By Dave Krider
MaxPreps.com
The numbers are mind boggling and when they all are added up, Liza Wischer emerges as the finest high school girls tennis player in North Dakota history.
The 5-foot-6 Grand Forks Red River dynamo, who has signed with Iowa State, won the state singles championship six consecutive years, an unprecedented feat. Wischer won all 129 matches for the Riders and did not lose a set during her four years of high school. Before Wischer stepped onto the scene, another Red River star, Sarine Weingarten, had been looked upon as North Dakota's best because she was unbeaten state champion for four years.
Asked if she ever had dreamed of such a spectacular career, Wischer conceded, "I had no idea. It's impressive looking back. I could have lost (as a seventh or eighth grader) and the whole story could have changed. It's something to really be proud of."
Red River coach Tim Wynne says, "She is really consistent. She kind of looks like a little choir girl, but she hits you like a Mack Truck. She has really good fundamentals - solid ground strokes and forehand, good footwork and backhand and good quickness. She worked her tail off and developed a kind of overpowering game as she grew older."
Wischer began playing tennis at age six, because her parents (Brian and Jane) saw it as a "lifetime sport." Her siblings, who also play, include William, who will be a senior at Concordia in Moorhead, Minn., and Brynne, a two-time state champion in doubles, who will be a sophomore at Minnesota-Duluth.
"I didn't like it at first," Wischer admitted, "because it was too much standing around doing drills. You'd hit one ball, then wait five minutes. There were too many people on one court. When we started playing matches, it was more fast-paced and I liked it."
She won her first tourney, a local affair, at age eight, but her career really took off when she won the state varsity singles championship as a mere seventh grader. In the final match she shocked Bismarck Century junior Jenna Larson, 7-5, 6-1 - despite falling behind, 5-2, in the first set.
"She had all the pressure on her," Wischer pointed out. "No one even knew who I was. I didn't have any pressure at all. I was so used to playing USTA tournaments. I just thought it was like another regular tournament."
The next year, however, was a horse of a different color. The championship match was played in Larson's hometown and both players again reached the title match. "They wrote tons of articles about her," Wischer recalled. "So many people were cheering for her. There's always pressure on trying to repeat. It was the closest match of my career."
Still, the competitive eighth grader triumphed in a marathon match, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, and Larson, a senior, had to be satisfied with being named North Dakota's Miss Tennis and receiving a scholarship to Miami of Ohio.
"I couldn't believe it," Wischer said of the huge victory. "I was so excited. I knew everyone was cheering for her."
The rest, as they say, is history. She got bigger and stronger and steamrolled her opposition over the next four years. In her final match this year, she defeated her own high school teammate, Callie Ronkowski, 6-2, 6-4.
Wischer compiled a 3.8 GPA with English being her favorite subject. Outside of school she enjoys roller blading, biking and jogging. She helps coach tennis for younger kids in the park district and has done community service with the Salvation Army. She is a member of Holy Family Catholic Church in Grand Forks and helps instruct the Generations of Faith class for elementary students.
During the off-season, Wischer has hooked up with Edina, Minn., star Whitney Taney to play doubles in USTA tournaments. In 2005 they compiled a 19-2 record and were ranked No. 5 in the country in the 16-and-under division. Taney, a University of Michigan signee, also was unbeaten in high school, winning three Class AA singles and two doubles championships.
Last summer they were playing in a tournament in San Jose, Calif., had lost the first set, 6-0, and were down, 4-0, in the second set. "We were embarrassed because so many college coaches were watching and they all began to leave," Wischer related. One by one, however, the coaches began returning as the Midwestern duo rallied for an incredible, 0-6, 7-5, 6-3 victory in a two and one-half hour marathon.
"The next day we were the talk of the tourney," Wischer said proudly.
Track Notes
* The Nike Outdoor Nationals, held last weekend in Greensboro, N.C., produced, perhaps, the greatest two-mile race in prep history. Broadneck (Annapolis, Md.) senior Matt Centrowicz placed first in a sizzling 8:41.55 - USA No. 3 all-time - but 11 runners in the fast heat cracked nine minutes. Colts Neck, N.J., star Craig Forys was runner-up in 8:44.53.
