Photograph by George Sakkestad
Fremont hurler Javier Eredia tossed a five-hitter, but the Firebirds lost 2-1 to Los Gatos on Friday.
Hovey, Armour share top swim honor
Fremont, Homestead in baseball playoffs
By Dick Sparrer
Amber Hovey and Abra Armour of Homestead must really be looking forward to the Central Coast Section (CCS) swimming championships this week.
Why wouldn't they be? After all, they're coming off pretty impressive performances in the championship meet for the De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League (SCVAL).
Hovey and Armour tied for the individual high point award at the league meet, leading the Mustangs to a tie for third place in the team standings.
So the two Mustangs, along with teammate Catherine Kung and boys stars Jon Verna and Matt Schmidt, will lead the Homestead effort at the CCS trials (May 17, 1 p.m.) and finals (May 18, 1 p.m.) at the Santa Clara International Swim Center.
Hovey, a freshman, and Armour, a junior, ran up 40 points apiece to top the league in the high point competition at the league finals. Kung ended up 11th with 31 points.
Hovey cruised to a win in the 200-yard individual medley in 2:09.93 and came away with a first in the 100 butterfly in 57.95. Teammate Kung, a sophomore, was second in the fly in 58.50, with Candice Lee sixth in 1:01.93.
Armour dominated the sprints for the Mustangs. She raced to a win in the 50 freestyle in 25.16 and added a first in the 100 free in 54.03.
Hovey, Jessica Lee, C. Lee and Armour set a new meet record in the 200 medley relay, swimming 1:51.79 to win gold and break the old league mark of 1:52.52 set by Palo Alto in 1998.
Hovey, Armour, Kung and Jackie Laird teamed for a win in the 200 free relay in 1:42.51, good for another meet record. The Mustangs snapped the old mark of 1:42.95, set by Gunn in 1997.
Kung was fifth in the 100 backstroke in 1:02.37 for the Mustangs, and J. Lee was sixth in the 100 breaststroke in 1:10.53.
Kung, Laird, Evelyn Nelson and Kristi McCarthy teamed for a sixth in the 400 free relay in 3:54.11.
Verna and Schmidt starred for the Mustangs in the boys varsity division. Richie Crowder of Los Gatos finished with 40 points to win the league's high point award, but Verna and Schmidt finished with 37 points apiece to wind up in a five-way tie for second. Karta Khalsa of Homestead tied for 11th with 30 points.
Verna, a sophomore, breezed to a win in the 100 back in 57.16, with teammate Bobby Schneider second in 58.30. Verna added a second in the 200 free in 1:49.40.
Schmidt, another soph, was a winner in the 100 breast in 1:00.46, and he was second in the 200 IM in 2:04.36.
Verna and Schmidt teamed with Schneider and Jam Woo-Garrett for a fourth in the 200 medley relay in 1:43.31, and Verna, Schmidt, Schneider and Khalsa joined forces for a sixth in the 400 free relay in 3:28.54.
Khalsa, a freshman, was second in the 500 free in 4:59.21, and he added a sixth in the 100 fly in 56.03.
Woo-Garrett supported with an eighth in the 100 fly in 57.61, and he joined Khalsa, Brian Bucher and Taemin Oh for a fifth in the 200 free relay in 1:38.02.
Baseball playoffs
Both the Fremont and Homestead baseball teams have earned spots in the CCS Division I playoffs that open this week.
Fremont, 14-15-1 for the year, opens at Bellarmine (26-7) on May 15, 4 p.m., and Homestead, 17-10 for the season, opens at San Benito (22-5) the same day.
The Firebirds earned the playoff berth despite a tough 2-1 loss to Los Gatos last Friday. Javier Eredia tossed a five-hitter, but gave up a two-run homer in the fourth.
Fremont, 9-9 in De Anza Division play, opened the week with a 5-1 win over Milpitas. Troy Tulowitzki ripped a two-run homer and Matt Martinez doubled home a couple of runs to lead the Firebirds to the win. Delaney Durgin also doubled for Fremont, and Vince Klumper was the winning pitcher, pushing his record to 3-2.
Homestead, meanwhile, pounded Mountain View 11-3 to finish 11-7 in the El Camino Division of the SCVAL.
Brian McGee was the winning pitcher for the Mustangs, running his record to 6-0, and he and Brad McGee each doubled.
Volleyball losses
The Fremont and Homestead boys volleyball teams each lost in the first round of the CCS playoffs.
Fremont finished the year at 19-13 after suffering a 15-6, 15-12, 15-7 loss to Aptos. Seniors playing their final match for the Firebirds were Adam Colombo, Mike Parenteau and John Seo.
Lance Lesui, the Fremont kill leader for the season, will lead a strong group of returners for the Firebirds next year that will also include David Evans and Randall Polgar.
Homestead dropped a tough 15-10, 9-15, 15-11, 9-15, 15-13 decision in five games to Leland to face elimination from the CCS tourney. The Mustangs finished the year at 21-6.
Tim Kim led the Mustangs with 13 kills in the hard-fought five-game match. Josh Cavin, Nick Miluso and Armen Ekmekji were seniors playing their final match.
Sunnyvale, California Since 1994
