FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK VANESSA FARIAS is only a freshman for the Westmont women’s basketball team, but she turned in a senior-like performance in the Warriors’ GSAC Tournament semifinal win over Hope International. Farias went 5-for-8 from beyond the arc en route to 20 points as Westmont advanced to the tournament title game for just the second time in school history.

Brian Joseff

Vanessa Farias

BY BLAKE DORFMAN, PRESIDIOSPORTS.COM

Sports is in love with the story of the underdog. Cinderella will make an appearance or two this month during March Madness, and the short-handed Westmont women’s basketball team’s run to the Golden State Athletic Conference Tournament Championship Game is an example right here in town.

But what about the “over-dogs” of the sports world?

At Monday’s Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table luncheon, Santa Barbara High assistant baseball coach George Rempe saluted the recently crowned CIF-champion Dos Pueblos girls water polo team and Santa Barbara boys soccer team “for not only winning, but winning when you’re expected to win.”

Citing quotes from snowboarding superstar Shaun White and fallen-from-grace pitcher Denny McLain, the only 30-game winner in MLB history, Rempe made the point that sometimes the hardest thing to do is win when you’re supposed to.

The Chargers, who were all there in their CIF Championship t-shirts, went 31-0 en route to their third consecutive title. Santa Barbara’s soccer squad (which will be honored next week), went 29-0-1 and beat Dos Pueblos 3-0 in Friday’s title game at Harder Stadium in front of 8,000 people.

Both teams were the top seeds heading into the playoffs, and anything short of a championship would have been a letdown.

That’s a tough expectation to face.

Male Athlete of the Week Brian Joseff, a defender, wasn’t expected to score in the Dons’ big game considering he hadn’t all year, but he got the champs on the board in the 22nd minute and then assisted Christian Pardo on another eight minutes later.

BASKETBALL

WESTMONT WOMEN: The Warriors spent last week writing their own underdog story. Due to some key injuries and a lack of depth, coach Kirsten Moore was forced to play guards down low and make all sorts of other adjustments.

Undeterred, the Warriors opened the GSAC Tourney with a two-point win over No. 8 Point Loma, a team which Moore had never beaten and the Warriors had only beaten one other time in school history. In the semifinals, Female Athlete of the Week Vanessa Farias, a freshman, went 5-for-8 from long range and scored 20 points as the Warriors beat Hope International by 14.

Unfortunately, Westmont lost a late lead to No. 3 Vanguard late Monday night and was stopped short of the championship. It was only their second time ever playing in the title game of the powerhouse conference.

TRACK AND FIELD

UCSB: The NCAA outdoor track season is just getting started, and expectations are still being determined by Gaucho coach Pete Dolan.

“I’m not sure what I have yet other than a great attitude,” he said.

That’s not entirely true, because he already knows he has two female athletes ranked in the top-20 nationally. Jane Doolittle is 13th in the NCAA in the high jump with a mark of 5 feet, 11-and-a-half inches, and Barbara Nwaba is the country’s 19th-ranked heptathlete.

SBAA DONATIONS: Dolan, along with the rest of the track coaches present, gave thanks to Santa Barbara Athletic Association President Jim Sloan, who was there to hand out checks to local track programs. The SBAA is a running club which puts on numerous local races, including the Santa Barbara Half-Marathon.

“What we ask in return is that the track programs provide volunteers for our races,” said Sloan. “When you can, we appreciate your help.”

SAN MARCOS: The money will certainly come in handy for Royals coach Marilyn Hantgin, who’s got a super-sized program to run.

“I’ve got 190 kids on the track team this year, so we’re looking pretty good,” she said.

The Royals have been rained out thus far, but will be very busy starting this week. Hantgin introduced Jenny Haden, Vince Viola, Derrick Dallmeyer and Kira Plymire.

BISHOP DIEGO: Athletic Director Dan Peeters gave thanks to the SBAA as well as San Marcos for letting the Cardinals use their track. Bishop has 34 athletes on the team, which is an impressive number considering the size of the school. On Friday, they’ll be at Dos Pueblos for the Tri-City Relays.

Peeters brought along the two leaders of the girls team, Melissa Georgi and Nicole Poindexter. Georgi, a senior hoping to go to Notre Dame, has 10 varsity letters and a 4.2 GPA. Peeters said she’s like the “Mother Hen” of the young squad.

