Sports Shorts Sports Shorts (January 21, 2004)

OAKS CORNER . . . The Menlo College women's basketball team gave nationally (NAIA) fourth-ranked Holy Names all it could handle on Friday night before dropping a 56-52 decision to the visiting Lady Hawks in California Pacific Conference action. The Lady Oaks (2-3, 6-8) also lost on Saturday, 72-62, to host Notre Dame de Namur in Belmont. Menlo held the lead for most of the night against Holy Names (3-0, 18-2) before a late run allowed the Lady Hawks to escape with the victory. Ki'i Spencer-Vasconcellos led the Lady Oaks with 16 points while Nicole Johnson had 11 rebounds to go with eight points. Sacred Heart Prep grad Melissa Bayol led Notre Dame de Namur to its victory over Menlo with 13 points, six rebounds and six assists. For the Lady Oaks, Keisha Thomas recorded her first ever double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds while Spencer-Vasconcellos added 24 points. The Lady Oaks travel to Pacific Union for a 6:30 p.m. game on Saturday . . . The Menlo College men's basketball team dropped a pair of California Pacific Conference games over the weekend, losing to visiting Holy Names, 85-73, on Friday and losing to host Notre Dame de Namur, 86-73, on Saturday. Mike Watters scored a combined 49 points in the two games on 15-of-31 shooting along with a 15-of-19 effort from the foul line. Trevor Mates scored 14 against Holy Names and added 20 against Notre Dame de Namur. Kyle Arneson added 14 against the Hawks. Menlo (1-5, 1-12) visits Pacific Union on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. . . . The Menlo College men's wrestling team dropped three decisions in the NWCA National Duals at Cleveland State on Sunday. The Oaks lost, 19-18, to Missouri Valley; 34-10 to Montana State Northern; and 25-13 to Lindenwood. Ricky Aguirre, Danny Castillo and Eddie Lucatero each won twice on the day. Menlo hosts Southern Oregon and Embry Riddle on Friday, Jan. 30.

OF LOCAL NOTE . . . Stanford product and two-time NCAA singles tennis champion Laura Granville defeated Thailand's Tamarine Tanasugarn, 6-1, 6-3, in the opening round of the Australian Open on Monday. It was Granville's first win after suffering first-round losses in two previous tournaments. Former Menlo School standout Dmitry Tursunov lost his first- round match to Croatia's Ivan Ljubicic, 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 . . . Stanford grad Randal Bal swam a 23.89 to win the 50-meter back at the World Cup short-course meet in Berlin on Sunday. Stanford grad Jenny Thompson finished second in the 100 free to France's Malia Metella. Thompson swam a 53.49 to Metella's 53.30.

LOCAL SOCCER NEWS . . . The Stanford JV, an Under-12 boys' Class I team that plays in the Ambronzino League, will hold tryouts Jan. 24 and 31 at Mitchell Park. The team is coached by European pro Chris Sullivan. Information: 269-4971 . . . The Stanford Vortex Under-14 boys' team is holding tryouts for the spring and fall seasons. Information: 321-5944 or www.stanfordsoccerclub.org . . . The Palo Alto CYSA Soccer Club will be conducting tryouts for the upcoming season for boys and girls between the ages of 10-14 at the Cubberley fields. The Under-10 and Under-12 boys' and girls' teams will conduct tryouts on Saturday, Jan. 24, Sunday, Feb. 1 and Saturday, Feb. 7. The Under-13 and Under-14 boys' and girls' teams will hold tryouts on Sunday, Jan. 25, Saturday, Jan. 31 and Sunday, Feb. 8. For more information, visit the website at www.pasoccerclub.org . . . The Union Football Club is a recently formed CYSA club located in Palo Alto and will be holding tryouts. For information, visit the website at www.unionfootballclub.com or call 387-4128 . . . The MVLA CyberRays, a CYSA Under-12 girls' Class 3 (born after 7/31/91) is looking for several fast, skilled and dedicated players to help the team move up to the next level. Players can be from Saratoga, Cupertino, Sunnyvale, Mountain View, Menlo Park, Palo Alto, Los Altos, and Los Altos Hills. For more information: 996-0505 or by email at almartin@stanford.edu . . . The Stanford Wildfire, an Under-12 girls' Class 3 team moving to Class 1, is holding tryouts for the upcoming spring season. Contact Barbara Zimmer at 424-0736 or kev-barb@pacbell.net . . . The Mountain View-Los Altos Earthquakes soccer club, for boys born after July 31, 1994, will hold tryouts at the Santa Rita Elementary School on Saturday, Jan. 24 between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. For information, visit the website at www.eteamz.com/earthquakessoccer/.

SOFTBALL SIGNUPS . . . The final day for walk-in registration for the 2004 Palo Alto Girls' Softball league season will be Saturday, Jan. 31 from 10 a.m. to noon in Room H-1 at the Cubberley Community Center. Players ages 5-15 also can register online at www.paloaltogirlssoftball.org. The league, affiliated with the Amateur Softball Association (ASA), serves players from Palo Alto, Menlo Park, East Palo Alto and Los Altos Hills. The spring season begins in March and runs through June.

COACHES NEEDED . . . Woodside Priory is looking for baseball, golf plus track and field coaches for the spring season. Interested coaches should contact Athletic Director Mark Stogner at 851-6107 . . . Sacred Heart Prep is looking for assistant swim coaches for the spring, to work with the boys' and girls' teams. Interested coaches should contact SHP athletic director Mike Ciardella at 473-4031.

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