After all, the 6-foot, 175-pound second baseman started his first full professional season by batting .364 in spring training as a non-roster invitee, then was a big hit at three levels of the Giants farm system. Frandsen, whose family lives in Willow Glen, went from Class A San Jose to Double-A Norwich and on to Triple-A Fresno, hitting .335 overall, including .351 clips in both the California and Pacific Coast Leagues.

Despite hitting primarily in the second spot, Frandsen managed to drive in 76 runs, attributable mostly to his 40 doubles. His 172 hits were tied for seventh-most in the entire minor leagues, and his 23 times hit-by-pitch were sixth-most. He also muscled six home runs, stole 21 bases and was the ninth-toughest strikeout in the minors, fanning only 41 times in 514 at-bats. He also earned a trip to the All-Star Futures Game in Detroit and played in the Arizona Fall League.

In September, Frandsen rejoined the San Jose Giants for the playoffs. He batted .367 with a home run and six RBIs, helping San Jose capture the California League championship. He was named the team's co-Most Valuable Player.

In a December edition of Baseball America, Frandsen was ranked ninth among the Giants' top 10 prospects. In another report, California League managers lauded him as the "Top Defensive Second Baseman."

Sywak a top jumper

Tatiana Sywak (Mitty) of Saratoga competed in more than 20 Circuit A horse jumping shows throughout 2005. She won the 2005 Northern California Hunter Jumper Association Children's award for Region Two and the PCHA Children's Jumper championship.

Sarkisian a Sun Devil

Kira Sarkisian (St. Francis) of Saratoga is a member of the Arizona State women's soccer team. Sarkisian played in five matches as a freshman and scored her first collegiate goal against San Diego State. She is back again this year as a midfielder for the Sun Devils.

Field hockey stars

Katie Cummings, a freshman midfielder from Monta Vista, played in 13 of 20 field hockey games for UC-Berkeley in the fall, making both of her shots on goal. Another freshman, goalie Veronica Sykes (Del Mar), started all 20 games for the Bears and made 10 of her 75 saves in an NCAA play-off game against Wake Forest.

Several other Cal Bears began their field hockey careers at local high schools. Among them are sophomore Jenny Crane and freshman sister Missy Crane, Los Gatos residents who attended St. Francis. Jenny scored eight goals and Missy tallied seven this season.

The other former local stars playing for Cal were two other former Lancers, freshman Christina McGrath and senior Jenna Long, senior Alexandra Harkins (Prospect), junior Jamie Nance (Leigh) and freshmen Gwen Belomy and Kellie York (Saratoga), and Jamie Sibilia (Monta Vista).

Long and Stanford freshman Bailey Richardson (Los Gatos) were named to the NorPac All-Tournament team. Both Richardson and senior Lyndsay Erickson (Los Gatos) started 20 of Stanford's 21 games.

Several former local standouts dotted the University of Pacific field hockey line-up this fall. Junior Jennifer Chaney (Westmont), sophomores Valerie Niles (Branham), Elle Busch (Mitty) and Jenny Dixon (Los Gatos) and freshman Erica Nestle (Leigh) all made contributions for the Tigers.

Sophomore Courtney Furia (Los Gatos) played her second season on field hockey team at Miami University in Ohio.

Kelley a gymnast

Jessica Kelley (Homestead) is in her first season on Cal's gymnastics team. Kelley was a five-time Level 10 national qualifier while competing for Airborne Gymnastics of Santa Clara. Meanwhile, Alise Blackwell (Mitty), a teammate at Airborne, has started her collegiate career at San José State.

Realini a Bronco

Dustin Realini, who played his sophomore year at Monta Vista before finishing at Valley Christian, is a senior at Santa Clara University. He started all 54 games last season and shared the team lead in RBIs.

Bronco netters

Former Saratoga tennis standout A.J. Kerin will begin his sophomore season at Santa Clara University. Kerin, playing the No. 5 and 6 singles positions, led his team with 21 singles wins and was named Bronco Rookie of the Year.

Joining Kerin on the Broncos this year will be freshman Brian Brogan, who led Los Gatos to CCS and Northern California championships during his junior and senior seasons.

Area softball players

Two former Monta Vista players, Danielle Brown and Sarah Taylor, are freshmen in San José State's softball program. Another newcomer for the Spartans is sophomore pitcher Kelly Harrison (Leland), a transfer from Saint Mary's College. Harrison pitched in 24 games, nine as a starter, for the Gaels as a freshman.

Santa Clara University's double-play combination this season could feature a pair of seniors, Shannon Linerud (Presentation) at shortstop and Jenny Brown (Westmont) at second base. The Broncos have hired Los Gatos-area pitching instructor Lisa Mize as an assistant coach for the upcoming season.

Pruzansky honored

Junior midfielder Lesley Pruzansky (Saratoga) made her name known at Amherst College as an outstanding soccer player. Pruzansky was awarded first team honors on the all-New England Small College Athletic Conference team this season. Pruzansky was also honored in ESPN The Magazine with Women's Soccer Academic All-District Honors. She was the NESCAC women's soccer player of the week after scoring three goals in one game for Amherst.

Pasos wins medals

Mark Pasos competed in the National Masters Track and Field Championships in Hawaii this past summer. He qualified in the 100 meters, 200 meters and 400 meters. Pasos finished sixth in the 400 finals and fifth in the 200 finals and scratched out of the 100 meters due to a sore knee.

Bob Scudder, Kevin Sparrer and Dick Sparrer all contributed to this story.

Top U.S. rowers

Megan Cooke and Megan Dirkmaat, both graduates of UC-Berkeley, were each members of the 2005 U.S. National Rowing Team that competed at the 2005 FISA World Rowing Championships in Gifu, Japan.

Dirkmaat, a graduate of Lincoln High School, was a member of the 2004 U.S. Olympic team that won a silver medal in Athens. The 29-year-old from San Jose was an all-Pac 10 rower for the Golden Bears.

Cooke, a graduate of Los Gatos, competed in the women's double sculls at the world championships in her second straight year at the FISA event. The 25-year-old started her career in 1995 with the Los Gatos Rowing Club.