Stratford High School - Mnemosyne Yearbook (Houston, TX)

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S tratford not only boasted the number one football team in the state of Texas, but also bragged about another state championship title in the sport of tennis. The doubles team composed of Seniors Ellen Hopkins and Mary O'Rourke clinched the state title in girls' doubles. At first Ellen and I could not believe that it finally hap- pened. We worked for it for a year and a halff' said Mary. We played every day for a couple of hours. Two weeks before, we had matches lined up every day in addition to our vari- ous drills and lessons, continued Mary. The girls won the state title by defeating Memorial High School's Mary Giammalva and Lynn Daniels 6-4 and 7-6. Another high point of the season occurred when the girls' tennis team defeated Memorial to win the dis- trict title. lt felt so wonderful to be a part of the district championship team, said Coach Mary Stephens. We played in 30 dual meets and 8 tournaments, but the best match this year was when we beat Memo- rial and won district, claimed Mrs. Stephens. pg Y all E V 4 ill - oif- W Getting down low, lunior Bruce Laborde concentrates on returning the ball. Bruce has played tennis for three and a half years. 134 tennis eqnis wings tn According to Coach Stephens, practice ran every day after school from Nov. 1 to April 4. Of course the ones that made it to Regionals had to practice even more, said Mrs. Stephens. Regional qualifiers included Seniors Ellen Hopkins, Mary O'Rourke, Lorraine Peterson, and Sophomores LeAnne Givens and Fred Ciradin. The tennis team attended 3 out- of-town tournaments in Austin, San Antonio and Corpus Christi. The competition was harder and there were better matches, said Sopho- more Sharon Nall. In Corpus Christi the kids housed in the homes of the King High School students and made a lot of new friends, said Mrs. Stephens. ' Bruce Laborde, a tennis player for three and a half years, plays tennis for its competitiveness. I like the one-on-one aspect of tennis as opposed to a team sport. You're out there playing for yourself, but when you win, you gain points for the team and that's what really feels good, summed up Bruce. Ti. ? z . f tt, ii fx . . fy-f , , L xl ,stat tla s .r Q- ,. 4 f L f .fi A tennis player for 5 years lunior Pugh executes his serve. Bill that tennis is a challenge and thing to work at. State champion Mary O'R0urke the ball with a hard forehand. comments, Winning the state onship was something that Ellen worked at for a year and a half. State Champion in girls' doubles, I Ellen Hopkins, follows through with winning forehand.

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i ding basics by steady practice in r transition from junior to high school volleyball, freshman volleyballers ,fin- theif season with an 11-11 ng on this transition ,Freshman Autumn Landry 'We worked harder, and aches emphasized using correct basic skills and ng them. It is quite differ- in junior high because the aches don't understand the , 'The coaches imphasized using he correct basic . skills! asic techniques as well as Mrs. eVada Brimberry and Mrs. aren Martin. In junior high vol- iyball, we mainly just goofed 'oundf' Coach Martin commented, Ne had a real good group of irls, but we had to adapt them I the game that Stratford plays!! The season, however, was not wtirely devoted to work, as the arsity team members initiated ie freshman girls. The initia- n consisted of dressing the Taking a break, Coach Nevada Brim- berry and Freshman Kim Kent 121, Alli- son Kantoff, and Pam Mathews freshen up and discuss strategy. girls up, and taking them to breakfast. We decided to have some fun, and it helped us to get to know the freshmen, since we hardly ever talked to them during practice, explained Senior Rose- mary Struffilino. Autumn added, We had trou- ble playing together, expecially since we were all new to each other. In the last Northbrook game, we really pulled together and won with a common effort. During a time out, Coach Karen Martin shows statistics to Sophomore Linda Suchelob and lunior Donna Sloan 1151. il Getting ready for a set, Freshman Alli- son Kantoff f40j keeps her eye on the server. I was really getting into the game, concentrating really hard, com- mented Allison. freshman volleyball 133

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I 1- . t t -' 1 Z f, Mtv-fl' Wy, r N Q Q15 x --0. P' quam: . ifiatti' 'NK-. . . . . . Using s lit second trmlng, junior Andy Scgroth serves the ball to lunior ' A Bruce Laborde during an afternoon practice. Playing net, lunior Bill Pugh awaits the next ball at an after school practice ses- sion. ui' Lal ..,,, ff! Perfecting his serve, lunior Bruce Laborde warms up before a tennis match. I like to play tennis because it's very competitive, expressed Bruce. A sign of congratulations was put up on the third floor honoring the girls' state doubles champions, Ellen Hopkins and Mary O'Rourke. ' tennis 135