Dobson High School - Equus Yearbook (Mesa, AZ)

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With a history of average seasons, the boys’ tennis team got a HEAD START ON SUCCESS by building moral and beating Westwood for a first. Beating a Mesa School for the first time at the start of their season gave the Boys Tennis team the boost of confidence needed to push them into a successful sea- son. Team unity was also a key in the team's success. With tennis being such an individ- ual sport, keeping the play- ers unified was a tough job. However, the boys achieved unification by cheering each other on and avoiding negative com- ments in their workouts and matches. The team had at least one match a week where they faced tough comeptition. Their toughest, Mt. View, was said to be head and shoulders above the rest”. Despite Mt. View's ability. Coach Crabtree was quoted as saying, We should be a contender for second place in the city tournament. The goal of most players was to be top ranked among his teammates. To achieve this status. Coach Crabtree used his own judgement and challenge matches in the ranking pro- cedure. The majority of the team considered this a fair process. Tennis was a challenging sport requiring physical and mental skill, but because ev- ery member enjoyed the game, such skills came easily and successfully. Design by Kathy Pollard, Gina Giallonardo. Melissa Celaya. Photos by Laura Davis. DOUBLES PSYCHOLOGY Brian Cheney uses Ns stare-clown approach to weaken his oppo- nent's defenses as doubles partner Alex Muller readies his infamous monster serve. OUCH! Takmg advantage of Ns multi-pur- pose tennis rocquet. Matf Busta- mante bears the pain and replaces h»s shoe after losing it during on in- tense practice match. GOING. GOING. GONE. Rick Jurgens watches Ns tennis bo'l fly over the fence as he painfully re- members the agony of climbng the chain-link to get it back from the parking lot 144 ports

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The JV baseball team practiced for bours NOT BATTING AN m working hard and watching it pay off. “I found that the maturity level of the team members was outstanding for a team consisting mostly of sopho- mores. The players were leaders, with an overwhelm- ing desire to do well, always giving 150 percent, said Coach Dan Marcello of the junior varsity baseball team. Their intensity level helped them as they worked to- ward the varsity level. When most people think of baseball, they think of players working from Febru- ary to May. This is not com- pletely true. In order to be the best he can be, a player must work hard year round, lifting weights and preparing for the regular season. When February rolled around, the players practiced six days a week for a full month before actual games started. In the practices, the coaches tried to create a positive environ- ment and attitude with disci- pline. The fundamentals of all aspects of the game were worked on in prepara- tion for the games. According to Coach Mar- cello, A winning tradition and attitude for being suc- cessful began to surface due to hard work. Winning had a domino effect; every- one wanted to be a part of it. The team members atti- tudes, hustle, desire to do well and good work ethic combined to help the play- ers as they strove to do their best and move up to the varsity level. Design by Wendy Roberts. Photos by Michelle Cunico. THROWING HIMSELF INTO HIS WORK. During a ncessary practice. Todd Unkus takes the time to polish his pitching style He works on this skill and others, hoping to perform well and improve his game in the course of the season RUNNING ON TIME. With an the energy he can muster, sophomore Charllo Scarpulla moves toward the ball which is flying in his direction. He gives it all he has got. trying to catch the ball and show his skits V Baseball 143

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 By my senior year, our young team wH be ready lor a State Champion- shp Chuck Wotkln, Sophomore UP FRONT Boys' Tennis Team. Front row: Ho Ngyuen. Josh Hawkins, Mike Ngyuen, Tim Bonjamin. Joseph Adams, Chris Ngyuen, Rick Jurgons, Bret Huth, Cally Sapp. Back Row: Coach Ralph Crabtree. Jim Rees. Alex Muller. Brian Cheney. David Bayha, Matt Bustamanto. Chuck Walkin, David Whillach, Goorgo Nungesser. Rick Jurgons has been playing tennis since his freshman year. Ho plans to attend MCC for two years and then transfer to U of A. 7 like tennis for the chal- lenge. It’s a one against one sport and I don't have to depend on other people and no one de- pends on me. Although I have played tennis for more than four years, it is not my favorite sport. I play tennis for the exer- cise and most of all be- cause I'm good at it. - Rick Jurgens. Senior oys’ Tennis