longwood college

Roger Strong and Greg Gilliam were pioneers.  They enrolled at Longwood in the first year of full co-education in 1976-77 and were on the first Men’s Basketball team.  In the last game of a 2-12 season, their beloved teammate - Jimmy Yarbrough made history in a 134-93 loss.   The 5-6 Yarbrough scored 46 points and made 16 field goals, records that still stand today.  Listen to Roger and Greg talk about their unique experiences at Longwood and beyond – and their friend, the late Jimmy Yarbrough. 

Byron Bracey was a citizen leader long before it became part of Longwood's admissions literature.  Raised in a family of educators, Byron made Longwood history.  He enrolled in the second year of co-education in the fall of 1977.  Lettering three years on the men’s basketball team, he played his part as the Lancers shocked the nation with an appearance in the NCAA Division III Final Four.   The 1981 graduate left Longwood as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army and retired 20 years later as Major Byron Bracey. 

Shortly after Longwood College became fully co-ed, Robert Boyd, Tim White, and company set the tone for Longwood Men’s Golf.  Arriving in 1977-78, Longwood experienced early success.  White was named Division III All-American in 1980 and is the only golfer named to the Longwood Athletic Hall of Fame (2016).  In 1982, the Lancers won the College Division of the Virginia Intercollegiate Championship.  Robert is retired and lives in Daniel Island, S.C.  Tim is the golf pro at Lake Chesdin Golf Club in Chesterfield County. 

In just his fourth year at Longwood, Ron Carr’s 1993-94 team made their mark.  They finished the season 23-6, #19 in the nation and won the opening game in the program’s first appearance in the NCAA Division II playoffs.  And - they also won 20 straight games.  Carr remains the only Longwood men’s coach ever to earn two consecutive trips to the NCAA playoffs.  Ron retired from full-time teaching in Chesterfield County and continues to coach boys’ basketball at Cosby High.          

This is a bonus episode and part two of a two-part series. As a utility player, Tim Lowery totaled 49 at bats and batted .285 over two seasons - a solid, but not spectactular career.  But for Coach Buddy Bolding and the Longwood baseball team, Lowery was more than a teammate. He was an unofficial coach with a baseball mind.   Listen to Tim talk about Longwood baseball from his recruitment to his 26-2 pitching victory, to his relationship with his teammates and Coach Bolding.  Former Lancer pitching great David Mitchell is also featured on the podcast.    

This is part one of a two-part series.  Long before Longwood, Tim Lowery wanted to be a health and physical education teacher and baseball coach.  Now retired after 36 years of public-school service in Chesterfield County, Tim touches on Longwood baseball and how it shaped his high school coaching and teaching career.  With 470 victories, one state championship, three regional titles, and 11 district regular-season crowns, Tim is supported by his own all-star team, wife Lori and sons Jake and Luke.  Former Lancer centerfielder and base stealer Turk Crosby comments on Lowery in the beginning of the episode.         

Born with a curiosity about how things work, Mary Beth Wusk found her calling at NASA.  The 34-year veteran is now the Senior Leader of the NASA Engineering and Safety Center at the Langley Research Center in Hampton.   The 1989 graduate and Physics major lettered two years as a setter for the Longwood volleyball team before the program was discontinued.  She earned a second B.S. in Electrical Engineering from ODU. 

Kelly Church quickly realized that making the Longwood men’s basketball team was not realistic. As an aspiring basketball coach, he poured into his obsession and became a student manager.  This fall, Kelly will start his 26th year as the head coach at Hedgesville High School in eastern West Virginia.  He will also be inducted into the school’s Class of 2023 athletic hall of fame. 

Saturday, May 15, 1982, Valdosta, Ga. marked one of the top moments in Longwood baseball.  Faced with a depleted pitching staff in the championship game of the South Atlantic Regional, Coach Buddy Bolding turned to a seldom used pitcher in relief - John DiPierdomenico.  JD pitched five innings of shut out ball to earn a 3-1 win over Valdosta State and a berth in NCAA DII CWS.  Catcher Doug Toombs joins JD to re-live one of Longwood’s greatest and improbable team accomplishments. 

As a 6-6 post player, Ron Orr was one of the first Lancers to ever score 1,000 career points and haul in 500 rebounds.  During the Orr years (1980-1983), the Lancers were 77-30, including a trip to the 1980 NCAA Division III Final Four.   With a B.S. in Social Work, he served as a principal and administrator in special education and alternative schools in Union and Essex County New Jersey.     

