MUS Sports News

Soccer Continues Solid Play

The MUS varsity soccer team continued their impressive start to the 2006 season with a 1-0 win on the road against Collierville.

MUS (3-0) won the hard-nosed defensive battle as neither team could find much offensive success.

The lone goal of the game came of an MUS corner kick, as senior Brian Evans knocked in a deflection.

The Owl goalkeeper duo of Gabe Rapallo and Chad Hazelhurst continued their fine play this year and finished with their second combined shutout this season.

On Friday, MUS travels to Knoxville to play in the Bearden Invitational where they will face Bearden High School first at 7:30 p.m. Then they will take on Farragut on Saturday and McMinn County on Sunday in this invitational.

Tennis Travels To Atlanta

This week, the Owls came back from Spring Break re-energized and ready to start their season. 

Unfortunately, rain on Monday forced MUS to cancel their first match with Tipton-Rosemark.  But skies cleared on Tuesday, and the Owls took the court against Lausanne to start the season, easily defeating the Lynx, 7-2.

Looking for their eighth state title in the last nine years, the team will carry their winning mindset to Atlanta, Georgia, this weekend for the annual Buckhead Rotary Tournament. 

Last season, the Owls won their first match at this prestigious tournament only to suffer a rare and disappointing loss to Marist (GA).  Every year, the Buckhead Tournament brings the best teams from several states together. 

This tournament will certainly be a test to see whether the Owls can continue their traditional dominance.

Soccer Gets Off To A Good Start

The MUS varsity soccer team began its season last Tuesday as they took on the Lynx from Lausanne on the MUS soccer field. 

With a solid senior class and great talent in all areas, Coach Vincent Beck’s Owls are looking to return to the heights they reached in 2004 as they claimed a state title that year.

The 2006 Owls got off to a good start last Tuesday as they dominated Lausanne, 11-0.

Six different players scored in the drubbing of the Lynx.

West Askew, Brian Evans, Louis Ghawji, Matt Johnson, Daniel Lansky, and Corbin Linebarier all scored for MUS while Ghawji and Evans both recorded hat tricks (scoring three goals).

Next up for the Owls is Ridgeway at Mike Rose Soccer Complex. The game will start at 7:00 p.m.

Tennis Team Gears Up for Season

If one were to review the athletic programs at MUS, the dominance of one sport would definitely stand out.

For a decade, the Owls have dominated the tennis competition at the state level and have become the team to beat coming into every season under Coach Bill Taylor. As the last of winter sports competition has now ended, the tennis Owls are once again ready to retain their dominance.

Last year the Owls lost seven seniors that led the squad to the 2005 state title. Three of these seniors were in the top six singles spots, and two were the three-time reigning state-champion doubles team. Although significant talent was lost in those seven, the Owls are filling those leadership spots with seniors Andrew Alexander, Zach Glover, Bryce Hendry, Spencer Heflin, Joe Hooker, and Mike Montesi.

The starting spots on the tennis team are determined by a challenge system, and the overall decision goes to the coaches. Right now, the only spots that seem locked up are the top two singles positions which will go to junior William Lang and Heflin, who recently signed to play college tennis with University of Memphis. Other players capable of making regular singles appearances are junior Alex Addington, sophomores Watson George and Michael Wills, and freshman Will Carter, who transferred to MUS this year from ECS.

This season the Owls also have new faces that should get some valuable experience in their first varsity experiences. Including Carter, other freshmen who have bright futures include Grant Hopkins, Jackson Knight, and Walt Wepfer.

MUS tennis teams have won seven of the last eight state championships, and this year’s team is looking to attain what they call the “pseudo-octapeat.” They should face quality foes at the state level such as Baylor, MBA, and McCallie. 

“The goal is always to win state, and this year we can do it if our top guys stay healthy and play well,” says an optimistic Coach Taylor.

The Owls’ first match is March 20 against Tipton Rosemark.

Owls Conclude Season At State

After having advanced to the state tournament by winning the consolation bracket of the regional tournament, the MUS varsity basketball team faced one of the most talented teams in the state, Brentwood Academy, in their opening-round state game at Lipscomb University in Nashville last Thursday, March 2. Although they fought hard, the Owls were overmatched and lost, 65-48, to end their season at 20-12.

The Owls started the game playing very well as they hit four threes in the first half to lead for much of the half.

