I
10
Sports
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Mail l
Two new coaches inspire Girls' Lacrosse Team
u M alia C hong _______________
Photo Editor
The Girls' Lacrosse Team
is off to a great start this
season. Two new coaches
will be working along with
Allister Bunch, head coach.
Tess O'Shaughnessy and
Audrey Sheppard are both
graduates of the West Linn's
Lacrosse program established
by Hilary Gilmore in 1997.
O'Shaughnessy has played
lacrosse for six years, including
three years at WLHS, two
years at Washington State
University, and a summer
for the Spokane Collegiate
Woman's team.
"As a new coach to the
program, I feel my biggest
contribution will be the
experience and knowledge I
gained from playing the sport
for many years and keeping up
to date with the evolving skills
and strategy of the game,"
O'Shaughnessy said.
Sheppard played lacrosse all
four years during high school,
and was a valuable player
on the NW Regional team
at nationals. She is looking
forward to bringing a new
coaching strategy to the team.
"I think it will be important
to focus on fundamentals
of the game and build team
camaraderie," Sheppard said.
Boys'
Lacrosse
set high
standards
u
M egan B utts ______________
Staff Reporter
The Boys' Varsity Lacrosse
Team has a history of success
and plans to continue its
success in the upcoming
season.
"Our goal is to make the
Final Four and hopefully play
for the State Championship,"
Mark Flood, head coach, said.
Flood has been the coach for
all 14 years there has been a
lacrosse team at West Linn. His
team has made it a tradition to
go to the Final Four and this
year expects to do the same.
"We always go to the Final
Four," Flood said. League
opponent Lakeridge and the
Lions have been the two most
successful teams in the state.
It seems that one of the most
difficult challenges for West
Linn this season will be to beat
the Pacers. Team members are
hopeful they will do just that.
"I think we can play them.
By the end of the season we
will have a lot of experience so
I expect it will be good," Ryan
Janoff, senior, and a returning
captain, said.
Home games will be March
20 against Rex Putnam; April
3 against Riverdale; April 23
against Oregon City; April 25
against Clackamas and May 1
against arch-rival Lakeridge.
Bunch is looking forward to
the new changes this season.
In conjunction with hiring two
new coaches, Bunch has many
goals for the players. The three
main goals are: for everyone in
the program to improve, to be
competitive within the league,
and to make it to playoffs. The
ultimate goal is to compete in
the Sate championship game.
This year the Varsity roster
was cut from 20 players to 16.
Only the 16 best make Varsity.
Bunch thinks last year too *
many Varsity players missed
out on game time while on
the bench. The solution is to
have 6-10 swingers who play
on both JV and Varsity. That
will maximize their Varsity
experience while allowing
them playing time. Their next
home game is tonight against
South Ridge High School from
8pm to 9:15pm.
"The girls are going to do
as well as they will allow
themselves to do," Bunch
said. He is raising the bar
and expecting the girls to
give 110%; because once a
player is on Varsity, she is not
guaranteed that spot, and must
continue to work hard and
earn it.
"I'm very honored to be part
of the program and to continue
to watch it expand and
develop. Coaching West Linn
Lacrosse is a great way to stay
involved with the sport and
give back to a community
that gave so much to me
when I was a student,"
O'Shaughnessy said.
Kelsey McCarty, senior, takes it up the field to pass to her offense
against Lake Oswego. The Lions beat the Lakers soundly, 10-3.
Photo by Malia Chong
Girls' Golf looks for repeat; boys hope to return
m J on H elmkamp _____________
co-Sports Editor
The West Linn golf
teams have made name for
themselves with the girls
taking first place in the Three
Rivers League last year and
the boys team taking first two
years ago.
"Last year we were second
in league, we won District,
and got to go to State. Only
two teams out of the league
go to State, so it was nice
to be one of the tw o," Ron
Wells, girl's coach, said.
They have seven, possibly
eight, players returning, but
will miss graduates Whitney
Climes and Danielle Ranallo.
"Those two were solid
players. They played a big
role in our team's success,"
Wells said.
Due to their success over
the last two years, the interest
in the golf program has
almost doubled.
"This year we have 20
girls trying out, and we're
going to cut it down to 12. It's
kind of unusual that w e're
going to have to cut players,
since over the last two years
there hasn't been much
interest in our program.
In the past, every girl who
tried out made the team. It's
nice having this wide of a
selection of girls to choose
from ," Wells said.
After reaching State last
year, they look to stay on top
of the league with this year's
group.
The boys' team dropped
to fourth in the TRL last
year after suffering from
personnel issues, but team
members have confidence in
coming back strong.
"Last year was an off-year
for us. There was an incident
with some of the Varsity
players that held us back,
but this year we're going to
work hard, bond together
as a team, and rub "Q-Tip"
(Jackson Henniger)'s head for
good luck," Jordan Hongo,
junior, said.
