Dos Pueblos scholar-athlete of the year Britten Vilander

A seventh grader from St. Rafael’s School was the most sought-after person at Monday’s Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table press luncheon.

Michael Cota’s excellence at the free-throw line drew the attention of high school and college basketball coaches in attendance in the Ranchero Room at Harry’s Plaza Cafe.

Why all the fuss?

Cota won district and Southern California titles in the annual Elks Hoop Shoot free-throw contest. He made 25 of 25 in the district competition and captured the Southern Cal title in a shoot-off with two other kids.

LeRoy Jeffers, chairman of the local Hoops Shoot, said Cota missed three of his first 10 free throws before sinking 14 of the next 15 to tie for first in the SoCal finals. In the shoot-off, he was a perfect 5-for-5.

“You can always use a good free thrower,” said Dave Loveton, sports information specialist at SBCC.

UCSB assistant coach David Campbell said senior Jaime Serna was dominant for the Gauchos in road wins at UC Davis (18 points) and Pacific (15 points, 12 rebounds).

“It was really, really good to see him put forth the kind of effort we’ve been waiting for all year,” Campbell said. “If we’re going to have the kind of season we want and finish strong, we’re really going to need him to step forward and really be the kind of player he was at the end of last year.”

San Marcos boys basketball coach Jarrod Bradley said he’s been getting bombarded with calls and text messages asking why the team is 4-4 in the Channel League.

“The reality is we’ve lost three games by a combined five points,” Bradley pointed out. “We win those games we’re 7-1 and in first place.”

After last week’s two-point loss at Santa Barbara, he told his team to keep everything in perspective. “It’s not the end of the world we’re 4-4. There are lessons to be learned. As a coach, there are things I can do differently.”

Bradley learned he should give Uriel Hurtado more playing time. Hurtado had nine points and three rebounds against Santa Barbara.

“He was solid for us. Look for him to play a lot more,” said the coach.

Bradley also introduced reserve Paxton Ridgway.

The coach offered congratulations to aquatics coach Brian “Chuckie” Roth for being named San Marcos Teacher of the Year. Roth is now in the running for County Teacher of the Year.

Unlike San Marcos, Santa Barbara High’s girls basketball team is on the other end of the spectrum in its last three games.

“We’ve lost our last three games by a total of 37 points,” coach Andy Butcher said. “I’d like to say we’re right there. Honestly we have not yet played our best basketball.”

Butcher introduced players Ivette Gil, Gigi Gallegos and Sylvia Hoover and said they arranged last Saturday’s “Think Pink” breast cancer awareness game. He also brought sophomore Maddie Carlentine.

Bishop Diego boys basketball assistant Patrick Davis cited Andre Kohansamad and Thomas Lash as two players who come off the bench and provide good quality minutes.

Laguna Blanca athletic director Mike Biermann said freshman Steven McCaffery has played well in place of injured Troy Ritter on the basketball team. He also praised the defensive play of Athlete of the Week Logan Elder. “He really pushes our team to the next level.”

Bishop Diego girls basketball coach Jeff Burich recognized freshman Jordyn Lilly for battling back from a knee surgery and making big contributions to the team. He also noted the improved play of post player Julia Jenkins.

Westmont’s men’s and women’s basketball teams had the pleasure of hosting a group of four coaches from Uganda.

Their visit was arranged by Westmont alum, Dr. Jens Olmi, assistant professor of health, exercise and sports sciences at Texas Tech and director of the International Sport Connection. It was funded by the U.S. State Department Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Sports United Division.

The coaches — Nicholas Twesigye, Immaculate “Chocho” Nalwaddaa, Ayeet Timothy Odeke and Carolnie Nyafwono — also visited the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass., watched a Knicks game at Madison Square Garden in New York City, and went to Columbia University and UCLA. Their next stop is Knoxville, Tenn., where they hope to meet coaching legend Pat Summitt.

Westmont men’s coach John Moore expressed his excitement about his team.

“We’ve got incredible unity, we’re 15-4 and we’re nationally ranked. If you want to come out and see a team that’s ferocious and fierce, come out and see us play Tuesday night (against Vanguard),” he said.

Kirsten Moore said she hopes her team can finish the way it started. Her No. 4 Warriors are 20-1 going into Tuesday’s showdown with ninth-ranked Vanguard.

Dos Pueblos athletic director Dan Feldhaus said it was a playoff atmosphere when Santa Barbara visited the Elings Aquatic Center for last week’s Channel League water polo match.

Speaking for coach Chris Parrish, Feldhaus said the 9-8 win will get the team ready for this weekend’s Southern California Championships in Newport Beach. Feldhaus brought goalie Britten Vilander, the Athlete of the Week, and senior Kodi Hill. “Chris calls her one of the best defenders in high school water polo,” said Feldhaus.

Hill has committed to UCLA, where she will join her sister, goalie Sami Hill.

Santa Barbara coach Mark Walsh said he had the pleasure of coaching Vilander and Kodi Hill in club water polo and they helped his team win a national championship.

Walsh praised DP’s performance and added his team learned a lot from that game.

“They left us a lot to learn. It will be good for us down the road and we’ll be better prepared for the playoffs. That’s what we’re looking for,” said Walsh.

He brought reserve players Megan Bergthold and Sophie Maes, who were instrumental in the Dons shutting out Ventura 11-0 last Tuesday.

San Marcos’ Roth said the season has been “full of ups and downs, but I’m really proud of where we’re at right now.”

He introduced players Miranda Day and Hannah Turk and noted the 7-14 record doesn’t how good the team is playing. The Royals have a huge game against Ventura on Tuesday.

After knocking off perennial league champion Malibu, Carpinteria girls water polo coach Bryan Swarm said, “If we finish out the season the way we think we will, we’ll at least get a part of the league championship, which will be a first for Carpinteria High School.”

Swarm brought team captains Morgan Cook and Tatiana Verdugo.

San Marcos girls soccer coach Christy Lozano cited Shayna Carroll and Sarah Andrews as two players who are playing with lots of confidence during a tough season.

