Girard's Hunkus feeling 'Blue' about future

The three-sport star has verbally committed to play for the Duke Blue Devils.
By TOM WILLIAMS
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
GIRARD -- Three-to-four trips to Pittsburgh per week, mostly in silence while plenty of homework was being studied in the car, has paid off spectacularly for one of the finest student-athletes in Girard High School history.
Senior Tealle Hunkus, whose grade-point average is 4.25, has given her verbal commitment to play volleyball for Duke University. The scholarship is one of the most prestigious ever offered to a Mahoning Valley athlete.
"It's a pretty good one," said Joe Cappuzzello, Girard's athletic director. "In my 30 years in education, I can't think of too many students who received such a scholarship."
A four-year veteran and hitter for Joe Walters' volleyball team, Hunkus also will be a three-year starter on Andy Saxon's basketball team next winter and finished sixth in the high jump in the Division II regional meet at Ravenna in just her second track season.
"Since she was a freshman, Tealle has had the goal of playing big-time volleyball," Cappuzzello said. "You can't say enough about her work ethic, not only in volleyball but also basketball and track. She's a great student but also a humble kid. She's put in a lot of hard work."
Opportunity
Hunkus said the Duke opportunity arose after she chose to play Junior Olympic (off-season) volleyball with the Pittsburgh-based Adidas Penn Juniors team coached by Brian Begor.
"Going to Pittsburgh [meant] homework in the car, drive through McDonald's on the way home," said Hunkus, who plans to study meteorology.
"During the school year, we did that on Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday," Hunkus said. "Now, it's four days a week because we have nationals coming up."
The Penn Juniors played in weekend tournaments at Chicago, Indianapolis and Baltimore where she was noticed by Duke volleyball coach Jolene Nagel, a 1983 graduate of Edinboro University.
"She's not allowed to talk [directly] to me yet, so she contacted me through Brian," Hunkus said.
NCAA rules prohibit contact between volleyball coaches and high school players until July 1 before their senior year. The official signing period begins in November.
"But she can contact me through e-mail, though," Hunkus said.
Hunkus also made unofficial visits to Penn State and Ohio State before choosing Duke.
"The opportunity they offer is amazing," Hunkus said of the Atlantic Coast Conference university known for its high academic standards. "It's a welcoming atmosphere -- you go there and people are, 'Hi, how are you doing.' They're real nice.
"The campus is absolutely gorgeous," Hunkus said of the school known as "The Princeton of the South."
Busy life
To give you an idea of what a busy athletic life Hunkus leads, look at her June itinerary. She played basketball with the Indians at Slippery Rock University one weekend and then had a national volleyball tournament at Park City, Utah (near Salt Lake City) with the Penn Juniors the next.
The Penn Juniors qualified for nationals with a win in Cincinnati at the Ohio Valley Regionals.
"I don't know if we were expected to win," said Hunkus of the regional, "but we went into the tournament knowing that we could do well."
Hunkus said her first volleyball experience was in her grandmother's backyard. She started playing at the club level at age 12.
As a sophomore, the 6-foot Hunkus played for Trumbull Volleyball Club as a setter. During a Penn State tournament, she was approached by the Penn Juniors about joining their team.
That led to a crazy junior year that featured plenty of success for Girard -- including a trip to the Division III regional at Barberton.
"It was exciting going the furthest Girard has ever gone, especially with Coach Walters in only his second year," she said. "He's done absolute wonders with the program."
Taking time
The Hunkus family, which includes mother Holly, sister Alex and brother David, recently moved to Liberty Township.
"Getting this done early, I think is very helpful," said Hunkus, who will remain at Girard High to play with long-time volleyball teammates, including Stephanie Scarnecchia and Beth Hanna. "I want to relax and enjoy my senior year."
Funny word, relax. Once her Utah trip ends, Hunkus will participate with the Girard volleyball and basketball teams in summer camps and open gyms in July while waiting for fall varsity volleyball practices to begin on Aug. 5.
"I guess it's non-stop," she said with a laugh.
Hunkus and Cappuzzello cited the cooperation between her varsity coaches over schedule conflicts that has helped her develop into a three-sport star.
"That's something we strive for," said Cappuzzello of the cooperation of Saxon, Walters and track coach John Spano.
Hunkus said that when "some of the practices collided, I usually went half-and-half. I didn't miss any practices, but sometimes, I'd be 20 minutes late."
williams@vindy.com