Bartlett is Sky Team of the Week
Bartlett girls basketball coach Denise Sarna is proud of her team's 9-0 start to the season.
But Sarna is more proud of what her team accomplishes in the classroom and in the community.
The Chicago Sky Wednesday named the Bartlett girls basketball team the High School Girls Team of the Week for the week of Dec. 8 for its excellence on and off the basketball court.
Bartlett has earned the Daily Herald's No. 2 ranking and its early-season run has included a come-from-behind win over Benet in the championship game of the Naperville Central/Benet Tip-Off Tournament at Naperville. It was the first time Bartlett has ever won the tournament. Senior forward Jacki Gulczynski led the Hawks through the tournament averaging 16.8 points per game. She was honored by the Daily Herald as a runner-up in the paper's weekly MVP voting for Week 1. The Hawks also own a win over a tough Waubonsie Valley team and they currently lead the Upstate Eight Conference Valley Division standings.
Off the court, 10 team members were named to the Upstate Eight All-Conference Academic squad for the 2009-10 season. Last year the Hawks also honored Bartlett's Dean Ann Kallenbach, who had been diagnosed with cancer during the school year, by selling pink T-shirts, scarves and balloons leading up to a game they dedicated to raising awareness and funds for cancer.
The team ended up raising $4,000, which it donated to the Kay Yow Cancer Foundation. When Bartlett takes on Neuqua Valley on Jan. 15, 2011 at 12:30 p.m., the Hawks will again honor Dean Kallenbach. This year they will look to outdo themselves and eclipse the bar they set. The Sky will bring the Sky Experience to Bartlett High School for that game to help support the Hawks in their fundraising efforts.
Additionally, the Bartlett team will be provided a complimentary Team Night Out ticket package to a 2011 Sky regular season home game at Allstate Arena, where they will have the opportunity to watch the world's best female basketball players. They will meet and talk to Sky players and coaches before the game and be honored on the Sky court during the game.
"What's neat about this is that it shows some of the other things the kids do besides play basketball," Sarna said Wednesday night. "I'm proud of them. It's a great group of kids and it showcases what these kids are all about. Sports and basketball aren't all about winning and losing and this shows what these kids are about off the court as well as on it."
The Sky will be recognizing one high school girls basketball team each week throughout the 2010-11 basketball season as part of its High School Girls Team of the Week program. The Sky is now accepting nominations from parents, coaches, faculty members and players. Nomination forms can be accessed and submitted at www.chicagosky.net or can be requested by mail. Forms should be mailed to Chicago Sky, Attn: Community Relations, 20 W. Kinzie, Suite 1010, Chicago, IL 60654 or faxed to the Sky office at (312) 828-9979.
For more information on Bartlett girls basketball and prep basketball in the suburbs, log on to basketball.dailyherald.com, which is sponsored by the Sky.