Canby's Nicole Lundgren gets her racquet on the ball during her first-doubles victory last Thursday.

By Sean Patterson

The strength of Canby's doubles teams propelled the Cougars to their first boys tennis victory of the season - a dominating 6-2 defeat of Newberg last Tuesday afternoon at Canby High School.

All four CHS doubles teams prevailed in the match, and Reggie Stegmeier, competing for the first time this spring after starring in the school's production of "Oklahoma," won at fourth singles.

The Cougars weren't as fortunate two days later, dropping a 3-5 decision to Tigard on the road. That brings the boys to 1-2 on the season and 1-1 in Pacific-8 Conference play.

"I'm happy with our progress and I'm looking forward to seeing what we can do against one of the league's best teams (Tualatin on April 3)," head coach Myra Brown said last week. "We'll practice Saturday to get ready for it. It should be a good test for us."

The Timberwolves were undefeated in league last season and are again favorites to win the conference. Canby also plays Wednesday at Forest Grove and Friday at Silverton, with both matches scheduled for 4 p.m. starts.

Last week, the Cougars got a series of straight-set doubles victories to outclass Newberg. Winners included the No. 1 pair of Matt Snyder/Brent Stewart (6-2, 6-1), the No. 2 team of Bobby Brown/Brian Stuhr (6-1, 6-3), the No. 3 duo of Lucas Howard/Stefan Myers (7-5, 6-3) and the No. 4 team of Jarret Hamstreet/Ben Sigler (7-6, 6-2).

In singles, Stegmeier was a 6-3, 6-4 winner at the No. 4 spot and Matt Lundeen was a 6-2, 4-6, 6-0 victor at No. 3.

Canby's Brown and Stuhr also won Thursday, prevailing 6-2, 6-4, and Hamstreet and Myers followed suit with a 6-3, 7-6 (7-2) triumph at No. 4.

But Tigard's strength in singles matches was simply too much to overcome: Canby's lone winner came at the fourth spot, where Josh Simpson won a three-setter 7-6, 2-6, 6-3.

CANBY GIRLS: Some surprising play from three freshmen has helped carry the Canby girls to a 3-1 record so far.

Singles player Rachel Greiner and the doubles pair of Tori Beck and Justine Rhodes have all won three of their four matches to date, giving coach Mike Vaught three more weapons to work with.

"I've been very happy with the development of our young players," he said. "We have five first-year players - three of them freshmen - who are contributing big time for us right now. They've made my job easier."

Greiner won both her matches at third singles last week, helping Canby to edge Tigard 5-4 on set criteria Thursday and whip Newberg 7-1 on Tuesday.

Other winners Thursday included Kerry Vaught, a 6-2, 7-5 victor at fourth singles; Beck and Rhodes, 4-6, 6-0, 6-0 winners at fourth doubles; and the pair of Nicole Lundgren and Karina Parker, who cruised 6-2, 6-4 at first singles.

Greiner won her singles match just as easily, rolling 6-4, 6-3. Against Newberg, all but one of Canby's wins came in straight sets. Wendy Watson (6-0, 6-0), Greiner (6-2, 6-3) and Vaught (6-3, 6-2) were all dominating in the first three singles spots, respectively, and Alex Gex overcame a tough second set to win 6-1, 1-6, 6-3.

In doubles, Anna Rotrock and Lindsey Guenther teamed up for a 6-2, 6-3 win at No. 2; Parker and Lundgren cruised 6-0, 6-2 at No. 3; and Beck and Rhodes prevailed 6-0, 6-2 at No. 4.

Canby visits Tualatin Monday before returning home for Forest Grove Wednesday and Silverton Friday.

It wasn't the prettiest way to win a ball game, but the Cougars will take it.

Playing its first game after a week-long stint in Arizona, the Canby High School baseball team scrapped its way to a 10-9 defeat of Beaverton in the final nonleague game before league last Tuesday afternoon at CHS.

