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54 | May 4, 2017 | The orland park prairie sports opprairie.com Rott named two-time MVP of America’s Showcase Brittany Kapa, Assistant Editor Most talented hockey players start their lifelong passion at a young age. Jake Rott is no exception. “He was always interested in [hockey], and it gave him a real focus,” Jake’s mother, Sue Rott, said. “His grandma took him to the rink, because her son had played hockey. That was Jake’s first introduction to hockey, and he loved watching the Zamboni going back and forth.” Fifteen years later, the Providence Catholic High School senior has an impressive hockey resume at his disposal — one which includes back-to-back appearances in the 2016 and 2017 Amateur Hockey Association of Illinois state championship series, two Kennedy Cup wins, leading scorer for the Chicago Catholic Hockey League, and now Most Valuable Player for the 2016 and 2017 America’s Showcase hockey tournament. This is the first time in the program’s 33-year run a player has been named MVP in back-to-back years. America’s Showcase is hosted through USA Hockey and includes 24 boys teams and eight girls teams from around the nation. Awards are given to the Best Forward, Best Defenseman, Best Goalie and Most Valuable Player for each of the divisions. A leadership award is given to a coach or manager, and finally a sportsmanship award is handed out to either an individual or a team. Coaches vote on the MVP and are required to vote for a player who is not on their team. For the second year in a row, Jake put on a quite a show. He scored six goals and recorded five assists throughout the four-day tournament, and led the showcase in points. “He did receive [the MVP award] last year, and the question was, did we think that there was anybody else that was more deserving?” said Kathy Santora, the showcase tournament director. “[The answer] Providence Catholic’s Jake Rott, of Orland Park, gets ready to put a shot on goal during a game this past season. 22nd Century Media File Photo was ‘no.’ So, that was the end of the discussion.” Santora spoke to how the MVP award is more than just racking up points. How the player carries himself — and works with other players and coaches on the team — also factors into the decision. “[Jake’s] got size, he’s got talent, and he’s got personality,” Santora said. “That’s why he got the MVP, because it was all of the above.” Santora has been the tournament director for the past eight years and has seen some talented players come out of Illinois during that time. The importance of this accomplishment is weighted by looking at the level of talent coming out of Illinois’ program. “Illinois has an excellent program overall,” Santora said of the team that has won the showcase championship four of the past five years. “So, for him to stand out like he does on that team is even more tremendous. Consistently, Illinois is in the semifinals and the finals.” Comparatively, Jake said he felt more confident in the tournament this time. Another year of experience and gained skill made him more prepared, he said. “Coming into this year, I felt like I was more of a leader on the team,” he said. “I knew what to expect down there, and I knew the level of play from other players. I just felt like I was able to jump right into it the first game this year.” Jake was joined by teammates Josh Mooncotch, Jake Vennetti and Ryan Iaciancio — all Providence players who have played together since they were young. Showcase rules state that a team can only have up to four players from one team on the final roster. “It was nice to have Jake [Vennetti] and Josh there, too, because I’ve been playing with them for the past two years on the same line,” Jake Rott said of having his teammates on the showcase team. “We had all the chemistry. I just felt like it was a lot easier knowing I had two other forwards on my team and a goalie to stand behind me.” Breaking out Through long tournament hockey weekends, endless hours spent at an ice rink and the replacement of well-used hockey gear, Sue and Mike Rott, Jake’s parents, have supported their son since he started playing the demanding sport. “They are really my biggest supporters,” he said. “They were willing to do anything to get me to the next level. They’ve been supporting me since I was little, all the way up until now.” On Aug. 20, Jake is to report to training camp for the Lone Star Brahmas in North Richland Hills, Texas. The junior team is a part of the North American Hockey League and serves as a stepping stone to bigger and hopefully better opportunities for their players. But at one point the Rott family did not know if this opportunity would be available to Jake. Jake played for the Chicago Fury Triple-A team from seventh grade through his freshman year of high school, but the travel team’s schedule was taking a toll on his high school experience. The Rott family mutually decided he would play for Providence’s hockey team and enjoy the rest of his time at Providence. “If he is truly that good, he can play high school hockey and somehow he’ll be discovered,” Sue said of the reasoning behind the family’s decision. She and her family simply had faith that Jake’s talent would be seen no matter where he played. “We didn’t really think anything of it. A year ago, last May, we found out there was going to be a junior team camp at Arctic [Ice Arena].” The Rotts enrolled their son in the camp, just to see how he would do and how he compared to other teens his age. The three-day camp ended with an offer from the Lone Stars to play hockey that following year, but Jake and his parents declined the offer. Sue said the family made the mutual decision to let Jake finish high school, and if he was really that good, then the team would wait. It did. Jake knows there will be a lot of hard work for him in the future, but that is work he is willing to do. “Honestly, I have a very good shot of going even farther,” Jake said. “Just being able to have the opportunity, you can’t really ask for much more.”
