Equestrian rider from Beach takes a big leap
In collegiate equestrian competition, Alyssa Roberts of Virginia Beach is among the best you’ll see.
Roberts, a Randolph-Macon junior, was named the Cacchione Cup Rider by being the Open division competitor with the most points for the year in Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association Zone 4, Region 4. She earned a berth in the Zone Finals at Goucher College in Baltimore, where she can compete for the national Cacchione Cup.
At the region finals in Lynchburg on Feb. 25, Roberts won the Open Fences class. She was one of six Yellow Jackets at that gathering, and their roster shows 28 competitors.
The IHSA says it has more than 400 member colleges. It was established in 1967 by Bob Cacchione, then an 18-year-old sophomore attending Farleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey. At IHSA events, horses are provided by host colleges and are chosen by drawing lots.
Smart and fast: Georgia graduate student Callie Dickinson, a Norfolk Academy alumna from Virginia Beach, was one of seven Bulldogs, male or female, named to the College Sports Communicators Swimming & Diving Academic All-District Team.
According to georgiadogs.com, Dickinson holds a 4.0 grade-point average as she pursues a master’s degree in Comparative Biomedical Sciences, following a 3.92 in her undergraduate career. At this season’s SEC championships, she earned a silver medal in the 200 butterfly and bronze in the 800 freestyle relay. She and her teammates will be headed back to the NCAA championships March 15 in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Statistical stunner: Many college basketball fans know that Detroit Mercy’s Antoine Davis fell four points shy of breaking Pete Maravich’s all-time NCAA scoring record of 3,667 points. That prompted an eye-popping comment from ESPN’s Bill Walton, an all-time great who often strays off-topic during his adventures as an eclectic color commentator. He did an interview about it late last year at fadeawayworld.net.
There was no 3-point line when Maravich averaged about 44 points per game in three LSU seasons during the late 1960s. Walton said Dale Brown, who coached LSU well after Maravich played there, charted games and deduced that Pistol Pete averaged 13 3-point baskets per game. That would have given him a career average — AVERAGE! — of 57 points per game under today’s rules.
What’s coming up
Monday: There are VHSL state basketball semifinals around the area, including a Class 5 doubleheader at Newport News’ Heritage High. It will feature the Princess Anne girls against defending champion Menchville and the Maury boys against Woodside . ... Apprentice School’s baseball team faces Bryant & Stratton at 2 p.m. at Trant Field in Virginia Beach.
Tuesday: Old Dominion, which had won eight baseball games in a row entering Saturday, and Norfolk State clash at 3 p.m . ... Christopher Newport, which moved into the Division III baseball rankings at No. 18 after an excellent start, plays host to Lynchburg at 2 p.m.
Wednesday: CNU’s men’s lacrosse team, having risen to No. 2 in Division III, plays host to St. John Fisher of Rochester, New York, at 4 p.m. at Jennings Family Stadium . ... ODU’s women’s lacrosse team hosts nationally ranked Richmond at noon.
Thursday: Defending NCAA softball champion CNU’s participation in the Cross Bay Bash begins with a 3 p.m. home game versus Pfeiffer . ... Virginia Wesleyan’s baseball team welcomes
Penn State Harrisburg for a 3 p.m. game.
Friday: William & Mary’s baseball squad, which scored 33 runs in one game last weekend against Marist, begins a CAA series with a 3 p.m. game against the College of Charleston . ... Trine’s softball team plays at Virginia Wesleyan at 3 in the Cross Bay Bash.