The Cougars (6-2) took advantage of some shoddy play in the field to score three times in the last of the seventh inning, making a winner of reliever Ross Crooks.

"They had a little trouble handling the ball in that final inning, but we also created chances for ourselves by getting on base and being aggressive on the base paths," head coach Marty Hunter said of the final frame.

''It was a good come-from-behind win. Now we just need to work on some fundamental areas, like cutting down on the walks and errors. We're just giving away too much in some of these games.''

At least Canby is winning, going 3-1 in Arizona and returning home for Tuesday's victory. The team also beat Gresham Thursday on the road, but that game was not official because umpires failed to show.

In the decisive seventh inning on Tuesday, Crooks got hit by a pitch and Josh Cushing and Brett Fuge followed with singles to load the bases. After a line-out, a passed ball allowed Crooks to score and pull Canby within a run.

The Cougars tied it on the same play, as the ball skipped away from the pitcher covering home, giving Cushing the opportunity to scamper in.

After a strikeout left Fuge stranded at third, Dustin Peregrin walked and then coaxed the Beavers into making another mistake, getting hung up off first long enough for the winning run to score.

The comeback made a winner of Crooks, who hurled the final two innings after Beaverton had taken a 9-7 lead with a five-run sixth inning.

Once again, it was a combination of walks (two) and an error that opened the door for the big rally.

"They also had three hits, but we have to stop giving teams extra outs," Hunter said. "You can't do that against quality teams and get away with it."

Canby fell behind 2-0 in the top of the first but quickly tied it up with two in the last of the inning. The Cougars then scored three in the third before both squads traded two-run rallies in the fifth.

Leading the way for the Cougars was Fuge, who went 2 for 3 with four RBIs. Garret Miyake also made the most of his at-bats, crossing the plate three times.

The win comes as Canby opens its Pacific-8 Conference season, which kicked off with preseason favorite Forest Grove Monday afternoon at CHS. Hunter's crew will be back in action Wednesday in Newberg and Friday at home against Tualatin.

"This week will be a good test for us," Hunter said. "We'll get a good idea of where we stand."

Both games this week are scheduled for 4 p.m. starts.

North Marion went to the long ball as a means of outclassing Sisters in the Huskies' Capital Conference baseball opener last Saturday at North Marion High School.

Ryan Paradis blasted three home runs and teammates Greg Ryan and Ty Brack also connected as the hosts cruised 13-8 to improve to 12-1 overall and up their win streak to 11.

Kory Casto went the distance to pick up the win, striking out eight, walking four and scattering 10 hits.

"They hit the ball well, but fortunately for us we were able to put some runs on the board with those five home runs," North Marion head coach Randy Brack said. "We had to make some lineup changes because we lost (catcher) Derek Marsh to injury the day before. Adam Kraft did a nice job taking his spot behind the plate, and Bret Hyder came in and turned some nice defensive plays at third.

''Hopefully, Derek's injury isn't serious. He's an important part of our ball club.''

Marsh hurt himself in Friday's game with Pleasant Hill, suffering knee damage as he tried to stand his ground on a collision at the plate. He was scheduled to get it examined Monday to determine the extent of the injury.

''We're just crossing our fingers at this point,'' coach Brack said.

Even without him, the Huskies had plenty of firepower to dispose of the Outlaws.

Paradis was the man of the hour with the stick, clubbing two-run homers in the first and second innings before launching a solo shot in the fourth.

Wisely, the Sisters hurler opted to walk him his fourth time up.

North Marion also enjoyed a power surge in the third, with Ryan clearing the fence and Brack doing the same with a runner aboard.

In the field, Casto got defensive support from Hyder, who started a key double play in the sixth. "If he doesn't make that play, they score a couple more runs," coach Brack said.

The day before, the Huskies closed out the preseason with a 14-5 drubbing of Pleasant Hill at home.

