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 Feb. 29, 2012)
Taylor Mateja excels in and out of the pool. The Upper Merion senior owns the school record in the 100 backstroke, 200 individual medley and 50 freestyle. She has swum in the district and state championships in each of the past three years. Last year, she earned her best individual state finish when she came in eighth in the 100 back. “When she came to Upper Merion as a freshman, she wasn’t close to the school record in the backstroke,” coach Jeff Bugenhagen said. “She looked up at the record, and that became a goal of hers. The last meet of the season in our home pool, she broke that record. She put the work in and she knew it was there for her. To see her reap that reward, I knew the kind of athlete I was working with.”
Mateja is a strong captain both in words and deeds. “Taylor sets a good example with her work ethic, doing things correctly, and she’s the first one to help others when they’re not,” Bugenhagen said. “She helps me as a coach by helping to coach others, explaining things, helping them to do things. She also is our most accomplished swimmer, so she’s really helpful in getting other swimmers to understand what they need to do to be more competitive.”
Mateja also is an excellent student and takes five Advanced Placement classes this year. She is also the Student Council treasurer and is a member of the National Honor Society and Spanish Honor Society. “Taylor is a very well-rounded student-athlete,” Bugenhagen said. “She’s the most talented swimmer I’ve coached in my 15 years. She’s someone who’s extremely passionate about her sport and about everything she attempts. Whatever she attempts to do in the future, I believe she’ll do well.” Mateja is undecided on a college.
To read Mateja’s complete profile, please click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/female/taylor-mateja
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Male Athlete (Week of Feb. 29, 2012)
Tim Abruzzo is the new standard bearer for future basketball players at Pennridge. In truth, the senior standout is the first standard bearer for a basketball program that has not had an especially storied past. “He set the bar high,” coach Dean Behrens said. “Now everyone is talking about him as the next guy they’re going to shoot for. You hear people say, ‘He’s as good as Tim.’ We never had that before.” Abruzzo has written the school’s record books. The Pennridge senior not only surpassed the 1,000-point mark, he also broke the school’s career scoring record, closing out his career with 1, 118 points. He also holds the school record for career three-point baskets with 193 and also the single season mark for treys (73).
Although he has rewritten the record books at Pennridge, Abruzzo has little regard for individual achievements. Mention his records, and the senior captain talks about his team’s accomplishments instead, most notably Pennridge’s first ever conference championship season when he was a junior. That title, according to Behrens, wouldn’t have happened without Abruzzo. “We wouldn’t have even been .500 this year if it wasn’t for Tim,” Behrens said. “He meant a lot in that regard, and he’s obviously going to be missed. Every year he got better. A lot of people can be good in eighth or ninth grades, but how much are they going to work to get better when they’re seniors. He put a lot of effort into getting better. Tim worked on some of the weaknesses he had and made those better. That’s what I think made him the player he is today.”
Abruzzo has parlayed his basketball talents into an invitation to attend the prestigious Naval Academy. An excellent student, Abruzzo – who takes AP Statistics and all honors classes – has narrowed his college choices to the Naval Academy and West Chester. “Basketball can only take you so far,” he said. “If you don’t have the grades to get into the schools that want you, it doesn’t mean anything. They can’t fudge numbers. You have to do the work in the classroom.”
To view Aburzzo’s complete profile, please click on the following link:
http://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/male/tim-abruzzo
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