The NCAA News - Briefly in the News

March 3, 1997

The Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania wrestling team recently defeated Cleveland State University, 43-10, in its dual-meet season finale. After the match, however, the talk among Lock Haven wrestlers was not about the victory but rather about the dual-meet debut of senior Andy Salamone.

Salamone, who is blind, lost his match in the 134-pound bout, but he reached the more important goal of making the varsity starting lineup -- making it an emotional moment for all involved.

"It was pretty much a dream come true," Salamone said. "I've dreamed about this moment for a long time. I've always wanted to be out there in the starting lineup. I wish I could have won the match, but it still is just an incredible feeling for me."

As a child, Salamone had retina blastoma, a rare form of eye cancer. After chemotherapy and radiation treatments were unsuccessful, his eyes were surgically removed at the age of three.

"It was very emotional for me to see him out there wrestling," Lock Haven coach Carl Poff said. "When you have somebody who doesn't have something that most people take for granted, and you see him out there fulfilling a dream, it's just inspiring. He's the kind of kid who wants to try everything: drive a car, go hunting. He's done those things; now he's lived out another dream."

Flying high

Steve Smith made a splash in college, and he is doing it again in his professional career.

The former Stanford University water polo star recently returned from a journey on the space shuttle Discovery. The purpose of the mission was to make repairs on the Hubble Telescope, a task that required three spacewalks by Smith.

It was the second trip to outer space for Smith, who also was on the crew of Endeavor in 1994.

In college, Smith was more than just another player. He was part of coach Dante Dettamanti's first recruiting class at Stanford and played from 1977 through 1980, scoring 20 goals in 1979. In 1980, he captained the team to the NCAA championship, scoring 21 goals and gaining Academic All-America honors.

Smith was always talented, both athletically and academically, but his most valuable attribute may have been persistence -- a trait that paid off when he was accepted by NASA. He was turned down five times by the space agency before being accepted.

"Steve is that type of person," Dettamanti said. "He worked hard, kept a positive frame of mind and strived to meet all his goals."

Hockey humanitarian

A special award has been created in college ice hockey that recognizes not only athletics performance but also commitment to the community and academic achievements.

This is the second year for the Hockey Humanitarian Award, which this year was presented to Blake Sloan, a senior defenseman at the University of Michigan.

The award may be unique in that it seeks to identify the most well-rounded athlete in a particular sport in a given year. It is awarded by the Boston-based Hockey Humanitarian Foundation, whose goal it is to honor positive role models for today's youth.

The organization was established last year by Jeff Millman and John Greenhalgh to honor annually one hockey player who "has made a difference off the ice as well as on, to the team, the program, to the school, and the community in which the player lives."

"We were tired of watching many of today's athletes send the wrong message to our children," Millman said. "It is time to call attention to an individual who embodies all that is, and can be, right with sport."

In that regard, the selection committee made a good choice in selecting Sloan. On the ice, he is a four-year veteran defenseman. This year, he is captain of the defending NCAA Division I champions. In the classroom, he has a 3.000 grade-point average in English. He also has been active in volunteer programs encouraging reading and discouraging drug use.

The other finalists were Michael Corbett, University of Denver; Mike Noble, Brown University; April Zenisky, Amherst College; and Shawn Zimmerman, Western Michigan University.

-- Compiled by David Pickle

Looking back

5 years ago: An NCAA study designed specifically to analyze expenditures for women's and men's athletics programs indicates that while institutions of higher learning have made positive strides since the enactment of Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972 to enhance competitive opportunities for women, additional work must be done to ensure gender equity. In response, NCAA Executive Director Richard D. Schultz announces plans to form a task force to develop recommendations on how the Association should proceed. The study indicates that more money is spent on men's programs than on women's programs -- a fact explained in large degree by the finding that men's participation in intercollegiate athletics exceeds women's participation by a ratio of 2 to 1. (The NCAA News, March 11, 1992)

10 years ago: Michael Lofton of New York University wins an unprecedented fourth straight individual fencing title during the 1987 National Collegiate Men's Fencing Championships at the University of Notre Dame. Lofton completed his career-long domination of collegiate sabre competition March 16, 1987, by compiling an 18-0 record in championships competition for the second straight year. Meanwhile, in the National Collegiate Women's Fencing Championships, Caitlin Bilodeaux of Columbia University-Barnard College becomes the first woman to capture a second NCAA fencing title. (The NCAA News, March 25, 1987)

30 years ago: Athletics directors responding to an NCAA survey slightly favor increasing the number of sports in which the NCAA sponsors championships. Of sports for which there are no NCAA championships, men's lacrosse is sponsored by the largest number of institutions, but respondents slightly prefer men's volleyball over lacrosse as the sport in which they most want to establish a championship. After lacrosse and volleyball, men's water polo, rugby and handball have the most sponsorship. Interest also was expressed in the sports of bowling, crew, rifle, weightlifting, rowing and sailing. The NCAA sponsors 21 University or College Division championships in 13 sports. (NCAA News, January-February-March, 1967)