Sioux City Journal from Sioux City, Iowa • 15

NEW IIUSKERS: Former Sheldon prep star Terry Brands and Emmetsburg native Steve Hamilton are named assistant wrestling coaches at Nebraska. Page B3 The Sioux City Journal Tuesday, June 27, 2000page Bl DEAL IS OFF: A projected trade that would have sent Juan Gonzalez from Detroit to the New York Yankees is called off. PageB2 I Epmm i i. Heelan's Stahle finds power surge I METRO ATHLETE OF THE WEEK TUESDAY June 27, 2000 By Steven Allspach Journal sports writer T.J. Stahle never considered himself a home run hitter.

Then, the Heelan senior second baseman opened his batting stance and in the process opened up a whole new look at fence-busting. In games last week, The Sioux City Journal's Metro Athlete of the Week turned in an a sensational series of at-bats, lashing 15 hits in 20 trips to the plate, including three home runs, three doubles, two triples and 19 RBIs. He also scored eight runs after reaching base. In a 13-3, 12-2 sweep of Class 4A Fort Dodge, the Crusader team captain went 5-for-6, walloped three homers and drove in 12 runs. "I'm not really a home run hitter, but once in awhile I'm able to take one deep," said the 1 8-year-old son of Tim and Sue Stahle.

"The home runs I hit last week were the first ones of the season for me. "I started out the season hitting pretty well, but then I went into a little slump. "Coach O'Neill had me open my stance a little bit which helped me make better contact on inside pitches. I bat left-handed and I was hitting the ball off the fist too much." "We just had T.J. open his stance and asked him to be more aggressive at the plate, especially early in the count," said O'Neill.

"He's a good two-strike hitter, but we wanted him to change his focus up there." Stahle's robust hitting has sent his personal statistics soaring. Going into a Western League dou-bleheader Monday night in Council Bluffs against Thomas Jefferson, Stahle had 28 hits and a .389 batting average. He also had seven doubles, two triples, the three homers, 21 runs scored, 14 walks and 32 RBIs. He's the team leader in virtually every offensive category. Stahle's hitting explosion has helped the Crusaders reach the No.

9 spot in the latest Iowa Baseball Coaches Association Class 3 A state rankings. Heelan was 16-7 going into the Thomas Jefferson twinbill and wins included upsets of then No. 1 -ranked Algona Garrigan (Class 2A) and Davenport Assumption (Class 3A). The Crusaders were also primed for an upset of Class 4A's No. 1, West Des Moines Dowling, but that game was rained out in the fourth 7 inning with the scored tied 1-1.

Heelan's ambitious and challenging schedule includes losses to city rivals East, North and West, all ranked Class 4A schools at the time, and to Le Mars and Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln. "We've had our ups and downs and we're trying to be more consistent," said O'Neill, a Crusader assistant before taking over the head coaching duties this season from veteran Nick Archer. "A couple of those games we lost we should have won, but maybe a couple others we won we were fortunate not to lose." O'Neill rewarded Stahle for his run-producing ability by moving him from third to the cleanup spot in the batting order. "You want to get your hottest hitter into that fourth spot and T.J. is definitely on a tear right now," said O'Neill.

"T.J. Stahle is just a great kid and athlete to be around. He's extremely reliable and extremely dedicated. "He actually has been a starter for four years because he started at second sometimes when Kelly Quinn was pitching." Stahle's challenge right now is in the fielding department. "I made a couple errors early in the season, but I'm trying to improve in that area," said T.J., whose father and uncles were active fast-pitch softball players, taking orders, from T.J.'s grandfather, Tom Stahle, the longtime and successful football coach at Sergeant Bluff-Luton who has been retired from teaching and coaching for several years.

T.J., also a football starter at Heelan as a senior, will enroll at Minnesota State-Mankato in the fall. "I'm just going to be a student as a freshman, but I might try baseball my second year," said the 5-10, 155-pound Stahle, who graduated with a 3.9 grade point Average to rank 19th in a class of 190. T.J. Stahle Heelan I III, .1 in ii I.I.... Defending champion Pete Sampras returns a shot to Jiri Vanek of the Czech Republic during their men' singles first-round match on the Centre Court at Wimbledon Monday.

