WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2010 HIGH SCHOOLS NOTEBOOK Cook could miss season with injury Although he would be unable FROM STAFF REPORTS Quinn Cook, the All-Met Play-


er of the Year in boys’ basketball last season as a junior point guard at DeMatha, injured his right knee in an all-star game in southern California this past weekend and could miss the upcoming high school season. Cook, who has enrolled at Oak


Hill Academy in southwestern Virginia for his senior year of high school, had anMRI examon Monday and said he was waiting to learn the results on Tuesday. If he has torn knee ligaments,


Cook would need reconstructive surgery and be sidelined for sev- eralmonths. Cook was injured in the closing seconds of theElite 24 game in Venice Beach, Calif., on Saturday. “I just went up and came


down,” Cook said Monday night. “Imust have landed on itwrong.”


to play for Oak Hill, it is believed Cook still plans to attend the boarding school known as a bas- ketball powerhouse. Cook has yet to make his


college decision, but it is believed he is strongly considering play- ing forDuke. Arizona,UCLA and Rutgers are among the other schools Cook is considering. Cook has had a busy summer.


In July, he played a key role as the United States won the FIBA Un- der-17World Basketball Champi- onship. He then returned home and played tournamentswith his travel team, D.C. Assault. He averaged 20 points, 5.9 assists and 3.3 rebounds this past high school season, leading DeMatha to a 32-4 record and The Post’s No. 1 ranking.


Seton coach resigns Elizabeth Seton girls’ basket-


ball coach Jazz Perazic,who guid- FIELDHOCKEYPREVIEW


ed the Roadrunners to theWCAC and City Title championships last season after inheriting a five-win team in 2006, told the school Tuesday she is resigning to tend to business interests. Perazic, founder of Maryland


Sports Association, a nonprofit organization that runs communi- ty sports programs, said the lag- ging economy has hurt the busi- ness and that fall is its busiest time of year. She said she debated formuch


of the summer aboutwhether she should return for a fifth season. “I hate to leave,” Perazic said. “I


really like Seton, the school, the community. I’m just refocusing onthe business. I’malreadymiss- ing coaching.” The Roadrunners last season


knocked off St. John’s in the WCAC final for its first title since 2001, then beat two-time defend- ing City Title champ H.D. Wood- son in that championship.


“Once she got off the high from


winning and the tremendous sea- son that we had, I think reality kind of set in,” said SetonAthletic Director Candy Cage, who assist- ed Perazic on the bench in recent seasons. “Itwill be tough shoes to fill, no question, but I know we’ll have a lot of interest.” Cage said the schoolwill begin


reviewing applications Sept. 7. She would like to hire a new coach by early October. The first practice date is Nov. 8. The Roadrunners will return


two playerswho havemade unof- ficial college commitments — Alyssa Albanese (New Jersey In- stitute of Technology) and Mela- nie Royster (Virginia Common- wealth). Jazmine Missouri, a key junior, transferred to Holy Cross. The four seniors on last sea-


son’s 24-8 team are all playing in college, including All-Met Tyaun- naMarshall at Georgia Tech. hss@washpost.com


GOLFPREVIEW


KLMNO


EZ SU TENNIS


In heated battle, Clement takes it


Frenchman weathers conditions, Baghdatis in five sets


BY LIZ CLARKE


flushing meadows, n.y. — For nearly three-and-a-half hours they sprinted and stag- gered around the Louis Arm- strong Stadium court in Tues- day’s sweltering heat, battling for the right to advance to the U.S. Open’s second round. Neither 16th-seeded Marcos


Baghdatis nor 32-year-old Ar- naud Clement was expected to winthe season’s final major. But in terms of entertainment, they couldn’t have delivered much more. In the end, the diminutive


Frenchman prevailed, 6-3, 2-6, 1-6, 6-4, 7-5, not because his strokes were more spectacular, but because he weathered the conditions, both physically and mentally, a touch better. And in the process, the U.S.


Open lost one of its more char- ismatic performers: the emo- tive Baghdatis, 25, who has spent much of the past year trying to reclaim his place among the sport’s top 10 after a rash of injuries plunged him to the obscurity of being ranked 100th in the world. Baghdatis threwhimself into


JOEL RICHARDSON FOR THE WASHINGTON POST Player to watch


Bailee Hubert, Mountain View, Junior midfielder Hubert can dazzle. She’s also responsible defensively and an accurate passer. This fall, the surefire Division I recruit will look to improve upon her 17 goals and 12 assists from a year ago while leading theWildcats to a third straight Virginia AAA Northwest Region title.


