“Few Bainbridge athletes have recorded as many performances as Nicole Hebner. She played three-plus years of varsity volleyball, four years of basketball, and four years of golf.Given that volume, it’s particularly remarkable that she saved her best single performance for last.In her final appearance as a Spartan, Hebner fired her best-ever round of golf, a three-over par 75, on the final day of the state 3A tournament.”
“Peter Vander Hoek has spent just a few hours at Mercer Island High School, yet forgive the Bainbridge High senior if he considers the place very close to home.Vander Hoek tallied five goals to back a phenomenal performance by goalie Michael Penn in leading the Bainbridge Boys Lacrosse Club to a 13-4 victory over Lakeside Saturday afternoon at Mercer Island, to give the Spartans their seventh consecutive Class A state championship.”
“As predicted, both Bainbridge boys singles tennis players are going to this weekend’s state tournament.But in perhaps the mildest of surprises, sophomore Elliot Beam will be the district’s top seed, as he beat senior teammate Erik Hansen in the district final, 6-3, 6-2.”
“Defensive lapses cost the squad as it bowed out of tournament play.The Bainbridge fastpitch team punctuated its turnaround season Friday with an 8-3 victory over Yelm in district play.Although the Sparts bowed out of tournament play the next day, their overall record of 11-11-1, a postseason win and a fourth-place district finish was a remarkable turnaround for a team that was 2-17 and 3-16 the past two years. It was a good way to send the seniors off, coach Bill Clement said.”
“Fatigued and injured, pitching faltered in the 11-1 loss.In a game that was all about pitching and hitting – they hit, we didn’t, one fan said – the Spartans’ hopes for a state title were dashed in an 11-1 quarterfinal loss to Mount Vernon Saturday.”
“They can make it seven titles in a row with a win over Lakeside.A smothering defense more than compensated for a jittery offense Wednesday, as the Bainbridge boys’ lacrosse team earned a trip to the state championship game with a 10-5 win over Eastside Catholic.”
“The sky was crying, but fortune was smiling on the Spartan hardballers Thursday at Enumclaw.For the second game in a row, a fly ball that could have been caught wasn’t. And this one gave the Spartans a 10-9 comeback win over defending state champion Kennedy.”
“It was the perfect end to a perfect season.Friday night at Mercer Stadium, the Bainbridge girls’ lacrosse team put the final punctuation on a 16-0 season with a 12-9 win over defending champion Overlake, giving the Spartans the state title that has eluded them for the last three years.This gives our girls the respect they deserve, coach Tami Tommila said. Some of the players have heard a lot about how you always go to state finals, but you always lose, referring to the Sparts’ final or semi-final losses each of the last three years.This one was never in doubt.”
“First they ran for 90 minutes. Then they started shooting. And Bainbridge’s six-shooter beat the visitors’ five-shooter.After two hours of soccer Thursday night at the swamp normally known as Spartan Stadium, the BHS soccer team booted themselves into the state playoffs with a 6-5 shootout victory over visiting Lakes.The teams had battled to a 1-1 tie in 80 minutes of regulation play and two five-minute overtimes.The shootout – the ultimate tie-breaker – is a simple mano a mano format that even non-soccer fans can appreciate. Each team sends out its players one by one for a point-blank penalty kick at the opposing goalie. As soon as one team’s kicker fails while the other succeeds, the game is over.”
“Bainbridge may pull off a rare triple play – in lacrosse. The girls’ varsity and JV teams are on their way to the state championship finals, while the boys are flashing the form that has earned them six consecutive titles.”
“Felled by scheduling problems and two newly powerful rivals, the Bainbridge sailing team failed to win their district team meet for the first time in several years. The Sparts finished third in the two-day regatta, held over the weekend in Eagle Harbor, trailing both North Kitsap and Anacortes.The regatta consisted of three rounds of round-robin racing. Each entrant pitted its three-boat team against each other entrant in each round.”
“It was a golden weekend for Bainbridge girls’ water polo.The Spartan gold JV team won the state JV championship. And Steve Killpack, Bainbridge’s varsity coach, took his purple and gold UW Husky team to the national collegiate club championship. Killpack earned national coach of the year honors in the process, and two Spartan alums made the national all-tournament team.In the high school tournament, the Spartan golds, under the guidance of Jeff Clark, took control early in their opening 5-2 win over Puyallup.They jumped off to a 3-1 first-quarter lead on two Megan Lockwood goals and one from Natalie Berry. Sarah Dean’s two fourth-quarter goals put the game away.”
“Though it may sometimes seem hard to believe, not everything is changing on Bainbridge Island. Not the lacrosse teams. Thursday, the Bainbridge boys served notice that they’re ready, willing and able to tack on a seventh straight state championship, as they routed Curtis 15-1 in a near-perfect performance.And the girls finished their regular season unbeaten, first blanking Mercer Island 14-0, then posting a 15-8 win over Forest Ridge.The girls are trying to forget the last three years, when they lost in the state championship game, and revert to the form that saw them win four straight state titles before that.”
