THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, January 11, 1995 TAG: 9501110547
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C5 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Athlete Of The Week
SOURCE: BY PATTI WALSH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: Medium: 57 lines
Deep Creek's Tamara Sivels sat in the bleachers last season, academically ineligible, wishing she had one more chance to prove herself in the classroom and on the basketball court.
When her grandfather passed away this summer, it hit the rising senior even harder. She wanted nothing more than to make him proud and the upcoming semester would have been her last opportunity to do it.
Sivels dove in headfirst. She did a 180-degree turnaround in her studies - at the midterm, she has almost a B average - and she's a point shy of 180 in scoring.
Sivels is coming off the best week of her career, having scored 83 points in three Hornet victories.
Tuesday against Indian River, Sivels scored 32 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and had seven steals. The next night, against Lake Taylor, she scored 30 points, had 12 rebounds and eight steals. Then Friday against Western Branch, she added 21 points, 10 rebounds and five steals.
For her efforts, Sivels has been named The Virginian-Pilot and The Ledger-Star's female athlete of the week.
``It was really painful for me to sit in the stands, knowing what I could do on the court,'' Sivels said. ``Then when my grandfather passed on this summer, I told myself I was going to step up and get my grades right.''
This semester, she's added chemistry and geometry to her schedule, classes that she needs to prepare her for the next step in her life: college.
``I just want to do good and play hard and go to college,'' she said.
There's no doubt in coach Otis Etheridge's mind that with his star player scoring in the classroom, the Division I coaches will be knocking down her door.
``With her mom and dad, we all came together,'' Etheridge said. ``She decided that she needed to be a student before she could be an athlete.
``It was embarrassing to her and she had another chance. She hit the books hard.''
Now that Sivels is dominating the courts and the classroom, she thinks of how proud her grandfather would be.
``I really wish he was here to see me,'' she said. ``He used to tell me he'd give me five dollars if I'd score a lot of points.''
Sivels, who is averaging 17.9 points through nine games, would be $45 richer this season if her grandfather were still alive. She's not counting those dollars.
``Aw, I'd do it for him regardless,'' she said. ILLUSTRATION: Tamara Sivels
by CNB