Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Wildcats fall to Pioneers, but still unbeaten in league

By Dick Sparrer

No one had to tell the Los Gatos water polo players that Cupertino would be a force to be reckoned with in the De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League this fall.

But the Wildcats found out firsthand last weekend when they battled the Pioneers in the Rosenbrock Tournament at Lynbrook.

The Cats and Pioneers currently share first place in the De Anza Division with matching 2-0 records, but when they met up at the Rosenbrock last weekend, it was Cupertino nailing a 10-4 victory.

Taylor Hendricks tossed in two goals, and Justin Shyba and Chris Lawyrk added one each, but the Cats came up short when the Pioneers turned a close game into a runaway in the final period.

The Wildcats were down just 3-2 at the half and trailed just 5-3 heading into the fourth. But 'Tino outscored Gatos 5-1 in the final quarter to clinch the win.

Cupertino went on to finish fourth in the tournament, losing 8-7 to Palo Alto in the third-place game.

Los Gatos had beaten Santa Clara 10-4 to get the shot at the Pioneers in the tourney. Lawryk pumped home five goals, and Shyba and Phillip Roan scored two apiece for the winners. Nic Van Biene added a goal to round out the list of Gatos scorers.

It was Los Gatos running away with the win in the final period in this game. The clubs were tied 2-2 after a period, and the Cats led just 3-2 at intermission. The two teams matched two goals in the third, but the Wildcats coasted to the victory with five unanswered goals in the fourth.

Earlier in the week, Los Gatos had punched its record to 2-0 in the De Anza Division with a tight 7-4 win over Saratoga.

Shyba led the Cats with three goals, and Lawryk, Roan, Mike Berwald and Van Biene pitched in one each in the win.

Gatos trailed 2-1 after a period, and the Falcons held that lead through intermission. But the Cats blanked Saratoga 3-0 in the third and outscored the Falcons 3-2 in the fourth to win by three.

Girls' polo

The Los Gatos girls' water polo team outscored Saratoga 18-13 in overtime in a high-scoring non-league affair last week.

Senior Rachel Stratton pumped in eight goals, and junior Lisa Cristol added five to lead the Wildcats to the victory. Carol Humphrey and Lynsie Tanguay supported with two goals apiece, and Alix Eastman added one.

The Cats trailed 4-3 after a period and 6-4 at the half but outscored the Falcons 3-1 in the third to tie it 7-7, then matched Saratoga's five goals in the fourth to send the game into overtime.

Gatos outscored 'Toga 3-0 in the first extra period and 3-1 in the second to win by five.

LaPine wins

Amy LaPine finished first in the girls' race, and Rusty Martin was second in the boys' division when the Los Gatos cross-country team competed in the Saratoga Invitational last week.

LaPine finished first in the girls' division, covering the two-mile course in 12:48.7, to lead the Gatos girls to a team second. The Cats sent just five girls to the race but still managed to finish second with 54 points.

Martin, just a freshman, was second in the boys' division in 10:36, less than six seconds behind the winner. Jason Hoeft was fourth for the Cats in 11:02.

Cats win, lose

It was an up-and-down week for the Los Gatos girls' volleyball team.

The Wildcats were "up" in a couple of league matches against Mountain View and Homestead, but they were down in a very tough tournament at Mitty last weekend.

The Cats beat Mountain View 15-5, 7-15, 6-15, 15-6, 15-8 and whipped Homestead 15-13, 15-8, 15-9 in league play last week. The two wins helped Gatos improve to 3-0 in the De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League.

The Wildcats came back to open the Mitty Invitational with a 15-13, 15-2, 15-6 win over Santa Barbara, but they lost back-to-back decisions to volleyball powers Matre De (15-11, 15-7, 15-9) and Westwood of Mesa, Ariz. (15-7, 16-14, 15-5) to fall out of the tournament.

The Cats, led by senior Amy Grabill, are 14-4 for the year.

Hockey dinner

The Los Gatos girls' field hockey team will host a steak dinner on Oct. 17, 5-7:30 p.m., in the patio room adjacent to the small gym at the high school. The cost is $12 and includes steak, salad, beans, dessert, coffee and soda. Ticket are available through any of the Los Gatos field hockey players.

Cohn wins, Cats fall

Nicki Cohn nailed a 6-3, 6-1 win at No. 3 singles, but the Los Gatos girls' tennis team dropped a 6-1 decision to St. Francis last week in the De Anza Division of the SCVAL.

The Wildcats slipped to 3-3 in the division and to 5-3 for the year with the loss.

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