SPORTS

Almaden NJB Division III girls all-star team puts Almaden on the map by winning at nationals

By Todd Murakami
Special to the Times

At the opening ceremonies of the National Junior Basketball national championship tournament last week, the Almaden Roadrunner team was introduced as “al-MAY-den?” At each game, the most asked question to coaches, players, and parents was “where’s Almaden?” But the NJB Division 3 Almaden Roadrunners answered this question recently along with all others in winning their national championship, defeating a team from Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif. in the finals.

The Roadrunners began the tournament with a solid 30-11 victory over a scrappy team from Los Alamitos. A stifling team defense held the opposition to one basket the entire game and on offense, seven of the 10 Roadrunners scored in a balanced attack, led by Emily Griffith and Courtney Lisowski with six points each.

Almaden fell behind early in game two, rallied in the second quarter, and then held on for a nailbiting 27-25 victory over Whittier. The second quarter charge was led by Aly Murakami, who blistered the defense with her ball handling and passing skills. Christiana Powery added key rebounds, but it was Amelia Rodriguez’s electrifying steal and full-court lay-up that put the Roadrunners over the top for good. Lindsay Allmon and Griffith led the team with five points each.

In the semi-final against favored Santa Ana, Almaden played its best game of the tournament by winning a seesaw battle, 29-25. Dwarfed in size by Santa Ana’s powerful lineup, the Roadrunners countered with the strong rebounding of Krisanne Keiser, Griffith, and Lisowski, and by pushing the tempo with their fast break led by Murakami and Griffith. Jennah George also played a major factorÑher defense affected Santa Ana’s offense sets all game long. Falling behind early again, Allmon scored the last five points to tie score at 10 after the first quarter. She led the team with nine points followed by Lisowski with eight. Jessica Marshall’s key steals down the stretch secured the victory.

The final game became a defensive struggle as both teams fought off fatigue after playing four games in two days. As they had throughout the nationals and the qualifiers, the Roadrunners showed the heart and courage of champions pulling out a 20-18 victory to earn the NJB national championship over Rancho Santa Margarita.

Almaden’s team, known for its strong defense, was led by Jennah George and Nicole Johnston who both continuously harassed the RSM ball handlers into committing numerous turnovers. As they had in the previous two games, the Roadrunners fell behind, then Marshall’s two buckets in the third pushed them into the lead. Baskets by Lisowski and George kept the ‘Runners ahead in the final period, but it was Allmon’s driving score that proved to be the margin of victory and the championship.

As they had throughout the qualifier and this tournament, the Roadrunners play was truly a total team effort with everyone making major contributions to this hard-earned championship. Included in this effort was the overwhelming support of the parents, grandparents, siblings and fans, who all provided such a positive lift to the girls. Before presenting the trophies, the NJB official in charge of the awards presentations again asked the question “where’s Almaden?” at which the point players, coaches and parents answered, in unison, “San Jose.”

After the team’s efforts in this tournament, there are now many more who know where Almaden is located.

ALMADEN ROWER PULLS HER WEIGHT FOR A SILVER CELEBRATION
Christy Wyatt of Almaden has taken a leadership position with the Los Gatos Rowing Club not only as the stroke (first rower from the coxswain), but also as the publicity manager for the club’s Silver Anniversary celebration, which will be held Saturday (May 1) at the club boathouse on Lexington Reservoir. Wyatt, a mother of two children, ages 2 and 7, and a director of appliances at Apple Computer, has participated in gymnastics as a schoolgirl and later in running and cycling, but only a year and a half ago took up rowing. because of its team aspects. “Rowing is more of a community,” she said. The special bonus, Wyatt notes, is that “the scenery is beautiful. Five a.m. on the lake...it’s breath-taking. I just love it.” The Los Gatos Rowing Club offers masters, juniors and “outreach” programs, the latter for disadvantaged children who are the beneficiaries of the Silver Anniversary charity event designed to mirror Boston’s famous Henley Regatta. For more information on the LGRC, log on at www.lgrc.org or call 566-9406. —By Karl Laucher

In a league of their own

By Miranda Schultz
Sports Editor

The Silicon Valley Softball League is the first league of it’s kind in Santa Clara Valley. It offers gay and lesbian individuals an athletic and recreational outlet through participation in organized softball league competition—in an environment where teammates can be themselves, whether they are classically athletic or not.

