SPORTS

Leland boys’ tennis poised for strong 2006 run

First-year Head Coach Brent Hermsmeier confident about team’s chance to reach CCS

By Diego Abeloos
Sports Editor

So far, so good.

That’s according to Leland boys’ tennis Coach Brent Hermsmeier, whose Chargers started the season off to a 2-0 preseason start prior to a March 13 match-up at home against Monte Vista.

Leland’s No. 1 singles player Simon Cheng has gotten off to a good start, posting victories in both of his preseason matches, prior to a March 13 match-up against Monte Vista. Leland Head Coach Brent Hermsmeier said Cheng will focus heavily on his mental game throughout the season as part of his overall progression as a tennis player. Photos by Jeff Frazee

If anything, Hermsmeier isn’t lacking in confidence when it comes to his team, which picked up early season wins against both Aptos and St. Francis.

“I think we can win CCS,” Hermsmeier said. “I think we’ll win the league. I think we have probably the strongest top four players of any team that’s in northern California, and I think we have some really good potential in our doubles.”

Hermsmeier cited the Leland boys’ tennis program’s depth on both the varsity and frosh/soph levels as reason to feel optimistic. Hermsmeier’s team roster features a solid blend of both experienced, senior-laden talent, as well as younger, less experienced prospects.

“We had 48 kids come out to practice, and we cut down to 24,” Hermsmeier said. “Our junior varsity team is also strong.”

Leland’s singles players will be lead by No. 1 singles player Simon Cheng, a senior who was one of five Leland players to make CCS last season. Cheng is off to a promising start as well in 2006, winning both of his singles matches to date. Hermsmeier said he feels that Cheng has the physical talents to continue progressing as a tennis player, but added that the mental approach to Cheng’s games will be the real key to success.

“I think he’s currently ranked No. 5 in Norcal. And of that, just talent-wise, he can probably be No. 1,” Hermsmeier said of Cheng. “His real goal, I think, this year is going to be … in matches that he’s clearly expected to win and matches that are going to be tougher, does he keep his head during that kind of bandwidth of performance that he’s expected to do? Some of these matches are going to be very tough, but some of the matches, he’s going to blow through them.”

Leland’s singles team will also feature No. 2 singles sophomores Stace Klinger, 1-1 so far this season, and Thomas Norton (2-0) in the No. 3 slot. Rounding out singles play is newcomer Stanley Liu, a senior transfer who last year ranked second in the state of Kansas in doubles play, according to Hermsmeier.

Klinger, another Leland player who managed to move on to CCS play in doubles last season, is currently out of action with a right knee injury, but Hermsmeier said he’s confident his team can pick up the slack in Klinger’s absence.

“We’ll want him back for CCS,” Hermsmeier said of Klinger. “The depth in our team is still strong, so we’ll do well in league, with or without him. But when we play some of the better teams in Norcal, in the Bay Area, his presence will be needed.”

As far as doubles play, Leland’s No.1 duo of Osheen Davoudi and Eric Banks are off to a fast start with a 2-0 record. Davoudi reached the CCS playoffs last season as part of a doubles team with Banks’ brother, Craig Banks. While Hermsmeier said both players are capable of stepping up and playing singles, he’s hesitant to break up a good thing, citing both players’ court vision and understanding of their roles in doubles play.

Leland’s Eric Banks is part of Leland’s No. 1 doubles team, along with teammate Osheen Davoudi. The duo is 2-0 in preseason play so far.

“Eric is a very aggressive player, and Osheen is a very consistent player. I like that combination,” Hermsmeier said. “These two guys play the point very smartly. They know how to play doubles, which is unusual for high school players. A lot of kids really don’t know how to play doubles. They’re just talented.”

Rounding out the doubles lineup for Hermsmeier is the No. 2 duo of Michael Chen and Gary Ma, as well as the No. 3 doubles team of Sunny Yang and Michael Keats.

As for Hermsmeier, being a first-year coach for a high school team has been an enjoyable experience. With no previous experience coaching at the high school level, Hermsmeier said he leans at times on his experiences as captain of the men’s 5.0 tennis team at the Almaden Swim and Racquet Club. Still, Hermsmeier said he sees some differences in how to handle things at the high school level.

