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The Livak sisters star for WG's polo team
By Dick Sparrer
The Livak sisters took turns grabbing the scoring lead for the Willow Glen girls water polo team last week.
But head coach Scott Kaubish doesn't much care whether it's Courtney or Kristin leading the team in scoring--as long as it also means they're leading the team to victory.
And that's just what the Livak girls were doing last week. The two combined for 13 goals in two games to lead the Rams to back-to-back wins over Castilleja and Valley Christian.
Courtney pitched in four goals to spark the Rams to a thrilling 7-6 win over defending league Castilleja on Tuesday, and Kristin fired home five goals later in the week to spark Willow Glen to a 12-3 victory over Valley.
The two wins helped the Rams improve to 4-0 in the Mt. Hamilton Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League and to 13-6 for the year.
C. Livak was the top scorer for WG early in the week, but K. Livak chipped in with two goals, and Whitney Gregg added one.
K. Livak had the five goals to lead all scorers against the Warriors, but C. Livak and Alicia Barreto tossed in two goals apiece. Gregg, Tracy Harding and Kara Buchanan also scored in the win.
In boys water polo action last week, Willow Glen dropped a 14-5 decision to Pioneer to slip to 1-3 in the Mt. Hamilton Division.
Richard Stayskal led the Rams with a pair of goals, and Pedro Gioia, Kyle Goddard and Alex Nguyen also scored goals.
The Rams had dropped an 11-10 heartbreaker to Lincoln to open the week. Goddard bombed seven goals for Willow Glen, and Stayskal, Nguyen and Gioia had one each.
Football
It was a great start for the Willow Glen football team this fall when the Rams opened the year with back-to-back wins over Lincoln and Silver Creek. But now it appears that the Rams will need an equally great finish just to clinch a .500 season.
The Rams have just one win in the last six games, and enter the final two weeks of the regular season with a 3-5 mark and a 1-3 record in the Santa Teresa Division of the BVAL.
Willow Glen will take on Pioneer on Nov. 5, 7:30 p.m., in a key game at PAL Stadium before wrapping up the year against Piedmont Hills.
The Rams were pounded 61-0 by Leland in a nonleague game last Friday. Leon Thomas carried 18 times for 190 yards in the game, but that was one of the lone bright spots for Willow Glen.
"He ran the ball real well," said WG boss Sonny Flores of his senior back.
The coach also praised the work of Ben D'Antonio at guard and linebacker, Mike Strangis at cornerback, two-way starter Erik Lupercio, linebacker Jeremy Downs, sophomore lineman Chris Jones and junior quarterback Bobby Hobbs.
The Rams went into the game without starters in six positions because of injuries and grades.
"That really doomed us," said Flores. "But I was really proud of our guys. They fought, and every play they were competing. They hung in there."
It was Willow Glen's second loss to a powerful Mt. Hamilton Division team. The Rams had fallen 63-0 to Oak Grove earlier in the year.
"I know that they have great programs," said Flores, "but I know that I have great kids in my program. I honestly believe that playing teams like this will pay dividends down the line. We have a bright future ahead."
Girls Tennis
Kim Barnes of Pioneer handled Willow Glen's Cheryl Mah in straight sets to win the singles title in the Santa Teresa Division of the BVAL last week.
Barnes had beaten an Oak Grove opponent 6-1, 6-1 in the second round and a Valley Christian foe 6-1, 6-2 in the semifinals before taking Mah 6-2, 6-2 in the championship match.
Mah opened the tournament with a forfeit win, then beat an Andrew Hill opponent 6-2, 6-1. The WG senior came back with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over a Valley Christian foe to earn her place in the finals.
Willow Glen senior Reyna Hernandez-Cervantes had lost a heartbreaker 7-5, 6-7 (7-9), 7-5 in the first round of the singles tournament.
Pioneer teams finished second and third, and a Willow Glen duo was fourth in the league doubles tournament.
Cathleen Pacelli and Deeg of Pioneer finished second overall, beating teams from Overfelt and Valley Christian in the first two rounds before beating Willow Glen's Cindy Ngo and Kelsey Giambruno in the semifinals. The Pioneer pair lost 7-5, 6-2 to an Oak Grove twosome in the finals.
Katherine Yep and Katie Victorine of Pioneer finished third in the tourney, beating Ngo and Giambruno 6-2, 1-6, 6-1 in the third-place match.
Yep and Victorine opened with wins over Leigh and Valley Christian before losing to Oak Grove in the semifinals, and Ngo and Giambruno beat Leigh 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 and Hill 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 before falling to Deep and Pacelli in the semi's.
The Willow Glen doubles team of Neda Dowlatshahi and Tram Nguyen opened the tourney with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Independence, but they lost 6-1, 6-2 to an Oak Grove pair in the second round.
Field Hockey
The Willow Glen Rams were held scoreless in a 1-0 to Mitty last week. The Rams dropped to 2-3-2 in the Mt. Hamilton Division and to 6-3-3 for the year.
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Willow Glen, California Since 1992
