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K
Friday,
May 10,2013
Tribune & Qeorgian
Sports
Going for perfect 10s
Young Camden gymnasts compete in meets in
Bainbridge and South Carolina.
see 2B
B Section
Andy Diffenderfer | Tribune & Georgian
Mallory Wilson paced Camden County at the sectional tour
nament Tuesday in Roswell with an 85.
Lady ’Cats reach state golf
Andy Diffenderfer | Tribune & Georgian
Shelby Banta and the Camden High girls qualified for state
with a 285 score at the sectional tournament.
CCHS gets
state spot
with 285
in Roswell
Andy Diffenderfer
sports@tribune-georgian.com
After earning safe passage
through sectionals, it’s on to
state for the Camden
County High girls golfers.
As one of 13 schools com
peting for nine state spots
Tuesday at the Country
Club of Roswell, Camden
made the Class AAAAAA
cut with a sixth-place 285
score. Next up is state May
20 at Sunset Country Club
in Moultrie, a course with
which Camden is very fa
miliar.
“I was happy that my girls
qualified and I felt pretty
confident that they would
based on how our region
scores stacked up against
the other teams,” CCHS
coach Brent Blount said. “I
knew we would struggle
some because my girls usu
ally struggle on the north
Georgia courses where
there are lots of elevation
changes and the greens are
quicker.”
The Lady ’Cats had never
seen the Country Club of
Roswell course before, and
didn’t get much practice
time in due to recent unco
operative weather. Mallory
Wilson was best for CCHS
with an 85, while Ashley
Eason shot 93, Shelby
Banta 107 and Hailey
Bower 117.
“I told all of the girls that
I didn’t care what place we
finished as long as we got
one of the spots in the state
tournament,” Blount said.
“We now have to get back
and practice the things that
hurt us in the sectionals.
Short game is an ongoing
issue and that is something
we always work on.”
Tift won the sectionals
with a 257 total, and Mill
Creek and Dacula tied for
second at 271.
The coach said based on
how the Lady Wildcats
have performed this season,
they have the potential of
finishing top-five in the
state. CCHS played a few
weeks ago at Sunset, a
course that could be a ben
efit since it doesn’t have the
elevation variations of many
north Georgia layouts.
Camden will play a prac
tice round the day before
the tournament, “so by
Monday the 20th, the girls
should be well-prepared,”
Blount said.
“It will all come down to
how we play on that one
day,” he said. “All year long
you prepare for this day,
and you just hope that all
the girls are peaking at the
right time.”
Rain delayed the Camden
boys’ sectional tournament,
which was scheduled for
Monday, May 6, at Brookfield
Country Club in Roswell.
The makeup is slated for next
Monday, May 13.
Valiant Lady Wildcats
come up shy to Walton
Andy Diffenderfer
sports@tribune-georgian.com
Camden County’s dazzling sprint
through the state girls tennis playoffs con
cluded Tuesday as Walton defeated the vis
iting Lady Wildcats, 3-0 in the Class
AAAAAA semifinals.
Walton, the Region 5 champion, won
both doubles positions in straight sets and
clinched the match at No. 1 singles to ad
vance to the state final, where it will meet
Region 7 champion Peachtree Ridge, a 3-
0 semifinal victor over Kennesaw Moun
tain.
The first two matches Tuesday to finish
were the doubles. At No. 2, Sophia Guld-
berg and Erica Bauer defeated Sarah
Sailors and Amanda Landry, 6-0, 6-0, and
at No. 1, Katie Riley and Jessica Cramer
bested Ingrid Wilcox and Ani Vonk, 6-3,
6-1.
At No. 1 singles, Suzanne Zenoni en
sured the Lady Raiders’ final-round spot,
eclipsing Kaley Parchinski, 6-0, 6-2.
Walton’s Melissa Mashburn had won the
first set from Lexa Loden at No. 2 singles
and Lady Wildcat No. 3 Katie Hart had
gotten through one game with Johanna
Keeline before both matches were pulled.
After being seeded third out of Region
1, the blue-collar Lady Wildcats played the
role of road warriors brilliantly in the play
offs. Crisscrossing the state, Camden won
at Hillgrove and Westlake in the first two
rounds and clocked Harrison in a neutral-
site quarterfinal last week at Dublin High
School before running into an excellent
Walton side.
“Any team we’ve had that has made the
Final Four has been special, but I think this
See SHOT, page 2B
Andy Diffenderfer | Tribune & Georgian
Lexa Loden serves against Harrison in
Camden’s Elite Eight match last week.
Any team we've had that has made
the Final Four has been special, but
I think this group is really unique
because of the path we took
to the Final Four.
— Marcus Long
CCHS assistant tennis coach
Andy Diffenderfer | Tribune & Georgian
Eric Lewis keeps his eye on the ball during a pass-catching drill Tuesday at Chris Gilman
Stadium.
CCHS gridders tackle spring
Andy Diffenderfer
sports@tribune-georgian.com
The calendar may say
early May, but the level of
urgency on the Camden
County High football prac
tice field suggests some
thing closer to October or
November.
About 206 players came
out for the beginning of
spring practice Wednesday,
May 1, according to new
head coach Welton Coffey,
putting in the sweat as the
Wildcats seek to bulk up on
last year’s 11-2 record.
“The kids have been
working hard and they’re
learning what it is to turn
that switch on and off,” said
Coffey, hired for the top
spot in late March after Jeff
Herron, who had steered
the Wildcats to three state
titles, accepted a job at
Prince Avenue Christian in
Athens.
“We’re going to continue
to push,” he said, getting the
Wildcats to play to the edge,
and having that drive and
sense of enthusiasm carry
over to other aspects of their
lives, like the classroom.
See SPRING, page 2B
Get a sneak peek at Camden Middle football
The Camden Middle Cougar Foot
ball Bowl is scheduled for Wednes
day, May 15, at 5 p.m. at the
school. Fans are invited to come
out and support the Cougars as
they participate in their first scrim
mage in preparation for the 2013
season. Admission is $15 per fam
ily — up to four people — or $5
per person.
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