But the loss did not occur until the Mustangs ran over 15 straight opponents, including an unbeaten spin through the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League El Camino Division schedule, a non-league victory over eventual CCS Division II champ Sacred Heart Prep and a 6-1 romp over Archbishop Mitty in a quarterfinal match.

"The final score (6-1) against Los Gatos sounds pretty bad, but--I'm not joking--this team could have won," long-time Homestead coach Francisco Ruiz said about the match played May 10 at Courtside Tennis Club in Los Gatos. "Some of the games were so close, they could have gone either way."

Homestead's singles ace, senior Josh Levitz, lost for the first time this season, falling 6-4, 6-3 to Los Gatos' Brian Brogan. At No. 2 singles, sophomore David Clark didn't have much success in his 6-1, 6-2 loss to Stephen Stege, but freshmen Chris Ho and Samuel Ling played well before bowing in the other singles matches.

Ho led No. 3 singles, 5-4, in the first set, before falling 7-5. Then he lost 6-4 in a tough second set. Meanwhile, at No. 4, Ling took the first set, 6-3, and led 5-4 in the second. However, Ling's Wildcat opponent recovered to take the set, 7-5. Ling also lost 7-5 in the final set.

"Those two freshmen really played well," Ruiz praised. "A shot here or there could have turned things around."

Homestead's top doubles team, Adrian Lam and Yang Lee, lost 6-3, 6-3 to James Lok and Tim Switzer, but the other doubles teams fared much better.

Junior Alex Spiser and senior Aaron Lam "battled all the way, before losing a close match at No. 2," Ruiz said. They lost in three sets, 4-6, 6-2, 4-6.

The team of Donny and Root Vier, both juniors, prevented the Mustangs from being shut out. The third doubles squad, after losing the first set 7-6, won 6-3 and 6-4.

In the 6-1 win over Mitty on May 6, the Mustangs won all matches in straight sets, except at No. 1 doubles, a three-set defeat.

Some Mustangs will compete in the CCS individual tournament. Levitz, the El Camino singles champion, will join Clark and Ling at the CCS event, which begins May 26 in Aptos.

Clark and Ling, singles players who were paired together for the El Camino individuals tournament, won four straight matches in straight sets to capture the division's doubles title. They beat their teammates, Lam and Lee, 6-4, 6-2, in the finale.

Tsai wins twice

Homestead junior William Tsai won both boys weight events at the SCVAL Qualifier at Los Gatos High on May 14. Tsai, who hurled the discus 156-11 and heaved the shot put 47-11, is one of several area track and field athletes moving on to the CCS semifinals May 21 at San José City College. Survivors of that meet will return on May 27 to challenge for CCS championships and berths in the CIF State meet.

Alex Morzack, Tsai's teammate at Homestead, was third in the shot put with a toss of 45-8 . Fremont's Ruben Chagoya qualified fifth in the discus, hurling the platter 127-10.

Kelly Bushnell, the defending CCS girls discus champion, will have a chance to defend her crown. Her effort of 118-1 was the best mark recorded at the qualifier. Bushnell, who won the section title last year with a throw of 130-7, also qualified fourth in the shot put.

Homestead sprinters Jason Anthony (200, 400) and Jay Atkins (100) qualified, as did the Mustangs' boys 4x400 meter relay squad. Anthony placed fourth in the 400 in 51.1 and fifth in the 200 in 23.04. Atkins' ran 11.38 for fifth in the 100.

William Stallings of Fremont earned a trip to the CCS meet with a fourth-place effort (15.94) in the 110 hurdles.

In the girls 800 race, Fremont's Nikki Kinney was edged out for the sixth qualifying spot. However, she could be invited to compete if a qualifier pulls out of the event.

Swimmers place at CCS

Sophomores Larry Wen and Michelle Camburn both placed in the top 16 of two events, scoring points for their schools at the CCS Swimming and Diving Championships May 14 at Stanford University. Wen placed sixth in the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:00.58 and 14th in the 200 freestyle in 1:47.30. Scott Wong of The King's Academy was seventh in the 200 individual medley in 1:59.32.

Camburn was 11th in the 500 free and 14th in the 200 IM. Junior Monica Brazleton of The King's Academy was 11th in the 50 free and 14th in the 100 free.

Knights in playoffs

After closing the regular season with a 6-5 triumph over league rival Sacred Heart Prep on May 13, The King's Academy baseball team will take a four-game winning streak into the CCS Division III tournament.

Coach Jeff McDonald's Knights (17-4), who finished the Private Schools Athletic League season at 11-3 and one game behind champion Sacred Heart, are seeded sixth in Division III. They open play on May 20 at Washington Park in Santa Clara against No. 3 Menlo.

Junior Tim Biederman drove in all six runs in the league finale, four on a first-inning grand slam and two more on a second-inning double. The Knights held on behind the complete-game pitching effort of senior Jason Linn.

Biederman enters Friday's game with five home runs and 35 RBIs to go with a .449 batting average. Linn is the Knights' pitching ace with a 9-1 record and a 1.01 earned run average.