Poindexter, meanwhile, is just a sophomore but was a CIF-qualifier in the 100, 200 and long jump as a freshman last year.

“She’s by far our most talented track athlete, and she also carries a high GPA,” said Peeters.

WESTMONT: Warriors coach Russell Smelley pointed out that the SBAA does a lot more than hand out checks.

“It’s really changed the fitness level of Santa Barbara for people to be involved in these races,” he said.

Smelley is eagerly awaiting March 27th, when Westmont’s new all-weather track will be opened. With all the other track coaches talking about being rained-out, he pointed out that track meets shouldn’t be cancelled by rain (hence “all-weather” tracks).

Regardless, the coach is getting ready to take his team on a whirlwind tour of his home state of Virginia. The team will visit Gettysburg, Monticello and Appomattox Courthouse before competing in the Lynchburg Invitational on March 20th.

“We can make it a history trip with a track meet at the end,” said Smelley.

CARPINTERIA: There’s a lot of track and field history in Warrior Country, but coach Van Latham is keeping his expectations for Carpinteria High’s program in control this year.

“It’s a lot like CalTrans… Both of us have a lot of holes to fill,” he joked.

The Warriors will join Bishop at the Tri-City Relays on Friday after opening the season at the Rincon Races last weekend, where luncheon-guest John Bustillos narrowly missed out on winning the shot put competition. The 3-sport athlete also plays in the band (even at halftime in his football pads) and carries a 4.14 GPA.

Shelby Dunlap is another exceptional student with a 4.2 GPA. She’s one of the best female tracksters Carpinteria has ever had, and she will be trying to jump her height (5-3) for a school record in the high jump this year.

BASEBALL

SANTA BARBARA HIGH: Rempe’s words about winning when you’re expected to are also pressing against the Dons baseball team, which was extremely young last year with seven sophomores in the starting lineup. This year, however, they’re all juniors and the “young” excuse isn’t in the cards.

The Dons have made it to the postseason 11 consecutive years and won three consecutive Channel League titles before last year. It’ll be up to the team’s three senior starters — Jack Crummer, Joey Gonzales and Trey Barrett — to provide the leadership. Rempe had Barrett stand up a second time just to make sure everyone noticed that he’s 6-foot-7 — length is a nice thing for a first-baseman to have when he’s stretching out on the bag.

SAN MARCOS: Royals Athletic Director Abe Jahadhmy used to coach San Marcos’ boys soccer team and congratulated the Dons for winning the title as well as having strong character throughout the season.

“That’s all about (coach) Todd Heil. He’s done a great job and he’s an outstanding coach,” said Jahadhmy.

He was pinch-hitting for baseball coach Rob Crawford, who couldn’t make it to the luncheon. The Royals are 2-0 thanks to a late comeback in their opener against Oxnard. The Yellow Jackets were up 3-0 heading into the bottom of the sixth before the Royals surged back.

Junior catcher Riley Moore, whom Jahadhmy said “will probably be a first-round pick” in next year’s MLB draft, was 2-for-2 with a triple in the game.

BISHOP DIEGO: Coach Casey Cloud’s last time at an SBART luncheon was when he played for Santa Barbara High and accompanied Rempe. He ’s back as the first-year head coach for the Cardinals, who have “a depth of pitching” and some nice young talent for Cloud to try and develop.

“We’re gonna teach them how to compete. I think that’s where we need to pick it up,” said Cloud, who also coaches with the Santa Barbara Foresters in the summer.

Trent Speier is a versatile senior who can play third base, second base, outfield or pitcher and is also the No. 2 hitter — a key spot in the small-ball strategy that Cloud has implemented. So far, Bishop is 6-for-6 in stolen bases and 4-for-4 in bunts laid down.

Also introduced was junior Cody Yokubaitis, a pitcher who was honored with the Phil Womble Ethics Award earlier this year.

CARPINTERIA: Latham spoke for Warriors coach Pat Cooney, whose team is 1-1 after splitting its tradition season-opening double-header with Santa Ynez despite a pair of rain delays on Saturday. Sophomore Colton Rubio pitched a complete game in Carpinteria’s win, and Diego Carrillo hit one of the longest home runs ever hit on Carp’s field, according to Cooney.

