ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, March 28, 1996 TAG: 9603280018
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
TYPE: HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS
SOURCE: ANGIE WATTS STAFF WRITER
After losing in the Group A Region C finals last year, Radford High School boys' tennis Coach Larry Mannon hopes his youth movement will lead him back to the promised land in 1996.
Five sophomores must help make up for the graduation of the team's top two seeds, Rajiv Tayal and Adam Funk.
"Last year, the freshmen carried us into regionals," Mannon said. "A year older, they're stronger and more experienced, and that will hopefully make us the team to beat this year in the district."
Leading the charge for the Bobcats from the top slot is sophomore Ben Nester, who will look to help the team improve on last year's 9-8 overall record. Radford tied with Floyd County for the Three Rivers District regular-season title, but won in a playoff to advance to regionals. Once there, the Bobcats defeated the Maroon Tide of Galax in the regional semifinals before losing in the finals to Glenvar, the eventual state Group A champions.
"We started off strong last year, had a skid in the middle and then finished off strong," Mannon said. "Three or four of the freshmen played in the top seeds all year; and as the season progressed, they gained more confidence.
A look at other area teams:
Blacksburg saw its season end last year in the regional finals as well, which closed a quest to return to the state AA tournament, where the Indians had played their way to a runner-up finish behind Salem in 1994.
"I've been coaching here for three years, but Blacksburg's team has been pretty good for a while," Coach Louis Belt said.
Blacksburg captured the New River District title last year, finishing 11-4 overall. The Indians lost two seeded players to graduation, but No.1 Robert Gibb returns as the team's anchor. Gibb, a senior, advanced to the state semifinals in individual singles play last season.
There will be a new face at the No.2 spot for the Indians as senior Mike Pfeil jumps into the lineup. Pfeil's older brother, Mark, occupies the No.3 singles spot for Virginia Tech and is part of Tech's No.1 doubles team.
"Mike didn't play last year; but if he had, he would have been my No.2, so I'm not really losing much," Belt said. "I don't think it's unreal for this team to make it to the state tournament and possibly win the state title. ... I know that's every coach's goal, but I really think it is something they are capable of."
Christiansburg returns five of last year's top six players, all of whom have the goal of knocking off Blacksburg in the battle for the district title this year. The Blue Demons dropped both regular-season matches to the Indians a year ago.
Seniors Jesse McHose, Joel Brown and Richie Poff will serve as the top three seeds for Christiansburg, with Nathan Altice and Kevin Bush battling for the fourth and fifth positions. Steve Huppert, who coaches along with Chris McHose, said a tight battle continues for the sixth spot.
"Certainly, this is the most senior-rated team we've had," Huppert said. "We want to go after Blacksburg; they are the predominant team in this area. We'd certainly like to win the district and give Blacksburg a good shot."
Floyd County coach Jack Neff hopes that after his team fell 5-4 to Radford in a playoff for the Three Rivers title last season, the Buffaloes are ready to make a run in 1996. Floyd County finished the regular season 11-2 last year, with both losses coming to Radford.
"We'd like to win the district and hopefully be able to advance out of the region to state," Neff said, "but that could be real tough."
Floyd County will be playing with a new No.1 after losing Dustin Yates to graduation. Taking over the top spot is junior Jeremy Midkiff, with sophomore Gannon Bender grabbing the No.2 duties.
Giles will be led this season by the brother tandem of Russell and Evan Bowling. Russell is one of six returning players for the Spartans and will continue his reign as the No.1 seed. Russell fell last season to Glenvar's Nick Varney in the regional semifinals, his only loss of the year. Younger brother Evan is the lone freshman in the top six, and will take over the No.2 slot.
"Evan was with us as an eighth-grader," Coach Greg Brown said. "He's a veteran of competition."
Third-seeded Ryan Heck will team up with Russell on the top doubles team.
Brown said he expects his top three seeds to win the majority of their matches, but said the key will be the play of L.J. Goad, B.J. Williams and Andy Johnston in the bottom three positions.
"They will be the determining factor in whether we win 5-4 or lose 4-5," Brown said. "We're going to be pretty competitive, but it all depends on who Radford and Floyd have back."
Narrows Coach Barry Rucc, in his first year with the Green Wave, will look to seniors Jason Spangler and Brian Garrett, his top two seeds, to carry Narrows' hopes in the Mountain Empire District. Rucc said poor weather has kept him from seeing as much of his team in action as he'd like, so he has yet to determine the rest of the lineup. Nevertheless, he expects first-time tennis player Steve Wood to make an impact.
"Steve is a junior who's played little or no tennis, but he's a tremendous athlete," Rucc said. "He has played some handball and racquetball, but he hits well with the No.1 and No.2 seeds and has never picked up a tennis racket before. He's one of the best athletes in the school. He'd probably be an all-star in football and basketball, but personal reasons have kept him from playing. He's in one of my classes, and fortunately I talked him into coming out."
As for the team, Rucc said with the lack of practice time he's not sure how good this team will be.
"We'll be competitive this year," Rucc said. "We're not going to knock anybody's socks off, but we'll be competitive."
LENGTH: Long : 106 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: GENE DALTON/Staff. Leading the charge for Radford isby CNBsophomore Ben Nester. color.