Western Maryland College didn't bring home any Centennial Conference championships this spring, but it did have plenty of success when the All-CC teams came out yesterday.
Three Green Terror student-athletes were named Player of the Year in their respective sports. Senior catcher Jen Prowinski in softball, senior shortstop Brian Van Deusen in baseball, and senior attacker Dean Coccia in men's lacrosse all took top honors.
Prowinski, a repeat first-team selection, hit .448 in the conference with 20 RBIs. She led a group of four Green Terror players on the All-CC first team.
Van Deusen became the second consecutive Green Terror shortstop to win the award; Jerry Resh won last season. Van Deusen made the adjustment to short after playing first base as a junior and hit .458 in conference games with four homers.
Coccia closed out an outstanding career as Western Maryland's career leader in assists (160), second in total points (302) and third in goals with 142.
Three others joined Prowinski on the All-CC softball team, including sophomore Julie Backof (Westminster). The second baseman was fourth in the conference in hitting with a .475 average and hit a conference-leading five homers. Senior first baseman Kelli Bowen (.420, four homers, 17 RBIs) was also named, as was senior Kari Thompson, a repeat first-teamer who was an unanimous selection in the outfield after leading the conference in hitting with a .500 average.
In men's lacrosse, Stephen Hallowell joined Coccia on the All-CC first team.
Track champs
Western Maryland seniors Julie Cox (Liberty) and Carl Von Tobel both won their third straight CC titles at the conference's third annual track and field championships at Swarthmore College.
Cox set a new conference standard in winning the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 15.15 seconds. Von Tobel won the javelin for a third straight year with a toss of 190 feet, 11 inches -- close to 15 feet better than runner-up Anthony O'Hara of Ursinus.
Lion leads Army
Liberty grad Ross Yastrzemsky has played a big role in helping lead Army to the NCAA Division I lacrosse playoffs, which get started this weekend.
The junior attackman has started in all 14 games this season, with 26 goals and 20 assists for 46 points. Army (10-4) will take on Syracuse (9-3) at Cornell on Saturday.
Tournament tidbits
High school playoffs get started tomorrow with a number of intra-county opening-round games scheduled.
In girls lacrosse, Westminster will travel to No. 15 Liberty. The Lions beat Westminster twice on their way to a perfect 6-0 county mark, but the Owls gave the Lions their best county game -- a 7-5 decision at Liberty on April 18.
On Friday, North Carroll travels to Liberty in both baseball and softball. In softball, North Carroll won both regular-season meetings with Liberty. The baseball teams split with the Panthers coming away with a 12-2 win over the Lions on April 29.
One player to watch is North Carroll pitcher Jason Brezler. The senior made the most of his 18th birthday last Friday by no-hitting the South Carroll Cavaliers to help the Panthers claim a share of the county title with Westminster. Brezler, who carries a 4.0 grade-point average and plans to attend the Naval Academy next fall, also went 3-for-4 with a two-run triple.
The Carroll County Tennis Championships get started Friday afternoon and conclude Saturday with the semifinals and finals scheduled to get started at 9 a.m.
On the boy's side, Westminster senior Steve Flora looks to defend his singles title from last season. Teammate Jan Kunze, a foreign exchange student from Germany, is having a strong season. In doubles, North Carroll's Brian Mayle and Derek Easter are defending tournament champs.
Doubles will be main item on the girl's side with South Carroll's senior pair of Carrie Tamburo and Sara Wachter -- together for four seasons -- seeking their first title.
Pub Date: 5/08/96