WESTMONT: The Warriors are off to a 5-11 start, with one of those wins coming at Fresno Pacific. It is still the only loss suffered by the No. 9 Sunbirds this year.

First-year head coach Rob Ruiz brought along freshman Geoff Rocha, who is hitting .346 and is also one of the team’s starting pitchers. The Warriors host rival Biola in a doubleheader on Wednesday.

SBCC: The Vaqueros went 1-2 last week, and the victory was a wild 12-inning, 15-12 win over L.A. Mission on Thursday. Steven Keller scored the tying run in the ninth and drove in the go-ahead run in the 12th in that game. Dos Pueblos graduate Conner Rehage leads the team with five home runs on the year.

The Vaqs have 20 homers on the season, which is one more than they had all of last year.

TENNIS

SANTA BARBARA HIGH: Success comes as no surprise to the powerhouse Dons, who beat Cate and Laguna Beach 16-2 before placing third out of 112 teams last weekend at the California High School Tennis Classic in Clovis.

“I felt we played well enough to win it, but we didn’t,” said coach Steve Geremia.

He went on to say that the team’s primary goal, as always, is to win the Channel League. Although five key players are injured, Santa Barbara is working through it.

Senior “spiritual leader” Dan Diaz is playing with a torn ligament in his left wrist and has developed a one-handed backhand as a result. Chase Melton, meanwhile, is coming off of a season in which he beat some top-20 players in the country. Geremia proudly announced that Melton will be playing for his alma mater, UC Berkeley, next year.

SOFTBALL

SBCC: The Vaqueros are off to a solid 8-4 start, hitting .384 as a team with 15 doubles. The team carries 14 freshmen and just three sophomores. Western State Conference competition continues this week with Tuesday’s double-header at Oxnard followed by a road contest at Moorpark on Thursday.

Female Athlete of the Week Jamie Neushul scored the equalizer and go-ahead goals for the Dos Pueblos water polo team in it’s amazing comeback win over Newport Harbor, giving the Chargers their third consecutive CIF title. The freshman scored the game-winner with 1:57 remaining. DP was down 7-2 just before the half but won 8-7.

Jamie Neushul

Eduardo Cortez

An old face and a brand-spankin’ new one made it to Harry’s on Monday for the Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table Press Luncheon.

Local superfan, author, community inspiration and Round Table-regular Phil Womble made it to his first luncheon of the year to see a presentation of the award named after him, and local coaches Brian and Leslie Roth were there with their one-week old son, Indiana.

Brian is the girls water polo and swimming coach at San Marcos while Leslie is the cross-country and swimming coach at Dos Pueblos. High school is about 14 years away, but the question of which high school “Indy” will attend is already on people’s minds.

“I’m very happy the baby was wearing blue instead of red,” said DP Athletic Director Dan Feldhaus.

BOYS SOCCER

DOS PUEBLOS: Tovi Eliasen described his team’s run to the CIF Division II Semifinals as “an amazing time for our program.”

After not even making the playoffs for the past five years, the Chargers have made it through the first three rounds and will host Bell Gardens at 3 p.m. on Tuesday. Santa Barbara will be hosting its semifinal game at the same time, and should both teams win they will meet in the title game.

Male Athlete of the Week Eduardo Cortez almost single-handedly got the Chargers through the second round, scoring all four goals in a 4-1 home win against Valley View. He mixed it up, too, scoring with his left foot, right foot and head in the contest. He also scored two goals in the first round of the playoffs.

Eliasen also brought along Kenny Lara, who assisted both of Branden Tangel’s goals in DP’s quarterfinal overtime win against Corona.

“He always wants to stay after practice and work on stuff,” said Eliasen, also noting that Lara has an infectious smile similar to superstar Ronaldinho’s.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

WESTMONT MEN: Coach John Moore opened his remarks by acknowledging Womble.

“I have a lot of heroes in this town, and Phil is one of them,” he said.

At 21-7, 13-6, the Warriors were on the eve of perhaps their biggest game of the season — Monday night’s home match-up with Azusa Pacific. If the Warriors win, they’re “pretty much guaranteed” a berth in the NAIA Tournament.

