THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, January 6, 1995 TAG: 9501060615
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PATTI WALSH, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 87 lines
How would Norfolk Academy, which went 20-1 in the Tidewater Conference of Independent Schools, fare against the area's top 10 teams?
Norfolk Academy coach Joanne Renn says that her Bulldogs could compete just fine and should be ranked.
But Larry Bowman, who is in the unique position of coaching at both Norfolk Collegiate and Salem High School doesn't quite agree. Bowman says that although some TCIS schools might be able to compete with the public schools, the private schools' system leaves the girls at a disadvantage.
``I don't think they should be in the poll because they don't play against the caliber of play that we (the public schools) do,'' Bowman said. ``They probably could compete with the top teams, but as long as they continue to play in the fall against weaker competition, I don't think they should be included in the poll.''
The bottom line is that until the TCIS moves girls basketball to the winter, we'll never know how it might match up against the AAA districts. The move also would allow the girls a chance to be seen by more college scouts and play against stronger competition.
So what's the holdup?
``Because the TCIS is male-dominated and they're going to do it like that,'' Bowman said. ``They're going to cheat the girls, and they're only worried about the male sports.
``I told them at the Norfolk Collegiate banquet, `The girls are being cheated by playing in the fall and not being able to play for a regional championship or a state championship.' They play their 20 conference games and that's it.
``We played Norfolk Academy and Nansemond-Suffolk seven times in the fall. There's nobody to play. All the good players and good competition are in the winter, and basketball is meant to be played in the winter. The people in the TCIS need to open their eyes to that and let their girls have the same opportunity that public school girls have. I agree with that 100 percent.''
Norfolk Collegiate athletic director Larry Swearingen, whose daughter, Elizabeth, also plays for the Oaks, says that playing in the fall is a matter of logistics.
``We run three boys teams and three girls teams,'' he said. ``It's a matter of gym time. We're also academic schools, and we don't want our kids here until 9 o'clock at night. If those problems could be solved, I'd love to see the girls play in the winter.''
Swearingen also noted that the issue has never been pushed during the TCIS athletic directors' meetings.
The problem, however, could easily be solved if girls volleyball, which is played during the winter, moved to the fall with the newly added boys volleyball, which played its inaugural season this fall.
Said Renn, ``The whole thing needs to be revamped. It's a horrible disadvantage for the girls who want to go on. Scouting for Division I occurs only on the weekend of the TCIS tournament.
``They just want to keep us at the level we are. The advancement just isn't there.''
With the talent in the TCIS, which often places players on the All-Tidewater team selected by The Virginian-Pilot and The Ledger-Star, where would the top private schools fit in?
You can bet that the Bulldogs, led by Kendra Robins, who was noted as one of the top players in the state by USA Today, would surely be in the top three. And Nansemond-Suffolk Academy, with Jill VanGuilder and Anne Murden, a sophomore who was named MVP in the TCIS tournament, would definitely give the top half a run a for its money.
BOOKERS FORFEIT: Booker T. Washington will forfeit its 55-46 season-opening victory over Wilson due to violation of the scholarship rule, Bookers' coach Cal Davidson said.
Davidson, who refused to name the player, said he discovered that the transfer student did not meet Virginia High School League academic requirements after the Bookers first game.
``She just miscounted her credits,'' he said. ``I told my principal as soon as it happened and we took care of it.''
MARLINS SAIL: In the course of a week, No. 6 Bayside has twice upended the area's No. 2 team.
The Marlins beat then second-ranked Churchland, 46-38, in the Salem Girls Christmas Tournament.
The Marlins, unranked at the time, used a relentless half-court press that shut down Churchland's offense and blew open the game with less than a minute to go.
Then Tuesday night against Salem, which displaced Churchland at No. 2, the Marlins did it again.
Carolyn Zanelli hit both ends of a one-and-one with 16 seconds left to lift the Marlins to a 38-36 victory in overtime. by CNB