The Daily Southerner, Tarboro, NC

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  • Tarboro Vikings junior Lane Long returns the ball with a backhand stroke during a match this season. Long is The Daily Southerner 2012 All-County Player of the Year. He was also named the Eastern Plains Conference Player of the Year.

    Lane Long Backhand.jpg
May 29, 2012

Vikings Long named Player of the Year

Sports Correspondent Van Holland

ROCKY MOUNT — Tarboro Vikings No. 1 seed Lane Long has received numerous awards this year including being named the Eastern Plains Conference Player of the Year. He also was named to the All-Region team and most recently was named the teams MVP. Long was also the conference singles champion.

With all of the accomplishments Long is being named The Daily Southerner 2012 All-County Player of the Year.

Long finished the season with an impressive 23-6 record and was perfect in the conference in singles matches. He also was 13-4 in doubles action.

Long not only is outstanding on the tennis court, but he also excels in the classroom. He was given an award at the Tarboro Vikings athletic banquet Thursday for having the tennis teams highest Grade Point Average (GPA).

Long is a profectionest. He is one of the top students in his class and is as smart as anybody that Tarboro head coach Billy Strother has ever coached or taught. He uses those skills on the court to out smart a lot of his opponents on the court to go along with his athletic ability. Long has used a refuse to lose mentality on the court to help him win some close matches.

"Lane has great work ethics on and off the tennis court," Strohter said. "He is the type of player who will work extra hard to get better at any part of his game."

Long finished fourth in the regionals and earned a spot in the NCHSAA 2-A individual state championship tournament. He was matched up against the regional champion, but suffered a tough loss.

He will be able to build from this years experience and only get better, because he is only a junior. Long was Tarboro's No. 4 seed as a sophomore and was a very inexperienced player. He put in a lot of work over the summer to get his game to the top level.

Long is a tough opponent on the tennis court. He has a dominating serve and if he has his serve working he is more than likely going to win his matches.

"Lane not only has the desire to be better, but he puts in the extra work to get himself to that level," Strother said. "He is willing to take the time and energy to get him to the highest point of his game. He stays after practice most days to work on his foot work and conditioning to keep him at the top of his game."

Strother said he pulled up to the school parking lot one morning and Long was on the court before school working on his serves.

"Lane is the hardest working tennis players I have ever coached," Strother said. "I pulled up to work one morning and he was on the court practicing serves by himself before school started."

Long digs a little deeper than others on the court. He doesn't just focus on hitting the ball, but also concentrates on his footwork and conditioning.

"I wish every player I had was like Lane," Strother said. "He challenges me to stay on top of my game so I can keep challenging him. He is also a great leader on the court. He is one of the best I have had. His teammates follow him when he begins to lead them, which helped us this season."

Also making the All-County team from Tarboro was Robbie Collins, Paul Nugyen, Justin LaDuke, Emory Hare and Cole McIntyre.

From SouthWest Edgecombe Alexander Derby and Mark McKenzie made the team.

 

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