Athletics News
Senior three-sport athlete Tory Lewis signed scholarship papers on Wednesday, Nov. 11, to play softball for the University of Tennessee Lady Vols. Lewis committed to Tennessee in her junior year.
Lewis holds the distinction of being part of six state championships at GPS – in track as an eighth grader, as well as three softball and two volleyball titles. She has played varsity volleyball, basketball, and softball for four years.
Future coach Ralph Weekly describes his newest GPS signee as “a brilliant student who also excels on the athletic field.” She is the fourth Bruiser softball player to join the Lady Vols in the past six years. She will join 2009 graduates Whitney Hammond and Megan Givens on the softball squad. Lillian Hammond ’05 also played at Tennessee.
Lewis played summer softball with the Tennessee Fury, playing in top tournaments in Colorado and California in addition to the Gold Nationals.
Peggy Evans Thomas, longtime contributor to the physical education and dance program at GPS, was honored on Tuesday, Nov. 3, as the 2009 Pathfinder for the state of Tennessee by the National Association for Girls and Women in Sport. Past recipients have included University of Tennessee basketball coach Pat Summitt.
The award was established to honor women who have demonstrated continuous dedication to the advocacy, recruitment, and enhancement of girls and women in sports and sport leadership in their states.
Peggy Thomas taught P.E. and dance at GPS for over 30 years. Beginning in 1953, she established a rigorous physical education curriculum and implemented varsity programs in basketball, volleyball, tennis, swimming, golf, and track, serving as the coach for most of those teams. Continuing her philosophy of broad-based participation rather than opportunities for only the select few, 61% of students currently enrolled at GPS participate in interscholastic athletics. At GPS, she was also the Director for Terpsichord, Tennessee’s first high school contemporary dance company. At GPS, she was the recipient of the Outstanding Teacher Award and is the namesake of the Peggy Evans Thomas Dance Studio and the Peggy Thomas 100% Award, given annually at Class Day ceremonies.
She is a charter member of the GPS Athletic Hall of Fame. Eighteen of the other 20 women currently in the GPS Athletic Hall of Fame are her former students and athletes, including luncheon attendees Teresa Lawrence Phillips, athletics director at Tennessee State; Janet Parks, distinguished professor at Bowling Green State University; Laura Strang, and Debbie Young, GPS Admissions Director.
GPS will be hosting the girls’ state soccer championships the first week of November, and they’d like to be among the teams vying for the title. They took one step toward that goal on Saturday, Oct. 24 in the first round of the D-II playoffs by defeating Brentwood Academy in a shootout after a 1-1 regulation draw.
In the final minute of regulation, Heather Daniel scored an unassisted goal to tie the game, but neither team scored in three overtimes, so the game advanced to penalty kicks, where the Bruisers took a 5-4 win. Keeper Simone Busby stopped the second Brentwood PK.
GPS (9-5-2) moves on to a rematch with Baylor on Saturday, Oct. 31. Maybe Halloween will be a good time to scare the Lady Red Raiders into a loss and a spot for GPS in the state tournament.
In the first-round matchup in the Div. II AA high school volleyball state tournament, the GPS Bruisers defeated Battle Ground Academy (BGA) 3-0 on Saturday, Oct. 17, and advanced to play Father Ryan Saturday in Nashville.
Among the leaders on the court were senior Katie Dorris and sophomore Tory Kemp. Dorris had nine kills and Kemp tallied six kills, 10 assists, and three blocks. Both players are in the top 15 of area players with kills.
The Bruisers are 21-25 for the season. They “did a super job of playing BGA,” according to Coach Paul Brock, who added that his team has been “working hard and pushing to peak at this time of year.”
Three sports teams were active on Tuesday, Oct. 13, in the GPS gym, on the soccer field, and on a cross country course at the Tennessee Riverpark. While fans enjoyed a free cookout dinner, the soccer team defeated Soddy Daisy 2-0, volleyball dropped three games to Baylor, and the harriers finished first with a third and fourth place finish from runners Nandia Taylor and Hutton Baird, both seniors.
Scoring goals for soccer were Chadarryl Clay and Samira Rahbe, with assists from Rahbe, Sarah Mastey, and Bess Wallis. Goalkeeper Simone Busby had eight saves. Senior night ceremonies at the start of the match honored Mastey, Abigail Morgan, Jordan Shepherd, and Wallis for their contributions to GPS athletics. “It was a match of two of the best teams in the area tonight,” said Coach Dave Barrueta, “and we were able to get a couple of goals and keep them out of the net.”
Senior night at volleyball also celebrated the dedication and leadership of the seniors: Katie Dorris, Aileen Johnson, Kat Knarr, Tory Lewis, and McKenzie Stokes. Although the Bruisers lost to cross town rival Baylor, GPS highlights included eight kills and nine assists from sophomore Tory Kemp; seven kills and 9 digs from senior Lewis; and five kills and 11 digs from Dorris.
