Stratford High School - Mnemosyne Yearbook (Houston, TX)

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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

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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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eeiny off ...... oung and inexperienced, the golf Yteam approached the season hoping to do well in tournaments and gain experience. According to Coach Lynn Funk, inexperience was a big factor in the team's play, yet they managed to do well in several tournaments and finish fourth in the district tournament. The golf season started at the beginning of the second quarter and ran through the first week in April. I ,. ,GMS The team met at Memorial Park every Tuesday and Thursday, but because they started late in the day, they could only play 9 holes. Using the ladder system, a player chal- lenged the person in front of him, so competition was tough in practice. At the same time, the scores from these challenging rounds were taken and averaged in with the play- ers season total. At the end of the qualifying week, Coach Funk took With a high follow-through, junior Mark McClelland arches a 7-iron towards the pin. Mark joined the team 136 golf midway through the season, but still qualified for several tournaments. the top five averages to the tourn ments, regardless of if the play won or lost. According to Fun There has to be a way to rate co sistency and by taking the 18 ho averages you get the most consi: ent and the best players at the san time. The players seem to feel tl same way, lt was really the on way he could do it because he ha to take the best averages, said lui ior Mike Moorman. The team competed in eight tot naments and did well in most them. Coach Funk commented, IN top five of Mark Cunningham, Ro ert Wells, Milton Howard, To Elliot, and Mark Rumscheict d extremely well all year. ln t Westchester Tournament the te finished sixth out of 30 teams and the Cy-Fair Tournament, with sor of the best teams in the state cor peting, the golfers finished a stroi sixth out of 30 teams. For the pla lt gave me a chance to compete again other schools' ers, competing in the tourname was the highlight of the season. gave me a chance to comp against all the other schools, stat junior Milton Howard. April 2 and 3, the district tour ment was held at Bear Creek's M ter Course with the top ten play from each school competing. T tournament actually ran over t third day because of bad weat Rain fell for most of the first t days, making the scores high About three-fourths of the field f ished play before the round called off because of lightning. second day proved to be much I the first with torrential rains most the day. Once again, play halted, this time with only ab one-third of the field having f ished play. A third day was nee to finish the tournament as W chester swept both the individ and team titles just beating Memorial, while the Spartan golf took fourth place out of eight tea