Randi Baker plays volleyball on the Mount Aloysius girls volleyball team. Randi Baker plays basketball on the Mount Aloysius girls basketball team.
In high school, girls and boys often play a different sport each season, but in college, most athletes are forced to stick to one sport due to time and workout obligations owed to the coach of the one sport the athlete decides to specialize in.
Rare are the abilities to be able to compete at more than one sport at the college level even if the athlete ia physically able to and rarer still is the athlete who is able to be a starter and a starter at two college level sports.
“Very seldom do you run into an athlete that can excel at two sports, that can be really good at both,” explained Mount Aloysius volleyball coach John Porta.
Randi Baker has that rare ability. Just finishing her fourth season on the volleyball court at Mount Aloysius in Cresson, Randi is now embarking on her second varsity sport as the Mounties of head coach Dave Adams begin playing basketball.
Baker, a 1998 Bellwood-Antis graduate, where she holds the school record with 602 kills as a member of the Blue Devils volleyball team and is now a senior at Mount Aloysius holds every rebounding record in existence in basketball at the Mount, including pulling down 27 in a game against Wilmington College during the 2000-01 season and 294 in a single season.
Volleyball had been in existence for just three years when Randi Baker came to the Mount to further her education and play volleyball and basketball. In the 2002 campaign, the Mount Aloysius women finished third at the NCAA championships and compiled a 17-13 record. That was the best mark in the history of the program despite a schedule updated with much tougher competition.
“Over the course of her four years here,” said coach Porta, “Randi has made a tremendous impact on the program. She just received our MVP Award last Tuesday for volleyball. We played in four tournaments this season and Randi was on the All-Turnament Team in every one.”
Baker, one of only two seniors on the volleyball squad this year and the only senior to play extensively, was named the MVP of the Hood College Tournament early in the year.
“I can’t think of a single negative thing to say about Randi,” said Porta. “I will miss her. It has been a pleasure to coach her, she always has a smile on her face. As the program has grown over her four years here, she has been a big help. A lot of good athletes are temperamental. We have been really fortunate to have talent like Randi who fits right in with other quality level volleyball players that I have coached.”
Randi Baker was named to the 2002 All American Volleyball Team, leading her team all the way to the USCAA National Tournament in Dallas, Texas where Mount Aloysius lost to eventual Southern University, a team they had beaten during the regular season.
Baker started the Mounties opening basketball game pumping in 14 points and five rebounds in a 73-69 win at Carlow College. Randi is joined on the basketball team by Missy Wertz, who is a sophomore at Mount Aloysius and also a Bellwood-Antis grad. In fact there are 13 area women on the squad who hail from district Six or District Five schools. Randi, Jess Armstrong from Claysburg-Kimmel and Ginger Fanelli were the first recruiting class for assistant coach Corey Botteicher and head coach Dave Adams.
“We didn’t get the job until August,” explained Botteicher. “We didn’t have an opportunity to recruit that first year. We dug and scraped and scooped up a few girls with some talent and went 10-16. We hope Randi’s class will go out a national champ. We missed that by about three and a half minutes last year. With that much time remaining, we lost a six-point lead in the championship final.”
Standing 5-foot-10, Baker plays center for Mount Aloysius, having to play against many opponents who are 6-1 or taller
“By far, Randi is the most athletic person we have ever had,” said Botteicher. “She drives me crazy. She goes for months without touching a basketball and then comes in to the gym for the first time and does as well as the other kids who have been working out for three months. With her, it’s just natural ability. We don’t have many players who are vocal, but Randi is one. She has become a leader. If it wasn’t for Randi Baker, our program wouldn’t be what it is.”