And one doesn’t have to be gay to join the league. There is a plethora of sexual orientation among the 12 teams currently in the league. There are about 14 members on each team, coming from all around the San Jose Area and beyond, including members from the Almaden Valley.

More than anything, the members of this league enjoy it for the social benefits. President Steve Bass says, “It’s really an invaluable resource. You have instant interaction and you develop skills. The league really allows a chance to banish social stereotypes.”

With the interaction of gay, lesbian, bisexual, or heterosexual members, it is common for people to let go of certain hang-ups they might have had. This league is filled with jocks, who have been that way their whole life; as well as the other end of the spectrum, those who’ve never participated in a team sport.

“It’s nice to be able to say, ‘I can do this.,’” says Bass, who admits to being one of the latter. “It releases a lot of old scar tissue. I was always the last one picked for dodge ball. It does so much for self-esteem and meeting people. I think it’s exciting to watch people learn and improve.”

The league has two different levels, the “C” division and the “D” division, which are divided according to skill/competition level. Bass says the league is looking to incorporate a division devoted to just beginners in order for them to become acclimated to the game at their pace rather than being tossed in with seasoned players and teams.

Russell Warren, a member of The Phantoms in the “D” division says, “It isn’t about our sexuality. It’s about softball. We’re pretty fierce competitors and anyone watching will be able to tell. We have a lot of fun; most of us are out in the community. No one bothers us about being a gay softball league. It’s actually brilliant in terms of social structure.”

The league runs a 10-game season, and the top four teams participate in the playoffs at the end of the season. Their games take place at seven different fields around San Jose.

“This league really helps to open our social group,” says Mavericks team member Vincent Pena. The Mavericks have a family orientation, with Pena’s brother as the coach and his father as a teammate. “It’s really nice to have the gay camaraderie. This helps to open our social group to more people, as in human beings.”

In the midst of the gay marriage dispute, Bass says, “It’s such an odd distraction. I don’t get it. Starbucks is taking over the world, the economy is in the crapper, my parents had to come out of retirement, people are blowing up each other and there’s going to be arguments on whether it should be right for gay people to be allowed to marry. It’s like one of those James Bond movies where they throw in the smoke cloud and that distracts everyone. It’s just silly.”

The usual sex stereotypes don’t apply in this league. “One of the unique things about our league,” says Warren, “is that it is co-ed, but there are no rules about how many women have to be on a team, and you don’t have to bat in boy-girl order. That isn’t an issue for us. You just play.”

The Silicon Valley Softball League has clinics before each spring and summer season. Games are played on Thursday nights, and practices are random, and according to everyone’s schedule. Anyone interested in playing should attend a clinic where they will be placed on a team. To learn more about the league, visit www.svsl.org.

Sports Schedules

Leland High School

Thursday 4/29
Baseball @ Santa Teresa 3:30
JV baseball vs. Santa Teresa 3:30
Golf vs. Westmont @ Almaden 3:00
Girls lacrosse @ Gunn 3:30
Softball vs. Santa Teresa 3:30
JV softball @ Santa Teresa 3:30
Boys volleyball vs. Leigh 7:00/7:00 (JV, V)
Badminton vs. Del Mar 3:00

Friday 4/30
Boys lacrosse @ Santa Cruz 3:30/5:00 (V, JV)
Boys swimming @ Pioneer 3:00
Girls swimming @ Pioneer 3:00

Saturday 5/1
Track @ Carmel 9 a.m.
Boys volleyball @ Los Gatos HS all day

Monday 5/3
Golf—BVAL Individuals @ Corde Valle TBA
Boys lacrosse JV @ Atherton 4:00 V @ Carmel 4:00
Boys swimming @ Santa Teresa 3:00
Girls swimming vs. Santa Teresa @ Oak Grove 3:00
Boys tennis CCS meeting TBA

