Place an Ad Calendars Classified Forums Sports Weather

sptimes.com Text-only News sections Arts & Entertainment AP The Wire Business Citrus County Columnists Floridian Hernando County Hillsborough Letters Movies Neighborhood Times News Update North Pinellas North of Tampa Obituaries Opinion Pasco County South Pinellas Sports State Tampa Bay TV Times World & Nation  Find your local news section Weekly sections Brandon Times City Times Homes Outdoors Perspective Personal Tech Taste Travel Weekend Xpress Special Sections Arena football Buccaneers College football Devil Rays Lightning Police reports Schools Seniority Subscriber Services Subscribe Renew Help Advertise Place an ad In print Online Market Info Join Us Internships Scholarships Times Jobs Contact us

Local teams to focus on tourneys

By RODNEY PAGE

© St. Petersburg Times, published December 17, 2000

Christmas break begins Wednesday for most students and teachers, but for a majority of the area's teams, the upcoming week will be spent playing holiday tournaments. There are 12 area teams participating in three tournaments starting Tuesday.

The most familiar is the Osceola Lady Warrior Holiday Tournament, an eight-team event made up mostly of local teams. Seminole, Clearwater Central Catholic, Largo, St. Petersburg, Lakewood, Gibbs and host Osceola join Bradenton Manatee in the field.

Unlike years past, there doesn't appear to be a clear-cut favorite. In fact, the best game might be the first, when CCC takes on Seminole on Tuesday at Largo. Lakewood and St. Petersburg also are playing well. Host Osceola might be in the worst shape. Injuries have taken their toll, and last year's state runner-up is 6-7.

"I've had some games where we've only had 11 players," Osceola coach Ernie Whalen said. "One game, we had to play with 10. We've got girls up from JV just to help us out." The Warriors still have Michelle Mione, who has 25 goals in 13 games, and Jenny Ruetschi (17 goals). Boca Ciega, St. Petersburg Catholic and Palm Harbor University are playing in the 32-team Sarasota High School Holiday Tournament. Top teams from throughout the state are participating. PHU, which is 10-0 and has 10 seniors, is one of the favorites. "I don't usually like playing in holiday tournaments because the girls are playing club tournaments anyway," PHU coach Holly Freeman said. "But the girls wanted to play in this one because it's their senior year."

Countryside is the lone area team playing in the Target Soccer Classic in Orlando. Perhaps the most competitive tournament in the state, it includes Lake Howell, ranked No. 1 in Class 3A, Daytona Beach Seabreeze, ranked third in Class 2A and Boca Raton, ranked seventh in Class 3A.

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright