Contact: Jenni Brockman
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Scotty Sports Corner
By Hollis Duncan
SMS Teams Win, Place, Tie
Cross Country: In less than a week, St. Margaret's top six runners beat their best 5K times by a combined 17 minutes. "Awesome," is the word rookie cross country Coach David Cook used to describe the girls' quick improvement. "When you look at it on paper, you think 'My gosh, what did they eat?'" said Cook jokingly. "But it all boils down to hard work [in practice], and each girl's 100% commitment to the team."
The runners made their debut on Friday, September 22, at the Norfolk Academy Invitational in Virginia Beach, which included Norfolk Academy, Cape Henry Collegiate and the neighboring public Cox High School. As she did all last fall, SMS junior Kelly Proctor of Urbanna finished first for her team. She ran the 5,000-meter (3.1 mile) course in 22:46, finishing 22nd overall.
Rounding out the Scotty top 6 were: Alston Moore (24:33; 36th overall), Emily Chang (29:57), Phoebe Gilbert (30:38), Graham Barlow (35:25) and Virginia King (38:39) who placed 50th through 53rd overall. Proctor, Moore, Chang and Barlow each set personal records.
The Scotties' second meet was run on Tuesday, September 26, at The Collegiate School in Richmond. Three League of Independent Schools teams - Covenant, Trinity Episcopal and Collegiate - were among the competition, along with Fredericksburg Christian School. Placing 9th overall with a 5K time of 22:54, Kelly Proctor finished first for SMS for the second meet in a row. Alston Moore of Jacksonville, NC, was the second SMS runner to cross the finish line, (24:42; 16th overall), followed by Ann Melchionna (25:39; 19th overall), Jennifer Lee (27:40; 30th), Emily Chang (29:00; 35th overall), Amy Dunsire (29:15; 35th), Phoebe Gilbert (29:20), Graham Barlow (30:30), Robyn Ridderhoff (31:47) and Virginia King (32:30).
"Everyone is pleased with our team results, especially me," commented Coach Cook. "I have tremendous faith in this team." The Scotties' next race will be at home in the 5K Rappahannock River Run at 8:00 a.m. this coming Saturday.
Field Hockey: You can't always get what you want - especially when two well-matched teams play. Ending the game in a tie may be the best possible result, and for SMS' varsity field hockey team, it happened twice in less than a week.
Defensive back Sarah Taliaferro (background) of Center Cross listens as Coach Kate Coghlan rallies her team at halftime.
The Scotties' game with Fredericksburg Academy on Wednesday, September 27, was the second deadlock between the two schools this fall. After gaining a 1-0 lead midway through the first half on a goal by senior Carol Combs of Statesboro, Ga., the Scotties "played their game," holding on to their one-point lead with less than 4 minutes remaining in the game, Head Coach Kate Coghlan said.
"The score may not reflect it, but the girls played much better than they did in our first meeting with Fredericksburg Academy." Moreover, both teams had to "play through" a shortage of officials. "It was a disappointment to lose our lead," Coach Coghlan concluded. "But I was thrilled with how well we played."
Volleyball: The Scotty varsity volleyball squad is a different team today than it was at the beginning of the season. The girls' play is tight and coordinated, illustrating the true meaning of teamwork in the way they set up shots for each other and communicate on the court.
Another key factor in the Scotties' success is first-year Head Coach Natalie LaPrade, a four-year starting setter for Hollins University. Each game, she has her young team fired up and playing together - and also atop the League of Independent Schools conference with a 3-0 record.
Coming off an impressive 15-11, 15-10, 12-15 and 15-8 win over St. Anne's -Belfield of Charlottesville on Thursday, September 28, the varsity's season record stands at 5 and 3. The most recent victory came on the heels of a 3-0 shutout win over Trinity Episcopal School in Richmond on Tuesday, September 26. Keeping a taller St. Anne's-Belfield squad in check, the SMS varsity squad played its "best match of the season so far," Coach LaPrade said.
The junior varsity squad also turned in an outstanding performance at Thursday's match. Behind the consistent serving of junior Anne Czechanski of Bowie, MD, the juniors battled back from a more than 5-point deficit in Game 3 to win the game and the match, 15-13.
