Wallis, Clarke two-over, but the Los Gatos golfers lose

By Dick Sparrer

Marcia Wallis and Charlie Clarke were each just two over par, but it wasn't enough to lead the Los Gatos golf team to victory when the Wildcats went up against Lynbrook on the short fairways of the Deep Cliff Golf Course in Cupertino last week.

Gatos dropped a tough 173-175 decision to the Vikings to slip to 2-2 in the El Camino Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League.

Wallis and Clarke each covered the par-30 course in 32, but finished four strokes behind the leader, Lynbrook's Russell Anido.

Trevor Branon was close behind with a 36, followed by Chris McMorrow at 37 and Eric Hansen at 38.

Despite the low Los Gatos scorers, the Wildcats finished two strokes behind the Vikings. Lynbrook played well on its home links, a short nine-hole course that features only three par fours.

The Cats had much better success against Lynbrook on their own home course at La Rinconada earlier in the week. Clarke, a talented freshman for Los Gatos, fired a six-over par 40 to lead the Wildcats to a 209-233 win over the Vikings.

McMorrow was right behind with a 41, and Wallis and Branon each shot a 42. Bobby James rounded out the top five with a 44.

Los Gatos opened the week on the much longer Los Altos Country Club fairways, but lost a 214-228 league decision to host Los Altos.

The Cats, playing without the services of Wallis, were led by McMorrow, who finished four over with a 39. Hansen carded a 42 for the Wildcats, with Branon and James each nailing 48s and Clarke a 52.

Softball Loss

Becca Hersh had two hits to knock in two runs, but the Los Gatos girls softball team dropped a tough 5-4 decision to Leland in nonleague play last week.

Hersh's two-run single sparked a four-run Gatos rally in the fourth. The outburst helped the Wildcats overcome a 2-0 deficit and gave hurler Nancy Mills a 4-2 lead which stood up until the last of the seventh when Leland rallied for three runs to pull out the victory.

Volleyball Win

The Los Gatos boys volleyball team rolled to a 15-3, 15-9, 5-15, 15-5 victory over rival Saratoga in the Mt. Hamilton Division of the BVAL. The Wildcats, now 4-1 in the division play, visit Oak Grove on March 23 before hosting Valley Christian on March 25 in a pair of 6:30 p.m. matches.

Netters lose two

The Los Gatos boys tennis team lost twice last week, dropping a 4-3 heartbreaker to Wilcox and falling 6-1 to Gunn in the El Camino Division of the SCVAL.

Ajay Athavale rolled to a 6-1, 6-1 victory at No. 4 singles, but that was the only singles victory the Wildcats could muster in the 4-3 loss to the Chargers to open the week.

Marc Matulich and Vincent Lok combined for a 6-4, 6-4 win at No. 1 doubles, and Benjamin Kane and Nick Russell got together for a 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 win at No. 2 doubles.

Photo: Los Gatos Little League

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