Though he’s not a swimmer, Emporia High girls basketball coach can envision one instance where he’d be more than happy to enter the waters of the EHS pool.
As is tradition when the Lady Spartans win their home Glacier’s Edge Tournament, the team takes a dip in the pool. So last year, when EHS won the tournament for the first time since 2002, the Lady Spartans — and yes, Nienstedt too — went for a swim.
Another three victories in this year’s tournament, which starts Thursday, and Nienstedt said he’d do it all over again.
“If called upon,” he said, “I will, once again, enter the water.”
That has the EHS girls planning and scheming, as the fourth-ranked Lady Spartans plan on being the first team in a while to win back-to-back Glacier’s Edge titles.
“We might purchase some floaties for him (Nienstedt),” junior Hilary Heinrichs said.
But first things first, and that means getting those three victories.
At first glance, it might appear that some of the luster from Emporia’s 7-0 start has worn off after road losses to Junction City and Washburn Rural in two of the last three games — the lone win coming at home against Leavenworth.
Nienstedt, however, said that was not the case, as Junction City and Washburn Rural sit atop the Centennial League standings and rank No. 4 and No. 9 in the latest Class 6A coaches poll.
“We don’t really feel like we’ve lost any of our momentum,” he said. “We feel like we’ve gone out and played two very, very good opponents, and we put out pretty good efforts and just got beat.”
Still, picking up a few wins at home would be a welcome occurrence, Heinrichs said.
“If we could get three home wins right in a row,” she said, “it would give us a lot of momentum heading into our next game at Shawnee Heights.”
And, of course, playing at home has its benefits.
“The hospitality room is always good,” Heinrichs said with a laugh.
The Lady Spartans begin their defense of the Glacier’s Edge title at 7 p.m. Thursday against Wyandotte. The other games of the day include Olathe East vs. Wichita North at 5:30 p.m., Shawnee Heights vs. Leavenworth at 5:30 p.m., and Shawnee Mission East vs. Topeka West at 7 p.m.
“This is an opportunity for the seniors to be the first group in a long, long time to win the tournament two years in a row, it’s an opportunity to get healthy and it’s an opportunity to have fun,” Nienstedt said. “It’s a tournament that the kids look forward to, and it’s always an exciting time.”