Tuesday 5/4
Baseball @ Oak Grove 3:30
JV baseball vs. Oak Grove 3:30
Golf—BVAL team play TBA
Girls lacrosse @ Menlo School 3:30
Softball @ Pioneer 3:30
JV softball vs. Pioneer 3:30
Track @ Silver Creek TBA
Badminton vs. Independence 3:30

Wednesday 5/5
Boys lacrosse vs. Menlo @ Atherton 4:00/5:30 (V, JV)

Pioneer High School

4/28-4/30 Boys tennis—league team finals TBA

Thursday 4/29
Badminton vs. Leigh 3:30
Softball vs. Mt. Pleasant 3:30
JV softball @ Mt. Pleasant 3:30
Track vs. Evergreen 3:30
Boys volleyball @ Willow Glen 5:00/6:00 (JV, V)

Friday 4/30
Swimming vs. Leland 3:00
Baseball @ Del Mar 3:30
JV baseball vs. Del Mar 3:30

Monday 5/3
Golf Team Play TBA
Baseball vs. Independence 3:30
JV baseball @ Independence 3:30

Track Division Finals 5/3-5/7

Tuesday 5/4
Golf BVAL individuals
Badminton vs. Evergreen 3:30
Softball vs. Leland 3:30
JV softball @ Leland 3:30
Boys volleyball @ Gunderson 5:00/6:00

Wednesday 5/5
Baseball vs. Silver Creek 3:30
JV baseball @ Silver Creek
Boys tennis team play TBA

High School Sports Roundup

By Miranda Schultz
Sports Editor

The Leland golf team played Westmont on Tuesday and recorded their lowest total of the year, 187, which is seven over par as a team. The guys are now 12-2 and tied for first place in the BVAL Mt. Hamilton Division, this match marked the end of regular season play.

“I’m happy that we’ve been playing so well towards the end of the season,” says Head Coach Adam Schiro. “We have six guys that can shoot really well and everyone is kind of peeking at the right time.”

5/3 is BVAL Individuals and 5/4 is team play. Depending on the outcome of Branham’s season, Leland may be exempt from qualifying as a team. “I think we’ll have a lot of guys qualify for individuals, and we’re picking it up right now, the guys are on top of their game so if we have to play to qualify, I think we’ll do fine,” says Schiro.

“They’re a good bunch of guys. They’re all dedicated and they’ve proven to me lately that they want to do well, they’re willing to listen a little more. I am trying to stress team unity, and being proud of what they’ve accomplished so far. I want them to enjoy what the doing, golf is tough, they’re lucky they can do what they can do.”

Junior Gary Beene posted the lowest score for the season. He averaged two over par for the season and has averaged six under par for the last two matches.

The Pioneer softball team lost to Independence 0-2 on Tuesday. The girls have a record of 11-7 overall and are 4-5 in the BVAL Mt. Hamilton division. Head Coach Brian Thompson expects more out of the girls. “We played pretty badly. We didn’t hit well and both of Independence’s runs were unearned. Basically, you name it…we didn’t do it correctly,” he says.

He says that that the team will have an extra long practice on Wednesday to attempt to fix some things. “We need to be more aggressive offensively, we’ve been so passive. We’re going to talk about all of those little mistakes we’re making that are hurting us, like teamwork and communication,” says Thompson.
The girls play Mt. Pleasant on Thursday at home.

The Leland boys volleyball team faced Prospect on Tuesday and battled for five games and won. “They started playing really well when they were scared they were going to lose, the fifth game was brilliant but we should play like that all of the time,” says Head Coach Jason Hilbert. The boys are 19-11 overall and are currently tied for first place in the BVAL Mt. Hamilton division with a league record of 11-2.

Noah Hall had 15 kills while Derek Truang and Sam Lee both had 10 kills. The guys play Leigh at home on Thursday and Westmont on Friday, which will be Senior Night for the Chargers. Senior honored that night are Noah Hall, Steve Sim, Nik Rao and Jeff Kwok.

