Publication Date: Friday, October 14, 2005
PREP ROUNDUP
Paly's ugly days are gone
Paly's ugly days are gone
(October 14, 2005) Boys' water polo clinches no worse than tie for title
by Keith Peters
The seven seniors on the Palo Alto boys' water polo team have shared some ugly moments the past few years.
There was last season's 14-18 record and the very forgettable 8-23 performance in 2003. Coach Jon Barnea, however, knew the losing would end and preached patience to his veteran players.
That patience has paid off with a winning season in 2005. In fact, the seniors locked up no worse than a tie for the SCVAL De Anza Division title on Wednesday with an 8-6 victory over host Los Gatos. Palo Alto improved to 5-0 in league and 13-9 overall.
"Mathematically speaking, I don't see how we can end up anywhere but in first place," Barnea said. "It's good to know we've controlled our own destiny."
Paly has one league match remaining, at Los Altos (2-2) next Wednesday. Gunn (4-1) and Los Gatos (4-1) will play each other on Oct. 26, but both have been beaten by the Vikings.
Even if Paly finishes in a tie, the Vikings will get the top seed in the De Anza Division tournament and receive a first-round bye. Moreover, the Vikings should be headed to the Central Coast Section playoffs for the first time since 2002 - when the current seniors were freshmen.
"I'm real happy for them," Barnea said of his seniors. "Now, they have a chance to go on and do some good things."
The Vikings also did some good things at Los Gatos, jumping to a 6-3 halftime lead and stretching it to 7-3 on senior Mike Sorgenfrei's third goal. At that point, the Vikings got a bit hesitant and the Wildcats rallied in front of their vocal crowd to close to within 7-6.
Seniors Gregor Horstmeyer and Dan Griffin appropriately silenced Los Gatos when Horstmeyer took a pass a two meters and whipped it to Griffin, whose goal gave the Vikings their sixth-straight win.
Gunn (4-1, 14-7) remained in second place with a 10-5 win over Monta Vista as senior Kyle Gertridge led the way with four goals and senior Brandon Johnson two.
In the PAL Bay Division, Menlo (3-0, 20-2) and Menlo-Atherton (2-0, 10-4) stayed on course for their showdown on Oct. 26 at M-A with easy victories. Junior Peter Jacobs scored six goals for the Bears in a 12-3 romp over Carlmont, while Menlo junior Ben Hohl scored nine goals in two PAL wins.
The Knights also added a 9-5 nonleague win over De La Salle as Hohl and senior Kyle Hudson tossed in three goals apiece. Senior Matt Hudnall added four steals and junior goalie Mike Merlone had 10 saves.
In the West Catholic Athletic League, Sacred Heart Prep (3-1, 13-4) fell out of a first-place tie with Bellarmine following a 9-3 loss to the visiting Bells. The Gators will host their co-ed Gator Classic today and Saturday, featuring the Palo Alto and St. Francis boys and Palo Alto girls.
Girls water polo
Sacred Heart Prep and Palo Alto remained undefeated in their respective leagues while Menlo-Atherton and Menlo stayed on a collision course for their title showdown.
The Gators (4-0, 16-1) handed host Presentation an 11-7 loss in the WCAL as sophomore Pallavi Menon tallied four goals and senior Christie Clark added three.
Palo Alto (3-0, 14-7) stayed atop the De Anza Division standings with a 12-5 romp over host Mountain View as junior Tanya Wilcox scored four goals and senior Roxanne Pinto contributed three. Paly and SHP could play each other in the finals of the Gator Classic on Saturday at 5 p.m.
In the PAL Bay Division, Menlo (3-0, 12-3) and Menlo-Atherton (3-0, 12-5) each won twice this week. They'll likely decide the regular-season title in the Bears' pool on Oct. 26.
M-A seniors Kelly Eaton and Heidi Kucera combined for 18 goals in a 14-1 win over Carlmont and an 11-5 triumph over Castilleja. Menlo sophomore Brittany Westerman tallied seven goals in the Knights' 17-1 rout of San Mateo and 11-4 win over Burlingame.
Gunn (2-1, 8-7) kept its De Anza Division title hopes alive with a 16-7 win over visiting Saratoga as Di Eaton, Emily Viggiano and Natasha Walstra all scored three goals. Gunn will host Paly on Oct. 26, likely for the league title.
Girls tennis
Menlo will take on some of the best teams in the state this weekend in the annual National Invitational Tournament in Newport Beach.
"I would say it's the closest thing to a state tournament," said Menlo coach Bill Shine. "A bunch of teams from out of state dropped out at the last moment, so it's looking like an all-California state tournament."
Menlo (17-3) will open against Dana Hills and likely will advance to face No. 2 seed Torrey Pines in the second round. The Knights could face CCS rival Monta Vista, the tournament's No. 3 seed, in the third round. Saratoga is the No. 4 seed.
Menlo is coming off a solid 6-1 nonleague win over St. Francis on Wednesday.
"We're playing better," said Shine, who splits his squad for PAL matches. "This weekend will be really good for us. We'll find out just how good we are."
Sacred Heart Prep, meanwhile, unofficially has moved into the No. 4 position for the CCS tournament following a 5-2 WCAL win at Mitty on Tuesday. The Gators (9-0, 12-5), who followed that with a 6-1 win over host Notre Dame-Belmont on Wednesday, have beaten Mitty twice this season and hold a commanding lead in league play. The Gators likely can clinch their first-ever outright league crown by beating host St. Francis on Oct. 20.
In the West Bay Athletic League, surprising Woodside Priory (4-1, 7-3) stayed a game back of league-leading Notre Dame-San Jose following a big 5-1 win over visiting Castilleja (3-2, 6-2) on Tuesday.
Anisha Bhalla won quickly at No. 1 singles for Castilleja, but the Panthers battled back to win three matches in three sets to secure the win. Woodside Priory's Emily Elliott came back to beat Leslie Lipsick at No. 2 singles, 6-2, 2-6, 6-4; Sonal Khana did the same at No. 4 singles over Kerry Zweig, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4; and the No. 1 doubles team of Madie Turner and Michelle Bradford rallied to topple Castilleja's Emily Michaels and Brittany Brown, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2. Priory's Tori Patton had a solid 6-1, 6-1 win at No. 3 singles and the No. 3 doubles team of Jasmine Madavi and Laura Christian provided Priory with a straight-set win there.
In the Private Schools Athletic League, Pinewood (6-0, 10-4) moved closer to defending its regular-season title with a 7-0 win over host Redwood Christian. Mithya Srinivasan, Lindsay Nickels, Courtney Buchanan and Sasha Chatmanukol swept the singles for the Panthers.
Football
Former Menlo-Atherton football and wrestling coach Ben Parks will be honored before the Bears' homecoming game against South San Francisco on Saturday. The school will dedicate the football surface as Coach Parks Field during a 1 p.m. ceremony. The PAL Bay Division football game will follow at 2 p.m.
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