The Day in States

Yesterday afternoon, three EMHS sports teams were engaged in state tournament contests: boys tennis, girls softball, and girls soccer.  Writeups:

Boys Tennis

Tuesday, May 13, 2008 at 3:30 PM, the EMHS Boys Tennis Team spun the racquets to begin the State Quarterfinals. EMHS, seeded #4, took on seed #5 Norfolk Collegiate School. Going into the match, the guys knew that it would be a tough match, and it turned out to be an excellent day of tennis. In singles, Junior Vincent Morra (1) overtook his opponent 10-6. Almost two hours later and despite the pressure of being the last singles playing, Freshman Christophe Langouet claimed the Flames' 2nd victory with a 10-4 win to move to doubles.

After a small break with strawberries, bananas and brownies, the guys went back out on the courts to play doubles. During doubles, many of the guys like to have some competition that slightly makes fun of the girls team. Whenever they hit a "slama-jama," in other words, an amazing overhead that goes over the fence, they yell "It's cookie time!" Although most people don't understand this phrase, when the girls team is there to support the guys, much laughter will be heard because in girls tennis, this is a rarity, but for the guys, it's a daily occurrence.

Doubles 1 (Vincent Morra and Senior Lucas Schrock-Hurst) and Doubles 3 (Senior Eric Brodersen and Freshman Michael Poynter) pulled out two more wins for the team. Although Langouet and Freshman Nathaniel Morra didn't win their doubles, they fought an injury during their match and had a great comeback.

Yesterday's match is one to be proud of because all seven players played their hearts out and never gave up hope. Although the end result was a 4-5 loss, the team was pleased with how they played this season and are anticipating next year.

- Special Correspondent Amy Leap

Girls Soccer

"5! 4! 3! 2! 1!" went the chant from the soccer team supporters in front of the Booster Club trailer. They were counting down each minute, starting at minute 16, to the end of the game.

Yes, this game was a type of countdown, as it was the last home game for the team's seniors, but the team will continue its season on Friday in the State Final Four after holding on for a 2-1 victory against #6 Denbigh Baptist.

The #3 Flames jumped out to a 1-0 lead just 6 minutes in when Senior J.J. Hostetter hit a left-footed shot just over the outstretched hands of Denbigh's keeper. The goalie tried to push the ball over the bar, but missed. Denbigh answered at 29 minutes with a misplayed cornerkick that slipped past the near post, leading to a 1-1 halftime score.

In the second half, the Flames answered with an emphatic goal from Sophomore Kara Lofton on a corner kick from Hostetter. Lofton drove the ball over the goalie with a strong header, giving the Flames all the goals they would need.

The defensive crew for EMHS played an excellent game, with Sophomore Kierra Stutzman, Juniors Malia Hostetter and Kristen Myers, and the rock in the middle, Lofton, shutting down the Minutemen attack.

Coach Sherman Eberly thought the team played pretty well, saying, "It wasn't our best technical game of the year, but we had stretches when we looked very good... We controlled the game.  [Denbigh] came to play, and played hard, but overall we had the better speed."

Now the countdown begins for the school's second soccer Final Four appearance of the school year, as the 14-3 Flames take on the 17-1 Atlantic Shores Seahawks.

- John Leonard

Girls Softball

EMHS softball, seeded #7 in the state, travelled to play #2 Brunswick Academy in Lawrenceville.

The girls were hanging tough in the game, down 2-0, when the floodgates opened in the bottom of the 5th inning, when Brunswick scored seven runs, aided by 4 Flames errors. "We were doing great, but then we had [the really bad inning]," said Junior Jordan Burns. EMHS coach Greg Michael said, "It's very disappointing because we were in the game. Our girls were making plays, but in the fifth inning, we had four errors, and that just took the game out of reach."  (Daily News Record)

Despite the tough loss, the Flames had a successful season, ending the year at 13-10. Burns and Junior Heather Vaccaro were named to the Blue Ridge All-Conference first team, Senior Erica Lehman and Junior Lucy Showalter were named to the All-Conference second team, and Coach Greg Michael was named BRC Coach of the Year. Congratulations to all for an excellent year!

- John Leonard