The confidence is high at Carpinteria High for girls soccer. Lucy Carleton’s team finished the first round of Frontier League play undefeated and started the second round with a 2-1 overtime win at Bishop Diego.

Carleton introduced two key players who play the thankless positions on the field, goalkeeper Sally Lam and sweeper Kelsey Drain. Both players are three-sport athletes.

Laurie Leighty, SBART president-elect, announced that the annual Women in Sports Luncheon is next Monday at the Earl Warren Showgrounds. The event is celebrating the 40th anniversary of the passage of Title IX, the law that requires gender equity to every educational program that is federally funded.

The guest speaker is professional golfer Pearl Sinn-Bonanni.

“We used to have doubleheaders at movie theaters, where you get to see a twin bill,” Moore recalled at Monday’s Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table press luncheon at Harry’s Plaza Cafe. “Well, it’s great to come to Westmont these days because you can see a great twin bill. You’ll see a phenomenal women’s team play and see a men’s team scratch and claw and try to look as good as the women’s team right now. They warm up the gym for us.”

Steven Krouskopf was honored as the Special Olympics Athlete of the Month for his performance in floor hockey. Krouskopf helpd his team win the gold medal at a tournament in Irvine.

The Warrior teams have been providing plenty of thrills this season. They’re both in first place in the Golden State Athletic Conference and ranked in the NAIA national polls.

Preston Branson has been the leading man for the No. 12 Westmont men’s team. The junior from Texas poured in 35 points on 12-of-14 shooting from the field in 90-85 win over No. 6-ranked Concordia in Irvine. It ended a 10-game losing streak against the Eagles.

“He’s an incredible competitor,” Moore said of Branson. “What you want more than anything on your team is you want a guy who plays best when it’s the most important.”

Moore said Branson’s Texas roots make him special.

“He’s a Texan and he plays like most Texans do — they really believe their state is where we all come from. They play the game with a great deal of heart,” said Moore.

Westmont women’s coach Kirsten Moore said she’s impressed with the men’s team.

“Our men’s team is playing better than I’ve ever seen in my seven years at Westmont,” she said. “A lot of it is due to this guy here, Preston, but a lot really has to do with their teamwork and the enthusiasm at what they’re doing, and their competitiveness.”

Kristen Moore’s team also is playing at a high level. Last week, the fourth-ranked Warriors gutted out a two-point win over Master’s at home and then won at Concordia.

She pointed out the Westmont teams travel together for road games and neither have suffered a loss.

“So far, when we travel together we’re undefeated on the road this year. The plan is to keep that going,” said Kirsten Moore.

Rich Hanna, Santa Barbara Round Table president, suggested that any local team that is struggling might want to get on the bus with the Westmont basketball teams.

UCSB men’s basketball team was on the TV screen on Saturday against Long Beach, and assistant coach David Campbell hoped not many people tuned in to watch the game.

The Gauchos were routed 71-48 by the 49ers.

“We didn’t play very well from the get-go,” said Campbell. “The thing that was disheartening was we had a great crowd. The game was sold out, 6,000 people in the stands. You got to give Long Beach credit, they played really well.”

The Gauchos hit the road for seven of their next eight games.

“We’re still confident in our guys,” Campbell said. “We still have a shot to win the Big West.”

Coming off an double-overtime win at Big West-leading Cal State Northridge, UCSB women’s assistant Courtney Locke encouraged fans to come out to the Gauchos’ home against against UC Davis (Thursday) and Pacific (Saturday) this week.

In high school basketball, Bishop Diego girls coach Jeff Burich said an example of how much his team’s improved was evident in a recent Tri-Valley League game against St. Bonaventure. In December, the Cardinals trailed the Seraphs by 31 at halftime, and last week they were down by only one.

“We saw improvement with the kids,” said Burich, who brought sophomore post player Colleen Duley and junior spark plug Michelle Garcia.

Bishop Diego boys assistant coach Patrick Davis introduced seniors Reese Moulton and Nolan Tisdale as two players who have helped the team start league play on a good note. Tisdale is one of the team’s best 3-pointer shooters and Moulton is the leading rebounder.

Davis also noted that the future looks bright for Bishop basketball as his JV team is 16-0.

Devin Uyesaka is going through a tough first year as the girls varsity coach at San Marcos.

“We’ve had a lot of injuries and sickness,” he said. “There are times we’ve had five to six girls at practice, so it’s hard to beat teams.”

Speaking for boys coach Jarrod Bradley, Uyesaka said the Royals have a big game Wednesday at Santa Barbara. The teams will be playing for sole possession of second place in the Channel League.

Kim Kjar, speaking for Santa Barbara boys basketball coach David Bregante, said the Dons have turned things around with the help of players like Teon West and Emilio Gonzalez.

“We’re 10-8 and 4-2 in league, and we haven’t been in that position in a few years,” Kjar said. “We’re looking tow make a push for the playoffs this year.”

Longtime Santa Barbara girls coach Andrew Butcher said his team has been struggling as of late, but he’s been pleased with the improved play of Amanda Temporal, Alyssa Cosio and Michalia Miller.

Butcher noted that the Dons will be hosting their “Think Pink” game on Saturday against Rio Mesa at 4:30. Rio Mesa won the Green Division title at the Tournament of Champions in December.

Several high school soccer coaches were in attendance.

Alfredo Martinez, longtime Santa Barbara boys assistant, said the Dons didn’t have any expectations at the start of the season, but it kept the same goals of posting 15 shutouts, 20 wins and winning the Channel League.

The Dons are 13-4-4 with 12 shutouts and finished the first round of Channel League play in first place. They’re also ranked fifth in CIF Division 1.

Martinez introduced senior team captains Alberto Hernandez and Tanner Wolf.

Santa Barbara girls assistant Brian Zieganhagen said he’s looking forward to better things from the team in the second half of the league season.

“We’re expecting a little bit more from the players, coaching staff and the mentality of the school,” he said.

Ziegenhagen introduced team captain Karly Graf. “She’s one of the leaders to keep the team together,” he said.

