DATE: Tuesday, November 4, 1997             TAG: 9711040457

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C7   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY LEE TOLLIVER, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH                    LENGTH:   58 lines

KELLAM HOPES ITS FINE FALL BECOMES EVEN BETTER TODAY AT 9:30 A.M., THE FIELD HOCKEY TEAM VIES IN THE EASTERN REGION QUARTERFINAL.

If winning is truly contagious, then athletes at Kellam must have spent a lot of time this fall in quarantine.

It's been a pretty good fall over in Knightsville.

Everybody's heard by now about the football team being in first place in the Beach District. And the golf team won its first Beach title a few weeks ago. Cross country and volleyball teams were also successful.

And the field hockey team also caught the bug, advancing to today's Eastern Region quarterfinals for the first time in the tournament's 30-year history.

When the Knights face Nansemond River in the quarterfinals at 9:30 this morning, it would be easy to say that it's all icing on the cake from here. But the Kellam players have quickly learned that not winning leaves a sick feeling.

``There is a lot of spirit at school, most definitely,'' said junior forward Kim Houck. ``Everybody is cheering all the teams on and all the teams are supporting each other.''

Coach Holly Richbourg has had trouble sharing some of the emotions her players are experiencing. She teaches at Landstown Middle School. ``But I've noticed it in the players,'' the fifth-year coach said. ``When I first started, the girls were so used to losing that it wasn't a disappointment.''

Not so anymore.

In last week's Beach tournament final, the Knights met an on-fire Cox squad and fell 5-0. And even though the team was guaranteed a spot in the region competition regardless of the outcome, the Knights were none-to-happy about the way they played.

That changed attitude hasn't gone unnoticed by opponents.

``The coach has been there a few times and she has established a team and a program,'' said Cox coach Nancy Fowlkes. ``They played us tough the first game, because the players have a commitment to field hockey. We saw lots of them at camps over the summer.

``They have a nice team.''

One that shouldn't have any trouble bouncing back, given the current mood at school.

``It's real good,'' said junior forward Jocelyn Orr. ``There are more people at games and people come up to you at school and say nice things now. Everybody's behind us.''

Nobody on the team has more support from the other winning athletes than Tiffany Blaine. The first-year sophomore keeper is the twin sister of Zachary Blaine, the football team's place-kicker who has kicked a pair of game-winning field goals in the last month.

``I'm really feeling what he's feeling,'' she said. ``And I think the momentum of the football team has carried over to the other teams. When the football team is winning, people at school feel good about school.''

Yep, wearing black and gold has gotten to be pretty popular in Knightsville. It's been a good fall. ILLUSTRATION: D. KEVIN ELLIOTT/The Virginian-Pilot

Kristen Southerland of Cox, left, and Kellam's Amanda Snow battle

during the Beach tournament final that Cox won 5-0 last Friday.

Send Suggestions or Comments to webmaster@scholar.lib.vt.edu