With a one-stroke lead from the first day of competition at the Div. II-AA state high school golf tournament at Old Fort in Murfreesboro, GPS senior Mary Alice Murphy birdied enough holes in the second round on Wednesday, Oct. 7 to ensure her first state championship.
Murphy has improved her state standing every year of her varsity career, finishing 12th in her freshman year, 11th as a sophomore, and 7th as a junior. “This one has been the most fun,” she said about her tournament successes, adding that “a lot of people have helped me along the way, and I am so grateful.”
Head Coach Ryan Kopet said her top player, "was concerned about the golf course, not the other competitors. She worked hard to earn this singular achievement and deserved to win."
Click here to watch an interview with both player and coach.
Murphy started the back nine with two birdies, three consecutive pars, and another birdie before a two bogey finish. “My goal is just to go out and beat the course,” she said. “I didn’t beat it today, but I was close.”
Murphy is the second GPS golfer to win an individual state title. The first was GPS Hall of Fame member Charlotte Grant, who won the inaugural state tournament as a sophomore.
Neither rain nor mud kept the GPS soccer team from a 2-0 home win over the Ensworth (Nashville) Lady Tigers on Saturday, Sept. 19. Describing the playing conditions as “the worst we’ve played in all year,” assistant coach Will Kesler commended the varsity for adjusting to the sloppy field and scoring in spite of it.
“The defense was phenomenal,” he said, commending the quickness of goalkeeper Simone Busby and Danielle Chirumbole. Goals came in the second half of play from Jordan Shepherd and Kelsey Keef. “The field was soupy,” he added, “and Ensworth had a few good chances , but we were fortunate they couldn’t capitalize.”
The Bruisers are currently 6-3 and 2-1 in region play.
After a Friday night loss in the Amateur Softball Association Middle School Tournament on Sept. 11-12, the GPS softball team surprised everyone, including the other seven teams, with a day-long Saturday slugfest that concluded in a championship win for the Bruisers. Seven games were played on Saturday, beginning at 10:30 a.m. and ending at 11 p.m.
Earlier in the afternoon, after three games in which GPS outscored their opponents 22-4, the team came to Leffew and asked her to wear her hair in pigtails if GPS made it to the championship game. She, and they, made that promise a reality later that night.
After one-run victories over Sequatchie County in both the semifinal and championship games, Coach Kim Leffew described her players as “tired but excited.” The players, who were awarded tournament t-shirts, were “a group of kids learning to play new positions and become a team in a game that moves at a faster pace than what they’re used to,” according to Leffew. The long day, in which they continued to battle game after game, showed the coach the team spirit of the girls she coaches.
Oak Ridge, Harpeth Hall, and Brentwood Academy were on the GPS campus Saturday, Sept.12 for soccer and volleyball matches, and neither of the visiting teams left with a win. In the non-region soccer game, the Bruisers defeated Oak Ridge 4-2, including scores by Jordan Shepherd, Sarah Mastey, and Samira Rahbe. Simone Busby at goal recorded 13 saves.
On the volleyball court, two region wins evened the GPS record to 10-10. The first win over Brentwood Academy took four games, but defensive play by Tory Lewis and blocks and kills by Tory Kemp and Jordan Grant kept the Bruisers in the win column. Other contributors were Kat Knarr, with 42 assists, and Katie Dorris and McKenzie Stokes with 16 and 15 digs.
In the second match, GPS swept the Honey Bears of Harpeth Hall 25-20, 25-18, and 25-22. Lewis had 21 digs, three kills, three aces, and one block. Knarr had another 26 assists and added 13 digs and five aces. Kemp contributed 17 digs and 13 kills, and Dorris added 14 digs and six kills.
Another important region match at Baylor is set for Tuesday, Sept. 15.
MIT senior Katie Pesce ’06 enters her final season as a midfielder for the Engineers’ soccer team with notable accomplishments. Pesce, who was two-time captain of the GPS Bruisers soccer team, is one of two captains for MIT and enters the season having started 56 consecutive games for MIT, the longest active streak, every game of her college career.
Pesce is described by MIT Soccer as “a stalwart physical presence and two time ESPN The Magazine and CoSIDA Academic All-District selection.” She is the third MIT player ever to repeat as Academic All-District. She was also Academic All-Conference for the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC).
The soccer program notes go on to say that the midfield play of Katie and a fellow junior captain is the 2009 team’s “clear strength and depth.” During the 2008 season, she played every minute of every game and was “a crucial ball winner,” according to MIT coach Martin Desmaris. In the three years she has been a leader on the team, MIT Soccer has enjoyed consecutive seasons with a winning record in conference play.
The mechanical engineering major was the valedictorian of her high school class and named to the Tennessee Div. II All-State soccer team in her senior year.
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