THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, December 14, 1995 TAG: 9512140522
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: TOM ROBINSON
LENGTH: Medium: 71 lines
The occasional chat about this or that . . .
Unless I'm forgetting somebody, Lauri Illy is the only local athlete or sports personality to be seen and heard recently in a business advertisement. The 14-year-old rhythmic gymnast from Virginia Beach, a 1996 Olympic hopeful, popped up throughout the fall in print and radio ads for Sentara Health System.
Why Sweetpea Whitaker, Alonzo Mourning, Bruce Smith, Jeff Ware, Joe Smith, William Fuller, Curtis Strange and whomever else don't turn up as local endorsement vehicles is a topic for another day.
Anyway, that's OK because Illy needs the exposure plenty more than those guys. Most importantly for her and her family, she desperately needs any sponsorship money the ads might generate.
Illy's parents declared bankruptcy a month ago. But they remain financially committed to stoking their daughter's Olympic dream.
Lauri, second-ranked among juniors, has trained in Evanston, Ill., the past 2 1/2 years. She is the only national-caliber rhythmic gymnast to train away from home.
Her mother, Rocki, says it will cost about $5,000 to get Lauri through the first five months of '96 leading up to the Olympic Trials. There, the top two finishers will make the Olympic team, though only the winner will compete in Atlanta. The runner-up will go as an alternate.
``As long as this child wants to do it, we'll do what we have to do,'' Rocki Illy says. ``Without a doubt.''
Illy's father, Larry, is a social worker. Rocki is a nurse who also sews and baby-sits when she isn't brainstorming fund-raising strategies. For instance, it was her idea to contact Sentara, which paid for Illy's air fare and expenses to do the ad. Yet no sponsorships have come from the ads, Rocki Illy says.
But in this season of wish lists, she has made hers of potential donors. She's checked it twice. And she's ready to push buttons and pound pavement.
``We've been scraping for so long,'' Illy says. ``But there isn't any way to get around (bankruptcy). I know things will fall into place, though.''
Fortuitous timing for Old Dominion, I'd say, the redeeming announcement of field hockey captain Samantha Salvia's Rhodes Scholarship on the heels of the university's vote to tighten its woefully slack admissions standards. Reportedly, though, athletes won't be subject to the stiffer scale. I wonder why. I suspect Salvia wonders that, too. . . .
The impressive work the people of Stonewall Jackson High School in Manassas did to furiously whip a snow-covered football field into readiness so Indian River could win the Division 6 championship last Saturday should serve as an example for area schools that host title games. The teams' nicknames were even printed in color in the end zones. Nice touch. Remember, Stonewall Jackson was just the host. Its team wasn't even playing. . . . Speaking of that game, it bugs me that Indian River chose not to have its players run onto the field individually during pregame introductions. Something insulting about that. C.D. Hylton took advantage of that perk, a little extra treat its kids will remember. . . .
Trena Trice, who starred at Deep Creek and North Carolina State, was named a 1995-96 all-star in the Italian women's basketball league . . . .
Let's hope somebody or something shakes Tony Morrison into realizing the rare opportunity he's blowing at Virginia Tech. Wretched behavior by the sophomore from Indian River got him suspended for the Sugar Bowl. Waiting for Morrison to grow up might already have pushed Tech's patience too far. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
Gymnast Lauri Illy's parents declared bankruptcy a month ago, but
they remain financially committed to her Olympic dream.
by CNB