CHC women "net" a split

by TOM UTESCHER

In the two Homecoming contests actually played on the Chestnut Hill College campus last Saturday, the Griffins' volleyball squad fell to Neumann College, 3-0, while another group of netters prevailed over Hood College in tennis, 5-4.

With freshman Lisa Graeber out for the season with an ankle injury, the six available CHC racquetwomen each played singles and doubles, as did the half-dozen from Hood. Because this makes for a long match in any circumstances and Hood had traveled from Maryland, each bout consisted of one pro set. The outcome lifted the Griffins' record to 2-3 on the season, while the visiting Blazers slid to 7-3.

Doubles were first up, and Chestnut Hill's premier pair, juniors Kathleen O'Rourke and Kristine Kozin, topped Katie Webb and Amelia Cotter of Hood, 8-4. The Blazers took the other two doubles contests, with Julie Roi and Marie Caron winning 8-2 over hosts Jen Mowad (a senior) and Angela Garafalo (a junior), 8-2, and with Chelsea Sprankle and Christina Rosa capturing the number three match, 8-6, over CHC freshman Colleen Reasoner and junior Theresa Croskey.

Things began looking up for the Griffs when singles play got underway, as number two Kozin blew by Cotter, 8-0, and O'Rourke won almost as easily, defeating Webb, 8-3, in the top spot. At number three, Mowad recovered from a 3-6 shortfall, winning the next five games to defeat Hood's Roi.

The Blazers prevailed at fourth and fifth singles, though, with Caron over Garafalo, 8-4, and Sprankle getting past Reasoner, 8-6. The last match on the court, sixth singles, would decide the team victory. CHC's Croskey captured some early breaks against Hood's Rosa and didn't let up, holding serve in the tenth game to win it, 8-2.

Up the hill in Sorgenti Arena, the volleyball encounter featured two teams which have struggled a bit this season. The CHC Griffins entered the match with a record of 4-7, and the Neumann College Knights came in at 4-10.

The visitors prevailed in a hard-fought opening game, 30-24, then retained their momentum to carry the second round, 30-20. Now facing a sweep at the hands of the Delaware County club, Chestnut Hill matched the Knights up to 6-6 in the third game, then Neumann stepped out to an 18-9 lead. A CHC spurt led by senior Jen Banks and sophomore Chantal Parisi narrowed the gap to six points at 20-14, then the Knights pulled away again to wrap things up at 30-19.

Freshman middle hitter Jordan Braakman led the locals in kills with six and Banks finished with four, and each of the two registered four blocks during the bout. Freshman Lauren Jackson furnished eight assists in the losing cause. The Knights' roster included a local player in dominant middle hitter Jenna Burak, a freshman from Lafayette Hill who attended Plymouth Whitemarsh Senior High School.