Panthers gun for titles; Falcons fall to Wilcox

By Dick Sparrer

For three straight years, the Prospect girls tennis teams have won division championships in the Blossom Valley Athletic League.

But their quest for title No. 4 may be a little tougher.

The Panthers have moved up to the rugged Mt. Hamilton Division of the BVAL this fall. And powerhouse Westmont may have something to say about whether the streak continues for the Panthers.

Westmont is off to a 7-0 start in the 2001 season, but Prospect is close behind with a solid 5-2 mark.

"We're already off to a strong start," said first-year coach Stacey Rader. "We have many returning varsity players who are even stronger this year."

Julie Martin is a returner playing the No. 1 singles spot for the Panthers with newcomer Rachel Okazaki playing No. 2.

Michelle Stern is back in the No. 3 position for the Panthers with Manna Shlyapina at No. 4.

Judy Tang and Katie Gazlay team up at No. 1 singles with Stacy Wu and Connie Tang at No. 2 and Vera Cherepakho and Nicole Stern at No. 3.

The Panthers rolled to a pair of victories last week, blanking Valley Christian 7-0 and beating Piedmont Hills 6-1.

Martin won 6-1, 6-3 at No. 1 singles and Okazaki won 6-0, 6-0 to start Prospect the road to the easy win over Valley. M. Stern won 7-5, 6-1 at No. 3 and Shlyapina won 6-0, 6-1 at No. 4.

J. Tang and Gazlay won 6-0, 6-1 at No. 1 doubles with Wu and C. Tang winning 7-5, 6-1 at No. 2 and Cherepakho and N. Stern winning 3-6, 6-0, 7-6 at No. 3.

The Panthers, 6-2 for the year, cruised past Piedmont Hills later in the week with Martin, Okazaki, Shlyapina and Gazlay winning in straight sets in singles action.

The Matadors are 3-1 after beating Los Altos 28-10 last week.

Field Hockey

The tennis team isn't the only fall squad at Prospect gunning for a league title this fall--so is the field hockey team.

The Panthers finished last in the Mt. Hamilton Division last year, but are looking for big things in the Santa Teresa Division this season.

Head coach Jason Potmesil has predicted a first-place finish for his Panthers, and they're off to a hot start with a 4-1-2 record.

Senior center forward Alex Harkins joins with juniors Brooke Madsen at right forward, Melissa Shouse at left forward and Jenn Iwagoshi at right defense as Prospect leaders this year.

The Panthers will play without talented goalkeeper Talia Crema, who is out with a knee injury. Freshman Rachel Lamb will move into the goal to replace Rachel Gagliasso, who has been filling in there for Crema. Potmesil said Gagliasso, a junior, is "a talented defensive player who is needed on the field."

Prospect rolled to a 4-1 win over Monta Vista last week. Harkins knocked in two goals, and Madsen and junior Christie O'Hara drilled one apiece. Junior Stephanie Nichols had two assists and Shouse added one.

Two days later, Prospect fought Los Altos to a 1-1 tie. The Eagles led 1-0 at the half, but the Panthers tied it in the second half when Madsen scored off a Harkins assist.

Football

Scott Moran threw for two touchdowns and ran for two more, but Saratoga dropped a 49-30 decision to Wilcox last Friday night in the opening game in the De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League.

Moran tossed a 10-yard TD pass to tight end Troy Follmar and hit wide receiver Devin Schrock with a 45-yard touchdown pass. He also scored on an 8-yard run and a 1-yard run.

"He's doing just a great job... I think the world of him," said Saratoga coach Kurt Heinrich of Moran. "He's doing a fine job of running the offense, and in particular, running the option game."

Heinrich was also improved with the performance of Schrock, who pulled in seven passes for 135 yards.

"He's the real deal," said the coach of the senior receiver. "He has good hands and he runs sharp routes. And he had a fantastic game."

The coach was also pleased with Follmar's performance, and he singled out backs John Griffin and Jeff Lee for solid performances offensively.

"But it all comes off of our offensive line," he added. "This was the best performance of our offensive line as we've had here in a long time."

The coach cited the work of Connor Peck, Justin Oliver, Chris Barrett, Greg Van Hoesen and Jon Anderson up front.

"We've just got to do a better job defensively," Heinrich said.

The Falcons will get their chance Friday when they take on Monta Vista in a non-league game at Los Gatos at 7:30 p.m. The Matadors are 3-1 after beating Los Altos 28-10 last week.

In other local action, Del Mar opened the BVAL season with a 28-21 win over Prospect in Santa Teresa Division play last Friday afternoon.

In other local action, Westmont pushed its record to 4-0 for the year with a 20-14 non-league win over Harker Academy.

Prospect will try to get into the win column when the Panthers host Westmont on Oct. 6, 1:30 p.m.

JC Football

Saladin Washington (Prospect) ran for two touchdowns, and David Macchi (Willow Glen) threw for another to lead the West Valley Community College football team to its second straight win in Coast Conference play.

The Vikings, 2-2 for the year and 2-0 in the conference, turned back the College of the Sequoias in a Friday afternoon game at West Valley's Saratoga field.

Macchi hit Brian Davis (Pioneer) for 55 yards and a first-quarter touchdown to give the Vikes the early lead.

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