Image provided by: West Linn High School; West Linn, OR
About The amplifier. (West Linn, Oregon) 1921-current | View Entire Issue (June 1, 2010)
12 Sports June Tennis Teams send individuals and doubles to State Boys beat odds to tie for first in Three Rivers League Wagner wins Districts in singles N ora H and The Boys' Tennis Team finished the dual meet season on a winning streak. At Districts, Arthur To, junior, and Ken Tsuruta, junior, won the doubles championship. The two were seeded number six for State, which took place on May 20. At State, To and Tsuruta won their first doubles match against Canby, but lost to a Lake Oswego team in the second round. The team took 18th place. The team's last two league matches against Lakeridge were rescheduled due to Photo by Emily Lyons Micah Wiard, junior, plays in a home victory against Oregon City. The team made its way from being considered underdogs in the Three R iv e rs L eag u e to SwilK winning the District championship. inclement weather. They beat Lakeridge, 6-2, which resu lted in w ay tie the Three League w i t h Oswego Lakeridge. "I think that the team put in a lot of effort this year. I really saw this after our final league match with Lakeridge. Every one of our players stuck around to watch our last teams play and supported everyone no matter what the scores were," Jonathan Macemon, sophomore, said. "The team put in a lot of effort and it paid off well by tying for the league championship." "We came in with a weight on our shoulders knowing if we didn't win this match our streak of being TRL champs would end," To said. "This win was a great accomplishment for us being such a young and inexperienced team." With only two seniors on the team this year, To and Dylan Martin, junior, took on team captain responsibilities. "We came in with the expectation that we were not going to do too well and come in third or fourth because we graduated nine seniors last year," Kabir Samra, junior, said. There was also a perception that West Linn was not a contender for the league title because of their youth and inexperience. What was originally thought of with dismay became the team's motivation to succeed. "I think that a main goal this year was to prove all the other schools wrong," Macemon said. Boys* Tennis continued on page 13 B ailey M iddleton The Varsity Girls' Tennis Team finished off a season laden with injuries and challenges with a strong showing at Districts. Amanda Wagner, junior, led the team, taking the District singles title. The scores of her first three matches were 6-0, 3-6, and 6-1. "Getting first place was amazing, it just felt really awesome. We're so happy about it," Wagner said. Doubles team of Samantha Ing, junior, and Lisa Kirkemo, senior, won the consolation prize for their battle in doubles. At the State competition, Wagner faced off in her first singles match against Marina Todd, senior, of South Medford. She lost both games 6-0, sending her to the consolation bracket where she played Lindsey Naganuma, junior, of Clackamas and lost 8-4. Ing and Kirkemo have won most all of their matches this season, but an ankle injury sustained by Ing early in the season set them back and resulted in them being seeded lower than they hoped for at Districts. "We had no seed, and Sam has her ankle injury," Kirkemo said. "I feel we could have done better, but we still did pretty well." Though individual members of the team placed well at Districts, the team finished in seventh place, a slight disappointment after a 5-4 season. "I am really impressed with Amanda and how she did at Districts. She really went above and beyond to win," Ke Ounaphom, Girl’s Varsity head coach, said. "I was hoping [the team] would do better, but it was a tough draw. We didn't know what the outcome would be, but it turned out great anyway." Team members have kept a positive outlook on this year's season, taking away and emphasizing the positive lessons learned. "Even though we didn't win much, we still did awesome as a team. We've all gotten stronger," Wagner said. Kirkemo added that the team is confident they will be one of the top teams in the TRL in the next few years. "The only person we're losing next year [on the team] is Lisa, so we're a young team and I'm sure we'll come back even stronger next year," Wagner said. \ Boys Lacrosse finishes in top eight, girls lose in first round T y C larke The playoffs yielded very different results for the boys’ and girls' lacrosse teams. The boys made it to the third round before losing to Lincoln, while the girls lost in the first round. In the first round, the boys beat Corvallis 12-2, while the girls lost to Jesuit, 15- 5. Neither team received a home playoff game for the entirety of the playoffs, so the boys had to make their mark on their road if they hoped to advance. Following a win over Corvallis, the Lions faced Summit High School. The team overcame the long road trip to Bend to win 16- 2., advancing the Lions to the State quarterfinals for the face-off with Lincoln, where the Lions met their match. "We have had a lot of players contribute in scoring," Mark Flood, boys' head coach, said. "Defense has been able to shut down opponents and create transitions." The Three Rivers League is a hotbed for elite teams, as three of the top five teams in the state competed for the league title. The boys' team played close against some of the top teams in the state— Lakeridge and Lake Oswego. Although they finished in front of the Lions, the games were very close. The team was ranked fifth in the state. In the team's four league losses, twice to Lake Oswego and twice to Lakeridge, the Lions lost by a combined six goals. As Flood said, "We are a few unlucky bounces away from being undefeated." Besides the Pacer and Laker games, the Lions hadn't lost a game all season. They outscored the opposition, 180-60 in those games. It is these kind of scores that made the Lions a dangerous team in the playoffs and explained the lofty goals it set in the preseason. The team hoped to make it to the final four for the State playoffs; the golden standard for every team. A final four appearance would have meant that the team further cemented the fact that it is a top team in the state. Flood said he envisions the season ending with "holding a trophy at the final four." In the Lions' latest battle with Lake Oswego, on March 7, the Lakers once again pulled out a close victory, winning 7-5. Late season drama filled the girls' league. The team grabbed the final TRL playoff spot, but only after Clackamas lost its last two games Photo ty Ethan Brent of the Annie Longtain, freshman, makes a move upfield season Lake a recenf w' n over Putnam on March 4. The Oswego Lions took the final playoff spot of the Three Lakeridge Rivers League and in their first playoff game, and Oregon *° JesuR 15-5. City finished ahead of three teams "arguably the the Lions. First year coach three top teams in the state." Megan Elston called the first The Lions had a bumpy IH M I start to the season, losing their first six games, and eight out of their first nine. Elston described the beginning of the season as "a little hectic." The TRL, always competitive, did not disappoint. Lake Oswego was 10-1 and Lakeridge was in a tug-of-war battle for second place with Oregon City. The Lions' 5-7 league record placed them in front of the Cavaliers. Before the season, Elston said the teams' goals were to win league games against Clackamas, Riverdale and Putnam, and to play competitively against Lake Oswego, Oregon City and Lakeridge. The Lions accomplished the former, going 6-0 against the teams. Those in fact were the team's only six wins, which pushed them into fourth place. The Lions won their final games, beating Riverdale 12-4 and finished the last game of the regular season 14-6. The team played Jesuit in the first round of the State playoffs on May 18. The Lions fell to the Metro League champions, losing 15-5. HBI