Senior Noah Hall goes up for a kill against a Pioneer blocker on April 22. Hall had 15 kills against Prospect on Tuesday. Photo courtesy Mike Janes.

The Leland baseball team pummeled Santa Teresa on Tuesday 10-0. The Chargers now have full possession of first place with a record of 8-1 in BVAL Mt. Hamilton division and 14-10-2 overall.

There were multiple contributors in the game against Santa Teresa. Senior pitcher Kyle Woodruff pitched a complete game, while the offense racked up 12 hits. Adam Lara was 1-3 with a grand slam, Damon Ronsville was 3-3 and Stephen Akerson and Gabe Castaneda were both 2-2. Leland plays Santa Teresa again on Thursday at Santa Teresa.

Senior pitcher Kyle Woodruff delivers to a Leigh batter on April 22. Woodruff pitched a complete game on Tuesday against Santa Teresa. He currently has an ERA of .777 on the season. Photo courtesy Mike Janes.

Leland softball suffered a rather disappointing loss to Leigh on Tuesday, 2-1. “We had a lot of runners in scoring position, we just didn’t knock in the runs,” says Head Coach Joe Gron. Kelly Harrison pitched a complete game, but the defense made four errors. “Harrison pitched well enough to win the game, but our defense let her down,” says Gron. “Our mental part of the game was not very sharp.”

Christina Saens had two hits with a double, while Ashley O’Brien knocked in the only RBI for Leland.
Unfortunately, the game against Leigh was for first place in the BVAL Mt. Hamilton division, “We’re only one game back, so as long as we get refocused to finish off the last part of the season, we should be fine,” says Gron. This is only the second loss in 13 games for the girls, they have five games left before CCS play. They play Santa Teresa at home on Thursday.

Liz Perez takes a hit away from Oak Grove on 4/22, and has two witnesses. Leland beat Oak Grove 5-4 in 11 innings. Photo courtesy Mike Janes.

The Pioneer golf team is currently 7-5 in the BVAL Mt. Hamilton division, and Head Coach Myron Zaccheo says, “We should win our last two matches, hopefully we’ll end up in third place, hopefully.” The guys are in fourth place right now.

“I think we’re doing fine,” says Zaccheo. “We don’t have any seniors and mostly sophomores so I think we’re doing great.”

Zaccheo mentioned Tom Garcia as their most consistent player. “The good thing about our team is that they work hard and they have good attitudes,” says Zaccheo.

The boys lost to Leland last week, but Zaccheo says, “We played them tough. They only beat us by eight strokes. I’m pleased with how we’re playing.”

League finals take place next week, with individual qualifiers on Monday at Corte Valle and team play on Tuesday at Santa Teresa.

BVAL championships next week

Connie Wang has the kick to lead Leland to first track win

By Karl Laucher
Staff Writer

Leland High School got a look its track and field future when sophomore Connie Wang lead the Chargers to their first Blossom Valley Athletic League Mount Hamilton Division team victory—for either boys or girls—at Oak Grove High School.

Wang won the 800-meter run in dramatic fashion, placed second in the mile and anchored the 4x400 relay team to victory as the Charger girls prevailed 71-58 on Wednesday (April 21), improving their record to 1-4. The Leland boys, despite another pair of wins by distance runner Alex Ramon, were crushed by undefeated Oak Grove 94-25.

Leland Coach Jerry Rose noted hat Wang “did a great job down the stretch” versus Oak Grove’s Kristin Mills, who was previously undefeated in the 800. Wang took and early lead, but Mills took charge in the backstretch only to have Wang go into overdrive at the top of the stretch and hold on for the victory.

Leland will visit Independence High today (April 29) and will participate in the Carmel Invitational meet on Saturday before participating in the BVAL Mount Hamilton Trials on May 4 and the Finals on May 6, both at Mt. Pleasant High.

