Palo Alto, Gunn swimmers Palo Alto, Gunn swimmers (April 21, 2004)match strengths in showdown

by Keith Peters

The scenario will be the same and the stakes just as high when the Palo Alto and Gunn swim teams meet in their annual showdown on Friday.

All four teams are 4-0 in the SCVAL De Anza Division heading into the 3 p.m. meet in the Vikings' pool. At stake will be the undisputed lead in the division's dual-meet standings.

Following this meet, both Gunn and Paly have one dual-meet remaining, both winnable for the Titans and Vikings. Thus, Friday's winners can all but lock up the regular-season dual-meet titles. The overall crowns will be determined at the league finals, May 7, at Los Altos.

Palo Alto coach Jeff Peterson sees good things coming out of Friday's meet.

"The meet should be very competitive, as always," he said. "Gunn has a talented group of swimmers, and we'll have to step up our performance to be able to compete with them.

"This is a meet we've been looking forward to all season because this has really developed into such a great rivalry over the past few years. I expect both teams will swim a very fast, focused and intense meet."

Depth should be the determining factor Friday, and both Gunn and Paly possess it. For the Vikings, that was never more evident than last Friday's victories over host Mountain View.

In the boys' meet, Mountain View won seven events but Paly swam off with a 94-84 triumph. Paly wrapped things up when junior Alec Goldfield led a 1-2-3 finish in the 100 breast and a 2-3-4 finish in the final 400 free relay. Paly senior Kalani Leifer won the 200 IM in a season-best 2:02.89, swam on the winning 200 medley relay and took second in the 100 fly (55.23) to the Eagles' Fred Tran (53.86, No. 3 in CCS).

In the girls' meet, Mountain View standout (and Stanford-bound) Brooke Bishop won two individual races and anchored two winning relays, but Palo Alto still posted a 106-80 victory. Paly junior Monika Friedman moved among the CCS leaders by winning the 200 free in 1:58.83 in addition to taking the 500 free in 5:21.52. Allyson Laughton led a 1-2-3 finish in the 100 breast to help clinch the victory.

In the PAL Bay Division, the Menlo boys and girls can move closer to wrapping up their respective dual-meet titles this week. The Knights, both 4-0, took on host Aragon (also both 4-0) on Tuesday in meets that likely will determine the regular-season titles. After that, Menlo hosts Woodside on Thursday and Menlo-Atherton on April 29.

In nonleague action, Sacred Heart Prep traveled to Orange County to continue its home-and-away series with Santa Margarita, and came away with a split decision. The SHP boys (8-1) posted a 99-71 victory while the Gator girls (2-7) fell, 100-70. Both meets were held at Soka University, near Irvine.

Two school records fell in the meet for Sacred Heart Prep. For the boys, Pat Norton won the 100 back in 59.10 to break the previous mark of 59.27 by Liko Soules-Ono in 1995. That was the oldest school mark on the books. For the girls, freshman Megan Maurano won the 100 breast in 1:10.13 to erase the previous standard of 1:10.42 by current sophomore Tiffany Yim in 2003.

The SHP boys will put their 5-0 record in West Catholic Athletic League action on the line Thursday in a big dual meet at league co-leader Bellarmine at 3 p.m.
Baseball

Menlo (8-0, 14-5) can all but lock up the PAL Lake Division title this week with a sweep of second-place Sequoia (6-2). The teams opened their home-and-away series Tuesday and continue it Wednesday at Menlo at 3:15 p.m.

Knights' senior left-hander Chuck Huggins, the likely starter in Wednesday's game, improved to 7-1 last week during a 15-1 romp over host Westmoor. Huggins allowed only one hit over five innings while striking out eight. Pat Robinson smashed his first career grand slam during a five-run third inning to give Huggins a 7-0 lead. Jesse Sweet added three hits while Matt Lapolla contributed two RBI.

In the SCVAL De Anza Division, Palo Alto (7-3, 11-7) maintained its hold on third place with a solid 12-2 victory over visiting Fremont last Friday. Jeremy Gillan (5-1) continued his fine season by limiting the Firebirds to three hits over five innings. Fellow senior Sandy Williams struck the big blow of the game, a grand slam in the sixth. Seniors Max Pinto and David Stringer added two RBI apiece for Paly, which is scheduled to play Los Gatos (Monday), host Los Altos (Wednesday) and visit Milpitas (Friday) is a very big week.

In the PAL Bay Division, Menlo-Atherton (4-4, 9-10) can move into third place this week by sweeping Terra Nova (5-3). The teams meet at Flood Park on Wednesday at 3:15 p.m., before playing in Pacifica on Friday. The Bears tuned up with a 9-1 spanking of Capuchino last Friday. Kyle McCabe needed on 68 pitches during a complete-game three-hitter and Justin Dove contributed three hits and two RBI. A five-run first inning decided it, highlighted by Tyler Finley's two-run double.

Baseball

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