2008 Field Hockey and Indiana Boys' Tennis

FIELD HOCKEY By Nathan Chambers Maybe a team other than Sacred Heart will win the field hockey state championship next season. Just don't bet on it. The Valkyries have won the last three titles and have not been beaten or even tied in a game, in or out of the state, since the 2005 state semifinals. For those counting at home, that's 83 wins in a row - which is the fourth-longest streak ever nationally, according to TopOfTheCircle.com. "We don't focus on that," says Sacred Heart coach Liz Lewis, who has led the Valkyries to 129 wins in 133 games in her five seasons. "We strive for a state championship; that's always the objective. But to win it again under that enormous pressure is awesome." The Valkyries, who went 29-0 last season, edged Collegiate 2-1 in the Oct. 30 state final at Bellarmine University. Sacred Heart's Kristen Henn later was named Miss Field Hockey after a vote by the coaches. So who should we look for on the horizon? Collegiate reached the final for the first time since 2002. With a stellar junior class, longtime coach Wendy Martin's Amazons are poised for a return to prominence. They won five state titles in six years at the end of the last decade. Christian Academy is another team on the rise. Under second-year coach Andrea Roussel, a former University of Louisville player, the Centurions won a district title and reached the state semifinals - both of which were firsts for the program. On a different note, last season appears to have been the final one for the leaders of two top programs. Kelly Setser and Val Vortrees retired from coaching after long careers, which included the last six years together at Mercy. They built that program, which started in 1999, into one of the best. Meanwhile, Kelly Logsdon resigned at Ballard, where she led the Bruins to the state final in her first season in 2005 and kept them in contention in the years since. All these coaches left their positions for family reasons. SOUTHERN INDIANA BOYS' TENNIS By Aidan Kelly The Floyd Central boys' tennis team captured its 22nd straight sectional title (25th overall) and its sixth straight regional crown for the 2008 season, earning a spot in the IHSAA state tournament. Floyd Central made it to semi-state after a dogfight of a matchup with No. 18 Jeffersonville (17-4) in the regional final. It was the third meeting for the teams this season, with each team claiming a win after regular season. The tournament encounter saw Floyd win 4-1, with the clincher coming after doubles team Evan Winders and Brad Emerson -- who have made comebacks their trademark -- rallied from a one-set deficit to defeat Jeff's Jeremy Chesher and Sam Burke 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(7-4) when the matchup hung in the balance at 2-1. Thanks to wins by Adam Struble, as well as Ryan Smith and Luke Schreiber, the match was in the bag before the game most thought would decide the regional champion had concluded. That was the No. 1 singles clash between two of Southern Indiana's best players - Floyd's Ben Boesing and Jeff sophomore Patrick Elliott. Elliott defeated Boesing in their first match of the season, and in the Hoosier Hills Conference tournament semis, Boesing exacted revenge in three sets. This time, Boesing came out on top in a tight game, 6-2, 4-6, 7-5. Then in the semi-state, the Highlanders beat No.10 Terre Haute North 4-1 to secure a place in the semi-state final on an uncharacteristically sultry October day. That matchup saw wins for all three of its singles players -- Boesing, Struble and Geordie Crone -- while the doubles team of Smith and Schreiber also chalked up a victory. But later that day, the Floyd Central team succumbed to Columbus North. It was the second time in as many years Columbus North has dashed the talented Highlanders' state hopes.