Mats, Falcons fall in girls polo playoffs

By Dick Sparrer

Veronica Noone pitched in four goals for Monta Vista, and Courtney Crase and Courtney Hopkins fired in three apiece for Saratoga.

But the offensive efforts of the three weren't enough to get the Matadors or the Falcons beyond the quarterfinal round of the Central Coast Section girls water polo tournament.

Still, they did help their respective teams to first-round wins before they ran into the top two seeded teams in the playoffs in second-round action.

Monta Vista opened the tournament with a 7-5 win over Live Oak, but the Mats lost in the next round 18-1 to No. 1 seed St. Francis.

It was a similar story for the Falcons. Saratoga started play with a tight 8-7 win over Aragon, but lost 8-2 to No. 2 seed Palo Alto a game later.

Noone and Tina Lin fired in three goals apiece and Hayley Baines popped one to lead the Matadors to the 7-5 win over Live Oak in the first round.

Noone scored Monta Vista's lone game a game later in the loss to the Lancers as the Mats finished the year 21-4.

Saratoga's Hopkins, Crase and Heide Cruikshank hammered home two goals each and Sarah Oberhauser and Cristina Behrens hit one apiece in the 8-7 win over Aragon.

But only Crase and Hopkins could score in the tough 8-2 loss to Palo Alto. The Falcons ended the year 17-10-- not a bad finish for the squad coached by Doug Jones and Paul McKenna. The club had made the big jump from the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League's El Camino Division to the De Anza Division this fall, but still managed to earn a CCS berth.

Saratoga had finished the regular season with a tight 3-2 win over Gunn. Cruikshank led the Falcons with two goals and Kristin Barnes added one.

Rounding out the successful Saratoga squad this fall were Elissa Wirt, Rebecca Hartsfield, Lauren Van Hoesen, Claire Koen, Annie Dao, Kelly Orasin, Sarah Nakaji and Kori Shih.

Boys water polo

In boys water polo competition, both Lynbrook and Monta Vista advanced to the CCS Division I tournament, but both lost in the first round.

Monta Vista won a place in the tournament thanks to a strong finish in the regular season. The Mats were fourth in the SCVAL tournament, and took a 13-17 record into the playoffs.

But the Matadors lost a quick 16-5 first-round decision to Live Oak to fall out of post-season play.

Goals by Serge Azarenok, Curtis Bruner, Oz Nir, Eric Blakken and Eugene Tsu weren't enough for the Mats against the Acorns.

Ron Freeman's Matadors ended the year with a 13-18 record and won a CCS berth just a year after winning the El Camino Division championship.

Lynbrook won that El Camino crown this fall, but lost 11-7 to powerhouse Bellarmine in the first round of the CCS playoffs.

Kamil Wnuk, Shubert Ho and Kinman Cheung scored two goals each for the Vikings against the Bells and Gabe Tseng added one goal.

Lynbrook had won a berth in the CCS tournament by claiming the SCVAL El Camino Division title with three wins in the league tournament.

The Vikings edged Mountain View 13-12 in the finals to clinch the crown.

Cole Robinson poured in four goals for the Vikes and Ho and Louis Lee tossed in three goals apiece. Cheung, Wnuk and Kevin Ip also scored for the winners.

Earlier in the tourney, Lynbrook pounded Santa Clara 16-6. Lee led the Vikings with four goals, Wnuk had three and Robinson, Tseng and Ho added two each. Ip, Andrew Liao and Phillip Yen each had a goal in the win.

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