Cats edge Mustangs in match for title
Fremont wins to even baseball record at 7-7
By Dick Sparrer
It was the battle for the boys volleyball championship in the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League (SCVAL).
But when Los Gatos and Homestead locked up in the fight for first last week, the Mustangs needed a victory much more than the Wildcats did.
Homestead went into the important match trailing Los Gatos in the league standings. The Mustangs needed to tag Gatos with a loss if they hoped to get at least a share of the league title this spring.
But it wasn't to be.
Homestead dropped a tough 15-6, 15-12, 7-15, 15-6 decision to the Wildcats to remain in second place in the circuit. Los Gatos improved to 11-0 in league play while the Mustangs slipped to 8-2.
"It was great to win two straight against Homestead, and to take the top position in the league," said Los Gatos coach Tom Jack, whose club beat the Mustangs earlier in the year at Gatos, then won again last week at Homestead.
It marks another season when the Wildcats and Mustangs have fought it out for SCVAL volleyball titles. It's the first title for the Cats in the league after three second-place finishes behind the Mustangs.
Josh Cavin hammered down 26 kills to lead all players in the match, but it wasn't enough to lift the Mustangs to a win over Wildcats.
Nick Miluso and Darren Soby were other Homestead standouts in the loss to the Cats.
Homestead, 16-4 for the year after the loss to the Cats, came back last weekend to tie for fifth in the Los Gatos Invitational Tournament.
In other local action, Fremont won twice last week to improve to 8-3 in the SCVAL.
The Firebirds rolled to a 16-14, 15-13, 15-9 win over Saratoga to open the week. Junior outside hitter Lance Lesui led Fremont with 18 kills in the win.
Lesui came back with 18 more kills to lead the Firebirds to an exciting 15-4, 7-15, 15-10, 15-7 win over Mountain View two days later.
Seniors Adam Colombo, Mike Parenteau and John Seo were to each play their final home league match after three years on the Fremont varsity when the Firebirds close out the SCVAL play this week. The Firebirds were to host league champ Los Gatos on April 30.
'Birds, Mustangs fall
Fremont and Homestead both lost track and field decisions in both boys and girls competition last week in the El Camino Division of the SCVAL.
The Fremont boys lost 66-61 to Cupertino. Austin Sardella and William Barries led the Fremont effort in the meet with two wins apiece.
Sardella rolled to wins in the 800 in 2:09.5 and the 2-mile in 10:38, and Barries was first in the 100 in 11.06 and the 200 in 23.4.
David Taylor chipped in with a first in the 400 in 52.9.
The Fremont girls, meanwhile, dropped a 72-54 decision to Cupertino. Kelly Bushnell and Kim Banks were each twin winners for the Firebirds.
Bushnell, just a freshman, won the shot put at 32-8.5 and took the discus at 119-4, and Banks sprinted to wins in the 100 in 13.51 and the 200 in 28.8.
Homestead lost in both girls and boys action against Milpitas. The Homestead boys slipped to 3-3 in the El Camino Division after an 89-31 loss to the Trojans, and the Mustangs fell to 2-4 in the division in girls action after a 72-55 loss to Milpitas.
Britteney Reynolds was a double winner for the Mustangs in the loss to the Trojans. The junior standout raced to a win in the 200 in 26.85 and flew to a first in the long jump at 16-10.
Sandra Kiel was first in the shot put at 34-0.5, and freshman Emily Linkin won the high jump at 4-4.
Steven Nichols and Anthony Capizzi were each double winner, but the Homestead boys still fell to the Trojans.
Nichols won the long jump at 21-3 and the triple jump at 44-7, and Capizzi took the shot put at 45-3 and the discus at 129-8.
Williams Faules romped to a win in the 110 high hurdles in 14.87 and Ben Verstegen took the 300 hurdles in 39.01 for the Mustangs.
Faules and Nichols also teamed with Eddie Sumpter and Pat Rugo for a win in the 4x100 relay.
Fremont wins
The Fremont baseball team evened its record at 7-7 in the De Anza Division of the SCVAL with a couple of wins over Saratoga last week.
Ryan Boardman had a big week on the mound for the Firebirds. The junior hurler tossed a six-hitter in an 8-4 win over Saratoga to open the week, then he came back to pick up his first save of the year in a 2-1 win over the Falcons on Friday.
Boardman was touched for two runs in the top of the first in Monday's game, but the Firebirds came back with an eight-run rally in the bottom of the first to give their starter a commanding lead. He coasted from there to the pitching win, running his record to 4-0.
Tyler Duran and Vince Klumper each belted two-run doubles to key the eight-run rally in the first.
Javier Eredia doubled and singled twice in the win for Fremont and Troy Tulowitzki and Kris Dunwoody each doubled.
Eredia and Boardman combined for a five-hitter in Friday's 2-1 win over the Falcons. Eredia was the winning pitcher, evening his mound record at 2-2, and Boardman came on in relief to get the save.
Delaney Durgin had two hits and Eredia doubled to lead the four-hit attack for Fremont.
Fremont, 12-13-1 for the year, remains hot in the race for second place in the De Anza Division. Wilcox has already clinched the title with a 14-0 record, and Gunn is second at 8-5. Fremont and Los Gatos share third with matching 7-7 records and Cupertino is 6-7 with two weeks left in the regular season.
Sunnyvale, California Since 1994