San Marcos coach Christy Lozano said her team has played better than its 0-2-2 record in Channel League play.

Lozano said defenders Kaylin Koopmans and Ashley Carney have played solid in the back for the Royals, who open the second round of league play at home Tuesday against Dos Pueblos at 6 p.m.

Brent Gonsalves noted Bishop Diego’s record of 9-4-2 is evidence that the team has made great strides.

The team posted two wins last week after losing two in a row the week before.

“One of things I dislike about high school soccer sometimes is having Christmas break,” said Gonsalves, referring to the two losses after the holidays. “Coming back from break, we weren’t as sharp as we were before break.”

Gonsalves brought his team captains Catriona Reddington and Jordan Price.

“We’re looking to continue our successful run and position ourselves to get in the playoffs this year,” he said.

Carpinteria’s girls have visions of making the playoffs. Lucy Carleton’s young team is unbeaten in league and tied for first place.

Carleton introduced two freshmen who have made a big impact on the squad, Monica Garcia and Lesly Zapata, and senior goalkeeper Tania Arroyo. Garcia is the team’s leading scorer.

“We have a very fine freshman class,” Carleton said. “The only other time I had this many freshman on varsity was in our championship year in 2008. That would be a good sign.”

Carleton also introduced Ricky Zerreno from the boys soccer team. She cited his hard work on the field and in the classroom.

Dos Pueblos boys coach Matt York said his team is starting to come together after some early season injuries

“Our season has been a challenging one for us so far,” he said. “The expectations were high because we’re coming off two years where we went deep in the playoffs and we were hoping to continue that ride this year.”

The Chargers ended the first round of league play by rallying from two goals down and tying Buena 2-2.

York brought Scott Terry, who scored both goals against Buena, and defender Oscar Escamilla.

The Chargers return to action Thursday at home against San Marcos.

Special Olympics Athlete of the Month: Steven Krouskopf received the award for his play in floor hockey.

Krouskopf, who works at the Vons in Montecito, has played several sports in his 10 years in Special Olympics, and floor hockey is his favorite, said Round Table board member Aaron Brown.

Krouskopf’s coach, Jaime Rutiaga, called the athlete “a class act out there. Floor hockey, as you know, can be a very aggressive sport,” he said.

A left winger, Krouskopf scored a hat trick at a tournament in Irvine and helped Santa Barbara capture the gold medal at a second Irvine tournament.

San Marcos' Jordan Lund was this year's Phil Womble Award winner for the Royals.

Monday’s Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table press luncheon was the first of 2012, and a host of coaches, athletes, and community members dropped by Harry’s Plaza Cafe to share how they’re doing in the new year.

Twenty teams were represented in total, with each giving a report on their team’s seasons. San Marcos High School was recognized with several awards before the coaches’ reports, as Jordan Lund, Tony Becerra, and Sam Strong received special awards. Dos Pueblos’ Jessica Escalante was also singled out as Female Athlete of the Week.

SBART Boardmember Laurie Leighty officially announced February’s Women in Sports Luncheon at Earl Warren Showgrounds. This year’s keynote speaker will be former LPGA pro golfer Pearl Sinn-Bonanni, who is currently head coach at Cal State Fullerton. The luncheon, presented by Community West Bank, is on Monday, February 6 at 11:30 a.m.

The first coach up at the podium was Westmont’s women’s basketball head coach Kirsten Moore. The Warriors are arguably having the best time so far in 2012, enjoying the best start in school history with a 14-1 record.

“I think people are catching on to how fun we are to watch,” Moore said.

The men’s and women’s basketball teams at Westmont host a double-header on Saturday starting at 5:30 p.m.

Moore’s year started off great and hasn’t slowed down. The Oregon alum was taken to the Rose Bowl by school president Gayle Beebe to watch her Ducks beat Wisconsin.

Wrestling coach Tony Becerra started coaching at San Marcos in 1999.

Since then, the Warriors are 2-0 including a win at No. 8 Vanguard. It was the first time Moore has won in Costa Mesa.

John Moore’s men’s team is also off to a trememdous start with a record of 11-2. The Warrior men won both of their games last week as well.

San Marcos’ Lund was given the Phil Womble Ethics Award. For the first time, the recipient was given Phil Womble’s book, “Never Give Up,” with other prizes provided by luncheon sponsor Santa Barbara Bank & Trust.

“Wow, this is such an honor to receive this award,” Lund said after being introduced by her tennis coach Jarrod Bradley.

She thanked her parents, coaches, the San Marcos administration, and Phil Womble, who was in attendance, for their support.

Lund was the sophomore class president last year. This year Lund is the class vice president and played a leading role in putting together the fourth Kids Helping Kids benefit that just raised over $125,000 in charity on Saturday.

Female Athlete of the Week Jessica Escalante

“She’s always complimentary to her opponents,” Bradley said. “We’re lucky to have her as a Royal.”

After Lund, San Marcos Athletic Director Abe Jahadhmy presented Tony Becerra with the Royals’ Coach of the Year award. Becerra has been an integral part of San Marcos wrestling during the last decade.

“When he realised the program was going to go down for the count, he came back,” Jahadmy said.

Becerra restarted the Royals’ wrestling program in 1999 and has coached a State Champion in Alex Mack and an CIF Academic Champion in Zach Belway.

“The focus has always been the kids,” Becerra said.

Sam Strong kept it going for the Royals, taking home the Male Athlete of the Week award for scoring in both of San Marcos’ soccer games last week. Strong’s game-winner on Tuesday lifted the Royals to a 2-1 win over Dos Pueblos and Strong scored again on Thursday as the Royals managed to tie unbeaten Ventura 1-1.

Dos Pueblos’ Jessica Escalante won the Female Athlete of the Week award by leading the Chargers to a pair of victories last week. Escalante tallied 14 points, five rebounds and five assists on Tuesday, and added 17 points in Saturday’s 64-60 overtime win at Pacifica. Escalante’s coast-to-coast scoring play in the final seconds of regulation forced overtime and gave DP the opportunity to win.