Sampras, shooting for his seventh Wimbledon title, led a group of top-seeded players who picked up wins. (AP photo) Sampras starts quest for 7th Wimbledon think about breaking records." While Sampras was expected to win, Vince Spadea was not. But the American snapped an ATP-record 21 -match losing streak with a four-hour upset of 14th-seeded Greg Rusedski of Britain, 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-7 (8), 9-7. Rusedski, who reached the fourth round last season and the quarterfinals in '97, was widely considered one of a handful of players capable of challenging Sampras on grass. Spadea, who last won in Lyon, France, in October, raised his hands to the sky after Rusedski hit a shot long over the baseline to end the marathon match.

Following Sampras on Centre Court was Anna Kournikova, who pulled off the first upset of the tournament by knocking out lOth-seeded Sandrine Testud 7-5, 5-7, 6-4. The 19-year-old Russian, whose glamorous SEE TOP-SEEDED continued on page B3 Sampras said. "It's comfortable surroundings for me, a court that over the years I have grown to love." Sampras' only scare came early in the second set when he jumped high for one of his patented "slam dunk" overheads. He seemed to mistime his leap, slamming the shot into the net and landing awkwardly. Sampras reached for his lower back, suggesting he might have aggravated the ailment that forced him to cut short practice last week.

But Sampras seemed fine as he settled back into his game and cruised the rest of the way, closing the match with a 1 17 mph service winner. Sampras said he needed extra time to stretch and warm up because of chilly, 60-degree weather. "There are a couple of tight spots, but nothing to be alarmed about," Sampras said. "I'm really fine and ready to go." As for his pursuit of the Grand Slam record, he said, "When you're on the battlefield, you don't WIMBLEDON, England (AP) Back in 'the stadium he calls the "cathedral" of tennis, Pete Sampras opened his bid for a seventh Wimbledon title Monday with a straight-sets win over Jiri Vanek. Showing little sign of the back troubles that bothered him in practice last week, Sampras cruised to a 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 victory a performance that underlined his dominance in the grass-court tournament in which he has lost only once in the last seven years.

"Pistol Pete Playing for History" read a big yellow sign held up by fans on Centre Court, referring to Sampras' chase for a record 13th Grand Slam singles title. Vanek, a Czech ranked No. 84 in the points race and playing his first match at Wimbledon, put up a strong effort but was no match for the man considered perhaps the greatest grass-court player. Monday's win extended Sampras' record to 47-1 dating to 1993, including 32-1 on Centre Court. "It's always nice to be back on that court," Longtime Iowa women's A.D, Grant to Musketeers get new coach integrity," Grant said.

Grant was a founding member of the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics from Women, and served as president in 1979-82. From 1984 to 1987, Grant was on the board of directors of the National Association of Collegiate Women's Athletic and was president from 1987-98. She also chaired the NACWAA's gender equity committee. Grant has received numerous academic and professional awards, for Rutgers in 1995, the Hawkeyes won six Big Ten titles and made nine straight trips to the NCAA tournament, reaching the national semifinals in 1993. Iowa has also had nationally ranked teams in softball, and recently added soccer and rowing squads to the athletic department.

"I leave the program from top to bottom with the strongest coaching personnel we have ever had and with an athletic administrative staff epitomized by competence and high X's rally in 9th inning for 5th straight victory ill iKS. JLxassJ resign including the National Association of Collegiate Women's Athletic Administrators "National Administrator of the Year" Award in 1993, and the NCAA Honda Award of Merit for Outstanding Achievement in Women's Collegiate Athletics in 1998. Grant, who has been Iowa's women's athletic director since the department was established in 1973, plans to continue teaching in the graduate program in sports administration. pitching coach with the X's organization. Harrison will be in uniform tonight when the X's open a three-game series at Madison, Wis.

Field, a 6-2, 185-pound righthander like Harrison, has been assigned to Kansas City's Class A franchise at Charleston, W. in the South Atlantic League. Field is a native of Denver, and was in his first season with Sioux City. The X's, in winning their fifth straight game, squandered an early 6-1 lead before a crowd of 6,377, watching St. Paul catch up at 7-all when Ben Candeleria belted his second home run of the game, a three-run shot off Kalam Paull in the eigth inning.

