VMI Cyber Corps

Alumni and Friends of VMI:

The Corps Continues to Distinguish Itself: The following article appeared in the April 5 edition of the Richmond Times Dispatch.

More than 130 years ago, cadets from Virginia Military Institute volunteered in Petersburg at the Battle of the Crater.

This weekend, history repeats itself.

About 270 VMI cadets arrived Friday night to volunteer again, this time to help spruce up Petersburg National Battlefield Park.

The cadets will work through Tuesday on projects that National Park Service staff members haven't had the time or resources to get done, said Park Ranger Tracy Chernault.

"They're mostly backlogged maintenance projects that we would like to have done but never had the time to do," Chernault said.

After the work is finished Tuesday morning, the cadets will be treated to an awards luncheon and tours of the 2,700 acres of park land, stretching from Hopewell's City Point Unit at the confluence of the James and Appomattox rivers down to the main park area in Petersburg at state Route 36.

Chernault said park staff and VMI officials have been planning the spring work project for about six months, determining what needed to be done and how to make it happen.

Along the way, about a dozen local businesses have donated thousands of dollars worth of material for park repairs and food for the Tuesday luncheon.

In addition, Fort Lee is providing living quarters and meals for the group, Chernault added.

VMI senior Gardner Mundy, who hails from Richmond, said cadets are required to participate in field-training exercises each semester, either through the institute or with one of the service branches such as the U.S. Army if the cadet plans to be commissioned.

In the past, projects have ranged from community service to field-day exercises, usually around the Lexington area, where VMI is located, Mundy added.

"This is the first time we've moved such a huge group of people to one place for something like this," Mundy said.

He and VMI Junior Michael Wilson, a 21-year-old Midlothian resident, are helping Chernault coordinate and answer public and media inquiries about the project.

Yesterday's bone-chilling wind and steady rain led project coordinators to stop work in the afternoon, after only five hours' work.

But by that time, more than 20 park maintenance and repair projects -- trail building, fence repairs, underbrush removal and exhibit installation and the like -- had been started by work crews of from four to 80 cadets.

"Actually, we've gotten a lot of work done this morning," said Chernault. "We would love to have had sunny, 70-degree weather this weekend, but it didn't work out. We didn't want to ruin anybody for the rest of the weekend. You don't want anybody reaching a point of hypothermia, since it is so cold and so wet today."

Wilson said the cadets are scheduled to rise again this morning at 5:30, get chow and hit the park trails to resume work early.

He said he didn't expect the cadets would be looking to get too wild on a Saturday night around the Tri-Cities area, what with early reveille and losing an hour of sleep to Daylight Saving Time.

"Most of the guys," Wilson said, "are just going to want to hit the rack pretty early, probably."

New Website: Seems the class of '01 (no, not 1901...2001) has a website. You can check it out at:
http://www.npg.si.edu/exh/marshall/index.htm

From the VMI Athletic Department:

Lacrosse schedule change:
April 22 against Limestone has been moved to 3:30 at Patchin Field

Keydets split with Wildcats; Barrow hurls gem, April 15, 1998 (April 16)

(From Davidson Sports Information) - The Davidson Wildcats had to mount
a comeback in the second game of a doubleheader against VMI in order to
win 9-7 and salvage a split. In the first game, the Cats' ran into
Keydet righthander Wes Barrow who mowed through the Davidson lineup,
throwing a three-hit shutout in the 11-0 VMI victory.
S. C. Championships get under way Friday (April 16)
The VMI men's track team will open its defense of the outdoor team title
when the Southern Conference Outdoor Track Championships get underway
Friday morning at the Read Memorial Track at Alumni Memorial Stadium.

TENNIS RESULTS Georgia Southern 5 VMI 2, April 11, 1998 (April 16)
TENNIS RESULTS UTC 7 VMI 0 , April 10, 1998 (April 16)
Southern Conference Golf Championships April 13-14, 1998 (April 16)
•Keydets take two from Appalachian State, April 10, 1998 (April 13)
Grayson Craun strikes out 15 in second game to lead Keydets to
doubleheader sweep

LEXINGTON, Va. -- Keydet pitchers fanned 24 Appalachian State batters
over two games to lead VMI to a doubleheader sweep of the Mountaineers,
in Southern Conference baseball action this afternoon in Lexington.
•Keydets fall to Appalachian State, April 11, 1998 (April 13)
VMI's comeback falls short, as the Mountaineers score two in the ninth
to ensure victory

LEXINGTON, Va. -- Two Appalachian State runs in the top of the ninth
padded a one-run lead, and allowed the Mountaineers to escape Lexington
with an 8-5 victory over VMI, in Southern Conference baseball action
this afternoon at VMI's Patchin Field.

•VMI lacrosse notches 9-6 win over Marist, March 17, 1998 (April 13)
LEXINGTON, Va. -- Get to bed early. Get focused on the game. Get plenty
of sleep.Eat good meals before the game. It's the standard,
take-two-aspirin-and-call-me-in-the-morning prescription given to every
team, regardless of the sport, by their coach for the 24 hours before a
game.

