THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, March 13, 1995 TAG: 9503130110
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JULIE GOODRICH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 58 lines
When the Lady Monarchs go on the road this week for the NCAA Tournament, it will be a reunion of sorts for the Old Dominion coaching staff.
ODU, the eighth seed in the Mideast Region, heads to Knoxville, Tenn., Thursday to take on Florida International, winners of the Trans America Athletic Conference. The Golden Panthers are coached by former Lady Monarchs Cindy Russo and Inge Nissen.
``I played with Cindy, and Inge of course is one of the greatest players in the school's history,'' said ODU coach Wendy Larry.
Russo, head coach of the Golden Panthers, played for ODU from 1972-75. She is assisted at FIU by Nissen, an All-American center who helped the Lady Monarchs to national titles in 1979 and 1980. The last title came with Nissen playing alongside current ODU assistant coach Anne Donovan.
The similarities between the two teams don't end with the coaches.
Imports Ticha Penicheiro and Clarisse Machanguana have paced the Lady Monarchs to a 27-5 record this season. The Golden Panthers, with a 26-4 record and 13 straight wins, are also paced by two foreign players - All-American point guard Andrea Nagy and 6-foot-5 senior Albena Branzova.
Nagy, from Hungary, averages 13.2 points and 9.9 assists per game. Branzova, from Bulgaria, averages 21.6 points and scored 40 earlier this season against Metro Conference champion Southern Mississippi.
The Golden Panthers defeated ODU in their only meeting, 71-67, during the 1992-93 season.
Should the Lady Monarchs advance, their second-round opponent will be top-seeded Tennessee. The Lady Vols defeated ODU, 77-54, in Norfolk on Jan. 24.
``Tennessee's a rough draw for the second round,'' said ODU forward Sarah Willyerd. ``But they've been upset a couple times this year, so it's not impossible.''
After the complete bracket was announced, Larry couldn't hide her disappointment from the crowd gathered at Uncle Louie's for the pairings party.
``I'm somewhat disappointed with the seed. I feel like, at this point, we're playing better than we were last year, and we have a better record,'' she said. ``But you take what you're given and try to do the best with it.''
ODU was the No. 6 seed in the East last year and went to the second round before falling to eventual champion North Carolina, 63-52.
Radford, Virginia and Virginia Tech made the women's NCAA field. No. 3 East Region seed Virginia (24-4) will host No. 14 Dartmouth (16-10) Thursday.
Also playing Thursday at University Hall will be Radford (15-14). The Big South tournament champions and 11th East seed will play Florida (23-8).
Virginia Tech (21-8), seeded eighth in the East, will play No. 9 St. Joseph's (20-8) in Connecticut.
Top-ranked Connecticut, Vanderbilt and Colorado are the tournament's other No. 1 seeds with Tennessee. by CNB