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SPORTS
Appleton, Wisconsin December 2016 Volume XXll
Issue III Page 11
The Appleton high school
curling club was started in
2013, when a few members
of an adult curling league had
some sons and daughters at-
tending local high schools.
They thought it would be a
great idea to make a curling
club.
One of these curling mem-
bers was Appleton North’s
Reed Rudie, a freshman ELA
teacher. Rudie began curling
eight years ago. When asked
why he started curling, Rudie
said, “A friend of mine, Chad
Ulman, was a member at the
Appleton Curling Club and
told me how much fun the
sport was. He encouraged
me to come to the club and
watch a few matches to see if
I would be interested in join-
ing.” Rudie took a high inter-
est into the sport, and he now
is in two leagues that meet ev-
ery Wednesday and Thursday.
There has also been a higher
interest in the sport since the
club began. “The first year,
we only had about 15 to 20
students participating on four
teams: one from West, two
from East, and one fromNorth.
Last year, we had over 40 stu-
dents and 10 teams. This year
there seems to be even more
interest,” Rudie commented
on the increasing interest in
the team.
One of the returning mem-
bers of the team, Sarah Flem-
ing, has also enjoyed being in
the curling club. Fleming orig-
inally joined the club on a dare
from a friend, who had heard
about the club through the an-
nouncements. “I love curling
because I get to hang out with
my friends every Tuesday and
it is such a social atmosphere,”
said Fleming.
One of her favorite mo-
ments from curling would be
a bonspiel she did last year.
Her team lost every single
game that they were in, but
they still received a pin, con-
gratulating their win. Fleming
said, “I think students should
try curling because it’s a great
way to meet new people, make
connections, and it’s a sport,
where if you’ve never done it
before, it’s very easy to learn
with the help of our coaches.”
Sophomore Sarah Fleming,
in this action shot taken from
Noctiluca’s Snapchat, sweeps
the ice as she leads the rock
to the house.
Photo courtesy of
Sarah Fleming
Appleton’s curling club sweeps into popularity with new members
By Maddie Clark
Coach Rudie: ‘Even
more interest’ this year
Contact Madeline
Clark at CLA542@stu.
aasd.k12.wi.us if you
want to write about
sports.
Lady Lightning: Girls
set high expectations
with state championship
The Appleton North Girls’
Basketball team has a state
championship on its mind as
they enter the 2016-17 girl’s
basketball season.
Last year, the Lady Lightning
were ousted in the WIAA state
semi-finals, but don’t let that sit
in your head too long, as these
ladies are focused on what is
ahead this season.
“We are focused on getting
better, and merging all of our
talents into one,” Head Coach
Joe Russom said. “We also
have depth, and we expect
players to come off the bench
and make a huge impact for us
this season.”
Not only has the Lady
Lightning become a more
balanced team, individually,
many players have focused
on making themselves more
unpredictable. This includes
star point guard, Kari Brekke,
who said, “I’ve been working
to become quicker, stronger,
and to have a quicker release
while shooting the ball. I want
to be a threat in more ways than
one on the court.”
When asked about their
hopes for the upcoming season,
both Brekke and Russom
expect a deep run in the state
playoffs, and they both hope
for a state title this season.
However, they will be taking
this season one game at a time,
as they don’t want to get ahead
of themselves.
Every team needs a few
impact players to make a
difference in games. When
asked about who those players
might be,
Russom said,
“Anyone on any given night
can break out. We have some
key players coming back from
injuries, like Sydney Levy.
She’s looking to make a huge
impact. Kylie Beecher, Anna
Laux, and Callie Pohlman are
looking to make a huge impact
this season as well.”
The 2016-17 Girls’ Basketball team trains on the football field.
Photo courtesy of Callie Pohlman.
Girls’ Basketball
looking forward to
upcoming season
Athletes of the month
By Maddie Clark
Will Monroe - Junior - Boys’ Volleyball
1. When did you get
involved in volleyball?
I started playing volley-
ball my freshman year. I
have been playing club and
North volleyball since the
tryout that summer.
2. How did you get in-
volved in volleyball?
I had heard about the
team and knew a couple of
people that were going to
be trying out for the team
that year. So I went to
some of the open gyms to
see what it was like since
I had never played before.
I honestly didn’t really
feel like volleyball was the
sport for me after the open
gym, but my parents made
me try out and I made the
team! I’m so glad now that
they made me try out.
3. What was your favor-
ite moment from volley-
ball this season?
My favorite moment this
season is beating Appleton
West at Fond du Lac. It was
close the entire game, and
we played really well as a
team to get the win.
4. What is your favorite
thing about volleyball?
I enjoy all parts of vol-
leyball, but one of the most
rewarding parts is getting a
dig. It gives a great feeling
knowing that you spoiled
one of the opponents hard
swing, especially when you
can get a kill off of the dig.
5. Why do you feel
people should come to
volleyball games?
Students should come
to the volleyball games
because the games are
always intense, and it is
really easy to get into the
game just by watching and
cheering.
6. What goals do you
have for volleyball?
My goals for the next year
of volleyball is to win con-
ference and hopefully make
a state title run.
Lydia Dean - Senior -Tennis
1. When did you get
involved in tennis?
I started playing tennis in
7th grade by joining the sum-
mer group lessons at Center
Court in Fond du Lac, which
was an indoor club there.
2. How did you get in-
volved tennis?
When I was about 6, I
used to play with friends but
stopped after about a year.
In seventh grade, I really
wanted to pick it up again,
as I wanted another sport to
play alongside the competi-
tive swimming I was doing
already.
3. What was your favor-
ite moment from tennis
this past season?
My favorite moment from
the season was winning a
three-set match against Os-
hkosh West. The rest of my
teammates were done with
their matches while I was
just finishing my second set.
It was great to win the three
hour match after putting so
much energy and time into it.
4. What is your favorite
thing about tennis?
My favorite thing about
tennis is practicing [during]
group lessons at the Fox Cit-
ies Racquet Club. It’s such
a nice environment there
with amazing coaches and
players who make the group
so fun.
5. Why do you feel
people should come to
tennis meets?
Most tennis players really
enjoy having people there
cheering them on, including
me. Tennis is really tough
mentally when playing in
matches, so the support can
really help.
6. What goals do you
have for tennis?
Now that I have no more
seasons, my new goal is to
play in USTA tournaments
and leagues. This way I can
continue to play in a com-
petitive setting. In addition
to that I also want to play
intramural when in college.
By Kyle Hoffenbecker
Photo used with permission by
Will Monroe.
Photo used with permission by
Lydia Dean.
“I love curling because
I get to hang out
with my friends every
Tuesday and it is such
a social atmosphere.”
-Sarah Fleming