“I like it very much,” he said. “The kids that play here are very respectful and enthusiastic. At the same time, some of the kids that are here are experienced and accomplished players and you can’t necessarily change or interrupt their game progression, which has gotten them to this point. So you need to handle this with some velvet gloves, so to speak. Know where to be hard, and know where you need to be soft.”

Sports Briefs

Almaden Valley Storm Class 1, U16, holds soccer tryouts
Almaden Valley Storm, a boys’ U16 Class 1 soccer team in the Almaden Valley Youth Soccer League, is holding tryouts for players born between Aug. 1, 1990 and July 31, 1991. Tryouts will be held after the high school season ends. Call Jay Vyas at (408) 997-0812 or Dave Gold (408) 997-7775 for details.

Tryouts set for Almaden Valley Storm Class 1, U13
Almaden Valley Storm, a boys’ U13 Class 1 soccer team in the Almaden Valley Youth Soccer League, is holding tryouts for players born between Aug. 1, 1993 and July 31, 1994. Tryouts will be held at normal practices, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at Steinbeck Middle School. Call Mike Reickerd at (408) 268-7576 or Dave Gold 408-997-7775 for details.

Almaden X-treme soccer players needed
Almaden X-treme soccer team, a Girls U15 Class 1 team, is looking for players. The team took second place in league last year and is looking for players in all positions. Birth dates need to be Aug. 1, 1991 through July 31, 1992. If interested, contact Bob Spaletta 371-8687 or taxhound@aol.com.

Almaden Valley Storm Class 1 U11 soccer team needs players
Almaden Valley Storm, a boys’ U11 Class 1 soccer team in the Almaden Valley Youth Soccer League, is looking for players born between Aug. 1, 1995 and July 31 1996.  Call Mike Reickerd at (408) 268-7576 for more details.

Boys’ U13 competitive soccer team seeks players
A boys’ U13 competitive soccer team is looking for player to come and try out for the 2006 spring and fall soccer team. All practices and home games are in Blossom Valley. Contact Laura Ino at (408) 224-2298 for more information.

Almaden Valley Strikers boys’ U11, Class 3, hosts soccer tryouts
Almaden Valley Strikers, a boys’ U11 Class 3 soccer team in the Almaden Valley Youth Soccer League, is holding tryouts for players born between Aug. 1, 1995 and July 31 1996. Tryouts will be held Saturday, March 18 from 10 a.m.-12 p.m. at Almaden Elementary School. Call Lela Huenergardt at (408) 997-8903 for more details.

Almaden Valley Girls Soccer seeks keeper
Almaden Valley Girls, a U11 Class 1 soccer team in Almaden Valley, is seeking a keeper born between Aug. 1, 1994 and July 31, 1995. Contact Dave Gold at (408) 997-7775 for more information.

BVAL Golf Tournament set for May 8
The Blossom Valley Athletic League will host the BVAL Golf Tournament on May 8 at the Almaden Golf and Country Club. All proceeds from the event will go to BVAL member schools’ athletic programs. Players’ fees are $200 per person, and sponsorship packages are also available for interested parties.

Check-in time and lunch for the event begins at 11 a.m., with players set to tee off at 12:30 p.m. Dinner and a silent auction follows the tournament.

For more information about the BVAL Golf Tournament, please call (408) 265-5409.

High School Sports Schedule

*Note: for baseball and softball, only varsity games are listed because of space constraints. All JV games are played at the opposite site of varsity at the same time, unless otherwise noted

Leland High School
Friday – Varsity baseball at Santa Teresa, 3:30 p.m.
Friday – Swimming vs. Westmont, 3 p.m.
Friday – Varsity girls’ lacrosse at Woodside, 4 p.m.
Friday – JV girls’ lacrosse at Mercy, 5 p.m.

Monday – Varsity boys’ lacrosse vs. Harbor, 4 p.m.

