THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, November 9, 1995 TAG: 9511090511
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PATTI WALSH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 70 lines
While Old Dominion was struggling to rebuild its national field hockey powerhouse this fall, senior midfielder Samantha Salvia was busy engineering a perfect record in the classroom.
And though ODU's record (15-8, 7-2 CAA) wasn't as sparkling as her 4.0 grade-point average, Salvia says her team, which hosts Virginia in a first-round NCAA tournament game today, has learned its lessons.
``It's a second chance and we're definitely not going to waste it,'' said Salvia, whose team lost the Colonial Athletic Conference title to James Madison Sunday, dropping a 2-1 decision in the tournament final. The loss marked the first time ODU has not won the CAA field hockey title since the conference tourney began in 1991.
``Monday was so tense. The way we lost and the way we played. . . . we didn't know if we were even going to make the tournament. I hated to think that Sunday would've been my last hockey game,'' said Salvia.
``Everybody understands now that a second chance is precious. It's do or die. There's no tomorrow if we don't come out to play.''
And today when ODU takes the field at 4 p.m. against Virginia (13-8) the Lady Monarchs know they must play like there's no tomorrow in order to keep their title chances alive.
The winner of today's game will travel to Maryland on Sunday.
``It's a young team,'' said Salvia of the ODU squad that fell to the Cavaliers 2-1 earlier in the season. ``We only have three seniors. The ups and downs we've gone through are because we were learning to play as a team. At the end, we've come together and we're playing some good hockey.''
Salvia, a three-time Academic All-American and Rhodes Scholar nominee, will graduate in May with an engineering degree - something she's accomplished in four years while playing some ``good hockey'' with one of the most prestigious programs in the country, playing one of the toughest schedules.
After four years, Salvia has proved to not only be a shining star in the classroom, but on the field as well. She's started in all of the Lady Monarchs' games since her sophomore season and has 15 goals and 27 assists for her career. Six of those goals and 21 assists have come this year. And she's added All-South, All-CAA and GTE All-American honors to her already impressive resume.
``I believe you get out things what you put in,'' she said. ``I think excellence and levels of expectations are universal no matter where they're applied.''
And what she's learned in the classroom, she hopes to pass along to her teammates today.
Focus. Hard work. Determination and how to pay close attention to detail. All those ingredients, she says, are essential to ODU's success on the field.
``Regardless of where we end, we just want to know we played our hardest and did our best.'' ILLUSTRATION: ``There's no tomorrow if we don't come out to play,'' says ODU
senior midfielder Samantha Salvia.
NCAA FIELD HOCKEY
What: NCAA tournament first-round game
Who: Virginia (13-8) vs. Old Dominion (15-8)
When: Today at 4 p.m.
Where: Foreman Field
Admission: $3 for adults, $2 for children
What's at stake: Winner advances to second-round against Maryland
on Sunday, Nov. 12
by CNB