By Shannon Russell
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Mount Vernon Nazarene University junior Catherine Hess never leaves home without a mini-tape recorder, a digital camera or thoughts of her best friend, Jessi Gates.

The Hillsboro graduate, known as "Cat" by her soccer teammates, couldn't imagine Gates missing the Cougars' 17-3-1 season - even though Gates has been stationed 90 miles north of Baghdad with the 1485th Transportation Company since Feb. 11.

"We always think of her and wish she was here," said Hess, Gates' former roommate. "To know our best friend is fighting for us ... we just have a great respect for that."

Gates, nicknamed "Gator," was called into active duty through the Army National Guard. The 5-foot-3 former soccer player and Richmond, Ohio, native drives a semi truck in Iraq, her mother, Kathi Gates, said.

Though life on campus doesn't compare, Hess is glad to have something to tell Gates about. The Cougars are headed to a third straight National Christian Colleges Athletic Association tournament in Kissimmee, Fla., on Wednesday.

Sophomore forward and Amelia grad Kristen Votapek has paved the way with a school-record 28 goals and seven assists. Votapek, a four-time American Mideast Conference and NAIA Region IX Player of the Week, is the Cougars' career leader with 54 goals.

Hess has scored a career-high 16 goals and added a school-record 13 assists.

Last season Votapek was in a car accident, and Hess hurt her left knee and sat out for regional play. Now healthy, the players are clicking - and not just the offensive stars. The defense has allowed only 11 goals all season.

"We work well together and complement each other," Votapek said. "I don't think we all realized how good we were coming in. I think it's because we're getting along all the way around, not just on the field but off, too."

The Cougars have reason to unite. They wear a National Guard patch on their pregame jerseys, and coach Jonathan Meade often reads aloud letters recounting Gates' experiences overseas.

"It's emotional, so we try not to dwell on it too much before games," Meade said.

Cat and Gator exchange audio tapes, but the three-week mail lag always leaves Cat wondering what Gator's doing next. Kathi Gates said she and her husband, Johnny, have learned that Gator plans to play in an Iraqi soccer league.

"She asked me to send her soccer shoes," Kathi Gates said.

The Cougars, who also boast midfielder Katrina Iles (Amelia) and forward Holly Dyer (Bethel-Tate), anticipate a future with Gator on the team. She's expected to come home in April.

Until then, her teammates are thinking of her.

"It's just really scary," said Hess. "Sometimes we're like, 'Oh, my gosh. Is she going to come back?'

"We are so much more aware of how lucky we are. A lot of us are kind of sheltered, so (because of Gator) we are finding out what the world is like."

Others

• Northern Kentucky University's Kristin Koralewski has been named the Great Lakes Valley Conference Player of the Year in volleyball.

• NKU women's soccer player Amy Law (Glen Este) was named the GLVC Freshman of the Year by league coaches. Robyn Withers (Seton), Becky Schnieders (Seton), Kendra Zinser (Mercy) and Katie Hanck (Fairfield) were named first-team All-GLVC.

• Hanover's Kathleen Reynolds (Milford) was named the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference's Most Valuable Player for women's soccer.

• Miami junior Peter Donohue (Turpin) is the Mid-American Conference Swimming & Diving Athlete of the Week. Donohue is the second RedHawk in two weeks to earn the honor, following Andrew Keefe (St. Xavier).

• Miami's Ashley Swinehart was named MAC Player of the Year in soccer. Bowling Green's Samantha Meister (Northwest) and Ohio University's Kendra Hornschemeier (McNicholas) made the first team; Kent State's Jenn Frey (Mercy), Ohio's Christel Schiering (Colerain) and Akron's Naomi Cummings (Turpin) made second team.

• Mount Saint Joseph junior outside hitter Tammi Toney (Harrison) was named the HCAC volleyball Most Valuable Player. Other first-team selections: junior outside hitter Jayne Kemphaus (McAuley) and senior setter Meghan Meador (Mount Notre Dame). Junior setter/hitter Molly Middendorf (McAuley) was selected second-team all-conference.

• Wilmington sophomore cornerback Joe Roberto (Fairfield) is the Ohio Athletic Conference Special Teams Player of the Week.

• Wilmington sophomore David Benedict (North College Hill) has been named to the Ohio Athletic Conference soccer first team. Eric Schultz (Anderson) also earned all-conference honors.

• University of Cincinnati outside hitter Julie DuPont is the Conference USA Volleyball Player of the Week.

• UC men's soccer players earned Conference USA Player of the Week honors Monday. Sam Miller (Anderson) earned co-offensive player of the week, and John Adams was named the defensive player of the week.