CHC women 6-2 at the break
by TOM UTESCHER
Capturing a 55-45 win over visiting Villa Julie last Wednesday evening, the women's hoopsters at Chestnut Hill College split up for the holidays with an overall record of 6-2. The Griffins are 2-0 within their own Atlantic Women's College Conference.
Due in part to the coaching changes the program has undergone in the last few years, CHC wasn't able to secure any holiday tournament bookings this season. As a result, they have an unusually long lay-off, extending from December 15 until they host AWCC rival Wilson College on January 12.
In the first 15 minutes against Villa Julie, Kelly McGrath and Bethanne Castone each drained a three-pointer and Kate Quintus, Andrea Carter, and Amy Ciaburri hit the boards hard as the Griffins opened up a double-digit lead, 19-9. Visiting forward Tanisha Foster used her quickness to ameliorate the Mustangs' rebounding situation, and she and Ashley Cates led a rally that got Villa Julie back within two (19-17) with two minutes left in the half. At the intermission, Chestnut Hill led 23-20.
Over the first nine minutes of the second half, the five...
Local athletes admitted early to Ivy League
by TOM UTESCHER
A number of varsity athletes from local schools received early holiday presents via the Internet and the mailbox over the first two weeks of December. The gifts were in the form of positive responses to "Early Action" applications that the sports standouts had submitted to various Ivy League institutions.
The University of Pennsylvania was the first to relieve the suspense for its prospects, providing them with Internet access codes and then posting its decisions on-line on December 10.
Click-click, and Chestnut Hill Academy senior Bobby Dickey became a member of Penn's Class of 2009. He's the number two player on the CHA squash team, which owned a 4-1 record going into the holiday vacation. Against Lawrenceville in the Blue Devils' lone loss, Dickey succumbed to Egyptian national...
GA girls 1-1 in home court showcase
by TOM UTESCHER
Falling to powerful Peddie School, 40-33, in the December 17 opener of their own holiday tournament, Germantown Academy's girls basketball team rebounded with a 64-41 victory over Central High School the following evening. After taking Christmas week off with their overall record standing at 6-2, the Patriots will resume play on December 27 at the Holiday High School Tournament in Santa Barbara, CA.
The annual event at GA, a showcase featuring pre-scheduled games rather than a true bracketed tournament, benefits the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which grants the requests of terminally-ill children. In other games over the weekend, Archbishop Ryan fell to both Central (38-24) and Peddie (59-37).
Ranked 12th in the nation in one preseason poll, Peddie is led by 6'4" senior center Crystal Goring, the younger sister of former GA pivot Gillian Goring (who stands 6'7"). The game featured a current sister act, as well; GA eighth-grader Jesse Carey and Peddie junior Devon Carey each started...