High school roundup (Sept. 16)
A year removed from winning a state championship, Myrtle Beach girls tennis Jeri Himmelsbach knew she had plenty of talent returning.
What she didn’t know is that another reinforcement was about to join her squad.
Freshman Cayce Roberts transferred to the school from Lumberton, N.C., over the summer and is immediately making an impact in the Seahawks’ lineup.
“It was a pleasant surprise for me to start the school year,” Himmelsbach said following her team’s 6-0 region-opening win over Wilson on Tuesday. “She’s a sweet girl and she gets along with everybody. She’s a nice addition. We’re excited about that.”
Roberts comes from a tennis family, so her transition has been seamless.
“She’s got a tennis background,” Himmelsbach said.
Myrtle Beach lost one of its longtime standouts as Rachel Berkey graduated, but the Seahawks return plenty of talent on a roster that features just one senior. Therefore, the defending state champions’ expectations are lofty once again.
“It’s always good thing to expect to do as good as you did last year. In any sport, that’s a good [outlook],” Himmelsbach said. “We got hurt by losing a big one [in Berkey]. But we tend to be deep, which is a real plus for going far in tennis. Deep is good.”
The Seahawks were tested early during a large tournament in Florence, where they lost their first match against a power from North Carolina.
“No harm, no foul playing those kind of matches,” Himmelsbach said. “That helps in getting us back into shape.”
▪ Singles: Elizabeth Truluck (MB) def. Nikitha Jona 6-0, 6-0; Emma Springs (MB) def. Mallorie Gainey 6-3, 6-4; Bailey Deskins (MB) def. Courtney Timmons 6-4, 6-1; Paxton Gentry (MB) def. Sanjana Beeraka 6-1, 6-4; Cayce Roberts (MB) def. Anna Watson 6-4, 6-0.
▪ Doubles: Catherine Truluck/Sarah Woodard (MB) def. Rebecca Liu/Myleigh Gainey 6-4, 4-1, retired.
▪ Records: Myrtle Beach 6-1 (1-0 Region VII-AAA).
Girls tennis
▪ (At) Johnsonville 4, Green Sea Floyds 3 | The Trojans dropped a close match to the Flashes in which there were two tiebreakers. Green Sea Floyds coach Tracy Kienast isn’t discouraged, however.
The Trojans host Loris on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. and Kienast expects his squad to recover.
“We’ve done pretty well. There’s been a few bumps,” Kienast said. “Tonight could have gone either way but I’m confident we’ll bounce back. We need to work out some kinks and get back on the winning track.”
▪ Singles: Kailee Jordan (GSF) d. Claire Stuckey 7-5, 6-1; Courtnee Faulk (GSF) d. McKenzie Williamson 6-2, 7-5; Tate Cook (J) d. Sefa Kienast 3-6, 7-6 (11-9), 10-6; Jenna Stone (J) Hali Hutchinson 6-1, 6-1; Abbi Prosser (J) d. Emmy Kienast 7-5, 6-0
▪ Doubles: Jordan/Faulk (GSF) d. Stuckey/Williams 6-0, 6-7 (5-7), 11-9; Emily Eaddy/Madison Britton (J) d. Carlise Major/Chance Caulder 6-2.
▪ Records: Green Sea Floyds 3-2, Johnsonville 4-1.
▪ (At) Conway 6, South Florence 1 | The Tigers swept singles en route to a victory over the Bruins.
▪ Singles: Victory Smith (C) def. Camryn Harris 6-0, 6-0; Hailey Cassidy (C) def. Andrea Pare 6-0, 6-0; Jessie Miles (C) def. Alonia Parrott 6-0, 6-0; Tori Worley (C) def. Allison Hutchinson 6-0, 6-0; Julia Hagerud (C) def. Irasha Shaban 6-0, 6-0.
▪ Doubles: Harris/Pare (SF) def. Hannah Norris/Savannah Stevens 8-6; Shelby Gerald/Brooke Fowler (C) def. Emily Todd/Katelyn Hayes 8-5.
▪ Records: Conway 5-2 (1-0 Region VI-AAAA).
Cross country
▪ North Myrtle Beach boys cross country coach Alex Booth admits his team didn’t do very well early in the season in big, invitational cross country meets.
They surely learned from the experience, though.
“It helped them a lot when they got into this meet here,” Booth said after Tuesday’s win over Carvers Bay, a school that regularly succeeds in cross country and track and field.
Booth’s team features a mix of younger and older runners, but even many of the upperclassmen are lacking in experience.