* The brilliant Eleanor Roosevelt (Greenbelt, Md.) 1600-meter sprint medley relay team set a national record at Greensboro with a 3:51.90 clocking. National sophomore-class records were set by Wayne Davis (Raleigh, N.C., Southeast Raleigh), who won the 110-meter high hurdles in 13.65 seconds; and Reginald Wyatt (Riverside, Calif., North), who placed second in the 400-meter hurdles in 50.10 seconds. Senior Sam Borchers (Yellow Springs, Ohio) ran this year's fastest mile, 4:03.33.
* The Desert Vista (Phoenix, Ariz.) boys track team was named No. 1 in the nation in the Nike Web Nationals, which enabled coaches across the USA to enter their teams' statistics into a database. Arizona's Class 5A Division I state champs received 8,317 points, while runner-up Warren Central (Indianapolis, Ind.) finished with 8,038. In the girls division, A&M Consolidated (College Station, Tex.) was the champion with 7,851 points. DeSoto, Texas, was second with 7,808. Events considered were the 100, 400, 1,600, 3,200, high hurdles, shot put, discus, long jump, high jump and pole vault. The on-line competition lasted for 13 weeks and drew 450 teams.
Basketball Notes
* Kelsey Bone, a 6-4 rising junior from Dulles (Sugar Land, Texas), sparked USA White to a 5-0 record and the championship in the USA Basketball Youth Development Festival at Colorado Springs, Colo. Bone scored 19 points (14 in the decisive third quarter) and grabbed 10 rebounds in the 103-88 gold medal-rout of USA Blue.
* USA Red defeated Brazil, 82-69, to win the bronze medal. Nneka Ogwumike, a 6-2 rising senior from Cy-Fair (Cypress, Texas), led the Red team with 18 points, eight rebounds and six steals. Ogwumike had 19 points and 16 rebounds in a 98-80 semifinal loss to USA Blue and 18 rebounds in a 109-99 loss to USA White.
* Los Angeles Fairfax served notice that it again will be a power not only in California but also nationally by winning the power-packed Watts Summer Games for the seventh consecutive year. Rising senior guard Chris Solomon earned MVP honors by pouring in 30 points in the championship game, a 74-64 triumph over Newhall Hart. He scored 29 in a 50-43 semifinal victory over Palisades. In the girls title game, Harbor City Narbonne upset defending Division I state champion Long Beach Poly, 35-33, as 6-1 rising senior Gabrielle Clark scored 11 points and earned MVP honors.
* One of the nation's elite rising seniors, 6-8, 240-pound Samardo Samuels of St. Benedict's Prep (Newark, N.J.) has committed to the University of Louisville.Indiana University has received a verbal from another 6-8 rising senior, Devin Ebanks of St. Thomas More (Oakdale, Conn.).On the reverse side, Ohio State lost a commitment by 6-8 rising senior Luke Babbitt of Galena (Reno, Nev.), who now says he will attend the University of Nevada. He averaged 28 points and 10 rebounds as a junior.
* Baylor women's coach Kim Mulkey received a couple early commitments from Texas blue chippers. Britney Griner, a 6-7 rising junior who wears size 17 shoes and has an 80-inch wingspan, was the first to announce. The Aldine Nimitz star averaged 23 points, 11 rebounds and 6.0 blocks as a sophomore and once blocked 13 shots in a game. Already an adept dunker, she is expected to grow to 6-10 or 6-11. Shortly afterwards, 5-8 rising sophomore point guard Odyssey Sims of Irving MacArthur said she likes Baylor over defending NCAA champ Tennessee. As a freshman she averaged 20.2 points, 5.0 steals and 5.0 assists.
* The University of Virginia has doubled its pleasure by receiving commitments from rising senior twins Britny and Whitny Edwards of Providence Day (Charlotte, N.C.). The guards, who both made All-State last year, are the daughters of former NBA player Blue Edwards.
* Loren Grover has resigned as head basketball coach after leading Lakewood Artesia to the 2007 California Division I state championship. Rising senior Malik Story is transferring to Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.), but 6-10 Renardo Sidney - the nation's premier rising junior - is a key building block.
Baseball Notes
* Cinderella Shelby County (Shelbyville) tripped over its glass slipper in Kentucky's state championship game, losing to Lexington Dunbar, 10-1, before a state tourney record crowd of 4,467. The Rockets, who entered the tourney with an 11-14-1 record, had won 15 in a row, including a shocking 5-4 semifinal victory over three-time champion Louisville Pleasure Ridge Park.
