Army lacrosse captain considered worth the risk
Every professional sports team is taking a risk when they draft an athlete from a military academy. But in the case of Senior CLASS Award winner Brendan Buckley, one team decided the risk was worth it. With the 54th pick in the 2013 Major League Lacrosse Draft, the Boston Cannons selected Buckley, Army’s top-rated defenseman. Team vice president and general manager Kevin Barney talked about his thought process for Buckley. “It is always a risk in selecting a military guy as to where… Continue Reading
Time management not a problem for hockey winner Cheyne Rocha
Cheyne Rocha is a master of time management. Somehow, this extremely bright overachiever has recorded outstanding grades, fashioned a solid collegiate hockey career, scored an interview for the Rhodes Scholarship and introduced a charity to both his school and its hockey conference. It should be mentioned that he’s doing all this as a member of the United States Military Academy, where discipline heads a list of characteristics of the student body in general. An engineering management… Continue Reading
Loyalty never an issue with Delle Donne and Hulls
Delaware All-American Elena Delle Donne considered leaving her home state for the bright lights of a much bigger women’s college basketball stage. Indiana guard Jordan Hulls committed to his hometown team in the midst of a monumental rebuilding period. Delle Donne signed with Connecticut out of high school, but after two days on campus, she longed to be closer to her family, including a sister with whom she shares an unbreakable bond. The easy choice would have been for her to remain at… Continue Reading
Loyalty never an issue with Delle Donne and Hulls
Delaware All-American Elena Delle Donne considered leaving her home state for the bright lights of a much bigger women’s college basketball stage. Indiana guard Jordan Hulls committed to his hometown team in the midst of a monumental rebuilding period. Delle Donne signed with Connecticut out of high school, but after two days on campus, she longed to be closer to her family, including a sister with whom she shares an unbreakable bond. The easy choice would have been for her to remain at… Continue Reading
Loyalty never an issue with Delle Donne and Hulls
Delaware All-American Elena Delle Donne considered leaving her home state for the bright lights of a much bigger women’s college basketball stage. Indiana guard Jordan Hulls committed to his hometown team in the midst of a monumental rebuilding period. Delle Donne signed with Connecticut out of high school, but after two days on campus, she longed to be closer to her family, including a sister with whom she shares an unbreakable bond. The easy choice would have been for her to remain at… Continue Reading
Patience pays off for volleyball star Mancuso
As her sister Dani was busy helping Nebraska win the 2006 NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship, Gina Mancuso was tearing it up on the court as a sophomore at nearby Papillion-LaVista High School. Two years later, Gina was named the Gatorade National Volleyball Player of the Year – the first high school athlete from the state to win the honor. So, taking up where Dani left off and making an immediate impact on the Husker volleyball team – no problem, right? Wrong. The most… Continue Reading
Perseverance and faith help write Te’o’s story
Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o was everywhere you looked – on every television channel up and down the dial, in every newspaper’s sports section, being interviewed on the radio, chatted about endlessly on social media and the subject of just about every water-cooler conversation. There was a stretch of time in early December – when he was on the awards circuit – that he wasn’t exactly sure what city he was in when he woke up each morning. It’s all good though. That’s the… Continue Reading
Jewell and McDuff experienced life as student-athletes in uniquely different ways
When it came to selecting a college at which to play soccer, Tishia Jewell and Ryan McDuff couldn’t have chosen more divergent paths. Jewell, a Satellite Beach, Fla., native, chose to stay close to home, enrolling at the University of Central Florida in Orlando – the ultimate American tourist destination. UCF boasts an enrollment of 60,000. McDuff, who grew up in Plano, Tex., decided to move 2,000 miles away, choosing to attend Brown University in Rhode Island – geographically, the… Continue Reading
Amber Brooks pays it forward with soccer tournament
At an age where most soccer players are more concerned about playing in tournaments, Amber Brooks was organizing one as a senior at Pennington High School. In 2009, Brooks and teammate Heidi Sabatura helped found “Score for a Cure” tournament in New Hope, Pa. It is a 3 v 3 tourney for Under-9 to U-13 girls in honor of Charlotte Moran. Moran, a long-time beloved and respected Olympic Development Program administrator who impacted many lives, including Brooks, passed away from pancreatic cancer… Continue Reading
Alaina Bergsma relishes roles as volleyball player and pageant queen
The University of Oregon women’s volleyball team is in the middle of a season-long hot streak and driving the bus is senior Alaina Bergsma. The 6’3” outside hitter is leading her squad to one of its most successful seasons in recent years, and still finding time to be productive and charitable off the court. Bergsma has been nominated as one of 10 finalists for the Senior CLASS Award. The honor recognizes Division I women’s volleyball athletes who not only put up big numbers at the… Continue Reading
