November 09, 2005

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Palo Alto Online

Menlo and SHP girls begin tennis title chase

by Keith Peters

For the past two years, the Central Coast Section girls' tennis tournament has had all the drama of a one-horse race.

Monta Vista dominated both times, including a 7-0 thumping of Menlo School in 2004.

While Monta Vista (21-3) once again is the top-seeded team in the 24-team tourney that began Tuesday, no one is handing the Matadors the CCS trophy just yet.

"It's not a one-team race like last year," said Menlo coach Bill Shine, whose teams won six straight section crowns before Monta Vista began its streak by beating the Knights the past two seasons. "This year we have at least three teams, maybe four, with a legitimate chance to win it."

Menlo is in that select group, along with Saratoga and Sacred Heart Prep. All begin tournament play Wednesday on their respective home courts.

The No. 3-seeded Knights (22-5) host either Hillsdale (20-1) or Monterey (13-2) while the No. 4-seeded Gators (18-6) host either Independence (10-3) or Aptos (15-5). Both matches begin at 2:30 p.m.

Saratoga (20-3), which ended Monta Vista's 45-match win streak this season, is the No. 2 seed.

"Everyone seems to be in the right spot," Shine said of the seedings.

Should Menlo get by its first match as expected, No. 6-seeded St. Ignatius (16-7) is a likely opponent on Friday. SHP, meanwhile, likely will face No. 5 Mitty (19-5) in the quarterfinals at 2:30 p.m.

Semifinals will be Monday at Courtside Tennis Club in Los Gatos and likely will find Menlo against Saratoga and Sacred Heart Prep against Monta Vista. Shine, for one, likes having to play the Falcons before the Matadors.

"I think we have a better chance against Saratoga," he said. "The (Menlo) girls are a little older and we're a little deeper than last year.

"But, from the quarterfinals on will be a test for everyone. There's more good teams in the CCS this season than there have been in a while."

The championship match will be Wednesday, Nov. 16 at Courtside at 2 p.m., barring any rain delays.
Girls volleyball

Six local teams begin their quest for CCS and NorCal berths beginning Wednesday.

In the Division II playoffs, sixth-seeded Palo Alto (19-12) will host No. 11 Westmont (19-13) while No. 9 Gunn (18-12) visits No. 8 Leland (23-11), both at 7 p.m. The winners advance to the quarterfinals Saturday. Paly could face No. 3 Leigh (25-4) while Gunn would tangle with No. 1 Mitty (34-0).

Paly enters the postseason without senior Becca Hagemann, sidelined by an injury.

"Outside of the injury to Hagemann, the girls will be ready to play," said Paly coach Dave Huan. "It's a great seed for us, but I'm not looking towards the second round yet. Leigh is sitting there and preparing for us, but we're not preparing for them. Westmont will be a tough test for us."

Paly has played Leigh twice this season, winning a 3-0 match on the Longhorns' court and losing a 2-1 tourney match.

Gunn, meanwhile, is in the position Paly was last season - a first-round win earning the Titans the unenviable task of playing the nationally-ranked Monarchs.

"I don't mind having to play Mitty in the second round," said Gunn's first-year coach Matt Hoffman. "That's is just the way things fall. We have to play our best no matter who we play. And the way I am looking at it is that we probably would have to play them sometime anyways. But first we need to get past Leland, no small task as they are a good team."

Hoffman was a bit upset of the low seed the Titans received, despite finishing second in the SCVAL De Anza Division.

"My girls worked so hard to get second in a tough league, only to see teams who finished behind us in league get a higher seed," Hoffman said, acknowledging Mountain View's No. 5 seed, Paly's No. 6 seed and a No. 7 seed given to Los Altos - all in Division II.

"But, there is only so much we can control," Hoffman said. "We are going to do what we have been doing the past two weeks and that is prepare for our next opponent and keep playing the best volleyball we have been playing all season. That is all I can ask of the girls, and we'll see what happens from there."

In Division IV, fourth-seeded Menlo (21-13) opens Saturday against No. 5 Harker (22-10) in a tough second-round match at Burlingame High at 3 p.m. Harker shared the West Bay Athletic League title with Castilleja this season.

A victory likely will earn the Knights a semifinal date on Nov. 16 against No. 1 seed (and host) Valley Christian-San Jose, a team that Gunn beat this season.

Menlo is coming off a sweep of Carlmont last week that gave the Knights their fourth straight PAL Bay Division championship. Menlo has won 17 of its past 21 matches after a 4-9 start.

In Division V, Castilleja (30-6) is the top seed and heavy favorite to win its first-ever CCS title. The Gators open Saturday against No. 8 Pacific Collegiate (9-15) at Valley Christian-San Jose at 1 p.m.

"I think the fact that we are going to be in playoffs and it is a must-win situation, we are going to be very fired up," said Castilleja coach Tracie Hubbard.

Castilleja will face either No. 4 Mt. Madonna (8-14) or No. 5 Anzar (17-13) in the semifinals on Nov. 17 before moving on to the finals (Nov. 19) at West Valley College in Saratoga against perhaps No. 2-seeded Sacred Heart Prep (17-15).

The Gators, who went winless in the tough West Catholic Athletic League this season, nonetheless have been toughened by that experience. Sacred Heart, though, dropped a three-game match to Castilleja on Sept. 13.

SHP opens Saturday against No. 7 St. Thomas More (21-15) at 11 a.m., while No. 6 Pinewood (14-12) opens against No. 3 King's Academy (20-10) at 5 p.m., both at Valley Christian.

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