* In Indiana, Indianapolis Cathedral handed Kokomo's rising senior southpaw, Bryce Robinson, his first loss in 20 career varsity decisions, 7-2, to win the Class 4A state title. The 6-1, 185-pounder had been averaging almost 12 strikeouts per seven-inning game with a 0.83 ERA. Cathedral lefty Anthony Agnew pitched a four-hitter and finished the year with a 13-0 record.
* Joe Faccone, who won 501 games, has retired as head baseball coach at Kennedy (Burien, Wash.). His Lancers won state titles behind future major league pitcher Floyd Bannister in 1973 and in 1999. They were state runner-up in 1998.
* Horizon (Phoenix, Ariz.) senior Tim Alderson has been named Louisville Slugger National Pitcher of the Year. The No. 22 overall pick by the San Francisco Giants posted a 12-0 record this year with 111 strikeouts, four walks and a 1.05 ERA in 73.3 innings for the state champs.
Softball Notes
* Union Ryle junior pitcher Kirsten Allen set Kentucky career state records this year by running her four-year totals to 31 no-hitters and 11 perfect games. As a sophomore she set a state record with 13 no-hitters while leading Ryle to the state championship and earning MVP honors.
* Harper Woods Regina nipped previously unbeaten White Lake Lakeland, 2-1, to win its record fourth consecutive Michigan Division I state championship. Detroit Mercy signee Lauren Memmer took the loss, but finished with a Michigan career-record 147 victories. Lakeland (44-1) also was state runnerup one year ago.
* In Connecticut, Monroe Masuk (27-1) nipped Norwich Free Academy, 1-0, on an unearned run to capture the Class LL state title. Sophomore Rachele Fico fired a one-hitter with 17 strikeouts while winning her seventh 1-0 game of the season. She fanned 78 in five tourney games and 486 this year. Masuk tied the state record (previously the national record) by yielding just two runs all year.Trumbull St. Joseph (26-1) ended Seymour's state-record 78-game winning streak, 3-2, in the Class M state championship game. St. Joseph parlayed four walks and its only hit of the game to score all three runs in the third inning.
* Central Cabarrus (Concord, N.C.) coach Monte Sherrill is returning to Alexander Central (Taylorsville) as head coach with an eye on coaching his daughter when she reaches high school-age. Sherrill, who formerly coached at Alexander Central, has a superb 511-46 record for the nation's highest winning percentage (.917) among active coaches. He was a dominating 119-3, won two state titles and a state-record 83 consecutive games during four years at Central Cabarrus. During 14 years at Alexander Central, he won 392 games and four state titles. A former National Coach of the Year, he had been making a daily 120-mile round trip.
Football Notes
* Oaks Christian (Westlake Village, Calif.) rising senior wide receiver Chris Potter has committed to Boise State. The 5-11, 182-pounder caught 118 passes - three short of the school record - over the past three years. Oaks Christian has won its last 46 games.
* Rutgers has received a commitment from Scott Vallone, a 6-3, 260-pound rising senior defensive tackle from St. Anthony's (South Huntington, N.Y.). Vallone had 98 tackles, six sacks, forced two fumbles and recovered a pair as a junior.
* Miami Northwestern rising senior quarterback Jacory Harris has committed to the University of Miami. The 6-4, 170-pounder led unbeaten Northwestern to the Class 6A state championship last year while setting Dade County records with 2,920 passing yards and 37 touchdowns. However, he said he still plans to take some other official visits.
Golf Notes
* Zeyu He, who attends the David Leadbetter Academy in Bradenton, Fla., won the 35th Southern Junior Championship in Little Rock, Ark. The 16-year-old native of Shen Zhen, China, overcame a four-stroke deficit with a final 6-under-66 to finish with a score of 211 for 54 holes. David Harper of Louisville, Ky., placed second with 213.
* Simsbury shot 307 to win its third consecutive and ninth overall Connecticut Division I state championship. Ed Lynch, the winningest golf coach in USA prep history, will return four of his top five players.
Potpourri
* Club Fusion 15 Black won the 15-and-under division of the first annual PrepVolleyball.com Classic at the Wisconsin Dells. Paced by Most Outstanding Player Stephanie Holthus, Fusion defeated Lions, 17-25, 25-18, 15-6, in the championship match.
* TennisRecruiting.Net has ranked The University of Southern California - with four big-time signees - No. 1 in the nation in women's recruiting. Rounding out the top five (in order) are Duke, Arizona State, UCLA and Kentucky.