Sideline

By Compiled by JOHN C. COTEY and JAMAL THALJI

© St. Petersburg Times, published January 16, 2001

Quotable

"It was a character-builder."

-- VINCENT LOWE, Ridgewood wrestling coach on his team's ninth-place finish at the 10-team Bradenton Southeast duals last weekend.

Wrestling

Bradenton unkind to rebuilding Rams

Imagine being stuck in this bracket at last weekend's 10-team Bradenton Southeast Duals: Bradenton Bayshore, Lake Region, Fort Myers, Miami Southridge, oh, and Ridgewood.

The Rams didn't have to use their imaginations. They lost to all of the teams in their bracket save Bayshore. As coach Vincent Lowe lamented, it's tough to be competitive against these kinds of teams while forfeiting 18 points -- the 145-, 152- and 215-pound classes -- right from the start.

Then again, that's life for the rebuilding Rams.

"We had a rough weekend, but we're still improving," Low said. "I'm not at all upset with the kids. Week by week, we're getting a little bit better and better. We've still got a month to go (before districts) to see what we can come up with."

There were two bright spots, however. Two Rams emerged undefeated and won their classes. Sean Byrne at 140 and Rudy Arce at 275 went 5-0.

Lowe's immediate concern is the 145-pound class, where Anthony DeSantis is out after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his knee Jan. 5.

Lowe said he hopes DeSantis can return in time for this week's Sunshine Athletic Conference championships. But Lowe won't rush him back.

"I'm going to play it conservative until I'm sure he's ready to go," Lowe said.

Girls basketball

Ridgewood falls twice at Sarasota tourney

In the county, they are unbeatable.

But Ridgewood, ranked No. 5 in the Times Tampa Bay Top 10, found that outside of the county, there is still work to be done.

Playing in the Sarasota Riverview Tournament, the Rams dropped both games they played.

The hosts registered a 59-49 win Friday, and Venice squeaked by the Rams 41-40 the following night.

Riverview avenged a 57-43 loss to Ridgewood in the Rams' December tournament.

"Not good," said coach Gary Zimmerman when asked about his team's play. "Against Riverview, we got into foul problems. We outscored them from the floor, but they had 29 free throws to our 14. And they made 18 of theirs. We made 6-of-14.

"Against Venice, we just didn't come to play."

Still, that was the Rams' best chance to win, and they had their chance. But with possession of the ball and time running out, Ridgewood failed to get a shot off.

Alayna Sherwood led Ridgewood with 18 points against Riverview and added 11 against Venice.

The Rams dropped to 12-4 and play Palm Harbor University at home Thursday.

Best Bet

WHO: Gulf at Wesley Chapel

WHAT: Boys basketball

WHEN: 7:30 p.m.

THE SKINNY: The Bucs and Wildcats have exceeded expectations this season, though Wesley Chapel has shown less consistency. They remain a dangerous team, however, and boast the county's leading scorer in Scott Sorenson (27 points per game). Matt Harden, Spencer Honeycutt and Tyrone Tomlin also are capable of leading the team on any given night. An athletically talented team, the knock on the Wildcats is their free-wheeling style, but it seems to be working. They are 9-6, including a win over a very good Clearwater Central Catholic team. The Bucs have lost three of four but remain the county's surprise team at 12-5. Other than their 14-win season in 1997, this is the most wins for the Bucs since 1991-92. Nate Goad continues to pace the Bucs with his scoring and rebounding. Gulf won the previous meeting between the teams 63-50 on Dec. 5.

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