County Tennis

As the saying goes, it's hard to quarrel with success.That's why disagreeing with Bill Shook's coaching is a huge waste of time.Shook directed Centennial to its sixth straight Howard County title. The Eagles compiled a 14-0 record in the regular season, winning 111 of 122 individual matches for the 10th-year coach's best percentage ever.Then, it was on to the county tournament, which they dominated with an event-record 65 points. Mount Hebron was next with 43.Because of these achievements, Shook is The Baltimore Sun's Howard County Tennis Coach of the Year.

Howard County will add mixed doubles to its lineups for the second half of the tennis season, April 11. The lineup at that time will be two girls singles, two boys singles, two girls doubles, two boys doubles and two mixed doubles — one on the boys side and one on the girls side. The decision by the county's tennis coaches comes after at least two years of debate. "We've talked about it for a long time," Karen Wolfe, regional director and Reservoir tennis coach, said Thursday.

Three seniors who have had outstanding varsity careers and a coach who has put together a series of successful teams are recipients of the top honors as The Baltimore Sun recognizes its All-Harford County tennis team.Peter Griffiths, whose C. Milton Wright team was undefeated during the regular season and won the county tournament, has been chosen Harford County Tennis Coach of the Year; Tim Bystry of Fallston and Jeff Roux of Bel Air are Boys Co-Players of the Year, and Susie Samuel of Bel Air is the Girls Player of the Year.

BOYS PLAYER OF THE YEAR Chris Brown Liberty Brown defeated North Carroll's Reid Smetzer to repeat as county champion. The junior also was an All-County selection last season. GIRLS PLAYER OF THE YEAR Courtney Evans and Callie Gillen Liberty The Lions' top doubles team was strong all season, especially in postseason play. Evans, a junior, and Gillen, a senior, won the county tournament and then took the district final, beating Jamie Farley and Sarah Leyhe of Francis Scott Key in both.

Pikesville coach Sol Schwartz returned to the successful program he graduated from in 1988 to continue the school's dominance in Baltimore County tennis. This year, his girls doubles team produced the only state title from the metro area.Laddie Levy, who graduated from McDonogh School in 1963, took over its varsity tennis program in 1990. This year, he took a boys team mostly made up of freshman and sophomores and won the Maryland Scholastic Association A Conference Tournament for the second straight year.

North Carroll's Craig Eckard doesn't worry about individual awards as much as making himself a better tennis player.The 6-foot-2, 150-pound junior crowned a sparkling regular season (14-2) by winning this year's county tennis tournament and advancing to the quarterfinals of the District V tournament."My main goal isn't winning all sorts of championships, but to improve enough so I can be proud of the way I play," said Eckard, who went 9-4 last season at No. 1 singles.His performance this year was more than enough to be named The Baltimore Sun's boys tennis Player of the Year for Carroll County.

Mount Hebron's tennis program enjoyed a fresh personality this spring.Improvements in on-court skills, team attitude and work ethic led to a 10-4 record -- up from last year's 6-8 mark -- and a second-place finish in the Howard County tournament.First-year coach Cliff Bernstein created the Vikings' new look. He instituted a no-cut policy, instilled a more aggressive serve-and-volley style, got the parents involved and motivated players work for a common goal.The highlight of his season was on May 6, when his Vikings upset mighty Centennial, 5-4, after he guaranteed the win despite Centennial's string of 36 straight county match victories.

If Saturday's county tennis tournament needed a theme, it would have been, "Out with the old, in with the new."Nine of the 10 champions crowned at Chesapeake High School were first-time winners, and Old Mill stopped Severna Park's string of three consecutive team championships, taking a 32-30 decision from the Falcons."

A county tennis team is doing its best to emulate the Minnesota Twins, the American League baseball champions, to produce its own versionof "worst to first."The Bay Ladies, a team of 14 women ages 38-49 from Arnold and Severna Park, will become a part of history tomorrow morning, as they vie against 16 other sectional champions for the U.S. Tennis Association 3.0 level (beginning/intermediate) National Team Championships in Palm Springs, Calif.The Ladies became the first women's team from the county to earn a trip to the USTA-sanctioned national tournament, as it finished first in August's Mid-Atlantic Regional, defeating Virginia finalists Richmond, Lynchburg, Northern Virginia and Shenandoah.

Pikesville celebrated its 37th Baltimore County tennis championship in 39 years yesterday even though the tournament still has a few matches to be completed today. The Panthers will finish with at least 45 points and are too far in front for second-place Catonsville to catch them. The Comets could finish with as many as 30 points when the boys Nos. 1 and 2 singles and their consolation matches are completed today at 4 p.m. at Catonsville High School. The tournament ran a little behind schedule for three reasons: a record number of entrants, a rain delay during Friday's preliminary rounds and some incredibly long matches.

BOYS PLAYER OF THE YEAR Emre Ucal Arundel Ucal repeated as county singles champion by outlasting Old Mill freshman Harsha Rao in three sets. A senior, Ucal also was the county Player of the Year last season. GIRLS PLAYER OF THE YEAR Michele Jordan Broadneck The sophomore was the only Anne Arundel County girl to qualify for the state tournament in singles competition. Playing No. 1 singles, she won the county title before falling in the district finals. Jordan qualified for the state tournament last year in mixed doubles.

BOYS PLAYER OF THE YEAR Paul Burgin Pikesville Burgin made a splash in his first year for the county champion Panthers. The freshman finished the season 14-1, won the county title at No. 2 singles and went on to knock off two-time defending county champion Matt McDaniel in the district tournament semifinal before taking one match in the state competition. GIRLS PLAYER OF THE YEAR Lolita Kachay Pikesville She stepped in at No. 1 singles and finished 17-1, winning the county and district titles before falling in the first round of the states.

When Catonsville senior Matt McDaniel was 3, his father brought him onto a tennis court for the first time. Jeff McDaniel would position stuffed animals on top of the net to teach his young son how to aim the ball. It wasn't long before Matt outgrew the toys and showed a real knack for the sport. By the time he arrived at Catonsville, he'd developed into a dominating baseline player and earned the No. 1 singles spot as a freshman, a position he has kept for four years. As a junior, he won both the county singles title and the regional championship.

Boys Player of the Year Mike March, Century The senior fared well in a couple of spots for the county champions. March had a perfect regular season at No. 1 singles for Century before moving to mixed doubles for the postseason. He combined with Sara Hamilton to win the championship. March and Hamilton then finished third in the regionals. Girls Players of the Year Melissa Wallace and Alissa Thayer, Westminster The seniors finished 22-3 and won the school's first state championship in tennis.

Name: Ron SeibelHonored by The Carroll County Sun for: Winning the Carroll County Tennis Association Men's "A" Singles Tournament at Westminster City Playground last monthAge: 29Residence; hometown: Sykesville; New WindsorOccupation: Engineer with Westinghouse Electric in Linthicum, Anne Arundel CountyEducation: Master's degree from Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore (computer science), bachelor's degree from University of Maryland College Park (electrical engineering), graduate of Francis Scott Key High School in UniontownFamily: Mother: Bonnie, bank manager at Westminster Bank & Trust; brothers: Arthur, certified public accountant in Houston, and Douglas, loan officer in Hanover, Pa.Place of worship: St. Paul's United Methodist in New WindsorActivities/hobbies: Tennis, bicycling, snow skiingAccomplishments: Two-time county tennis champion at Francis Scott Key, earned four varsity letters at Key and two varsity letters at University of Maryland Baltimore CountyRecipient's comments: "The tournament was a blast and very well run. I had to go four rounds to win the tournament and beat Greg Zielske, a tall guy with a big serve, in the final.