Saratoga's Ashvin Soin teamed with Garrett Wyatt to finish second in the league doubles finals last week.
Photograph by Kathy De La Torre
Soin, Wyatt reach doubles finals
Vikes, Falcons share girls softball lead
By Dick Sparrer
Ashvin Soin and Garrett Wyatt have spent most of the year playing singles for the Saratoga boys tennis team.
But when it came time for the league tournament in the De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League, the two must have decided that there was strength in numbers.
It turned out to be pretty good strategy for the 'Toga twosome.
Soin and Wyatt joined forces to form a doubles team for the league tournament, and they played their way into the finals before losing in straight sets to the talented Monta Vista pair, Stefan Parker and Jason Tsui.
Soin and Wyatt combined for a 7-5, 6-2 win over a Homestead duo in the opening round of the tournament, then beat a Palo Alto pair 6-6, 6-1 in the semifinal round.
That set up the title match between Saratoga and Monta Vista. But it was Parker and Tsui nailing a 6-4, 6-0 over Soin and Wyatt to claim the division doubles title.
Soin, a sophomore, and Wyatt, just a freshman, figure to return to the De Anza Division spotlight in the years to come. But they could have Parker and Tsui to contend with in the future. The two Monta Vista stars are just juniors.
Monta Vista junior Ben Bartels won the division singles crown, beating teammate Promod Dabir in the finals. Dabir is just a sophomore.
Photograph by Kathy De La Torre
Blasting a return in a match earlier this season, Garrett Wyatt of Saratoga joined with Ashvin Soin to nail second at the league doubles tournament.
Benzing leads Vikings
Stacey Benzing had a couple of big games last week, and so did the Lynbrook girls softball team. Benzing tossed a pair of complete games for the Vikings, whirling a one-hitter against Palo Alto and a three-hitter against Fremont, to lead her club to back-to-back wins in the El Camino Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League.
Benzing also helped her cause at the plate with six hits, including a a couple of home runs, in the two games.
Benzing homered and singled twice to drive in three runs in Lynbrook's 10-1 win over Paly to open the week. She was also the winning pitcher for the Vikes, giving up just one hit and fanning 13.
Benzing homered and singled twice again in Lynbrook's 13-2 win over Fremont two days later. The talented junior tossed a three-hitter, striking out 15, to run her pitching record to 10-3.
D.J. Sullivan and Tiffany Swinfard had two hits apiece in the win, and Alisha Underwood knocked in a pair of runs.
Lynbrook pushed its record to 8-1 in the El Camino Division and its overall mark to 14-6 with the two wins.
The Vikings share the El Camino lead with Saratoga. The Falcons are also 8-1 after beating Gunn 10-8 and Palo Alto 4-1 last week. Saratoga is 11-6 for the year.
Joanne Sprague ripped two hits and Kim Hiscox knocked in two runs to lead the Falcons to the 10-8 win over the Titans to open the week.
Saratoga jumped right on Gunn for four runs in the first and unloaded with another four-run outburst in the third. The Falcons went up 10-0 with two in the fourth and coasted from there to the victory.
Sprague came back with two more hits and Jennifer King ripped a triple to lead the Falcons to a 4-1 win over Paly.
Bonnie Craven tossed a two-hitter for the win, striking out 10 as she pushed her mound mark to 5-2. A single run in the fourth cost Craven her shutout.
Saratoga gave Craven all the support she needed with two runs in the second. The Falcons added a single run in the third and an insurance run in the seventh.
Warriors, Panthers split
The Westmont and Prospect girls softball teams each split a couple of nonleague decisions last week.
Westmont whipped Prospect 11-1 to open the week. But the Panthers rebounded with a 3-1 win over Independence, while the Warriors dropped a 1-0 heartbreaker to El Camino.
Westmont, 19-8-1 for the year, pounded out 14 hits on the road to the lopsided 11-1 win over the Panthers.
Jenny Brown tripled and singled twice, and Jessica Davis had a double and two singles to drive in two runs to lead the Warriors to the lopsided win.
Brittany Hennig had a couple of hits to drive in a pair of runs, and Laura Phillippe ripped a double. Bonnie Huggett drove in three runs in the win, and Alyssa Parsons knocked in a pair.
Junior hurler Lisa Chapman was the happy recipient of the offensive explosion, but she did her job well, too. Chapman tossed a three-hitter for the win, giving up just a lone run in the third in the five inning game.
Chapman, 16-3-1 for the year, came back to whirl a four-hitter later in the week, but El Camino scored a lone run in the last of the seventh to pull out a 1-0 victory over Westmont.
The Warriors return to play in the Mt. Hamilton Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League this week, where they boast a 7-2 record and figure among the title contenders.
Prospect is also a title contender this spring. The Panthers lead the West Valley Division of the BVAL with a 7-0 record.
The Panthers ran their season mark to 17-4 last week with a 3-1 win over Independence. Cassie Gilford tossed a five-hitter for the win and also singled and doubled to lead a six-hit attack for Prospect. Julie Stevens singled and doubled to knock in two runs in the win.
Gilford was touched for a run in the first, but blanked the 76ers over the final six frames. The Panthers took control of the game in the third when Stevens drove in two runs to key a three-run rally.
Falcons tough
The Saratoga boys volleyball team played league powerhouse Homestead tough, but lost a heartbreaker in five games.
The Mustangs won 15-1, 15-12 to take a 2-0 lead in the match, but the Falcons tied it 2-2 with 15-3, 15-13 wins. Homestead won the fifth and deciding game 15-2 to take the match, though.
Saratoga is now 3-3 in the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League and 8-16 for the year.
'Toga golfers win
The Saratoga golf team drove to three victories last week, beating Cupertino twice and Santa Clara once to improve to 10-2 in the El Camino Division.
Daniel Ruby and Kevin Nabbefeld each carded two-over par 32s to lead the Falcons to a 165-191 win over the Pioneers at the Deep Cliff Golf Course.
Sung Kang and Adam Walker each finished at 33 with Rober Pfeifer firing a 35 for the Falcons.
Pfeifer was the leader with a four-over par 39 at the Saratoga Country Club in the Falcons' 211-241 win over Santa Clara a few days later.
Kang and Michael Mann each finished with 41s, and Ruby and Nabbefeld each shot a 45.
Saratoga wrapped up the week with a convincing 196-248 win over Cupertino at the LaRinconada Country Club. Pfeifer and Kang were each three-over at 37, with Ruby and Nabbefeld shooting 44s and Scott Snider carding a 44.
Saratoga, California Since 1955
