Photo Credit: Brianna Hales. Corey Johnson (right) hits a forehand. Lee Oechsle is patiently waiting for the ball (left). [/caption]As the men’s tennis season comes into full swing, the team is off to a good start with a record of 3-3 in the overall season and 2-2 in the Big Eight Conference. The team this year has played Eastern Alamance (9-0), Cardinal Gibbons (0-9), Northwood (5-4), Voyager Academy (1-8), and Northern Vance (7-2). But it is still the very beginning of the season, and the players and Coach Webb remain optimistic about the rest of the season. With a strong starting team and a new member coming onto the team, the boys are more ready than ever to play every game with hopes of a win.
The boys had a very decisive first victory over Eastern Alamance High School and swept a clean 9-0 win. Starters included Jaden Vines, Jabari Hargrove, Corey Johnson, Lee Oechsle, Ben Pickard, and Grayson Caudill.
The men’s tennis team fell 0-9 to Cardinal Gibbons, one of the best teams in the conference and the state, the following week playing at Orange. They played this match as a double header and lost both matches. Despite their 0-9 losses to Cardinal Gibbons, Coach Webb remains optimistic about the season and the players. “So far the team has been performing very well,” he said. When asked specifically about things going well this season, Webb bragged about his second-positioned player Jabari Hargrove. “Jabari Hargrove is having a great sophomore year, only losing singles matches to Cardinal Gibbons.”
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Photo Credit: Brianna Hales. Jaden Vines runs to hit a volley.[/caption]Friday night, the Panthers hosted Voyager Academy in their sixth match of the season. Even though they lost with a final score of 1-8, Webb is still excited for the rest of the season.
“I'm looking forward to the team improving as the season goes along,” Webb said when asked what he is most excited about for the rest of the season. “We really need to improve our doubles play to close out matches when they are close.”
“We need to win the matches we are expected to win and then steal a win when we have an opportunity to do so,” Webb said when asked how someone could expect them to do the rest of the season. The boys are in a very tough conference and have a hard season ahead of them, but it won’t stop the players and coach from remaining optimistic.
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.
The Panthers are bringing back a good set of seniors including Jordan Toney and Joe Piscitelli and sophomore phenoms Bryse Wilson and Brad Debo. Coming into his 31st year of coaching, Coach Dease stated the expectations are the same as any other year: “Compete in every game and make the playoffs.” When Toney was asked what the expectations are for the upcoming season, he responded confidently, “With our strong chemistry between each other this year, we think it will really help motivate us to win every game and take us deep into the playoffs... We have three goals: win the conference championship, make it through the state playoffs, and bring home the state championship.”
The Panthers started their season with a scrimmage on Monday, February 24, which started the season off well with a 9-7 victory against Southern Alamance High School.
The Panthers’ actual baseball season started on February 27 against Eastern Alamance. The team was working hard for a 3-1 win against the Eagles. The statistics of the game included senior Jordan Toney going four strong innings, giving up only one run, followed by strong relief with James Cunningham, a junior, and Bryse Wilson, a sophomore, getting the save to finish off the game. Senior Adam Gates, junior Josh Kiehle, and Wilson drove in all three runs.
This was an important win. Getting the first win of the season is always critical for a team's confidence and getting prepared for the next game. The Panthers hope to continue with what they think will be a strong season.
The Orange High School women’s tennis team was expected to have three games during the short school week after Labor Day weekend. The Monday, September 3 match was canceled against Southern Durham because their school failed to have enough players to make a team. The team then played Chapel Hill High School and Eastern Alamance High School and suffered losses to both teams.
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Kiana Bell serving while practicing with Jessica Scott before their doubles match against Eastern Alamance[/caption]The OHS tennis team did not play Eastern Alamance last year so they were unsure what to expect out of the other team. The match was held on Friday, September 6, and Orange lost 3-6. Michaela Shriner, sixth seed, and Brianna Hales, fourth seed, both won their singles matches. Hales lost the first set 2-6 but won the second set 6-2 and then played a tie breaker winning 10-8. Shriner won her match 6-3, 6-4. Mary Katherine Dougherty and Hales won their second seeded doubles tennis match 8-3 in an eight game pro-set. Leila Andrews, usually fourth seed, and Beth Bryan, usually first seed, were both unable to play due to injuries. This caused players on the team to move up seeds and play against players that were ranked above them, which may have led to the close loss.
The Chapel Hill match was played Wednesday, September 4, and the Panthers lost 1-8. Kiana “Keke” Bell and Bryan won their first seeded tennis match against Lauren Su and Ria Das of Chapel Hill by 8-6 in an eight game pro-set. Chapel Hill easily clenched all six singles matches and the other two doubles matches.
Two matches will be held next week if weather permits. For the the first time the team will play Northwood High School away on Monday,
September 9. The Lady Panthers will take on Webb High School at home on Wednesday, September 11.
This year the team holds an overall record of 1-4. Three new schools have entered the 3A conference. They are Northwood, Southern Durham, and Cedar Ridge High School. All matches start at 4:30 pm unless otherwise noted. With an unusual amount of new players this year the team has roughly 20 players. Coach Andy Brown has split the team into Varsity and Junior Varsity.
Written by Megan Joyner
The Orange High Varsity football team made it to the fourth round of the state playoffs, the farthest they have come in more than twenty years. They came away with three victories in the first three rounds of the playoffs and will take on Havelock High School in the fourth round, on Friday November 23, 2012. in Havelock, NC.
The Panthers battled the Eastern Alamance Eagles Friday November 16, 2012 at Eastern Alamance in Mebane. The Panthers came away with a victory, having a one point advantage over Eastern Alamance. The final score was 14-13. The stands were filled with fans as the game began. The Panthers came out with the lead 7-0 in the second quarter. However, before halftime the Eagles snuck in and scored 3 points making the score 7-3. The score remained 7-3 all the way up to the fourth quarter. The Eagles were gaining ground and scored two more points only allowing the Panthers a 2 point lead. With 6 minutes left to play the Eagles scored a touchdown taking the lead 13-7. The Panthers weren’t done yet; Desean Motley ran in a touchdown with two minutes left to play. The Panthers held strong making the final score 14-13.
The Panthers played Eastern Wayne on Friday November 2, 2012 at home in the first round of the playoffs. They came out with a victory, winning 38-6, therefore advancing to the second round where they took on South Johnston High School at home. They came out with a huge win 56-13. There was a big crowd as the Panthers made history at their home field Friday November 9, 2012. This was such an accomplishment for the Varsity team as they moved up in the NCHSAA playoffs for the first time in many years
The Panthers now advance to the fourth round of the state playoffs to take on Havelock High School on November 23, 2012 in Havelock. Come cheer on your Panther football team as they advance to the fourth round of the state playoffs, one of the first times in Panther history.
- Jalen Pittman jumps for joy as Panthers advance to 4th round of playoffs.
