When the New Albany High School boys tennis team's Riyad Bennoui thinks about which doubles pair could keep him and teammate John Hendrix from winning a Division I sectional title, two other teammates come to mind.

"It would probably be Ryan McNutt and Jordan Rabe," said Bennoui, whose doubles team is seeded first in the sectional tournament today and Saturday at Pickerington Central. "They're pretty good in practice and, in all honesty, that is the team that we've talked about the most."

Having teammates meet in a sectional final is nothing new for the Eagles. Last year Sam Romanoff and eventual state champion Peter Kobelt, who is playing at Ohio State, met in the singles final. Routinely, New Albany teammates have met in earlier rounds of the sectional tournament, a byproduct of advancing all courts each of the past two seasons.

"We have the potential to have something happen like that again," coach Andy Sinclair said, referring to teammates meeting in a final. "There are four sectional sites. I think a lot of the top, quality players stayed away from the Upper Arlington site and our site, which is going to give us some inter-team match-ups."

The way the seeding went, none of the Eagles could meet until after already qualifying for the district tournament, which will be held May 21-22 at Hilliard Davidson. The top four finishers in singles and doubles at sectional advance. Two wins earn a spot in a qualifying match, and an additional win earns a spot at district. The New Albany teammates wouldn't have to meet each other until after the third match.

Oliver Sybert is the top seed in singles, with Sean Yun seeded second and Romanoff seeded fourth. Grove City's Joey Hemphill is seeded third. Sybert and Romanoff could meet for a spot in the final against Yun, who is on the other side of the bracket.

Sybert was a district qualifier in doubles last year with McNutt. Romanoff and Yun were district qualifiers a year ago in singles.

In doubles, Pickerington Central's Chase Thomas and Dallas Stang follow Bennoui and Hendrix in the seeding. McNutt and Rabe are seeded third and Central's Alex Fischbach and Marshall LeVett are seeded fourth.

Bennoui and graduate John Buell were sectional champions last season and McNutt and Sybert finished third to advance.

Without Bennoui or Hendrix, who were given the day off last Saturday, New Albany remained perfect in winning the OCC-Capital Division tournament.

The Eagles didn't lose a court in winning the OCC-Capital title for the fourth consecutive season. They won tournament championships on all five courts, scoring 35 points to outdistance Big Walnut and Olentangy Orange, which tied for second with 14 points.

New Albany was 7-0 in the regular season in the OCC-Capital, earning 42 points. Those points combined with the tournament points gave the Eagles a league-best 77 points on the season. Big Walnut was second with 46, followed by Olentangy Orange (38), Mount Vernon (37), Delaware (35), Hilliard Bradley (17), Watkins Memorial (12) and Franklin Heights (1).

Last Saturday's tournament gave New Albany an opportunity to play some players who won't be involved in the postseason.

Sybert, Yun and Julian Judge won league titles in singles and McNutt and Rabe and Armeen Farwana and Romanoff won titles in doubles.

The competitors braved high winds and unseasonably cold temperatures to get the matches in before the postseason started.

"The winds were like opening the sunroof on your car on the freeway," Sinclair said. "It was more a test a character and being determined then actual stroking. It wasn't unusual to see players out there hitting underhand serves."

Two days before, the Eagles defeated St. Charles 5-0 in an OTCA regional quarterfinal. The Eagles advance to a regional semifinal against Dublin Jerome or Gahanna.

 The Gahanna Lincoln High School boys volleyball team won't have to leave its home court in its search for a Division I regional championship.

The Lions play at home at 2:30 p.m. Saturday against Worthington Kilbourne in the first round of the regional tournament.

Gahanna spent the better part of the last week of the regular season trying to distance itself from a 25-20, 25-10, 25-18 loss to a Pickerington North on April 29.

Going into that match, the Lions thought they had a chance to win the OCC-Capital Division title or, if they couldn't beat defending state champion Mount Vernon in the regular-season finale, at least tie for second.

North led the Lions by one match in the league standings at the time and the first match was a toss-up, as North won 25-20, 27-29, 25-16, 24-26, 15-12 on April 6.

Losing the rematch in decisive fashion was a low point the Lions had to overcome. In its next two matches, Gahanna beat Delaware 25-13, 25-20, 25-17 on May 4 and defeated Westerville Central 25-20, 25-13, 25-16 on May 5.

"The boys came back on Friday (after the loss to North) and had a good practice," coach Mike Sage said. "We had to win (the North match) to have a chance of winning the OCC. With that loss, the boys could have folded it up. The way they came out and played against Delaware and Westerville Central, they came out still hungry."

