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    HomeSportsZia bros split top roles for St. Albans tennis; Potomac School baseball...

    Zia bros split top roles for St. Albans tennis; Potomac School baseball executes under pressure

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    At the start of the season, brothers Cameron and Cyrus Zia came to an agreement about which one of them would lead the St. Albans tennis lineup at first singles. They decided to alternate each game, switching between the team’s top two spots.

    It was a way to ensure they both had challenging matches over the course of the season while avoiding the distraction of internal competition.

    Now, after an undefeated season in which the Bulldogs have dominated their league and even some tough nonleague opponents, the Zia brothers are seeing their cooperative spirit pay off.

    “The dynamic is noncompetitive,” sophomore Cyrus Zia, the reigning All-Met Player of the Year, said of his on-court relationship with his brother, who is a junior. “We’re both trying to lift each other up as much as we can. So when he plays [No. 1 singles], it’s a win for me as well.”

    But as their regular season came to a close last week with a 7-0 win over St. Stephen’s and St. Agnes, Coach Karim Najdi pulled them aside to explain a crucial change in the postseason: Team lineup changes aren’t allowed during Interstate Athletic Conference tournament matches. They’d have to decide who would play at first singles for the entirety of the tournament.

    Luckily, the Zia brothers are used to solving similar dilemmas on the team, and Najdi is happy to let them decide among themselves.

    “Coach leaves those decisions up to me and my brother,” Zia said. “I looked at [Cameron] and I was like, ‘What do you want to do?’ And he was like, ‘I always love playing one, but it’s fine either way.’ I said, ‘Let’s do it. You play one.’ ”

    The Bulldogs are heavy favorites to prevail through the IAC tournament, which has its championship match scheduled for Thursday.

    For some programs, a walk-off loss in the championship game can dismantle the spirit of the returning players.

    For Potomac School, which suffered that fate against Maret in last spring’s Mid-Atlantic Athletic Conference championship game, there was a more positive mind-set: Just a few tweaks separate a finalist from a titleist.

    The Panthers (18-4) have secured the top seed and home-field advantage through the MAC playoffs, which conclude with the championship game Saturday at noon. After season-ending injuries plagued last year’s senior class, the Panthers brought back nearly all of their starters. They are 8-0 in games decided by three or fewer runs, including several walk-off wins.

    “We just thought about what we needed to do, just focused on ourselves,” said junior Owen Peterson, who leads the team with five home runs. “We’ve been able to execute in high-pressure situations.”

    According to the Panthers, much of their confidence and poise stems from Coach Eric Crozier, who has preached building “championship habits,” with situational hitting chief among them. During the team’s spring break trip to Florida, the Panthers knew they had discovered the right mental makeup, winning their tournament by eking out three one-run victories.

    It helps in those situations to have a coach with professional playing experience.

    “He’s very consistent, he’s very calm, but he’s also really competitive — and we’re a really competitive team,” said junior right-hander Jack Graham, who sports a 0.96 ERA. “He’s been calling all my pitches this year, and I’ve been executing.”

    When Leland Jameson inherited McLean’s varsity team this year, the Highlanders were coming off a strange and memorable campaign. After a middling regular season, McLean put things together in the playoffs and transformed into the hottest team in Northern Virginia. It rode a surge of momentum all the way to the state semifinals, where it lost a heartbreaker against James River.

    Jameson, who played professionally in Holland and Japan before spending last fall as an assistant coach at Northern Virginia Community College, was eager to take over the role. Even as a player, he knew his future was in coaching. During practice, he would jot down drills and exercises he liked, storing them for a future date when he would run his own training sessions.

    “It turned into a little database,” Jameson recalled with a laugh.

    At McLean, he didn’t feel the need for any kind of radical transformation or cultural reset. The Highlanders’ postseason run showed they clearly had talent, and the 11 seniors on this year’s roster were sure to keep the momentum of last spring alive.

    Jameson focused on pushing his players to control the game in any way they could. Favoring a possession-based style, the group focused on staying hungry for the ball.

    “I think we want to position ourselves not just to win, but to dominate the game,” Jameson said. “We hope to have full control throughout the game. And I think after one or two practices, I could tell we had the pieces to do that a good amount.”

    Coach and team have proven to be a good fit so far: With a week remaining in the regular season, the Highlanders are 11-1. If they make another long postseason run this spring, it won’t take nearly as many people by surprise.

    With senior attackman Andrew Stahley out sick, Sherwood called on Andrew Bergesen to step into his role. The sophomore had been playing on the midfield line all season and scored three goals in the Warriors’ 9-6 win Thursday against defending 4A champion Churchill, which was previously undefeated.

    Bergesen has particularly strong stick skills that help him handle pressure from long poles. He’s a good passer, which kept Sherwood’s offense similar, as Stahley leads Montgomery County with 46 assists.

    “This team is finding ways to win in the face of all that adversity,” Coach Matt Schneider said. “We’re trying to build upon our success these last couple of years. This team is paving its own way and making its own identity.”

    Stahley’s fellow captain, Jackson Derrick, recently missed roughly two weeks with a stomach bug, and the senior midfielder scored in his return Thursday. Sophomore Andrew Cavanaugh’s defensive prowess has moved him from attackman to midfielder.

    Junior goalie Cooper Hawkins made 14 saves for the Warriors (11-1) and kept Churchill scoreless throughout the second half. Before they potentially meet in the Maryland state tournament, the sides were set to meet again for the Montgomery County championship Monday at Kennedy High in Wheaton-Glenmont.

    As Interstate Athletic Conference play came to a close, the conference had a rare tie at the top of the leader board — Georgetown Prep, St. Albans and Landon were knotted up for first place. Landon solidified the co-championship last week with a win over conference rival Episcopal at Belle Haven, 201-222.

    Seniors Charlie Lynn and John Bates had great days despite the terrible wind, leading the Bears to victory. Lynn shot an even par 36, while Bates shot a 2-over 38.

    Despite falling just short of qualifying for the Metros tournament that will be held this month at Worthington Manor in Urbana, finishing atop of the conference is a crowning achievement for Landon.

    Georgetown Prep and St. Albans both earned bids to the Metros tournament, thanks to their top-two finishes at the IAC tournament. The Little Hoyas and the Bulldogs will battle it out against their Washington Catholic Athletic Conference rivals to determine which conference sits atop the Metropolitan golf throne.

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