SuburbanOneSports.com recognizes a male and female featured athlete each week. The awards, sponsored by Univest, are given to seniors of good character who are students in good standing that have made significant contributions to their teams. Selections are based on nominations received from coaches, athletic directors and administrators.
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Female Athlete for week of Sept. 16, 2019
Tori Tavernier, according to her coach, “flies under the radar.” The soft-spoken Bensalem senior, a defender on the Owls’ field hockey squad, might not find her way into the spotlight, but if it’s a role model coach Maggie Jordan is looking for, Tavernier certainly fits the bill. Tavernier, who takes all AP and honors classes, is ranked in the top of her class with a 4.3 weighted grade point average. She is an active member of the National Honor Society and the Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science. Tavernier is also involved in a long list of clubs. She holds down a job at Chick-fil-A and still finds time to compete in three sports. “Tori embodies what a student-athlete should be,” Jordan said. “While Tori is not the star of our team, she is extremely dedicated, not only on the field but in the classroom as well. Tori is a leader who is welcoming and supportive of all members of our team. The younger girls on the team look up to her – I hear them asking her questions about school and classes, and it’s nice to see someone like Tori, who is kind to everyone.”
Tavernier aspires to pursue a career in the biomedical field, and although academics will always come first to the Bensalem senior, she wouldn’t have wanted to miss her experiences competing in high school sports.
“I don’t know how to describe it, but being part of a team is just really cool,” she said. “You don’t find that anywhere else. It’s a different aspect. You can make friends everywhere, but even in clubs, I don’t make as good friendships. In sports, you spend every day together – preseason, all the games. It’s just a really cool experience. That’s why I wanted to get involved, and I’m really glad I did.”
The Owls’ field hockey team has struggled in the competitive National Conference, picking up its first win – an 8-1 victory over archrival Truman – in its most recent game. According to Tavernier, the team makes a point keep things positive. “I always say – you can’t have negative thoughts going into it because then it’s going to affect how your play,” she said. “You can’t think, ‘Oh, we’re going to lose anyway.’ That’s just a horrible mindset to have. You have to be more positive, and that gets the team through it. We don’t give up. It’s hard because nobody likes to lose, but you just have to keep working. You never get anywhere thinking you’re not going to win, you never grow as a team or individually.”
Not that she needed another activity, but Tavernier joined the lacrosse team last spring since many of her friends on the field hockey team also played lacrosse. In addition, Tavernier is a member of the school’s Community Service Club, the Lemon Club – an off-branch of Alex’s Lemonade that raises money for childhood cancer, and Building Bridges, which includes preparing middle school students for high school life. She hopes to attend the University of Pittsburgh where she will pursue her interest in the biomedical field with her sights set on becoming a maxillofacial surgeon. “Honestly, I wish it was a cooler story, but I’ve always been infatuated with teeth,” she said with a laugh when asked about her career goal. “I’ve always been interested in that. It might veer off, but I do like biomedical as a whole.”
To read Ternernier’s complete profile, please click on the following link: https://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/female/tori-tavernier-0086931
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Male Athlete for week of Sept. 9, 2019
In winning its first four games on its 2019 slate, the Upper Dublin boys’ water polo team has already equaled last season’s win total. One of the key reasons for the Cardinals’ strong start is someone whose name doesn’t dominate the scorebook. By his own admission, he’s not the strongest, biggest, and certainly not the fastest player in the water. But when it comes to intelligent play in the defensive end of the pool, and the ability to teach and inspire his teammates both in and out of the water, Ben Rosenthal has been the engine that runs this squad. “Ben is the heart and soul of the team,” coach Chris Ianni said of the senior co-captain. “Ben will do anything and everything he needs to do to put the team first in any way. We have 14 sophomores this year, and a lot of those guys didn’t play last year. Ben is very good at breaking things down, explaining things, encouraging people to speak up. His communication skills are excellent, he makes sure every voice is heard, makes sure everyone feels valued. If I ever ask him for something or need him to do something, he’s always there to do it, going the extra mile, asking how else he can help. The younger kids see that, and it goes a long way.”
A three-sport athlete at Upper Dublin (he pulls double duty in the winter by swimming and playing ice hockey), Rosenthal is gracious almost to a fault, constantly listing names of coaches, assistant coaches, former captains, teammates, friends, and family members who have inspired and pushed him both in athletics and in life. And he’s eager to have the opportunity to do the same for others. Rosenthal is also very involved in extracurricular activities. He is an officer in the Mock Trial Club, is a member of the Speech and Debate Club as well as the National Honor Society, and is involved in the Friendship Circle, a club that he says helps give him a unique perspective on life and on helping others.
Rosenthal is still in the process of narrowing down his list of potential colleges. He knows he’d like to pursue engineering and would like to find a college in or near a large city. And if that college also offers the chance to play club water polo, that’s certainly a plus. But that’s part of a future that has not yet come into focus for Rosenthal. For now, he’s determined to do whatever he can to help the Cardinals’ boys’ water polo team achieve its best season ever. “Ben is leaving an amazing legacy, I can see it in some of our younger players,” Ianni said. “Two or three of them are developing, and you can see they’re looking at him and they’re following his lead and they are very close behind him in leadership and motivation and inspiration. Without Ben leading the way, the team wouldn’t be as positive. He’s really leaving a legacy. He’s a kid who knows how to joke around and have fun, and he knows when it’s time to be serious. His hard work never goes unnoticed. He does everything to the best of his ability. And the rest of the team sees it and follows his lead. In terms of leadership and effort, we’re going to be in good hands, and a lot of that goes back to the example he sets every day.”
To read Rosenthal’s complete profile, please click on the following link: https://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/male/ben-rosenthal-0086932
- Log in to post comments
