Notables

Western Maryland captured its second straight Lady Spartan Classic Championship with a 67-53 victory over the host York.

The Green Terror outrebounded York 53-44 and forced the Spartans into shooting 29.7% from the floor. Individually for Western Maryland, Sophomore Jill Ibex led all scorers with 20 points on the afternoon while Tournament MVP Kathi Snyder dropped in 13 and led the team with nine rebounds. Sophomore Patty Russo earned herself All-Tournament accolades after a 12-point, five-assist afternoon.

Western Maryland (2-0) has now won five titles in the 12-year history of the tournament.

Wittenberg's women and Wooster's men were tabbed as the favorites in voting by coaches and media at the NCAC media day. Wittenberg received 15 of 21 first-place votes from the media and eight of nine from the coaches to outdistance Denison.

"It's always an honor to receive this type of preseason recognition," says 13th-year Wittenberg coach Pam Evans-Smith. "What really matters, though, is being there to receive the championship trophy at the end of the season."

Wooster earned 26 first-place votes in the men's balloting, 18 of 21 from the media and eight of nine from the coaches. Wittenberg was second in both polls. "We enter every season with the intention of winning a conference championship," says 12th-year Wooster coach Steve Moore. "This year is no different. I think our team will welcome the additional challenge of being the preseason favorite."

Salem State is the unanimous pick to win the MASCAC women's title, while Bridgewater State won by a narrow margin on the men's side. The Bears edged out Salem, Worcester State, and Massachusetts College in balloting in which all four received first-place votes.

SSC has captured eight consecutive regular-season titles while compiling a 91-5 conference record during that span. Salem State's women have won the past five MASCAC titles.

Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference coaches picked Trinity's men's team to repeat as conference champs, and conference newcomer DePauw on the women's side.

Even though it has not played a single SCAC game, DePauw apparently will take no one by surprise as the Tigers received five of the ten coaches' first-place votes. Southwestern, the defending conference champion and the coaches' second choice, received three first-place votes. Hendrix and Trinity each received one first-place vote.

On the men's side, Trinity was tabbed the overwhelming favorite to capture their second consecutive conference crown as the Tigers received nine of the ten coaches' first-place votes. Rose-Hulman, another newcomer, received the other first-place vote.

Greg Sutton is coming out early and ready to turn pro at the end of the fall semester.

A Division III basketball player turning pro before his senior season? Details in Jim Stout's Northeast Notebook.

Practice can begin Saturday, Oct. 24, and the Wooster Scots are starting the season off in style. The Scots will tip off their practice schedule with a fun-filled, prize-loaded Midnight Madness celebration on Friday, Oct. 23, at Timken Gymnasium.

The event begins at 11:15 p.m., with a "Get the Gators" pep rally to support the Scot football team, which will host Allegheny in a key North Coast Athletic Conference matchup the following day. Afterwards, students can compete for prizes, as well as door prizes for everything from pizza to second-semester books.

At midnight, the Scot basketball team will take center court, with player introductions, a three-point shootout and a slam dunk contest.

Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology's men look to continue their winning tradition as a first-year member of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference.

The Engineers have forged a solid tradition in the 1990s, claiming two ICAC championships and making two NCAA tournament appearances. Senior Bryan Egli has emerged as Rose-Hulman's floor leader. Egli averaged an ICAC-high 21.9 points and 3.7 rebound per game last season. Help is available from fellow senior ICAC first-team representative Sam Johnson, a 6-7 center who scored 9.6 points per game last season. Senior forward Matt Millington and guard Joe Puthoff bring considerable experience to the starting lineup.

Millington averaged 8.0 points and 3.7 rebounds per game, while Puthoff made two buzzer-beating three-point shots to defeat nationally ranked Illinois Wesleyan and Hanover. This season, as the Engineers move into the SCAC after their fourth consecutive winning season, the stakes have only been set higher.

Diane Williams, an assistant coach and administrator at Rochester, has been named head women's basketball coach at Nazareth. Williams, who served as assistant coach at UR last year, replaces Mike Decillis, who compiled a 240-123 record in 14 seasons at Nazareth. Decillis left to become head coach at Canisius.

Williams is a graduate of Geneseo State, where she was the basketball team's most valuable player for two years. Her most recent coaching assignments were as an assistant coach at Rochester Tech for the 1996-97 season and at UR last year. She takes over a program that reached the NCAA Tournament six times under Decillis.

"I'm looking forward to coming to Nazareth," Williams said. "There's a lot of talent already in place and I'd like to continue to build upon the winning tradition there."

It's not uncommon for Division III programs, especially successful ones, to play a game or two against Division I competition. But it's rare for the top Division I teams to play down two levels.

The Jan. 2 game between Ripon and Utah was scheduled as a result of the close relationship between Gillespie and Utah coach Ric Majerus. Majerus, a long-time friend of Gillespie, invited the Red Hawks to play his Runnin' Utes almost one year ago.

"I consider Ric the best coach in America," said Gillespie. "We are so fortunate to be able to have this once in a lifetime opportunity, and it's all due to (Ric)."

Utah was the runner-up in last April's D-I title game. Ripon finished 23-2 and went to the D-III tournament.

"No matter what happens, this is going to be a once-in-a-lifetime thing for our kids," Gillespie told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "The score, that's not the important thing. Win, lose or draw, our kids will never forget it."

There aren't many Division III basketball facilities run by a professional management corporation. Then again, there aren't many Division III basketball facilities like Western Connecticut State's William A. O'Neill Athletic and Convocation Center.

With that in mind, the NCAA selected the sparkling 2,700-seat O'Neill Center in Danbury, Conn., as the predetermined venue for its 1999 women's Division III championship final. The 1999 event will mark the first predetermined site for the women's Final Four.

Since the introduction of the women's tournament for Division III in 1982, the semifinal round and national championship game have been hosted by one of the competing institutions. Check out the full story in Jim Stout's Northeast Notebook.