Contact: Jenni Brockman
Telephone: 804-443-3357
Fax: 804-443-6781
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Scotty Sports Corner: Two Teams End Season at Tournaments
By Kelly Proctor '02
Special Correspondent
Tappahannock (May 20, 2002)- The 2002 Spring tournament season was full of surprises for St. Margaret's School athletes. The crew championships were cancelled due to bad weather. And softball bowed out in the second round of its tournament after losing to a bigger school.
Photo left: St. Margaret's School crew team was the unofficial champion of its league this year.
Crew: The weather in Portsmouth was simply so windy on May 11 that no boat could safely compete in the Southeast Virginia Rowing Association high school championships. But St. Margaret's came as close as it possibly could to a league victory, taking first place in almost every event in an optional mini-regatta.
Scotty rowers relished the opportunity to duel respected rival Norfolk Collegiate, a team that pushed them to a higher level of performance all season. The highlight came in the varsity four race. Although Collegiate pulled ahead early, St. Margaret's rebounded to a comfortable boat-length lead by mid-race. Nearing the end, Collegiate began its well-known sprint, which it used with success to walk through the SMS varsity at Matthews. But this time, the Scotties held off their opponents to clinch the final victory of the year.
St. Margaret's also pulled out victories in both the novice and JV races, making crew the winningest team of the spring sports season.
"I could not be more pleased with the progress we've made this year," said Coach Skye Elliott. "This team has set a standard of dedication for all of the SMS rowers that will come after them. Their legacy is excellence." Coaches Andrea Robinson and Kary Fronk share his sentiments.
Softball: St. Margaret's varsity softball team made its final stand on May 15, when the Scotties faced powerhouse Collegiate School of Richmond in the semi-finals of the League of Independent Schools championships. Despite a good SMS effort, Collegiate won, 5-2.
"When you play Collegiate," said Coach Sue Saunders of Tappahannock, "the winner is the team that makes the fewest errors. "Playing errorless ball, we would have won."
In first-round tournament action the day before, SMS triumphed over St. Gertrude's School of Richmond at home, 12-0. Saunders credited several players with outstanding performances, including pitcher Julie Srebro, junior Ann Kramer Osburn of Tappahannock, who hit 4-for-4 and senior Olivia Longest of Tappahannock, who hit a triple with three RBIs.
The softball Scotties finished third in the LIS tournament and tied for second in the regular season.