There were a bevy of basketball teams in the Ranchero Room. Carpinteria’s head coaches Dan Mercer and Johnny Ward were present, bringing players Juli Cullens, Bethany Lugo, Marcus Hutchinson, and Xavier DeAlba. From Providence Hall, head coaches Keith Luberto and Arianna Gnekow introduced Brian Briones, Olivia Barroca, and Hannah Park. From Santa Barbara High’s teams, Andrew Butcher and boys assistant Andy Gil brought Matt Wagonhurst, Brendan Fay, Yolanda Gonzalez, Joanna Pinedo, and Saralisa Ortega.

San Marcos and Santa Barbara High’s boys teams engaged in a double overtime clash at SBCC’s Sports Pavilion last Wednesday. Both sides were still talking about it.

San Marcos' Sam Strong

“I think a lot of you probably were at the game on Wednesday,” said Royals head coach Jarrod Bradley, who brought Christian Widmer and Greg Zajic. “Big runs by both teams and huge shots by both teams.”

The Dons prevailed and the two teams have two more meetings remaining this season to look forward to.

Mark Walsh had great success to report from Santa Barbara High’s girls water polo team. The Dons host their Tournament of Champions this weekend with many of the state’s top water polo programs competing.

The Dons, represented at the luncheon by Charlotte Hendrix and Belle Cutbirth, are a top seed in one of four groups and a threat to win it all. Santa Barbara nearly won Newport Harbor’s Holiday Cup on New Year’s Eve. THe Dons lost by one goal in the championship match after beating top-ranked and undefeated Corona del Mar in the semifinals.

There is no luncheon next Monday for the Martin Luther King holiday.

Dos Pueblos girls basketball coach Jelani Hicks spoke about the Chargers girls and boys teams.

Cheers to Channel League basketball.

With Monday’s Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table Press Luncheon being the last of 2011, most of the league’s teams were feeling cheery heading into the holidays.

And with good reason.

San Marcos’ boys team is coming off their third straight championship at the Coast Union Tournament and Santa Barbara’s girls remain undefeated after seven games. Dos Pueblos’ girls team has a tournament title under its belt already this season and the Santa Barbara Dons boys just won three-of-four games at the Arroyo Grande Tournament

“”San Marcos boys basketball had a great week last week,” said Royals head coach Jarrod Bradley, who was impressed with his team’s ability to top the quality of teams in the tournament.

Bradley will be a sports radio guest on AM 1450 tomorrow afternoon from 4 to 6 p.m.

Male Athlete of the Week: Cate's Ema Boateng

“Talking about Channel League basketball and really hyping up athletics in Santa Barbara,” he said.

The radio appearance coincides with the opening of the boys Channel League season on Wednesday. The Royals travel to crosstown foe Dos Pueblos on Wednesday before taking on defending CIF-ss champion Ventura in the Thunderhut on Friday.

Bradley brought players Greg Zajic and Cade Ridenour, who knocked down five 3-pointers and scored 20 points in the Royals’ title-clinching win over St. Joseph.

Bradley also mentioned former Channel Leaguers Roberto Nelson, who’s at Oregon State, and James Ennis, at Long Beach State, as topics for the radio show. Former Charger Julyan Stone is at an even higher level, having  just signed with the Denver Nuggets on Friday.

Nelson’s alma mater, Santa Barbara High, opens up league play on Friday and has won three of its last four. The one game the Dons lost was by a single point.

“I’m happy with where we are right now considering that we’ve had 10 practices,” said Dons head coach David Bregante. “I think we’re getting better. The kids are getting excited about competing and having some success.”

On the girls side, Andrew Butcher’s unbeaten Dons don’t begin league play until 2012. Butcher brought three players to Harry’s, Desiree Coleman, Melissa Lemus, and Amanda Temporal.

His most recent NCAA product, Tess Emerson, will be playing at the Thunderdome on Friday for Pepperdine against UCSB.

Dos Pueblos’ girls coach Jelani Hicks was there to talk about his own team’s successes as well as represent Joe Zamora and the boys team.

Mansai Conner, Daniel Vickers, Chiara DiMarco, Jessica Escalante, Taryn Ouellette, and Natalie Hilton were introduced to the crowd by Hicks.

Other luncheon highlights:

—Karen Feuer was named Sportsperson of the Month. Feuer has run Santa Barbara High School’s Evening for the Athletes program for three years now, helping raise more than $50,000 for Dons athletics.

“Whether driving, putting together a large event or organizing a banquet, Karen can always be counted on,” said Santa Barbara Athletic Director Nan Verkaik.

Karen is a parent of high school athletes and has also given time to the tennis and baseball programs specifically.

Annie Weis

—Ema Boateng and Annie Weis make this week’s set of Athletic Round Table Athletes of the Week an all-Cate School affair.

Both soccer players, Weis and Boateng led their respective teams to quality results last week. Weis, a senior, scored seven goals and added an assist for good measure in a three-game stretch in which the Rams won 2-of-3 games at the Grace Brethren Tournament. The loss was at the hands of Sierra Canyon, which is a defending CIF-ss champion.

Boateng is the returning CIF-ss Division 7 Player of the Year and has gotten off to a great start this season. Boateng scored twice in Friday’s 4-3 loss to Pacifica but came back on Saturday to spearhead one of Cate soccer biggest victories in school history. Boateng scored the second goal in a 2-0 decision over JSerra, which was ranked No. 1 in Division 1 and No. 10 in the country according to ESPN.

—Carpinteria High School coaches Dan Mercer and Lucy Carleton brought players, Tania Arroyo and Cristina Valdez for soccer, and basketball players Lauren Mingee and Lauren Taira.

“I guess I brought some pretty well-rounded Laurens,” Mercer said after highlighting everything they do off the basketball court.

—Matthew McPeters was awarded as Special Olympics’ Athlete of the Month.

McPeters, who went to Santa Barbara High and works at UCSB, sparked a late-inning rally for his softball team with a hit to help them come back from a 4-2 deficit to win the game.

McPeters – a Special Olympics athlete for five years – also competes in floor hockey and bowling.

