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May 10, 2005 PRINCESS ANNE, MD - The University of Maryland Eastern Shore volleyball program is in the process of completing a very successful recruiting period that has been highlighted by the addition of five new faces to the Eastern Shore. Leah Amundson, Adora Luster, Yeal Rozner, Amanda Swenson, and Chanita Wesley come from all over the map to UMES and are expected to take this program to new heights. With the loss of a core group of seniors this past season that included the nation's leader in service aces per game, Jana Milin, head coach Alex Temkin knew he had to replace some of UMES's most talented volleyball players to date. "With the loss of our seniors that included Jana Milin, who is arguably on the of the nations best players, to go along with Marlee (Johnson), Aja (Smith), Mamie (Lewis) and Candice (Ringgold), who put their heart and souls into this program," said Coach Temkin. "I was looking for true freshman that could come in a fill the shoes of the talent we lost this past year and also take this program to a higher level over the next four years," said Temkin. "In recent history we have brought in a lot of junior college players with limited years of eligibility, so I wanted at least four or five freshman who I could work with for four full seasons and create a core group of talent and that is what I have done." Amanda Swenson was an Honor Roll student and member of the National Honors Society at South Windsor High School. She received Academic All-Conference honors in 2001 and was selected to the All-State Team in 2003 and 2004. She was named to the All-Conference team her final three seasons (2002, 2003 and 2004) and received honors from the Hartford Courant as an All Courant Player in 2003 and 2004. The South Windsor girl's volleyball team hurdled through the CCC East with a 21-2 record and went all the way to the Class LL semifinals in November of 2004. Amanda has been playing club volleyball since she was nine years old. She played two years for Northern Lights in Minnesota where her 14-and-under team placed 13th in the Open Division at Nationals. The past four years have been spent in Connecticut playing with the Husky Juniors club. She also was a member of the New England High Performance team in 2003, and attended USAV High Performance Camp during the summers of 2003 and 2004. "Amanda is the smartest player I have ever recruited both on and off the court," said Temkin. "She will be a talented right-side player with her great size (6'0"). She will come off the bench and give us experience and knowledge at a very young age." Leah Amundson comes to UMES from Arizona Western Community College as the only transfer student, where she played two seasons of junior college volleyball for the Matadors. Amundson played in 73 games as an outside hitter in her freshman year. She recorded 16 kills, 13 assists and 16 aces to go along with her team high 296 digs. Due to her tremendous talent as a defensive player, she was moved to defensive specialist last season where she played in 41 games recording 10 kills, 17 aces and 74 digs. She helped guide her team to a 17-1 record in the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference and a 36-10 overall record. AWCC was ranked as high as #4 in the nation and ended the season as District runners-up as they were upset by Salt Lake Community College. "Leah will move back to the outside as she has excellent size and knows the game very well after playing for one of the best junior colleges in the country," said Temkin. "She will come in ready to pass the ball and give our ball control a whole new dimension." Adora Luster comes to UMES from Osbourn Park High School in Manassas, Virginia were she was a standout scholar athlete. The 6'0" middle-hitter was a four-year member of the Osbourn Park High School volleyball team that won the Cedar Run District Championship in 2004. Following her senior year, she was 1st Team All-Conference and 1st Team All-District. She was also named the Potomac News "Player to Watch for 2005" and was an Honorable Mention in the Washington Post as she led her team in blocks her junior and senior seasons. During the summers she also competes with the Clash Club Volleyball team, who was ranked as high as fifth in the state last season. "Adora will fill the middle for us as a freshman with her tremendous athletic ability," said Temkin. "She is a great jumper and will be the future for the Lady Hawks in the middle." Yeal Rozner brings the Lady Hawks some experience and depth at setter. At 5'9", the 20-year old freshman started playing volleyball when she was eight years old. In high school she was the setter and guided her team to the Israeli high school championship. As a result of the championship, her team represented Israel in the World High School Tournament in Portugal. She was named MVP of the championship game in Israel. Currently she is playing for the KIRYATIM team, which finished third Israel league. She also plays for the Israel national team who is preparing for the European championships. She was a solider in the Israeli army and in high school was the top student of her class. "Yeal has great hands and will give us much needed depth at the setter position as she is in great physical condition," said Temkin. "Having two setters in practice will make our team that much better. Also with her age, she has great court sense which she will be able to pass on to others." Chanita Wesley is from Minneapolis, Minnesota where she has played for the Mizuno Minnesota One Juniors club team. The 5' 8" outside hitter led her club to an 18-2 record in 2004 and a 16-1 record in 2002, where she was given the "Hitting" Award at Nationals, and a 15-1 record in 2001. Wesley is also a standout softball player at Breck School as she earned two varsity letters as a shortstop. In 2004, she received the Who's Who Among High School Students- Sports Edition award. In 2002, she was a Tri-Metro Conference Honorable Mention and the recipient of the Ann Bancroft "Dare to Dream Award". She is a Page Foundation Scholar and a PPL Tutor. "Wesley, though only 5'8", plays like a six-footer with her great jumping ability," said Temkin. "She will start on the outside and will bring great ball control to the team." The University of Maryland Eastern Shore is looking forward to bring in these talented young women and will begin working from day one to build a unit that has completely different backgrounds into a championship caliber team that volleyball fans have come to expect from UMES.
"I am very excited about this class so far and looking to add a few more before the spring is done," said Temkin. "These five young women, along with the players we have returning from last season, will be very exciting to watch grow and compete over the next few years."
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