Anna Rotrock is one half of CHS's doubles team that went to state last year and hopes to return.

By Sean Patterson

While the Cougars may have a new head coach, Myra Brown is no stranger to Canby High School tennis.

Brown, who takes over the boys helm this spring, has served as a volunteer assistant with both the boys and girls programs the past two seasons, so she is already familiar with most of her players.

And, as fate would have it, she inherits a senior-dominated group to work with, giving her the luxury of experience in her first year as a varsity coach.

"I'm excited about this opportunity to work with kids and help build tennis as a program at the school," said Brown, an advocate for making tennis a lifelong pursuit. "The sport doesn't always get as much recognition, but these kids work just as hard. Hopefully, our success will mean more exposure and more interest in the future."

Brown certainly has the numbers to work with. As of last week, she had 11 seniors, three juniors, six sophomores and seven freshman in camp, so filling spots won't be a problem.

Of those, between 16 and 18 will play the 12 varsity spots, so there will be room for flexibility and mixing things up.

In terms of singles, Ryan Kelsch, Matt Lundeen, Josh Stinson, Alex Evans, Tien Tran and Colin Millison all factor in the rotation. Canby also has a German exchange student, Sebastian Sundorf, who may see singles time.

And while the coach didn't have a specific lineup nailed down yet, she did have a pretty good idea of potential doubles pairs. They include Bobby Brown and Brian Stuhr, possibly the No. 1 team, and the duos of Brent Stewart/Matt Snyder, Lucas Howard/Ben Sigler and Stefan Myers/Jarret Hamstreet.

Last year, the Cougars wound up second in district but failed to get anyone to the Class 4A state tournament. Brown is optimistic the boys can vie for a high placing again while getting an individual or two to the big event.

"It would be nice to get one or two doubles teams and perhaps a singles player or two to state," she said. "But right now our main focus is on getting better each match and figuring out what's best for the team."

CANBY GIRLS: Third-year head coach Mike Vaught brings back 16 players, including seven lettermen, from a program that caught a few people by surprise last season.

Most notably, the Cougars return the two players, doubles partners Andrea Beck and Anna Rotrock, who placed fourth at district and qualified for the Class 4A state tournament.

Beck and Rotrock, both seniors, figure to occupy the No. 1 doubles spot after playing at the No. 3 and 4 positions last spring.

They'll be challenged by Anna's sister Whitney, who will team with senior Lindsey Guenther at No. 2. Another senior, team captain Karina Parker, will move from singles to doubles, where she'll most likely team with classmate Kim Erskine.

"She (Parker) won 11 matches at third singles last year, but she wanted to try doubles her final season," Vaught said. "I see our strength in doubles, and though we don't have a lot of club kids, we've got good athletes. We also have a few freshmen who should really help us."

Among them are Rachel Greiner, who could end up playing the No. 2 singles spot. The Cougars also have high hopes for freshmen Amanda Weygandt and Tori Beck, both of whom could challenge for singles spots or perhaps fill in in doubles.

Junior Wendy Watson, the team's top singles player last year and much of her freshman season, is back to play that position. At No. 3 and 4, the possible contenders include Kerry Vaught, Alex Gex and Suzanne Berokoff.

"Nothing is set at this point, so we may mix things up a bit," coach Vaught said. "We might put Amanda at 3 or 4 doubles and have Tori (Beck) and Justine Rhodes move into that fourth doubles spot. We may also go with juniors Nicole Lundgren and Tara Tjaden at No. 4. We'll have to see how it shapes up."

Once again, Tualatin and McMinnville figure to dominate the Pacific-8 Conference with their wealth of club players. Vaught sees his team challenging for third and perhaps getting an individual or two to the state tournament.

"What we have going for us is our athleticism," he said. "Of the eight freshmen and sophomores out, all eight are multi-sport athletes. That's nice to have."

Matt Sprague is the first to admit it: He and the Cougars will be hard-pressed to repeat last year's success on the links.

The Cougars enjoyed their best season ever in 1999, winning district by a landslide and finishing second at the Class 4A state championships. Unfortunately, three of the team's top five players have graduated, leaving Sprague and company in rebuilding mode.

"We've got two guys, Aaron Smith and Jon Warren, who played the 4 and 5 spots for us last year," said Sprague, in his second year at the helm. "The rest of the team will be made up of new faces, including some freshmen. The nice thing is, we don't necessarily have a lot of varsity experience, but we have experienced players."

While Smith and Warren are expected to fill the top two positions, the Cougars will look to younger players - a couple of whom have some familiar last names - to fill the remainder of the varsity roster.

Canby again has a Greig, but his first name isn't Daren. And the team has a Fisher, but he doesn't go by Bryce. Rather, it will be sophomore Robert Fisher and freshman Shane Greig, youngster siblings to the team's top two graduated players, who will be hitting the shots.

The squad also has high expectations for freshmen Ryan Gilmore and Colin Tucker.

"A lot of these kids have played summer golf, so they aren't first-year type players," Sprague said. "They just don't have high school golf experience.

They aren't used to playing in a team setting, so there could be a period of adjustment. They've got the game, just not the experience."

The coach admitted he was unsure just who would play where, adding that there was a good chance the lineup could shuffle each week as scores fluctuate.

