Norwell's Bitetti earns scholarship

Norwell High senior Susan Bitetti played in five tennis tournaments this past summer, but one performance caught the eye of a Division 1 coach and led to a scholarship offer.

In July, Bitetti introduced herself to Furman University women's tennis coach Debbie Southern at the USTA National Clay Court Championships in Memphis. But she was unsure of what to say.

"I was hoping to kind of sell myself," Bitetti said. "I didn't really know what to expect. I'm sure she had tons of players."

Bitetti did not need to say much. She played well in the tournament and eventually made an official visit to Furman. She was offered an athletic-academic scholarship, which she signed in November.

"Everyone on the team was really nice and I felt like I would fit in there," she said.

Bitetti has built a solid résumé at Norwell. She is a three-time Globe All-Scholastic and a Division 2 South sectional champion. She ended her junior season 22-1 and has compiled a sterling 73-4 career mark. She also was honored with the USTA 18-and-under Sportsmanship Award last season.

When it came time to make a college choice, Bitetti narrowed her list to programs in the South, along with two schools in the New England Small College Athletic Conference, Bowdoin and Middlebury.

"I was really confused about where I wanted to go," she said.

When the opportunity at Furman presented itself, Bitetti said she relied on her visit, along with the program's consistent success, to help her make the decision.

Last April, the Furman women captured their ninth consecutive Southern Conference regular-season title, extending their winning streak to 79 straight conference matches.

Southern was named the conference's coach of the year for the 11th time, and the team won its fourth straight conference tournament title.

Bitetti has played tennis since she was 4 and began playing competitively at 11. She has trained at the Weymouth Club and is realistic about what to expect in her first collegiate season.

"It will be really tough making the lineup my first year," she said. "They have some unbelievable players."

Todd Collins has been a savior for the Washington Redskins.

Before stepping in for the injured Jason Campbell, who injured his knee early last month, the former Walpole High star had not started an NFL game at quarterback since 1997.

His sterling play the last month has been remarkable, and one of the chief reasons why Washington was playing at Seattle in an NFC wild-card playoff game yesterday.

The 13-year veteran out of Michigan was dazzling in the Redskins' playoff clincher on Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys, completing 22 of 31 passing attempts for 244 yards and a touchdown in a 27-6 victory.

Starting three of the last four games, the 6-foot-4-inch, 228-pound Collins completed 67 of 105 passes for 888 yards and five touchdowns, with no interceptions. His last start had occured in 1997 with the Buffalo Bills, a season in which he completed 215 of 391 passes for 2,367 yards and 12 touchdowns.

"He has great character and toughness," Redskins coach Joe Gibbs told The Washington Post in comments about the 36-year-old Collins, a 1990 Walpole graduate. "He is oblivious to the rush. He makes good decisions. And he does smart things out there."

Sophomore forward Terri Duffy of Marshfield helped the Colby-Sawyer women's basketball team capture the South Padre Island Shoot-Out in Texas on Dec. 29. She scored 10 points and grabbed 5 rebounds in the 65-45 win against Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in the championship game. Duffy, who is averaging a team-leading 17.6 points and 7.4 rebounds a game, earned all-tournament honors.

The team also includes freshman guard Katelyn Stravinsky of Norwell and junior forward Kristen Romanko of Mansfield. Romanko has 10 blocks this season and Stravinsky has played in four games.

Colby-Sawyer is 6-4 heading into its game Tuesday against Middlebury.

When the spring season begins in late March, the Cohasset High boys' lacrosse team will be defending its Division 3 state title. Cohasset was one of a number of area teams to capture state titles in 2007. The Skippers defeated Scituate, 15-14, to win back-to-back Division 3 state titles under the coaching of Stew Curran, who was in his fourth season.

Monique Walker can be reached at mwalker@globe.com.