Mercer Island High School - ISLA Yearbook (Mercer Island, WA)

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KUPPER LEFTJ J.V. John Shoey, Sean Bretschneider, Kent Arimura, Herbert Stimpson, Doug Martin, Jamie Sternoff, Hunter Goodman, Ken Neaver, Rob Affleck, Marc Singer, Alfero Corenio, Garrett Kusakabe lLEFTl Pot Wiseman comes in for a homerun as Brett Hammer cheers him on lBELOW LEFTJ Bert Rowe, shows his exceptional throwing style. KBELOW RIGHTJ Frosh-Soph Bob Forros, Sean Mefferd, Chris Scalzo, Josh Bates, Romain Macheck, Jake Winfrey, Justin Vax, Robin Houck, Jay Lopeman, Joe Morris. Not pictured: Tre Hendricks, Matt Volpe, Kelly Oyama. t . .1 BASEBALL 93

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omething was missing. The sun shined. The birds chirped. The flowers bloomed. Like a jigsaw puzzle without its crucial piece, however, something was definitely missing. For the fields and fans of Ml, this spring lacked one key ingredient, the Boys of Summer. No, the Islanders did not stop fielding a baseball team in I986. ln fact, this year's squad had a spanking new fieldready and waiting, waiting for the grass to grow, that is. With Island Crest Park still under construction and the new student parking lot occupied by cars after school, the fielders and pitchers of MIHS found it difficult to even practice, let alone play a true home Baseball PUZZLE game. They did not, however, allow these petty complications to faze them in their quest to reach the playoffs. This team did not worry over the field situation, praises Coach Bill Clifford. Instead, they looked upon it as a chance to improve, and they adapted well. Such dedication truly characterized the sixteen Ml ballplayers. Practicing six days a week, the i986 squad formed probably the hardest-working group in recent history. As injured second baseman David LeMaster says, This was one of our most inexperienced teams, but also one of the best at working together. For they played best when they played as a team. Although superior pitching by captain Pat Wiseman and senior Ken Blauman aided immensely, Ml needed every player to form what Clifford says could have been the number one or two team in any other league in Washington. This total group effort made even more frequent the Ml tradition of taking a victory lap around the bases after every win. Hopefully, this is one tradition that will continue for a long, long time. ,t.f,5,g . - ' fa 111 ...tg Y PM 1: .-4 Varsity: lBACK ROWJ Coach Bill Clifford, Bill Summers, Forey Fielder, Dan Crow, Bert Rowe, Brett Hammer, Ken Blauman, Brice York, Pat Wiseman, Coach Mike Wiseman, lFRONT ROWJ Manager Mark Gertis, Don Gochonaur, Kevin Oyama, Mike Hanlin, Steve Croak, Mickey Morelli, Chris Vacca, Matt Field, Aaron Clifford tw 1 l .xi 53 - i N il . ' '17 l ffl . Nil 1' WC! l ' fill 2, 'rfb' will ltr N 1 'l .K . li' i ll .. ll QA ll . 1 :i'u'ff fi 'Ulm' 1 'ily il lf liimlhl ' . Q lilanii ,' V, ,im l lll flll Q T flin- i ' t i . ' - ll-A . A ii'-4. Q ' ' ,tuulll T' llgisll x, ti 5-3-I. , . . ' 'S V. Clifford and Wiseman look on as the MIHS varsity baseball team clinches yet another victory. 92 BASEBALL

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Boys Tennis TIDDLY-WINKS s the spring sunshine spreads across Eastside tennis courts, a distinctive aura eminates from the Ml Boys Tennis team. Every spectator senses its power, somewhat vaguely perhaps but consistently, One cannot dismiss the feeling as tension because, as Head Coach .lack Dills states, 'iWe have a pretty good chance of winning State this year. Its presence enigmatically remains somewhere in the gut- strung, Boron racquets. One does not identify this force with spirit, nor can confidence adequately describe it. But, the attitude adopted by these players is just as MERCER lSLANDish as those emotions. What could it be? COCKINESS. Plain and simple. The motto of the guy's tennis team. After all, they deserve this one pleasure. Over the years, they have amassed a better record than the basketball team could ever hope to achieve. And, this success is something they definitely shouldn't, and don't, try to hide. According to freshman Dan Gott-esman, Our bottom ten guys could win KingCo. The man in the No. l singles position himself, Matt Zisette, boldly proclaims, l'There's no chance that we'll lose State. For the Islanders, matches resemble light games of Tiddly- Winks more than hotly contested feats of strength. Let's face it, Mercer Island doMlnatesl Perhaps this strength results from the years of fine-tuning the athletes have received from the top pros of the Mercer Island Country Club, among other programs. Or, maybe these boys have just remembered to take their Vitamin C. Nonetheless, time and time again Islander tennis teams have done extremely well. Whether it be cockiness or just pure skill, Ml definitely has IT. iv :- K M M.. 94 BOYS TENNIS 1 lLEFTl David Roberts, a.k.a. The Panic Mechanic, is AAAA-ttacking the tennis ball, during a typical afternoon workout. lABOVEi Marc Blum winces as he slices the ball through the air.