Ramon remained unbeaten at 1600 and 3200 meters against Oak Grove, but settled for an eighth-place finish at the Top Eight Meet held at Los Gatos High School on Friday.

Pioneer moved closer to the BVAL’s third-tier West Valley division title by running roughshod over Gunderson High, the boys winning 101-22 and the girls rolling 90-10 on Thursday (April 22) at San Jose City College.

The Mustangs sought to clinch the team title for both genders Wednesday against Evergreen Valley High at City College on Wednesday (April 28).

Remaining undefeated for the Pioneer boys was discus and shot launcher Rolando Gomez. Jeff Higashi won both the 16000- and 3200-meter runs. Both boys are juniors. Senior Sean Lopes won the 400-meter run as a prelude to his winning the Top Eight Meet 800-meter title on Friday at Los Gatos High (see Players of the Week).

The BVAL West Valley Trials and Finals will be held May 4 and 6, respectively, at Evergreen Valley High.

Almaden NJB Division III girls all-star team puts Almaden on the map by winning at nationals

By Todd Murakami
Special to the Times

At the opening ceremonies of the National Junior Basketball national championship tournament last week, the Almaden Roadrunner team was introduced as “al-MAY-den?” At each game, the most asked question to coaches, players, and parents was “where’s Almaden?” But the NJB Division 3 Almaden Roadrunners answered this question recently along with all others in winning their national championship, defeating a team from Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif. in the finals.

The Roadrunners began the tournament with a solid 30-11 victory over a scrappy team from Los Alamitos. A stifling team defense held the opposition to one basket the entire game and on offense, seven of the 10 Roadrunners scored in a balanced attack, led by Emily Griffith and Courtney Lisowski with six points each.

Almaden fell behind early in game two, rallied in the second quarter, and then held on for a nailbiting 27-25 victory over Whittier. The second quarter charge was led by Aly Murakami, who blistered the defense with her ball handling and passing skills. Christiana Powery added key rebounds, but it was Amelia Rodriguez’s electrifying steal and full-court lay-up that put the Roadrunners over the top for good. Lindsay Allmon and Griffith led the team with five points each.

In the semi-final against favored Santa Ana, Almaden played its best game of the tournament by winning a seesaw battle, 29-25. Dwarfed in size by Santa Ana’s powerful lineup, the Roadrunners countered with the strong rebounding of Krisanne Keiser, Griffith, and Lisowski, and by pushing the tempo with their fast break led by Murakami and Griffith. Jennah George also played a major factorÑher defense affected Santa Ana’s offense sets all game long. Falling behind early again, Allmon scored the last five points to tie score at 10 after the first quarter. She led the team with nine points followed by Lisowski with eight. Jessica Marshall’s key steals down the stretch secured the victory.

The final game became a defensive struggle as both teams fought off fatigue after playing four games in two days. As they had throughout the nationals and the qualifiers, the Roadrunners showed the heart and courage of champions pulling out a 20-18 victory to earn the NJB national championship over Rancho Santa Margarita.

Almaden’s team, known for its strong defense, was led by Jennah George and Nicole Johnston who both continuously harassed the RSM ball handlers into committing numerous turnovers. As they had in the previous two games, the Roadrunners fell behind, then Marshall’s two buckets in the third pushed them into the lead. Baskets by Lisowski and George kept the ‘Runners ahead in the final period, but it was Allmon’s driving score that proved to be the margin of victory and the championship.

As they had throughout the qualifier and this tournament, the Roadrunners play was truly a total team effort with everyone making major contributions to this hard-earned championship. Included in this effort was the overwhelming support of the parents, grandparents, siblings and fans, who all provided such a positive lift to the girls. Before presenting the trophies, the NJB official in charge of the awards presentations again asked the question “where’s Almaden?” at which the point players, coaches and parents answered, in unison, “San Jose.”

After the team’s efforts in this tournament, there are now many more who know where Almaden is located.

