Publication Date: Friday, November 11, 2005
CCS ROUNDUP
Tougher tests are ahead after early playoff blowouts
Tougher tests are ahead after early playoff blowouts
(November 11, 2005) by Keith Peters
The early rounds of the Central Coast Section playoffs for local teams have been, for the most part, like taking a pop quiz with the answers in hand.
During the Menlo-Santa Cruz girls' water polo match at Menlo on Wednesday, for example, Santa Cruz came out for the second quarter trailing by 7-1. As the Cardinal players jumped into the water, an official informed the Santa Cruz coach that he still had one minute before play began.
"That's OK," the coach replied, "let's get this over with."
The first-round match, you see, was already over at that point. Second-seeded Menlo (25-4) went on to post a 15-3 victory as juniors Megan Burmeister and Kim Krueger each scored four goals.
Over at the Menlo tennis courts at the same time, the No. 3-seeded Knights (23-5) were well on their way to registering a 7-0 second-round win over Monterey. The two-hour drive for the visitors certainly wasn't time well spent as Menlo won every match in straight sets and lost only eight points in singles and only 15 overall.
A day earlier, the top-seeded Sacred Heart Prep girls' water polo team jumped out to a 10-0 lead on the way to a 15-2 romp over 16th-seeded Pioneer. Freshman Mary Jane Mordell came off the bench to lead the Gators (29-1) with three goals.
For the majority of the high seeds, these early rounds are a necessary evil. Fields must be filled out, no matter how bad the competition, and the best teams must somehow focus long enough to dispose of their foes before moving on.
The competition, however, will pick up in the next round on all fronts.
In the CCS girls' water polo tournament, for example, the quarterfinals on Saturday at St. Francis should provide some interesting matchups.
Defending champion Menlo will take on No. 7 Palo Alto (22-9) at noon. Paly advanced with a 13-7 first-round win over Santa Catalina on Tuesday at Stanford's Avery Aquatic Center. Junior Tanya Wilcox led the Vikings with six goals.
The teams do have a history and often meet throughout the season. Only a few weeks ago, Menlo rang up a 10-3 win over the Vikings. Paly first-round coach Theo Ludwick must find a way to reverse what happened in the previous match or face an early exit.
The Vikings have two key players in Wilcox and senior Phoebe Champion, but the Knights can go to anyone in their lineup and have arguably the best goalie in the CCS in sophomore Elise Ponce. Menlo is favored to reach Tuesday's semifinals at St. Francis at 2 p.m.
Another interesting test will be the top-seeded Gators against No. 8 St. Francis at 2:40 p.m. Playing in their own pool should help the Lancers, who are in a rebuilding mode after winning the CCS crown two seasons ago.
Sacred Heart Prep, on the other hand, is primed to win it all this season with a veteran lineup that includes balance and depth, a fine sophomore goalie in Lindsay Dorst and a handful of veteran players like seniors Christie Clark, Melissa Mordell, Lauren Jollymour and junior Adriana Vogt and sophomore Pallavi Menon. The Gators should reach Tuesday's semifinals at St. Francis, likely against No. 5 Menlo-Atherton.
The Bears (23-8) had their first match Wednesday postponed due to lightning and played last night against PAL rival Aragon. The Bears were favored to reach Saturday's semifinals against another PAL foe, Burlingame, at St. Francis at 1:30 p.m.
In girls' tennis, Menlo and No. 4 Sacred Heart Prep (19-6) rolled through their respective openers by indentical 7-0 scores. The Gators topped Independence.
Both teams will be tested a bit more Friday. Menlo hosts No. 6 St. Ignatius (17-7) and SHP hosts No. 5 Mitty (20-5), both at 2:30 p.m. The winners advance, in opposite brackets, to the semifinals on Monday at Courtside Tennis Club in Los Gatos. The Knights are expected to face No. 2 Saratoga (21-3) while the Gators, should they get by Mitty, would face top-ranked and two-time defending champ Monta Vista (22-3).
Menlo beat Saratoga in the semifinals last year, 6-1, before falling to Monta Vista in the finals, 7-0. SHP was knocked out in the 2004 semifinals by the Matadors, 7-0.
Girls volleyball
Ninth-seeded Gunn (19-12) advanced to the quarterfinals in the CCS Division II playoffs but No. 6 seed Palo Alto (19-13) was shown the door.
The Titans had a rollercoaster victory over No. 8 seed and host Leland (23-12) in a marathon 25-19, 17-25, 26-28, 25-23, 15-11 triumph. Senior setter Maile Krauss had 56 assists and nine kills while senior Alex Graves contributed 13 kills and junior Samantha Rohman had a team-high 15 kills.
Gunn next faces top-ranked and defending CCS champion Mitty (34-0) on Saturday at Leland High at 5 p.m.
Palo Alto saw its season end in a 23-25, 25-21, 18-25, 25-23, 16-14 upset loss at home to No. 11 seed Westmont (20-13). The loss marked the final prep match for Paly seniors Becca Hagemann, Callie Strawn and Lola Wusu.
In CCS Division IV, No. 4 seed Menlo (21-13) opens play Saturday against No. 5 Harker (22-10) at Burlingame High at 3 p.m.
In CCS Division V, top-seeded Castilleja (30-6) begins its quest for the program's first section title on Saturday against No. 8 Pacific Collegiate (9-15) at Valley Christian-San Jose at 1 p.m.
Second-seeded Sacred Heart Prep (17-15) opens the day in San Jose against No. 7 St. Thomas More (21-15) at 11 a.m., while No. 6 Pinewood (14-12) wraps play up at 5 p.m. against No. 3 King's Academy (20-10).
Boys water polo
Fourth-seeded Menlo-Atherton (20-10) meets No. 5 Leland (19-9) at 9:20 a.m. and No. 6 Gunn (22-9) faces No. 3 Serra (20-9) at 1:20 p.m. in Division I quarterfinals at Independence High in San Jose.
In the Division II tournament quarterfinals, No. 1 Menlo (29-3) opens Saturday against No. 8 Los Gatos (21-9) at Independence at 10:40 a.m. Third-seeded Sacred Heart Prep (23-9) and No. 6 Palo Alto (18-14) face each other at St. Francis at 9:20 a.m. The winners will advance to the semifinals on Tuesday at Independence.
Cross country
The Palo Alto boys' and girls' teams will have some hard running to do in Saturday's CCS Championships at Crystal Springs in Belmont if they want to reach the state meet together for the first time in nearly 15 years.
Both teams are among the top four in their respective Division II races, but only the first three advance to the state finals in Fresno on Nov. 26.
The Paly boys, who won the SCVAL El Camino Division crown last week, will join North Monterey County, Aptos and Gunn in chasing heavy favorite Los Gatos. That race goes off at 12:10 p.m. Gunn finished third last season with Paly fourth. Paly senior Scott Himmelberger
The Paly girls, who won their league title a week ago, join Aptos, Los Gatos and Mitty in the hunt for a state meet berth. Gunn and Mountain View will need breakthrough efforts to displace any of the top four. That race goes off at 12:40 p.m.
Palo Alto finished fourth in 2004 but returns its top five scorers - led by junior Renata Cummins.
Castilleja also will be in the hunt for a state meet berth. The Gators were second in Division V last season and return a squad led by defending champion Ashley Schoettle.
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