JV team’s improvement hints at success for varsity in future
May 1, 2008
By: Andrew Browning <abrowning@hilite.org>
After a rough start for the junior varsity men’s lacrosse team this season, Zach Brune, JV middle and sophomore, said that the team has improved by leaps and bounds. Tomorrow the freshman team will compete in the beginning of a three-day tournament in St. Louis, and on Tuesday the JV team hopes to put its rapid improvement on display as the Hounds take on Hamilton Southeastern.
“We’ve done a lot better than when we started out,” Brune said. “We have a lot more team unity.”
Assistant Coach David Schwartz said that the unity that has surfaced over the course of the season has been the biggest difference in the team’s play.
“We’ve come together and played more like a team versus less individual,” Schwartz said.
Brune said that if the JV team could finish the season with a string of wins, it would be a strong indication of prosperous times to come for future Carmel varsity lacrosse teams.
“It’s very important (to end the season well),” Brune said. “If the JV is winning that means you have good talent coming up to your varsity program.”
Women’s tennis season starts, team hoping for breakthrough year
April 29, 2008
By: Lily Zhao <lzhao@hilite.org>
Practicing hard in this new spring weather, Megan Renninger, a number two singles women’s varsity tennis player and junior, prepares for the team’s next match against Noblesville today. Having played in a couple of matches already, Renninger said that she feels confident with the team’s 8-0 start, as of print deadline. Read more
Men’s lacrosse looks to end season strong
April 29, 2008
By: Andrew Browning <abrowning@hilite.org>
With only four games remaining in its regular season, the Carmel men’s lacrosse team looks to finish well in order to ensure a low seed in the State tournament. The Hounds take on Cathedral at 5:30 p.m. tomorrow in an away game. Their final home game is on Tuesday against Hamilton Southeastern at 7:30 p.m. Zach Miller, defender, captain and senior, said the Hounds need to play well in their remaining games so that they are prepared for a long run in the State playoffs.
“We’ve got to get a good record so that we can get a good seed in the tournament,” Miller said. “There’s more competition after spring break, so we have to know we are able to play against the top teams and compete with them.”
Miller said that one factor that has helped the team remain focused throughout the season is the Hounds’ motto, “Play like a senior.”
“One of the coaches’ philosophies is to ‘play like a senior,’ so everyone plays like it’s their last year and everyone has that mindset,” Miller said.
Assistant Coach David Schwartz said that he believes the phrase has caught on with the team, and he said that all the players have started approaching each game with a better attitude. “In the past kids felt that it’s a pecking order, and seniors play the hardest and the other kids didn’t think they were expected to do quite as much,” Schwartz said. “But this year we’ve talked about how everyone needs to stand up and contribute. We’ve got freshman, sophomores, juniors and seniors playing, and we don’t have younger players who are afraid to step up anymore. It’s really just a great bunch of kids to coach.”
Schwartz said that as the regular season winds down for the Hounds, he hopes they can continue to improve with each game.
“It’s very important to look at each game as a building block and focus on different aspects of the team to make us better,” Schwartz said. “You want to go in with a lot of momentum, but if (wins) come too easy then that’s a concern too because each game needs to be a building block so we can continue to improve ourselves.”
Miller said that the goal for the remainder of the regular season is to knock off some of Indiana’s better teams, and have everyone playing with 100 percent intensity when they do it. As far as the postseason goes, that goal is an obvious one.
“We want to get some wins in bigger in-state games, and want everyone to play their hardest,” Miller said. “And of course to win State is the biggest goal right there. It’ll be a lot of fun too.”
Schwartz said that the team’s unity has been the key to its success this season.
“I think we have a great group of kids with a lot of camaraderie, and I think that’s really what leads to us being a great team,” Schwartz said. “This team really stands out and every game is a real group effort.”
Hounds look ahead to Sectional
April 29, 2008
By: Stephanie Walstrom <swalstrom@hilite.org>
Coming off last year’s early post-season loss, Carmel’s baseball team is taking the field with a vengeance this year. As the team finishes up the first leg of the regular season, it boasts an 11-2 record overall and a 4-2 record in the Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference (MIC). The team’s only losses thus far have been to North Central on April 18 and Terre Haute South last weekend.
Though the team won’t head into Sectional play for a few weeks, on May 26, Steven Esbin, varsity baseball player and senior, said it’s something the team is already thinking about.