As a newrule debuts, teamswill have to adjust


Adopted at the college level


last fall, the self-pass makes its highschooldebut.Under thenew rule, players are able to, onmost insertion plays, restart them- selves, rather than passing to a teammate. Which teams can adapt to the quicker and more- tiring style will define the 2010 season. . . . After winning its 19th state


championship last season — a Maryland record — Severna Park is again considered the favorite tocapture a sixthconsec- utive state title. . . . South River, the inaugural


District 5 champion in 2009, los- es eight starters, including All- Met Player of the Year Brooke Griffin,but the Seahawkshope to challenge their Anne Arundel County rivals inMaryland’s load- ed4AEastRegion. . . . Senior forward Paige Duncan


and junior midfielder Anna Ha- ley lead Broadneck, which went 14-2 last season and remains a county and state contender de- spite graduating nine seniors, four of which were four-year starters. . . . All-Met Alyssa Parker and


Mary Kate Olson return for de- fending Howard champion Gle- nelg,afavoriteagaininitscounty and in Maryland 2A. Marriotts Ridge, RiverHill,MountHebron and Atholton also should con- tendinHoward. . . . PerennialpowerBethesda-CC


loses 13 seniors froma teamthat went undefeated inMontgomery County last year, but is still a top teamthere. . . . Blake looks strong coming off


an appearance in the Maryland 3Astate title game,whileQuince Orchard returns eight seniors andfour juniors froma teamthat went 11-1 inMontgomeryCounty. . . .


South County won its first


Northern Region title in 2009 butmust address the graduation of All-MetMeganWears,who ac- counted for 45 percent of the team’s scoring. To do that, the Stallions will look to midfielder Patty Rafferty and forwardMad- die Tettelbach. Defender Erica Binzer is one of the area’s best. This past Saturday at the Bull-


dog Invitational, the Stallions dropped a 3-2 decision to West- field, which made a splashy coaching hire in the offseason by bringing in Starr Karl. During a 20-year run at Fairfax and Cent- reville, Karl accumulated 279 wins. She also serves as thedirec- tor of Rampage, one of the area’s


Key dates


Sept. 13: Lake Braddock at South County, 7:30 p.m. Sept. 15: Severna Park at South River, 7 p.m. Oct. 16: Holy Cross at St. Stephen’s/St. Agnes, 12 p.m. Nov. 4: Northern Region final Nov. 13: Maryland state finals


The top 10


1. Severna Park (17-2) 2. South River (16-2) 3. Holy Cross (16-1-1) 4. Broadneck (14-2) 5. Glenelg (16-3) 6. Mountain View (19-5) 7. St. Stephen’s/St. Agnes 8. Bethesda-Chevy Chase 9.Westfield (20-4) 10. South County (10-6)


elite club programs, and through Tuesday’s games, the Bulldogs were 4-0. . . . W.T. Woodson returns for-


ward Eliana Brown, a Colgate recruit who notched 20 goals for the region runner-up last season. And despite finishing below.500 last fall, Lake Braddock returns every starter, including Brittany Hopkins (William & Mary) and Ali Froede, a Miami (Ohio) re- cruit.. . . TheLibertyDistrictwillbebol-


stered byMcLean, fresh off a 3-1 upset ofW.T.Woodson in an ear- ly-season tournament at the Na- tionalTrainingCenter inVirginia Beach, along with Jefferson, which returns another one of the region’s top offensive talents in senior forwardAllisonSmedberg (14 goals in2009). . . . Mountain View, a year after


reaching its first Virginia AAA state title game, features junior Bailee Hubert, who had 17 goals and 12 assists last fall but will shift back to center-mid. The Wildcats’ primary competition from within the Northwest Re- gion will come from Osbourn Park, led by defender Mercedes Cox,andStafford, whichreturns James Madison commit Taylor Bailey. . . . Holy Cross, behind All-Met


goalkeeperJillGenovese(11 shut- outs), appears to be at the top of theWCAC, while St. Stephen’s/ St. Agnes, with a strong sopho- more class, takes aim at its 21st regular season ISL title. Senior AnaGomez-Acebo(sixgoals)pro- vides valuable experience for the young Saints.


—JasonMackey and Greg Schimmel


Player to watch


Ji Soo Park, Chantilly, Senior Park, the lone returning public school All-Met, is off to a rousing start. The defending Virginia AAA Northern Region champion shot 67-69 – 136 to finish 7 under par and win the 20-team Servpro Invitational at Twin Lakes, shot a 2- under 69 to win the 14-team Stallion Invitational and lost in a playoff in the Cougar Classic after shooting a 1-under 70. He shot under par in each of his first eight rounds this season.


