Girls Swim Team Rebounds to Take Evanston Invitational

By P. H. Toor

Neither loss nor victory can faze this resilient team. After a heart-breaking loss to New Trier (85-101) on Sept. 28, the Evanston Township High School girls swim team bounced back the next day to win the Evanston Invitational.

"At the Invite our distance swimmers did a good job. Grace Borchers and Jane Munro came first and second in the back stroke and that was kind of where we solidified the lead and won the meet," Coach Kevin Auger said.

What makes this victory so impressive for Evanston is that they defeated the defending Wisconsin state champion and swimming powerhouse, Arrowhead High School in the process.

"Through about the first six events, we were within 20 points of each other, which is equal to a tenth of a second in a freestyle," Auger said. "With Arrowhead -- our very best compared to their very best -- we are even. When we get down to three and four, our depth wins it for us."

In the end, Evanston outscored second-place Arrowhead 5200 to 4900, giving the Wildkits perhaps their most impressive victory of the year. The format of the invitational was unique in that points were awarded based on how fast the swimmers swam and not where they placed.

"It's kind of practice for the state format. I was fairly pleased. Our depth really proved to be the thing that really did it for us. Every person counts. Everybody gets points," Auger said.
In addition to the victory, it was the character and resiliency that the team displayed at the invitational that most impressed co-captain Borchers.

"We lost the day before, so Saturday was just us coming back, putting the past behind us and getting ready," she said. "It was really awesome that as a team we can come together even after a hard loss like that, and we can come back and overcome and not be like we lost everything."

The team is clearly capable of making a lot of noise in the conference, sectional and state competitions. But for now, maintaining focus and work ethic are the number one priorities.

"I don't think we can raise the expectations. They raise them on their own. They are pretty excited by the end of the season," Augur said. "We're going to be working on the finer details like finishes. We're going to work a little more on our turns. This is the hardest training part. The next three weeks is where we do the most work. It's the big push before we start resting for the end of the year."

Said team co-captain Mckenna Coleman: "We're definitely hoping to be at state. We're definitely hoping to place in the top 6 rather than top 12. We're ranked third in the state now and we're trying to get better. I have a lot of faith in the team so it'll be interesting to see how far we can go."

Girls Volleyball Team to Shake Things Up

By P. H. Toor

The Evanston Township High School girls volleyball team is looking to make some strategic changes heading into the most challenging part of their schedule.

"We've really had highs and lows. I don't think we've played as well as we would've liked. But we are only half-way through the season and October will be our biggest challenge," head coach Pamela MacPherson said. "Right now is the turning point on whether or not we choose to gel. I think we might need to make some changes to keep things fresh out there right now. Things are kind of stagnant."

One of the possible changes is a switch from a 5-1 to a 6-2 offensive scheme. The change aims to lift the team's offensive prowess for the remainder of their season.

"We need to get our hitters going a little bit. [They] are struggling a little bit so we need to work on the connection between the setters and hitters," MacPherson said. "Changing our offense in mid-season is a really big change. We have to try something different for our conference play, and something's not working right now, so we need a change."

The timing of the change comes at an interesting point in the season, as the team is in the midst of stretch where they have four matches in 10 days - against York, Main South, Niles West and Lake Forest. With only one practice opportunity in between those matches, a lot of the learning will have to be done during the games.

"Coach is definitely going to try new things out. We'll see what happens. I don't think it will be [a big problem]. Our hitters are really strong and we can adjust to new things," team co-captain Jane Handle said. "We just want to try out other options and see who performs best and in which setting."

Currently the team's record stands at 12-7, including 2-2 in conference play. In addition, the team had a ninth-place finish (out of 16) at the Wheaton High School tournament.

"We kind of had a turning point at that tournament. We had a team meeting and laid out where we wanted to get to throughout the season," MacPherson said. "We had some chemistry issues and attitude things going on and I think that tournament is going to help our team."

With the idea that team chemistry is as important as skill level and coaching, the team hopes to not only come together on the court, but off the court as well.

"I think that our team has all the skills. I think that in practice everybody works hard, but sometimes in our tough games we don't put everything out on the table. Which is why sometimes we don't pull through for the win," co-captain Rachel Kamienski said. "After these past couple games Jane [Handle] and I have been talking about doing more team bonding things. ... Hopefully that will help us connect more on the court."

Boys Golf Takes Second in Conference, Looks to Postseason

By Michael O'Sullivan

It has been an interesting first season for Coach Jed Curtis. In the early part of the season the team had high hopes but performed poorly in tournament play. The team seemed to turn it around after a hard loss to New Trier, who won by a mere three strokes earlier in September. Even though they were unable to pull off the upset, the team fought toe-to-toe with one of the best teams in the state from the opening tee to the final putt.

