Britton boys hoops teams sweep Martin Murphy
On Tuesday, the Britton Middle School seventh and eighth grade basketball teams both beat visiting Martin Murphy in a doubleheader at Britton.
Coach Jim Feldman’s seventh grade team downed Murphy 36-18, riding a 20-3 scoring run to open the game to victory. The seventh graders, who were led by the play of Jamie Jensen, Phillip Thrappas, Dylan Davis and Francisco Banuelos, improved to 3-1 in league play and 6-3 overall.
The eighth grade team outlasted Murphy 27-22, using a 10-0 surge in the fourth quarter to capture its first league victory of the season. The eighth graders were led by the play of Adam Perez, Quincy Rich, Matt Cummins and Matt Altamirano.
Both teams play their final home game on Tuesday next week against Herman. The seventh grade game begins at 3:30 p.m., followed by the eighth grade game at 4:45 p.m.
South County gymnasts a hit at Junior Olympic meet
South County gymnasts enjoyed success at their second USAG Junior Olympic meet of the season – the Top Flight 2004 Invitational on Sunday, Jan. 18 in Fremont.
Class 6 gymnast Kurtis Pedrazzi (age 16, Hollister) took home honors from the 12+ age group. With the exception of the floor exercise, Kurtis took second place across the board – on pommel, rings, vault, parallel bars and high bar. His second-place all-around score was 50.575.
Competing against 23 other gymnasts in the 10-11 year old age group, Class 6 gymnast Vanya Avilla (age 10, Gilroy) executed an outstanding performance on his floor exercise, bringing home a third-place medal. Avilla also brought home a fourth-place ribbon on the vault.
Class 7 gymnast Gabriel Hatcher (age 9, Hollister) took third place in the all-around in the 8-9 age group with a score of 54.50. Individual medals were not handed out for Class 7 gymnasts.
The boys all train at USA Sports Connection in Hollister. Look for them at the 2004 Pacific Coast Classic, www.usa-sports.org, at the Oakland Convention Center on Sunday, January 25.
Two Gators hold top times
Nine-year-old Cortney Kay and ten-year old Luke Walton were surprised with specially made trophies during a nightly practice at Gilroy High School Pool.
To celebrate their achievement, Coach Andy Been and Coach Tom Clark presented the two with etched glass trophies showing their top times.
The two athletes hold top ten times in their age group for the 2003 Pacific Swimming Season. Cortney Kay (left in picture) has the following times for Short Course (25 yards) 7th in the 25 Free with a 15.11, 6th in the 50 Free with 33.47, 4th in the 100 Free with a 1;13.57, 1st in the 25 Breast with a 19.06 and 2nd in the 100 IM with a 1:22.08. In the Long Course (50 meter), Cortney is 6th in the 50 Free with a 37.73 and 3rd in the 100 free with a 1:22.05.
Luke Walton has the following times in for the Short Course; 8th in the 50 Free with 28.99, 7th in the 100 Free with a 1:02.31, 6th in the 50 Fly with a 31.88 and 5th in the 100 Fly with a 1:11.93. Luke also is in 5th place in the 50 Free with a 31.75 in the 50 meter Long Course.
On January 17-19, the Gilroy Gator Swim team competed in the Zones Championship at George Haines International Swim Center in Santa Clara. The 46 athletes swam many great races. Twenty-two teams competed and the Gators returned home with a 7th place finish.
Under-12 Girls Chevrolet Association Cup
The Orchard Valley Tornadoes U12 girls soccer team finished up their productive season with an impressive 2-1 record in the Chevrolet Association Cup.
The Tornadoes continued their habit of starting strong in a tournament with a 2-0 shutout of the Fire. Amanda Austin opened the scoring by drilling a nice cross from Lexi MacPhail. JC Clayton got the insurance goal with a booming, long shot that skipped off the wet grass and ate up the Fire goalie. Goalie Nichole Downing notched another shutout with a solid effort from the Tornadoes defense.
The Tornadoes did it without two key players, Cloey LemMon and Mary Thatcher, who were both sidelined with broken arms. The Tornadoes picked up Austin and Kelly Hoose to fill the vacant roster spots. Defenders Stephanie Wan, Lindsay Pund, and Clarissa Hammer stepped up to fill the void, along with midfielders Amanda Whitling, Alex Seda, and Bella Comin. Sarah Block, Amanda Kline, and Taylor Johnson split time between the forward slots and the defender spots.
A very tough Rocklin squad squashed the hopes the Tornadoes had of advancing to the next round of cup play in Sacramento with a 2-0 final result. The Tornadoes played strong, but gave up two goals in a short span after the start of the second half, and could not recover.
The Tornadoes closed out the tournament and their season with another shutouttopping the Mill Valley Strikers, 3-0. While Downing and Whitling split the goalie duties, the Tornadoes scored first on a play initiated by one of Kline’s signature long throw-ins. Johnson controlled the ball and sent it ahead to MacPhail, who beat the Strikers goalie.
The Tornadoes’ second goal was one of the prettiest of the season, with Clayton providing the trigger on a corner kick. The initial kick was blocked by a defender, but Clayton stayed with the play and ripped a beautiful crossing pass when the defender could not control the ball. Whitling was in position in front of the goal, and knocked the ball in with a picture-perfect header. MacPhail scored again to close the books on the season, following up her own shot that had been blocked.
OVYSL Eagles fall in State Cup
Despite a strong showing in Turlock last weekend, an injury-beleagured Orchard Valley OMI Eagles team failed to advance to the next round in the prestigious State Cup.
In cold and foggy 50-degree weather, the Eagles began their State Cup bid with a 4-0 win over Palo Alto White for their first game in the three-game State Cup format.
Beau Staal opened the scoring with a strong individual effort for an unassisted goal. Orlando Villa, who was relentless in his attack on goal, sunk the second shot. Nick Salvemini, who posted his best game of the season, called for the ball from midfielder Crhis Dasgputa to tally the third goal. The fourth and final goal came off a hard shot by Roupen Arzoumani with an assist from Staal. Adam Johnson, who was credited with the shutout, started in goal, giving Matt Morgan, who was recuperating from pneumonia, a much-needed rest. Morgan was able to return to goal later in the series and both had outstanding games.
The Eagles faced the Danville Mustangs in their second game, but this time injuries caught up to them as they fell, 2-0.
J.P. Sanchez, who was injured in the morning game with a pulled muscle, had to sit out the game and then early in the first half, Villa went out with a mild concussion. Scrappy Sean Little went in for Sanchez and did a great job tyring to thwart the Mustangs. But despite a very strong first half, the Eagles were unable to find the back of the net.
Sunday’s game found the Eagles pitted against the hometown Turlock Tornadoes without the services of Jordan Bredehoeft, who played outstanding soccer on Saturday. Fortunately, the Eagles possess versatility and Dasgupta stepped ably into the stopper position to direct the defense and once again defenders Dylan Frechette, Jorge Enriquez, Sanchez and Garrett Wheeler held their opponent at bay.
Staal once again started things off with a goal, this time with an assist from Pablo Figueroa – who then scored the second goal on a strong follow-up shot. A persistent Johnson kept scrambling at the mouth of the goal until he was able to sink the third and final goal.
Unfortunately, the one-loss elimination process prevented the Eagles from advancing. However, Coach Jack Salvemini praised the entire team for their great effort.
“This has been a rebuilding year for us, but the team is finally coming together and we’ve been playing good ball for the past few months,” the coach said. “We have a lot of talent and versatility, and I was able to move players around to compensate for injuries. But the one-game elimination format doesn’t give us much breathing room. However, we’re looking forward to next year when the team should be at full strength.”