Earlier in the game, Candeleria, who had just one homer coming into the contest, also slugged a solo homer off starter Leo Patino. But, in the top of the ninth the X's rallied and took Paull off the hook with a four-run surge. Bryan Mack and Reagan Buckley drew walks before Ruben Cardona beat out a bunt for a single to load the bases against Randi Mallard. Josh Patton followed by rifling a three-run double into the gap in right-center. Derek Kopacz kept the SEE THUNDER BAY continued on page B2 IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) --Christine Grant, the women's athletic director at Iowa for 27 years, said Monday that she is stepping down, effective Aug.

31. Under Grant's leadership, Iowa's women's teams won or shared 25 Big Ten championships, and coaches in 10 sports won conference coach of the year honors. Grant's most important hire came in 1983, when Vivian Stringer was selected to revive a struggling basketball program. Before Stringer left Chalk talk By Steven Allspach Journal sports writer If you can beat 'em, you might as well join 'em. That's the ironic twist to the naming Monday of Dave Siciliano as the new Sioux City Musketeers hockey coach.

The announcement came at a press conference at Sioux City Auditorium. Siciliano was introduced by Gary Weckwerth, who was representing the Central Ventures, IncSexton Group of St. Cloud, which recently purchased the United States Hockey League franchise from Sioux City businessman Ted Carlson, who had owned the club for two decades. Siciliano replaces Dave Hakstol, who stepped down as coach and general manager two weeks ago to become at assistant coach at his college alma mater, the University of North Dakota. Hakstol had guided the program since taking over as coach one game into the 1996-97 season.

Siciliano was a thorn in the Musketeers side during his seven seasons as the coach of the Thunder Bay Flyers of the USHL. Siciliano was 218-77-10 at Thunder Bay, leading the USHL's lone Canadian outpost to league championships in 1988-89-91-92. His first Thunder Bay team in 1986-87 finished second in the league. Before the Musketeers defeated Thunder Bay in Thunder Bay on Oct. 2,1993, Sioux City had won just four games in the Flyers' Fort Williams Gardens in previous nine seasons.

Siciliano had stepped down as the Thunder Bay coach the previous season, but was still the Flyers general manager when the frustration had ended. In those nine seasons, seven of which were under the guidance of Siciliano, Sioux City had won just 13 games and lost 3 1 to the Flyers and six of those wins came during the 1985-86 campaign when the Musketeers claimed the USA Hockey Junior 'A' national I It, Mr I I r'! if -4 'i 4 -j I r-v Royals sign Field, X's acquire veteran starter Harrison ST. PAUL, Minn. The Sioux City Explorers won a game and lost a pitcher here Monday night. Still, it was a win-win proposition.

The Explorers, scoring four times in a dramatic ninth-inning rally, handed the St. Paul Saints an 11-7 setback in a brief one-game stopover at Midway Stadium. Earlier, though, the X's bid adieu to relief pitcher Nate Field. Field has been signed to a minor league contract by the Kansas City Royals organization. Field was 3-0 and his 1.93 earned run average is second best in the Northern League.

In 23 innings, he struck out 19 batters, permitted 17 hits and issued 15 walks. To replace Field, the club has signed pitcher Tommy Harrison, who has pitched in all or parts of six straight seasons in Triple-A with Richmond, Va the Atlanta Braves' top farm club. Harrison, from Dayton, Ohio, joined the Explorers out of Dayton University for their inaugural season in 1993 after being recommended by Mark Schlemmer, then the Dayton coach and Manager Ed Nottle's first Dave Siciliano New Musketeers coach "Thunder Bay was always a difficult place for USHL teams to play," said the new Sioux City coach, "but I'd like to create that same situation at Sioux City Auditorium. We've got a unique ice rink here and we need to take advantage of that. "I know it was hard for my Thunder Bay teams to win here.

Normally, you might be talking about a 3-2 hockey game, but with the small rink games turned out to be 12-, 13- and 14-goal games." The new Sioux City coach brings an impressive resume to town. In addition to his years at Thunder Bay, he's been a coach in various Team Canada junior teams that have performed well in international competition. In his latest stint with a Canadian junior team, he was an assistant coach for an all-star group that won the David Bauer Cup, winning eight of 10 games against Slovak and Czech Republic teams. Siciliano has also served as head coach at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay before moving in the SEE THUNDER BAY continued on page B2 Iowa State University head football coach Dan McCarney talks with Rich Brown of Sioux City during Cyclone Club outing Monday at Dakota Dunes. (Staff photo by Jim Lee).