Lady Red Devils Return Five Starters

 The Newton-Conover Lady Red Devils opened practice on Monday, August 2nd, returning five out of the top six from last year and 10 out the top 12.   Newton-Conover was 12-2 in the Catawba Valley Athletic Conference last year, with the only losses coming to Maiden, ranked number four in the state.   The Lady Red Devils lost in the state playoffs to Brevard.   Coach Jim Barrymore expects seniors Ellie Choppa, Hanna Sigmon, Brittany Wuokko, and Jessica Abernathy, along with juniors Alex Barone and Deanna Dessert to be his leaders this year.   All six spent time in the top six last year.   Newton-Conover has a brutal non-conference schedule that includes 3-A powers Hickory and Fred T. Foard and 4-A power Lake Norman.   The Lady Red Devils will also be traveling to Snow Hill to participate in two super scrimmages at Greene Central High School.   "Hopefully this tough start pays off at the end of the season," said Coach Barrymore.   "We just hope to improve on the great season we had last year and hopefully compete again for the conference title with the team just six miles down the road," he commented.