By Jason Wesseldyk
Sports Editor
As longtime Saugatuck coach Kevin Tringali looks at his roster for the upcoming season, he likes what he sees.
“I’m very excited about the upcoming season,” said Tringali, who led the Trailblazers to a 12-9 showing a season ago. “This particular group of young ladies has really put the work in over the off-season. Our leaders did a phenomenal job of keeping us in the gym all summer.
“It’s inspiring and motivating to see them understand the importance working hard in the off-season.”
The leaders mentioned by Tringali include senior wing/power forward Erin Moerler, senior point guard Haley Rivera, junior wing Jenn Schock and sophomore power forward/center Kennedy Gustafson.
“We feel everything starts with our leaders,” Tringali said. “Haley, Erin, Jenn and Kennedy have played in a lot of competitive varsity games already. Their experience is key to our success. Equally important is their leadership and how they help and teach the newcomers on what it takes to be a varsity player.”
Senior power forward Caralyn Doucette also returns for Saugatuck, with junior power forward Elsa Nor, freshman wing Ada Roth and freshman point guard Penelope Grob among the newcomers.
“We want to help the younger players gain the confidence to compete at the varsity level,” Tringali said. “Elsa is a strong, athletic player who can really help us in the post. We also believe Ada and Penny are really going to surprise some people on how well they can play for being just freshmen.”
With the addition of new teams to the SAC this year, the divisions have been realigned. That adds a bit of uncertainty as the season begins.
“With the new realignment, I feel it’s really up for grabs this season,” Tringali said. “You can never count Gobles and Martin out, but with new division members in Black River, Delton Kellogg and Galesburg-Augusta, anything can happen.
“But our goals never change. We always feel like we can compete for a division championship and beyond. We expect to be competitive with everyone on our schedule.”