Saturday, November 11, 2000

By Michelle Hammersley
SJSports Student Correspondent

The Edgewood Ladies Tennis Team concluded the final Ladies Tennis season at Edgewood with a phenomenal year. Reaching goals and taking the team to new heights highlighted the season. The season was not only about winning, but it was also about being a team and having four years of friendship behind them.

Despite having to have their preseason practices at Overbrook due to construction at Edgewood, the tennis team started out the season with a bang. They were ranked as high as number eight in the Philadelphia Inquirer's top ten teams in South Jersey. Also, the team managed to break an Edgewood Ladies Tennis record by winning six matches in a row, 5-0.

The ladies were on fire and hungry to be the Conference Champs. In the conference individual tournament, the whole varsity team made second team all conference except for their first singles who made the first team. To win the conference as a team they would have to defeat Bishop Eustace. The ladies were prepared and ready when Eustace stepped onto the Edgewood courts. Edgewood managed to chase Eustace into difficult tiebreakers and 3 set matches. They proved that they were not a joke and even though they lost the match 0-5, they were not ashamed. When the Ladies met their rivals again, they attacked them with the same force. They were defeated again 1-4, but it was hard to be disappointed after such a phenomenal season.

The Ladies tennis team not only made an impact on their conference, but on their group as well. They were seeded third in the South Jersey Group 3 tournament. They received a bye the first round and went on to defeat Williamstown 3-2 in the second round. In the second to last round, Edgewood's force was finally stopped by Northern Burlington and they lost 3-1.

South Jersey wasn't the only place where the ladies were heard of this year. The coach, Jeff Mack, was well known for rewarding the girls with Snapple when they managed to win a point off him or really excel. The Snapple Company got word of this and sent the team 16 cases of new Snapple's "Sport Bottle" and sweatshirts. They are also featuring them in an upcoming Snapple newsletter.

Edgewood not only won on the courts, but in the classroom as well. Three of the varsity players are in the top ten of their class and several more varsity and JV members fall in the top five and ten percents. The team also contains the president of the National Honor Society, Andrea Johnson.

The end of the season was not only a big deal because it was the final year of Edgewood or that it was such a good season, but because seven out of the eight varsity members are seniors and have been playing together since their freshman year. The team was 3-15 during their first season together and 15-6 for their last season together.

Edgewood may not be around for much longer, but these ladies made it quite clear that they would not go out quietly. They made sure that they were a force to be reckoned with both on and off the courts. This group of exceptionally talented ladies left its mark on the 2000 tennis season and continues to leave a mark in their school and their communities.