—UCSB women’s basketball assistant Heather Zurich quickly recalled the Gauchos’ tough last-second loss to UNLV over the weekend and invited people to come and watch them host Pepperdine at the Thunderdome on Friday.

“There’s a lot of great basketball being played in the area this year,” he said. “It’s a great year for basketball in this town. Everybody enjoy that because once in a while we’ll have a year where nobody can make a basket. And, this is not one of those years. Let’s enjoy this.”

Butcher’s team is off to a good start, going 3-0 at Lompoc’s Brian Ayer Classic.

His team this season might be the shortest in his 30-year career at Santa Barbara.

“This is the first year that I’ve had a team where no player can touch the backboard,” he quipped. “We’re trying to play a different style of play. We need to play quicker.”

The old guard was present at Harry’s. Laguna Blanca boys basketball coach Sal Rodriguez pointed out that he and new Santa Barbara coach David Bregante played together at SBCC in 1963.

“And David is older than I am,” said Rodriguez.

Bregante said the last time he attended the SBART luncheon was in the early 70’s, when he filled in for Westmont coach Tom Byron.

Bregante had only eight days of practice before his team played its first game against Oxnard.

“I worried about the game,” he admitted. “I was pleasantly surprised — we played really hard and played together. I think if we clean up a few things we’ll be fine.”

Other highlights:

—Santa Barbara High’s Bryce Vinion recognized as Santa Barbara High’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year

—Santa Barbara High’s Ivette Gil given Phil Womble Ethics Award

—Laguna Blanca’s Brandon Bickett and UCSB’s Andrea Ward were voted SBART Athletes of the Week by local sports media.

—The Round Table honored the CIF Division 2 champion Santa Barbara High girls tennis team. {VIDEO}

—UCSB men’s basketball assistant Matt Stock thanked the community for its support in the exciting games against San Diego State and UNLV. The Gauchos are in finals this week. Next week, they take a 10-day road trip to San Diego, Cal, Washington and BYU.

—UCSB women’s basketball coach Carlene Mitchell made quick stop at the luncheon before heading off to practice. She gave her players the weekend off, so they can prepare for final exams.

—Aaron Solis, speaking for first-year San Marcos girls basketball coach Devin Uyesaka, said the Royals are co-hosting the Gold Coast Classic this week with Rio Mesa High.

“This is a great time of year,” he said. “As it gets colder outside, the action heats up in the gym. This is a great time for hoop junkies out there.”

—Jeff Burich, the Bishop Diego girls coach, said the Cardinals and Carpinteria are co-hosting a girls basketball tournament Tuesday through Saturday.

—Carpinteria boys basketball coach Johnny Ward introduced Andrew Sova and Jordan Robinson. “They tore it up on the football field. I hope they tear it up for me,” he said.

—Abe Jahadhmy, San Marcos athletic director, said the boys soccer team is off to a 4-1-2 start and is playing well under first-year coach Matt Winecki.

“We really got ourselves a good soccer coach,” Jahadhmy said. “We got a young team. We’re very competitive. We have a great future in our soccer program.”

—Santa Barbara boys soccer coach Todd Heil said he was glad to return home after playing a weekend tournament in cold and windy Palmdale. The Dons are 3-1-1 and ranked fourth in CIF Division 1. They play their first home game Saturday at 1 p.m. against St. Francis.

Bishop football players at Monday's luncheon (L to R): Christian Pearson, Thomas Lash, Adrian Solis.

As he was watching the USC-UCLA football on TV last Saturday night, Bishop Diego football coach Tom Crawford couldn’t help but notice the young, undersized linebackers of USC and how hard they played.

To him, it was like watching his linebacking crew of Christian Pearson, Adrian Solis and Thomas Lash. They’re all sophomores and weigh under 200 pounds, and they are a big reason why the Cardinals have advanced to the semifinals of the CIF East Valley Division playoffs.

Bishop will play Sierra Canyon of Chatsworth on Friday night at Granada Hills High.

Crawford brought his “Kiddie Corps” linebacking trio to Monday’s Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table press luncheon.

“I was reminded of these three guys watching the USC-UCLA game and watching the size of USC’s young, freshman linebackers — very undersized for college ball,” Crawford said. “I thought of these three guys because of how competitive and football smart they are.”

Pearson is listed at 5-8, 180 pounds, Lash, 6-foot, 170 and Solis, 5-8, 155.

Crawford related a humorous conversation he had with Solis.

“He asked me if I thought he was the smallest linebacker in the division,” Crawford said. “I hesitated … he’s close. He’s also one of fastest and toughest linebackers in the division. We know that for sure. He makes a lot of big plays as an outside backer for us.”

Pearson had a big impact in the Cardinals’ 21-14 quarterfinal win at Twentynine Palms, making nine solo tackles and assisting on 11 years.

“He was in on 20 tackles, which is an enormous accomplishment,” said Crawford

Pearson was honored for his performance by being named Male Athlete of the Week.

Lash was the team’s leading tackler before a knee injury ended his season three weeks ago.

“Our young kids have stepped up and competed intensely throughout the year and done just a great job,” said Crawford, who noted that he’s started as many as eight sophomores on defense.

“Our success this year is in no small part due to the work of our sophomores and these three guys in particular,” he said.

Crawford said Sierra Canyon is the top-seeded team and eturns all but two players from a team that lost in the East Valley Division final last year.

“We certainly got a challenge in front of us, but one thing I know is our kids will compete, and we’re looking forward to that challenge on Friday.”

Other luncheon highlights:

Westmont men’s basketball coach John Moore said the day after Thanksgiving was “black and blue Friday for his Warriors” when it played Cal Maritime at the Menlo College tournament.

He said with 10 minutes left in the first half starter C.J. Miller got hit in the mouth by the elbow of a Cal Maritime player and lost a tooth.

“There was blood everywhere,” he described. “Unfortunately for C.J. his tooth popped out. It took 10 minutes to find the tooth. It was off in one corner. (Apparently) it was embedded in that player’s elbow and he swept it out with a towel.”

