THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, March 29, 1996 TAG: 9603290629
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ROBIN BRINKLEY, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 95 lines
When Ocean Lakes coach Garry Spedden and First Colonial's Norbie Wilson decided to stage a baseball tournament this spring they knew they would have two good teams - their own.
But they didn't stop there. The first Beach Blast next Tuesday through Saturday features five of the top nine teams in South Hampton Roads - No. 1 Cox, No. 2 First Colonial, No. 3 Churchland, No. 8 Great Bridge and No. 9 Ocean Lakes - as well as nationally-ranked Atlee, Group AA power Southampton and a team from Elmira, N.Y.
``We tried to invite teams with prospects and we've gotten a great response from the pro scouts and college recruiters,'' Wilson said. ``I suspect 10 or 12 pro scouts will show up and probably 20 college coaches.''
Each team plays four games against a pre-arranged schedule and no champion will be crowned. Games wil be played at Ocean Lakes, First Colonial, Cox and Trant Field.
GOINGS AND COMINGS: Two of the area's best boys tennis players, First Colonial's George Kannarkat and Norfolk Academy's Bryan Duquette, won't be on the courts this spring, but Cape Henry's Jessica Zaganczyk, a nationally ranked girls player, is back after a year's absence.
Kannarkat, a three-time Beach District champ who never lost a district match, cited schoolwork in forgoing his senior season.
``All my classes are so hard and they take so much time,'' said Kannarkat, an honor roll student who plans to attend medical school. ``I just don't have the time to play the hours (the tennis season) demands.''
His absence means that for the first time since the fall of 1994, someone not named Kannarkat will win a Beach District singles title. Kannarkat's sister, Mily, has won the last two girls crowns.
Duquette, the Bulldogs' No. 1 player a year and the TCIS singles runner-up a year ago, is now a member of the school's lacrosse team coached by his father, Tom.
``I just wanted to do something new,'' Duquette said. ``I'll play tennis in college next year, so I guess I'm kind of taking the spring off.''
Despite not playing organized lacrosse since the seventh grade, Duquette has scored seven goals in his first three games. Meanwhile, Duquette's brother, Mike, has stepped into the Bulldogs' No. 1 singles slot. Another Duquette, Chris, is No. 4.
Zaganczyk breezed to TCIS singles titles as a freshman and sophomore, but skipped high school tennis last season to concentrate on tournaments. She wound up ranked among the top 40 players in the country - and No. 2 in the Mid-Atlantic Region - in the girls 18s.
``I just want to go out there now and have fun,'' said Zaganczyk, who has signed with North Carolina. ``It's not really about me winning and losing. I just want to help my team and my teammates.''
STILL IN THE HUNT: After losing its top three scorers from a team that advanced to the Group AAA state tournament each of the last three years, Cox appears to be a rebuilding team unlikely of consideration in what is shaping up to be a tough Beach District boys soccer race.
But with a squad coach Jim Snodgrass calls ``The No Names,'' Cox found out last weekend that it had all the right stuff to once again battle for the move onto postseason competition.
The Falcons closely battled their state tournament nemesis of the past three tournaments - Hylton - in a 1-0 loss before taking it to perennial Northern Virginia power Woodbridge in a 1-0 victory. Woodbridge went onto show it was still a force by dishing out a 7-0 thrashing of defending Eastern Region champion Lafayette - the team Cox lost to in last year's region final.
``I feel good about (the weekend performances),'' Snodgrass said. ``It did much for our confidence and I'm proud of the way we played.
``Hylton is almost the same team and they didn't get as many opportunities as I thought they would and we got more than I thought we would.''
MORE SOCCER: The Kellam Invitational and Tiger Classic, both scheduled to begin Thursday, have been rescheduled. The three first-round games at Kellam have been moved to Saturday morning, beginning at 9 a.m. The championship game is now at 8 p.m.
NATIONAL WRESTLING: Great Bridge's Carl Perry won't arrive at the University of Illinois until the fall, but to hear his coach tell it, the Wildcats' star is ready for the next level now.
``I've been going against him every day,'' said Martin, a former All-American at Iowa. ``Carl's wrestling tough.''
Perry, the nation's top-ranked high school 130-pounder, will be one of 580 wrestlers competing today in the National High School Wrestling Championships at Duquesne University. The tournament is open to seniors who finished first or second at their state tournaments.
The top eight finishers in each weight class will be recognized as All Americans.
Perry will be competing at 125.
Others from the Hampton Roads area competing in the tournament: Churchland's James Worrell (160) and Orlando Morton (152), Western Branch's Sean Sanderlin (145), Tallwood's Mike Mercado (112), Granby's Chris Martin (140) and Hampton's Eric Thompson (130). MEMO: Staff writers Lee Tolliver and Paul White contributed to this report.
by CNB