Tuesday – Varsity Golf vs. Leigh at San Jose Municipal, 3:15 p.m.
Tuesday – JV golf vs. Lincoln at Almaden Golf and Country Club, 3 p.m.
Tuesday – Girls’ lacrosse at Menlo-Atherton, JV 5 p.m./varsity 4 p.m.
Tuesday – Varsity softball vs. Mt. Pleasant, 3:30 p.m.
Tuesday – Badminton at Santa Teresa, 3:30 p.m.
Tuesday – Boys’ tennis vs. Independence, 3:15 p.m.

Wednesday – Varsity baseball vs. Oak Grove, 3:30 p.m.
Wednesday – Varsity boys’ lacrosse at Scotts Valley, 3:30 p.m.

Thursday – Varsity golf vs. Leigh at Almaden Golf and Country Club, 3 p.m.
Thursday – JV golf vs. Lincoln at Santa Teresa, 3 p.m.
Thursday – Varsity softball at Branham, 3:30 p.m.
Thursday – Boys’ tennis at Yerba Buena, 3:15 p.m.
Thursday – Boys’ volleyball vs. Oak Grove, JV 6 p.m./varsity 7 p.m.
Thursday – Badminton at Piedmont Hills, 3:30 p.m.

Pioneer High School
Friday – Varsity baseball vs. Westmont, 3:30 p.m.
Friday – Girls’ lacrosse at Menlo School, 4 p.m.

Monday – Varsity Golf vs. Branham, 1:45 p.m.
Monday – Girls’ lacrosse at Las Lomas, 5:30 p.m.

Tuesday – Girls’ lacrosse at Woodside, 4 p.m.
Tuesday – Boys’ volleyball vs. Leigh, JV 6 p.m./Varsity 7 p.m.
Tuesday – Boys’ tennis at Mt. Pleasant, 3:15 p.m.
Tuesday – Varsity softball vs. Oak Grove, 3:30 p.m.
Tuesday – JV golf at Santa Teresa, 3 p.m.
Tuesday – Badminton at Sobrato, 3:30 p.m.

Wednesday – Varsity golf vs. Branham at the Villages, 3 p.m.
Wednesday – Varsity baseball at Willow Glen, 3:30 p.m.

Thursday – Varsity softball at Leigh, 3:30 p.m.
Thursday – Boys’ volleyball at Westmont, JV 6 p.m./Varsity 7 p.m.
Thursday – Boys’ tennis vs. Overfelt, 3:15 p.m.
Thursday – Track vs. Yerba Buena, 3:30 p.m.
Thursday – Badminton vs. Gilroy, 3:30 p.m.


For more information about Leland and Pioneer sporting events, go to:

Pioneer Athletics:
www.phsathletics.com

Leland Athletics:
www.lelandathletics.com

Blossom Valley Athletic League:
www.bval.org

For more complete and up to date schedules on CCS playoffs, go to:
www.cifccs.org

High School Scoreboard

March 8
Leland baseball 6-1 win vs. Leigh
Leland tennis 6-1 win vs. St. Francis

Pioneer baseball 4-0 loss vs. Santa Teresa
Pioneer golf 205-224 win vs. Westmont
Pioneer badminton 8-7 win vs. San Jose High

March 9
Leland boys’ volleyball 25-17, 25-21, 25-13 win vs. Branham

Pioneer boys’ volleyball 25-9, 25-20, 25-14 win vs. Gunderson
Pioneer girls’ track 78-54 loss at Lincoln
Pioneer boys’ track74-52 win at Lincoln
Pioneer boys’ tennis 6-1 loss at Evergreen
Pioneer golf 204-216 win vs. Westmont

Uniform loyalty

Local efforts resurrect Pioneer boys’ windy soccer season

By Justin Petersen
Staff Writer

If you catch wind of somebody selling Pioneer soccer uniforms on eBay, report them to authorities.

