Girls Tennis Season Ends at Sectionals

By P. H. Toor

The Evanston Township High School's girls varsity tennis team ended their up-and-down season at sectionals on Oct. 13. After losing in the qualifying round of the tournament, the girls earned a third-place finish at the sectionals. Overall, the team finished with an 8-7 record, a mark that is impressive considering their 0-4 start to the year.

"We finished off better than we started. We had a really good win against Glenbrook [South]," Coach Mindy Horne said. "We finished second in the regular season and in the end we finished third in the conference."

Apart from the team's turnaround, the personal turnaround of team co-captain, Linnea Carlson, provides a remarkable story of resilience that defines the tennis team's performance this year. Carlson, now a senior, tore both her right and left anterior cruciate ligaments in successive years while playing soccer, only to come back from both surgeries to play in the final seven weeks of the tennis season.

"Coming back I was definitely pretty nervous. I had a good doubles partner, Meredith Nelson, and she helped make me comfortable. All my friends and family were there saying that I had nothing to prove and suggested that I just have a good time," said Carlson. "I tried to come to every match for the past two years and everybody understood how dedicated I was. I don't think I would say that I was inspiration at all but I know the girls were happy to see me on the court. My parents were happy. It was really hard for them."

Despite fighting through her injuries with an out-of-this world positive attitude, Carlson admits to having doubts during her rehab.

"The second one, I had been completely fine up to my surgery, but after I got surgery I cried for about two weeks straight. I just cried because I couldn't believe that I had to go through this process again," Carlson said. "Personally, I think the mental process is a lot more difficult than the physical process."

"Linnea [Carlson] coming back was huge for us," said first singles competitor, sophomore Jane Hohman. "Even after being out for so long, she can handle everyone's power. She's just a great teammate always supportive of everybody."

Unfortunately, Carlson will be graduating this year, on time with her class, and will not be around for next season. But the team has seven players from the current squad returning next year, including first singles competitor Hohman.

"We have a good bulk of our team coming back," Coach Horne said. "We have a lot of good JV players and we're hoping for a couple freshman coming in to make the varsity team."

More important for next year's team will be the experience they gained from this year. After losing numerous close matches that could have gone either way, next year's varsity squad should come back more confident and able to achieve even more than they have this year.

Said Hohman: "Next year, more than anything, I'll be more confident going into the year. I know I can do it now, so next year I'll be able to go out there and be confident, and that's really important for me."

Kit Golfer Shines During Senior Year

By Michael O'Sullivan

The Evanston Township High School golf team had a very strong 2007 campaign. After a rebuilding season last year, the girls exceeded expectations this time around, led by their talented senior captain Liz Fitzsimonds. Fitzsimonds has played at the varsity level since her freshman year and is one of the best female golfers to come out of ETHS. This season she led the team in nine-hole matches with an average of 41. "I really have enjoyed my career here at Evanston. Golf has been great for me. I just love the game so much and playing here at Evanston has been something I will always remember," Fitzsimonds said.

During the sectional qualifier on Oct. 8, the senior posted an 84, which is the best score for a girls golfer in the sectional's history. However, it was not enough to give Fitzsimonds a trip to the state tournament; she missed the cut by a mere three strokes. "It is just disappointing knowing you can shoot as well as the other girls that are going," Fitzsimonds said.

The girls golf team had a strong year under head coach Karilyn Joyce. "We really have struggled over the past few seasons but we are starting to get noticed by bigger golf schools like New Trier and Glenbrook South. We have some really good girls on this team and I am really looking forward to seeing this program improve for seasons to come," Joyce said.

Fitzsimonds also feels the team has a bright future ahead of them. "I think for the first time, Evanston will have a chance to really compete as a team with new players who are developing ... It is awesome to think that the team will be successful in the future. I am excited to know that I am leaving some of my teammates to carry on what I started for this team," Fitzimonds said.

Fitzsimonds plans to play in college, and she is eager to step up her game. "I am excited to say the least. I know what I can do and I am confident I will succeed at playing golf in college," she said. "I know it is not going to be easy, but I am willing to put in the time and energy to become the best golfer that I can be."
Meanwhile, back at ETHS, it is safe to say Fitzsimonds has helped get Wildkit girls golf moving in the right direction.