Jeremy Miller hurled six-plus innings to get the victory, striking out four, walking just one and allowing 10 hits, and Tucker Brack provided the spark offensively with a home run and two RBIs.

Tucker's younger brother Ty also contributed, going 2 for 4, and Kraft ended up with three hits in four trips to the plate. Casto went 2 for 5 with two RBIs.

The Huskies resumed their conference schedule with a visit to Central Tuesday. They are home again Thursday for a clash with Cascade. Game time is set for 4 p.m.

By Sean Patterson

It wasn't exactly filled with exciting, down-to-the-wire dramatics, but Canby's sweep of Dallas in Thursday's Pacific-8 Conference track and field competition will do just fine, thank you.

The Cougars dominated both ends of the meet, cruising 92-53 in boys action and rolling by an even wider margin, 110-31, on the girls' side.

And while it wasn't the toughest win to come by, it was a nice way to kick off a season that should only get tougher from here.

"Dallas, while they do have a number of outstanding individuals, just doesn't have the numbers or depth to compete with us," Canby head coach Tom Millbrooke said. "It was nice weather and a good confidence-booster for us. We're sure to be tested a lot more in the meets to come."

That challenge begins this week, as CHS is scheduled to host perenially strong Tualatin Thursday beginning at 3:30 p.m. And it won't get any easier next week, with the Cougars set to pay Tigard a visit on April 12.

A number of individuals came through with solid performances against the Dragons.

For the boys, winners included Eric Logsdon, tops in the 1,500 meters (4 minutes, 2.5 seconds) and 800 (2:03.0); Doug Burnett, first in both the high jump (5 feet, 10 inches) and long jump (19-10); and Todd Wagner, victorious in the 100 (11.3) and triple jump (42-9 1/2).

It was also a meet loaded with personal bests, as Richard Walker went 12 feet to win pole vault, Kevin Downing hurled the javelin 156 feet, 8 inches to take that event and Kurt Sommer dashed the 3,000 in a winning 9:55.8 time.

Millbrooke was also impressed with John Zagyva's winning mark in the high hurdles (15.7), a good early-season time, the coach said.

Canby did most of its damage in four events - the 1,500, 110 hurdles, 3,000 and pole vault - by earning sweeps in each.

High finishers also included second-place winners Sommer (1,500), Jaycob Padron (400), Spencer Porter (high hurdles), Mark Bond (800), Devin Deller (pole vault), Zagyva (intermediate hurdles), Matt Zwicker (3,000), Rob Bolton (high jump) and Wagner (long jump).

Canby's girls were just as dominating, as they won all but four events. Chris Beck was particularly impressive, establishing a personal best in the 200 (27.2) while also winning the 100 (13.1).

Also on the track, Julie Garcia won the 400 (64.1); Kelsey Kraft was first in the high hurdles (18.8); Jessica Johnston cruised in the 3,000 (12:02.3); and Desa Swaim was an easy winner in the intermediate hurdles (55.2). In the field events, Shannon Woodhead's 91-1 1/2 throw led a sweep of the discus and Lindsey Morgan's 8-6 mark led a 9-0 rout in the pole vault. As if that weren't enough, the Cougars also swept the shot, with Caitlin O'Connor's 32-2 leading the way. Another win came in the javelin, where Morgan Moody unleashed a toss of 97-6.

Finally, in the jumps, Swaim earned a second victory with her leap of 14-11 1/4 in the long jump and Michelle Boeckman earned a win with a mark of 29-7 in the triple.

Canby also won both relays, taking the short race in 53.7 seconds and the long in 4:23.5.

Chanelle Willis also had a good meet for the Cougars, placing second in both the high hurdles (19.5 seconds) and the intermediate hurdles (56.9). Lexi Newman (800), Garcia (100), Johnston (1,500), Kacy Goettel (shot put) and Kraft (high jump) were also runner-up in their respective events.