Leopards seem team to beat
By FRANK PASTOR, Times Staff Writer
Published October 14, 2003
Everything seems to be falling into place for Hernando. Now the Leopards have to avoid falling into old habits.
Hernando assured itself the top seed for the Class 3A, District 6 tournament by beating Nature Coast Tech Wednesday and Wildwood Thursday to complete district play with an 8-0 record.
The Leopards (16-2) will get a preliminary-round bye and play the Wildwood-Nature Coast winner in the semifinal round Oct. 29 at Hernando.
"That feels great," Hernando coach Dena Frye said. "But the last two seasons we were expected to, if not win, become runner-up of the district and we got knocked out in the first round. So, you never know what might happen."
Crystal River eliminated Hernando the past two seasons. With the Pirates in a different district this season, Pasco and South Sumter loom as Hernando's biggest obstacles.
Hernando swept both during the regular season, but Frye is concerned about her team's poor communication and lack of focus in recent matches against inferior opponents.
In that respect, Monday night's match against defending Gulf Coast Athletic Conference champ Central could not have come at a better time. Entering the match, Central trailed Hernando and Crystal River by a game in the conference standings.
Wins over Central and over Crystal River Oct. 23 would give Hernando its sixth conference title in seven seasons. A loss to Crystal River would hand the conference title to the Pirates. A loss to Central and win over Crystal River would create a three-way tie for first.
Getting the conference title back is a priority for Hernando seniors Cory Frederick, Allison Solomon, Kara Bailey, Lauren Orendorf, Jamie Perdue, Amber Basham, Joanna Horan and Leslie Young.
"It's very big," Frye said.
HOLDING STEADY: Central appears firmly entrenched behind Clermont East Ridge as the No. 2 seed for the Class 4A, District 9 tournament. The Bears trail the Golden Knights by two games with district games remaining Tuesday at East Ridge and Thursday against Citrus.
As things currently stand, Central (16-4, 10-2) would play No. 7 Groveland South Lake in the opening round of the district tournament. The Bears swept the Eagles this season.
The only way Central could slip to No. 3 is if it loses to East Ridge and Citrus and Crystal River wins its remaining district games.
"We control our own destiny," Central coach Jim Jensen said. "It's in our own hands. With one or two wins, we wrap up the No. 2 seed."
The Bears have become more consistent with their passing and serving in recent weeks and are learning to place the ball better.
Noemi Rivera has done an outstanding job filling in for departed Tamara Tatham at setter and is closing in on 100 aces. Erica Livengood, Lisa Butler and Nikki Weaver each have 120 or more kills and Julie Wooster and Julie Schneidmiller have provided steady play from the back line.
"We've kind of cleaned up a few things we were doing wrong with our youth and inexperience," Jensen said. "We're playing pretty loose right now, not getting overemotional or underemotional during matches. We're just playing on an even keel."
DOWNSIZED: Nature Coast is shorter than most teams it plays, so coach Chris Mock is looking for ways to cover for the Sharks' lack of height.
"Basically, what I'm looking for is the girls to continue to play defense really well," Mock said. "For us, blocking is not a major emphasis. We try and block, but the main thing is to play cover."
For all its shortcomings, Nature Coast (1-15) has shown progress in its first season. The Sharks have learned Mock's offensive system and are improving on defense, where they are anchored by middle blocker Cara Cagan and backline specialist Danielle Eckert.
The team stayed loose and covered the ball well in a loss to Hernando Wednesday. If it continues to play that way, there is no telling how good it can be in another year.
"The girls by next year could be a force to be reckoned with," Mock said. "We've just got to work on getting a little more height or just work on girls jumping better at the net."
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