Daniel Mollo still a ‘Charger,’ now lifting West Valley College

By Karl Laucher
Staff Writer

Daniel Mollo, the 2002 Central Coast Section 400-meter champion for Leland High School, isn’t setting the world on fire in the community college ranks, but he scorched more than a few thoroughbred runners as a West Valley College entry in the Coast Conference championships last weekend in Salinas.

Mollo set a personal best of 48.21 seconds in the trials and came back with a 48.24 in the championship round to finish second to Darrell Tyrell of City College of San Francisco, which had a posse of outstanding 400-meter specialists, the Rams placing first, third, fourth, fifth and eighth.

Not only did Mollo foil the CCSF 400-meter monopoly, but he proved even more dangerous as the anchor on the Vikings 4x400-meter relay during which he came from more than 50 meters behind to give West Valley another second place behind vaunted CCSF.

Among those in the audience at Hartnell College where Mollo’s coaches when he was a Leland Charger: Jerry Rose and Rudy Montenegro. Commented Rose: “Daniel is a kid driven from within. You don’t have to give him much direction. He has that intangible that you can’t coach: the drive and desire to win.”

Mollo says he’s ready for some more peak performances. “I feel like my times are going to keep dropping,” he said. He will next participate in the Northern California trials Saturday at American River College in Sacramento with the finals a week later at Modesto City College.

Players of the Week

Stephen Huang
Sport: Leland swimming
Class: junior

On a day when Leland shattered 20 personal records, beating Branham High School 122-61, Huang shone brightest breaking three of his own records and qualifying for CCS competition in the 100-yard breaststroke event, finishing in a time of 1:04.81.

“Stephen has been working hard,” said Leland Coach Mike Monsees. “At times I’ve had to leave the practice for a few minutes and I can count on Stephen to direct the practice without trouble. He really leads his lane and I’m proud of him for qualifying in CCS.”

Sean Lopes
Sport: Pioneer High School track and field
Class: senior

Lopes is a three-sport athlete at Pioneer, participating in cross country, soccer and is considered by Coach Mark Krail as “our team leader in track. He’s worked very hard, knowing this is his senior year. He’s done everything possible to prepare.”

Last Friday Lopes won the CCS Top Eight meet, which is a potential upset to Aptos High School’s Jacob Evans who has posted the top 800 time of the year in the CCS.

“He was able to catch [Evans] down the back stretch and beat him. He has a lot of individual goals, one being to go to the state meet, but he also realizes the team aspect of the sport, he isn’t selfish at all,” says Krail.
Lopes’ time for the 800 at the Top Eight meet was 1:54:11; Evans was 1:54:56.

Pioneer, Leland gear up for MHAL swimming showdown
Chargers hot off lopsided win over Branham

By Justin Petersen
Staff writer

When the Chargers of Leland High School shoot up the stream, Almaden Expressway, to swim versus the Mustangs of Pioneer at their pool on April 30, there’s a lot more than friendly competition on the line.

Leland, whose girls are undefeated at 5-0 and boys holding strong at 5-1, must defeat Pioneer to maintain their grip on the league titles. Pioneer, however, has aspirations of its own. With Mustang boys and girls teams boasting identical 5-1 records, a win versus Leland would mean a probable share of the Blossom Valley Athletic League, Mount Hamilton Division, title.

For many, a Pioneer/Leland meet pits old friends and past classmates versus one another. Some athletes have swum at the same clubs, such as Shadowbrook I and II or Crossgates, since they were 6 years old, in addition to attending middle school together at Castillero and Bret Harte.

“It’s always more fun for the kids to compete against old friends,” said Leland girls’ coach, Mike Haake. “It’s going to be a tough meet. They’ll be ready because Gordie’s dedicated. He’s a good coach.”

Haake, who also holds personal interest in the meet having coached the son of Pioneer’s Gordie Smith in high school, acknowledged Smith’s abilities and resolve as a year round swim instructor.

“Gordie will coach 12 months and love it,” said Haake. “Three months is enough for me. The high school season is so intense, I’m ready to sit down and relax, but Gordie, he really pushes it with the club teams and all.”
Heading into the meet, Leland teams come off lopsided victories over Branham High school. April 23, the Chargers handled the Bruins winning 122-61 on the boys side and 144-44 on the girls.

