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Thursday, January 03, 2002

By Paul Zeise and Mike White, Post-Gazette Sports Writers

SCHOOL: Vincentian

WHO ARE THEY? Ambrose is a 5-foot-10 senior forward and Robinson is a 5-5 senior point guard on the school's girls basketball team. The Royals are 9-1 and ranked No. 2 in Class AA.

	Vincentian's Renee Robinson, left, and Shaunna Ambrose. (Franka Bruns, Post-Gazette)

LAST WEEK: The duo led the Royals to the championship of the Seneca Valley Tournament. They combined for 54 points over two days as the team beat Class AAA Pine-Richland, 70-44, in the first round and the host Raiders, 66-61 in overtime, for the championship.

SEASON: Robinson averages a team-leading 14 points per game and leads the team in steals and assists. Ambrose is averaging 11 points per game and leads the team in rebounding. Both players surpassed the 1,000-point mark for their career this season.

CAREER: Both Ambrose and Robinson are four-year starters and have led the Royals to a record of 80-12 with two WPIAL titles (Class A in 1999, Class AA in 2000), three section titles and a PIAA Class AA runner-up spot during that span. Ambrose has scored 1,094 points while Robinson 1,102.

DIVISION I FUTURES: Ambrose already has signed a letter of intent to play basketball at Niagara University in New York and Robinson signed with American University in Washington, D.C. Ambrose wants to study math and become a math teacher while Robinson wants to study law.

LONGTIME FRIENDS: Robinson and Ambrose have played AAU ball together for the Pittsburgh Bruins and the PA Hoop Stars since they were 12 years old and have been close friends ever since. The two have developed a great chemistry on the court. "I know what Shaunna is going to do before she does it," said Robinson.

GOOD TOURNAMENT: Both players made their college choices in July -- after a successful trip to Washington, D.C., for the AAU Junior National Tournament. That tournament was especially important for Robinson who was not being as heavily recruited as Ambrose, who chose Niagara over Robert Morris, Maine and Siena.

During that week, however, Robinson's athleticism and raw talent caught the eyes of one of the assistant coaches at American. By the third day of the tournament, Robinson was invited to visit the American campus and on the fourth, she was offered a scholarship.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS: The duo has accomplished almost everything they've wanted to in their high school careers except lead Vincentian to a PIAA title and win a section title outright (they've shared it the past three years). "We don't look too far ahead, but there is no doubt that losing in last year's [PIAA] title game sticks with us all and motivates us," said Ambrose.

-- By Paul Zeise

SCHOOL: Plum

WHO IS HE? A 6-foot-1 senior and one of the top wrestlers in the WPIAL.

LAST WEEK: Cassidy won the West Mifflin Tournament with a 5-0 decision against Penn-Trafford's Nick Padezan.

SEASON: Cassidy is 11-0 in the 189-pound weight class.

CAREER: A varsity wrestler since his freshman year, Cassidy has an 84-22 record. He finished fourth at the PIAA Class AAA wrestling championships a year ago and had a 34-2 record.

MOVING UP IN WEIGHT: Cassidy wrestled the past two seasons at 171 pounds, but decided to move up one weight class this season. He doesn't have to cut weight now.

"The kids are stronger [in the 190-pound weight class], just because there is 20 more pounds of mass," Cassidy said. "Other than that, everything is pretty much the same."

THREE-SPORT STAR: The days of the three-sport athlete seem to be dwindling, especially at a Class AAAA school like Plum. But Cassidy plays three sports -- and excels in all three.

In football, he was a running back-defensive back and a two-time all-Quad South Conference selection. This past season, he rushed for 1,123 yards on 144 carries, caught 19 passes for 342 yards and scored 16 touchdowns. In the spring, he plays center field for Plum's baseball team and was an all-Section 4 pick as a junior.

"My goal when I was a sophomore was to start in every sport and succeed in them," Cassidy said. "I guess it's hard sometimes managing your time and making sure you keep your grades up. But if you just work hard and put your mind to what you want to do, you can do a lot of things. I love playing sports. It doesn't come as a job to me. I don't get tired of playing."

On top of it all, Cassidy maintains a 3.3 grade-point average.

FULL OF LETTERS: By the time Cassidy graduates, he will have 10 varsity letters -- three in football and baseball and four in wrestling. He started in baseball and football since his sophomore year.

THE FUTURE: Cassidy is unsure of a college choice and also unsure of what sport he will play. He said a few Division I-AA colleges are interested in him for football and a few Division I schools for wrestling.

"Everyone always asks me what sport I like best," Cassidy said. "I like them all. As of now, I don't know what I'm going to do in college."

-- By Mike White