May 5, 2005
By Jim Fenton, Brockton Enterprise staff writer
EASTON?They were classmates at the LaLiberte School in Raynham before moving on to different high schools in 1997.
Susan Noblin attended Bridgewater-Raynham and Karen McAuley went to Coyle-Cassidy, and their paths rarely crossed for four years.
The two were reunited in the fall of 2001, though, when they became teammates on the Chieftains? tennis team, helping the program reach new heights during the past four seasons.
Now senior co-captains, Noblin and McAuley are key members of a team that will makes its second trip to the NCAA Div. 2 tournament in the past three years this week.
Stonehill (13-2) is the No. 8 seed in the East Regional and will face host Kutztown University in Pennsylvania on Thursday afternoon.
Noblin, a first-team All-Northeast-10 Conference pick in doubles, and McAuley, a third-team all-conference selection in singles, have enjoyed their four-year ride at Stonehill together.
?It?s cool to have someone from your town in school and on the same team,? said McAuley. ?We became friends through college. We hit with each other all the time in the summer. We?ve helped each other out.
?We had a tennis party on Sunday at her family?s house, and it was sad. Tennis has been such a big part of our college lives.?
Said Noblin, ?We knew of each other (before high school). Our relationship has grown at Stonehill. We live a mile away in Raynham and people here would say, ?Wow, you?re from the same town.??
The four-year players helped Stonehill reach the NCAAs in 2003, the first time the program had qualified for the postseason tournament.
McAuley, who made the all-conference second-team in singles as a junior, is 39-19 in four seasons. She played No. 4 singles as a freshman, moved into the No. 2 slot the past two years and became the Chieftains? No. 1 player this spring, going 9-5.
Noblin, a four-time all-conference choice, teamed with freshman Elise Clark to go 9-3 in doubles, and she was 8-4 playing No. 4 and 5 singles. In her career, Noblin is 41-13 in doubles competition and 39-17 in singles.
The two have played different styles to pile up their victories at Stonehill the past four seasons.
?Karen is a scrappy player with a complete game,? said Coach Pam Arpe, who took over the program this spring. ?She will run every ball down. She?s quick and covers the court really well. She?s very competitive.
?Sue is a steady player with beautiful ground strokes. She?s a very strong doubles player. That?s her strength, but she?s had a great season at singles, too. She has very good mechanics and is just a good solid player. Her placement is so good that it?s perfect.?
McAuley didn?t begin playing tennis until her sophomore year at C-C after her uncle, Mike Cobb, got her interested in the sport.
She played doubles as a sophomore and junior for the Warriors before taking over at No. 1 singles in her senior year.
?It took me a few years to get my game together,? said McAuley. ?By my senior year in college, I feel my whole game is complete now.
?I walked on here as a freshman. I had played so well my last year at Coyle-Cassidy, I decided I might as well try to play in college. I kept betting better and I was surprised how well I did playing (No. 4 singles, going 14-1) in my first year at Stonehill.
?I moved to second singles in my second year, but I put a lot of pressure on myself and it was the sophomore slump year (7-9). The competition was just so much better, but I improved the next year (going 9-3).?
McAuley took over the No. 1 singles slot this season and has matched her win total of a year ago against even better players.
?I changed my whole style of play to be more aggressive,? said McAuley, who is 11-4 in doubles this season. ?I came to the net more this year. Everything felt good about my game this year. I went from a scrappy player to a player who can compete at No. 1.
?It?s been a great way to end my college career. I think I?m a better player no by tenfold compared to when I first got here. I look at how I played as a sophomore in high school when I had no idea the growth I would achieve in this sport. I?ve just gotten better and better.?
Noblin, whose parents, John and Cheryl, and brother, John, all graduated from Stonehill, had her sights set on attending the school for a long time.
?I kind of grew up going to all the athletic events here and went to a basketball camp,? she said. ?I started playing tennis when I was five or six years old because my dad plays and my brother plays and we?ve got a court in the back yard. I?ve always loved the sport.?
After helping B-R win three Old Colony League titles, Noblin continued her success in tennis with the Chieftains.
She played No. 3 doubles and No. 6 singles as a freshman, earning all-conference honors right away, and moved up to No. 2 doubles as a sophomore and junior.
Noblin became of the top doubles players in the NE-10 with Darah Wilson and then Clark this season.
?When I first came here, I thought I?d be (better at) singles,? said Noblin, ?but I ended up loving doubles, too. Doubles is really quick and you don?t have much time. You have to come right out and show you can beat them right away, and I like playing that way.
?I played doubles when I was in high school, but I learned a lot my first two years here from Sandy Xenos (the former coach). I think I?m a lot better player now then I was in high school. I?m a lot more aggressive at the net this year.?
McAuley and Noblin, who are both elementary education majors who want to be teachers after graduating this month, will have their farewell matches in the NCAAs.
It will be a fitting way to end a pair of successful careers for two players who were reunited in college.
?We?ve had four great years together,? said McAuley. ?It?s been really cool.?