Moore said he wasn’t sure if Miller would play on Tuesday night when the Warriors host Azusa Pacific in the GSAC opener.

Both teams enter the game with 6-1 records.

“It will be a fabulous game,” said Moore.

—The Westmont women also play Azusa Pacific, which is the defending national champion and ranked No. 1 in the NAIA.

“We’re excited to play them on our home court and play well against them,” said coach Kirsten Moore.

The Warriors are coming off a 30-point win, which took the sting off their first loss of the season: a four-point decision against perennial NAIA power Southern Nazarene of Oklahoma.

“Their coach told me it was the best they played all year to beat us,” Moore said.

—UCSB baseball coach Andrew Checketts made his first visit to the luncheon and was greeted with a nice applause.

He said his first recruiting class of 15 players has a chance to be a top-20 class, “if the (pro baseball) draft ends up treating us nicely.”

—Aaron Solis, student activities director at San Marcos, said the Royals have a new boys soccer coach in Matt Winecki.
Speaking for the coach, Solis said the team will be very young but talented. “We’ll have mostly sophomores and juniors starting, so our success will be based on how fast our young players mature and how they blend with the established veterans.”

—The SBCC men’s soccer team is making its first trip to the State Final Four since 1998 after playoff wins over Rio Hondo (3-0) and Golden West (2-0 in overtime) last week.

Dave Loveton, the school’s sports information specialist, said the Vaqueros will be playing Hartnell, the No. 1 seed from Northern California, on Friday at Cosumnes River College in Sacramento.

“They lead the state in goals with 95,” Loveton said. “We’ve allowed 18 goals, so something has to give. Hopefully, it’s our defense that doesn’t do the giving.”

Westmont men’s basketball coach John Moore revealed his holiday dinner plans at Monday’s Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table press luncheon at Harry’s

The Warriors will be taking their big dinner on the road.

“We start with mashed potatoes and gravy,” Moore said. “We start at Redlands, that’s our mashed potatoes and gravy. We come back on Thursday and head to Menlo. We’ve got Cal Maritime on Friday —they’re our heavy lifting, they’re our turkey and ham. Lastly, on Saturday we play Menlo — they’re our pumpkin pie. We have a Thanksgiving feast.”

UCSB women’s basketball assistant coach Natalie Jarrett made her luncheon debut, speaking for head coach Carlene Mitchell.

Jarrett said Mitchell was attending a memorial service in Stillwater, Okla., for Oklahoma State women’s basketball coach Kurt Budke, who was killed in a plane crash last Thursday while on a recruiting trip to Arkansas. Assistant coach Miranda Serna and boosters Olin and Paula Branstetter were also killed.

Mitchell played for Budke at Trinity Valley (Texas) and won a national junior college championship together.

Westmont women’s coach Kirsten Moore said her team’s schedule is front loaded with top 25 teams.

“We have a No. 20 preseason ranking and we play four teams ranked above us,” Moore said.

The 5-0 Warriors have already beaten two of them, Westminister, Utah and Lubbock Christian of Texas. Up next is perennial powerhouse Southern Nazarene of Oklahoma on Friday and top-ranked Azusa Pacific on Tuesday.

The high school winter sports season is days away, and girls water polo coaches Mark Walsh of Santa Barbara and Brian “Chuckie” Roth reported on their teams.

Walsh said his team is ranked third in the CIF Division 1 preseason poll.

“We’re pretty excited people think we’re going to be that good, but as far as I’m concerned we haven’t done anything to earn that,” Walsh said. “Somehow, we’re ahead of Dos Pueblos, whom we haven’t beaten in four years, You’d think you have to beat them once to be ranked ahead of them.”

Roth said he didn’t know how his team was going be this year. “The only two things I know is we have really good kids and we’re smart.”

UCSB swimming coach Gregg Wilson said his teams performed well at the Arena Invitational, which included many of the top teams in the country. The men finished second to Stanford and the women placed seventh.

Wilson brought swimmers Miranda Schneider, Katie Records, Kevin Ferguson and Chris Peterson. Peterson, who swam at the NCAA meet last year, has the second fastest 50 freestyle time in the nation, and he’s the featured athlete in a UCSB promotional video.

Fall sports teams are in their postseason.

Westmont women’s soccer coach Kristi Kiely said her team is headed to Decatur, Ala. to play in the NAIA National Tournament. The Warriors play GSAC rival Point Loma on Tuesday.

“We’re 1-1 against them on the year. This is quite a rubber match,” said Kiely.

Sam Evans, UCSB assistant water polo coach, said the Gauchos have accomplished more than any team in the last four years.

Fifth-ranked UCSB plays No. 4 Stanford in the MPSF Tournament. The Gauchos suffered a one goal loss to the Cardinal earlier in the season.

The season ended too early for Carpinteria’s football team, as the Warriors lost to Templeton in the first round of the CIF Northwest Division playoffs.

“We beat them in the second half, 28-20, but it wasn’t enough to make up for how far we were behind in the first half,” said Hallock.

The coach introduced four seniors, who made huge impacts during the season and in their careers: Jordan Robinson, Jeffrey Moorhouse, Alex Rodriguez and Andrew Sova.

Bishop Diego won its first-round playoff game in the East Valley Division, blanking Brentwood 35-0. The Cardinals will travel more than 250 miles to Twentynine Palms for their second-round game.

“I looked at Twentynine Palms’ roster and they list 15 guys at 235 pounds or larger,” coach Tom Crawford said, “so I brought the biggest guys I have: Joe Salcedo weighs in at 235 pounds and started every game at tackle. John Samson — we call him Cowboy — is a two-way starter.”

Both players are only sophomores.

“The development of these two young players really helped us progress this year, on the line in particular,” said Crawford. “John plays with great enthusiasm and it’s kind of contagious, so it’s fun to be around them.”

On playing Twentynine Palms, Crawford quipped that he called the Round Table to see what was being served for lunch.

“I figured if we can put a few more pounds on these guys it might help us compete on Friday,” he said. “We’re looking forward to the challenge. They’re athletic and big, but I think our guys will be up to the challenge.”

