Scorecard

There appears to be at least some good news out there in Teen Tennis Trauma-land, that province where Mary Pierce . Jennifer Capriati and other woebegone young women have recently dwelt. Three years ago Maggie Cole of Santa Cruz , Calif. , then 14, turned pro at the direction of her father and coach, Chris. But over an 18-month pro career that included 16 tournaments. Maggie routinely lost during qualifying. She won a total of $550 in purses, which went to her father, who, during marathon practice sessions, reportedly showered her with obscenities and sometimes threw tennis balls at her hard enough to raise welts.

In 1993, according to Maggie's lawyer, Gordon Salisbury, Chris and Maggie's mother, Marie, split up. With her dad in Hawaii and her tennis career on hold, Maggie enrolled as a junior at Harbor" High in Santa Cruz and began living the life of a normal teenager and looking forward to college. Or so she did until August 1993, when the NCAA turned down a request from San Diego State , one of many universities interested in recruiting her, to restore Maggie's college eligibility. Though she had been reinstated as an amateur by the U.S. Tennis Association and the California Interscholastic Federation , an NCAA eligibility representative ruled that Maggie, "through her father, used her athletic skills to generate approximately $45,000 from a private investor" who had bankrolled her pro career.

In his appeal letter to the NCAA , Salisbury included the opinion of Dr. Cheryl McLaughlin, a psychologist who had worked closely with Maggie, that "it was unsafe for her to even speak her own mind about her tennis future when [her opinions] differed from those of her father."

And on Sept. 29, against all odds, the NCAA came to its senses. The eligibility committee heard Maggie's appeal and absolved her of responsibility for actions the committee ultimately attributed to her father. While she won't be able to play in matches as a freshman at whatever college she chooses, Maggie will be eligible to receive a full scholarship and practice with the team, and all restrictions on competition will be dropped in her sophomore season. Upon hearing the ruling, Maggie screamed with delight and relief.

As it happens, two 14-year-olds, Switzerland 's Martina Hingis and Venus Williams of the U.S. , recently decided to turn pro (SI, Oct. 17). By becoming pros, they will beat new Women's Tennis Council guidelines, set to take effect on Jan. 1, that will prevent girls from becoming full-time pros before age 18. Maggie Cole doesn't presume to second-guess their decisions. "I can't tell them what to do, only that they should be sure," she says. "And at 14, there's no way you know for sure."

Orange Memories

Beginning in 1997 the Orange Bowl will no longer be played in the Orange Bowl. The game will move to Joe Robbie Stadium , largely because the all-powerful bowl alliance wants to stage any potential national-championship game in a venue with luxury boxes and other sponsor-friendly amenities not found in the old stadium. However comfortable the new place will be for the fat cats, it will be hard to match the thrills for the masses that the Orange Bowl has provided in its 60 years of hosting New Year's games. Here are five of the best:

1. 1946: MIAMI 13, HOLY CROSS 6. With the score tied 6-6, Hurricane defensive back Al Hudson intercepted a pass on the final play of the game and ran 89 yards for the game-winning touchdown, arguably the most famous play in Orange Bowl history. The gun sounded as Hudson crossed the Crusaders' 35-yard line.

2. 1965: TEXAS 21, ALABAMA 17. With the Crimson Tide trailing 21-17 in the fourth quarter, Joe Namath , playing with an injured knee, led a late 'Bama charge. But on a fourth-and-goal from the one-yard line, he was stacked up on a quarterback sneak, and Texas held on.

3. 1969: PENN STATE 15, KANSAS 14. The Jayhawks appeared to have the game won when the Nittany Lions ' two-point conversion attempt (following a late touchdown) failed. But Kansas was flagged for having 12 men on the field, and Penn State capitalized on its second chance as halfback Bob Campbell swept across for the decisive two-point conversion.