Photo by George Wacha

The Greenville Lady Tigers had a tremendous season, with an ending record of 17 wins and three losses. Shown left to right are, front: Kalette Mixon (11), Jessica Crenshaw (20), Deandra Sturgeon (22), Coach Leslie Rowls, Jessica Thomas (10), Latoya Durant (5) and Kayla Albritton (12). Back row: Rachel Turner (25), Corinthia Nake Hawthorne (32), Keshia Scott (21) SaRhonda Hawkins (23), Amanda Dunklin (15), Tasha Hall (34), Sophia Ruffin (14) and Tameka Savage (30). Not shown: Assistant Coach Peyton Faulk.

The Greenville Lady Tigers, guided by Coach Leslie Rowls and Assistant Coach Peyton Faulk made quite a comeback this season, finishing with an impressive 17-6 record.

That includes a tournament where they towered over all of the competition in the December tourney, held at Wilcox Central.

I am extremely proud of my girls this year, Coach Rowls said. They made a complete 180-degree turn-around compared to last years record.

The Lady Tigers finished up the 1999-2000 season with three wins, and 17 losses-quite the opposite of their performance this year.

Greenville High School Athletic Director Terry Moore had nothing but praise for Rowls, Faulk and the Lady Tigers.

Leslie has taken a group of girls and taught them how to focus, Moore said. She and Coach Faulk had a plan right from the very start.

Moore said that the plan was obvious, right from day one.Leslie had a game plan that she brought to practice every day, and the combination of the coaches and players focusing on that plan created a stunning team, that reaped tremendous results, Moore said.

From the beginning of the season, we set some goals to follow, Rowls said. Our goal was to win 10 games-we certainly accomplished, and nearly doubled that mission.

Next season will surely have positive results also, because Rowls gave several underclassmen plenty of court time.

They will be better prepared next year, when they are the seniors, because they were able to get some major court experience this year, Rowls said.

I guess to sum it all up, I am very, very proud of the Lady Tigers, as I am sure the whole community is, Moore said. The seniors showed good leadership, and provided an excellent launching pad for next years underclassmen to take off from.

Rowls said that she only had one thing that she disliked about the season.

My only regret is that I only had this group of seniors for one season, Rowls said. They really gave it their all, at the practices and during the games-this was a great team, and these girls were a pleasure to coach.

Now it is time to prepare for next season, Rowls said. We will be looking forward to a lot of girls coming out to play next year.