Sidelines Notebook

Nahhas helps Notre Dame sweep TRAC tennis crowns

10/4/2012

Melissa Belcher.

Notre Dame swept every event at the Three Rivers Athletic Conference tournament Saturday at Fremont Ross as the Eagles captured the championship in dominating fashion.

Notre Dame never dropped a set in winning all three singles and both doubles titles. The Eagles also never lost a set in any position during their TRAC regular-season dual meets.

St. Ursula, the defending champ, finished second.

Notre Dame freshman Alicia Nahhas won the No. 1 singles title by taking a 6-2, 6-0 win over Findlay's Meghan Gray in the final.

Sophomore Teagan McNamara captured the No. 2 singles title as she defeated Celina Nowicki of St. Ursula 6-2, 6-3.

At No. 3 singles, Nina Eid won 6-0, 6-1 against Clay's Jennifer Belkofer in the final.

The Eagles swept the doubles titles.

Kerigan McNamara, Teagan's sister, teamed with Lindsay Clark to win at first doubles. Madelyn Denning joined Jordan Cady to win at No. 2 doubles.

The Eagles now turn their attention to sectionals today.

Nahhas will move from singles and join Teagan McNamara in doubles. Eid, Ajmera, and Cady will play singles, while Kerigan McNamara will remain with Clark as a doubles team.

The Division I sectionals take place today and Saturday at Jermain Park, Ohio Northern University, and Sandusky High School. The top four singles players and four doubles teams advance to the district tournament next week.

The Division II sectionals are at Defiance College, the University of Northwestern Ohio, and at Clyde High School. The top four singles players and four doubles teams also advance to the district.

Hall of fame

Central inducts Belcher

Melissa Belcher, who coached Central Catholic to a Division II state volleyball title in 2007, was inducted into the school's hall of fame.

Belcher, who coached from 2006-11, was inducted Sept. 21 and was also honored at a home football game.

The Irish made it to the district or regional finals each season under her leadership. Fourteen of her players went on to play in college.

Belcher guided the Irish to a 17-8 record last season despite battling Lou Gehrig's disease, formally known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

A school-released statement said: "Melissa helped many volleyball players reach their true potential, and she always wanted to have an impact on young people and help them succeed. She coached not just volleyball, but lifelong success with humility, respect, and gratitude."

St. Francis to induct 4, team

St. Francis de Sales will induct three former athletes, a coach, and a team into its hall of fame on Oct. 18.

The inductees are Michael Harron (1958, football, basketball, golf; posthumously), Calvin Banks (1987, basketball), John DiSalle (1982, swimming, water polo), Donald Kober (coach, baseball), and the 2001 football team.

Harron captained the football, basketball, and golf teams his junior and senior seasons. He won a district title in golf and placed 10th at state.

Banks earned All-Ohio first team as a senior when he averaged 16.5 points and 12.5 rebounds per game. He earned a scholarship to the University of Southern California and was named the Trojans' best defensive player his senior year.

DiSalle was a four-year swimmer and was captain as a junior and senior. He was a five-time district champion, and set records in the 200-yard freestyle, 100 butterfly, and 400 relay. He placed second at state in the 200 free and 100 free before attending the University of Indiana, where he helped lead the Hoosiers to three Big Ten titles.

Kober posted a 660-251 record in his 33-year career, and his Knights won 11 City League titles. Kober also led St. Francis to two state tournaments. Kober, who coached more than 1,000 players, was elected into the Ohio Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame in 2002 and City League Hall of Fame in 2009.

The 2001 St. Francis football team won a Division II state title under coach Dick Cromwell.

Tickets for the banquet, which begins at 6 p.m., are $35 and are available by calling Kathy Gullette at 419-531-1618 or email at kgullette@sfstoledo.org.

Soccer

NLL showdowns

Two key Northern Lakes League soccer showdowns will take place next week to determine the boys and girls championships.

Monday, two state-ranked boys teams will face off -- No. 6 Southview plays at No. 9 Anthony Wayne. The Cougars (10-2-2 overall) are 4-2-0 in the NLL. The Generals (12-0-0) are 5-0-0.

Northview (8-3-1, 4-1-1 NLL) upset Southview -- the defending champion -- 2-0 on Sept. 24. The Wildcats could gain a share of the title with a win over Napoleon on Monday, and a Southview win over Anthony Wayne.

On the girls side, No. 1 ranked Perrysburg (13-0-0, 5-0-0 NLL) travels Tuesday to take on rival Maumee (10-1-2, 3-0-2).

The Yellow Jackets have been ranked No. 1 all season in the Division I state poll. Maumee is No. 7 in Division II.

 

Golf 

Green Bears win Titan Cup

Ottawa Hills won the St. John's Titan Cup Invitational Saturday at Stone Oak Country Club.

The Green Bears' Brian Hoeflinger earned medalist honors with an even par-71.

Ottawa Hills shot 297 as a team, while Cleveland St. Ignatius was second (303), followed by Lima Central Catholic (305), St. Francis (309) and St. John's (309).

Bowling Green's Trey Walker, Findlay's Spencer Shoemaker, and Jack Mancinotti of St. John's all shot 72.

Divisions II, III sectionals

The Division II and III boys sectional tournaments were last week.

In boys Division II sectional, the top three teams and four individuals advanced to districts.

Napoleon and Bryan advance as teams at Country Acres Golf Club, while Liberty-Benton's Jared Neiling advanced individually. Napoleon was led by David Hoops, who shot a 77. Bryan's David Miller led the Golden Bears with an 78.

Port Clinton won the D-II sectional title at Sawmill Creek Golf Club.

In Division III boys, the top two teams and top two individuals advance to districts.

In the D-III sectional at Ironwood Golf Course, Patrick Henry took third to advance, led by Aaron Tietje's 81.

North Baltimore's Corey Bean (83), Toledo Christian's Tyler Grandsko (83), and Holgate's Landon Grim (84) advanced as individuals.

Van Buren won the D-III sectional at Sycamore Springs Golf Course.

On the girls side, Otsego won the D-III title at White Pines Golf Course, while Cardinal Stritch and Elmwood qualified for districts.

Individuals that advanced included Woodmore's Mikayla Baer (68), Wauseon's Anna Marshall (88), and Montpelier's Leslie Clark (93).

In D-III at Country Acres, Van Buren placed second to advance as a team. Rachel Peters (88) of North Baltimore and Kiera Robinson (100) of Liberty-Benton advanced as individuals.

The Division I sectionals begin this week, while the D-II and D-III districts take place this week.

Volleyball

TRAC team ranked high

The Three Rivers Athletic Conference continues to be a powerhouse volleyball league with three schools ranked among the top 13 in the Division I state coaches poll.

St. Ursula (16-1) is ranked second, Findlay (15-2) is fifth, while Notre Dame (13-4) is 13th.

In Division II, Eastwood continues to be highest ranked area team. The Eagles (14-1) are 20th.

Archbold (14-2) is ranked 10th in Division III. McComb (15-3) is 17th in Division IV.

Contact Mark Monroe at: mmonroe@theblade.com, 419-724-6354 or on Twitter @MonroeBlade.