Week 4 Winner: Theresa Urbanovsky
Hopes to reach the softball playoffs for
Judson (Converse) dimmed considerably when an elbow injury at the start of the season sidelined three-year starting pitcher
Emily Mueller for 25 games.
Aside from her importance in a key position on the field, Mueller's experience had thrust her into the role of team leader.
Theresa Urbanovsky, Judson
Courtesy photo
But through the struggles of February and well into March, Judson coach
Theresa Urbanovsky refused to let her players concede to fate.
Mueller's
return a month ago provided a glimmer of a chance for a run at the
final playoff spot from District 25-5A. And when Judson defeated New
Braunfels 2-0 on the road last Tuesday, the challenge had been met. The
Rockets (12-20) indeed became a playoff team.
In recognition for
engineering Judson's drive to the playoffs, Theresa Urbanovsky was
named San Antonio area coach of the week presented by Capital One Bank.
"We
just kept emphasizing that all our hard work in the off-season was
going to pay off,'' Urbanovsky, in her 12th season at Judson, said. "I
kept telling the girls that things will fall into place. Sometimes it
helps to be humbled. It was probably tougher on the parents because we
are so used to winning.''
The coach said she relied on her spiritual faith to get through the adversity.
"I
stopped getting caught up in the coaching and just prayed God would
protect and take care of my team,'' she said. "I did not pray for wins, I
just prayed for us to be strong.''
The turning point was a 9-6
victory in the first meeting with New Braunfels on March 26, which
coincidently marked Mueller's return. Judson broke loose with six runs
in the first three innings.
"We showed a toughness in that
game,'' Urbanovsky said. "After that, everyone played the last half of
the district season extremely well.''
Still, playoff hopes rested
on last week's rematch with New Braunfels. Mueller called on experience
to work her way out of trouble, backed by an airtight defense.
Offensively,
Kelly Ayala staked Judson to a 1-0 lead with a first-inning RBI single and two innings later a sacrifice fly by
Brenda Iparraguirre accounted for the final run.
Judson
and New Braunfels finished with 4-6 records in the ultra-competitive
25-5A, but Judson earned the playoff berth by virtue of its two-game
sweep of the Unicorns in head-to-head play.
"Our record doesn't
define who we are,'' said Urbanovsky as she gets her team ready for its
fresh start in the playoffs. Judson will face
Johnson (San Antonio), the top seed from District 26-5A.
Urbanovsky discounts the notion that now the drive to make the playoffs has been reached, her team will lose its edge.
"We're
far from reaching our goal,'' she said. "We were 17-1 at one point last
season and had a disappointing finish. There are a lot of things we
still want to accomplish this year.''
Urbanovsky, who hails from
LaGrange, excelled athletically in volleyball as an outside hitter and
as a shortstop/third baseman in softball at St. Mary's University, where
she graduated Magna Cum Laude.
For the St. Mary's softball team,
Urbanovsky played third base and made throws to her sister, the team's
first baseman. Theresa was a two-time Academic All-American and chosen
to all-regional and all-conference teams. The team had national
championship appearances in all three of her seasons.
She later
became St. Mary's softball head coach in addition to serving as
volleyball assistant coach and was received Coach of the Year honors.
For two years starting in 2003, Urbanovsky served as a part-time coach at Trinity University.
Her current duties at Judson include physical education department head.
The coach doesn't measure her role strictly in terms of wins and losses.
"I
want our players to become strong, confident women that feel they can
do whatever they want to do,'' Urbanovsky said.