With such a new mix, Sprague admitted Canby will have a tough time defending its district title. Tualatin and Dallas are most likely to battle it out for the Pacific-8 Conference crown, he said.

At the same time, he isn't willing to sell his own team short.

"As the team gains experience and we get more mentally tough, I expect good things from this group," he said. "And hopefully, Jon and Aaron will have a shot at going to state if the team doesn't get there. Being this early in the season, it's hard to say what we can accomplish."

CANBY GIRLS: Like their boy counterparts, the Canby girls lost their top players from a year ago, Marianne Powell.

On the bright side, the team returns just about everyone else, including seniors Amber Kallstrom, Angela Carroll and Adrienne Giger.

All told, head coach Joe Morelock had 17 players out as of last week, giving him plenty of bodies to fill two teams.

"This is the biggest turnout we've had, so that bodes well for our future," he said. "We've also got a couple of pretty talented freshmen coming up. We may have a few other secret weapons, but I'm not going into any details on that."

Junior Dallas Yoder and sophomore Kiara Yoder may also figure in Morelock's varsity rotation. The coach is also high on freshmen Jean-Marie Peterson and Emily Reif.

"We may not have that one dominant hitter like we had in Marianne, but I see more internal competition for spots this year," Morelock said. "Hopefully, that will motivate people and make as stronger as a group."

Tigard and Tualatin are the favorites to battle for a conference crown, although Morelock said there's a chance his team will be in the hunt for second or third place.

If there's one thing the North Marion boys golf program has going for it, it's experience.

Almost to a man, the Huskies return last year's squad, made up primarily of individuals who have been out for the team since its creation two years ago.

Third-year head coach Alberto Torres is also back to guide both the Husky boys and girls, and from what he's seen so far, this is the most talented group the school has fielded to date.

North Marion returns top players Josh Cady and John Sovie and will again feature Tim McLaren, Dustin Kenagy and a healthy Blake Nelson, sidelined last season because of injury.

Torres also has a promising freshman, Kevin Morales, who could crack the varsity lineup.

"Last year we broke from the bottom (of the conference)," Torres said. "And I see us making more strides of improvement this year. Hopefully, we can build on what we did last year."

In all, 15 players are out for the boys team, giving Torres somewhat of a challenge when it comes to finalizing a varsity roster.

As of last week, the coach said the five returning third-year players figure to comprise the bulk of the team. And though he has other prospects, he's reluctant to mention names at this point.

"We'll just have to see who develops as the season goes on," he said. "We have yet to get anyone to state, but hopefully that will change."

So far, only two girls - Helen Portales and Meredith Lewis - were out for the girls program. That leaves the Huskies short in terms of team consideration in the district race, but Torres is not discouraged.

"Both of them look good right now, so we'll concentrate on them as individuals," he said.

By Sean Patterson

After enjoying its best season in more than a decade, the North Marion boys tennis team is eager to prove last spring was no fluke.

For starters, coach Pat O'Dell has the numbers to fill all the spots - a luxury the Huskies didn't have most of the 1990s - so the days of forfeiting matches appear to be a thing of the past.

The Huskies also feature some experience, with five players back from a squad that surprised the district with its third-place showing.

First and foremost, singles players Lester McBride and Juan Ovalle are back in the fold, as are brothers Aldar and Aldin Sugden and George Gonzales.

Naturally, the team did lose its three foreign exchange students, but the Huskies still have an international connection with the addition of Tomas Sorofozo of Slovakia.

McBride and Ovalle figure to occupy the top two singles spots, while Sorofozo will compete at No. 3. Sophomore Andrew McBride and freshman Bryce Marsh will also contend for singles positions.

"We actually have a number of freshmen who could step right in and play varsity right away," said O'Dell, in his second year coaching the boys after heading the girls program for 11 years, from 1984-95. One of those newcomers, Alex Gonzales, could team with his brother George at first doubles. Three others - Casey Currier, Larry Andreason and Loren Newkirk - figure to vie for other doubles spots.

The Huskies have also added a couple of athletes who played different spring sports in the past - Andrew McLaren, formerly a golfer, and Brett Murray, who had played baseball.

The Huskies are also looking for good things from junior Ryan Otto.

O'Dell was still uncertain who would play where last week, but he was happy with his 14-man turnout.

"The kids have done a nice job of recruiting and getting people interested in coming out," he said. "And I think our success from last year has carried over and encouraged guys to try it."

The coach admitted he was uncertain of what to expect in the district, saying only that McBride and Ovalle "have a good shot at a high district finish and maybe a state berth."

North Marion Girls: The Huskies have numbers but are a bit shy on experience, with four girls returning with extensive varsity experience.

Among those in the North Marion camp are returning lettermen Ronecca Dockter, Stacy Ovchinnikov, Alexis Fobert and Kimi Snell.

North Marion also has high hopes for senior Angela Miller, new to the school but not new to the sport.

"We've got 22 out, so we have good numbers," head coach O'Dell said. "The majority are freshmen and sophomores who haven't played, but it's nice to see the interest. The program is definitely looking good for the future."

Being new to the girls program this year, O'Dell was reluctant to speculate on how his team shapes up in comparison to the rest of the district. He said the team's main focus at this point is working on improving each match.