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Can-do Candotti finds a softball future at Butler

Uncle Mark would be so proud of his niece.

Schaumburg junior Christina Candotti has made a commitment to play Division I softball at Butler University in Indianapolis.

Mark Candotti passed away four years ago but Christina will remember him forever.

"He gave me my first softball glove when I began playing (at the age of 7)," said Christina of her uncle, who was the president of the Vernon Hill Stingers softball program. "He also gave me my first hitting lesson after I started to play travel ball. He has always inspired me to give my all in everything that I do."

Christina certainly has impressed, becoming one of the top softball players in the Mid-Suburban League.

Last spring, she helped lead the Saxons to the Hoffman Estates regional championship game sectional and a strong finish in the Mid-Suburban West.

At the age of 7, she began playing recreational softball and tried out for a travel team when she was 11.

"I was lucky to have a coach who thought I had potential because I definitely had some catching up to do with the girls who had already played travel for a couple of years," said Candotti, who has primarily been a shortstop and catcher for the Saxons.

"I started thinking about playing at the Division I level when I was about 14," she said. "At that time, I knew that's what I wanted to do."

Candotti, who plans to study in the biology/pre-med field, made her commitment to Butler last Nov. 22.

"I really loved the campus," she said. "It is a mid-size school near a decent size city (Indianapolis) and it is a great academic school. Also, it is still close to home."

Candotti credits several coaches who helped her develop her skills.

"My first hitting coach, Frank Hill of the Sluggers, helped me a lot," she said. " I went over to the Wasco Diamonds two years ago and my teammates were really great.

"My coach from two years ago (Matt Schacht) helped me really appreciate the game and my current coach Bill Morrow has helped me love the game and understand it better. He also supported my college search."

And of course, her high school coaches.

"Coach (Ellen) Abreu and coach (Jim) McGreevy at Schaumburg are great," she said. " My parents have been great. My dad always pushed me to be the best I can be at whatever I did and was always around to work with me. We would go in the basement and hit and he would take me to the fields and pitch to me whenever I wanted. And my mom supports me in everything that I do."

Candotti loves the competition of the sport.

"I love getting out on the field to compete," she said. "If I am having a bad day, it always gets better when I'm out on the field."

Candotti keeps busy off the field, too.

She was accepted into the National Honor Society this school year and she writes for the sports section of the Schaumburg school newspaper.

Candotti has also played volleyball and basketball her freshman and sophomore years.

She took this year off from both sports to focus on softball.

"But I hope to play both of them again next year," she said.

Hamman gets national recognition

The National High School Athletic Coaches Association has announced Prospect girls coach Jim Hamann as a finalist for its national coach of the year for golf.

Eight finalists from across the nation will be honored during the National Coach of the Year Awards Banquet at the NHSACA's national convention on June 20 (Kahler Grand Hotel in Rochester, Minn.).

The highlight of the banquet will be the naming of the national 'coach of the year' in 19 recognized sports categories.

Hamann was selected for this national honor by the IHSA, based on longevity, service to high school athletics, honors, championship years, and winning percentage.

The nominees and finalists are evaluated by experts in the field of coaching using a sport-specific rubrics to assign points in each category. The NHSACA is the oldest coaches association in the nation formed by coaches, for coaches, and has been recognizing national coaches of the year since 1978.

"I am very honored about the nomination and the advancement as a finalist," Hamann said. "It's going to be a fun convention in June."

Hamman does not see this as an individual award.

"There have been hundreds of people involved in our program over the past 12 years," he said. "This award is as much for former and current players, parents and my assistant coach (Tim Casper) as it is for myself.

"I am very proud to be the girls golf coach at Prospect High School and I am honored to represent our school and community at this national convention."

Women's basketball

Saint Louis University freshman guard Jackie Kemph (Rolling Meadows) has been named the Atlantic 10 Conference women's basketball Rookie of the Week.

It is the first A-10 weekly honor of Kemph's career.

Kemph helped the Billikens to a 2-0 record, scoring a career- and game-high 20 points in a 76-47 victory at La Salle.

She recorded a career-high 7 field goals (7-of-10) and tied her career best of three 3-point field goals (3-of-4). Kemph also had a game-high 7 assists and added 2 steals.

Kemph also had 4 points, tied for game-high honors with 3 steals and tied for team-high honors with 4 assists as Saint Louis handed A-10 co-leader Fordham its first conference loss, 54-50.

With a team-high 113 assists, Kemph already has set a Saint Louis single-season record for most assists by a freshman. She ranks 10th on the program's overall single-season assists chart. Kemph is second in the A-10 and 22nd nationally in assists per game (5.7).

Kemph has started all 20 games and ranks fourth in the A-10 in minutes played (34.6). She is second on the team in scoring (9.0 ppg) and steals (22) and tied for second in 3-point field goals (23).

Men's basketball

Illinois basketball coach John Groce recently called junior guard Mike LaTulip, a walk-on from Prospect High School, into his office for a conversation.

At the end of the talk, Groce subtly told LaTulip that he was going on scholarship.

"It was like a two-parted conversation and he was like 'Oh, by the way …' I don't even know what his exact words were because I immediately started hugging him and gave him this big bear hug," LaTulip said on 'The Champaign Room' website. "It's such a blessing, and I can't thank him enough."

LaTulip had scholarship opportunities and a handful of Division I schools coming out of high school, but chose to walk on at Illinois with the hopes of one day earning a scholarship.

"It's one of those things that was a goal for me coming in, more in my freshman year. It's amazing how things like this happen," LaTulip said. "My freshman year I was so focused on getting it that it was almost like a detriment to me. Once you completely immerse yourself in your role in the team, it's amazing how things come back to you."

Illinois had an open scholarship this season when Darius Paul left to spend the year at a junior college after being suspended for the 2014-15 season by Groce. LaTulip has no guarantees for the scholarship beyond this semester, understanding how the system works.

"I think what some coaches like to do is keep one (scholarship) open for a mid-season transfer," LaTulip added. "I understand that because I want as many good players here at Illinois as we can possibly get. I kind of knew it was open and once he told me, I was like 'Oh God,' " he said. "My family was so excited about it. I called my mom, and she started crying immediately."

Men's track

Illinois Wesleyan junior Angela Herrmann (Conant) was named the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Women's indoor track & field athlete of the week.

Herrmann placed first in the 60-meter dash (7.80) and the 200-meter dash (26.07) at the Illinois Wesleyan Invitational. Both times were personal bests, while her 60-meter dash time is currently ranked fourth and her 200-meter dash time is seventh on the Division III Track & Field Results Reporting System (TFRRS). Both times currently rank first in the CCIW.

Men's basketball

Augustana junior Brandon Motzel, a native of Buffalo Grove who attended Carmel High School, scored 10 points in the Vikings' 71-68 victory over Millikin which gave veteran head coach Grey Giovanine his 300th career victory.

Men's track

Augustana freshman Evan Murphy (Buffalo Grove) went 41 feet, 3 inches to finish sixth in the triple jump at the Midwest Invitational in Monmouth. In the 3,000, Vikings junior Ethan Koch (Prospect) finished second in 8:48.10.

• Please email Sports Notes items to jleusch@dailyherald.com.

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