Alief Elsik High School - Ramblings Yearbook (Houston, TX)

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 Girls Improve Standings ring a drill session, Chris Meinecke works on his serve. Photo by A. Miles The girls tennis team had a very weak season as Coach Gwynn sees it. Unless we get a good transfer next year, things don't look too promising! , replied Gwynn when asked about the future teams' potential. Their district stand- ing of 6th out of eight schools was an improvement over last year's standing of last place. Most valuable player was Senior Anne McHugh because she is always at practice and very motivated. The team will lose her along with Tracy Kagan and Thien Pham which will affect the teams' standing. Junior Tracy Kagan stated, I am not going to play next year because of my tough academic schedule. She feels tennis demands a lot of time and dedication on the part of the participants which she can't continue to give. Tracv felt the toughest school to defeat was Memorial and said, They have a solid team and have many ranked players on both their boys and girls teams. The team was defeated by them twice, 1-8 and 0-4. The easiest win for Tracy was Spring Woods. There were no changes in coaching techniques as far as Coach Gwynn is concerned. Tracy explained, Coach Gwynn plans many drills, designed to perfect specific skills. Shealso involves running and jumping rope in our practices, helping us to become more agile and durable. The girl's tennis team has a lot of potential and can go far Tracy believes. We have a solid and dedicated team and they have improved tremendously over the past year! Tracy stated. By Noelle Miller Good stamina helps Thien Pham in reaching for cross court plays. Photo by R. Law Outstanding player of the season, R.J. Harr works out for the upcoming Bellaire Varsity Tournament. Photo by R. Law Tennis Competition 237

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Coach Gwynn Continues a Lifetime of Tennis Charmange Gwynn, the boys and girls tennis team coach, has had a very positive season to be proud of. Her coaching skills have brought many of the players up the ladder to achieve victor)'. She was born in Landstuhl, Germany. Tennis never became apart of her life until her college years since the local high school did not have a team. She played in college for several years and went on to coach tennis. She has ? Front: Coach Gwynn, S. Kni, S. Jung, S. Knight, M. Bohot, S. Narang, M. South, T. Pham, A. Kavianiesbily; 2nd: R.J. Harr, A. McHugh, C. Meinecke, A. Carrel!, P. Mann; Back: B. Allen, C. Bratka, P. Brogan, T. Kagan. Photo by A. Miles taught tennis for four years and this is the first school that she has ever coached. She really doesn't know what got her interested in coaching in high school. Her involvement in tennis has made a great contribution to the team. Besides coaching, she competes in some tournaments as well. She has no family and coaching tennis, as well as science in the South House, is her only career, both which help her to be a dedicated coach. When asked to predict her star player's future in tennis, she stated, Chuck Bratka will bean excellent college player, because he has continued to improve. She thinks he is the nicest person you would ever want to know and that this will also help him to succeed in college. Coach Gwynn views coaching such an excellent team as an honor. She said, It sure is n to have people who work hard for you and themselve She feels that Chuck is I sweetest guy you will ever m- and wishes she had disposition. Pat Brogan is vt dependable and she can coi on him, and R.J. Harr has bee tremendous addition to ( team. She agrees that they ar fun group and has learned a from them. By Noelle Mil Freshman Shannan Knight reaches out at a ground ball with a forehand. Photo by A. Miles 236 Competition Tennis

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Track Takes Disappointing 2nd Winning 2nd in district, the boys track team went to Re ionals with a total of 86 f oints, an improvement over ast year's 3rd place. Losing to Hastings by 1 1 3 points was very disappointing. Coach Fawcett felt it was the worst experience of the season because they were so close to being district champs. The regional competitors consisted of Devlin Dunn in the long jump and 400 meter dash, Trevor Dodd in the 110 high hurdles, and the 1600 meter relay team of Darren Bell, Shawn Forristall, Tim Adam- chick, and Devlin Dunn. Outstanding players of this season were Devlin Dunn and Trevor Dodd, both doing exceptionally well in compe- tition. Trevor replied, I think overall Devlin Dunn is the best team member. He is the fastest and runs the best in competition. Junior Gary Neal has had a memorable season. One event that was most unusual was during a meet when his pole broke in the pole vaulting event. Coach Fawcett felt that he was an excellent player, but hasn't really been recognized enough, and that he may possibly be the star player next year. The outlook on the future team as Coach Fawcett ex- plained, With improved attitude and hard work, there is no stopping the Elsik Rams! The team will strive to get better and improve in their weak areas to succeed further in the future! By Noelle Miller Junior Varsity runner David Wells shows deep concentration at the district m where the team scored a total of 86 points. Photo by R. L JV TrackrFront: T. Tcrasas, B. Locke, M. Porter, R. Blankenship, C. Melchor, D. Dean, E. Jones; 2nd: Coach Fawcett, D. Dougherty, T. Mesa, D. Wells, C. Cooks, C. Broussard,T.Smith; Back:Coach Pless, P. Ramirez, D. Phillips, L. Reid, M. Obcr, J. Moore, R. Ober, Coach Ward. Photo by A. Miles Freshman Track: Front: K. Moon, K. McDaniel, L. Naldoski, T. Schumacher, K. Price, J. Garcia; 2nd: Coach Pless, D. Cassidy, T. Harrison, R. Campbell, S. Lee, J. McHugh, M. Packwood, B. Bolden; Back: B. Rocquemore, M. Middleton, D. Johnson, P. Delaney, M. Hanst, A. Rodney, M. Watson, C. Sherrod, Coach Ward. Photo by A. Miles 238 Competition Boys Track