarchs also renew their rivalry with Texas, the 1986 national champion. ODU hasn't played Texas since 1990.
The women's schedule includes three tournaments - The ODU Dial Classic, which includes Duke; The San Juan Shootout in Puerto Rico, which features 1993 national champion Texas Tech and 1994 NCAA tournament participants Florida State, Michigan State and Virginia Tech; and the University of Miami tournament, which includes national power Auburn.
``I've been associated with Old Dominion for 20 years, and I don't think I've seen two collective schedules that look like these,'' women's coach Wendy Larry said.
Larry, an assistant coach when ODU won three national titles, is coming off her best recruiting effort in seven years. The Lady Monarchs signed six players, including 6-foot-5 center Clarisse Machanguana and 5-11 guard Patricia Penicheiro, both from Portugal.
``On paper isn't the same as on the court, but this is unquestionably our best recruiting class on paper,'' Larry said.
``At one time we were at the pinnacle of the game ... and this schedule is designed to help us get back into the top 25. But in order to make a splash nationally, we have to do more than just play these teams. We've got to beat them.''
The ODU men have the CAA's top returning frontcourt, including CAA Player of the Year Odell Hodge, but have a new coach in Jeff Capel.
Capel says the schedule was designed for a young team learning a new system.
``My experience has been that a young team or a new team plays better on the road,'' he said. ``There's more of a routine, there are no distractions. We wanted to play a lot of road games early, and we're doing that.
``It's a challenging schedule. I'm not going to say we'll win 20 games, but I will say this: Come January, we'll be a much better team than in October. The schedule will serve its purpose in January.'' ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
Men's and Women's Schedules
by CNB