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An in-depth look at Division III Posted Feb. 10, 2000 |
Notebooks Great Lakes Midwest Northeast Check out D3football.com |
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Personal Tragedy
By Greg Williams Chris Ciunci removes his high-tops and reveals "the message." At first glance, the Ursinus College senior’s sneakers appear to be the run-of-the-mill footwear any player could wear when hitting the hardwoods.
Instead, emblazoned on the heels are powerful but therapeutic messages which are helping Ciunci deal with the death of his younger sister Elizabeth, who was killed in an automobile accident last November. The 22-year-old guard/forward has learned to live with the loss through a steady dose of the game he loves. "I decided to write ‘I will meet you in heaven’ on the right sneaker and ‘Forever young’ on the other," the 6-foot-4 Ciunci said. "Whenever I get down during games, I look down and smile." Also written on one of the shoes is the day his sister was born and when she died. "With basketball . . . it’s taken my mind off that (her death)," Ciunci explained. "After it happened, I was like, ‘We have a game in two days.’ I didn’t want to miss the game. Just being around my teammates helps." And they have rallied around him. Players on the Ursinus basketball team also sport a black patch on their uniforms and have dedicated the season in her memory. "For Chris, it has been quite therapeutic for him to be involved with the team during this tragedy," Bears head coach George White said. "It distracts him from what’s gone on in his homefront. Our team has picked him up emotionally. And the success to date of the team has given him a lift." Ursinus is currently 13-6 overall and has been ranked in the NCAA regional polls at different times this season. Elizabeth was riding in a car with friends on the Schuylkill Expressway the day after Thanksgiving when they were hit by a drunk driver, who was traveling in the wrong direction. "I was actually sleeping at a friend’s house," Ciunci recalled, "and my mom called me and told me to come home. She didn’t want to tell me why until I got there." Ciunci sensed that something was terribly wrong but never imagined such a horrible fate had befallen his kid sister. State troopers had come to the Ciuncis' home in Malvern around 5 a.m. An hour later, Chris was on his way home. "It hasn’t sunk in yet," he said. "When I do sit down and think about it, it’s hard because of the way she was killed." Making Elizabeth’s death even harder to deal with was the fact that out of the half-dozen people in the car, she was the only one to die in the crash. "They were coming home from Philadelphia," Ciunci added. "It’s hard to see five people walk away and somebody killed. I wish they all could have survived." But Elizabeth didn’t, and now Chris, his younger brother Michael and his parents have been left to pick up the pieces. "My first game back I played against Dickinson and I was kind of out of it," Ciunci said of the Dec. 4 contest at Helfferich Hall. "I’ve continued to use basketball as an escape. I play each game my hardest and play with confidence. Sometimes I’m nervous, but I just play hard and go out there like I’ve got nothing to lose. "It’s all related. If I’m shooting the ball well, it keeps my confidence up." Ciunci averages 11.6 points and 3.0 rebounds per game while shooting 43.5% from the field. He also sat out several games with an injured foot. "When I’m in a daze, my teammates know to leave me alone," Ciunci added. "At that point in time, all that was in my life was right there. I had it (sister’s death) in my mind every time we were winning. It brought me back down to Earth." Through it all, Ciunci has found a silver lining. "People say when something bad happens, something good comes out of it," he explained. "We have a good bunch of guys on the team and I’m proud of that." The Ciunci family has also received some 10,000 cards and letters from well-wishers. Reading the thoughts and prayers of complete strangers helped him to manage a smile and have healed the deepest of wounds. "So many people came to her funeral," Ciunci said, "and were praying for us. The team came, even though we had only been together two months." Ciunci has fostered that support during each of his four seasons on the Collegeville campus. It’s times like this when he finally needed to draw on the strength of others around him. "He was away from us for five days of practice and that was about it," White said. "He is just a tremendous person. I can describe what he’s done in so many ways. He’s a great individual, who is simply committed to the team." And an individual who has persevered. As a freshman, he had trouble finding a niche on the team, doubling as both a shooting guard and power forward. This season, which has been clearly the most trying of his basketball career, he has found a home at small forward and has excelled. This season, he was also voted a team captain. "This has definitely been the toughest year," said Ciunci. "But in the same sense, it’s gratifying because the guys on the team have come to mean so much." |
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Chris Ciunci