Skipjacks reach final goal with banner-raising
WYE MILLS – More than eight months after their final game, the Skipjacks saw their ultimate goal realized.
The 2011-12 Chesapeake College women’s basketball team took to their home court one last time Saturday afternoon as the college’s fifth region championship banner was unveiled. This one commemorated the state and region titles along with the seventh-place national finish recorded during last season’s record-breaking, 28-4 campaign.
The banner – joining the ones already hanging for the 1981 and 2009 softball teams, 2005 baseball team, and 2007-08 men’s basketball team – was unveiled just prior to Chesapeake’s 78-56 women’s basketball victory over Garrett College.
“That was our main goal last year,” said former Skipjack Jen Carr, noting the team talked during the run-up to last season about their goal of earning a region title banner. “Just to see it [a banner raising] happen was great.”
Chesapeake head coach Damon Nichols, who won Region XX Coach of the Year while leading the Skipjacks on last season’s record-breaking march, said it was fitting to honor “those special young women and what they achieved for Chesapeake College.”
The entire 2011-12 team – Carr, Shantrel Oliver, Emon Heath, Deja Acree, Ashleigh Jones, Rose Smith, Denver Clyde, and Katara Pressley, statisticians Ashley Molock, Tiffany Ricks, and Katilin Skinner, and assistant coach James Thomas – all attended the ceremony.
“It was really nice,” Jones, last year’s state tournament MVP who now plays at Nyack College, said of the ceremony. “After last season, sitting back and thinking about all the records we had broken, it made me miss being here. I wish we could do it all over again.”
“It felt great just being back here in this environment,” said Oliver, who is redshirting this season at Division II University of the District of Columbia. “It hit me today all that we accomplished. It’s means a lot to me.”
Smith – one of three returning players who will have a chance to do it all over again with this year’s Skipjacks – said Saturday’s ceremony “felt amazing.”
“That’s what we worked for,” Smith said of the banner. “All of our hard work paid off. It felt great to see everybody come out to support us. Hopefully we can earn another [banner] this season.”
Both Smith and Carr – who is a statistician on this year’s squad while she finishes her associate’s degree – said this year’s team has the potential to duplicate last season’s championships.
“They have a lot of potential,” said Carr, noting the Skipjacks (3-0) are unbeaten despite playing most of the first three games without Smith and returning all-American Clyde, who was last season’s Region XX tournament MVP. “They work hard and they want it as bad as we did.”
“Once we get the team chemistry, we’ll be set,” said Smith. “We’ve already got the talent.”