opprairie.com sports the orland park prairie | May 4, 2017 | 55 fastbreak Softball Lockport gets the better of Sandburg again, in long-standing rivalry 22nd Century Media File Photo 1st and 3 Marching toward greatness: Jake Rott 1. A goal and two assists When the Providence Catholic Hockey team won the Kennedy Cup for a second straight year, Jake Rott (ABOVE), of Orland Park, was at the center of things Feb. 21. He scored a power-play goal and assisted two goals by Josh Mooncotch. 2. Assist at the UC While Jake Vennetti was the only member of the Celtics to score a goal March 17 in the Amateur Hockey Association of Illinois State Finals at the United Center, Rott was involved with the assist. 3. MVP x2 Rott recently was named the only player to win the MVP honor of America’s Showcase back-toback years. Randy Whalen Freelance Reporter With a pair of powerhouse softball teams squaring off, this past week’s game between Lockport Township and Sandburg was going to come down to the little things. Lockport did those better and went on to a key 7-2 victory over the Eagles April 25 in a key SouthWest Suburban Conference Blue battle in Lockport. The Porters improved to 18-2, 1-1, while Sandburg fell to 14-7, 1-2. The game was scoreless into the bottom of the fourth. But that is when the Porters took advantage of a leadoff error and ended up scoring three runs. “It was really big to get all that momentum going,” said Lockport junior designated player Lindsey Bangert, who was 2-for-3 and knocked in the first run. “We definitely wanted to win this and not get our second loss in the conference.” Senior left fielder Emily Dybas started the inning by reaching on the Eagles’ only charged error of the game. She moved to second on a ground out by junior shortstop Courtney Schoolcraft. Bangert then got her base hit past third, as Dybas darted home. “I was just looking for something to drive and ended up hitting it past third,” Bangert said. “I was just glad to get us the lead.” Emily Statzer (1-for- 2, run) slashed a ball that looked like it might be a double play. But the senior second baseman reached when it took a bad hop past short. Junior center fielder Taylor Shingler (2-for-3, run, RBI, stolen base) smashed an RBI single to right center to score Bangert. The third run came in as junior third baseman Taylor Herschbach (2-for-3, run, RBI) hit a sacrifice fly to left field. Sandburg, however, had a golden opportunity to tie the game in the fifth. Junior designated player Olivia Beveridge walked to lead off the frame. Following a strikeout, senior second baseman Jade Lukas and junior shortstop Heather Vetter both walked on fullcount pitches to load the bases. That chased Porters starter and junior right-hander Elly Hagen (4 1/3 innings, 1 earne run, 3 hits, 4 strikeouts, 4 walks) and brought in Erin Kleffman for a showdown with Ashley Wood (1-for-2, RBI). The junior third baseman hit a drive to right-center that looked to fall in for a hit, but senior right fielder Elena Woulfe had other ideas, as she made a diving catch. Beveridge tagged up and scored on the play to narrow the lead to 3-1. But the catch prevented at least one more from scoring. “We just weren’t able to find the gaps, and they made the plays,” Wood said. “I was a little nervous when I hit it to [Woulfe]. We’re friends off the field, and I know she can make plays.” Wood and Woulfe play together in the summer on the Orland Park Sparks. Wood normally plays shortstop but was pressed into playing third, because sophomore Irene Travis took a line drive to the face the previous game that resulted in a fractured bone. Her return is still pending. “I still have to make the