THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, October 20, 1994 TAG: 9410200511
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DENISE MICHAUX, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 117 lines
It was a birthday Tracy Reamey won't soon forget.
Reamey, a senior and Booker T. Washington's top girls tennis player the past two years, spent Monday, her 17th birthday, in a hospital room at Sentara Leigh Hospital recovering from an appendectomy.
It all began last week in the first round of the Eastern District tennis tournament while Reamey was facing one of her teammates, eventual singles champion Donna Self.
``My stomach started hurting,'' Reamey said. ``I kept having to bend over during the breaks. It was really just a regular ache though.
``Later when I was getting ready to play doubles it got a lot worse. I went home and ate some dinner. I was able to keep food down and everything, but at about 3 in the morning all the pain was in my right side and I told my mom I had to get to the emergency room.
``When we got there I kept telling the doctors to hurry. They said they had never seen a kid so anxious, but the pain was that bad.''
Reamey's appendix was inflamed and had an abcess on it, so it had to be removed.
Also, doctors told Reamey that toxins from the abcess had gotten into her system and caused her to run a high fever, which kept her in the hospital until Tuesday morning.
Now, while the Bookers prepare for today's Eastern Region semifinal showdown against Great Bridge, Reamey is resting at home.
``It hasn't been so bad. Everyone came to see me in the hospital on Monday and brought me a big card,'' an upbeat Reamey said. ``I was excited about the win (over Lafayette in the regional first round Tuesday). I'm kind of upset that I couldn't be a part of it, but I'm really glad they were able to win.''
COMING ON STRONG: Even though Norfolk Collegiate girls basketball team lost a good deal of talent from last season's TCIS regular-season champions, Oaks' coach Larry Bowman figured it would be just a matter of time before his team would be back in the title hunt.
``We are pretty young and I think we are going to be a lot better in October than we are now,'' said Norfolk Collegiate girls basketball coach Larry Bowman last August.
Bowman knew what he was talking about. Today, the Oaks are right in the thick of a four-team battle for the TCIS crown. They are coming off a close loss to Nansemond-Suffolk, their only TCIS loss of the season, and a big overtime win Tuesday at Greenbrier Christian.
It all has the Oaks pumped up for next week's matchup with Norfolk Academy.
``We'll be looking at playing for the conference title the last game of the year,'' Bowman said.
But while Bowman was confidently assuming the Bulldogs will get past N-SA on Tuesday, Norfolk Academy coach Joanne Renn won't even look that far ahead.
``We have to go one at a time,'' Renn said. ``We still have to get out of Walsingham on Saturday. That won't be a picnic.
``This really is the way it should be. This is what really helps the Tidewater Conference gain some credibility when you have the top teams all playing each other the last two weeks.''
BALANCED ATTACK: Norfolk Collegiate doesn't has any players among the league's top 10 scorers, but that doesn't bother Bowman.
``We really don't have one player who stands out,'' Bowman said. ``We have really been doing this as a team.''
Elizabeth Swearingen leads the team with a 13.9-points-per-game average followed by Julie Tebault at 13.5.
Melanie Sandford had a career night against Greenbrier with 16 points and Carol Baker tallied her 100th assist of the season in that game.
NOWHERE TO GO: The TCIS boys soccer tournament is scheduled to begin Nov. 1, and the teams are still without a playing site .
``We don't have any lighted fields,'' said Norfolk Academy coach Kevin Sims. ``On Saturday (Nov. 5) the kids have SATs so we want to give them a lot of time to recover before a game and then the days are real short.''
Last year the tournament was held at Christopher Newport. A couple years ago, Old Dominion played host, and Sims is trying to renew that relationship for this season.
If that weren't enough, Sims' Bulldogs are also playing well in the Prep League, which conducts tournament play Nov. 4, 8 and 11.
``We always go through this,'' Sims said. ``The odds are really stacked against us. The depth of the teams in both leagues is so strong that you have be good every day. And with all of the traveling back and forth to Richmond, that is asking a lot of an athlete at any level, much less a bunch of high school kids.
``Maybe a good seeding will help us a little.''
GIRLS TENNIS: Booker T. Washington coach Paul Palombo knows his Bookers will be heavy underdogs when they take the Owl Creek Municipal Tennis Center in Virginia Beach courts today at 1:30 p.m. in the Eastern Region team semifinals against Southeastern District champion Great Bridge.
But he also knows strange things can happen at tournament time.
For example, in last season's boys regional semifinals, Lafayette was also heavily favored over Western Branch. On the day of the match, however, two of the Rams, including two-time regional singles and doubles champion Mark Tepes, left school without permission and were suspended from playing. With the two players, the Rams were probably looking at an 8-1 victory. Without them, the Bruins prevailed, 5-4, and qualified for the state tournament.
``We're going to show up,'' Palombo said. ``You never know what might happen.''
In the other semifinal, defending champion First Colonial will take on Peninsula District winner Ferguson in a battle of unbeatens. The Patriots beat the Mariners easily in last year's regional tournament, and have perhaps an even stronger team this season.
The key match for the Mariners will be at No. 3 singles, where Ferguson's hottest player, Cecibel DeGracia, will meet the Patriots' Katy Walters. DeGracia was a surprise in reaching the final of the Peninsula District singles tournament, upended defending champion Kara Streker of Warwick along the way.Melanie Sandford scored the first two points of overtime and scored a career-high 16 points in Norfolk Collegiate's 60-52 girls basketball win over Greenbrier Christian Academy. Her contributions were erroneously credited to another player in Wednesday's editions. Correction
Melanie Sandford scored the first two points of overtime and scored a career-high 16 points in Norfolk Collegiate's 60-52 girls basketball win over Greenbrier Christian Academy. Her contributions were erroneously credited to another player in Wednesday's editions. by CNB