•VMI overwhelms Siena 17-8 in lacrosse, April 10, 1998 (April 13)
Keydets explode for eight goals in the fourth quarter on their way to
the win

LEXINGTON, Va. -- VMI tallied eight goals in the fourth quarter and
cruised to a 17-8 victory over Siena College, in lacrosse action this
afternoon at VMI's Patchin Field in Lexington.

•VMI track wins Lou Onesty Invitational, April 11, 1998 (April 13)
VMI Track couldn't have asked for a better time to peak on the eve of
the Southern Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships this
weekend.
•Tennis drops three So. Con. road matches March 27, 28, & 30, 1998
(April 13)
VMI dropped three matches last weekend, on a Southern Conference road
swing through the Carolinas.

•Track competes at the N.C. State Raleigh Relays, March 27, 28, 1998
(April 13)
Several Keydet track and field athletes turned in personal best times at
this weekend's Raleigh Relays, which took place on Friday and Saturday
at North Carolina State University in Raleigh.

•Track competes at Tech tri-meet, April 5, 1998 (April 9)
Blacksburg, VA - Both women and men's VMI track squad members competed
in a tri-meet Saturday afternoon at Virginia Tech.
•Baseball wins one of three against the Bucks, April 4 &5, 1998 (April
9)
•TENNIS RESULTS: VMI 7 West Virginia Wesleyan 0 - April 4, 1998 (April
9)
•TENNIS RESULTS: Citadel 6 VMI 1 - April 5, 1998 (April 9)
•TENNIS RESULTS: VMI 7 Fairmont St. 0 - April 6, 1998 (April 9)
•TENNIS RESULTS: VMI 6 Davis & Elkins 1 - April 7, 1998 (April 9)
Sports' Info. Dir.
---------------

VIRGINIA MILITARY INSTITUTE
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
APRIL13,1998

OBI EZEKWE

Men's Sprints, Triple Jump, Long Jump
Senior/Colonial Heights, VA (Thomas Dale H.S.)
VMI track standout Obi Ezekwe ha been named VMI Athlete-of-the-Week for
April 13 as selected by the Sports Information Office.
Ezekwe captured both the 100-meter dash and triple jump to help propel
VMI to a first place finish in the Lou Onesty Invitational held last
Saturday at the University of Virginia.

Ezekwe was the meet's only double winner as he ran the 100-meter race in
a time of 10.85 - keying a VMI sweep of the top three spots in the
event. Ezekew also won the triple jump with a wiining attempt of
48'.05".

The VMI men's team claimed five events in winning the meet. The team
hopes to keep the momentum going as it hosts the Southern Conference
Indoor and Outdoor Track Championships Friday and Saturday at the Read
Memorial Track at Alumni Memorial Stadium.

Ezewe becomes the second consecutive track athlete to win the athlete of
the week award. Hammer thrower Kelly Sullivan was honored last week for
her performance in the Virginia Tech tri-meet.
Previous Selections
Sept. 22Joe Smith (Men's Cross Country)
Sept. 29Rachel Love (Women's Cross Country)
Oct. 6Rich Daughtridge (Soccer)
Oct. 13Mike Harris (Football)
Nov. 3Joe Smith (Cross Country)
Nov. 17 Tremayne Austin (Wrestling)
Nov. 24 Leslie Apedoe (Wrestling)
Dec. 8 Eric Samaritoni (Swimming)
Jan. 27 Jordan Brandon (Indoor Track)
Mar. 9 Josh Spradlin (Baseball)
Mar. 16 Mason Ayers (Lacrosse)
Mar. 23 Ian Ostland (Baseball)
April 6 Kelly Sullivan (Track)
April 13 Obi Ezekwe (Track)

Congratulations to Hollins: Seems Hollins College has achieved university status and will soon be know as Hollins University. An excerpt from a recent Roanoke Times article states:

Hollins leaders hope the name change, which will take effect July 1,
will bring a positive change to the school's enrollment, fund-raising
efforts and image. The university designation will help Hollins promote
existing graduate programs and create new ones, they say.

And Meanwhile...A Tad North and East up at the UNSA....:

The following was contained in the Washington Post:

Endurance Test Planned for Plebes

Freshmen at the U.S. Naval Academy are undergoing a tough new challenge
today that could make their lives a little easier in the long run.

"Sea Trials" is a 12-hour endurance course modeled after the 54-hour
"Crucible," which caps off the Marine Corps officer candidate school.

Grouped into 10-member squads, plebes will run obstacle courses and
relay races, undergo navigation drills and swimming exercises, and take
exams on military knowledge and history -- all designed to test the
physical, mental and teamwork skills they are supposed to learn in their
first year at the academy.

"No one thing is so difficult that it's going to kill you," said Michael
Wisecup, a senior who helped design Sea Trials. "But the whole gamut is
going to synergize into a very difficult challenge."

Depending on how the plebes perform, academy officials said, they may
decide to relieve them of some of their humbling plebe chores -- such as
marching through the hallways or reciting technical information on
demand -- for the rest of the school year.

And One Last Item for This Week: I've been monitoring the Electronic Turnouts on the VMI Alumni website. A couple folks have recently been discussing what, if any, actions that have been taken to address the 17 football program related recommendations that I posted previously. I will try and run down some more specifics as to what has been\is being done relative to those recommendations. I'll try and post this information next week.

That's it for this week.

Yours in the Spirit,
RB Lane '75

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