“We still have a lot of really young guys,” said Booth, in his third year at the helm. “But we had four guys who ran [personal records] today.”
Part of their success, he said, is from the experience the Chiefs got in those early big meets.
“It gave them a chance to see other runners and run with better runners,” Booth said. “That pushes them to get better. After the invitationals we had two really good weeks of practice, so it motivates them to do better.”
Boys
▪ Team scores: North Myrtle Beach 19, Carvers Bay 39.
▪ Individual results–1. Matthew Taylor (NMB) 20:31; 2. Sean Parker (NMB) 20:52; 3. Caleb Wood (NMB) 22:23; 4. Roberto Vasquez (CB) 22:35; 5. Christian Williams (CB) 23:11.
Girls
▪ Team scores: North Myrtle Beach 17, Carvers Bay 44.
▪ Individual results–1. Wilson Jenerette (NMB) 22:46; 2. Eden Fowler (NMB) 24:20; 3. Caroline Rewalt (NMB) 25:27; 4. Taylor Monahan (NMB) 25:50; 5. Madison Pope (CB) 25:58.
Waccamaw dominated the five-team meet at St. James High School on both the boys’ and girls’ side. The Warriors boys (22) edged Myrtle Beach (62) and the Waccamaw girls (24) outran the Seahawks (64) as well.
On the boys’ side, Michael Pieterse (Carolina Forest) placed first with a time of 16:57, edging Waccamaw’s Maddox Wilkinson (17:27). The Warriors had four of the top five runners and six of the top 10.
Meanwhile, Amelia Jones (Waccamaw) was first on the girls’ side with a time of 20:13 and edged Waccamaw’s Mary Butler DeSpain (20:49). The Warriors had three in the top five and five in the top 10.
“It was an exceptionally fast race,” St. James coach Joe Grega said. “There were some really solid times.”
Boys
Team scores: Waccamaw 22, Myrtle Beach 62, Carolina Forest 79, Georgetown 83, St. James 128
Top 10: 1. Michael Pieterse (CF) 16:57; 2. Maddox Wilkinson (WAC) 17:27; 3. Jack Moody (WAC) 17:45; 4. Terrin Jones (WAC) 17:53; 5. Berndt Anderson (WAC) 17:55; 6. Tyler Flannelly (MB) 18:01; 7. Ethan Epstein (MB) 18:03; 8. Matt Macleod (WAC) 18:19; 9. Jeremy Green (WAC) 18:52; 10. Austin Parker (MB) 19:32.
Girls
Team scores: Waccamaw 24, Myrtle Beach 64, Carolina Forest 78, St. James 102, Georgetown 109
Top 10: 1. Amelia Jones (WAC) 20:13; 2. Mary Butler DeSpain (WAC) 20:49; 3. Morgan Apperson (MB) 20:51; 4. Riley Arnold (WAC) 21:13; 5. Kelsey Glover (SJ) 21:52; 6. Kailey Flannelly (MB) 22:01; 7. Mattie Earnest (CF) 22:12; 8. Samantha Kelley (WAC) 22:17; 9. Madeline Franck (SJ) 22:20; Riley Ellison (WAC) 22:21.
Girls golf
Bailey Richardson shot an even-par 36 to earn medalist honors and led Aynor to a victory over Loris at Black Bear.
▪ AYNOR (192): Bailey Richardson 36, Mary Kate Richardson 47, Taylor Hughes 52, Marissa Lennon 57.
▪ LORIS (265): Chessa Lee 65, Carrie Brown 65, Casey Brown 67, Bailey Tyler 68.
▪ Records: Aynor 5-0, Loris 0-4.
Volleyball
(At) Myrtle Beach 3, Wilson 0: Emily Wunder had six kills and Darby Sheets had eight aces as the Seahawks defeated the Tigers 25-7, 25-9, 25-11.
Myrtle Beach improved to 7-0 overall and 1-0 in Region VII-AAA.
(At) St. James 3, Georgetown 0: Mallory Farmer had 16 service points and 10 kills, Skyla Corey added eight service points and six kills, and Christine Flood added four service points and four kills in a 25-7, 25-14, 25-13 victory.
(At) Christian Academy 2-2, Pee Dee Academy 0-0: The Saints swept a pair of matches.
Socastee 3, (at) Sumter 0: Katelynn Hine had 23 points and 21 assists, Megan Faris contributed 16 points, Dale Rogers and Mary D. Guest had 10 kills each, and Eden Dukes added six kills as the Braves won 25-17, 25-11, 25-11.
This story was originally published September 15, 2015 at 10:00 PM with the headline "High school roundup (Sept. 16)."