THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, October 16, 1996 TAG: 9610160575
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY VICKI L. FRIEDMAN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 81 lines
If Old Dominion junior Nyree Roberts seemed a tad glum during Monday night's midnight madness hoopla, it is only because she has not been cleared to practice with her Lady Monarch teammates. Roberts underwent arthroscopic surgery Aug. 4, on her left knee and is still recovering.
``It wasn't hurting until after the season,'' said Roberts, who battled mild arthritis in the same knee last year. ``I can't even play tonight and I really wanted to play. I feel like an outsider.''
The 6-foot-3 forward spent the summer working camps, visiting relatives in her Jersey City, N.J., home and playing pickup ball with the women's players from Seton Hall.
ODU coach Wendy Larry lists Roberts, who started 24 games last year, as ``day-to-day.'' Roberts' rehab includes two hours a day in the pool, on the bike and on a stair machine.
It's a familiar routine for senior Angie Liston. Liston has battled chronic knee problems for the past three years and expects nothing to be different this season.
``I'm going to try to suck it in. This is my senior season, and I really, really want to play,'' Liston stressed.
Liston, a 6-6 center, said she thinks she can fill the spot left open by Esther Benjamin. ``Esther and I have a similar way of playing,'' she said. ``We both have an outside shot and Clarisse (Machanguana) and Nyree are more inside players. We don't have many big post players who can shoot from the outside.''
AWARDS ALREADY: Colonial Athletic Association player of the year Ticha Penicheiro is racking up more honors this year. Street & Smith magazine selected the senior point guard to its first-team preseason All-American squad while teammate Machanguana was honorable mention.
Penicheiro spent the summer playing for the Portuguese national team, which reached the semifinals of the European Championships after the team's first-ever win over Sweden. Despite not having much of a break, she's psyched for the season. ``I'm ready,'' she said. ``Unfortunately I missed two weeks of preseason conditioning because they took my tonsils out.''
NO. 1? Preseason polls have looked favorably upon the Lady Monarchs, who finished 29-3 last season with a final Associated Press ranking of No. 6. Street & Smith and Athlon Magazine lists them at No. 8; Big 12 Handbook at No. 6. But Preview Sports Magazine ranks them as the top team in the country. The other three magazines give the No. 1 spot to Stanford. The preseason AP poll is due out in early November.
Coaches don't normally pay much attention to polls, but Larry said it was nice to see her team garnering such early respect. ``They're experienced enough players to know that there's only one poll that counts,'' she said. ``It's a great ego boost, but it doesn't have anything to do with what we have to do.''
PRIORITIES: What does ODU have to do this season? LaToya Small, a junior college transfer from Pensacola, says the Lady Monarchs have four missions.
Win the preseason NWIT.
Win a sixth straight CAA crown.
Return to the Sweet 16 for the second consecutive year.
Win a national title.
The spirited Small said she dreamed of coming to a Division I, top-10 program.
``I came here to have an immediate impact,'' she said. ``I feel like I can do a lot as far as rebounding and defense.''
SHE'S BACK: ODU's season opener is against George Washington in the first round of the WNIT on Nov. 15.
Before that the Lady Monarchs will play a couple of exhibitions, including a Nov. 10 date with Athletes in Action.
Listed on the AIA roster?
Nancy Lieberman-Cline, a three-time All-American at ODU.
Lieberman-Cline is getting into shape for the WNBA, the women's professional league backed by the NBA that will debut next summer. ILLUSTRATION: HUY NGUYEN
The Virginian-Pilot
Nyree Roberts waits in the shadows, along with Angie Liston, right,
for introductions during the Lady Monarchs' midnight madness. by CNB