Mater Dei High School - Hi Lights Yearbook (Evansville, IN)

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UP IN THE AIR: Junior and third singles player Stacey Taylor works on improving her serve during prac- tice. The girls spent many long and gruelling hours practicing each day, including morning sessions during spring break. (Photo by Alan Burdette)

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GYMNASTICS TEAM: FRONT ROW: Assistant Coach Molly Alcorn, Kelle Beshears, Karen Rior- dan, Mary Beshears. Coach Debi Harrington, BACK ROW: Lisa Dezember, Julie Gries. Jenny Embry, Barb Minielli. (Photo by Alan Burdette) READY-SET-GO: Barb Minielli prepares and per- forms on the bars during S.I.A.C. while coach Har- rington looks on. Minielli was also a competitor on the beam and was the only all-around gymnast. (Photo by Alan Burdette) PEP TALK: Spectator Jenny Olivey came down to give the two optional gymnasts — Jenny Embry and Lisa Dezember a little talk before the S.I.A.C. meet. (Photo by Alan Burdette) ( IMo guts, no glory 1 101 They practiced three to four times a week, two hours at a time, They took outside lessons twice a week for nine months out of the year. On nights before performing they had cur- fews. They performed in front of their peer group. They had the best season ever for a Mater Dei gymnastics squad. They proved coach Debi Harrington ' s saying, No guts, no glory, to be true. Last year we had some disciplinary problems but I feel that the gymnasts realize that it takes discipline and the outside lessons, stated coach Debi Harrington, who was assisted by Molly Alcorn, Their dedication paid off when they defeated Reitz, a goal they set at the beginning of the year. It was at this time the gymnasts killed two birds with one stone. Along with beating Reitz, the three sophomores — Jenny Embry, Lisa Dezember, and Barb Minielli — managed to keep all of their individual scores between six and seven points. Although the team was small and young — six members being underclassmen — head coach Harrington was hap- py with the girls ' routines and their level of performance. She did feel, however, that they needed to polish the edges. With them being so young, they shoul d be able to add a little finesse, she stated. The gymnasts competed in City on February 27 and placed fourth, the best ever for MD gymnasts. S.I.A.C. was held on March 6 and the gymnasts fourth, On an individual basis a few of the gymnasts performed a little sluggish. Some of them were out a little too late the night before, but the total team score made a good showing for us, commented Harrington. Sectionals were again another good showing and put the Wildcats in fourth place, Senior Julie Gries was the only lettemnan and was out last year with a broken foot. She competed on floor, beam and vault. Sophomore Barb Minielli was the only all-around gym- nast and classmate Jenny Embry was out at the beginning of the season with a sprained ankle, but did see some varsity action on floor, beam, and vault. I liked the vault the best because it ' s what I started out on, she explained. Sophomore Lisa Dezember competed on the beam and the bars. Intermediate team mebers consisted of freshmen: Kelle Beshears; Mary Beshears; and Karen Riordan. The Beshears twins both competed on floor and beam. Riordan competed on floor. Coach Harrington summed up the season by saying, It was the best season ever for the Mater Dei gymnasts. — Joyce Martin

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Relationships reign over Coach Darla Edwards had to admit the tennis season was somewhat of a disappointment. Although the girls worked hard and were tough com- petors. commented Coach Edwards, they lacked the ex- perience of such teams as Memorial and Harrison who play all year long. For this reason, Edwards tried to motivate the girls to go out on the court and enjoy playing instead of getting too emo- tionally wrapped up in the game. It sounds easy to tell them just to enjoy themselves re- marked Edwards, but it isn ' t when they want to win so badly. Although the girls ' determination was strong, the season ended in a 0-14 record, with the MD swingers on the short end of the racket. First singles player senior Mary Ellert helped make up for some of the teams disappointment with her high spirits. Even when everyone, especially me, was depressed about losing, Mary would try to cheer us up. She had a lot of tough matches this year and she did a great job, com- mented junior Stacey Taylor. Although records weren ' t always tops, the relationships between the girls made up for it in a sense. According to the first doubles team of juniors Karen Spahn and Stacey Stevenson, it was important to get along well off the court in order to do well when playing in the game. Regarding their relationship, Stacey said, Even though she seems to fall down a lot, Karen is the best partner a doubles player could have. One member of the team who wanted to remain anony- mous said Miss Edwards made us work so hard, she was like a slavedriver. This lady netter added, We all gained respect for her because she made us work so hard and cared about what was happening. The girls showed their respect for Edwards on May 6 by surprising her with a birthday cake in the shape of a tennis racket. The day became even more surprising when later a balloon bouquet was delivered to the teacher ' s lounge for Edwards from the girls. Another way in which the girls celebrated during the sea- son was with regular trips to Dairy Queen after all the match- es. Senior Mary Ellert commented, After losing it always made us feel better to drown our sorrows in Peanut Buster Parfaitsl! — Sharon Wildeman GIRLS TENNIS STATS-N-FACTS Forest Park 7 Mater Dei Gibson Southern 6 Mater Dei 1 Bosse 5 Mater Dei Mt. Vernon 5 Mater Dei 2 Memorial 5 Mater Dei Princeton 5 Mater Dei Harrison 5 Mater Dei Central 5 Mater Dei Reitz 5 Mater Dei Boonville 5 Mater Dei 2 North 4 Mater Dei 1 Gibson Southern 4 Mater Dei 1 Day School 3 Mater Dei 2 Vincennes Rivet 4 Mater Dei 1 WARMING UP: Junior Stacy Stevenson en- joys an early spring practice. (Photo by Rob Zigenfus) 103 MARY IS 1 : Senior Mary Ellert prepares to serve the ball to her opponent during the meet against Mt. Vernon. Mary held the position of first singles on the team. She found the position somewhat tough, with such opponents as Harrisons ' Wendy Allen who is ranked nationally. (Photo by Greg Bourdeau) LADY NETTERS: FRONT ROW: Elaine Schultheis, Lori Preske, Trina Kinney, Lisa Mills. Missy Hinton, BACK ROW: Karen Spahn, Bethe Ledbetter, Clare Beck- er, Mary Ellert, Stacey Stevenson, and Stacey Taylor (Photo by Alan Burdette)