THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, July 1, 1994 TAG: 9406290122
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 23 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PATTI WALSH, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 104 lines
Norfolk Collegiate's Vanessa Facenda, a Portsmouth resident and the premier home run hitter in the area with 11, was named softball Player of the Year in the Tidewater Conference of Independent Schools.
Facenda hit .511 and, as a pitcher, hurled five victories and had a 1.08 earned run average.
``She's probably the best player in the conference,'' Catholic coach Vann Sutton said. ``She even had two home runs when we were deliberately throwing her bad pitches.''
Western Branch resident Sarah Putnam, a junior at Nansemond-Suffolk, racked up some impressive statistics for the second consecutive season and finished a close second to Facenda in voting for Player of the Year. She struck out 164 batters in 129 innings with a 1.70 earned run average. She helped herself out at the plate with a .528 average, 26 RBIs and 34 runs scored.
Putnam led N-SA to the TCIS regular-season and tournament championships and was named most valuable player in the tournament.
Facenda and Putnam were also first-team All-Tidewater selections by The Virginian-Pilot and The Ledger-Star.
Other first-team choices: Norfolk Christian's Rachael Mulder, an outfielder who hit .404 with 13 RBIs, 17 stolen bases and 18 runs; Norfolk Academy's Lauren Goldman, a pitcher who hit .340, scored 23 runs, had 14 RBIs, struck out 61 batters and had a 2.19 ERA; Erin Osborne, a pitcher/infielder who hit pitcher/outfielder who hit .352 and added two home runs and two triples; and Norfolk Collegiate's Jennifer Goudy and Marcy Michaels, whose year-end statistics weren't available.
N-SA's Lea Wilson, a catcher with 28 putouts, a .459 batting average, 21 RBIs and 26 runs scored, was also a first-team choice.
Nansemond-Suffolk's Derek Riebel, a transfer from Great Bridge, was named Player of the Year in baseball.
Norfolk Academy sophomore Angela Hucles was named the top girls soccer player, and Cape Henry Collegiate's Mike Basto the top lacrosse player.
Hucles, also named Player of the Year in South Hampton Roads by The Virginian-Pilot and The Ledger-Star, had 45 goals and 25 assists to lead the TCIS.
The Norfolk Academy girls soccer team, which hasn't been scored upon in the TCIS in 22 games, led the all-conference selections with four.
Teammates Alli Jacobs, a midfielder, scored 11 goals with 14 assists; halfback Carrie Evans had 13 goals and assists; and Hilary Martin scored 4 goals and 3 assists.
According to coach Kevin Sims, Martin, a halfback, was a heavy factor in the Bulldogs' 17 shutout victories.
``There's quite a bit of experience amongst these girls,'' Sims said.
Rounding out the first team are Norfolk Christian's Martha Duffey, a forward who had 15 goals and three assists; Norfolk Collegiate's Heather Dailey, a forward with 11 goals and 7 assists, Catholic's Georgia Germano (midfielder) and Nansemond-Suffolk's Jill Van Guilder.
Riebel was perhaps the biggest success story for N-SA. He led the Saints with 32 runs scored and 31 RBIs and tied teammate Mark Fowler, also a first-team selection, with four team-leading home runs.
Riebel overcame a stomach illness and rebounded from a disappointing performance last spring at Great Bridge.
Riebel was second at N-SA in batting with a .393 average (10 doubles, 3 triples) behind first-teamer, Mike Vizcaino.
Norfolk Christian's Jeremy Elms was a close second to Riebel in voting for Player of the Year. Elms was named on seven of a possible nine ballots and collected 46 points under a ratings system by the coaches. Riebel was named on six ballots and had 49 points.
Elms hit .413 with 24 RBIs. He was a small schools all-state choice as an infielder but also had a 1.76 ERA and 70 strikeouts in 30 innings as a pitcher.
Catholic, which upended N-SA in the league tournament semifinals and defeated Norfolk Collegiate in the championship game, landed only one first-team player: Benny Brent, a pitcher who was 7-5 with 92 strikeouts in 48 innings and a 1.63 ERA. He also hit .347 for the Crusaders.
Norfolk Academy's Ben Hamlet was also a first-team choice. The pitcher/outfielder hit .370 with 15 RBIs and had 73 strikeouts in 44.2 innings and a 2.41 ERA.
Other Nansemond-Suffolk players joining Riebel, Fowler and Vizcaino on the first team were teammates Grant Sharp and Walt Bondurant. Riebel, Fowler and Sharp each earned first-team all-state honors while Bondurant was named honorable mention all-state.
Fowler, a junior outfielder and pitcher, batted .333 with 23 RBIs and 23 runs scored. On the mound, he struck out 40 opponents in 53.7 innings, posting a 2.09 ERA.
Vizcaino, a freshman outfielder and pitcher, led the Saints with a .397 average. He scored 18 runs and batted in 24. As a pitcher, Vizcaino struck out 36 in 45.7 innings. He allowed only 2.60 earned runs per appearance.
Junior pitcher Bondurant was 7-0 and struck out 35 in 37.3 innings. He held opponents to 1.69 earned runs. Bondurant batted .244 with 11 RBIs. MEMO: Staff writer Harry Minium contributed to this story.
ILLUSTRATION: File photo
Vanessa Facenda
Norfolk Collegiate standout
ALL-TCIS TEAMS
[For a copy of the roster, see microfilm for this date.]
by CNB