Photo Credit: Brianna Hales. On Court 1 Jaden Vines plays against the number 1 seed from Northwood.[/caption]Men’s tennis here at Orange High School has started and is running strong early in the season. With a new head coach, Justin Webb, the team has experienced some major changes this season. Nonetheless the returning players, and even the new talent, are back and ready to compete. Coach Webb remains optimistic, “We will probably finish in the middle of the pack but we play in one of the best tennis conferences in the state of NC,” he says about his team. Webb also says he is feeling good about his returning players and his starting players. “ This is a group of competitors who want to win and go out and compete in every match,” he says about his starting players who include seniors Jaden Vines, first seed, and Corey Johnson, fourth seed, as well as a few sophomores.
Vines and Johnson are returning players but not the only seniors. Matt McLaughlin is a senior new to the team this year, but Webb remains optimistic about his contribution to the team. Vines and Johnson are returning for their fourth season at Orange and Coach Webb says he is looking forward to working with them as head coach.
When asked about his new position as head coach, Webb’s main worry, he says, is rebuilding the team. Webb says his big focus this year is building up some of the younger talent on the team and trying to recruit new players in coming years to keep the team strong and dependable.
As the season is off to a good start in practice, the big concern for the team now is their first match against local team Eastern Alamance. “I'm feeling pretty good about our first match” Webb says, “I think if our players come ready to challenge them we will be up to it and could get an early season win.”
Orange won the match overall 9-0 with a clear win against the Eastern Alamance Eagles. After the match Webb was very pleased with the win and is looking forward to a strong season with his players. As of now, the line up is strong and the rest of the season looks promising for the men’s tennis team.
Brad Barbee attempts to block a kick. Photo Credit: Nick Gentile[/caption]The OHS men’s soccer team went head to head against Cedar Ridge High School on Wednesday, October 23. The senior night festivities started at 6:30 pm and the match started at 6:45 pm. Although the mighty Panthers fought hard, they were defeated by the Red Wolves 1-3.
During the match, the Panthers started out strong by taking advantage of a penalty kick. Mitchell Pittman took the shot and scored making it the only goal scored during the first half. The second half of the game was when Cedar Ridge took the advantage by scoring three goals. Despite the loss, Pittman said, “I felt like the team as a whole played well. [Cedar Ridge] just played better in the second half.” When Pittman was asked about the goal he scored, he said, “It was exhilarating and intense. I just wanted to say I scored on senior night.”
The seniors recognized were Brad Barbee, Sam Ferry, Jace Krogstad, Tyler Taubenheim, Adam Hackett, Brandon Clark, Silas Anderson, Trevor Sama, Mitchell Pittman, Jaime Figueroa, and Jaden Vines. When Samsa was asked about senior night, he said, “I felt very emotional,” while jokingly adding, “I almost broke down.” Pittman said that emotions were high for the team.
The men’s soccer team ended the year with a record of 9-11-1 and earned a spot in the playoffs.
The Orange High School tennis team played both Cardinal Gibbons and Chapel Hill High School last week. Both matches resulted in a
loss for the Panthers. The two opposing teams, however, have been the best in the Orange County 3A division for many years, so the tennis team knew they were going into tough matches.Wednesday, March 20 was the first match of the week at home against Cardinal Gibbons which started at 4:30 pm. All of the matches were over by 6 after a 0-9 defeat. Although it was a rough match Trevor Samsa said, “I think our team can do well against the other teams we play.”
The next day, March 21, the Panthers played Chapel Hill in a rescheduled home game from Monday, March 18. Again the team lost 0-9. In doubles, however, Jaden Vines, first seed, and Corey Johnson, fourth seed, had a close match. Jaden Vines stated, “I was ready to play [Chapel Hill.]”
The match scheduled for Monday March 25 against Southern Vance was canceled. This game is not going to be rescheduled because their tennis team “disbanded” according to the OHS calendar.
The next tennis home game will be against J.F Webb at 4:30 pm on Wednesday, March 27.The men's tennis team was scheduled to start Wednesday, February 13, but rain on the tennis courts prevented that from happening. The team, led by Coach Andy Brown, instead met to sign papers for just an hour at his indoor court. Many practices have been canceled due to rain.
The first season match vs. Cedar Ridge, which was supposed to happen Wednesday, February 27, was also canceled and has not been rescheduled at this time. The next match is scheduled to take place on Monday, March 4, away at Cardinal Gibbons. The next home match is Monday, March 18 vs. Chapel Hill. All matches start at 4:30 pm unless otherwise noted. For a full list of matches go to the athletic calendar on the OHS website.
Rainstorms have been the enemy of the tennis team for years. As soon as the courts are wet, they are deemed unsafe to play on. They become very slippery, even for tennis shoes with grip. During spring season, this is the downfall of most practices.
“This year I hope to have a Varsity and JV team,” said Coach Brown when he saw that approximately 16 boys showed up to the practice. Since only the top six players, referred to as seeds, can play during the match, that would mean 10 wouldn't have the chance to play. The only other known team that has both Varsity and JV is Chapel Hill.
There are no seniors this year on the team. Juniors and freshmen seem to mostly be what makes up the team. Two years ago on the women's tennis team there were no seniors as well.
Trevor Samsa, second seed, said he is enjoying the tennis season so far “but [he] really wants a tennis manager.” Jaden Vines, first seed, and Nathaniel Steinhauer, fourth seed, agreed that the season so far was a lot of fun.