SportzBuzz - June 2023 | The Buzz Magazines

By Todd Freed, Staff writer | May 25, 2023

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Bobby Eggleston, Charlie Sole, Jaivir Pande, Will Anderson, Ford Montgomery, Tyler Karkowsky

SUPER SEVEN The Kinkaid golf team proudly display the number seven after winning a seventh straight SPC Golf Championship. The Falcons have also won ten of the last eleven SPC golf titles. Pictured with head coach Bobby Eggleston (from left) are Charlie Sole, Jaivir Pande, Will Anderson, Ford Montgomery, and Tyler Karkowsky.

With a remarkable tenth SPC Championship in the last eleven seasons, the Kinkaid Falcons continued their dominance in boys high school golf. The Falcons won this year’s SPC championship by a lofty 47 stroke margin over second place Dallas St. Mark’s. It also marked Kinkaid’s seventh straight SPC boys golf title.

“Our guys stayed focused all year round,” said Falcons golf coach Bobby Eggleston. “It’s an experienced group that practices hard and loves to play golf. They considered the SPC tournament a business trip and just went out there and got the job done.”

The Falcons featured four of the top five finishers including individual medalist Jaivir Pande. The Rice University signee fired a 70 and then a 73 over the two rounds of play. “Jaivir is not only a really good golfer, but he’s also a great individual,” said Eggleston. “He has a tremendous work ethic and is a role model for our younger guys on the team. Jaivir finds a way to shoot between 68 to 73 every time out. In his four years here, I’d say he’s maybe had three or four rounds over par. He’s just been incredibly solid for us.”

Finishing second overall at the SPC tournament was Kinkaid’s Will Anderson, who carded a 74 and 72 over the 36 holes. In addition, Kinkaid’s Ford Montgomery and Tyler Karkowsky finished tied for fourth while fellow Falcon Charlie Sole rounded out the field for the newly crowned SPC champions.

GAME WINNER Episcopal Knights junior Eddie Tamez, Jr. crosses the plate with the game-winning run in a dramatic come-from-behind 2-1 victory over St. John’s in the SPC baseball tournament semifinals. The Knights would then defeat Houston Christian 13-0 the following day to win the SPC 4A Baseball Championship. (Photo: Dee Blevins)

In baseball, the Episcopal Knights captured this year’s SPC Championship with a decisive 13-0 victory over Houston Christian in the SPC tournament final. Episcopal erupted for a season high of 14 hits while pitcher Preston Sullivan allowed only one hit in a game ultimately ended by the ten-run rule.

The blowout victory in the SPC final came one day after Episcopal rallied for two runs in its final at bat for a dramatic 2-1 victory over rival St. John’s in the SPC semifinals. Senior centerfielder Baron Dichoso capped off the Knights’ dramatic victory by knocking in the game-winning run, while pitcher Adam Katz fired a two-hitter in the Knights victory. “We won 14 of our last 15 games and our guys just had a refuse-to-lose mentality. I’m just very proud of them,” said Episcopal head coach Matt Fox.

It was pretty much a tale of two seasons for the Knights, who had an uncharacteristic 8-10 record through their first 18 games. “We just kept finding ways to win,” said Fox. “It all started with our 11-inning comeback win over Houston Christian in the regular season and continuing through victories like our nine-inning win over Kinkaid, where we again had to rally late to pull out the victory.”

With a standout season on the mound to go along with a .338 batting average, Katz was named the Knights’ team MVP. The Falcons senior will next play at Davidson College. In addition, fellow senior Andrew Thornton, who’ll play college baseball at Washington and Lee University, won the team’s leadership award. “Andrew is the best defensive third baseman I’ve had in 21 years,” added Fox.

Tara Ahmadi, Sofia Mazzucato, Egor Morozov, Katy Lowry

GREAT AT STATE The Memorial Mustangs duo of Tara Ahmadi and Sofia Mazzucato (left) captured the UIL 6A Girls State Double Championship while teammates Egor Morozov and Katy Lowry (right) were state runner-up in mixed doubles.

In tennis, Memorial Mustangs Tara Ahmadi and Sofia Mazzucato teamed up to win the UIL 6A Girls Doubles State Tennis Championship. The duo captured the title with a three-set victory over their opponents from Round Rock’s Westwood in the state finals. The victory also marked the fourth state championship over the years in girls doubles for the Mustangs.

“It was a huge accomplishment for Tara and Sofia,” said Memorial tennis coach Budd Booth. “They had lost to the Westwood team they played in the state finals twice earlier in the season, but the third time was the charm. They worked extremely hard to win that title and I’m very proud of them. I also want to give credit to our assistant coach Brian Mandell, who did a great job with them while I was overseeing our mixed doubles team that was playing in the state finals at the same time.”

The Mustangs mixed doubles tandem of Kat Lowy and Egor Morozov came within one victory of a state championship before falling to Plano West in a tough three-set match in the state final. “Kat and Egor had an incredible season,” said Booth. “They had an undefeated 40-0 record leading into the state final. They were disappointed not to win state, but Kat is only a sophomore and Egor is a junior, so they’ll have a great shot at it next year.”

Editor’s note: Todd Freed is the host and executive producer of H-Town High School Sports, which airs Saturday at 10:30 p.m. on CW39 and Monday-Thursday on AT&T SportsNet SW. To submit high school sports news for possible inclusion in SportzBuzz, please email [email protected].