UCSB men's soccer coach Tim Vom Steeg

It was the best of both worlds at Monday’s Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table press luncheon, as many of the teams represented were either in postseason mode or experiencing the excitement of a new season.

Despite hosting an NCAA Selection Show viewing party at Harder Stadium barely an hour later, UCSB head soccer coach Tim Vom Steeg paid a visit and spoke about a special milestone.

“Because of the body of work this year, we will be in our 10th consecutive NCAA Tournament, which is most lucky,” Vom Steeg said.

As Vom Steeg predicted, the Gauchos received a first-round bye and play on Sunday in the second round at 5 p.m. in Harder Stadium. A victory would put UCSB into the NCAA quarterfinals next week.

Before the Gauchos get to play, three local schools will engage in CIF playoff football games. Bishop Diego (9-1) and Carpinteria (7-3) host games on Friday night while Dos Pueblos (3-7) has to travel to the Western Division’s second seed in Arroyo Grande (9-1).

“They are big and they are fast,” said Chargers head coach Jeff Uyesaka, who remembers the last time Dos Pueblos played A.G. in 2001.

“They were the biggest football team I’ve seen in person.”

Uyesaka brought lineman Isaac Escobar and Zach Briones. From Bishop Diego’s football team, Male Athlete of the Week Brandon Gonzalez, junior Justin Brosnan, and Troy Skinner were present.

The Cardinals are coming off a 39-20 triumph in the Little Big Game in which Gonzalez rushed for 236 yards.

“We’re very proud of what’s the best record in Bishop’s history at the end of the regular season at 9-1,” said Bishop assitant Ralph Molina.

On the other side of the decision, Carpinteria head coach Ben Hallock introduced his two kickers Cristian Arambula and Omar Vasquez and credited the Cardinals for their victory.

“They did a great job of making some plays down the stretch,” Hallock said. “Brandon Gonzalez did a really fine job. In the second half, he came out and made some very determined runs. His body language, everything about him, said he was ready to take over that game.”

The UCSB men’s basketball team is expected to have another great year with Orlando Johnson leading the way. The Gauchos have made the NCAA Tournament in March two years running now.

James Nunnally led the Gauchos in scoring in their first game – a 74-48 win against Chapman.

“(James) stayed here all summer and really improved his game,” said UCSB assistant coach David Campbell. “We think we have two of the better players in the West.”

The bad news for the Gauchos is that freshman John Green, who scored 17 points in UCSB’s exhibition game, broke his foot and is out for the year.

UCSB (1-0) hosts Santa Clara on Tuesday and Westmont on Friday.

“They are the finest UCSB team since I’ve been here in 19 years as Westmont head coach,” said Warriors coach John Moore.

Moore’s Warriors are off to a 2-1 start. Freshman Jared Wilson accompanied Moore, who riffed on the recent Carpinteria-Bishop Diego football game.

“We’re having the ‘Little Big Game’ on Friday night. We’re the little guys and they’re the big guys.”

Westmont’s women’s soccer team qaulified for the NAIA Tournament. The Warriors, who travel to CSU San Marcos for the first round on Saturday, just had four players named to the All-GSAC Team.

“We really appreciate that recognition but we also know it takes 11 players on the field and 23 in training to get the job done,” Kiely said. “We look forward to Saturday and that’s what we trained for and that’s our only focus.”

The thrill of playoff competition has already touched Dos Pueblos’ girls volleyball team. The Chargers won two CIF matches last week over Redondo Union and San Clemente, featuring Athlete of the Week honorable mention Amanda Moriarty.

Chargers head coach Todd Garrett brought players Emma Craine and Sammi Rhine from his still-alive CIF semifinal team. Dos Pueblos has to travel to Los Alamitos on Tuesday for a shot at Saturday’s CIF Championship.

“We haven’t played our best volleyball and we’re going to need to. I’m excited to see that,” Garrett said.

Santa Barbara City College’s soccer program is having a historical season. For the first time ever, the men’s and women’s team are league champions in the same season. The Vaqueros women’s volleyball team, represented at the luncheon by assistant coach Armen Zakarian and players Bianca Castro and Emily Banas, have won 10-of-11 and themselves are looking forward to the postseason.

There was also the first sighting of the year for winter prep sports teams, as Carpinteria High’s soccer teams attended. Boys head coach Daniel Torres brought Cameron Wagner and Mohammed Mehai, and girls coach Lucy Carleton invited Shirley Benitez, Catherine Torres, and Alexa Benitez.

Paul Johnson is the Special Olympics Athlete of the Month. Johnson’s favorite sports are basketball and bowling. His high score is 150 and his coach Amanda named him the captain of the team. The Wisconsin native was sporting a Bulls tie and thanked the crowd after receiving the award.

Story by Presidio Sports

Dos Pueblos' Lauren Stratman

Dos Pueblos' Josh Bartley

Big victories by Dos Pueblos teams and athletes over the weekend carried over to Monday’s Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table press luncheon at Harry’s Plaza Cafe.

Dos Pueblos cleaned up on the awards presented on this day.

Running back Josh Bartley and tennis player Lauren Stratman were named the Athletes of the Week. Bartley rushed for 236 yards and a touchdown to lead the Chargers to an important victory over Santa Barbara in football on Friday night. On the tennis court, Lauren Stratman made history by winning her fourth Channel League singles title, the first time the feat has been accomplished since 1988-92.

Girls volleyball coach Todd Garrett was honored as the Coach of the Month. He’s guided the Chargers to three straight Channel League titles and a CIF title in his three years at the helm. His varsity record is 72-18.

“He’s a good character guy and we’re very lucky to have him leading our girls volleyball program,” said Dos Pueblos Athletic Director Dan Feldhaus.

The capper of the day was junior Haley Peterson being chosen the school’s winner of the Phil Womble Ethics in Sports Award.

The sweep in the awards brought a quip from DP football coach Jeff Uyesaka:

“If DP wins the cookies, we know this thing is rigged,” he joked.

