Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 4, 1990 TAG: 9004040053
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
One thing in particular about the Maroons' senior impressed the coaches and officials. Fontaine is ambidextrous.
"She's phenomenal," said Chester Adams, the Lord Botetourt coach. "She has power with both hands in spiking. That's a rarity."
"I just tried it. I worked on it," Fontaine said of a skill that set her apart from the other All-Timesland players. "I said at the beginning of the year I'd try it."
It worked. Not only is Fontaine the Timesland volleyball player of the year, she will attend Radford University on a full scholarship.
Salem and George Wythe dominate the first team, with two players each. Eva Turpin, also headed to Radford, joins Fontaine on the first team, along with Salem's Tracy Palmer and Shaunice Warr.
The first team also includes Susan Brown, a junior from Lexington's Group A runner-up team; Jefferson Forest's Latrice Thompson, and Franklin County's Tammie Ingram. Fontaine and Ingram are both repeat selections from last year's first team.
Salem's David Turk, who built the Spartans into a Group AA contender, is the coach of the year.
Bassett's Shermenia Dillard and Cherie Young are on the second team. Dillard was a second-team pick last year. The rest of the second team is made up of Patrick Henry's Nanette Lewis, Floyd County's Tracy McDaniels, Lexington's Michelle Reynolds, Cave Spring's Katrina Sherman and William Byrd's Michelle Vandergrift.
Fontaine was a starter on George Wythe's Group AA championship basketball tema. She also is an outstanding performer in track, competing in both hurdles events, three field events and one relay.
"I don't know what my favorite sport is," said Fontaine, who might have wanted to try another sport in college.
"I got a good offer," she added, explaining her choice of volleyball in college. "I'll miss track and basketball, but overall I'll do OK in volleyball."
Fontaine is a late bloomer in volleyball. She didn't take up the sport until she was a freshman at Wythe.
Turk's Salem team finished 14-2.
"This was the best team I've had," he said. "Two things made this team unique. One was that there were quality players up and down the line. We didn't have any weak players. Most teams have a weak player or two.
"Also, there was no controversy on this team. No jealousies. No egos. Everyone accepted they had a job to do and they did it. We made a lot of on-court adjustments and they were smart enough that we could change in the middle of the game."
Palmer and Warr were the leaders as Salem reached the Group AA semifinals. Palmer was the only one of the two who made All-Region III, but the All-Timesland panel said that Warr was just as valuable for the Spartans.
Brown got the nod over teammate Reynolds. Coaches and officials said both compared favorably to the best Group AA players. Both are juniors, but Lexington will have only three returning starters next season.
Though the Roanoke Valley District does not choose a player of the year, Ingram led the voting for the all-district team. Patrick Henry and Cave Spring, behind their second-team selections, were the better teams and advanced to the Group AA Northwestern Region.
Thompson is another in a long line of fine players for Jefferson Forest, which produced the previous two Timesland players of the year. The Cavaliers didn't have as good a year as a team this season, but Thompson stood out as one of the top Region III players.
Wythe's Lillie Moore was runner-up to Turk for coaching honors. Her team, like Turk's, advanced to the Group AA semifinals.
VOLLEYBALL'S BEST 1989-90 FIRST TEAM Susan Brown, Jr., Lexington Anne Fontaine, Sr., George Wythe Tammie Ingram, Sr., Franklin County Tracy Palmer, Sr., Salem Latrice Thompson, Sr., Jefferson Forest Eva Turpin, Sr., George Wythe Shaunice Warr, Sr., Salem SECOND TEAM Shermenia Dillard, Sr., Bassett Nanette Lewis, Sr., Patrick Henry Tracy McDaniels, Sr., Floyd County Michelle Reynolds, Jr., Lexington Katrina Sherman, Sr., Cave Spring Michelle Vandergrift, Sr., William Byrd Cherie Young, Sr., Bassett PLAYER OF YEAR: Anne Fontaine, George Wythe COACH OF YEAR: David Turk, Salem
by CNB