Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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30 UCW APRIL 5-11, 2017 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Gene Autry gave himself a tough act to follow this season after guiding Terry Sanford's boys' tennis team to the 3-A dual team finals last year against perennial power Marvin Ridge. "I thought we would have another good year,'' he said of the 2017 season. "Where it ends, we don't know, but we are looking to do well.'' So far, the Bulldogs are, and they took a big step in that direction last week with a 6-3 win over their toughest Cape Fear region rival, Union Pines. Terry Sanford beat the Vikings in last year's Eastern Regional championship match. Autry admits he wasn't sure what to expect from his team when the two squads met for the first time this season at Terry Sanford last week. "Sometimes you have a mental letdown when you play an opponent again,'' Autry said. "We started slow but ended up playing well.'' As usual, the Bulldogs got solid play and half their wins in the match from brothers Henry and Nathan Lieberman. The brothers play No. 1 and No. 2 singles along with No. 1 doubles and took wins in all three of those matches. Henry, a junior, is in his second season at No. 1 singles player while freshman Nathan is making his debut with the Bulldogs. Autry said Henry continues to be the same solid player and team leader he was last season. "Everybody looks up to him and tries to follow his leadership,'' Autry said of Henry. "He's hitting a lot more solid shots and his ball is heavier. That means it's taking different spins and a lot more action.'' Autry said Henry's footwork is also improved, which is key to putting his total game together. Henry said having his brother join him on the team this season has been a good experience. "He motivates me because he gets under my skin,'' Henry said. "It's that brother rivalry.'' Henry said his brother is also a solid player. "He makes you hit good shots over and over to win a point against him,'' Henry said. "He's working on his net game and his serve. He's quick and anticipates well.'' Nathan said his brother is equally inspiring to him. "He drives me to get better and motivates me,'' Nathan said. "We definitely just pump each other up, stay positive and don't let negative things in our heads.'' A rematch with Union Pines is looming on April 10. Following that will be the chase for the regional and state championships. Henry said he's already decided on competing in singles in the state individual tournament. Nathan will soon decide if he wants to try singles or get a new doubles partner and compete for that title. "We really need to stay focused, have that intensity in practice,'' Nathan said. "If we don't get lazy I think we'll be great.'' The Liebermans aren't the only good players on the Bulldog team. Andrew Zahran is back from last year. Autry said he along with Alex Kasari and Dev Sashidhar are also key players. "To go back and win again against Union Pines is going to be tough,'' Autry said, referring to the upcoming rematch. "If we do what we're supposed to do, keep our head about us and play the tennis we're capable of, we should do well.'' Leo Durocher, the great Los Angeles Dodgers manager, was wrong. But in his defense, he never met Jack Britt High School wrestling coach John DeWeese, or he would never have uttered that famous quote, "Nice guys finish last." DeWeese, who recently announced his retirement as the only wrestling coach Jack Britt has ever had, ranks as one of the nicest guys I've met during all my years covering high school sports. Even on his worst days and in his toughest wrestling matches, I never saw DeWeese without a smile on his face or sharing a laugh with one of his wrestlers or a friend. As he heads into retirement, he will easily rank among the greatest wrestling coaches Cumberland County has ever known, right up there with Cape Fear's Mike Stanbridge and Seventy-First's David Culbreth. It was a pretty amazing run for a guy who said he got into wrestling almost by accident. It was when he was at Lewis Chapel and the late J.C. Hawk came to DeWeese almost in tears saying the school's wrestling coach had left and the team didn't have a coach. Hawk promised to teach DeWeese everything he knew about the sport if DeWeese would be the coach. "That night I went home and ordered every VHS tape I could find on wrestling, which was about four,'' DeWeese said. "That was about 28 years ago.'' It was with Culbreth as an assistant at Seventy-First that DeWeese first got his start at the high school level. He helped Culbreth coach two of the greatest high school teams in county and state history in the late 1990s at Seventy-First. DeWeese still remembers coming to Jack Britt with Culbreth when Britt principal Conrad Lopes hired them both away from Seventy-First. Before wrestling season started, Culbreth decided to take a job with a local sporting goods store, but still promised he would help DeWeese with the team. At the first practice, DeWeese said Culbreth walked in, spoke to the team, pointed to DeWeese and said "There's your coach,'' and left. The rest is history. DeWeese won some 13 conference titles and only lost three home conference matches in 17 seasons. After a couple of near misses he guided Britt to the 2015 4-A dual team championship. He's had numerous individual state champs, but he said his proudest accomplishment is having three of his former wrestlers, Bradley and Andrew Wanovich and Spencer Nick, currently attending the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. "I happened to be in the right place at the right time with some really good people and parents,'' DeWeese said. "It's about them.'' Not entirely. It's also about a coach who gave his best, built a dynasty and kept a smile on his face while doing it. Jack Britt's Deweese Retires by EARL VAUGHAN JR. Lieberman Brothers Leading Terry Sanford Tennis by EARL VAUGHAN JR. EARL VAUGHAN JR., Sports Editor. COMMENTS? Editor@upandcomingweekly. com. 910-987-5311 HIGH SCHOOL HIGHLIGHTS Henry Lieberman John Deweese Nathan Lieberman Attention Students: Do you have a story or idea to share with High School Highlights? Email us at highschoolhighlights@upandcomingweekly.com