Fencor 1989s

They're the tops - again By: Stuart London 08/04/2005 Fencor wins historic third national AAU title The Fencor girls basketball team leveled the opposition, winning a total of 11 games by an average margin of 22 points, en route to winning the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) 15-and-under championship last week in Clarksville, Tenn. Fencor won the title game, 78-67, over the Fairfax (Va.) Stars on Thursday in a game played at Austin Peay University's Dunn Center. Fencor finished first in a field of 95 teams. It is the third AAU national title for Fencor in this age group, having won it three years ago in Amarillo, Texas as well as last year in Monroe, La. Fairfax defeated Fencor two years ago in the 13-and-under final held in Dayton, Oh. Fencor becomes the first girls basketball team in the history of the Middle Atlantic AAU Association (which includes Eastern Pennsylva-nia, South Jersey and Delaware) to win two national titles in a row. The coach of the team was former Northeast resident Veronica Algeo, which gives her family another title. In the past year, her father, Jim Algeo, won the PIAA Class AAA football championship at Lansdale Catholic and her brother, Dan Algeo, won the Philadelphia Catholic League title at Cardinal O'Hara. Fencor was led by 6-foot-5 Elena Delle Donne with 40 points. She will be a sophomore at Ursuline Academy in Wilmington, Del. in the fall. Delle Donne scored 38 points for Ursuline in a win over Archbishop Ryan last season. Ursuline is scheduled to play at St. Hubert's this upcoming season. Caroline Doty, a sophomore-to-be at Germantown Academy, added 14 points and Lindsay Kimmel, the daughter of former NFL player Jamie Kimmel, added 12 points for Fencor. Another starter for Fencor was 6-foot Rosie Tarnowski, a sophomore-to-be at Archbishop Wood and the daughter of former Father Judge player Ray Tarnowski. Erin Edwards, whose father Bob Edwards also played for Judge, was a guard on the team. Also playing for Fencor were Michele Brokans (Lansdale Catholic), Shannon Ferguson (Upper Dublin), Hanna Halteman (Owen J. Roberts) and Christine Matera (Camden Catholic). Fencor won the Middle Atlantic championship for the sixth-straight time before a packed gym at Northeast High School in May with a 72-52 win over DBL, who ended up 5th at the AAU nationals in Clarksville. The AAU nationals were the end of a long month for Fencor. It started in Portland. Oregon as it played in the End of the Trail tournament going against teams from Texas, New Mexico and even Alberta, Canada. Fencor finished seventh playing in the elite division. Next up was the Nike Cup in Chicago, Ill. where Fencor finished with an impressive 4-1 record and placed fifth overall in an elite field of mostly 17-and-under teams. Fencor played both tournaments without Delle Donne, who was sick with an infection but she came back with a vengeance for Tennessee, averaging 22 points a game despite playing little more than a half as most games were blowouts. The Clarksville media showered attention on the Fencor players. Almost every day a reporter from the local newspaper, The Leaf-Chronicle, covered one of their games and the local TV station did a report on the team at its first and last games of the tournament. The fan support was also strong. At a game against the Georgia Metros played at Clarksville High, the crowd was so large it spilled onto the court and referees had to clear the baseline under the basket of fans who had lined it as the stands were full. The final day was a testament to Fencor's fitness and dedication as the quarterfinal, semifinal and final were all played on the same day with only an hour-and-a-half between games. The day began at 8:30 a.m. with Fencor dispatching the Michigan Pistons by 32 points. Next up were the Dayton Lady Hoop Stars in the semifinals. Dayton came out firing and took a quick 10-0 lead on Fencor. As one observer put it 'that just woke up the 800-pound gorilla' as Fencor outscore Dayton, 59-25, to advance to the national championship game. Fairfax had to play from behind the entire way as a hail of 3-pointers from Doty, Delle Donne and Kimmel gave Fencor a 14-4 lead. Fairfax would never get closer than four points. The only down note seemed to be that the team would not have time to celebrate its history-making day as they had to rush to make a 6 p.m. flight in Nashville, 45 miles away. But that even worked out as the flight was cancelled and the team was put up at a Marriott and got time to enjoy the victory before heading home the next morning. Stuart London is a News Gleaner Sports Writer, and a coach with Fencor. For more information on Fencor and the 15-and-under championship team, go to www.fencor.org. ©News Gleaner 2005