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Injuries dampen an otherwise stellar weekend at Tech

February 23, 2000
By Jimmy Robertson

When Larry Bowles rounded first, he heard two pops.

It wasn't the pop of the ball hitting the catcher's mitt. And it wasn't the pop of a ball being struck.

Instead, these pops came from within.

"My leg buckled," he said. "I knew then my ACL was gone."

Bowles is scheduled to be evaluated once the swelling goes down. But nearly everyone on Tech's training staff agreed on the diagnosis - a torn anterior cruciate ligament in the right knee for Tech's first baseman, pitcher and best all-around player. Barring something unforeseen, his season ends after one game.

"It's very disappointing," Bowles said. "But I'm ready to get started on rehab. I'll come back a better person and a better player. My knee will be stronger."

Injuries marred an otherwise great weekend for Tech. The men's and women's swimming and diving teams captured Atlantic 10 titles. The men's indoor track team won the A-10 championship. The men's basketball team disposed of longtime nemesis Xavier. The baseball team won two of three and the softball team advanced to the championship of their season-opening tournament. And the women's basketball notched a nice win at Duquesne.

But like the baseball team, the women's basketball team suffered a serious loss. Tere Williams - the best player in the Atlantic 10 according to this writer - partially tore the medial collateral ligament in her right knee and will be out until the A-10 tournament, perhaps the season.

"You've got to play with the hand you're dealt," Tech head coach Bonnie Henrickson said. "You can't mope. This is the situation. This is where we are and what we're faced with. We're not going to roll over and play dead. I can assure you of that."

Williams injured the knee when teammate Nicole Jones fell into her after trying to draw a charge. Her loss leaves an already thin team even thinner. It means senior Kim Seaver moves into the starting role - she averages 5.2 points and 2.9 rebounds compared to Williams' 15.1 points and 8.4 rebounds per game - and freshman Christina Strother becomes a key post player off the bench.

"I sat down with her [Strother] and asked her if she knew what this meant," Henrickson said. "And she said, 'It means I have to step up.' I said, 'Yes.' She needs to and so do the rest of her teammates. Each individual has to pick it up a little bit."

With 16 wins, the Hokies need to win their final two games and then one or two in the Atlantic 10 tournament to harbor any chance of getting an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. Anything less means the Hokies must win the A-10 tournament to get the bid. That's a tall task for a team without its leader.

Meanwhile, Bowles will take a medical redshirt this season and still have two years left. He actually injured the knee a couple of weeks ago in a freak off-the-field accident, slipping through some ice while fishing.

Tech's medical staff knew then he had partially torn the ligament. They fitted him with a brace, hoping the injury would heal on its own in three or four weeks. And things actually looked pretty good.

Bowles pitched in Tech's season opener against St. John's, giving up just two runs on four hits while striking out six. He helped his cause with a two-run homer and left the game with the lead, only to see the bullpen squander it.

But against Tennessee, he struck out in his first at-bat. The ball slid past the catcher, who picked it up and tried to throw Bowles out at first. The ball hit Bowles' helmet and trickled into right field. As Bowles rounded first, he heard the pop and knew his season was over.

Losing Bowles for Tech head coach Chuck Hartman and Williams for Henrickson is like football coach Frank Beamer losing Michael Vick. Or softball coach Scot Thomas losing Ashlee Dobbe. You simply don't replace those players.

"It's devastating," Hartman said. "You're talking about losing the premier player in the Atlantic 10.

"But injuries are a part of sports and you just have to carry on. We're always telling the kids that sometimes you're going to face adversity. Everyone's going to have to work a little harder."

Bowles' injury hurts the Hokies because he put up numbers on the mound and at the plate. Last season, he went 10-3 with a 4.27 ERA. In 105.1 innings, he struck out 106 and walked 28. At the plate, he hit a team-high .390 with a team-high 14 homers and 58 RBI.

