NHS Athletes Vendel, Bowen Sign

By Andy Hutchison and Nancy K. Crevier

Lacrosse player Lisa Vendel and softball player Kate Bowen are leading their respective Newtown High School teams to nearly flawless season.

Life on the athletic fields is going well for the high-scoring and tough-on-defense Vendel and hard-throwing/swinging Bowen, whose teams are unbeaten in South-West Conference play.

Although the high school chapters of their lives are not over yet, the duo recently officially began their upcoming collegiate chapters, each signing National Letters of Intent to play in college in mid-April.

Vendel signed to play lacrosse at Bryant University in Smithfield, R.I., and Bowen signed to play softball at Manhattan College in Riverdale, N.Y. Both athletes received scholarships to continue their skills in college.

“I am thrilled for Lisa that she is playing lacrosse in college,” her coach, Maura Fletcher said. “She is a phenomenal athlete with the gift of speed. You can’t teach speed, but you can teach athletes how to use it to their advantage and Lisa has mastered that.”

Fletcher added that Vendel is a “great one-on-one defender and has a keen sense of anticipation.” The coach also said that the senior midfielder is the first Newtown athlete to receive All-American accolades as an Honorable Mention in 2009.

Vendel, who is working hard to help the Nighthawks win their sixth straight South-West Conference championship, entered this week’s action with a team-best 31 goals and 18 scooped ground balls in seven games, during which the Nighthawks posted a 6-1 record.

The senior, who was also recruited by Marist College, is focused on this season, but enthusiastic about what lies ahead. “I’m really excited because I know other girls who are going to go there too,” Vendel said of lacrosse players from Danbury who are also planning to play at Bryant next year.

“I expect Lisa to excel at Bryant and wish her the best of luck,” Fletcher said. “They are lucky to have her.”

“Lisa is a talented athlete with a tireless work ethic,” Bryant Coach Karen Healy said. “We expect her to set the tempo in the midfield for us next year and be force on offense.”

Along with Kate Bowen, her parents, Nancy and Tom Bowen, two aunts, an uncle, her guidance counselor Gerry Waterbury, and four coaches were on hand as she put pen to paper, firming up what she called “a hard decision to make” during her signing.

Central Connecticut State University, Florida Atlantic, University of New Haven, and the University of Connecticut had courted Bowen, as well, making the past several weeks tumultuous as she weighed one offer against another.

“It’s a great day for her,” Nancy Bowen said. “She’s talked about [getting a scholarship to play softball] since she first started playing, when she was 8 years old.”

An ACL injury caused in a basketball game kept Kate, a pitcher and strong hitter, out of the softball lineup in her junior year, a crucial time for showcasing skills to interested collegiate teams. NHS head girls’ softball coach Bob Guerrera said that Kate had been concerned when she hurt herself that her chance of playing college softball had been curtailed. “This day is a testament to her hard work,” he said.

“She is probably the hardest working athlete I’ve ever coached,” added Jeff Babineau, head coach for the Trumbull-based St Joseph High School softball team, and Katie’s coach the past four summers on the Xtreme Chaos team out of Stratford. “Her determination in learning and mastery of techniques is incredible,” he said.

Lin Hertberg, volunteer assistant coach for the NHS softball team, has watched Bowen grow as a player since her days in Parks and Recreation programs, and in the past four years at the high school. “She’s a lovely young lady and she’ll have a great career at Manhattan College,” Hertberg said.

Bowen threw a no-hitter against Bunnell of Stratford on April 14 and showed off her swing with her second home run of the spring, a grand slam, the next day. Bowen hit her third homer of the campaign and tossed her third straight shutout in a win over Brookfield on April 23, leading the Hawks to a 7-0 start this spring.

“I am truly excited to go to Manhattan College,” Bowen said. “It’s a great educational college and I really love the coach and the softball team there. It’s going to be a great four years.”