The Herald, Sharon, PA Published Wednesday, Nov. 5, 1997
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    ATHLETE OF THE MONTH: Inge Jorgensen, Wilmington

    Inge Jorgensen has been big `I' for Lady Hounds


    PHOTO Wilmington volleyball star Inge Jorgensen returns a shot in a recent match. Jorgensen was a catalyst behind the Lady Hounds spectacular season. (Clem Marion/Herald)

    By Ed Farrell
    Herald Sports Writer

    Coaches are fond of using the psychological ploy, ``There's no `I' in team'' in an effort to motivate their athletes, while molding cohesiveness.

    But in the scheme of the Wilmington High School girls volleyball team during the past three seasons, there has been a big `I' in the Lady Greyhounds' program, as in influential, incomparable Inge Jorgensen.

    ``She embodies everything you would want in a volleyball player, but she also embodies everything you would want in a student-athlete,'' praised Wilmington coach J.R. McFarland.

    Jorgensen has led Wilmington to a composite 50-8 record during her 3-year varsity span, including an unblemished 10-0 Mercer County Athletic Conference South Division mark, a 19-1 overall record and a berth in the District 10 semifinals. And for her efforts, she has been selected as The Herald's Sports Extra Female Athlete of the Month.

    ``You hate to give one person all the credit, because it takes a team,'' McFarland admitted, before quickly adding, ``but she's a major reason that we have that kind of a record.''

    During her 3-year stint as the Lady Hounds' hub, Wilmington lost just two MCAC matches, posting consecutive 16-0, 14-2 and 16-0 marks, an aggregate 46-2 ledger.

    Jorgensen drew opposing teams' attention, and subsequently drew a rave review from McFarland.

    ``First of all, she demands excellence of herself; secondly, she's willing to work hard to develop that (excellence), and No. 3, she's a real joy to coach. She doesn't take her abilities for granted, she always has a great attitude; her emotional level is very stable _ she's not an up-and-down person, emotionally, on the court _ and she's an intelligent player.

    ``Even with her athletic ability, she still knows what she wants to do and how to get it done; she's always thinking and looking,'' McFarland gushed. ``She has a lot of ability, but also does what it takes to be the best, and by that I mean her work-ethic, attitude and intelligence.''

    In addition to strength, augmented by a weight-training program, Jorgensen's other attributes, McFarland noted, include ``her court awareness and her quick reactions.

    ``She has everything you'd want a volleyball player to have, that's for sure. She does get upset if she does make an error, but at the same time, she's enough of a competitor to let it go by and not dwell on it. She's mature enough to let it go and be ready for the next one.''

    ``She really is the total package,'' McFarland, who also coaches Jorgensen in track, continued. ``We've just asked her to do so many things this year.''

    McFarland said he utilized Jorgensen as the Hounds' primary setter last year, but with the emergence of Romney O'Shane this season, ``we just felt, with her having that kind of athletic ability, we needed to put the ball in her hands as much as possible. We used Romney as a setter all the way around and, as a result, we could use Inge as a passer on serve-receive and she also played middle back, which means she gets her hands on more balls that are hit at us.

    ``I'm sure it made our team much stronger.''

    In spite of Jorgensen's dominance, McFarland said the Lady Greyhounds, relied on her, but not too much.

    ``She's bailed us out of a lot of close corners this year, but I would say, although the other girls know she's there, they want to be successful, also. We went to other girls, and they had the opportunity to show what they can do.''

    As with last month's Sports Extra Male Athlete of the Month, Wilmington's Todd Smargiasso, Jorgensen's cerebral assets complement her physical talent.

    ``I think if you look at our volleyball teams over the past 5, 6, 8 years, we've had some very intelligent girls on our team,'' McFarland explained. ``These girls take advanced math and science, and Inge is no different. They're special student-athletes because they have to be very disciplined. They're taking a heavy academic load, and with what we require out of them physically, they have to be special people, they really do.''

    ``A lot of our student-athletes, male and female, really work hard, no doubt about it,'' McFarland said. ``And they do well in life when they get out. We like to think our academic and athletics at Wilmington really assists them in college and later in life.''




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