The following is a review of the 2014 Alcovy Tigers spring athletic season:
Baseball
The Alcovy varsity baseball team may have featured just three senior starters in 2014, but that didn’t keep the young Tigers from reaching the postseason.
The Tigers battled back from a four-game losing streak mid-season to reach the postseason, winning their final three regular season Region 2-AAAAAA contests during the stretch.
Alcovy finished the season with a 10-18 regular season mark, posting a 6-6 mark in league play. The Tigers were swept in their season series with Newton, but split with rival Eastside.
Heading into the final stretch of region play, the Tigers blasted Lovejoy, Morrow and Druid Hills by a combined margin of 26-5, earning the No. 4 seed in the region for the state playoffs.
In the state tournament, Alcovy hit the road, traveling to Kennesaw to face the Kennesaw Mountain Mustangs.
Kennesaw Mountain swept the Tigers 2-0, outscoring Alcovy 23-1 during the two-game series, ending the Tigers’ season.
Golf
The Alcovy girls and boys golf team also found success on the links this season, capturing the Region 2-AAAAAA team championships while narrowly missing a chance to play in the state tournament.
The Lady Tigers first flexed their muscle at the Newton Cup, finishing second overall to champion Eastside. The Lady Tigers finished 18 strokes back of the Lady Eagles, with Kelsey Knight leading Alcovy with a low round of 44.
The Lady Tigers rebounded and placed first in the region just a few days later, advancing to the state sectional with a low-team score of 335. Alcovy edged second place Luella by 16 strokes to earn the region title. Knight finished three strokes back of Luella’s Nicole Court for low medalist accolades.
Alcovy narrowly missed directly qualifying for the state tournament, ending its season in the Class AAAAAA sectional.
The Alcovy boys golf team also placed second at the Newton Cup before coming up tops in the region tournament, besting the region field by 15 strokes. The Tigers put up a team score of 336, missing the state
qualifying mark by six strokes.
Zach Floyd led the Tigers with a 73 in the region event, claiming low medalist honors.
Like the Lady Tigers, the boys program also fell short in the Class AAAAAA sectionals, failing to qualify for a state bid.
Soccer
While neither the Alcovy girls or boys soccer programs finished 2014 with a winning record, both teams had an opportunity to taste the postseason, making their mark in region play to earn the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds, respectively, in Region 2-AAAAAA.
The Lady Tigers finished 2014 with a 7-9 overall record, but finished their region campaign with a 4-2 mark, besting region rivals Morrow, Lovejoy, Newton and Rockdale County. The Lady Tigers also registered a 3-1 victory over Eastside, giving Alcovy an unblemished 5-0 mark against their rivals.
Alcovy traveled to Kennesaw to face the Kennesaw Mountain Lady Mustangs in the opening round of the Class AAAAAA girls state soccer tournament, ending its season with an 8-0 loss to the Lady Mustangs.
Like their female counterparts, the Tigers boys program also took its lumps in non-region play, but rallied with a 3-3 mark in region action.
Alcovy won just one game between Rockdale County, Newton and Eastside, but was able to top Morrow, Lovejoy and the Rams to earn a postseason bid.
In the state tournament the Tigers traveled to Campbell High School, taking on the fourth ranked team in the state, falling by a 5-0 final.
Tennis
The Alcovy girls and boys tennis programs made runs at region titles this season, but in both cases, fell just short of their overall goals.
The Lady Tigers reached the semifinals of the Region 2-AAAAAA tournament, falling to Newton in the second round. The Lady Rams edged Alcovy 3-1, but the Lady Tigers rallied in the consolation final, defeating Luella to earn the No. 3 seed heading into the state tournament.
Alcovy matched up with Region 4 No. 2 seed Hillgrove in the opening round of the Class AAAAAA girls tennis championships, falling 5-0.
The Alcovy boys tennis program also had a strong showing in the region tournament, breezing by rival Newton 3-1. Alcovy bested the Rams in No. 1 and No. 3 singles before clinching the win in No. 2 doubles.
The Tigers also faced Hillgrove in the opening round of the Class AAAAAA boys tennis championships, dropping a 4-0 decision to the Hawks as the region’s No. 3 seed.
Track
The Alcovy Tigers girls and boys track and field teams struggled out the starting gate in 2014, finishing the 2014 campaign with sixth and seventh place finishes in Region 2-AAAAAA, respectively.
The Lady Tigers finished a spot out of last place in the region, edging Morrow for the sixth spot in the league, while the boys program finished 12 points back of Druid Hills in the region meet for seventh.
Alcovy’s Ayanna Martin was the only Lady Tiger to place first at the region meet, taking top honors in the 100m hurdles.
The Lady Tigers’ Brianna Archer advanced through the Class AAAAAA girls sectional to represent Alcovy at the state track meet in the 400m dash, finishing 15th overall in the state.
At the region meet, Alcovy’s Natorie Philbert led the Tigers with a third place finish in the high jump, but Alcovy failed to qualify an entrant into the state meet.
