Photograph by Hillary Schalit
Los Gatos polo standout Chris Park (4, white) battles for the ball in a game against Lynbrook. Park and the Wildcats are unbeaten in their division and won the Menlo Tournament this past weekend.
By Dick Sparrer
Matt Anderson knew that his Los Gatos water polo team would be strong this year.
After all, the Wildcats had finished second in the Central Coast Section Division I playoffs a year ago, and they had a half-dozen solid returners this season.
So Anderson figured his Cats would be strong--and that was before the addition of senior Ivica Silov.
Silov is a foreign student who enrolled at Los Gatos this fall, and he's moved right in as an impact player on the Gatos polo team.
How big of an impact has he made? Well, Silov tossed in 19 goals in four games last week to lead the Wildcats to four victories, including three in the Menlo Tournament.
Gatos won the title in the weekend tourney played at Menlo College, and it was a five-goal effort by Silov that sparked the Cats to a thrilling 9-8 win over rival Leland in the finals.
Silov led the Wildcats with five goals, James Rego hit two and Chris Park and Chris Herr added one each in the championship-clinching victory.
The Cats and Chargers were locked in a 2-2 tie after a period, but Gatos outscored Leland 2-1 to take a slim 4-3 lead at intermission. The Cats topped the Chargers by one more in the third to lead 8-6 heading into the fourth, then held on for the 9-8 victory.
The Wildcats had turned back Soquel 13-8 in the tournament semifinals. Rego fired home three goals, and Herr added two to lead all Gatos scorers in the win. Park, Silov and Nicolaas Van Biene chipped in with one each.
The Cats opened up a 6-2 lead in the first period and were up 9-4 at the half, then rolled from there to the victory.
Silov and Van Biene had buried three goals apiece in an earlier 12-6 win over Mountain View. Rego and Herr supported with two goals each, and Marc Cavagnolo and Justin Greenwood hit one apiece.
The Wildcats, who improved to 23-3 for the year with the victories, are now 4-0 in the De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League after pounding Cupertino 15-8 last week.
Silov came through with an impressive 10 goals to lead the Cats to the victory. Rego, Cavagnolo, Van Biene, Herr and Chris Park all scored goals for Gatos in the win.
The Cats led just 4-3 at the first buzzer, but outscored Cupertino 3-1 in both the second and third quarters and 5-3 in the fourth to clinch the win.
Girls' Tennis
Leah Thomas and Tina Chang each nailed singles win to lead the Los Gatos girls' tennis team to a 4-3 win over Lynbrook.
Thomas nailed a 6-3, 6-1 win at No. 2 singles, and Chang won 6-0, 6-4 at No. 3 for the Wildcats.
Joanna Sickler and Stacy Conlon chipped in with a 6-2, 7-6 win at No. 1 doubles.
Girls' Volleyball
Los Gatos split a pair of matches in the De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League last week.
The Wildcats beat Los Altos 15-9, 15-11, 15-10 after losing to Mountain View in five games 12-15, 15-13, 3-15, 15-8, 15-10.
The split left the Cats 4-4 in the division and 10-8 for the year.
Leigh, meanwhile, lost a pair of matches in the Mt. Hamilton Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League to slip to 1-8 in league play and 10-12 for the year. The Longhorns lost 15-9, 15-4, 9-15, 15-5 to Mitty and 16-14, 15-6, 7-15, 15-9 to Presentation.
Girls' Field Hockey
Darcy Pegram and Stephanie Hardin each knocked in a pair of goals last week, and it sparked the Los Gatos girls' field hockey team to a pair of wins in the Mt. Hamilton Division of the BVAL.
Pegram and Hardin each scored in a tight 2-1 win over Mitty, and the two came back with goals in a 2-0 win over Lynbrook. The Wildcats are now 5-1 in division play.
Leigh pulled out a tight 1-0 win over Los Altos to jump to 2-4 in the Mt. Hamilton Division and to 6- 6-1 for the year. Leigh had opened the week with a 2-1 loss to Mitty and fell 3-0 to Lynbrook.
Girls' Water Polo
Rachel Stratton pitched in six goals, but the Los Gatos girls' water polo team lost an 11-8 decision to Presentation in the first round of the Lincoln Tournament. The Panthers went on to place third in the tourney. Lynsie Tanguay and Lisa Cristol each scored goals in the game for Los Gatos.
This article appeared in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times, October 30, 1996.
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