M-A girls, Menlo boys just miss titles M-A girls, Menlo boys just miss titles (September 14, 2005)

Both water polo teams show they'll be making waves this year after taking second in prestigious 32-team tournaments

by Keith Peters

Chris Rubin and Jack Bowen did not bring championship trophies home with them from prestigious water polo tournament action last weekend.

The two coaches, however, did bring with them the feeling that their respective teams will fare just fine this season following second-place finishes Saturday.

"This was our first time in the finals, and we had a shot to win the championship," said Rubin, the new head girls' coach at Menlo-Atherton. "Confidence-wise, this is a great building point for us."

The Bears opened their season with a 4-1 effort in the 32-team Clovis Invitational in Fresno, improving upon their fourth-place finish of 2004. The only smudge on the weekend was a 10-9 loss to host Clovis West in the championship game.

A bit closer to home, Bowen guided his Menlo boys to a runnerup spot in the annual 32-team John Schmitt NorCal Invitational that wrapped up Saturday. The Knights (4-1) were impressive - beating defending CCS Division II champ St. Francis in the semifinals (9-5) -- until running into host Bellarmine in the finals and falling, 6-3.

Menlo junior Ben Hohl had 16 goals in the first four wins and senior Matt Hudnall had 10, but both were blanked in the finals.

"The frustrating thing is that we did not play well against them," Bowen said of the Bells. "We played well in the other four games. I don't know. It could have been an intimidation thing."

Before Saturday's finale, Menlo had a 1-1 career record against Bellarmine in two one-goal games. The Bells, however, were playing in their own pool and have won 19 CCS titles since 1983, including seven straight Division I crowns.

Despite the setback to Bellarmine, Bowen said finishing second "was a good thing. We won that tournament last year and it was a little nerve-wracking, being so good so early in the year."

Menlo is still very good and will have another shot at many of the top teams in the CCS when the Knights host the annual Scott Roche Invitational Friday and Saturday. An interesting second-round match on Friday (3:30 p.m.) likely will pit Menlo against local rival Sacred Heart Prep.

The Gators (4-1) finished fifth in the Schmitt, losing only to Bellarmine by 3-2 in the third round. Sophomore Tim Norton scored eight goals, including two in a 3-1 win over Jesuit in the fifth-place match.

Gunn (3-2) grabbed seventh with a 6-5 win over 2004 runnerup Clovis West. Brandon Johnson scored 14 goals to pace the Titans. Menlo, Sacred Heart Prep and Gunn all qualified for the John Felix Memorial state tournament later this season.

Palo Alto (2-2) also had a solid tournament with a 9-7 win over Los Altos and a 9-4 triumph over Tokay.

In Fresno, Menlo-Atherton and Palo Alto laid the groundwork for successful seasons with their performances. The Vikings went 3-2 and finished fourth.

Menlo-Atherton's Kelly Eaton and Heidi Kucera both were named to the All-Tournament team and were joined by Paly's Phoebe Champion.

Eaton was outstanding in the two-day tournament. She scored 25 goals, had 20 steals, 10 assists and drew 10 ejections. Kucera added 12 goals, 13 steals and two assists while Kelly Fero scored seven times and had nine assists with Rita Bullwinkel collecting six steals as a two-meter defender.

The Bears outscored their opponents, 62-31, in addition to posting an 11-8 win over defending champion Buchanan in the semifinals. Buchanan took third with an 8-5 win over Palo Alto. The Vikings' only other loss was to Clovis West, 4-2.

Champion finished with 12 goals and Tanya Wilcox added nine. In addition to their offense, both shut down every player they guarded.

"It was a good first weekend for a young team," said Paly's first-year coach Theo Ludwick. "For many of the players, the games against Buchanan and Clovis West were the first strong varsity games that they had played in, and I think the majority of our mistakes stemmed from that."

Boys soccer

Sacred Heart Prep (3-3) saw its undefeated season end in a 1-3 performance at the Del Campo Invitational in Sacramento last weekend.

The Gators opened with a 3-0 loss to Rocklin, which went on to win the tournament that featured many Division I NorCal teams. SHP also dropped 1-0 decisions to Casa Robles and Christian Brothers on late goals. The Gators' lone win was 2-0 over Galt on goals by Cory Hatton and Travis Benson.

"It was very interesting, very challenging," said SHP coach Juan Camahort. "It was a good experience. We saw that we could compete."

Girls tennis

Menlo finished third and Sacred Heart Prep took seventh in the annual 64-team Peach Tree Classic in Fresno last weekend.

The Knights went 4-2, losing to CCS powers Saratoga and Monta Vista by 4-2 scores.

"It was really disappointing for us because we should have won both those matches," said Menlo coach Bill Shine. The Knights had won the first set in doubles in both matches only to fall in super-tiebreakers.

Menlo was one of four CCS teams to reach the semifinals - along with Mitty, Monta Vista and Saratoga - in a field of teams throughout the state.

The Knights opened with 6-0 wins over Clovis West, RL Stevenson and Miramonte before sandwiching a 5-1 win over Mitty between the losses.

Girls volleyball

Woodside Priory captured its own Panther Invitational on Saturday by sweeping four matches, topped by a 25-21, 25-13 win over St. Thomas More in the championship match. Senior Kai Novotny was among the standout players for the Panthers (5-1).

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