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Archives
03-26-2003
LA Tennis ground Eagles, dethrone Lions in wins By KEVIN BURMEISTER, OCN staff
Rachel Barlow won her match against Van Buren County on Thursday on the Livingston Academy home court.
With their tennis seasons fully underway, both Wildcats squads played host to Van Buren County on Thursday, March 20. After last week's debauching at the relentless hands of both Macon County and Friendship Christian, the Cats were seeking vengeance in the form of showing Van Buren who was king of the court. The girls squad struck first blood, blasting the Lady Eagles somewhere well into next week, winning set after dominating set. The Lady Cats took home a 7-1 singles win, with Dana Ledbetter and Rachel Barlow both winning their respective sets by an 8-3 margin, while Wrenda Curd won hers 8-4, and Brooke Ledbetter blanked her opponent, 8-0. In doubles, the girls paired Wrenda Curd and Rachel Barlow for an 8-0 flogging. The sisters Ledbetter also served up a solid performance, winning their set 8-4. With most people expecting the Wildcats boys to act their freshman age and roll over for the incoming Eagles, eyebrows were raised as the Wildcats impressed, winning 5-2. Phillip Murphy led the LA charge in his 8-2 set win, followed by Andy Sathern and Daniel Sweeney, who both took a brand new, shiny 8-3 victory home to their exuberant kinfolk. Along with an airborne pig sighting over Livingston, Sweeney and Rex Dale officially stopped local presses by defeating their Van Buren antagonists 8-2 in doubles play. The team-up of Sathern and David McDarby claimed still another LA victory, with an 8-6 doubles victory. LA Tennis Coach Rick Moles was very pleased with the effort shown by his suddenly formidable players. "We had a good match that night," he said. Against Cannon County on Friday, March 21, the Cats stormed the nets in hopes of conquering their second opponent in a week. But early on, the task proved to be a difficult enough one to achieve. In singles, the girls once again dominated, but it took a few air-tight victories to ensure the success of another LA conquest. Dana Ledbetter snaked her way through the pride of Lady Lions, squeaking out a 9-7 set victory. Her sister's match also made for some dramatic tennis, with Brooke's 8-6 set win requiring a tie-break. Livingston newcomer Ronance Jackson decided that drama was overrated, as she slammed her opponent with an 8-1 victory, while Barlow and Curd also took care of business in their sets, winning 8-2 and 8-5 respectively. The Curd/Barlow combo proved an effective one in doubles play, smoking the Lion offering with an 8-1 win. Dana and Brooke Ledbetter also won their doubles set by the same score. Jackson and Sebrina Thomas led 6-0 when their set was terminated. "It was a good, good girls match," Moles said. The boys, on quite the other hand, failed to retain the spark of momentum gained last week against Cannon County, as they were mauled in a winless effort. Coach Moles is most concerned with implementing the basics into his boys, preparing them for the distant post-season. The future looks brighter for the girls squad, with a potentially dominating quintet in tow. "I think we'll be competitive come tournament time for anybody," Moles said of his girls team. "I don't care who we're playing, I think we'll be competitive. We stand as good a chance as anybody. From what I've seen, we stand a chance at winding up number one in the district. We sure do. With the girls especially, we can beat anybody we've played so far." Moles is unwavering in his confidence in his players, as he later pointed out. "On any given day, we can play with anybody," he said. "And I'm looking forward to that." The teams faced Celina on Monday, March 24, and were scheduled to hos Mt. Juliet Christian the following day.
LA baseball team wins over district opponents By DEWAIN E. PEEK, OCN staff
Lyndon Johnson/OCN staff Livingston Academy played a sloppy game against the Smith County Owls on Thursday, March 20, but managed to pull out a District 7-AA win. The win was the second in the district for LA on the week.
After the opening week's rocky start, the Livingston Academy baseball team put together a two-game winning streak that placed them in position to make a run for first place in District 7-AA. \ The Wildcats opened the week with a road trip to Franklin to play Battle Ground Academy on Monday, March 17. LA Coach Pat Swallows said, "We played very well, the best game we've played all year, probably Ð against probably the best team we've faced all year." The game ended in a 5-5 tie, called for darkness. "They didn't have lights, and we played a full seven," Coach Swallows said. "Brian Colson pitched a really great game, and kept them off balance. Michael Murphy came in relief and did a good job, but we gave up a run in the bottom of the sixth that let them tie it. "We cut down some mistakes, still made a few, but nothing that's been a killer for us like has been in the past," he said. "I was real pleased with the way we played. We had some big hits at timely times. We had some two-strike hits and advancing runners that we haven't been doing." The Wildcats traveled to Baxter on Tuesday, March 18 to take on the Upperman Bees in a District 7-AA game. "We played another good ballgame," Coach Swallows said. "Kyle Copeland on the mound gives us a chance." Copeland allowed only 4 hits and no walks, and struck out 4 batters, in the 4-2 LA win. "We played well," Coach Swallows said. "We still didn't have that great game, but we played a good game. We again had some big hits. "That's a district win, and a big win." The home game scheduled for Wednesday, March 19 against Celina was cancelled and has been rescheduled for Wednesday, March 26. "We played Smith County on Thursday and probably played as bad as we can possibly play Ð and win," Coach Swallows said. LA won the district clash against the Owls of Carthage 4-3. "We came back in the bottom of the seventh," Coach Swallows said. "Cody King hit an RBI double to score Todd Rose, who had walked with two outs. "We weren't as fired up and excited about it as we needed to be," Coach Swallows said, expressing a bit of disappointment, but quickly added, "It was a district win, but not a pretty one. We'll take those." The Wildcats went on the road once more on Friday, March 21 to take on the Cumberland County Jets. "We went to Crossville and really didn't make many mistakes," Coach Swallows said. "It was just that we could not get them out. They just absolutely hit everybody we threw up there. I threw four different people and they hit everybody. "They ended up beating us 17-4." Coach Swallows is seeing improvement in his team, and believes the team can be much better than the showing in the early games. "Four of our five losses have been to triple A schools,Ó Coach Swallows said. "Once we get into the meat of our schedule, I can't help but think that'll help us, even though we've taken it on the chin a time or two." At the end of the week, the LA Wildcats were undefeated in District 7-AA with a 3-0 record, and the team's overall record stood at 3-5-1. After traveling to Sparta on Monday, March 24, and Woodbury on Tuesday, March 25 for a district game against the Lions of Cannon County, Livingston Academy will host the Celina Bulldogs on Wednesday, March 26. The Wildcats will travel to Monterey on Monday, March 31, then travel to Smithville on Tuesday, April 1 for a district contest against the DeKalb County Tigers.
Overton County News
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