The Lions finished third in the OCC-Capital at 6-4, behind Mount Vernon (10-0) and North (8-2).

The second North loss marked the first game back for 6-foot-7 middle hitter Lance Wiles, who missed time in the beginning of the season for non sports-related reasons.

With his return, Gahanna has more height, but Sage has had to figure out a way to work him into the flow.

"Since we just got everybody back the week before last, we've just started a new lineup," setter Brandon Mason said. "It will be our best lineup. We're still waiting for that moment where we peak."

The Lions held their own without Wiles, at one point winning six matches in a row. That streak was stopped by a 25-18, 25-12, 25-13 loss to Mount Vernon, the defending Division I state champion, on April 19.

In the regional tournament, Gahanna opens against a Kilbourne team it beat 25-23, 25-23 on April 3.

The Wolves started the season with two returning players from last year's team, which was the regional runner-up. Kilbourne lost to Mount Vernon 25-18, 25-18, 25-17 last Saturday to fall to 7-14.

Leading the Wolves' attack is Colin Hackworth, a 6-8 outside hitter. Hackworth will play next season at Lindenwood University. The Missouri-based school is considered one of the top NAIA programs.

The winner plays at 7 p.m. Wednesday in a regional semifinal against Dublin Coffman or Westerville South. Coffman beat Dublin Scioto 21-25, 25-8, 25-18 last Friday to improve to 13-10. South lost to Olentangy Liberty 25-19, 27-25, 20-25, 25-21 on May 6 to fall to 5-12.

Last season, Gahanna beat Westerville North in a first-round match before losing to Hilliard Davidson 25-18, 25-18, 25-10 in a regional semifinal to finish 11-15.

 Adriane Ghidotti wore her bright, tri-color socks without an ounce of shame or remorse.

"No, no, they're lacrosse socks," declared the junior when asked if they were a Cinco de Mayo gag gift.

"I won them in a tournament; they're called adrenaline socks," she said. "They're really nice, my favorite socks ever."

Of course, when you play like Ghidotti has the last couple of years, you can probably wear any kind you want.

Ghidotti, the leading scorer for the Bears, banged in four goals to pace UA (9-2-1) to a 15-6 win over a solid Thomas Worthington (11-2-1) team Wednesday, May 5, at Arlington.

"We have a really friendly rivalry with them; we're always pumped to play them," Ghidotti said. "It's always a big game for us."

As is often the case, Ghidotti, who already committed to attend the University of Connecticut, seemed to be open more often than not.

That seems to be a combination of dedication, and paying close attention to what's going on.

"I practice, usually get there a half-hour before practice and stay a half-hour after," she said. "And I kind of work on those cuts. I kind of get in my defender's head.

"I look and see what they're looking at. If the girl turns her head at all, if I see a pony tail, I'm gone."

With the postseason seeding meeting looming, the matchup with the Cards was key for the Golden Bears to keep their goals in sight.

"We have 12 really good seniors," Ghidotti said. "Every year our goal is to win states. If you want to win states, you have to play as a team."

The Bears put their stamp on the game early, rushing to a 10-1 halftime lead.

Scoring two goals apiece for Upper Arlington were Lauren Hanover and Lauren Drake, while Kevyn Harer had nine saves in goal.

Sophie Tickson led Thomas Worthington, with four goals.

Thomas coach Ally McCarthy wasn't happy with the game result, but she wasn't shocked by UA's ability, either.

"Arlington's a very strong team, very well coached," she said. "They have been playing together a while, and it shows."

As far as her Cardinals are concerned, McCarthy said, they'll simply need to regroup and continue to build as they have all year.

"Every game is a learning opportunity for them," she said. "We build on each game."

The key factor for Thomas going in, McCarthy said, remained the same.

"Playing like a team and making smart decisions," she said. "The difference between a good team and a great team is their execution."

In her second year leading the Bears, coach Kim Rocheleau appears to like what she's seeing.

"We're hitting the peak of our season and we're really ready to go," she said.

"Right before tournament time, that's what we wanted out of them and that's what we're seeing."

She was asked about the similarity with last year's team that made a run to the state title game.

"The attitude is awesome, it's definitely the same," she said.

"There's a lot of leadership, a lot of good chemistry."

For a rematch with the Cards to take place this year, both teams will have to turn it on in the postseason. The Bears remain in Central Ohio for their South District, but the Cardinals are headed to the North District.

The state finals will be at UA.

Thomas has two regular-seaason games left, hosting Sycamore Friday, May 7 (7 p.m.), then visiting Kilbourne Tuesday, May 11 (7:15 p.m.).