Langley team to beat after quick start to year


While Maryland public


schools are just starting their seasons this week, Langley al- ready has established itself as the team to beat in Northern Virginia. The Saxons have won three tournaments, were second in a rain-shortened event and placed third in the Virginia State Golf Association Invitational at Independence. Without a standout, Langley


has relied on several golfers posting low scores. Senior Sam Walsh missed two tournaments while recovering from a toe inju- ry but his second-round even- par 72 was the Saxons’ lowest score at the VSGA Invitational. Freshman Edric Wung shot a 2-under 69-72 — 141 at the Servpro Invitational. Sopho- more Will Byrne beat Chantilly All-Met Ji SooPark in a playoff in the Cougar Classic. Junior Matt DiSalvo, junior Joe Simpson and senior Jack Sandusky also have been in the low 70s. . . . Elsewherein theNorthern Re-


gion, Westfield must replace most of its lineup — including former coach Tim Vigotsky — from last year’s Virginia AAA championship team, though se- nior Shabril Brewer returns. Madison, which won the region- al team title last season, is led by Al Hubbard. Senior Noori Hyun of Centreville has been near the top of the leader board in recent years. . . . In Loudoun County, Heritage sophomore Nicole Feaster won the 11-teamCheers Open with an even-par 72 at Algonkian. Brant- leyKushner finished second and led Loudoun County to the team title. . . . Battlefield lost All-Met An-


drew Lister; last year’s Virginia AAA champion moved to San Diego after his father, who is in theNavy,wasreassigned.Butthe Bobcats pickedupjunior Karish-


Key dates


Oct. 4: Virginia AAA Northwest Region tournament at The Gauntlet, Stafford Oct. 5-6: Virginia AAA Northern Region tournament at Twin Lakes, Centreville Oct. 11-12: Virginia championships, AAA at Nansemond River, Suffolk; AA at Blacksburg Country Club Oct. 25-26: Virginia girls’ open at RedWing, Virginia Beach Oct. 25-27: Maryland championships, University of Maryland, College Park


ma Thiagaraj, who transferred from Richard Montgomery and has been shooting in the low 70s. . . .


In Southern Maryland, North


Point should be strong again, with senior Michael Hill, senior Mckenzie Cutter and junior Eric Sawchak returning to a team that won everything it played until last year’s state tourna- ment. . . . Montgomery County will be


up for grabs again. Brett Myers of Damascus and Connor Ten- dall of Wootton are among the top players, while Bethesda- Chevy Chase added transfer Clare Connolly from George- town Visitation. Connolly shot a 36 in Monday’s opening match as B-CC beat Wootton, Quince Orchard and Walter Johnson at Bretton Woods. Tendall shot 31. . . .


In Anne Arundel County, Broadneck senior Bart George won the Fall Preview by seven strokes over Ryan McVey of North County. Elyse Smidinger of Arundel is the county’s two- time defending girls’ champion; she shot a 36 over nine holes at Eisenhower in her first match of the season.


—Josh Barr


the confidence it has given him. “It’s huge,” Fish said. “I can


feel how the other guy’s feeling. I can see that, you know. I can see that he’s struggling to move out to his forehand even, early in the fourth set, even when he won the third set. “. . .It’s a good feeling, sort of,


toweardowna playerandknow that all the hard work that you put in just paid off right there.” Fish decided to overhaul his


diet because he finally realized, after nearly a decade slogging away on the pro tour without stringing together consistently good results, that he was simply too heavy for his frame. One knee needed surgery; the other had become a chronic annoy- ance. Theupshot is thathenowcan


train longerandmoreintensely. And he can reach balls, make shots and weather protracted matches that he couldn’t have in the past. “I feel like a completely dif-


ferent person, playing like a completely different player, and able to do things that I’ve never been able to do before,” Fish confessed. “It’s almost embar- rassing to think about as a pro- fessional athlete or a profes- sional tennis player. It’s pretty crazy how I kind of got away with it—for awhile, at least.” Given the way he has played


these last months, Fish believes there’snoreason to put a ceiling on his expectations for the sea- son’s final major. “Howfarthat takesme,Ihave


no idea,” Fish said. “But I’ve neverbeenfitterandneverbeen mentally as strong. I’ve never wanteditmoreand, so,hopeful- ly that goes a long way.” With temperatures surpass-


ing 90 degrees shortly after noon on Tuesday, U.S. Open officials enacted their so-called “Extreme Weather Policy,” which permits a 10-minute break for women’s matches be- tweenthe secondandthird sets, provided one or both players requests it. But the heat and humidity


took a toll on everyone on the grounds of theUSTA Billie Jean King Tennis Center. Spectators took refuge in the


shadeandseemedtoo sapped to cheer even for their favorites, putting what energy they had into flapping paper fans.


