Photograph by Skye Dunlap

Westmont's Megan Clapp (left) and Anna Vugdalic earned a place in the CCS doubles tournament by winning their league title.




Monta Vista pair wins the CCS doubles title

By Dick Sparrer

In tennis, players can do no better than to win in straight sets.

But four straight times against the best tennis players in the Central Coast Section?

That's what Liora Gelblum and Liz Yu of Monta Vista did last week. The Monta Vista duo won four straight matches in straight sets to claim the CCS doubles championship.

Gelblum and Yu, who earned their place at CCS by winning the doubles crown in the De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League, whipped Jenny Renfer and Amada Nicks of Santa Catalina 6-3, 6-3 in the section finals at Courtside in Los Gatos last week.

The Monta Vista pair opened the tournament with an easy 6-0, 6-3 win over a doubles team from Aptos, then the Matadors eased to a 6-2, 6-0 victory over a St. Ignatius team a match later. A straight set win in the semifinals over a Gunn tandem sent Gelblum and Yu into the championship match against Renfer and Nicks.

The Matadors had entered play as the No. 1 seed in the doubles tournament, and lived up to their ranking with the four straight victories and a CCS championship.

Gelblum and Yu were key players all season for the Monta Vista team that finished second to St. Francis in the De Anza Division of the SCVAL.

In other matches, Rachel Pua of Homestead opened the singles tournament with a tight 7-6 (7-3), 6-3 win over Mozdeh Rastegar of Mitty. But Pua lost 6-1, 6-3 to No. 1 seed Amy Walgenbach of Santa Catalina in the quarterfinals. Walgenbach went on to win the CCS singles title.

Pua had won the singles crown in the El Camino Division of the SCVAL and led the Mustangs to the team title.

Saratoga's Amanda Wise placed third in the league singles tournament to win a place at CCS.




Photograph by Skye Dunlap







Amanda Wise of Saratoga earned a place at CCS with a third-place finish in the De Anza Division finals. But Wise lost 6-1, 6-3 to Nancy Mok of Menlo in the first round.

Wise had clinched third in the De Anza Division finals with a 6-1, 7-6 (8-6) win over a Gunn opponent.

She had opened with a 6-3, 6-0 win over Alicia Hull of Los Gatos before losing in the semifinals to another Gunn foe 6-4, 6-2.

Megan Clapp and Anna Vugdalic of Westmont also earned a place in the CCS tournament, but the two Warriors drew No. 2 seeded Renfer and Nicks of Santa Catalina in the first round. Clapp and Vugdalic lost a tough decision to the ultimate CCS finalists.

The Westmont twosome had the league doubles title in their division, beating teams from Prospect, Del Mar and Lincoln on their way to the crown.

Clapp and Vugdalic opened with a 6-1, 6-1 win over a Prospect pair before turning back a Del Mar twosome 6-3, 6-1 in the quarterfinals.

The Westmont duo ripped a Lincoln pair 6-1, 6-0 in the semis before handling another Prospect pair 6-1, 6-0 to clinch the league championship.

Vikings fall

The season ended on a disappointing note for the Lynbrook volleyball team.

But there was really nothing disappointing about Lynbrook's season in 1999.

The Vikings played their way into the Central Coast Section Division II playoffs with a strong finish in the rugged De Anza Division of the SCVAL, and they cruised into the CCS finals to earn a berth in the Northern California tournament.

The Vikes lost 15-8, 15-7, 15-6 to Carondelet, a girls Catholic school from Concord, to fall out of the NorCal event. But just getting there was quite an accomplishment for Lynbrook.

The Vikings, 27-17 for the year, opened the CCS playoffs with a convincing 16-14, 15-1, 15-3 victory over Santa Clara behind a solid performance by outside hitter Tessa Sphar, who nailed 16 kills.

Sphar, a super sophomore for the Vikings, came back with 19 kills and six aces to lead Lynbrook to a 15-9, 8-15, 15-8, 15-12 win over South San Francisco in the CCS semifinals. Junior outside hitter Megan Schoettmer and sophomore middle blocker Dana Lagassa supported with seven kills apiece in the win.

Setter Barbara Yocke also starred for the Vikes in the two wins to open the CCS tournament.

Sphar came back with 17 kills, but the Vikings lost a tough 15-13, 15-5, 15-2 decision to St. Francis in the CCS championship match. Still, by reaching the section finals, the Vikings clinched an automatic berth in the NorCal playoffs. Not bad for a team that was just 2-10 in league play a year earlier.

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