However, with this lead, the Owls saw Brentwood go on a 12-3 run in the second quarter to retake the lead, and the Eagles led, 25-20, heading into the locker-room.

Then, coming out of the break, Brentwood came out quickly and proceeded to go on a 20-2 run to start the second half.

The Owls could neither handle Brandan Wright, the tournament MVP and Mr. Basketball award winner, nor continue to make threes to keep their season alive.

Elliott Cole was a bright spot for the Owls as he led MUS with 20 points and 3 assists.

The Owls concluded an impressive 20-win season on Thursday. Despite losing two key seniors, Jay Martin and Peter Zanca, the future looks bright for the team as other starters and key players return for next year’s team.

Basketball Faces Familiar Foe At State

After having posted wins over SBEC and Elliston to advance to the semis of the regional tournament, the MUS varsity basketball team knew they had a great opportunity to advance to the State Tournament and possibly even win a region title. 

Though they didn't take the region-tournament championship, the Owls would achieve their state aspirations with a 55-51 win over CBHS in the consolations Saturday afternoon after having lost to ECS, 63-53, in the semis.

Last Friday in the semifinals at MUS, the top-seeded Eagles jumped out to a strong start and led much of the first half as the Owls struggled to get much done offensively. ECS held MUS to just 30% shooting in the first half and led by 9 at the half, 31-22.

But MUS would ultimately fight back in the second half.

The Owls started the second half with three baskets from Ferrakohn Hall to get back into the game. Two three-point field goals each from Elliott Cole and Jay Martin also helped as MUS ultimately took the lead late in the third.

But Tim Johnson, who scored 25 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, and ECS’ inside game proved to be too much for the Owls as ECS advanced to the finals, which they ultimately won.

Cole led MUS with 17 points, while Martin scored 16, and Hall added 10 points and 8 rebounds.

The next evening, in the do-or-die consolation round, MUS faced archrival CBHS for a state-tournament berth.

After having jumped out to a ten-point lead early in the second quarter, the Owls saw CBHS fight back to cut the lead to 1 heading into the break.

In the second half, the Owls opened up by going inside on offense and switching zone and man defensive schemes to slow down the Brothers. Six fourth quarter free throws allowed MUS to maintain lead and advance to state with the hard-fought, rugged four-point win.

Cole again led the Owls with 14 points, while Peter Zanca added 11.

For their play, Cole and Martin were named to the Region All-Tournament Team as MUS claimed third.

At state, MUS will face a talented Brentwood-Academy squad in the opening round in a rematch of last-year's first-round matchup. Tip-off is set for 1:30 p.m. in Nashville at David Lipscomb Arena on Thursday, March 2.

Aquatic Owls Represent Well In Nashville

The MUS Aquatic Owls finished off their 2005-06 season with a great performance at the State Meet, held in Nashville February 24-25, posting three new MUS records and eleven personal best times.

Starting off the meet Friday morning, the 200-yard medley relay team, made up of seniors Dex Witte and Daniel Harriman and freshmen Johnny Dillon and Jon Mitchell, broke last-year's MUS record by almost a second, posting a new time of 1:47.95. Then Saturday morning Witte shattered the five-year-old 500-yard freestyle record by almost five seconds, setting the new school record with a time of 5:24.46.  Also Saturday morning, Mitchell reset the 100-yard breaststroke record for a second time this year, recording a new time of 1:07.54.

Several other MUS swimmers posted personal best times. 

Senior Collier Calandruccio in the 100-yard breaststroke, juniors Bill Bell in the 200-yard freestyle, John Goldsmith in the 50-yard and 100-yard freestyle, Erim Sarinoglu in the 50-yard freestyle, and freshman Tucker Witte in the 200-yard freestyle all posted best times.

This excellent performance culminated the season for the Owls, which posted a 54-16 season record and a second-place finish at the Shelby County High School Championships. 

This year's team, the largest ever at the school and the largest in the county with thirty-four swimmers, will definitely miss its six departing seniors. 

Besides Calandruccio, Harriman, and Witte, the team has to replace Hayden Pendergrass in the Individual Medley, Keith Parsons in the butterfly and short free, and Eric Reid in the backstroke.

Coach Laurie Clark is extremely pleased with this year's season. 

"MUS is one of only a handful of teams in the entire state that is truly a team.  While most schools rely on their U.S.S. competitive swimmers to school all their points, this team relies on team work to win."

Congratulations to Coach Clark and the swimmers for their fine season.