Northrop High School - Bear Tracks Yearbook (Fort Wayne, IN)

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Young Team Shows Promise We ' re young, we ' ve got hope, comment- ed sophomore Steve Flowers, number one singles player on the Varsity level. The fact that the team had only two returning sen- iors had a large part to do with their perfor- mance during the season. Coach Jim Keim dubbed the season as a Rebuilding Year. Our inexperience held us back sometimes. The best performance of the year was that of the doubles team of seniors Matt Lucas and junior Mark Fagan. Said Lucas, Mark and I had a lot of potential. Also our types of play were similar so they benefited our game. Fagan added, Matt and I play well together. When we both were at the net we would win most of the points, so generally whether we won or not depended on getting to the net. They finished the season with a record of 8-5. Flowers finished the season at 5-9. He said that the type of game he played ac- counted for his play during the year. I play a power game. I gave myself no margin of errors. Therefore I made more unforced er- rors than my opponent. He added, I won some matches I thought I ' d lose and lost some thought I ' d win. Coach Keim felt that the team did not play as well as they could have. We had a few weak areas that should have been stron- ger. We had ups and downs. There were a couple of times we lost that I really felt we should have won and most of the other losses we were just outmanned. For the first round of the sectional they took on New Haven. They entered with four game losing streak from Southside, Bishop Leurs, Columbia City, and Concordia. Said Keim, We should have won our first round .1 felt if we had come more we would have done a lot better in the sectional. They completed the season at 6-8 and 3-6 in the SAC. Overall Keim felt that having a young team helped to build a stronger team in the future. They gained a lot of experience of actual playing and then if we improve and progress the following year then we can turn it around. We should be a lot better next year. by Elana Crane Senior Matt Lucas exhibits patience as he waits for the ball to enter his territory. Photo by Jeff DeViUe. Sophomore Tom Steitz and Senior Troy Little depend on each other for back up. Photo by Jeff DeVille. 20 — Boys Tennis -. ' JtMkmLu.iJi I ' l ' ' i ri ' ii ' i ' V LiJi ' i ' i r Li rt»t0ti titm mimmt»- itimrir '

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Running Straight To State Each year we sit down and we say, ' OK, we want to win conference. ' And then alter we have our conference meet, we think about sectionals , explained Coach Janel Denny. But in the back of yt)ur mind, when you know you have as good a team as I had, you automatically skip a few of those and start thinking ahead. The lady harriers have reigned as Sec- tional, Regional, and Summit Athletic Con- ference (S.A.C.) champions since the (I.S.H.A.A.) Indiana State High School Ath- letic Association sanctioned these events. They finished third in the 1981 State Meet and sixth in 1982. With that record. Coach Denny could look ahead easily. The girls ran a straight first place line all the way to state. Leading the team came junior Laura Didion, with an outstanding record of accomplishments. She made the all-state team three consecutive years and her best time was 10:23 in the 3,000 meter run. The other team members included fresh- man Heidi Ow-ens, Sophomores Laura Do- lin, and Angle Balser, juniors Melisa Lend- man, Michelle Coulson, Holly Haines, and Elaine Patterson, and senior Dina Zahm. Having such a young team created matur- ity probems, as far as experience with long distance running. The desire to train and work was there, but it had to be brought out in some cases. Coach Denny talked to the girls on a per- sonal level, instead of as a group. The girls felt that it helped, She helped us with our problems and made us feel like we were im- portant. expressed Dina Zahm. One opposing coach commented that the Northrop team was well coached, well trained, and enjoyed competing against one another. The lady harriers competed against each other by being motivated when another team member ran ahead of them. Even though Laura Didion held the lead running spot most of the time, others held the lead in improvement of running and maturity. According to Denny, Melisa Lendman improved the most, With the tal- ent she has, she ' s come a long way. She ' s improved a lot, both physically and mental- ly from cross-country in the beginning. The team made a tremendous effort in every meet and that paid off, however, the girls and coaches were disappointed about receiving a sixth place in .State. Laura Dolin said, I thought that we did pretty good. We were really disappointed because we didn ' t do as well as we expected in state. We had a really good season. The lady harriers have a lot of winning behind them and, according to Coach Den- ny, a lot of winning ahead. by Dina Zahm 1 . . trlT — -7 jf I mm ' .-- »; m V » Laura Dolin keeps her pace during one of the Laura Didion rounds the corner as Coach Denny grueling meets. photo bv Jeff DeViUe encourages her to keep up the good job during a meet svith Columbia City, photo by -leff DeVille Girl ' s Cross Country — 19

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With a look of sheer concentration, Sophomore Tom Jontz steps into his return. Photo by Steve Hug. Nortlirnp 4 Klmhursl 1 ■ Warsaw :i (1 Sni der Wavne 1 2 Northside :i T) Klmhiirsl II 1 I.e., Hishop Dwenger II 4 4 Harding 1 .-) HiintinKton 2 2 Hishop Lutrs :t SouthSide f) 2 1 Coliimhia ( ily Concordia 4 6 8 Sectionals Northrop 2 New Haven S Varsity Tennis Team w Coach Jim Keim. L to R. Tom Steitz, Troy Little, Mark Fagan, Steve Flow- ers, Mr. Kiem, Matt Lucas, Mall Lerer, Tom Jontz. Photo by Steve Sleiner A tQ 4 r i; Sophomore Steve Flowers and Coach Keim in- Reserve Tennis Team w ' Coach Jin K ; ' ; f tentlv watch the happenings before them. Photo Joel Scnbner .Jeft Fisher. Dan O Reill . Mr. In Jeff DeVille. 1 ' ' ' ' ' ' ' Schwartzburg. John Mcbhain, Ty- rone Fritz. Photo by Steve Sleiner Boy ' s Tennis — 2i