Up and Over: Willow Glen senior Kaelan Yoppini goes high for the spike in a recent win over Fremont. The Rams opened league play last week with back-to-back wins over Branham and Westmont.




Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer







Rams nail big win over Branham

Willow Glen golf team off to a 4-0 start

By Dick Sparrer

The way Willow Glen coach Jef Wind saw things prior to the start of the 2002 season, it would be his Rams and Branham fighting it out for the boys volleyball championship in the Mt. Hamilton Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League this spring.

Well, if that's true, Wind must be might proud of his Rams this week.

Willow Glen opened the league season with a match against Branham last week, and the Rams made short work of those Bruins.

Willow Glen rolled to a 15-11, 15-2, 15-5 win over Branham to start the league year off right. Senior outside hitter Mark Sarinana led the Rams with eight kills in the victory.

Willow Glen then made it two straight for the week when the Rams came back two days later to outlast Westmont 15-3, 9-15, 15-9, 15-5 behind 18 kills by Sarinana.

The two wins helped the Rams get off to a 2-0 start in the league season and pushed their season record to 5-1.

Along with Sarinana, key players for the Rams this spring are seniors Kaelan Yoppini, Jesse Cruz and Zach Loya and juniors Adrian Morales, Rich Salas, Craig Baker and Jairo Arreola.

Wind knows that it's still far too early for he and his Rams to be getting too confident. Valley Christian and Leland are two of the other Mt. Hamilton Division powerhouses this spring. Valley is off to a 2-0 league start and is 4-1 for the season, and the Chargers are 1-0 in league and 15-2 for the year.

But Wind has tagged his club for a top three finish in the division, so the win over the Bruins to start the year was a big one.

Willow Glen will try to maintain its winning ways this week in two more league matches. The Rams visit Valley Christian on March 19 and head to Prospect on March 21 for a pair of 6 p.m. matches. Willow Glen will take part in the Charger Classic Tournament at Leland on March 23.

Golfers win

Bob Parker's Willow Glen golf team ran its league record to 4-0 with back-to-back wins over Del Mar last week in Santa Teresa Division play.

Sophomore Nick Barreto fired a three-over-par 39 at Cinnabar to lead the Rams to a 235-271 win over the Dons. Will Howsman covered the par-36 course in 45 to support Barreto's effort, with Patrick Postel finishing at 48, Ryan Radjabi at 49 and Scott Peltz at 54.

Earlier in the week, the Rams had edged Del Mar 192-197 on the shorter course at Deep Cliff in Cupertino. Barreto finished at five-over with a 35 to lead the Rams.

Howsman was close behind at 36 with Radjabi at 39, Peltz at 40 and Postel at 42.

Willow Glen improved to 4-0 in league play and to 5-1 for the year with the two wins.

Rams fall

Junior Thomas Ochoa slapped a pair of doubles and junior Doug Dionne ripped a two-bagger, but the Willow Glen baseball team could manage just four hits in a tough 2-0 loss to Santa Teresa in Mt. Hamilton Division play.

Sophomore Matt Preskar threw well in the loss for the Rams. The Saints could manage just four hits and scored single runs in the third and fourth, and that turned out to be the different in the game.

Willow Glen slipped to 0-3 in league play with the loss.

The Rams will try to get on the winning track this week when they visit Leland on March 19 and host Valley Christian on March 21 for a pair of 3:30 p.m. games.

Willow Glen will host Alumni Day on March 23, 1 p.m., when former Rams return home for a day of baseball.

Around the Glen

Carl Heintze: Remembering infantrymen

Cafe Primavera under new management, changes name to Siena, A Mediterranean Bistro

Sports Briefs

High school sports

High school softball

Siehl earns honors at Charlie Miguel Tournament