Coach Shirley Duncan (1983-2005) coached nine All-Americans, earned four trips to the NCAA Division II tournament, and is the winningest basketball coach in Longwood University history.  Before college coaching, the Lexington Kentucky native and UK graduate taught and coached in Northern Virginia.  She headed back to the Bluegrass State to lead Eastern Kentucky for four years where she won a state title and faced off against a young Tennessee coach in the late Pat Summitt.      

Junior Burr was a member of perhaps Longwood’s most cohesive and talented men’s basketball team ever, certainly on the Division II level.  The 1993-94 Lancers racked up 20 straight wins and won a game in the college’s first appearance in the NCAA Division II tournament. While his playing time was limited, he applied lessons learned on a bigger stage.   As the founder and owner of Canterbury Enterprises, Inc., Burr’s company is a key contributor in commercial construction and real estate development in Virginia.  Canterbury teamed with Skanska USA to build the Joan Perry Brock Center at Longwood University. 

March 2020 signified the start of the Coronavirus epidemic.  But, for six former Longwood gymnasts from the 1980s, they braved the threat and enjoyed a mini reunion where they shared old memories and made new ones.   This second episode of a three-part series highlights Lynda Chenoweth Loden as she reflects on Longwood Gymnastics.  Lynda lives in Suwanee, Ga.  Listen to episodes one and three with teammates Tammy Zeller Pierce and Kerri Hruby Kraisser.  Teresa Robey Belcher, Mary Schaefer Marshburn, and student assistant Dawn Campbell Farrington also attended the reunion.

Joe Bass enjoyed the wrestling spotlight in Lancer Hall (now Willett Hall).  With a career record of 48-25, he qualified for the NCAA DII regionals and was a key part in a young program. After retiring from the Army, Joe went back to his family roots and owned and operated restaurants.  Now, as a full retiree in Burke Virginia, Joe reconnects with other Longwood wrestlers and plays golf.   

As an up-and-coming officer in the Army, Joe Bass shared his story to anyone considering college.   He graduated from high school with a 1.93 GPA with dreams of playing college football. He learned quickly that barely passing was not enough.  With the help of coaches and ROTC mentors, Joe found his way to Longwood and then to the U.S. Army where he worked his way up to Brigadier General, Longwood’s first in active duty. 

Longwood assistant women’s basketball coach Loretta Coughlin talks about Cassie Ensley from recruitment to graduation in this special 20-minute podcast.  Coughlin assisted Head Coach Shirley Duncan from 1985-1998, served as Softball Head Coach from 1986-1995, and taught 20 years at Longwood in the Department of Kinesiology.   She retired from Albemarle County Public Schools in June 2022 after a 17-year teaching career.  Listen to a related Lancers Past podcast, a 40-minute interview with Cassandra Ensley Storer.

After sitting out for most of two seasons, Cassie Ensley took full advantage of her fifth year.  Now known as Cassandra Ensley Storer, the 5-6 guard made history in 1995 as the first Longwood women’s basketball team to play in the NCAA Division II tournament.  After dropping 464 points in her final season, she ranks #8 in career scoring, #2 in made 3PTs, and #5 in assists.  Cassandra was named Honorable Mention All-American and First Team Academic All-American.  She teaches foreign languages in the Fairfax County Public Schools. Listen to a bonus episode! Loretta Coughlin shares her insight on Cassie from recruitment to graduation in a special 20-minute Lancers Past Podcast. 

This episode is part of a series celebrating Lancer/Willett Hall. The new Joan Perry Brock Center replaces Willett as LU’s basketball home in the fall of 2023.

After starting at 4-10-1, Joe Parker captained three straight winning seasons for Longwood College soccer, a first in program history.  He capped off his career in ’82 at 14-5-1, the VISA state championship, and a #14 ranking in the DII national polls.   Listen to Joe describe the ascent of LC soccer in the second episode of this two–part celebration of the ’82 team. 

Darryl Case kicks off the first episode of a two-part celebration of the 1982 Longwood College Men’s soccer team, VISA State Champions.  The four-time All-American and Lancer Hall of Famer is retired and lives just outside San Antonio, Texas.  

Michael Tucker takes a deep dive into his major league career in the second of a two-part episode.  Tucker played 12 years in MLB with seven teams.   From Bobby Cox to Barry Bonds to the man they simply called Junior (Ken Griffey, Jr.) Tucker shares his stories from playing with baseball’s best.