Siesta Key, FL. -- The Panthers finished up a big weekend of beach competition at the Small College Championships showing lots of progress and grabbing a few wins as well.
The small college division consisted of NAIA schools, NCAA Division II and III schools, and a city college from California. It was tough competition every time Principia stepped on the court. The windy conditions and the quality of the competing teams really demanded the Panthers' best! After their team win against St. Thomas yesterday, Principia lost to NCAA Division II Spring Hill College in their final pool play match, and then moved into the playoffs seeded #3 in the silver bracket. This position pitted Principia against NAIA Warner University of Lake Wales. Prin's #3 team of
Cha Cha Fisher and
Devon Marunde pulled out a win with real grit and grace. These two chased balls down that no one thought they could get, and stuck to the fight until they earned the victory. Â Prin's #1s
Sophia Hathaway and
Noelle Shoemake had the match of the day as they took down Spring Hill College's #1 team in two straight. Principia really controlled the ball well and found the sand on SHC's side. It was a knock-down-drag-out match with Prin taking game one 23-21, and then falling behind 16-19 in game two, but not giving up! They scratched their way back into the match and secured the win 24-22 - very exciting! #2s
Emelie Fredrikson and
Nikki Matters played so thoughtfully. They really worked to keep their passing under control and to out-shot their opponents. When they got their rhythm down, they were unstoppable.  #4s
Makena Patterson and
Victoria Vandiver were fighters. They worked hard to get on the net to execute their offense. They did a nice job of moving the opponents with their shots. #5s
Emily Tippetts and
Amanda Roberts had some exciting games. Emily was a force at the net, while Amanda was tallying some miles in the back court - chasing balls down. Amanda was successful feeding Emily some good sets as well.Â
Coach Sprague had this to say, "Everyone showed courage and boldness as a competitor this weekend. When we controlled the first ball, be it serve or serve receive, we scored a lot. Coach Fairbanks and I were very proud of these ladies - the resilience they showed as they played 5 tough opponents in about 26Â hours. The Principia Panthers definitely got better this weekend."
