Sports Update
Class Notes
IN MEMORIAM ISS Girls’ Softball Team: (Top row) Casey Stewart ’09, Bess Matlock ’08, Morgan Cahn ’08, Veroncia Ciniglio ’09, Caroline Thrasher ’10, Christina Malmat ’09, and Tullia Rushton ’09; (Bottom row) Hollye Hamilton ’11, Julia Horn ’11, Jillian Theibert ’08, Carter Long ’10, Katie Hamner ’10, Sara Lowery ’09, and Margaret Sandy ’10. With coaches Pam Abernathy and Richard Theibert.
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Softball Team Boasts Record Season The softball team set a record for wins this year, with marked improvements throughout the season that concluded with a 12-9 record. Included in the victory total were three wins over Altamont—two of them extra-inning victories, and one a doubleheader sweep in the Indian Springs Invitational. “The team was led by four seniors, all of whom will be greatly missed,” says head coach Richard Theibert. “Jillian Theibert pitched every inning of every game, and Bess Matlock played shortstop, third, first and catcher while being one of the leading hitters in the area. “Meanwhile, Betsy Battistella played five different positions, and Morgan Cahn batted clean-up for the third straight season, while catching almost every inning.” Theibert adds that Cahn hit a memorable triple in the state tournament against Altamont, enabling the team to stage a comeback from five runs down. As for Battistella, Theibert describes her as “symbolic of the dedication and improvement at Springs. She had never played an inning of softball until her junior year, and started every game as a senior.” Next year looks promising, he says, with Junior Tullia Rushton, Christina Malmat, Casey Stewart, Michelle Rezonzew, Veronica Ciniglio and
Sara Lowery among the leading players returning. But, he adds, “the contribution of all the new players cannot be overlooked. Springs will need, as usual, inexperienced players to play and contribute to be competitive.”
Tennis Teams Battle Transitional Year Following a string of great seasons—with the boys finishing first and the girls finishing third in the 2007 state tournaments—Indian Springs lost a lot of its best players and faced an uphill battle last spring. “It was definitely a downturn from where we’ve been,” says head coach Boo Mason. “On the boys’ team, we’ve had three outstanding players— Arie Hefter, ’07, Bryan Song, ’07, and Faris Pacha, ’08—for a couple of years and just dominated the section, but last year we lost Arie and Brian and faced a disappointing season.” The boys ended with a final win-loss record of 2-8. The girls’ team fared somewhat better, with Elaine Song, ’10—the team’s “unsung hero” according to Mason—and Natalie Dove, ’08, serving as mainstay players. They finished the season at 6-4. Next year, Mason, who has coached tennis at Springs for more than 25 years says, “we’re expecting a pretty good team next year.”
Christian Ramsey, ’58 of Lexington, KY, formerly of Oklahoma City, died June 21st from complications of Parkinson’s disease. He was born in Atlanta, Ga., graduated from Indian Springs School in 1958, received his M.A. degree from the University of North Texas in 1966, and graduated from Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, GA., in 1970. That same year he was appointed to a White House Commission on Population Growth and the American Future by President Richard Nixon and served as its vice chairman with Chairman John D. Rockefeller III for two years in Washington, D.C. In 1973 he began his family medicine residency training in Waco, Texas - completing it in 1976. He became the Director of Medical Education and the Director of the Family Practice Residency Program in Waco and continued in that capacity until 1982 when he was named Chairman of the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Oklahoma School of Medicine. He held that post until 1994 when he was named the Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs at the University of Kentucky School of Medicine. He retired in 2000. During his medical career, he wrote and edited several textbooks, published numerous articles, and served in many leadership positions associated with family medicine. One of his greatest accomplishments was an endowed chair in family medicine named in his honor at the University of Oklahoma for his exemplary accomplishments in this field. He was a member of Christ Church Cathedral and a former member of The Lexington Club and Idle Hour Country Club. He is survived by his children Christian Ramsey III, M.D. and Anne Hadlock Ramsey, by his former wife Patricia Hadlock Ramsey and two brothers Robert Pringle Ramsey and Willis Alan Ramsey.
Iain Wilson, ’91 passed away in Scotland on April 29th when his bicycle collided with a lorry while he was bicycling to work. Survivors include his beloved wife Silvia, his parents, Graeme and Anne and his sister Katherine, ’94. The neuroscientist, who worked at Edinburgh University’s School of Biomedical Sciences, had moved to Scotland after completing postgraduate research in Finland. Iain studied psychology at Haverford College, PA, before completing his PhD in neuroscience at the University of Kuopio in Finland in 2005. An enthusiastic sportsman, he enjoyed running and hillwalking. A member of the university’s orienteering club, he also spoke five languages – three of them fluently. Dr. Wilson had been involved in postdoctoral research at the university’s Centre for Cognitive and Neural Systems and was investigating the mechanisms of learning and memory. Jack Dorsky, a lifelong resident of Birmingham, and a well-known athlete died on Sunday, June 15th. Jack was a city, state, and regional handball champion and an avid golfer. He and his father owned Alabama Scrap Metal Company. He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Ellen Siegal Dorsky, his sons Stephen (Lori) Dorsky, ’71 and Leslie (Karen) Dorsky; and his granddaughters, Isa, Becca, and Kaitlyn. He is the brother of Joyce (Stanley) Routman. Jack was a member of Temple Emanu-El for 57 years. He also enjoyed his memberships at the Fairmont and Pine Tree Country Clubs and the Levite Jewish Community Center and has been a lifetime member of the downtown YMCA. Karen White Hickman of Gulf Breeze, Florida, died July 7th. Karen was born in Kingsport, Tennessee. She moved to Gulf Breeze, Florida, in 2007 from Birmingham, where she resided for 19 years. Karen fall
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