THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, April 21, 1996 TAG: 9604210239
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C10 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KEVIN DOEPP, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 71 lines
Mitch Brindley has news for people who don't consider college sailing a sport.
``To be a good college sailor you have to have athletic ability and a lot of experience,'' said the first-year Old Dominion sailing coach. ``You have to have grace on the boat on windy days and you have to be agile. The playing field is always moving. Everything constantly changes.''
A former two-time national champion with the Monarchs, Brindley is off to a good start as coach. ODU has qualified for the Intercollegiate Yacht Racing Association championships to be held in Wisconsin June 6-8.
ODU is competing for two other national titles: the Intercollegiate Yacht Racing Association Dinghy (three-person) and the ICYRA Women's championships.
Brindley served under former ODU head coach K.C. Fullmer for four years.
``K.C started a great program here,'' Brindley said. ``I just want to continue with his reign and make my own mark. This semester we have been improving every weekend.''
There are no scholarships for college sailing. And with most of Brindley's sailors coming from out of state, tuition is costly. One of Brindley's selling points is that ODU is right on the water.
``We have 16 boats that we just roll right down the ramp and into the water,'' Brindley said. ``Other schools might have to drive 20 minutes or so just to practice. That is pretty impressive for us and it is a big recruiting tool.''
One of Brindley's top sailors this season is junior Rob Ragsdale from First Colonial High. Brindley says Ragsdale never competed as a sailor until he was spotted by other skippers who asked him if he wanted to join the team.
``He is a very competitive sailor,'' Brindley said. ``He has the desire and is a great athlete. He has been a tremendous asset to the program this season.''
MONARCHS REPORT: Field hockey standout Samantha Salvia was named to the first team GTE/ CoSIDA Academic All-American squad. Salvia will graduate in May with a 4.0 GPA in Environmental Engineering. She ranked fourth in the nation in assists with 22 this season. . . . Freshman swimmer Mary Kay Bolduc was named CAA Women's Rookie and Swimmer of the Year. Freshman Kenneth MacFayden was named CAA Men's Rookie. Head coach Carol Withus was named CAA Coach of the Year.
MARLINS SOCCER: The Virginia Wesleyan men's soccer team won last weekend's West Chester (Pa.) State University 11-a-side soccer tournament. The Marlins beat Bucknell in a penalty kick shootout after a 2-2 score in regulation in the championship game. Nate Hatcher scored the game-winning penalty kick and goalkeeper Scott Morgenroth saved two kicks to preserve the win. The Marlins beat Villanova 2-0, Maryland-Baltimore County 2-0 and Elizabethtown College 1-0 to get to the championship match. Morgenroth was named tournament MVP.
ALUMNI REPORT: Sophomore Derek Lindsay (Princess Anne) is batting .301 for the Western Michigan baseball team. He has appeared in all 32 games, has scored 14 runs and leads the team with 19 RBIs and three home runs. . . . Tonya Williams (Norview) finished second in the 100-meter hurdles at the Sports Festival Invitational at the University of Illinois, running an NCAA automatic qualifying time of 13.19. . . . Frank Van Deman (Cox), a University of Virginia student who ran in last Monday's Boston Marathon, finished at 2,492 in the 39-under-division with a time of 3:09.32. ILLUSTRATION: ODU sailors, under first-year coach Mitch Brindley, will compete
in three national meets.
by CNB