Every day after school,
the golf team has only 10
minutes to get down to the
locker room, change, and be
on the bus that takes them
to the Oregon Golf Club
where they practice from
3:30-6:30 p.m. The golf team
practices every day, whether
it's pouring down rain or the
sun's shining.
"Golf is the hardest game
in the world, and it's even
more mentally challenging,"
Hongo said.
At their tournaments, they
select five of the 12 players to
play, and at the end, the top
four scores from the team are
added together.
"What's interesting
about golf is that you're
individually playing for your
own score, but at the same
time you're playing for your
team," Hongo said.
Twenty-seven boys tried
out, six of whom were
returning from last year. The
team was cut to 12.
"We've got a talented
group this year," Hongo said.
Upcoming competitions
for the Varsity boys are at
Stonecreek on March 19,
Waverly Country Club on
April 2 and Arrowhead
Country Club on April 9.
Varsity girls will compete at
Oswego Lake Country Club
on March 19, Stonecreek on
April 2 and Oregon City Golf
Club on April 9.
LeVeque brings experience in return to Varsity Softball
u
I ke M c G innis _____________
Staff Reporter
The Girls Softball team has a
new coach for the 2007 season,
Jamie LeVeque, math teacher.
LeVeque had been head
.softball coach for the Lions for
11 years, from 1990 to 2001.
He also had experience in
Portland for six years previous
to coaching at West Linn
but stopped coaching after
the 2001 season to focus on
coaching his son and daughter.
After last year's head coach
Diane Shantin stepped down,
the job opened.
"The job was open, I threw
my name in the hat," LeVeque
said. There was only one other
applicant.
"(It is) a nice change for our
team," Susan Schrank, senior
shortstop, said.
LeVeque said there are
huge differences between the
games of baseball and softball.
Mainly, the strategy is different
and softball has underhand
pitching. LeVeque said a
pitcher in softball experiences
less fatigue than in baseball
and pitchers tend to dominate
a game more in softball than in
baseball.
"The wear and tear of a
baseball pitcher is physically
harder than softball," LeVeque
said.
The only pitcher with
Varsity experience in this year's
rotation is Michelle Radulesk,
sophomore. LeVeque also
stated he expects some
freshmen pitchers to step up.
Kassandra Vernon, senior
first base, and Schrank are two
seniors with Varsity experience
who will be a factor in this
year's season.
"It'll be a building year, got
a young team," Schrank said.
The new facilities at
Rosemont Ride Middle School
played a factor in scheduling
practices. LeVeque said it is
nice to have the batting cages
for those rainy days.
The team will take a trip
to Las Vegas to play four
games against Bonanza, Clark,
Cimarron and Foothill High
Schools. LeVeque said all of
those teams are very good.
In the Three Rivers League,
LeVeque said Lake Oswego
and Oregon City are tough
and that Putnam has a good
history. But, he really isn't sure
what to expect from the other
team's in the TRL.
"To be honest with you, I've
been out. It'll be all new to me,"
LeVeque said when it came to
looking at other teams.
The Lions played two
home games already, but
they have one on March
20 against Reynolds at
Rosemont Ridge Middle
School at 4:30 p.m. League
play will begin March 22 at
Lake Oswego at 4 p.m.
Experienced team shows promise
lo p B illy iftlfSig liiB iin iii u
continued from page 9
Unfortunately, on top of their
loss, the B-side lost one of its
players. N icholas Erickson,
junior, was crushed beneath
one of the larger players from
Tualatin and m ade his way
off the field with a hurt shoul
der. After further analysis by
doctors, it was discovered
that he had shattered his col
larbone in two places.
"I really didn't feel it because
of the adrenaline," Erickson
said.
Despite their loss of not only
a game, but also a m em ber of
the team, Tsutsumi still saw
a silver lining.
"We kicked and passed really
w ell, and really w orked as a
team. But, the m ost im por
tant thing still is to have fun,"
Tsutsumi said. Tackling and
supporting passes are going
to be a focus of the team this
year as w ell as kicking.
O n M arch 3, the A-side con
quered one of its long stand
ing rivals, North Clackamas,
in a 22-12 win. During the
M cM in n v ille tou rn am en t
earlier this season, West Linn
lost to N orth Clackam as in a
short 30 minute m ini-m atch
and were determ ined not
to relive that experience.
Through training and team
work, the boys came through
w ith a win, giving them a 2-0
start to the season.
The boys look to take on
Eastside, third in the league,
on tomorrow.
"After w atching them (at
their practice) they aren't
the team they w ere last
year, but they're still going
to be a challenge," Dustin
Audirsch, junior, said.
Com bined with the hard
w ork they've put in this sea
son and their unified goal for
achievem ent, the boys are
on the right path to success.
Living under the shadow of
the successful girls’ team, the
boys are out to make a nam e
for themselves.