The Pioneer boys’ soccer team’s new blue uniforms, shown here being worn by Pioneer’s Flavio Huato, became a good luck charm when the team reeled off eight straight wins during the season, landing the Mustangs into the CCS finals against Mitty. The team sought out, and received ample community help when their original uniforms were stolen prior to the start of the season. Photo by Jeff Frazee

The Mustangs, who made their fourth appearance in the CCS Division II championship game early this month, did so without the comfort of a familiar wardrobe. The team’s storage bin was emptied by summer crooks at some point before the season kicked off, resulting in a frenetic fund-raising effort led by Coach Pedro Fuentez and his players.

“We didn’t find this out until we started practicing,” said Fuentez. “We had to buy sets of four uniforms, two away and two home for each player, and we were going to try to raise the money ourselves.”

Fuentez arranged to sell Quizno’s gift cards en masse.

However, backs were bare just four days prior to Pioneer’s opener versus Los Gatos. The team had raised just $1,100 of the required $4,000.
E
nter the media.

“We were looking at what we had and it became clear that we needed to let police know and let the media know,” Fuentez said. “People responded immediately. They started helping out left and right.”

District 10 Councilmember Nancy Pyle donated $1,000. Valley Christian Schools presented practice bibs and soccer balls during halftime at a Pioneer contest. Time Deli also initiated a fund-raiser, while the Mustangs received support and donations from Los Gatos Community Thrasher Memorial Fund and the Trim-Burger Family Foundation.

“The situation was something that potentially could have ruined our season,” said Fuentez. “This community is very supportive. People are very sensitive about what happens with high school sports. Here, at Pioneer, the sports program is a big pull for our students. I have never been in a high school where there are such a number of kids that are truly a part of something. The help was comforting because it allowed me to go out and do my job.”

Joma Sports officially covered half of all uniform costs.

“They sent out an ex-Leland player Isiais Bardales, and he said, ‘I heard what happened and we’d like to help. Just tell us what you want and we’ll get it here by Friday,’” said Fuentez.

Bardales, who currently plays soccer professionally, and his father have developed contacts at Joma through years of coaching and playing in leagues locally, said Fuentez.

“The uniforms were there by Friday, just like he said,” said Fuentez.

Pioneer, in fact, grew deeply attached to the new uniforms. After playing sub .500 ball early in the season while clad in white jerseys at home, Fuentez instituted a new rule—wear blue. From that point, the Mustangs captured eight consecutive victories and landed in the final game versus Mitty. The spell ended when the Monarchs beat the Mustangs 6-2 on Feb. 24.

Pioneer players and staff will honor those who donated money at the team’s banquet at Pioneer on March 23, beginning at 7 p.m.

Pioneer girls’ lacrosse team picks up first win
of 2006

The Pioneer girls’ lacrosse team picked up its first win of the season on March 13 with an 11-8 victory at home over Santa Catalina.

The win, which improved the Mustangs’ record to 1-1, saw Pioneer’s Micaela Hayden (pictured above) get offensive, scoring seven goals to bolster the Mustang attack. In addition to Hayden’s effort, the Mustangs also received two goals from Sami Vega (pictured below), while Allison Scott and Natalie Ventimiglia each scored one goal to take the win.

The Mustangs will be on the road for two games this coming week, with a March 20 match-up at Las Lomas at 5:30 p.m., as well as a March 21 game at Woodside High at 4 p.m. The girls then return home for a March 24 game against Gunn High at 4 p.m. Photo by Jeff Frazee

Leland baseball earns close 6-5 win over Pioneer

The Leland baseball team scored five runs in the first three innings of play en route to a 6-5 win over Pioneer on March 13. The game was stopped after six innings of play because of darkness.

For Leland, pitcher Matt Slaton (above, center)—shown here being congratulated by teammates—picked up the win and helped his own cause, slamming a home run as part of a two-hit, two-RBI effort in the win. Teammate Danny Dyer also homered in the win.

For Pioneer, outfielder Shaun Souza contributed mightily on offense, collecting two hits and driving in one run, while stealing two bases. Also shown is pitcher Garret Lewis (right), who came on to pitch in relief of starting pitcher Mike Talovic.

With the win, the Chargers improved to 3-0 in Mt. Hamilton Division play, while the Mustangs dropped to 0-3.
Photos by Jeff Frazee

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