PAGE B4, KEIZERTIMES, MARCH 18, 2016
Lady Celts set to defend GVC title
days later – 5-0 to Grants Pass
High School. Having to travel
for both games was the result
of losing some contests against
top opponents earlier in the
season.
The takeaway? Early games
count just as much as the ones
later in the season.
“It’s easy for us to explain it
this year and we saw when we
had to go North Medford and
then Grants Pass. Now we can
say, ‘This is how it affects you,’”
said Kevin Wise, McNary head
coach. “They have to be in the
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
The McNary High School
girls varsity softball team
learned a hard lesson at the
end of its 2015 season.
The team won the Greater
Valley Conference title, scored
more runs than any other 6A
team in the state, and then had
to play two of three playoff
games on fi elds at least fi ve
hours away. McNary won
the fi rst game, against North
Medford High School, 12-2,
but lost the second one – two
Boys tennis returns
with fresh faces,
new leadership
the early going. Trinh plans to
partner with Schiefer in dou-
bles matches later this season.
“He’s just getting back into
the sport, but he’s played for
fi ve years in Germany. We
both have some things to
work on, but I’m excited to
have the opportunity to play
with him,” Trinh said.
Courts soaked by recent
rains have largely kept the
Celtics indoors. While they’ve
had brief respites, most of
their live action came in a
camp before regular practices
began two weeks ago.
“The big thing right now
is just getting everyone com-
fortable playing matches and
scoring as much as possible,”
Reid said.
While less than ideal, in-
door practice for the Celts
provided opportunities to fo-
cus on fundamentals.
“The things they can do
inside are make sure they’re
checking their grips and
bending knees, all the little
things that will help them im-
prove faster,” she said.
Good habits will give even
struggling players something
to rely on when the going gets
tough, Trinh said.
“You can’t give up when
it’s nerve-wracking and you’re
making mistakes. You have to
keep your head up and come
back every day to get better,”
he said.
By ERIC. A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
Tennis can be an unfor-
giving sport, especially for
newcomers. Fortunately, the
McNary High School boys
varsity team has some experi-
enced leadership.
“The thing about starting
tennis is that it can be really
frustrating,” said senior John-
ny Trinh. “You lose a lot of
points and you lose a lot of
matches. It was the most frus-
trating thing for me, but you
have to take the small steps
that will help win matches
later.”
Trinh is co-captain of the
team this season with Alphon-
so Pacheco.
“Right now everyone is
working hard to get better. We
have a lot of young kids who
are going to be good, you can
already see it,” Trinh said.
The team returns a dedi-
cated core in addition to some
new faces.
“The strengths are academ-
ics and we’ve added four fresh-
men who are all top students.
I’m hoping it means they pick
up the game quickly and un-
derstand the mental compo-
nents quicker than they might
otherwise,” said Lisa Reid,
McNary head coach.
Another of the new faces
is German exchange student
Mats Schiefer, who will take
over the No. 1 singles spot in
game from the start so that
doesn’t happen again.”
The Lady Celts were actu-
ally scheduled for a rematch
at North Medford Wednesday,
March 16, and senior Kinsey
McNaught said the pressure
was already building.
“We want to set ourselves
up well this season. Our fi rst
game is North Medford and
we know they are gunning
for us,” McNaught said. Mc-
Naught recently committed to
continuing her softball career
with Spokane’s Whitworth
University after earning a fi rst
team all-state selection as a ju-
nior.
The good news, Wise said,
is that the team is picking up
right where it left off.
“We implemented some
changes last year as far as get-
ting the program aimed in a
new direction and the return-
ers have all been a part of that.
It’s more about being good
teammates and better team-
mates and the girls have really
bought in, led by our seniors
Kinsey and Madisen (Oliver),”
he said.
Oliver was excited to
see where the already-good
chemistry would take the team
this season.
“We seem to have some tal-
ent and the hitting is looking
good again this year,” Oliver
said.
Oliver will be sharing du-
ties in the circle with fresh-
File
Celt Haley Ebner eyes fi rst base before making a throw in a game during the 2015 season. Last
season, McNary won the GVC and scored more runs than any 6A team in the state.
man Faith Danner. Wise and
McNaught both said they see
a bright future for the talented
freshman.
Rainy weather has kept
the players practicing indoors
more than they’d like, but Wise
said most of the state’s teams
have been in the same boat.
“It’s kind of a mess, but
we’ve done a lot of hitting
and I think we’re still going
to score a lot of runs even if it
looks a little different this year.
We’ve also been able to get in
some defensive drills on the
new turf and the girls seemed
to do well despite the lack of
fi eld time,” Wise said.
McNaught was more than
ready to get in some time with
live pitching.
“We really want to defend
our league title this year. We
know it’s going to be a lot of
hard work, but we know we
can do it,” she said.
Oliver said repeating as
league champs will mean stay-
ing focused, and knowing
when to let go.
“We’re going to make er-
rors, but when we do, I want
us to shake them off right
away and stay aggressive,” Oli-
ver said.
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