Freshman set to kick off season

By Shane Mettlen

Published: August 13, 2008

Joe Murphy knows people will be watching when he puts his ball on the tee Friday at the Country Club of Culpeper. The freshman has actually been thinking about it ever since he decided to go out for golf at Eastern View High School.

“We went for the tour of the high school and we looked at the schedules and saw that the first thing was golf,” Murphy said. “My dad said, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool if you were the first person to tee off?’ And I said, ‘Yeah,’ but I figured it would be all juniors and seniors that would be better than me.”

It turns out the Cyclones have no juniors or seniors on its inaugural golf roster and Murphy has been leading the team in practice, earning the honor of becoming the first Eastern View athlete ever to compete in a varsity sporting event.

EVHS plays host to King George Friday afternoon, then competes against cross-town rival Culpeper County High School for the first time on Monday in a triangular at the Country Club that also includes Caroline County.

With so much inexperience on the Eastern View roster coaches Kevin Baker and Craig Dennis aren’t expecting to win a lot of matches this season, but they are excited about building a foundation for the programs future. They are also excited about the opportunity to open up Cyclones athletics.

“We got eight players and they are six freshmen and two sophomores, so they’re not real talkative yet,” Baker said. “But I think they are excited and they are getting a little antsy about playing because none of them have played before. They’re very green.”

Eastern View plans to mark the occasion of its first athletic event with golf balls with special EVHS logos printed on them and the ball Murphy hits to start the season will be put in a trophy case at the school.

“It’ll be a hoot,” Dennis said. “I was worried we wouldn’t be able to have a team, but we got a good group out.”

The players on the team are looking forward to setting the tone for Cyclones athletics.

“I’m pretty excited,” golfer Stephan Grotz said. “It’s fun to be the first of all, the first scores, the first records. Being the first team at the school to play is just a bonus. It’s really cool.”

Shane Mettlen can be reached at 825-0771, ext. 127 or