THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 10, 1996 TAG: 9603100186
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C15 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KEVIN DOEPP, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 85 lines
Old Dominion women's lacrosse coach Sue Stahl characterizes this year's team in one word.
Young.
After losing six seniors from last year's CAA championship team, Stahl hopes that some of the young players can step right in.
``I think that we're ready right now,'' Stahl said. ``We are going to be inexperienced and throughout the season we are going to have great highs and lows. They (the freshmen) must have confidence in themselves.''
Some of Stahl's experienced players include Anne Windover, Dana Kuchta and Amy Baumgartner.
Windover, a senior attacker, led the Lady Monarchs with 30 goals. She has 127 goals in three seasons at ODU.
Kuchta, a senior attacker, is another scoring threat. She scored 20 goals and added 21 assists. Baumgartner, a senior midfielder, netted 14 goals and can shoot with either hand.
Some of the talent younger players are junior midfielder Stacia Hepburn, junior midfielder Donyelle Pulliams and sophomore goalie Angie Stead.
Hepburn scored three goals and had three assists last season. She also won 27 draw controls and started every game. Pulliams scored a goal and had one assist last year, starting in all 17 games.
Stead has the toughest position on the field. Last year she had 48 saves and gave up 43 goals in 12 games.
``The goalie is a real important position in lacrosse,'' Stahl said. ``I think she (Stead) is ready.''
Entering her sixth season as head coach, Stahl's teams have gradually progressed - going from a 2-11 record in 1991 to 10-7 and a conference championship last season.
``Last year was special for those girls,'' Stahl said. ``It was a good culmination event and it brought us to a new level. We are just going to have to take it one game at a time and worry about this year's team.''
There are numerous nationally ranked opponents on the ODU schedule, including James Madison, William and Mary, Loyola, Md., Virginia, Penn State, Maryland and Temple.
``It is a tough schedule,'' Stahl said. ``It is a lot for the girls, but they prefer to play a hard schedule so we know where we stand.''
After playing at Virginia this weekend, ODU will have its home opener Saturday at 11:30 a.m. as part of the Hampton Roads lacrosse doubleheader. Princeton and North Carolina will face off in a men's match at 2 p.m.
ALUMNI REPORT: Michael W. Basto III (Cape Henry), a sophomore lacrosse midfielder at Radford University, scored the winning goal in sudden-death as the Highlanders defeated St. Mary's 9-8. Basto had three goals and one assist softball with 102 RBI and 158 hits. ... Eric Geshekter (Cox) helped lead the Mary Washington tennis team to a 5-4 win over Guilford. Geshekter, playing No. 2 singles, broke serve at 5-6 in the second set and overcame two match points in the tiebreaker and won 4-6, 7-6, 6-0. ... Mary Washington College's Myra Simpson (Kellam) went 36-10 in the triple jump at the East Tennessee Invitational in Johnson City, Tenn. She competed in the NCAA Division III Indoor Nationals at Northampton, Mass., this weekend. ... Towson State gymnasts Erin Shanley (Princess Anne), Katherine Creswell (Menchville) and Liane Williams (Bayside) helped lead the 17th-ranked Lady Tigers to a 16-2 record and first place in the East Atlantic Gymnastics League. Shanley, a junior co-captain, is averaging 38.30 on all-around. She is the record holder on the bars with a 9.925 which she earned at the NCAA Southeast regional meet last spring. She finished first in the all-around competition in the Governor's Cup Meet as the Tigers beat Maryland and North Carolina at home. She has missed the last two meets with a back injury sustained in warmups before the Tiger Invitational on Feb. 17. Creswell, a sophomore co-captain, who was the ECAC Rookie of the Year last season, had a career-high 38.375 in the all-around at the Governor's Cup and finished second. She had a career-best 9.725 in the vault at the Tiger Invitational and a career-high 9.65 on the floor against Michigan State. Williams has been the team's top freshman. She won the all-around in her first collegiate meet at 38.95 and tied a school record in that with a 9.85 on the beam as she won the beam, vault and the floor. In her second collegiate meet, she set the school record in vault with a 9.925 score in the Tigers' win over James Madison, Rutgers and Temple. She is averaging 38.25 on the all-around, 9.71 in vault and 9.73 on the floor exercises. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Anne Windover led the ODU women's lacrosse team with 30 goals last
season.
by CNB