adjustment,” Wood said of playing third. “It’s a little different, but I’ll get the hang of it. I felt we didn’t adjust better to [Lockport’s pitching]. We just hit them too late, and we have to play cleaner defense.” Even with Woulfe’s catch, the Eagles still had two on with two outs. The runners moved up to second and third when Kleffman (2 2/3 innings, 1 earned run, 1 hit, 2 strikeouts) uncorked a wild pitch. But the sophomore righty won a ninepitch battle with Sam Coffel, getting the senior center fielder to ground out to second to end the inning. “I just wanted to make sure to hit my spots,” Kleffman said of her getting out of the jam. “The last few weeks, I haven’t trusted my pitches. I just have to trust the pitch calls and location. It was a really big win to keep our win streak going.” The Porters added a pair in the bottom of the fifth. With one out, junior catcher Gracie Voulgaris (1-for-3, run, walk) hit a looper to the right side that fell in the infield. She beat it out for a base hit. Then, with two outs, Schoolcraft (1-for-3, run, 2 RBI) skied a two-run home run to left-center. “Before the game we talked about beating out hits,” Lockport coach Marissa Chovanec said. “Gracie did that by beating out the infield single in the fifth, and that allowed Courtney to come up and hit a home run. Plus, when you score first in a game like this, it’s really nice. That kids played really well.” Hustle helped Lockport add two more runs in the sixth. With one out, Shingler beat out in infield hit near short. Herschbach did the same when her spinner fell in the infield for another hit. Woulfe (2-for-4, RBI) walloped an RBI double to left-center, and junior first baseman Tara McElligott drove in her 36th run of the season on a sacrifice fly to center. Junior catcher Kaitlin Rusin (2-for-3, R, RBI) ripped a solo homer to left in the top of the seventh for the Eagles final run. But that was the only baserunner allowed by Kleffman. Senior first baseman Nikki Horvath (1-for-3) had the Eagles other hit — a one-out single in the second. Sandburg used four righthanded pitchers in the game. Freshman Elise Wantiez (3 innings, 3 hits, walk, hit-by-pitch) got her second straight start and fired three shutout innings. But junior Sarah Fuller, freshman Molly O’Sullivan, and senior Sam Udarbe combined to hurl the final three innings, giving up all seven runs — five earned, on eight hits, with no walks and one strikeout. The next day, Sandburg traveled to Plainfield Central and scored a run in the top of the sixth and two in the seventh, and hung on for a 4-3 win. Coffel (2 RBI) and Vetter each had two hits for the Eagles (15-7). The Wildcats (14-8), who plated two runs in the bottom of the fifth to take a 2-1 lead, scored a run in the seventh but fell short. Sandburg is next slated to play Stagg at 4 p.m. Thursday, May 4, on the road. Following that, the Eagles return to Orland Park Tuesday, May 9, for a game against Lincoln-Way East. That one is to start at 4:30 p.m., as well. And the next day they are on the road again to meet Glenbard South at 4:30 p.m. They return home Thursday, May 11, to play Lockport at 4:30 p.m. LISTEN UP “They are really my biggest supporters. They were willing to do anything to get me to the next level. They’ve been supporting me since I was little all the way up until now.” Jake Rott — Providence Catholic hockey player from Orland Park, on his parents What 2 Watch Baseball — 4:30 p.m. Thursday, May 4 • The Sandburg-Lockport rivalry comes to the diamond in Orland Park. INDEX 49 - This Week In 49 - Athlete of the Week Compiled by Editor Bill Jones, bill@opprairie.com.
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