Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer

Triple Wins: Willow Glen's Jose Ocampo won three times at No. 1 singles last week to lead the Rams to three tennis wins. Ocampo won this match 7-5, 6-0 to spark the Rams to a 7-0 win over Prospect.




WG girls are off and runnin'

Ocampo leads Rams to three tennis wins

By Dick Sparrer

They're off and runnin' on the track at Willow Glen High School this spring. And coach Victor Santamaria is hoping that means that the Willow Glen girls will be making a run for the league championship.

"I think we have a good chance of winning the league championship," said Santamaria, who coaches the distance events for the Rams. "We haven't won a league title in girls track here since the 1970s."

The Rams are certainly off to a good start. They started the league season with wins over Yerba Buena and James Lick in the West Valley Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League after opening the year with a 62-60 nonleague win over Westmont, a Santa Teresa squad.

"That gave us a really good indication of where we are," said Santamaria of the win over a team in a higher division.

Willow Glen destroyed Lick 106-19 in league competition last week, thanks to a solid showing by freshman distance sensation Janelle Zetterquist.

Zetterquist romped to wins in the 880 (2:38), the mile (5:50) and the 2-mile (12:55) to remain undefeated this season in all three events.

Edna Sison, Michelle Castenada and Crystal Salazar were all double winners for the Rams.

Sison sprinted to wins in the 100 (13.8) and the 200 (30.0), Castenada cruised to victories in the 100 hurdles (17.7) and the 300 hurdles (54.6) and Salazar nailed firsts in the shot put (27-4) and the discus (84-0).

Sison and Castenada also teamed with Eleni Mastorakos and Crista Smestad for a win in the 4x100 relay.

Smestad added a first in the long jump (12-10) and Erica Priman won the triple jump (26-4) for the Rams.

Things didn't go quite as well for the Willow Glen boys against Lick. The Rams lost 99-46 to the Comets after opening the league season with a win over Yerba Buena.

Robbie Watkins had a big day for the Rams with wins in the triple jump (38-1), the long jump (17-10 1/2) and the high jump (5-0). Anthony Howell was second in the high jump (4-10).

Luis Varela was second in the 200 (26.6) and teamed with Mike Bedolla, George Torres and Cody Fickes for a win in the 4x100 relay (48.9).

Fighting back

The Willow Glen tennis team opened the Santa Teresa Division season with a loss to Yerba Buena, but the Rams came fighting back with a vengeance last week.

The Rams won three in a row last week, blanking Westmont and Prospect by matching 7-0 scores and whipping Silver Creek 6-1.

Senior Jose Ocampo won three straight at No. 1 singles to lead the Rams to the victories. Willow Glen improved to 3-1 in league play and 6-1 for the year.

Ocampo won 6-3, 6-0 to start the Rams on the road to the 7-0 win over Westmont. Loc Nguyen won 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7-4) at No. 2 singles, Nick Burggraff won 7-6 (7-5), 6-2 at No. 3 and Erik Bursch swept 6-0, 6-0 at No. 4.

Nhan Vo and Minh Phan teamed for a 6-1, 6-1 win at No. 1 doubles, Mike Nguyen and Alex Kane rolled 6-0, 6-0 at No. 2 and De Phan and Tri Vuu won 6-2, 6-3 at No. 3.

It was more of the same against Prospect with Ocampo winning 6-4, 6-0, L. Nguyen 6-2, 6-7 (5-7), 6-0, Burggraff 6-1, 7-6 (7-5) and Bursch 6-2, 6-4. The teams of Vo-M. Phan and M. Nguyen-Kane won in doubles play.

Willow Glen finished the week by sweeping Prospect 7-0. Ocampo won 7-5, 6-0 at No. 1 singles, L. Nguyen won 7-6 (7-4), 6-2, Burggraff won 6-2, 6-0 and Bursch won 6-3, 7-6 (7-1).

Vo-M. Phan breezed 6-0, 6-1, M. Nguyen-Kane rolled 6-0, 6-0 and Vuu-D. Phan won by forfeit.

Rams are 3-0

The Willow Glen baseball team ran its record to 3-0 in the Santa Teresa Division with an impressive 10-3 win over Silver Creek last week. The Rams, 5-3 for the year, faced a bye on Thursday.

Josh Weaver and Mike DeBono each singled and doubled to lead an 11-hit attack for the Rams. Jared Jeffrey and Scott Wallberg slapped two hits apiece and Alvin Rideau ripped a double.

Senior Nathan McDonald picked up the mound win, pushing his season record to 2-1.

Silver Creek could manage just three hits in the game but still took a 2-1 lead with a couple of runs in the third. Willow Glen responded with five in the fourth, but the Raiders fought back with a run in the bottom of the inning to cut the lead to 5-4. Once more the Rams responded, though, this time with four in the fifth to take command of the game.

Mansfield stars

Stephanie Mansfield ripped three hits in one game and was the winning pitcher in the next to lead the Willow Glen girls softball team to back-to-back wins in the Charlie Miguel Tournament last weekend.

Mansfield had three hits to lead the Rams to a tight 8-7 win over Sacred Heart. Julie Drake homered and singled twice in the win.

Mansfield was the winning pitcher a game later when the Rams pulled out a 7-5 win over Monta Vista Christian with a five-run rally in the seventh inning. Mansfield also doubled in the win.

Willow Glen had opened the week with a 6-4 nonleague win over Overfelt. Janelle Calderon was the winning pitcher. Crystal Anaya singled and doubled and Desiree Dagnino had two hits.

Anaya doubled and singled later in the week, but Willow Glen lost its Santa Teresa Division opener 5-4 to Independence in eight innings. Michelle Sanchez also had two hits.

Around the Glen

Correction

Willow Glen resident Eric Warkentin endured freezing temperatures while biking Alaska's Iditasport Extreme

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