The notebook features a William Tennent team that lost its top two hitters to injuries as well as Hatboro-Horsham’s run to a tournament title this weekend.
By Mary Jane Souder
Theirs was a season of high expectations.
With a lineup projected to include one of the SOL’s premiere hitters in Jaime Bonner and also all-league recipient Amber Wood, William Tennent was destined to succeed this season.
Or at least so it seemed.
But on August 9, two days before tryouts, the Panthers suffered a setback when Wood went down with a knee injury.
“It was actually in the last 15 minutes of a camp we were at,” coach Brian Bassler said. “She basically tore everything in her right knee – ACL, MCL, and her knee dislocated.”
Despite Wood’s absence, the Panthers sprinted out of the gate to a 5-0 record. In their sixth match – a 3-2 loss to Central Bucks West on Sept. 17, the unimaginable happened when Bonner went down with a knee injury and also was lost for the season.
“When Jaime did it, she couldn’t have hit the ball harder,” Bassler said. “She got up on the outside, hit down over a double block, and the ball landed in front of the back row players.
“It was tremendously hard hit, and it would have been like every other hit she ever did. No contact, she didn’t come down on anybody’s foot. She came down, and her left leg just buckled out.”
Bonner was diagnosed with a torn anterior cruciate ligament and a fractured knee cap.
“It’s really, really been tough,” Bassler said. “Shea (Conway) who we lost to soccer – they would have been our three offensive weapons.
“Taking those three out of the equation, we basically have girls stepping up that we had slated to play jayvee this year. They would have been our top jayvee team, but they have been forced into the varsity lineup. It’s been a difficult transition. We’ve had ups and downs so far, that’s for sure.”
The Panthers are 1-6 since Bonner went down and have lost six straight.
“With both of them in the lineup, we’re probably looking at 11-1 or 10-2,” Bassler said of Wood and Bonner. “We lost in four to Pennsbury, we lost in five to Council Rock South, five to Kennett and four to Penncrest. With them in there, it totally changes a lot around.
“We knew this would be a struggle, but the younger girls have hung in there and taken games from people. Obviously, we’re trying to stick together and get better. The majority of our team is coming back next year, so they get to see this level of competition, which they wouldn’t have, and you hope for the best next year.”
“In my prior nine years, I never had an injury on a team worse than a sprained ankle. We had a girl on the jayvee one year that broke her arm, but there’s been nothing like this. It just hasn’t happened. To have two in the same month to your senior captains is bizarre.”
Senior libero Maddie Richard is the lone senior captain still standing.
“She’s the lone ranger left,” Bassler said. “She sprained her PCL the other day, and we thought, ‘Oh my gosh, this can’t happen. There’s no way it can come in threes like this.’
“She’s okay, she’s going to be all right, but she injured it in a match diving for a ball in the back row.”
Wood and Bonner have stayed with the team.
“They’ve handled it really well,” Bassler said. “I don’t know how much of it is eating away at them inside, but they haven’t missed a match. Neither one has missed coming to anything. They’re really vocal on the bench.”
Both players are still looking to play at the collegiate level.
“Amber was getting looks from some Division III schools, and Jaime had offers from a dozen schools at least, which included all the PSAC schools in D-II,” Bassler said. “There were a couple of Division One and a few D-IIIs. From what I understand the coaches are still interested. We’re staying positive and hopeful for them because I think they’ll make full recoveries.”
Hatters are golden at Red Rover Tournament – Hatboro-Horsham was looking for a tournament to fill its schedule when Haverford opted to drop its tournament this season.
“When they changed the seeding rules, people started dropping tournaments, so I was kind of in a panic,” coach Kathy Tanner said. “I was worried that everyone was scheduled. There were some tournaments, but the dates didn’t work out.
“The good thing was it was new competition, new faces. It was fun to do something different, and another reason I did do it is it’s the weekend before Upper Merion, and that was ideal.”
The Hatters made the most of the opportunity, capturing the tournament championship. They rolled through pool play with an 8-0 record, sweeping two sets from Northampton, Pottsville, Saucon Valley and Pleasant Valley.
“The competition wasn’t as strong as I’d hoped, but there were some decent teams,” Tanner said.
In the semifinals, the Hatters defeated Easton (20-25, 25-23, 15-50) and then downed Central Bucks West (25-20, 25-19) in the championship match.
The Hatters were minus a pair of regulars – Cassidy Quattro (family commitment) and Holly Owen (illness).
“We changed our formula a little bit, and it worked out really well,” Tanner said. “That’s why I was extremely pleased.
“Going into a tournament knowing you don’t have your regular lineup is a little tricky. I was just really proud because the girls really pulled together.
“There were plenty of games where we were behind, and we had to chip our way out, and it worked. It was a lot of good experiences for us personally.”
Flying Cardinals win tournament title – Upper Dublin won the championship at the Octorara Tournament on Saturday. The Cardinals defeated host Octorara in the title game (25-9, 25-20) and lost just one set throughout the whole tournament.
"The teams were not as competitive as I would have liked, but the girls played great all day," coach Paul Choi said. "Everyone on the team contributed and had an involvement with the success, but overall, we were led by the great all-around performances of seniors Taylor Stek and Melanie Phifer.
"Junior Gabbi Johnson did a wonderful job leading the defense in digs, and her energy in the backcourt really helped our team when things seemed to get rattled."
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