It was the relays that set the boys apart. Leland secured three relay events, including the 200-yard medley relay, 200-yard freestyle relay and 400-yard freestyle relay. Charger, Zac Monsees swam in all three relays along with counterpart Nick Beene.

In lady Charger action, Courtney Monsees paced the Chargers, coming within 0.2 of a second from breaking a long-standing school record in the 50-yard freestyle event.

“That’s a big deal,” said coach Haake of Monsees’ effort. “Most of the records at Leland have been held since the 80s and Courtney’s been grinding it out on a two-a-day training schedule. She’s swimming tired. Hopefully in league and CCS the competition will push her into the record books.”

Pioneer is coming off a dual meet held at Independence High School, where the Mustangs faced both Indy and Piedmont Hills High School. That day Pioneer took four meets for the price of one, winning boys and girls, both sides.

Pioneer tennis finishes on high note

Levine and Soshnikov advance in BVAL doubles play

By Justin Petersen
Staff writer

It’s all over for the Pioneer High School tennis team, that is, with the exceptions of senior pacemakers Art Soshnikov and Brett Levine. With their third place finish in the doubles bracket of the Blossom Valley Athletic League, Santa Teresa Division tournament, the duo moves on to the BVAL finals versus the heavy handed A-League competition of Leland High School and co.

On April 27, the Mustangs rounded out their team’s league schedule whacking Prospect High School by a cool seven matches to zero at Pioneer. The victory moved Pioneer’s record to 9-3, one match shy of the league championship, which fell into the hands of Del Mar High School.

“It was a nice way to end the season,” said Pioneer Coach Julie Szarlacki of the Mustangs’ Tuesday night victory over Prospect and their April 22 4-3 tie-breaker win versus Del Mar. “We beat the league champs last week and finished with a win so that gives us some momentum going into next season. It was a great finish.”
Unfortunately the Mustangs graduate six seniors in 2004, so it remains unclear as to who will lead the team next year.

This year, however, several Mustangs stepped up to resurrect a season that some had written off, after number-one singles player Kareem Berdai fell to ineligibility. Seniors Levine, Andy Wilder, and Soshnikov played well throughout and newcomer Noah Lamoyne was a pleasant surprise playing in the number-one doubles tandem with Soshnikov.

“I’m really going to miss all my seniors,” confided Szarlacki. “They were a great bunch of guys and I’m really proud of all the effort they put out this year. They are leaving some tough shoes to fill for the team next year.”
Until then, Levine and Soshnikov will be called upon to carry the Pioneer torch in the BVAL finals, which are scheduled according to the results in matches this week. Good luck to the Mustangs at BVALs.

Cal ruggers seek revenge at Stanford; San Jose Minis to perform
Seeking its 20th National Collegiate Championship in 25 years, the University of California-Berkeley mens rugby team is a heavy favorite to top the podium when the Division I Final Four is held at Stanford on Friday and Saturday (April 30-May 1).

The Cal Bears, who open against the Navy Academy at 2 p.m. on Friday, were heavy favorites last year, too, but were upset in the semi-finals by Air Force, which went on to win its third National Championship. The Falcons face Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in a semi-final at 4 p.m. on Friday.

In the womens Division I Final Four, Princeton clashes with Virginia at 10 a.m. and Navy engages Penn State at noon in Friday semis.

There will be four championship games on Saturday: Division II women, Temple vs. Providence, 10 a.m.; Womens Division final, noon; Men’s Division II final, Salisbury U. vs. Arkansas State, 2 p.m., and the Division I Men’s final, 4 p.m.

The San Jose Seahawks Mini Rugby team, ages 5 to 13, will put on a youth rugby exhibition during the competition.

Tickets are $15 for two days or $10 per day; students 18 and under with identification will receive a discounted fare. For more information call 1 800 782-6367 or go online at www.usarugby.org.

—By Karl Laucher