ETHS Girls Swim TeamPrepping Hard for State

By P. H. Toor

With the season slowly creeping towards the state championships in November, one would think that it was time for the Evanston Township High School girls swim team to rest and recuperate for the "big dance," but in fact the opposite is true. In an attempt to maximize their potential, this team, which has lost only two meets all season, is training hard in order to better their already-impressive performances.

"We've been training a lot for the last couple of weeks, so everybody is really tired and sore. People are doing really great but a good portion of the kids are really tired," co-captain Grace Borchers said.

The team fatigue is from an increase in the length of practice swims. The frequency of practices has remained the same, but where previously the team was swimming about 5000 yards per practice, they are now swimming closer to 6000 yards.

"It has been paying off competition-wise, so I only see good things coming our way in the future," team co-captain McKenna Kulman said. "Usually in the middle of the season, everyone is really tired, but people have been going close to best times so once everyone is rested, everyone should go really fast."

The extra work is certainly paying off in competition as the swim team has dominated their opponents the last couple of weeks. On Oct. 5 they defeated Maine South by a score of 130-55, and they beat Niles West High School, 139-47 on Oct. 12. Those meets were followed by the Trevian Relays on Oct. 13, their best showing ever at the event.

"This was an awkward time to have a meet this weekend just because of how we train. We have easier weeks than others, but these past two weeks have been the hardest we've done so far," team co-captain Sophie Borchers said.

One of the primary areas of concern the entire year has been the team's ability to finish and turn with greater efficiency. But it is a skill the girls seem to be improving on as the season progresses.

"Our coach will design workouts for us where we really focus on our turns and finishes. We really need to work on our finishes. Everyone is working really hard on that in practice and in our last meet coach gave us a compliment on our turns," Kulman said.

The only thing left undone for this year's team is to experience the thrill of the state championships, when they hope all the hard work will be rewarded with a great team performance and finish.
"State is a really fun time. Everyone goes in with a positive attitude. This year, the seniors are so excited to bring the freshmen, sophomores and juniors with us," Grace said. "[During state] you kind of forget about everything that happened in the season."

Correction In the article on the girls swim team in the Oct. 3 issue of the RoundTable name of the team's co-captain was misspelled. Her name is McKenna Kulman.The RoundTable regrets the error.

Hooked on Fishing

The Third Largest Great Lake

By Dick Peach

I'd like to start out by providing some facts about Lake Michigan. Lake Michigan is the third-largest Great Lake by surface area and the second-largest in volume; it is also the sixth-largest freshwater lake in the world. Along its shorelines we have the largest freshwater dunes in the world. Lake Michigan has many beneficial uses. For example, it provides drinking water for 11 million people; it contains internationally significant habitat; it supplies fish for food, sport and culture; it has valuable commercial uses and is the home of the country's third-largest population center.

Speaking of fishing, over 43 percent of all Great Lakes fishing is done in Lake Michigan. Over the years, the four states surrounding Lake Michigan have had to balance public use with maintaining a healthy ecosystem. This has been working for the most part, though there have been a few setbacks due to non-native invasive species such as the zebra mussel, the round goby and the spiny water flea. The states have been working to control pollution and toxic chemicals by enforcing the federal Clean Water Act, at least until this past couple of months.

A couple of months back there was a huge outcry over the state of Indiana's Environmental Agency granting major increases to BP Oil's discharges of mercury, arsenic, benzene and a host of other chemicals into Lake Michigan, and threatening our drinking water supply as well as our recreational water. I guess that some people do not learn from their own mistakes because this week it was announced that Indiana was seeking to increase the toxic waste discharge of the U.S.Steel plant in Gary into the Little Calumet River that flows directly into Lake Michigan. The fact that the Little Calumet River is the most polluted river in America and U.S.Steel is already paying millions of dollars to dredge years of contaminates from the river bottom apparently doesn't matter. That U.S.Steel is the largest polluter on Lake Michigan already was also not a concern.

I apologize for editorializing in a column about fishing, but these actions threaten not just the water we drink but the fish we catch and eat and the water we swim in. It is destroying one of the Great Lakes for our children and their children. Speak up and don't let this happen.

Keep a tight line.
hookedonfishing@comcast.net