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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, The girls' basketball team from the Texas School for |
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the Deaf in Austin distinguished itself by advancing all the way to |
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the semifinals of the 2019 Texas Association of Private and |
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Parochial Schools 4A playoffs; and |
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WHEREAS, With their berth in the Final Four, the Lady Rangers |
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capped a memorable year in which they compiled a total of 33 |
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victories, setting a new national record for the most wins in a |
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single season among schools for the deaf; TSD went undefeated in the |
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regular season, winning 31 games and all of the tournaments in which |
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the team competed, including the Brentwood Best Pack Invitational |
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in Austin, the FEAST Patriots Invitational in San Antonio, the |
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Leopards Classic in Arkansas, the New Year's Eve Shootout in |
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Boerne, and the Clerc Classic XIX in California; and |
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WHEREAS, The team continued its fine play in the postseason, |
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dispatching Houston St. Thomas' Episcopal School and the Geneva |
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School of Boerne to secure a place in the state semifinals; in that |
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hard-fought match, the Lady Rangers gave a valiant performance but |
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ultimately fell to Houston Lutheran High North, finishing the year |
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with an impressive overall record of 33 wins and only a single loss; |
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in recognition of its exceptional 2018-2019 campaign, the TSD squad |
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was named the Sports Team of the Year by Deafdigest; and |
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WHEREAS, Excelling with a true team effort, the Lady Rangers |
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received valuable contributions throughout the season from each |
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member of the roster: Janelle Coons, Isadora Egbert, Ashlene Etkie, |
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Ashley Harlicker, Michaela Kelley, Kaci Ketchum, Brianna Leiker, |
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Jewel Rocha, Sunita Schmidjorg, Precious Schwartz, Leila Sicoli, |
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and Jayne Taylor; these dedicated athletes benefited from the able |
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leadership of head coach Brian Sipek and assistant coaches Ashley |
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Elliott, Sean Moore, and Sheri Mize; and |
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WHEREAS, Through hard work and an unwavering resolve to give |
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their very best, the members of the Texas School for the Deaf Lady |
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Rangers basketball team earned the admiration of their fellow |
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students and their many community supporters, and they may indeed |
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reflect with pride on their outstanding record of achievement; now, |
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therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 86th Texas |
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Legislature hereby congratulate the girls' basketball team from the |
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Texas School for the Deaf on a successful 2018-2019 season and |
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extend to the team's players, coaches, and staff sincere best |
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wishes for the future; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for the team as an expression of high regard by the Texas |
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House of Representatives. |