The Hi-Times
Women strive to continue legacySaturday, September 25, 2004 By Joseph Davis and Scotland Lies -- Sports Editors
Every school year, in every high school sport, one team is crowned champion and dubbed the most dominant team in the state. This team’s success is often, while having much to do with skill, partially due to luck. The luck that comes with having that championship team made from a perfect mixture of players that for some reason or another ended up at the same school, on the same team, at the same time. It seems as if teams such as this are destined to bring greatness to their school for the brief moment that they rest atop the pinnacle of their sport. However, most great teams come and go, leaving their school with countless “rebuilding years”. In rare cases though, certain teams break the trend of up and down seasons and establish themselves as dynasties in their sport. For the past 10 years, the Broughton women’s tennis team has done just that. The Lady Caps have won the state championship 9 of the last 10 years. Led by their coach of 20 years, Steve Spivey, Broughton has continued to dominate high school tennis in North Carolina, winning many of its matches with 9-0 shutouts. While the teams have continued to perform well in the State Championship, Broughton has also seen its share of individual and doubles State Champions. Rankin Williams, now playing Varsity tennis at Princeton University, was singles State Champion in 1999 and 2000, doubles State Champion in 2001, the only Broughton Tennis All-American and National Player of the Year, and ended her high school tennis career with a flawless 92-0 singles record. The men’s tennis team has also begun establishing themselves as great champions, winning the state championship for the past 3 years in a row. In last season’s state championship, Broughton, led by No. 1 player, senior Will Plyler, defeated Chapel Hill 5-1. Senior Nelson Bunn also had much to do with the Broughton victory, finishing off the Wild Cats with his singles win and being awarded with the MVP award of the 2004 State Championship. Last March the men competed in the National High School Tennis Championship where they placed second, losing by only one singles match, which was decided in a tiebreaker, to host Corona Del Mar. As a new season begins, the Lady Caps are looking optimistically toward this year’s season. Broughton is undefeated thus far having beaten Cary, Durham Jordan, and Enloe. The girls also began their match against Greensboro Page, their toughest regular season competition, but ended it early when it was called due to bad weather. Although the loss of several seniors will make their task more difficult than in recent years, the Caps once again have their eyes set on a conference and state championship. |