DATE: Thursday, March 27, 1997              TAG: 9703270532

SECTION: FRONT                   PAGE: A1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY ED MILLER, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: NORFOLK                           LENGTH:   75 lines

FAN-TASTIC: ODU FAITHFUL PACK UP FOR CINCINNATI

All Shirley Glover wanted for Christmas was a trip to the women's Final Four.

On Monday night, the Old Dominion University women's basketball team was kind enough to accommodate her, overcoming a Scrooge-like performance by the University of Florida Lady Gators in the NCAA Mideast Regional final.

``They were nasty,'' Glover said. ``I've never seen such elbow-slinging in all my life.''

Spoken like a true ODU fan.

Glover has been a die-hard one since 1981. Tonight she and her husband Gordon and three friends will pile into a 1995 Dodge Caravan to begin a trip they've waited years to make. Their destination: Cincinnati, where ODU will face Stanford in one of the semifinal games Friday night.

Glover, assistant dean of ODU's College of Health Science, is one of about 600 ODU fans making the trek. They're going by plane, by bus, and by car.

``I think half the fun is getting there with a good bunch of people,'' said Glover, who lives in Norfolk.

Carolyn Disparti, a Lady Monarchs fan from Portsmouth, could not agree more. She's leaving tonight on chartered bus that will drive all night.

``It's a going to be a lot of fun, a party, a buildup,'' she said. ``Some of us may sleep, but some of us probably won't be able to. We'll all be functioning on adrenaline, I'm sure.''

Many of ODU's fans have been functioning that way since the win over Florida put the Lady Monarchs in their first Final Four since 1985. Glover, a fan since 1981, had told her husband to ``hold off on the Christmas presents'' last December. All she really wanted was a trip to the Queen City.

Florida nearly dropped a lump of coal in Glovers' stocking by rallying in the final minutes before losing 53-51. ODU did not score in the game's final 6:35, and had to hold on for dear life.

But that's been largely forgotten in the anticipation of Cincinnati.

``I think the excitement is very reminiscent of the late 1970s,'' said Norfolk's Judy Bowman, a season-ticket holder since that era, when the Lady Monarchs won two national titles, in 1979 and 1980. ``It's brought excitement back to the field house and to the campus.''

Bowman's husband, Jerry, owns the Caravan that will transport them and the Glovers to Cincinnati. They're planning to stop overnight in Beckley, W.Va., and continue Friday morning.

The Bowmans should have some company on the road. While one busload and one planeload of ODU fans are heading to Ohio, many are opting for the flexibility and freedom of driving themselves. The downtown Norfolk office of AAA reported Wednesday that about 30 fans had stopped in to request maps, hotel and travel information.

``We have run out of our Ohio tourbooks,'' an employee said. ``It's been very busy. Summer busy.''

ODU was allotted 600 ticket books by the NCAA. The books cost $75 and are good for Friday's semifinals and Sunday's championship game.

Barbara Meade, assistant ticket manager, said callers were being placed on a waiting list Wednesday afternoon. Meade said she was waiting to hear how many tickets team members would need for friends and family. Each team member is allotted four tickets. Any leftover tickets will be sold.

``It looks very slim that we'll have any,'' Meade said.

People have called from California, Ohio, New Hampshire, Kansas and Texas looking for tickets. Some are alumni, others are merely trying to get tickets from any of the four schools in the tournament.

``Out-of-towners are placed in a separate pile,'' Meade said. ``We'll take care of the hometowners first.''

The ODU ticket office offered a bus package for $350 that includes transportation, tickets and hotel accommodations for two nights.

Sam and Virginia Wiseman, longtime fans from Portsmouth, opted to fly. For $630, fans get airfare, tickets and a hotel room.

Wiseman has been a fan for more than 20 years. But she's never been to a Final Four.

``I've met the plane when they returned, and I've sent them off,'' she said. ``This is more exciting.'' ILLUSTRATION: [B&W photo]

[GAME SCHEDULE]

Send Suggestions or Comments to webmaster@scholar.lib.vt.edu