Wisconsin School for the Deaf - The Wisconsin Times Vol. 134 No. 1 Fall 2012 | Page 18

CSSD Tournament WSD – 2nd Place The Lady Firebirds went to Flint, Michigan for the annual Central States Schools for the Deaf volleyball tournament with four other Deaf schools from Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, and Ohio. The Firebirds were able to achieve a record of 2 wins and 2 losses in the pool play by losing to Illinois, and Michigan. Indiana JV and Ohio were vanquished by WSD. The Firebirds entered the bracket portion of the tournament by beating Michigan. The team faced Illinois who was on a championship winning streak of several years for the championship game. The Firebirds put up a fight against the Tigers but lost the championship by the scores of 20-25 and 17-25. Seniors Marika Beyer and Lexi Christ were selected as All-Star players. Results of the Pool Play WSD vs. Indiana JV 25-14, 26-24 WSD vs. Illinois 22-25, 15-25 WSD vs. Ohio 25-10, 25-21 WSD vs. Michigan 25-15, 23-25, 9-15 Results of the Bracket Play WSD vs. Michigan 25-21, 21-25, 15-6 WSD vs. Illinois -Championship Game- 20-25, 17-25 GPSD Tournament WSD – 4th Place The Lady Firebirds hosted the 2012 Great Plains Schools for the Deaf Tournament. WSD entered the tournament with high expectations due to the achievement of second place at CSSD. Minnesota opened the Pool Play by beating the Firebirds handily. WSD then fought back by destroying Missouri and beating Oklahoma by a close margin. Senior player Lexi Christ was injured in the Pool Play and was out for the entire tournament. Kansas brought #2 seeded WSD to the brink but WSD eliminated scrappy Kansas in the third set. WSD advanced to meet New Mexico who eliminated the Firebirds from competing in the championship game. WSD then faced Iowa for the consolation trophy. The Firechicks tried to come back against Iowa by playing a close first 2 sets but Iowa won the consolation trophy in the third set. Senior Marika Beyer was selected as an AllStar player by the coaches. Results of the Bracket Play Results of the Pool Play WSD vs. Kansas (Quarterfinals) 18-25, 25-14, 15-9 WSD vs. Minnesota 7-25, 18-25 WSD vs. New Mexico (Semifinals) 10-25, 13-25 WSD vs. Missouri 25-15, 25-11 WSD vs. Iowa (Consolation) 23-25, 25-22, 4-15 WSD vs. Oklahoma 25-23, 25-20 WSD’s New Athletic Director Matthew Eby, Athletic Director Fall 2012 - 18 Matthew Eby was hired as a new athletic director for the sports program at WSD. Mr. Eby comes to WSD with a wealth of experience as both the athletic director and a P.E. teacher at New York School for the Deaf – Fanwood and a P.E. teacher at National Deaf Academy in Florida. While at Gallaudet University, Mr. Eby was a soccer and basketball athlete. He was the Male Athlete of the Year at Gallaudet as well as being named All-Conference three consecutive years in soccer. Mr. Eby also was involved in Deaflympics in Australia and Taipei, representing the United States in soccer. Real Maryland Football Club Professional Soccer of the United Soccer Leagues signed Matthew to a one-year contract to play for their team. As an athletic director, Mr. Eby’s vision is to give the student-athletes a sense of pride in their representation of the school, the team, the community, and themselves the best they can; to ensure this, he has established an Athlete of the Month Award program. Also, Mr. Eby desires to encourage the athletes to develop self-esteem, discipline, leadership skills, and sportsmanship in all sports at WSD.