This year’s Patriots finished at 27-4 after Rose defeated them in five games. The only other losses were to Jack Britt (twice) and Terry Sanford in a season that included a Mid-Southeastern Conference regular-season title.
“I would like to have gotten it for this senior class,” Foxx said of the milestone, ”but we’ll get it next year.”
Seniors Stephanie Carter and Ashley Craven were starters on the 2002 team that finished 11-12. Ayana Davis, another senior, and juniors Ashley Dickerson, Kala Flittner and Monique Jones were a part of last year’s squad that improved to 16-10.
Key additions this year were Veronika Mlada, an exchange student from Slovakia, and junior Bethany Page.
Also members of one of the best Pinecrest squads since the 1988 and 1992 teams both went 33-0 and won state titles were Sam Cunningham, Marissa Dotson, Nelle Durkee, Bonnie Jonmoore and Kate Moore.
Before the season, a number of conference coaches correctly picked the Patriots as the team to unseat Jack Britt in the conference although the Bucs did win the conference tournament, beating Pinecrest in the finals.
However, no one foresaw the kind of dominating team that would win 24 of its matches in sweeps, including Purnell Swett and Wilmington Hoggard in the first two rounds of the state playoffs.
“We had a good season and nobody can take that away,” Foxx said she told her players after Tuesday’s loss to the team from Greenville. “The girls that are coming back will take about a week off and then start on strength training.”
Asked to contrast the state championship teams with this year’s edition, Foxx said the 1988 team was quicker and the 1992 team was taller.
Tron Faulk, whom the coach described as a phenomenal hitter on the 1988 team, attended Tuesday’s match. The MVP in the championship game sweep of Tuscola that year was teammate Ashley Austin.
Four years later, 6-foot-3 Charlette Hargrove was the MVP as the Patriots swept Tuscola again for their second title.
Foxx credited another former player, Dawn Bright, later a standout at UNC-Greensboro, with contributing a lot to this year’s team as an assistant coach.
“Bringing Dawn into our program made it so much stronger,” she said.
Four members of this year’s Patriots were named to the All-Mid-Southeastern Conference team. Carter was honored for the third straight year and Craven for the second time. Also making the team were Davis and Dickerson.
Foxx earned conference coach of the year honors. Rachel Sanders of Jack Britt is the conference player of the year.
