THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 22, 1995 TAG: 9510220186
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C14 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KEVIN DOEPP, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 69 lines
When a team is involved in a winning or unbeaten streak, talking about it may jinx it for the superstitious.
It's sort of like not talking to a pitcher throwing a no-hitter or to a placekicker preparing to attempt a game-winning field goal.
This streak, however, covers more than just one pitch or one kick. And it is one that may stand for a long time.
That streak is held by the Randolph-Macon women's soccer team. It owns the longest regular-season unbeaten streak in Division III at 44 games and, including the ODAC tournament, it is at 50. Randolph-Macon's last regular-season loss was in 1983, against the College of Notre Dame-Maryland.
Since that 1983 defeat the team has had only one setback - a 4-2 loss to Gettysburg last season in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
Lindsay Huffman, a sophomore forward on the team and a graduate of Maury High School in Norfolk, said she doesn't think about the streak.
``It never really crosses my mind,'' she said. ``The only time we really talk about it is in the huddle right before the game.''
Heading into the weekend, the team was 16-0-1. Randolph-Macon is ranked eighth in the nation and has been ranked as high as second this season.
Joining Huffman on the team is Princess Anne graduate Cory Orem. Orem, a freshman back, is seeing limited time this season, but according to head coach Jeff Burns, she will see more playing time next season.
Burns, too, plays down the streak.
``It is one of those quiet pride things,'' he said. ``The best team doesn't always win in the game of soccer.''
Huffman, who started last season as a freshman, thinks this year's team is better than last year's.
``We are really strong this year all the way around,'' Huffman said. ``We have the potential and it will be up to us to step up our game. We know we are good enough.''
MONARCHS REPORT: Samantha Salvia of the Old Dominion field hockey team is fourth in the nation in assists with 13. Salvia, a senior, also has scored a goal. Freshman Mimi Smith (Ocean Lakes) is third on the team in goals with seven. She netted five of them in two games - three against Virginia Commonwealth and two against Villanova. The Lady Monarchs are seventh in the national poll and have matches against top-ranked North Carolina and 12th-ranked Boston University upcoming. The Lady Monarchs have won six matches this season, two more than last season. Jen Gillespie leads the team with seven goals. Michele Kubicek has four goals and four assists. . . . Freshman cross country standout Adrian Unger took sixth at William and Mary with a time of 15:03, eighth at the U.Va. Invitational at 18:15, and 10th in the Maryland Invitational at 20:49.31. She placed 14th at George Mason with a time of 19:03.1 and took 15th at East Carolina at 20:58. . . . The men's sailing team is ranked seventh and the women's team sixth in the latest ICYRA rankings by Sailing World magazine. . . . The 16th annual Old Dominion/Seascape Collegiate will be held at the Seascape Golf Course in Kitty Hawk on Oct. 30-31. Maryland, Purdue, Penn State and Ball State are among the teams included. The Collegiate Golf Foundation has included the tournament as part of the 1995-96 Rolex Collegiate Tour.
ALUMNI REPORT: Christopher Newport's James Ratcliff (Western Branch) and Nicole Horn (Great Bridge) were named the Dixie Conference men's and women's cross country players of the week. Ratcliff won the Virginia Division II-III State Championship with an 8K time of 25:44. Horn earned All-Division II-III honors with a fourth-place finish at the state championship with a 5K time of 20:08. . . . Dustin Price (Princess Anne), a freshman at Shenandoah University, was named the Dixie Conference soccer freshman of the week. Price led the Hornets to two wins as he scored two goals and added two assists. by CNB