Tommies take in Cuban diamonds

Many college baseball teams seek out a warm spot for their exhibition games this time of the year, but a few end up visiting a communist country.

The University of St. Thomas (Minnesota) baseball team had quite an adventure in Cuba in January when it became one of the few college baseball teams from the United States ever to travel to Havana.

Tommies head coach Dennis Denning, three assistant coaches and 21 players were among the 50-person contingent from St. Thomas to make the trip.

Few American teams have traveled to the communist nation since Fidel Castro came to power in 1959. University officials believe that St. Thomas is the first collegiate team to play in Cuba since Johns Hopkins University played there in 1986. (The Baltimore Orioles traveled to Cuba and played an exhibition game in 1999.)

The Tommies' seven-day cultural exchange in Cuba included two exhibition games with the University of Havana.

The Tommies won the first game, 7-0, scoring six runs in the top of the eighth inning. More than 6,000 fans attended the game. Castro apparently did not attend, although it was rumored that he came to the game.

The second game two days later was a 10-1 victory for St. Thomas, which allowed only one run and seven hits in both exhibition contests.

The games were a byproduct of an ongoing relationship established in recent years between officials at St. Thomas and the University of Havana. Several faculty exchanges and visits have taken place, with more planned for the future.

"I'm particularly pleased that during this time of political tension between our two countries, the students of the University of Havana and the students of the University of St. Thomas can engage in this expression of friendship and solidarity," said Dennis Dease, president of St. Thomas.

St. Thomas officials said one goal of the trip was to help students understand a different way of life.

And even though they were somewhat sheltered during the trip, the students still had the chance to see the vast poverty in the country and how that poverty had affected Cuba's people.

Senior catcher Tom Wilberg noticed that the Cubans made the best of what they had, even when that meant using an old fishing net to construct a screen for protecting pitchers during batting practice.

"When you have as much as we do, you always want to have the best -- the fastest car, the fastest computer," Wilberg said. "But when you don't have much, you just have to adjust, you have to be inventive. The creativity and ingenuity we use to improve is the same creativity and ingenuity (they use) to make the most out of what they have."

NACWAA/HERS Institute

The National Association of Collegiate Women Athletic Administrators will hold the annual NACWAA/HERS Institute for Administrative Advancement June 17-23.

The institute is a one-week residential program providing training in the management of intercollegiate athletics programs. Special attention will be given to financial planning, information technology, policy implementation, decision-making processes, leadership skills and strategies for professional development in intercollegiate athletics.

Potential attendees for the institute are women who seek increased administrative responsibilities in intercollegiate athletics.

The fee is $2,000.

For more information, contact the NACWAA national office at 910/793-8244 or visit the NACWAA Web site at www.nacwaa.org. E-mail inquiries should be directed to nacwaa-hers@nacwaa.org.

No lid on that basket

The St. Norbert College men's basketball team set an NCAA all-divisions record with 89.8 percent field-goal shooting as the Green Knights won at Grinnell College, 137-126.

St. Norbert hit 44 of 49 from the floor, a performance that broke the previous record held by Lake Forest College, which shot 89.1 percent (33 of 37), also against Grinnell, January 16, 1998.

The two teams also combined for a Division III record 80 fouls, 46 by Grinnell and 34 by St. Norbert.

--Compiled by Kay Hawes

Looking back

5 years ago: The NCAA Football Rules Committee proposes a "sportsmanship summit" to help coaches, players and officials reach a clearer understanding of which actions should be penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct. The committee also takes immediate action to penalize players for removing their helmets on the field and to eject players for a second unsportsmanlike foul in one game. The committee also votes to use a tiebreaker system in bowl games for the 1995 season. (The NCAA News, February 15, 1995)

10 years ago: The NCAA Presidents Commission sets time demands placed on student-athletes as its primary focus for 1990. The Commission agrees to take steps to reduce time demands on student-athletes in sports other than football and basketball -- while preserving the actions taken in regard to football and basketball at the 1990 Convention -- by issuing a call for proposals from student-athletes from sports other than football or basketball regarding ways to reduce time demands. (The NCAA News, February 14, 1990)

15 years ago: The NCAA's Long-Range Planning Committee takes a look at amateurism as one of the topics deserving attention for the coming year. The group supports the traditional NCAA principle of amateurism, noting that any marked departure from those rules in the future would diminish or eliminate the concept of the student-athlete and result in a lessening of the traditional resolve to maintain athletics as part of education. (The NCAA News, February 13, 1985)