THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, October 18, 1996 TAG: 9610180716
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PAUL WHITE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 60 lines
No overconfidence. No letdowns. Just wins.
Every match.
Every player.
Every time.
And so it goes for the Cox girls tennis team, which continued running roughshod over Eastern Region opposition Thursday with a 8-0 triumph over Great Bridge in the regional semifinals at Owl Creek Municipal Tennis Center.
The Falcons will face Peninsula champion Lafayette, 9-0 winners over Southeastern champion Lakeland, in the regional final Friday at 1 p.m. at Owl Creek.
Both finalists qualify for the Group AAA state championship beginning Oct. 29.
Cox' victory boosted its record to 13-0, with 12 wins by shutout. Only a victory by former state champion Mily Kannarkat of First Colonial over Cox No. 1 Kristin Moran separates the Falcons from a perfect season; Cox is 114-0 in team singles and doubles matches against everyone else.
``The teams that play us have nothing to lose,'' Falcons No. 6 Shannan Gormley said. ``We have our reputations to lose.''
That mark is a source of pride with the Falcons, which helps explain why No. 3 Adrienne Byrne fought so tenaciously to pull out a 6-7, 7-5, 6-2 victory over Beth Hartley even though the team match was no longer in doubt.
``I figured I couldn't be the only one on the whole team to lose,'' Byrne said.
The Wildcats (8-5) who fought out of a three-way second-place tie in the Southeastern to secure a regional bid and upended Eastern champion Maury in the first round Tuesday, were also shut out by Cox on Sept. 23.
Because of the length of the Byrne-Hartley match, both coaches agreed to suspend the No. 1 doubles match.
Five straight-sets victories by the Rams in singles play finished off the Cavaliers (8-0), who captured the Southeastern District title in their first year as a Group AAA school.
``I feel bad about losing, but I'm already over it because we did something people didn't expect us to do just by making it this far,'' Lakeland No. 2 player Lisa Allmond said.
For the Rams, Thursday's victory to clinch a state tournament berth allowed them to achieve the second of their two goals for the year, with the other being winning the Southeastern District.
But even they acknowledge that winning a regional title today appears to be an extreme longshot.
Cox took care of the Rams, 9-0, when the teams met in a scrimmage Aug. 22, and even the Rams wonder how much ground they could have made up in the eight weeks since.
``We're not thinking the outcome will be much different, but we think we can play much better,'' Lafayette No. 1 Scottie Howard said. ``And if a miracle happens, cool.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo by CHARLIE MEADS, The Virginian-Pilot
Cox's Kristin Moran two-fists a return in her 6-0, 6-1 victory
at No. 1 singles in the Eastern Region semfinals Thursday. by CNB