Last year the Hounds, who finished 18-8 and have yet to clinch a State title, were knocked out of the tournament in the first round of Sectional by Noblesville. Noblesville went on to make it to the final four. Carmel will not face this year’s Noblesville team in the regular season until next Thursday.
Head Coach Eric Lentz said that the Carmel baseball program is optimistic about the 2008 season. Speaking of the great pitching the team has seen throughout the season, Lentz said “the Greyhounds got a solid pitching effort” from Brooks Fiala, starting pitcher and junior, and Drew Kirages, Kyle Lloyd and Alex Gordan, relief pitchers and juniors. Juniors Ryan Rogers and Austin Jackson, as well as sophomores Jesse Taylor and Conrad Gregor, will see time on the mound this season.
According to Lentz, the team has had a strong showing offensively from a variety of players. In last week’s 14-8 triumph over Terre Haute South in the first game, the team saw five home runs from five different players.
The team’s win over Terre Haute South on April 26th was not the first game the Hounds took by a considerable margin; Carmel defeated Hamilton Heights, Westfield, Warren Central and Hamilton Southeastern by margins of eight or more.
The Hounds fell to the Braves in game two last weekend, losing 8-7. The team overcame a six run deficit before coming up short in the final inning.
Carmel’s team has 15 juniors this year, an age breakdown that Esbin said will leave the team in good shape for next season. Other seniors include Jordan Sheperd, Greg Vogt and Matt Tucker. Last year’s team graduated seven seniors.
Carmel will play away tonight at Center Grove at 5:30 p.m., and will then host back-to-back home games on Monday and Wednesday, facing Pike and Anderson Highland. The team will finish out the week by heading off with Noblesville on Thursday at 6 p.m.. at Noblesville.
Men’s golf faces tough competition with Brebeuf and NC Invitational
April 29, 2008
By: Daniyal Habib <dhabib@hilite.org>
The men’s golf team will play two of its biggest matches of the season tonight and Saturday, against Brebeuf and in the North Central Invitational, respectively. The Brebeuf match will be at Prairie View Country Club, and the North Central Invitational will be at Coffin Golf Course.
Mike Zervic, varsity golfer and junior, said he thinks Brebeuf does not pose a big threat to a very solid team.
“When it comes to matches, Brebeuf, at least from my experience, does not pose much of a threat. Other than consistently playing alright in matches, they’re just like every other team.
“Their team did decent last year when we played them. We ended up winning by a lot, but they put up a good fight,” Zervic said.
Zervic also said that playing at their home course, Prairie View, gives them a strong advantage.
“It is always an advantage when you play at a course you seemingly have played a million times, you know the feel of the course, specific yardages, and where the easy putts are,” Zervic said.
The Hounds will play Brebeuf twice in a row, because Brebeuf will also be at the North Central Invitational on Saturday.
Along with the Braves will be many other Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference (MIC) teams at the invitational, according to Zervic.
“I do know that in most of the invitationals, most of the MIC teams show up, like Warren Central, Fishers, Noblesville, Lawrence North, etc.,” Zervic said. Ben Davis will also be at the tournament, along with others.
According to Zervic, winning an invitational can be uplifting. “It gives the mentality that we can beat any team we’re put up against. If we can beat multiple teams at once, we can beat a single team one on one,” Zervic said.
When playing with many other teams, it would be a natural instinct to be curious about the other teams’ scores. Zervic, however, said that this is not a good thing.
“I cannot recall any instance where I have checked during play. As I said, I choose to play my own game,” Zervic said. He also said it is better to not worry about what the other teams are doing and worry about your own game.
“Play your own game. I try to take that into every match, regardless the competition. It’s better to play within yourself, and not matching up one to one with the competition,” Zervic said.
“Besides,” he said, “most scores are not in the clubhouse when passing through to the back nine.”
Lacrosse team looks to knock off defending champ Culver
April 3, 2008
By: Andrew Browning <abrowning@hilite.org>
On April 19 the men’s varsity lacrosse team takes on Culver Academy, last season’s State champion, at home at 1 p.m. As if playing the reigning champs wasn’t enough, the Hounds’ showdown with the Eagles will also be Carmel’s first game action after spring break. Rust won’t be a concern for the Eagles either, who have a game the day before against Westfield. Jacob Estepp, varsity midfielder and sophomore, said that returning from a week away from lacrosse is always difficult. Read more
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