JOHN MCDONNELL/THE WASHINGTON POST


reviving his career this summer to encouraging results. He up- set Roger Federer at Indian Wells, Calif., in March. Last month, after reaching the finals of Washington’s Legg Mason Tennis Classic, he took down top-ranked RafaelNadal in Cin- cinnati. Corporate sponsors paid lit-


tle attention, however. Without a clothing sponsor since Janu- ary 2009, Baghdatis, who was runner-up at the 2006 Austra- lianOpenrunner-up, strode out


into Armstrong Stadium wear- ing a shirt and pair of shorts he bought himself from acompany called Tecnifibre. To add a splash of color and display his national pride, Baghdatis asks his mother to sewon patches of the Cypriot flag. It was hot and humid when


the match started shortly after 11 a.m. Three hours later, mid- way through the fifth set, the temperature on court was creeping toward 120 degrees, ESPN’s Pam Shriver reported, and both players looked dazed. Still, they kept slugging —


with Baghdatis, in particular, risking more on his shots. He lunged into a courtside chair in a vain effort to run down a drop volley. “I didn’t play very good ten-


nis,” said Baghdatis, who none- theless finished with more aces than Clement (22-6), more win- ners than Clement (56-42) and even more points than Clement (137-128). “I’m a bit disappointed, for


sure. I lost the match, but that’s sport. That’s life. I’ll try to continue.”


Capra has strong debut Beatrice Capra, 18, of Ellicott


City scored an impressive victo- ry in her debut in the U.S. Open’s main draw Tuesday, de- feating eight-year veteranKaro- lina Sprem of Croatia, 6-1, 6-3. Capra, whose mother was an accomplished tennis player, as well, did her early training at the Junior Tennis Champions Center at College Park. Three years ago she relocated to Flori- da and now trains at theUSTA’s High Performance Center based at the Evert Academy in Boca Raton. Up next, she’ll face 18th-


seeded Aravane Rezai of France, who squeaked past Magdalena Rybarikova, 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (9-7).


clarkel@washpost.com


Fish’s hard work is starting to pay off


us open from D1 Fourth-seeded Jelena Jank-


ovic narrowly averted a first- round upset by 18-year-old Si- mona Halep of Romania, who servedfor thematch in the third set of theirmatch on the Arthur Ashe Stadium court. But after slugging away more than two hours, the teenager appeared to lose her fight, and Jankovic pre- vailed, overcoming a rash of errors and her own tentative- ness, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5. Third-seeded Novak Djok- ovic was nearly ousted, as well, by fellow Serb and Davis Cup teammate Viktor Troicki, who blasted 23 aces and looked to be the fitter player in the early going. After splitting the first two


sets, Djokovic all but conceded the third set once he fell behind. But he drewnewstrength in the late stages of a tight fourth set and sealed the victory, 6-3, 3-6, 2-6, 7-5, 6-3, in 3 hours 40 min- utes. Asked during his courtside


interview to describe how good it felt when shade finally cov- ered the court, Djokovic said: “Oh my God! It was like sleep- ing-with-my-girlfriend kind of feeling.” AlsoTuesday,Maria Sharapo-


va, the 2006 U.S. Open champi- on, overcome a rocky start against Jarmila Groth of Aus- tralia to prevail 4-6, 6-3, 6-1. Former U.S Open champion


Svetlana Kuznetsova defeated Japan’s Kimiko Date Krumm, 6-2, 4-6, 6-1. Fan-favorite James Blake, a two-time U.S. Open quarterfinalist, breezed past Kristof Vliegen of Belgium, 6-3, 6-2,6-4.AndDavidNalbandian, who won Washington’s Legg Mason Tennis Classic last month, survived a strong chal- lenge from South African quali- fier Rik De Voest, 7-6 (7-4), 3-6, 6-4, 6-7 (8-6), 6-4. The tournament’s top seeds,


Rafael Nadal and Caroline Wozniacki, were scheduled to open play on ArthurAshe Stadi- umTuesday night. Nadal, 24, is seeking the only


major title to elude him.Avicto- ry at the U.S. Open would place himin the elitecompany of only six other men to have won a career Grand Slam. Wozniacki, 20, who inherited


the top seed after Serena Wil- liams withdrew, was drawn against American Chelsey Gul- lickson, 19, a Georgia under- graduate.


clarkel@washpost.com


D3


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