Stillwater motivated to prove it belongs
Stillwater continues to find motivation from all around.
After winning its own invitational, the Pioneers dropped in the coaches’ poll from No. 4 to No. 5. That wasn’t taken lightly for a team that has completely turned things around this fall.
“It’s huge,” Stillwater first-year coach Zoe Stinchcombe said. “It was very disappointing, frustrating for the girls when they noticed we’d been the No. 4 seed all season long and got pulled down to No. 5 after a big weekend like that. That thing drives them.”
Stillwater (23-7) dropped a match last week to Tulsa Union. It was senior night, too.
That pushed the Pioneers over the weekend to not drop one set in six matches, including a rematch with Union.
“They knew they had the chance for redemption and took advantage of it,” Stinchcombe said. “Everybody did their job. Everybody did what needed to be done. We just thrived.”
Edmond Santa Fe knocks off Deer Creek
Taking over the top spot in Class 6A’s rankings was a good sign for Edmond Santa Fe.
The Wolves beat Deer Creek, which recently fell to No. 3, 3-1 on Tuesday for the second time this season.
But it wasn’t easy. After the Wolves won the first set, Deer Creek responded with a second-set victory. Santa Fe then won the next two sets 25-23.
Small-school regionals set
The Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association recently announced the regional tournament pairings for Class 4A and Class 3A that will be held this week.
The winner of each regional advances to next week’s state tournaments. Here is each local regional tournament field:
Class 4A
Oklahoma Bible, Douglass, Harding Charter at Oklahoma Christian School Southeast, Classen SAS, Tecumseh at CHA Berryhill, Seminole, John Marshall at Community Christian
Harding Fine Arts, Newcastle, Weatherford at Bethany Class 3A
Star Spencer, Hennessey at Crossings Christian Amber-Pocasset, Northeast, Millwood at Southwest Covenant