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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Scotty Sports Corner: Varsity Teams See Their Work Pay Off
By Kelly Proctor '02
Special Correspondent
Tappahannock (October 22, 2001) - This week in sports at Saint Margaret's School, all three varsity teams - volleyball, field hockey and cross-country - saw weeks of hard work begin to pay off. The Scotties captured two victories and performed at consistently high levels on the trail, court and field.
Photo left: This year's cross-country team at St. Margaret's School is the largest ever. Top row: Head Coach David Cook, Kate Lowe, Drenika Mosby, Jessie Malm, Nicole Lane, Beth Brinkley. Middle row: Alston Moore, Charlotte Brown, Anne Czechanski, Merrit Allaun, Gabby Haselden, Manager Amanda-Hunter Taylor. Bottom row: Emily Chang, Virginia King, Kat Price, Captain Kelly Proctor, Jee-Sun Lee, Amy Dunsire.
Cross Country: SMS runners sprinted to victory at a 5K event hosted by Essex High School on October 17. The girls tackled a challenging course, which included a short stint on the track, a side trip through the woods, and a quick view of the Essex High grounds. Winning first place in girls' portion of the meet was senior Kelly Proctor of Urbanna, with a time of 21:23, followed closely by third-place finisher, senior Anne Czechanski (22:32).
Other SMS runners who finished in the top 10 included Alston Moore, Jessie Malm and Beth Brinkley. Also completing the course were Kat Price (29:06), Virginia King (29:13), Gabby Haselden (29:17), Jee-Sun Lee (30:24), Kate Lowe (31:02) and Charlotte Brown (33:57). Lowe and Brown have improved their times by over seven and ten minutes, respectively, since the first race of the season.
The team has been bettering its performance throughout the fall. It raced September 25 at the Collegiate School in Richmond, clenching a third place finish out of five teams. Later, on an October 12 run at Norfolk Academy, SMS finished third, narrowly missing second by one point. The Essex victory marks the young team's first win.
Said Head Coach David Cook: "When you define success as improving in the area where you're working, I have never encountered a team of girls that are having as successful a season. They are a joy to coach and a joy to watch compete."
Volleyball: Saint Margaret's School varsity volleyball team traveled to Charlottesville on Wednesday, October 17, where they defeated one of last season's toughest teams, St. Anne's-Belfield.
Dominating the first two sets, SMS bounced back from an upset in the third set to prevail, 15-7, 15-8, 14-16, 15-10. Head Coach Natalie LaPrade noted particularly strong performances by senior tri-captain Brittany Walker of Callao, averaging two kills per game, and freshman Meredith Rimkus, slamming in three kills and three assists each game.
"The team has been at a disadvantage because of the low number of games it's played," said LaPrade. "Most teams we've competed against have had more matches at this point in the year. But now we've hit our stride and we're prepared to play tough during the rest of the season."
The volleyball Scotties boast an overall record of 5-3 and an LIS (League of Independent Schools) record of 2-2. They meet Covenant at home on October 23 and end regular season play with a game at Trinity on October 25.
Field Hockey: The St. Margaret's varsity field hockey team hosted the Steward School of Richmond on October 17. Head Coach JoJo McKinley highlighted the "great game" of junior goalie Claire Hopkins of Oak Grove, who pulled out nearly 30 saves. Another asset to the Scotty team is freshman Catherine Chilton of Lancaster, who drove home her first and the team's only goal during the upset match. Chilton's goal put the Scotties 1-1 with Steward at half time, but the girls' efforts could not stave off defeat, as SMS went down fighting, 4-1.
"The last two goals by Steward were beautifully executed," Coach McKinley said. "Although our defense was marked and in position, there really wasn't anything we could do. The last time [SMS played Steward], the score was 4-1 at halftime, so we've greatly improved the level of competition."
The SMS varsity field hockey team now stands at 1-4 in league play and 4-1-7 overall going into the final three games of the regular season.
