THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 25, 1996 TAG: 9602230191
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 32 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY REA FARMER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 86 lines
Kristen Cholewa probably won't be reading the paper this morning. She'll probably be relaxing, maybe even sleeping in, to recoup her strength after Kempsville's run of five basketball games in six days.
``It's tiring,'' said Cholewa, a senior. ``We're suffering from a little bit of fatigue, I think. It's tough mentally.''
While all the games were critical, two were laden with intense emotion. On Monday, the Chiefs were second to Princess Anne in the Beach District. By the end of the evening, they had posted a 65-47 victory to deadlock the title race. Tuesday night, the two clashed again. The Chiefs' neutral-court victory earned them the title and a berth in the Eastern Region tournament.
Wednesday night, Kempsville slammed Kellam 68-28 in the tournament quarterfinals. Thursday was a semifinal game against Tallwood and, if the Chiefs beat Tallwood, Saturday was the championship against - not again - Princess Anne or Salem.
Regardless of the outcome, Kempsville has repeated an impressive season and is ready for Eastern Region play, which begins Monday. The Chiefs will host the Eastern District runnerup at 7 p.m.
Despite winning 29 straight games last season before being eliminated in the state playoffs, the Chiefs were significantly less than cocky entering this year.
``I don't know if we expected it,'' Cholewa said of Kempsville's 22-2 record through Wednesday. ``We all knew we had to work hard to get where we were. Last year, we worked hard, we didn't take it for granted. This year, we knew we had to work a little harder because of the lack of height and the leadership that Carrie Johnson gave us. We just hoped that we'd have as good a season as we did last year.''
Although the record is slightly less stellar, the talent and effort are not. Since she first tied on her sneakers to play basketball in seventh grade, Cholewa has worked on improving both as an individual player and a team member. She can reel off lists of team goals, but hesitates and has to think when asked about her personal playing goals.
``Just to lead the team on the court and off,'' said Cholewa, who suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury playing soccer last spring and endured long and painful rehabilitation just to be back on the basketball court. ``It's not necessarily to be the top scorer or have the most rebounds, but just to lead the team and encourage everyone to play hard during practice and to play their best, because that's what I think counts. And to have fun.''
Teamwork. Practice. Have fun. All sound like sports cliches until they are uttered by an earnest athlete on a team loaded with depth. Cholewa's role has been as a leader, but not in terms of numbers. She averages just under 10 points per game, a team-high, and relishes the team concept.
``It's great mentally, because I know if I have an off night, somebody else picks it up,'' she said. ``We all compensate for other people. I think it makes it harder for other teams to come out because they can't concentrate on each one of us individually. That's the best part of our team. We're so well-rounded in every aspect.''
This well-rounded attack has haunted opponents. The only stumbling block for Kempsville this season has been Salem. After downing every team in the district, Kempsville was 0-2 against the Sun Devils as of Thursday. Salem, conversely, has been unable to topple Princess Anne.
``I think it just gives it a lot more excitement, for everyone,'' Cholewa said of the odd outcome between the top three teams. ``I still cannot figure out why that happens, mentally. Each team is very good. Each has its strong points and its weak points. I think it just makes it a lot more fun and more competitive.''
Competition has sometimes been hard to come by for Kempsville. The Chiefs outscore their opponents by an average of 26.3 points and their closest win was nine over the Cavaliers last week. Prior to that, they carried only double-digit victories.
Cholewa said coach Greg Dunn has instilled the team with the importance of every game and the ability to stay focused in a run-away win.
``Mr. Dunn helps us out a lot with that,'' Cholewa said. ``He always encourages hard work from all of us, actually he demands it from us. I agree with him. During those games is when we need to work on skills and things like that. We don't come into any game lightly.''
Especially not the Eastern Region tournament. Cholewa is not cocky about the Chiefs' chances, but she's not scared either.
``I'm excited. I'm confident in a way because I know we've got more experience than a lot of people, especially because of last year,'' she said. ``It's just going to be fun. We know we have to come in tough and play our best and if we win, we win.'' by CNB