County makes progress on court

Thursday, June 8, 2006

Click here to enlarge this photo Lawrence Jackson Jr.⁄the gazette The Star⁄Gazette All-County Tennis Team includes (front row, from left) Samantha Greene, Jill McLaughlin, Coach of the Year Margie Nicholson; (back row, from left) Theron Gray, Alec Enkiri, Zach Nicholson, Mike Murchison, Layla Shimaka, Alex Fischer, Carey Stuart.

Margie Nicholson, DeMatha: Nicholson gave the all-male athletic coaching staff at the Hyattsville all-boys’ powerhouse a woman’s touch. Nicholson will also provide some needed continuity as the Stags’ tennis coach, a job that seemingly has been a revolving door in the past five years. Nicholson coached a team that featured two freshmen and a sophomore in the top three singles positions to a second-place finish during Washington Catholic Athletic Conference regular season and tournament. Nicholson, whose son Zach was the WCAC singles champion, plans to return next season as Stags’ coach and said she thinks the team will be primed to reclaim the conference tournament crown, which has eluded it the past two seasons.

Boys Singles First Team

Alec Enkiri, Roosevelt: Enkiri continued his strong postseason play, as he claimed the Region III title for the second consecutive season and advanced to the second round of the state tournament, despite spending the regular season as the Raiders’ No. 2 singles players. The outspoken left-hander will attend the University of Maryland after finishing his senior season with the Raiders with one defeat in singles competition.

Mike Murchison, Roosevelt: Murchison bowed out in the county North District semifinals in a dramatic match against Laurel’s David Martin. But a week later, the senior proved his grit by defeating county regular season champion Mike Stevenson to claim the final Region III boys’ singles berth. Murchison was one of many who played a key role in the Raiders dominance over the past few seasons.

Girls Singles First Team

Lauren Chisholm, Friendly: Chisholm came from out of nowhere to be a force in the county this season. She made her presence known in a big way by capturing the Region III girls’ singles crown in her first season of high school tennis. The Patriots will have much to look forward to for the next two years as Chisholm is one of the few in the county who plays tennis year-round. She will have a wide-open field against which to defend her region crown against next season.

Samantha Greene, Northwestern: Greene finished her senior season 10-4, including the county North District singles title. After playing doubles in 2005, Greene decided to stick with singles in this year’s postseason and the decision paid off. She was the runner-up in the Region III tournament and earned her first-ever berth to the state tournament.

Boys Doubles Team of the Year

Alex Fischer and Carey Stuart, Roosevelt: Fischer and Stuart followed a strong 2005 campaign in much the same fashion this spring, advancing to the second round of the state tournament. The tandem’s first-round win was one of only two state tournament victories for the county. Fischer has finished his career with the Raiders and will be a freshman at the University of Maryland this fall. Meanwhile, Stuart will have to find a new doubles partner for his senior season.

Girls Doubles Team of the Year

Evie Grayson and Kyara Lombre, Flowers: Flowers’ coach Irving Peters said the two approached him prior to the season and expressed their desire to play doubles. As fate would have it, the two were forced to play singles when the Jaguars lost several prominent players to other sports. Grayson finished with one loss at No. 1 singles during the regular season. She and Lombre teamed to capture the Region III doubles crown and nearly pulled off a first-round victory in the state tournament.

Mixed Doubles Team of the Year

Layla Shimaka and Theron Gray,Roosevelt: When the time came for the duo to step up at the end of the season, they did so by defeating their own teammates, Amber Gray and Vikram Ivatury, for the Region III championship. Shimaka graduated, leaving Gray to find a new teammate for 2007. Gray, a rising senior, should have little problem in that endeavor, as the Raiders consistently fill in voids with young talent.