The Bears have a pair of home matches left, with Hilliard Darby Saturday, May 8 (3 p.m.), and against Hilliard Davidson Thursday, May 13 (7 p.m.).

"If the girl turns her head at all, if I see a pony tail, I'm gone."

 Pole vaulters have been called the thrill-seekers, daredevils and nonconformists of track and field, and those are the complimentary adjectives.
 

"People refer to us as oddballs, weirdos, space cadets. ... We've heard them all," said Olentangy Liberty junior Chris Uhle, seemingly unfazed by the flighty (pun intended) reputation of those who specialize in catapulting themselves over a bar as high as a highway overpass.
"We are kind of secluded over by the pit, and we definitely have our own little fraternity. Our event is really unique compared to the other ones in track, and it takes a lot of practice and coaching to do it even halfway well. I think people naturally wonder what goes through our heads to want to propel ourselves upside down over that bar."
In a dual meet earlier this season, Chris' twin brother, Joe, cleared 16 feet, 5 inches, but it wasn't accepted as a state record because the Ohio High School Athletic Association requires five teams to compete in order for records to be observed. On April23, Chris made it official with a 16-6 vault. On April30, both Uhles soared 16-7. On Thursday, Joe took sole ownership with a 16-8 leap..
For the first time, seven central Ohio boys have topped 15-0 this spring: the Uhles, Jake Blankenship of Gahanna (15-8), Austin Hicks of Olentangy (15-6), Dominic Koah of Teays Valley (15-6), Bret Myers of Big Walnut (15-6) and Michael Shibko of Dublin Scioto (15-0). Four area vaulters cleared 15-6 and broke the Ohio indoor mark in February.
Of that group, all but Koah and Blankenship are members of the Dave Garcia Pole Vault Academy, conducted at Superkick Sports Complex in Lewis Center.
Garcia has 30 years of experience coaching pole vaulters at the college level, including Ohio State. Working with a knowledgeable coach is paramount in such a specialized event.
"There are a few skills I can detect that might give me reason to suspect that a person has a strong future in pole vaulting, such as motor skills, the way they run and their potential to grow with the pole," Garcia said, "but for the most part this event is unique in that it's a developmental thing. You only get better by polishing your technique and repeating that skill over and over and over again."
Garcia works with boys and girls of all ages and levels.
Until he came onto the scene, success among area vaulters was limited mostly to schools with a reputable coach.
Vaulting is in the blood of many of the competitors. The Uhles' brother, Mike, won a state title in 2007. Blankenship trains under his uncle, Rob Banhagel, a former Olympic trials qualifier, and grandfather Bob Banhagel, current national masters champion.
Economics also figure largely into the equation. An average pit costs $12,000, and poles run anywhere from $300 to $600. As their skill level progresses, athletes require longer poles and often go through three or four in a season.
Only one or two City League teams compete in the pole vault, and it's not just because of the cost. West senior Jack Dixon died in the 1987 Hilltop Relays after missing the pit and landing on his head during a warm-up jump.
Fear, however, has no place in the pole vault. In 2008, Myers snapped a pole and fell on his head. Although carried out of the stadium on a backboard, he escaped with minor injuries. As soon as he received medical clearance, he was back vaulting.
"It was an experience, all right, but it was just a minor setback," Myers said. "Injuries occur in all sports."
Try convincing a pole vaulter's parent, though.
"In the back of your mind you imagine some ugly things," said Myers' father, Eric, who is Big Walnut's coach. "But I've always preached that you can't go through life fearing things, that you face your fears and work through them."
Beth Tatman didn't hesitate at all when asked if she ever worries about her daughter Kori Tatman, who pole-vaults for Amanda-Clearcreek.
"No, not at all," she said. "Her father and I worried more when she was competing in gymnastics, flipping on the balance beam and swinging on those bars. Kori's never been the least bit afraid. She's always been a little bit adventurous. I think that's why she took up the pole vault."
Amara Whaley of Westerville Central is the top-ranked girl vaulter in central Ohio at 12-0, followed by Tatman and Katrina Steinhauser of Circleville at 11-6. Tatman tied for third in the state in 2008 (10-8) and was second last year in Division II (11-9).
Compared with that in other events - and other sports, for that matter - the pole vaulters' camaraderie is admirable. They regularly share not only poles, but advice. You'd hardly know that they're competing against one another.
"We yell for each other and, after every jump, we try to tell that person what they did wrong and what they need to correct," Joe Uhle said. "Sure, you like to win and set personal records, but when you put it all in perspective, we're all in this together competing against the same rival - the bar."