DP cross country coach Leslie Wiggins Roth couldn’t say enough about Peterson.

“There really is no higher honor than being recognized for you character,” said Roth, who also was speaking for softball coach Lee Harris.

Peterson is a member of the cross country team, and she was the starting catcher on the Chargers’ CIF championship softball team last spring — she doubled in two runs in the championship game.

“She’s been a leader on the field of play since she arrived on the softball and cross country teams,” said Wiggins.

Besides athletics, Peterson is involved in several other activities at school. She is the feature editor of the school paper, The Charger Account, a member of the Usherettes, a two-year member of the national honor society and a member of the school’s Humanitarian Club. She’s been a part of two All-CIF All-Academic Teams in softball.

“She’s a great example to younger student-athletes on how to balance school and athletics,” Roth said. “She provides leadership and ethical behavior and support of her teams as well as every team and activity on campus. She devotes all her time being a Charger.

“She embodies what all of us coaches and teachers strive to teach our students on what it means to part of something great,” Roth added.

The UCSB men’s soccer coach said after losing four starters to injuries and dropping four Big West Conference games, it was time to change things up.

“With that, I turned to one of my assistants and said, ‘You know, we need to look different,’ ” he said. “We just don’t have enough players to look different, so I decided to grow a beard so I’d look different. I can’t change my team, but I can change me. It’s the next best thing.”

Sportsperson of the Month Dorfhuber, center, says thank you at Monday's luncheon

The change has been good because the Gauchos have won their last two matches and have put themselves in position to win the regular season title. They play an important match Tuesday night at Cal State Northridge and come home Friday for a rematch against Cal Poly.

“For us, it’s a huge community event,” Vom Steeg said of the Poly match. “Cal Poly did 11,100 people (when UCSB lost up there two weeks ago). That’s what they said. The fact is that’s all they could report because it would have gotten them in trouble with the fire marshall.”

An added treat to Friday’s match is UCSB will be celebrating the fifth anniversary of the 2006 national championship. Vom Steeg said 18 of 22 players from the team that beat UCLA in freezing St. Louis have confirmed they will be at Harder Stadium.

“The reason we he have that many is because many of them play on really bad MLS soccer teams,” he joked.

“It should be a great celebration and, hopefully, we’ll be playing for a league championship as well.”

—Santa Barbara girls volleyball coach John Gannon showed a lot of class by coming to the luncheon when his sport wasn’t on the schedule so he could congratulate Dos Pueblos for winning last weekend’s Tournament of Champions.

“It was a great tournament, it was a high level of volleyball,” Gannon said. “DP did so many great things over the weekend. To win the fifth set 15-13 … I was doing the lines in the final and I got goose bumps, and that doesn’t happen when you’ve been around the game for a long time.”

Gannon said DP was the first local team to win the tournament since 1988.

Gannon also expressed his thanks for those who attended and donated money at the team’s Breast Cancer Awareness match against San Marcos. He said more than $1,600 was raised for the Cancer Center of Santa Barbara.

—DP girls volleyball coach Todd Garrett thanked Gannon for his kind words and for running a great tournament.

“John said that game gave him goose bumps. It gave me a heart attack,” Garrett quipped.

Dos Pueblos rallied from a 13-9 deficit in the fifth set against Marymount and won 15-13.

“It was amazing volleyball,” Garrett said. “All the credit goes to those kids for not giving up.”

—Westmont women’s soccer coach Kristi Kiely said her team is playing good soccer at the right time of the year and the players are enjoying themselves.

“You can’t ask for anything else,” she said.

The Warriors finished fourth in the GSAC to earn a home game for the first round of the conference tournament. They host 13th-ranked Concordia at 3 p.m. on Tuesday.

The Westmont men qualified for the GSAC Tournament and play at first-place Fresno Pacific on Wednesday.

—SBCC’s Jessica Domenichelli is tearing it up on the soccer field. The sophomore has recorded hat tricks in four straight matches and is one goal away from tying her school record of 25 in a season. Sophomore Katie Voss has a school-record 14 assists.

The Vaqueros host Ventura in a first-place showdown in the Western State Conference North Division on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.

The SBCC men are unbeaten in their last nine matches, going 8-0-1.

—Dos Pueblos football coach Jeff Uyesaka had a smile on face when he took the podium.

“After seven long weeks, I can finally stand up and say, ‘Thank, God, we won,’ “ he said.

A key to the Chargers’ 9-6 win over Buena was the return of running back Josh Bartley.

“Thank goodness for Josh Bartley getting his hamstring better. We missed him for 3 1/2 weeks. He’s running like a man possessed, so I think he’s got something to prove.”

The Chargers travel to Santa Barbara on Friday for a game that could determine second place in the Channel League.

—SBCC football coach Craig Moropoulos expressed the feelings of a coach going through a winless season.

“There’s absolutely nothing fun, nothing happy, nothing related to that,” he said. “It’s tough and demanding, but that’s why we coach. It’s about getting your guys motivated to play.”

The Vaqueros finish the season Saturday at conference-leading West L.A.

“We’re going down there and we’re going to play hard. That’s what we’re going to focus on,” said Moropoulos.

—UCSB women’s soccer coach Paul Stumpf played all 10 of his seniors in their final game last Friday against Cal Poly. One of those players was Santa Barbara High grad Katherine Serdio, a backup goalkeeper.

“She was so nervous she was almost begging us not to play her,” Stumpf said. “We talked to her and she played great. She made two really good saves, one in the last minute to keep it 0-0. It was great to see her play and to see her play well.”

—Westmont men’s basketball coach John Moore made his first luncheon appearance of the 2011-12 season.

“It’s good to be home,” he said, noting all the familiar faces and local sports legends in the room. “That’s what this is. It’s like family.”

Moore’s Warriors open their season with two home games this week — Thursday at 7:30 p.m. against Division 2 power Alaska Anchorage and Saturday at 4 p.m. against UC Merced. The Saturday game is a basketball homecoming. “We’re asking all former players to come back,” Moore said. “Our Legends of Murchison will be there.”