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 (Week of Oct. 22, 2014)
When she was younger, Ali Tomasevich did not get a warm and fuzzy feeling about tennis, and with just cause. She often found herself cast in the role of ball girl while her father, Stan, and her older sister, Jenna, got to have all the fun. But in seventh grade, more on a whim than anything else, she decided to give the family game a chance. She and neighbor/close friend Celia Frattarelli decided to take lessons from Monica Bach. Two years later, Tomasevich was playing fourth doubles as a freshman, and as a senior, she and Frattarelli were the captains and top two singles players, playing for the same woman who gave them private lessons.
For Bach, the value of Tomasevich cannot be measured in won-loss record. “Ali is not your typical 18-year-old,” the Indians’ coach said. “She’s different; very mature for her age. She’s always very calm. I’ve known her since seventh grade, and she’s always the same person every day. No ups and downs. She excels in the classroom. She played No. 1 singles for us, which means she draws the toughest girl from the other team. Unlike some of the girls she faces, she doesn’t play year-round. Tennis is not her whole life. It’s part of her life. She’s very well-rounded. She’s always positive, never makes excuses. She’s just a great role model to the younger girls. She gets along with everyone.”
Tomasevich, who aspires to be a psychiatrist, was one of two Souderton students selected for a prestigious internship program at a local hospital where she makes the rounds with doctors. “I’m very passionate about mental health advocacy, LGBTQ rights and women’s rights,” she said.
Her list of activities runs the gamut from the school’s high-end Robotics squad – she is the captain – to competing in the Academic Challenge against other schools and National History Day. Her documentaries were on the evolution of side shows and protest music of the Vietnam War while her group did a musical on the history of AA last year and earned third place in states. She also plays the piano, volunteers in a community theater and has been singing in the choir since fifth grade. The choir has toured Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Ireland and Canada. “Her plate is full,” said Bach. “I often wonder how she can maintain those grades and do everything she does.”
To read Tomasevich’s complete profile, please click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/female/ali-tomasevich-0048182
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Male Athlete (Week of Oct. 2, 2014)
For Jimi Hendrix, it was the guitar. For Shakespeare, the pen. For Wissahickon senior Cole Kropnick, it is soccer. On or off the field of play, it is about goals. First, he sets them. Then, he scores them. The senior sniper had 23 goals during the regular season. Add that to the 16 he netted last year and the 10 he had as a sophomore to the two he scored as a freshman midfielder, the cash register rings up a total of 53. “Cole is someone I have had the privilege of coaching since he broke into the Wissahickon varsity team and scored in his first game,” coach Stuart Malcolm said. “He had a terrific season, and he has truly led by example. He is a quiet individual who prefers to do his talking with his feet and his head. The players have a respect for him as a player, but he blends into the scene at practice, working as hard as any of the players on the squad. Over the years, he has continued to improve, contributing more and more each season.”
At 5-10 and 150 pounds, Kropnick has to have as much physical toughness as mental toughness. “I always get fouled, all around the field,” he said. “I also expect to be fouled a lot. I go into every game knowing that it’s going to be a battle.” When the Wissahickon season does end, which he hopes is later than sooner, soccer will just be kicking in for Kropnick. He’ll be joining up with fellow Trojans – along with players from schools like Plymouth Whitemarsh, Springfield (Montco), North Penn, Germantown Academy and La Salle – for Montgomery Celtic United. “There is not really any letup,” Kropnick said. What happens during the club season may very well determine where Kropnick goes from here.
At present, Kropnick is looking at West Chester University but is keeping his options open to other coaches who swarm to club games like bees to honey. He will put in whatever schoolwork is necessary, but his focus – beyond college – remains on soccer. If he can’t play it at a higher level, he would still want to be involved in the sport that has come to define him.
Kropnick has been playing soccer since he was four. He tried the usual array of other sports but liked the perfect fit that soccer was. “It wasn’t really like I picked soccer,” he said. “Soccer picked me, more than anything.” He credits older brothers Michael and Brett for teaching him “the toughness you need to have,” and his parents, Helene and Scott, for being his support system and inspiration. “No one has been there more for me than my family,” Kropnick said, also thanking Malcolm and assistant coach Chris McDaniels.
To view Kropnick’s complete profile, please click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/male/cole-kropnick-0048207
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