The Willow Glen Resident Mah, Rams pair nail seconds at net finals By Dick Sparrer Jenny Kulick was the No. 1 seed and Cheryl Mah No. 2 when the girls of the Blossom Valley Athletic League's West Valley Division got together for their season- ending tournament. And the two proved that the members of the seeding committee knew just what they were talking about when they finished one-two in the league tourney played at Lincoln earlier this month. But as right on as the committee was in singles play, they missed the mark in doubles action. Valley Christian's Kulich pulled out a 6-4, 6-3 win over Mah of Willow Glen in the division's championship match. Mah had earned her place in the title match with three straight victories. The Willow Glen star opened with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Marilyn Wise of Valley, then beat Bohra Rhee of Gunderson 6-3, 6-0. Mah handled Anabel Gonzalez of Westmont in straight sets in the semifinals to earn the title berth. Tina Catania of Willow Glen opened the tourney with a 6-1, 6-0 win over Christina Owen of Lick, but she lost a match later to Kulich to fall out of the event. The Willow Glen doubles team of Cindy Ngo and Kelsy Giambruno was unseeded entering the tourney, but they came through with a second-place finish. Hei Yumiba and Kelly Paine of Valley Christian were seeded No. 2, but ended up winning the doubles crown with a 6-4, 6-0 win over Ngo and Giambruno in the finals. The Willow Glen pair opened with a tough 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 upset win over No. 1 seeded Beth Lauck and Eileen Blatt of Lincoln. The Rams beat a Gunderson duo 6-1, 7-5, then knocked off a Valley Christian pair 6-3, 6-0 before losing in the finals. Reyna Hernandez-Cervantes and Chen Huynh teamed for a fourth-place finish for the Rams. They opened with a 6-1, 6-2 win over San Jose, then beat Gunderson 6-4, 6-2. They ended up losing twice to a couple of Valley Christian teams to wind up fourth overall. Chung, Barnes at CCS Pamela Chung of Presentation and Kimmy Barnes of Pioneer are among the local tennis players still alive in the CCS individual tournament. Chung, who starred at No. 1 singles for the Panthers this fall, was to open tourney play against Cheryl Leung of Live Oak on Nov. 23 at Courtside in Los Gatos. Barnes, the Santa Teresa Division champion for the Mustangs, was to face Marilyn Mok of Menlo the same day. Monarchs fall Mitty lost 4-3 to Los Altos in the first round of the CCS team tournament, but the Monarchs made it to the section play-offs thanks to an outstanding finish in the regular season--and that was thanks to the talents of three players from Willow Glen. Monica Winters, Kelly Yoder and Katie McDaniel were among the top four singles players for the Monarchs this past season. Winters played at No. 2 singles, Yoder at No. 3 and McDaniel at No. 4. The Monarchs ended up 9-3 in the tough Mt. Hamilton Division of the BVAL, and that included an impressive upset win over league champ Leland. [ Back to Contents Page | Willow Glen Resident Home Page | Archives ] This article appeared in the Willow Glen Resident, November 25, 1998. ©1998 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.