College Sports Information Directors of America

Hofstra Head Coach Fran Kalafer stared down a dilemma, and came out a winner as the Pride took on host William & Mary with an 11 a.m. start on Oct. 5 in Virginia. She, and a Hofstra player, booked a flight from Richmond, Va., back to Hofstra for Yom Kippur, which started at sundown that night. However, the flight time would be cutting it close as she needed to leave the gym no later than 12:30 p.m. to make the 40-minute drive to the Richmond Airport. Everything worked out in Kalafer's favor early on as the Pride cruised in the first two games and was leading 18-15 in game three. Although hesitant on the decision, she decided to leave at that point (12:30 p.m.). She turned the whistle and clipboards over to assistant coach Julie Nicholson, assistant sports information director Stephen Gorchov and trainer Paul Kinney. Gorchov and Kinney were responsible for signaling the players where to serve and keeping the passing stats. What looked like a possible three-game match suddenly took a different turn. William and Mary rebounded to win games three and four. With Kalafer and assistant coach Elaine Roque (did not make the trip) calling repeatedly on Gorchov's cell phone, the situation was explained late in the fourth game. William & Mary led the fifth game 14-12, but the Pride withstood two match points and scored the last four points to claim victory. "I have been around Coach Kalafer for quite a few years, and I have never in those years felt as nervous as I did (on Oct. 5)," Gorchov said. "Knowing that is a small way she trusted her team to Julie, Paul and I, I would have felt such guilt had we lost the match. To be honest, it was a great comeback for Hofstra."