It's no fluke he was the first player in Atlantic 10 history to earn all-conference honors at two positions. And his loss leaves Hartman scrambling for a pitcher first and then some additional production from the four hole.

"We're looking for someone who can pitch 80-100 innings this season," Hartman said. "Some of those young guys are going to have to step up."

Freshman Joe Saunders, Tech's most highly touted recruit, figures to be the first in line. The left-hander struck out more than 100 batters at West Springfield [Va.] High last season. Josh Davis, the son of former Chicago Cubs catcher Jody Davis, has impressed in the early going. And Hartman hinted he may move Chip Runyon from the bullpen to a starting spot.

"Joe's got more raw talent than just about anyone we've ever signed," Hartman said. "He can dominate a game. He just needs to throw strikes.

"I'm sure we'll see some inconsistency on the mound for a while. But hopefully, someone will pitch well. If I'm a pitcher, I would want to pitch for this team because we'll catch it. I think we're going to be really good defensively and that helps."

But that doesn't take away the sting from Bowles' injury, particularly considering how hard he had worked to overcome the surgery on his left elbow this past summer. He spent extra time rehabbing and was throwing well in spring practices.

And now this.

"It hasn't been the best year for me," Bowles said with a wry smile. "The last eight months have changed my outlook on things. That's for sure.

"But I'll focus on my grades and I look forward to another year. I'll work hard to get back to where I was. I'll be back next year."

Funny how things change, though. That Sunday night, everyone associated with Tech and most Tech fans felt pretty good about things.

But on Monday, after finding out the news ... Well, guess there is truth to that old saying, 'What a difference a day makes.'

A loud crowd: Give the Virginia Tech football team an assist for helping the Hokies beat Xavier. The crowd of 6,113 fans served as the largest of the season and many of them came to receive the complimentary football poster being handed out. The fans were quite vocal throughout the game and gave Tech a lift, particularly late in the game.

"We needed everybody today," Brendan Dunlop said. "They came through for us. They made it difficult for Xavier to call out their plays. They [the Musketeers] couldn't hear each other on the court and they committed some turnovers as a result."

"I thought the crowd was terrific," Tech head coach Ricky Stokes said. "They gave us some added energy when we needed it and they were with us the whole game."

Tech's previous biggest crowd came on Dec. 11 when 5,112 fans watched the Tech-Liberty game. On the season, Tech is averaging 4,013 fans per game for home games.

Dunlop delivers: In the first game against Xavier this season, Dunlop failed to score, failed to register an assist and failed to grab a rebound. In fact, the senior drew the ire of Stokes, who decided to bench Dunlop. The guard then played well off the bench for the next 11 games before re-entering the starting lineup against Rhode Island.

But Dunlop gained his own revenge against Xavier by playing one of his best games of the season. He scored 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the floor, grabbed three rebounds and dished out eight assists.

"I don't think anyone played well that game," Stokes said of Tech's first meeting with the Musketeers. "We couldn't get the ball over halfcourt. We were so timid, so afraid. But I thought Brendan handled the whole situation well and he's being playing well since then."

Dunlop has scored in double figures in Tech's past five games, averaging 14 points per game in that span. He also has at least five assists in five of Tech's past seven games.

Streaks and stuff: In addition to Dunlop's streak, Tech center Dennis Mims continued one of his. The 6-foot-9 center scored 14 points against Xavier, extending streak of scoring in double figures to 18 straight games. He has scored in double figures in all but three games this season ... Mims leads the league in blocked shots (49) and field-goal percentage (53.9) and ranks tied for fourth in rebounding (7.6) ... Roberts ranks second in the A-10 in blocks with 42 ... Tech leads the A-10 in blocked shots ... Roberts has scored in double figures in seven straight games ... In Tech's past six games, Roberts is averaging 15.3 points per game.

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Jimmy Robertson is the editor of the Hokie Huddler at Virginia Tech. The Hokie Huddler is the athletics department newspaper that is printed 33 times a year - weekly during football and basketball seasons and bi-monthly during the spring.

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