For the first time in several years, three seniors at Saint Viator High School were early in signing their national letters of intent to play at the Division I collegiate level. Wednesday was the NCAA’s initial signing date.
Dana Gattone of Addison committed to play golf at the University of Illinois, while Robert Renner of Lake Barrington committed to play golf at Florida Gulf Coast University. Ore Arogundade of Arlington Heights committed to play basketball at Drake University.
“It takes a lot of hard work and dedication,” said Tim Carlson, athletic director, “but each and every single one of them has earned the right to compete at the next level.”
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For Gattone, the official signing date came after she made a verbal commitment in September to play for the Illini.
“Once I met the girls on the team and the coach, I knew it was the place I could contribute,” Dana said. “They already have two freshmen playing who contributed a lot this season, which was good to see.”
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Dana certainly made an impact on the girls’ golf team at Saint Viator. She was a four-year state qualifier, finishing fourth this year at the Class 2A IHSA state finals in Decatur. She repeated as the top individual golfer in the East Suburban Catholic Conference.
Her coach, Mick Drewes, sums up her strengths in one word: consistency.
“She never wavers,” Coach Drewes said. “Her highest is two above par and her lowest is two under par. She’s that consistent.”
On the boys’ side, senior Robert Renner was just as important for the Lions. He tied for 5th place at the Class 3A IHSA state finals last month in Bloomington and led his team to a 6th place finish. Individually, Robert also earned a spot on the IHSA All-State team after being named Player of the Year for the East Suburban Catholic Conference.
He chose Florida Gulf Coast in Ft. Myers for its warm climate and high-caliber golf program.
“Someday, I’d like to go pro,” Robert says. “And to do that, I know I need to play year-round.”
Ore Arogundade made a verbal commitment to play at Drake in August, after fielding offers from St. Louis, Loyola, Santa Clara, Murray State and more.
“Drake offered me the best situation,” said Ore, who averaged 19.1 points, 7.6 rebounds and 3.1 assists last season. “It has great academics, a good atmosphere, and they play in a good conference [Missouri Valley].
“And with the good recruiting class coming in,” he added, “I think we’re going to be special.”
His coach, Mike Howland, agreed with Ore’s choice.
“He can go there and play right away,” Coach Howland said. “I’d be shocked if he wasn’t an impact player in his first year.”
Ore is the first Division I basketball player to be recruited from the Lions since 1995, when Quin Hayes left to play for Monmouth University in West Long Branch, N.J. As luck would have it, Hayes returns to Saint Viator this season as an assistant coach.
