Saratoga News

Falcons, Panthers net wins

Vikings perfect in volleyball play

By Dick Sparrer

The girls' tennis teams at Saratoga and Prospect won't meet in league play this fall--they play in different leagues.

But if they did, it would be one heckuva match.

Because both the Falcons and Panthers are off to hot starts in their respective leagues, and both are contending for division championships.

Saratoga boasts a 5-1 record in the De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League after beating Homestead 7-0 and Lynbrook 5-2 in league matches last week.

The Panthers, meanwhile, are 7-1 in the Santa Teresa Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League after blanking both Del Mar and Leigh by matching 7-0 scores last week.

Saratoga added two wins to its league record with a 7-0 victory over Homestead and a 5-2 win over Lynbrook.

Carolyn Hooper breezed to a 6-3, 6-4 win at No. 1 singles to lead the Falcons to the win over Homestead.

Amanda Wise chipped in with a 6-2, 6-3 win at No. 2 singles, Angi Chua won 6-0, 6-2 at No. 3 and Eileen Allen won 6-3, 6-4 at No. 4.

Saratoga also swept in doubles play, with Lindsay Lightbody and Kelly Pisani winning 6-2, 6-0 at No. 1, Julie Neogy and Nancy Walker winning 6-3, 6-0 at No. 2 and Angela Yeh and Jennifer Chao winning 6-0, 6-4 at No. 3.

Wise and Chua came back with singles win, and the Falcons swept again in doubles play in a 5-2 win over Lynbrook later in the week.

Wise was a 6-3, 6-2 winner at No. 2 singles, and Chua won 6-4, 6-0 at No. 3 for the Falcons.

The doubles teams of Pisani-Lightbody (6-4, 2-6, 6-2), Walker-Neogy (6-3, 6-4), and Allen-Kate Pisani (6-1, 6-0) supported with wins.

Belinda Rungsea was a 7-5, 6-4 winner at No. 1 singles for the Vikings.

The Falcons, 9-3 for the year, had opened the week with a 6-1 non-league victory over Presentation. Camille Behnke, Hooper and Wise were singles winners for Saratoga, and the doubles teams of Lightbody-Ke. Pisani, Neogy-Walker, and Allen-Ka. Pisani came through with wins.

No. 1 singles star Sandy Tsai and the No. 1 doubles team of Sarah Shaffer and Vinh Lay lead the Prospect effort this season.

Tsai is in her third straight year at the No. 1 singles spot for the Panthers and is unbeaten in 10 league matches. She won 6-0, 6-0 in both of her matches at last week to start the Panthers on the road to the easy team wins.

"And she's beaten probably the next best player in the league," said head coach Mike Dudock.

Shaffer, whose twin sister Kelly plays No. 4 singles for the Panthers, had teamed with Lay for a perfect record at No. 1 doubles. The two ran their season mark to 10-0 with wins over Del Mar (7-5, 6-1) and Leigh (6-1, 6-1) last week.

The Panthers swept Del Mar 7-0 with Mariam Malek winning 6-0, 6-2 at No. 2 singles, Michelle Yi winning 6-3, 6-0 at No. 3 and K. Shaffer winning 6-1, 6-1 at No. 4.

Su Vyan Liu and Ying Kuo combined for a 6-4, 6-1 win at No. 2 doubles and Monique Pham, and In-Hae Kim won 6-0, 6-4 at No. 3. Kim is the only junior in the otherwise all-senior Prospect line-up.

The Panthers capped the week with the 7-0 win over Leigh. Tsai won 6-0, 6-0 at No. 1, with Malek winning 6-1, 6-1, Yi 7-5, 6-2 and K. Shaffer 6-2, 6-0 in the other singles matches.

S. Shaffer and Lay won easily at No. 1 doubles, and Pham and Kim cruised to a 6-1, 6-2 victory at No. 3. But Liu and Kuo had to battle for a 6-7, 6-2, 7-6 win at No. 2 doubles to complete the sweep.

The Panthers will take their 7-1 record up against unbeaten Oak Grove on Oct. 10, 3:15 p.m., in the battle for first place in the division. Prospect lost 4-3 to the Eagles in the first round of the league season.

"It's been Oak Grove and ourselves, and we've both just been killing everybody else," Dudock said.

In other BVAL play last week, Westmont lost 6-1 to Valley Christian in the West Valley Division despite a 6-3, 6-2 win at No. 1 singles by senior standout Carly Dadson.

Girls' volleyball

Lynbrook is off to a perfect start in the El Camino Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League with four wins to open the season.

The Vikings, 4-0 in division play and 14-2 for the year, beat Wilcox 16-14, 15-10, 15-5 last week before handling Milpitas 15-5, 12-15, 15-12, 15-13.

Saratoga split in a couple of Santa Teresa Division matches last week, falling 15-10, 6-15, 15-6, 15-13 to Cupertino before beating Gunn 15-10, 13-15, 15-10, 16-14. The Falcons are 2-2 in the division and 7-7 for the year.

Prospect split in a pair of matches in the Mt. Hamilton Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League. The Panthers lost to Presentation 15-4, 15-5, 13-15, 15-9, but came back behind the play of Jenn Cox to beat Leland in a thriller 15-3, 15-9, 10-15, 14-16, 15-6. The Panthers are now 2-1 in the division and 12-8 for the year.

Westmont won twice in the Santa Teresa Division of the BVAL, beating Piedmont Hills 15-12, 5-15, 8-15, 15-7, 15-5 before knocking off Gunderson 15-3, 15-8, 7-15, 15-9. The Warriors are 3-1 in division play.

Water polo

Goals by Gerald Askew, Jon Cox, David Breitenbach and David Kim weren't enough for the Saratoga boys' water polo team in a 7-4 loss to Los Gatos in the De Anza Division of the SCVAL last week.

The Falcons slipped to 0-2 in the division and to 5-9 for the year with the loss.

The Saratoga girls also lost to Gatos last week, falling 18-13 in a non-league game.

Cari Cowdrey poured in five goals and Kate O'Donnell tossed in four, but it wasn't enough for the Falcons against the Wildcats.

Saratoga had dropped an 8-4 decision to Gunn earlier in the week in a De Anza Division game.

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