Carol Hudson Jr. '76 has had many memorable experiences in his 15 years as sports information director at Old Dominion University. A huge baseball fan, he was thrilled to meet Hank Aaron when the home run champ came to the Old Dominion baseball camp a few years back. One of his prized possessions is a picture of him Hammerin' Hank.

Hudson also worked closely with the men's basketball teams during their tournament successes through the years, including the unforgettable three-overtime victory over Villanova in the 1995 NCAA East Regional, as well as Beth Anders' field hockey teams and their eight national championships.

But nothing comes close to capturing the excitement that he experienced working with the 1996-97 women's basketball team, Hudson says.

That squad, led by Ticha Penicheiro, Clarisse Machanguana and Mery Andrade, advanced to the women's Final Four in Cincinnati, losing to Tennessee in the tournament final. In the process, Hudson's sports information staff found themselves working alongside some of the sports media's biggest names.

"That was unbelievable," he said. "You met a lot of different people you see on TV. That year was a special year. Just to have our team up there with all the big names. That's awesome."

Since the Lady Monarchs regained their share of national media attention in the mid-1990s, the team's games have been the focus of increased media attention. For home games, Hudson's office routinely receives more than 50 requests for credentials from media. When the university hosts NCAA women's tournament games, as it has several times in recent years, it's not uncommon to receive more than twice as many, he said.

Being in the business of dispensing information in today's high-tech world, Hudson and his small staff work the phones, faxes and computers, coordinating information for 16 intercollegiate teams. The Old Dominion athletic department supplies information for its own site on the World Wide Web, and fans searching for stats and scores from Monarch games are only a mouse click away from Hudson's office.

"We're at the point now where everyone wants information and they want it right now," Hudson told the NCAA News. "That's not just the media, but the fans, relatives and alumni. Even though we're in the computer age, we're busier now than ever before."

Hudson, who earned his bachelor's degree in political science in 1976 and his master's in urban studies in 1979, has also seen the effects of the Information Age on athletics. Today's college athletes, raised on cable TV and ESPN, are more media-savvy than their predecessors, says Hudson, who conducts media interviewing tutorials for Old Dominion's student-athletes.

A 1972 graduate of Norfolk Catholic High School, Hudson was the manager of his high school basketball team, which was coached by Ed Fraim '64, Old Dominion's assistant athletic director for fund raising. He has been a virtual fixture at Old Dominion since his high school graduation. He was a student manager for the university's baseball and basketball teams as well as a graduate intern in the sports information office under Joe Law, the university's first full-time SID.

Over the years, the sports media have come to rely on Hudson for helping them do their jobs. Ed Miller, a Virginian-Pilot reporter who has covered the Monarchs periodically during his career, said of Hudson, "He's always been very professional and helpful. Carol is a good guy. He's a good source for background on anything Old Dominion-related."

Hudson is a member of the College Sports Information Directors of America and its radio/television liaison committee. He's also a member and past president of Virginia and black sports information directors' groups, as well as the U.S. Basketball Writers Association.

For sophomore Mily Kannarkat, the exhilaration derived from smashing an overhead lob for a winner and acing a tough biology exam are pretty much the same.

Kannarkat, who excels on the tennis court and in the classroom, has proven to be a fierce competitor in both arenas, thanks to hard work and determination.

A Virginia Beach native and graduate of First Colonial High School, Kannarkat, is, indeed, a sublime mix of athlete and student. The Colonial Athletic Association Tournament's Most Outstanding Performer in 1999, she carries a 4.0 GPA as a biological sciences major and has her sights set on a medical degree in orthopedics.

Kannarkat, a prestigious Brickell scholar, is enrolled in Old Dominion's joint program with Eastern Virginia Medical School, which offers guaranteed admission to EVMS and allows her to count her first year of medical school toward her final year at Old Dominion.

"I think that I have a competitive edge that transcends tennis and spills into every aspect of my life," says Kannarkat, who showed a knack for her sport at the age of 4. "I think that grades are the equivalent of hitting a running, passing forehand for a winner."

Her tennis skills and her outlook on life were molded by her father. A man who believes that thinking and strategy are essential for anyone to succeed, Joy Kannarkat instilled in his daughter a belief that life is what you make of it.

"He always told me that if you wanted to be a good lesson-taker, take lots of (tennis) lessons," said Kannarkat, "but if you want to be good at playing tennis, play tennis."

The family philosophy of sport also applies to education. Kannarkat was sought after by every Ivy League school in the country. But Old Dominion's highly regarded premed program and a tennis team on the rise kept her in Hampton Roads . . . much to the delight of coach Darryl Cummings.

"From the beginning, we always knew she was a special individual," said Cummings.

The highest-ranked U.S. citizen out of high school ever to play for Old Dominion, Kannarkat compiled an impressive 78-1 record at First Colonial. And she wasted little time making a name for herself as a Lady Monarch.

In her first year of collegiate competition, Kannarkat posted a 16-4 singles record, playing primarily at the No. 3 position, and teamed with No. 1 singles player Ana Radeljevic for a 15-3 mark at No. 1 doubles.

To close out her first year of collegiate competition, she recorded an upset victory over a 38th-ranked William and Mary player in the CAA Tournament. She was named the tourney's Most Outstanding Performer and later was chosen as the Lady Monarchs' MVP.

-Lisa Cascio

Indiana's WNBA expansion team has announced that former Old Dominion All-American Anne Donovan '83 will be the interim coach when the team begins play this summer.

Donovan, a three-time Olympian and member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, will coach the team while head coach Nell Fortner fulfills her obligation with the U.S. Women's National Team through the 2000 Olympic Games. Donovan will then become Fortner's No. 1 assistant.

Mark Newman, who coached Old Dominion to a 319-162-8 record over nine seasons in the 1980s, has been appointed director of baseball operations for the New York Yankees.

The promotion puts him second in the club's hierarchy behind George Steinbrenner.

Newman resigned as Monarch coach in July 1989 to accept a position with the Yankees.

Senior forward Jimmy Tanner of Syracuse, N.Y., was named CAA Men's Soccer Player of the Year in November, while Monarch coach Alan Dawson was tapped as the conference's Coach of the Year after leading the team to a No. 13 ranking and 14-3-0 overall record (7-1-0 in the CAA).

Tanner had a career-high 18 goals and assisted on four others last season to finish first in the CAA with 40 points. He is Old Dominion's first men's soccer player of the year since Neil Paynter in 1991.

The Rotary Club of Detroit has announced the creation of a national award to honor the top point guard in collegiate women's basketball.

The first of its kind, the award will be named after one of the sport's greatest players, former Old Dominion All-American, Olympian and Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman-Cline '80.

Journalists nationwide who cover women's basketball will cast ballots for the annual award, which will be presented in April.

Bill Shea '78 won three gold medals in handcycling last fall at the Southern Cross World Games in Sydney Australia.

Shea, of Springfield, Ill., was one of 1,500 elite disabled athletes from 38 countries who competed in such sports as wheelchair rugby, track and field, powerlifting and swimming.

Former Monarch guard Kevin Swann '93 (M.S.Ed. '95) was named earlier this year as coordinator of Preview, Old Dominion's orientation program for newly admitted undergraduate students.

Swann returned to his alma mater in February 1998 to accept a job in the Office of Advising Services, where he had interned as a student. Both of his degrees are in counseling.