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Quickly making her presence felt

Santana Lennon's transfer to Gulf helps the Bucs fill several key holes.

By FRANK PASTOR
Published August 26, 2005

NEW PORT RICHEY - Santana Lennon has worn the silver necklace with the No. 10 charm for about a year, but she has had the number since middle school.

She won't wear it at Gulf, where she's expected to switch to 32, but she has found something more important at her new school: teammates who take basketball as seriously as she does.

Lennon, a three-sport star, recently transferred from Zephyrhills to join Tiara Cook, Nicole Allison and Turquoise Sampson, teammates on her Florida Fastbreak AAU basketball squad this past summer.

"It was just real fun," Lennon said. "I got a lot better, and my parents liked it here, so they thought it would be a good switch."

While basketball (Gulf is expected to contend for a state title this season) played a role in Lennon's decision, the Bucs volleyball team should benefit from her presence, too. Lennon ranked among the county's top players last season.

And while the move won't necessarily tip the balance of power in the county, it certainly makes the Bucs better.

"Offensively, she's going to help us tremendously, to say the least," coach Shari Schau said. "We've hurt there in the past, so her offensive skills are going to help us, definitely."

Lennon made her presence felt immediately in last week's preseason classic at River Ridge. Wearing No. 1 (her number at Zephyrhills), the 5-foot-5 senior hit and blocked well and raced into the bleachers to chase down several balls.

"She was running down some balls I haven't seen anybody do in a long time, because River Ridge's gym is so big," Schau said.

Schau recalled Lennon's vertical leap and hang time when she first heard about Lennon's decision to transfer two days before school started.

"I knew immediately who they were talking about when they said, "Santana from Zephyrhills,' " Schau said. "Plus, the last couple years I voted for her for all conference, too. I always felt she's done the job there."

Though excited to add a player of Lennon's caliber, Schau worried at first how it might affect her team, whose lineup was set. But Lennon's talkative nature and team-first attitude made for a quick fit.

"The first couple of days she was first with the team there was immediate chemistry," Schau said. "The kids all got along. They didn't have any problems whatsoever. That was the one thing I was looking for. Is she going to fit in? And she seemed to have no problem fitting in at all."

Lennon's biggest adjustment came on the court, where she moved from middle to outside hitter. Perhaps the county's smallest middle while at Zephyrhills, she happily accepted her new assignment at Gulf, which has at least three taller hitters.

"(Outside), it's been a little less room, so it's easier, I guess," Lennon said. "In the middle you've got to cover the whole net. On this side you just have to cover your side."

Still, its unlikely Lennon has played her last game at middle. She played one game there during the classic and could see more time there depending on how the Bucs' younger hitters progress.

"I think at Santana's height, that's probably the biggest problem as far as playing middle, and it does take a lot out of you in one match," Schau said. "I can't even imagine all the jumping, the blocking, going from side to side, that takes a lot out of you, and I think the biggest thing was just her size - "I don't belong in the middle,' her thinking that."

Lennon's athleticism isn't limited to volleyball and basketball, where she starred at point guard. She was a sprinter and a jumper on the track team, qualifying for state in the high jump and 400 relay and breaking a school record with a triple jump of 35 feet, 9 inches.

But track is the one sport in which she does not plan to compete next year in college.

"Right now, basketball and volleyball are at the top," Lennon said.

It's always been that way. No matter what number she has worn.

[Last modified August 26, 2005, 01:36:21]