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Wanted: Sports writers, photographers, and editors Call x8600 Volume XIX, Number 4 Western Maryland College Thursday, Apnl 1, 1999 Lapato is Ladies lacrosse prevails in edge-of-seat games state's top BY MIKE PUSKAR Hargrave was among those who defensive Senior Marjorie An Editor Scholar- With less than half the team impaired the Gophers' scoring with her last-second turnover. caused consisting of returning players, the "After the time-out, we realized Athlete women's attracted team has fortu- that we were the better team, and lacrosse nately playing better," Giomo new excellent we weren't players, seven of whom are fresh- commented. "We just got mad and In 1995 Tom Lapato missed out men. Among the Class of '02 is ran it down. That's what I did, what on the award given to the state's top goalie Josselyn Guinan, who re- Natalie did, and what Shannon scholar-athlete in high school foot- places the Terror's longtime sale [Benson] did." ball. goalie Amanda Rose, now a grad Benson, ajunior, and Hannibal But March 10, after four years student. each scored a goal, while Giorno of straight A's in the classroom and Though the team (2-0) has had came out with five, claiming her an all-America season on the field, the habit of falling into ties, it place as lead scorer on the team. the Western Maryland defensive barely overcame Goucher (4-3) in Hannibal and freshman Alaina back was honored as the state's top its March 25 home opener with a Fila also had assists. collegiate scholar-athlete. score of8-7. Though not as intense, the Lapato, a e-rect, 200-pound se- Holding a 4-1 lead at half, the March 23 game at Dickinson (0-3) Junior Amy Bittinger heads downfield with Goucher's Kim Rogers in lOw. nior, has been named the Maryland Terror was knocked back as the was also a little tied up at times. In College Scholar-Athlete ofthe Year Gophers burrowed their way un- the first half, scoring was a volley, After tearing her ACL in last freshman Erin Mulhern each came by the Baltimore chapter of the der the home team's feet and into the Terror and Red Devils altemat- year's game at Gettysburg, senior through with one assist. Eleven of National Football Foundation and goal five times. ing goals. After the break, however, co-captain Amy North kicked back the nineteen goals were assisted, College Football Hall of Fame. On a Goucher time-out, the Ter- the Terror steamrollered its oppo- into high gear with a per-game ca- emphasizing the ladies' teamwork Lapato accepted the honor at the rorcollected itself, and sophomore nent with a final of 19-10. reer high of seven goals, one of potential. group's annual awards dinner at Carney Brian and junior Meaghan - Junior Amy Bittinger exploded which was scored off an assist from Giomo also played heavy- Martins West in Catonsville, shar- Giorno evened the score with goals after a static first half with three freshman Kim Adams at :06 left in weight in the game with five goals ing the spotlight with the top stu- at 3:22 and 2:57, respectively. goals and one assist in the second, the first half. North also had one and four assists. "For both games, dent-athletes from 91 high schools On an assist from senior co- while junior soccer superstar Beth assist, and Adams had one goal. but mostly Goucher, it was so in- in the Greater Baltimore area. captain Natalie Hannibal, Giorno Blasi - taking up lacrosse for the Other goals were incurred by tense," she said. "It was one goal The award caps a six-month scored the winning goal with first time since high school- had Brian, with two, and Hannibal, one, back and forth, and that was all it string of honors for Lapato, a math- merely :55 remaining. eight caused turnovers. while the latter, Benson, Filo, and took [to play better.]" , ematics major with a perfect 4.0 grade-point average and a two-time Manolovich hired to coach lax, field hockey all-Centennial Conference pick at strong safety. In December; Laparo appeared Mindy Manolovich, a 1989 on a nationally televised awards Westminster High graduate who last spring, its seventh straight win- 2-0 so far ning season, and stands show as the Burger Ki~g Division guided Oberlin College to league this year. III Scholar-Athlete of the Year. The titles in women's lacrosse the past The field hockey team went 6- American Football Coaches Asso- two years, has been named head 12 last fall. ciation chose him for the honor, and coach of field hockey and lacrosse Manolovich returns home after Burger King bestowed $25,000 on atWMC. Western Maryland for the school's Manolovich will take up her a ten-year odyssey that began at general scholarship fund. full-time position here at the end Manolovich has Later that month, Lapato was of the current lacrosse season, named a GTE first-team Academic which is her fourth at Oberlin. She coached 2 All- All-American and, for his on-the- led the team to North Coast Ath- field efforts, landed on the Hewlett letic Conference titles in 1997 and Americans and 11 Packard all-America squad as a '98 and earned the league's Coach ali-region picks. third-team pick. In January he won of the Year award in '97. a coveted NCAA Post-Graduate Under her leadership, Oberlin Scholarship worth $5,000. Lynchburg College (VA), where has gone 34-'14 in lacrosse over she won regional All-America hon- Lapato, a two-time co-captain, three seasons (8-7, 14-3, 11-4) and ors in hockey and served as team helped lead Western Maryland to 25-53 in field hockey over four captain in both sports in '92-'93. back-to-back conference titles and years (3-15, 10-11,4-16,9-11). She capped her lacrosse career NCAA playoff bids in 1997 and '98. Manolovioh has coached 2 All- with an appearance in the North! Last fall he finished second in the Americans and- I I all-region picks. South All-Star Game in '93. league with six interceptions as the In '96 and '97, she guided the Mid- Manolovich went on to earn a Green Terror topped the nation in west team in the U.S. Women's master's degree in education from turnover ratio, finished sixth in pass Lacrosse Association national tour- Virginia Tech while coaching the defense and went 10-1 for the sec- nament. school's club teams in field hockey ond straight year. Manolovich replaces 23rd-year and lacrosse. She joined the Meanwhile Lapato earned aca- women's lacrosse coach Kim demic all-American honors for the Easterday, who will then concen- Oberlin staff in 1995. High senior, As a Westminster third straight year, served as vice- trate on her duties as swimming in April '89, Manolovich founded president of the math honor soci- coach and aquatics manager, and ety and earned a spot in the art his- fourth-year field hockey coach the Carroll County Women's Rec- tory honor society. reational Lacrosse Club for girls COURTESY OF SPORTS INFORMATlON Tracey Folio. ages 8-13. Courtesy of Sports Information Champion coach Mindy Manolovich steps up to lead the Terror. The Terror went 9-6 in lacrosse Courtesy of Sports Information