ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, March 28, 1996 TAG: 9603280019
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
TYPE: HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS
SOURCE: ANGIE WATTS STAFF WRITER
There's one constant in championships - once you've tasted victory, you don't want to taste defeat ever again. This is true for the Christiansburg High School girls' tennis team, which captured its first New River District title last year.
"Last year's championship really motivated them to work hard," second-year Coach Scott Habeeb said. "They liked the taste of winning. They want to win the district again. ... They know it won't be easy, but they want it."
The Blue Demons finished 6-8; 4-2 in the district in 1995 before losing 9-0 to Marion in the first round of Region IV competition.
Christiansburg suffered what Habeeb calls a "substantial loss" with the graduation of No.1 Amanda Helbling and No.2 Alisha Buckner, both first-team all-district selections. Fighting to take their places are junior Michele Goncz and senior Sue Anna Lefko, last season's No.3 and No.4 seeds, respectively. They will occupy the top two positions for the Blue Demons, although the final seeding has not been decided.
The No.3 spot is secured, however, by last year's team most valuable player and another first-team all-district selection, Kristin Habeeb. Five other girls, including Sarah Evans, last year's No.6 seed, will compete for the remaining three positions.
"I was really happy with my first year," Scott Habeeb said. "I had never coached girls before, only football, but these girls worked hard. Last year they didn't believe in themselves, but this year you can really tell the difference in them.
"They're not cocky, but they are more confident than before."
A look at other area teams:
Blacksburg lost its top five seeds from last season, four to graduation and one, top-seeded Farika Fingh, to knee surgery. Coach Jennifer Buckley and assistant Meena Batra (last year's No.3 seed) will rely on a pair of freshmen, Yasamina Hilu and Sara Prupas, to fill in the top two spots.
"We have a really strong team even though we're young, and I have high expectations for the season," Buckley said. "My goal is to get to regionals and even farther. Our top six is young, but really strong."
Hilu may be seeing her first action in the New River District, but this freshman is already a veteran of tennis competition. She ranks 31st in Virginia in the 16-and-under Division and is 41st in the Mid-Atlantic 14 Division.
Floyd County is another team with with a young cast. Coach Ann Harman returns only two seeded players from last year, No.1 Misty Mannon and No.2 Dreama Lovitt, the team's only senior. Harman is in her first year with the Buffaloes as well, filling in for Sue Hollandsworth, who is taking a year or two off to be home with her children.
"I'm going into this sort of blind," Harman said. "I've never even been to a tennis match before, but I've coached other sports like softball and basketball so I have some idea.
"I think the girls have come a very long way so far in practice. But from what Sue told me, I know the other [Three Rivers District] teams are going to be tough, Radford in particular. We're just going into it with optimism and hope to do real well."
Giles ended last season in a three-way tie for the Three Rivers regular-season title with Floyd County and Radford, but fell to the Bobcats in a playoff, failing to advance to regionals. The Spartans finished 9-3 overall.
There will be some new faces leading Giles after the loss of No.1 Kari Jennell (now a Radford University player), No.2 Rikki Jennell and No.3 Karen Berteram to graduation.
Rikki's younger sister, Jamie Jennell, will be the new No.1 seed followed by Julie Keating and Michele Johnston.
"They just moved up from the bottom of the ladder to the top this year," Coach Kay Rakes said. "We have 10 of 15 girls back from last year, and all of them saw a little bit of playing time, so hopefully the girls coming in at the bottom will come through for us. We hope to just start out and improve game by game."
Radford Coach Betty Branch is in her ninth year at Radford, but has taken a break from the action from time to time. One of those breaks came last year, but Branch, alongside Coach Susan Cox, is back.
"I missed it, but I didn't miss it," Branch said. "I missed the camaraderie with the tennis ladies. I missed the competitions and not seeing the old coaches from the different schools. I missed the laughter of the girls and being around the young people. What I didn't miss is having to be at a certain place at a certain time and I didn't miss the rat race of rescheduling."
Branch and Cox have a lot to look forward to this season, having lost no one from a team that finished 11-7 and captured the Three Rivers District title last year.
Junior Mandy Harless will return as the top seed, but Branch said on any given day one of the other five seeds could beat any of the others.
Seniors Britt Osborne and Leslie Adkins were No.2 and No.3 last year, respectively, and Ashley Harless, Mandy's twin sister, held the fourth position. Ivonne and Jessica Reed, Maranda Qi and Erin Yopp will also be in on the battle for the remaining five spots.
"Our goal is to win state because Radford is hosting it this year," Branch said. "But more important is to have fun. If you win, great, but remember the sun's always going to come up the next day if you lose. The most important thing is enjoying the experience of all being together as a team, sharing a few laughs and maybe a few cries."
Shawsville seeks to improve upon its 5-7 finish last year with returning No.1 Sarah Hagood leading the way. Coach Jeff Stuart said co-captains Shannon Radford and Staci Harless, the No.2 and No.3 seeds, will also be looked to for leadership.
"Those three girls have put in a lot of extra time after practice, including taking lessons, and I think that might make a difference for us," Stuart said. "I feel confident we can compete with every team in the district."
LENGTH: Long : 107 linesby CNB