Lady Eagles Insider: All-EIC players return

ST. ELMO – Three first-team members of the Egyptian-Illini Conference’s all-conference team from last spring return to St. Elmo as the Lady Eagles look to get back to the top of the conference.

Seniors Megan Maxey and Savannah Feezel, along with junior Danie Austin, will be back in St. Elmo’s lineup to help the team try to better last season’s 11-20 overall mark and third-place finish in the EIC.

With those three, along with nearly every player from last season’s squad and some talented freshman, in the mix, there’s a good chance of those goals coming to fruition.

“We’ve talked a lot about it, and they have the expectation to win the conference,” said first-year coach Megan Burrus. “They all have an extra year of experience, and we have three freshmen who were strong in junior high, so we aren’t taking any steps backward.”

Mulberry Grove and Ramsey – last season’s top two finishers in the EIC – are both returning many of their best players, and both teams are also counting on having strong seasons.

But so is St. Elmo, and Burrus has a lot of confidence that her Lady Eagles can compete with the best teams in the conference.

“Mulberry is always tough and always will be, but our team looks forward to that game,” she said. “We have to come ready to play, and it’s the same thing with Ramsey.

“We just can’t make any mental mistakes.”

This season, the Lady Eagles play Ramsey on April 10, and take on Mulberry Grove on April 23. Both contests will be at home for St. Elmo.

New coach

Burrus is taking over as the head coach of the program for the first season, but she is very familiar with her players.

She has been the high school assistant coach the past four seasons, the junior high head coach for the past two years and the junior high assistant coach the three seasons before that.

Her assistant is Dana Pasley, who was Burrus’ high school coach as a senior.

“I don’t think it’s too much different, because all of these girls have had me at some point,” Burrus said. “There are a few things that may be different, but a lot of it will be the same.”

Burrus takes over the program from Tom Fedrigon.

Opening Day

The Lady Eagles were set to open their season on Tuesday at home against Flora, but that game was postponed due to poor field conditions. It will be made up on Tuesday, April 16.

On Saturday, St. Elmo travels to the Fairfield Tournament.