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 March 14, 2012)
Carly Black is an elite soccer player and has earned a scholarship to play her sport at West Virginia University, but talk to her coach, and it’s clear that the Hatboro-Horsham senior’s talent is just part of what sets her apart. “I could talk for hours about Carly as a person,” said Mike O’Neill, the coach of Black’s soccer club team, PDA Charge. “I think she’s a very, very talented soccer player, but I think she’s a better person. She has the work ethic, and she’s a good leader. And she’s thankful for everything that happens to her. One of the things I love most about her, even when she accomplishes something, she comes out and still works harder and harder. Carly is a fierce competitor. There’s a fire that burns inside of her to compete. She figures out what we need to do to be successful, and she wants to be a big piece of that.”
Black also excelled on the volleyball court, earning first team all-league status in her secondary sport and helping to lead the Hatters to the second round of the district tournament. Again, it’s clear Black’s athletic prowess is just part of the equation. “Whatever she does in life, she’s going to do well,” volleyball coach Kathy Tanner said. “Whatever’s been put on her platter, she’s been able to take it and run with it. She’s a great role model. If I had all Carly Blacks on my team, life would be really easy. The thing that makes Carly so great as an athlete is that she has no fear. She’s going to do anything she can to win a game, and it’s not just for her, it’s for her teammates. She really understands what it is to accomplish something for a team.”
Black also excels in the classroom. Ranked in the top 20 in her class with a GPA around 4.0, Black is a member of the National Honor Society and the highly selective Partnership Club. She also serves as vice president of the senior class.
To view Black’s complete profile, please click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/female/carly-black
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Male Athlete (Week of March 14, 2012)
Ryan Eppley is a soccer star with aspirations that extend well beyond the soccer field. The William Tennent senior plans to get involved in politics with the goal of one day reaching the White House. “He’s very personable, but he’s not one of those kids that just talks a good game,” coach Luke Gibson said. “In the classroom, he was a straight A student. He was involved with the Debate Club. There were so many programs that he took advantage of to put himself in a position to go to a really strong academic school like the University of San Francisco. He just has that thing that good leaders have. You listen to him and you believe it. It was fun for our younger guys to experience that as well.” Eppley had a chance to put his natural leadership skills to use on the soccer field as a two-year captain of his Tennent squad, and he was not only an exemplary leader but also an elite player.
Eppley, whose mother is from Manchester, England, came by his love of soccer honestly, and he has had a passion for the sport – and Manchester United – for as long as he can remember. Gibson knew he’d inherited a special talent when he took over the program two years ago. “He’s one of the players you see and you know from the get-go that he can do just about anything on the soccer field – pretty easily too,” Gibson said. “His presence on the ball is pretty remarkable. He’s a dynamic one-on-one player. On the offensive side of the ball, he’s almost an impossible mark. He’s fast with the ball, and he’s creative. Defensively, he works both side of the ball. He’s physical and uses his athleticism in a very smart way.”
An excellent student, Eppley, who is a member of the National Honor Society, has signed a letter of intent to accept a scholarship to the University of San Francisco where he will major in political science.
To view Eppley’s complete profile, please click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/male/ryan-eppley
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