After the heartbreaking loss, the Wildkits went undefeated in conference play. "We really came together after that. That was - no question - a turning point in our season. We knew we could compete with the best in the state after that meet against New Trier," Curtis said.

Then came the conference tournament on Sept. 27. Going in, ETHS was second in the conference behind New Trier. The Wildkits were led by senior Sean Bostrom, who has consistently been the low man for the team all year. He shot the team low, a 72. Senior Phil Kohnken added a 74; Michael Peters, the team captain, fired a 78; and Michael O'Sullivan posted an 81. The team's overall score was 305, but New Trier shot a phenomenal 285 to take the conference championship for the fourth consecutive year. "We played very strongly," said Curtis. "This was a low round as a team for the season, and I am proud of these kids. New Trier played great golf, and they are ranked number one in the state for a reason."

"We played very well, but New Trier played better," said Bostrom. "We can only really focus on our games, and make sure we play at the level we know we can. We will get another crack at New Trier."

The Kits got another shot at the rival Trevians, starting with the regional tournament on Oct. 2. If they have placed in the top three out of ten teams at the regionals, they will have advanced to the Sectional tournament on Oct. 9.

Going into postseason play Coach Curtis is looking for his seniors to step up like they have been all year. "This has been a remarkable senior class. They have shown a ton of leadership and I believe in them. We are really counting on them to lead us in postseason play and show what Evanston golf is all about. We definitely would love to make it to state as a team, but we need to focus on the task at hand right now. We need to take it shot by shot, that is how you play good golf," said Curtis. The six seniors on the team are Bostrom, Peters, Kohnken, O'Sullivan, Jake Bielawski and Max Mershon.

"As a coach I could not have asked for a better senior class for my first year," said Curtis. "They have really believed in me as their coach, as I have believed in them as my players. I know we can reach our goal. We just need to focus and trust all of our special abilities."

Michael O'Sullivan, who wrote this story, is a member of the golf team.

Girls Golf Results

At the Sept. 15 Girl's Golf Giant Invitational at Sunset Valley Golf Course in Highland Park, Evanston Township High School senior and captain Liz Fitzsimondshad an 18 hole score of 86 for4th place finish.

On Sept. 19 the team played a dual match with Glenbrook South and the varsity team only lost by three strokes, Glenbrook South 168, Evanston 165. Liz Fitzsimonds was the medalist with a 9 hole score of 34. The week before, the team played a dual match with Regina and the Varsity team won by 6 strokes, Regina 188, Evanston 182. Liz Fitzsimonds was the medalist with a 9-hole score of 38.

Before the ETHS - New Trier homecoming game on Saturday, retiring New Trier Coach, Dan Mortier, was honored. The Kits lost 49-0.

Hooked on Fishing

Autumn Turnover

By Dick Peach

Fall has arrived for fisherman on Lake Michigan. This past week the big lake went through a turnover.

This is a unique occurrence that happens every year and puts a damper on fishing for a few days. Let me explain what a turnover is, and why it has an impact on fishing.

As winter comes to an end, and the water gradually warms, there is a natural temperature variance, in which surface water is much warmer than the water on the bottom of the lake.

This occurs on all lakes regardless of size. The temperature drops are gradual down through the water column to a point where a thermalcline occurs. At that point the temperature can change dramatically and the oxygen level below that point drops off significantly.

On lakes like Lake Geneva, this thermalcline might occur at 40 feet. On Lake Michigan it could be 70 to 80 feet down, depending on a number of variables. Most of us fish in areas where we would not necessarily notice this temperature change, but there are anglers who fish the thermalcline looking for larger fish that prefer the cooler water.

In fall, as the evening air temperatures begin to slowly drop, and the sunlight penetration of the water lessens, the temperature variances start to diminish as upper levels of the lake begin to cool.

This is when the turnover occurs. It is exactly what it sounds like: The water on the bottom of the lake comes to the surface and the surface water rolls to the bottom.

The most visible sign that this has occurred will be lots of loose debris, bottom plants and chunks of algae floating in the water. Just what I found fishing for bass this weekend on Lake Michigan.

The impact on fish is big: The sudden temperature change is disorienting, and the debris in the water makes feeding more difficult. The good thing is that this only last about a week before everything settles down into predictable fall fishing patterns.

So while I wait out the turnover on Lake Michigan, it's off to some of the Forest Preserve lakes for some fall shore fishing. Until next time, keep a tight line.
hookedonfishing@comcast.net