Moore also announced that Dan Rasp has earned all-conference honors in the GSAC.

WESTMONT WOMEN: Coach Kirsten Moore was gearing up for Senior Night, and the Warrior women certainly have some standout seniors.

Dos Pueblos graduate Amber Stevens “pretty much holds every record in the book at Westmont,” according to Moore, and is also an all-conference selection and might also be named an All-American in a few weeks.

Four-year starter Jessica Case joins Stevens on the all-conference squad and is Westmont’s career-leader in points per game. Alisha Heglund is the career blocks leader and Kelsey Hardeman defied the odds by going from team manager to team captain in her four years with the program.

Moore said that a first-round game at Point Loma in the first round of the GSAC tourney is set in stone. She has never beaten the Sea Lions in her career.

SWIMMING

UCSB: After winning 39 Big West titles in his career, Gregg Wilson isn’t fond of finishing second. His teams did just that a couple of weeks ago at the Big West Championships.

“If you’re the defending champions and you’re favored to win and you come in second, you’ve lost,” he said.

Then he went on to discuss the athlete accompanying him (described as “my gift”) and the second-place finish faded away.

“She literally came out of the grandstands her freshman year,” he said of Anne Marie May, who left the water polo team during her freshman year and has since become Wilson’s first nationally top-ranked swimmer (She was the No. 1 50-meter freestyle swimmer in the nation for much of the season).

She was also a semifinalist in the Olympic Trials, eventually losing out to Dara Torres.

“She’s enthusiastic, effervescent and a physical specimen,” said Wilson of May, who is currently 12th in the country heading into the NCAAs at Purdue University in two weeks.

DOS PUEBLOS: New-mom Roth is also the new girls swimming coach at DP this year.

“Our main goal is to take it from a good program to a great program,” she said.

The season will open up at the Channel League Relays at Santa Barbara High on Friday.

The Chargers have a big girls diving team this year with 10 on the roster. Bia Ledbetter, the team’s top diver, was at Harry’s along with Fresno State-bound swimmer Michelle Dockendorf, who took it upon herself to design the team’s new swimsuits.

SAN MARCOS: New-dad Roth brought a couple of San Marcos’ brightest students with him. Emilia Wakamatsu carries a 4.8 GPA while Flo Chardon carries a 4.9.

“A coach couldn’t ask for anything more than what Emilia brings to the table… She works hard when nobody is looking,” he said.

Chardon, who missed last season because she was in France, is back and will be one of the team leaders.

SANTA BARBARA: Dons coach Mark Walsh thinks Leslie Roth is one tough lady for being at the luncheon with her team six days after giving birth.

“It’d be hard for her swimmers to miss practice. She could say ‘I’m here and a just had a baby. What’s your excuse?’” he joked.

He introduced swimmer Kristin Figone, who has battled injuries throughout her career but should be one of the team’s best back-strokers this year, as well as Camille Wissman, who is also one of Walsh’s best water polo players.

Only five of 22 boys swimmers return, and Arizona State-bound Karl Boscacci is the cream of this year’s crop. Cristian Bridley is a lanky freshman with star-potential in the distance freestyle and backstroke.

SOFTBALL

DOS PUEBLOS: The Chargers’ annual tournament was rained out so they have yet to officially get under way. Second-year coach Donn Roberts, however, has high expectations already.

“We’re hoping we are going to be competitive, if not the team to beat, in the Channel League,” said Roberts.

He brought along the team’s lone senior, catcher Krista Martony, who is getting looks from various colleges to continue her career (her 4.3 GPA won’t hurt that cause). Also present was junior Jordan Roberts, who led the team in most offensive categories and made the all-County squad last year, and sure-handed outfielder Kristin Kolegraff.

SAN MARCOS: Administrator Aaron Solis had to pinch-hit for softball coach Alex Sheldon for an unfortunate reason. Sheldon, like so many other local teachers, has had his hours cut down to 2/3 of what they were due to the county budget crisis. He was offered to teach a class during the luncheon and had to take it.

“It’s getting really scary,” said Solis of the situation, adding that we should be prepared to see a lot more walk-on (off-campus) coaches in the near future due to teachers being cut.

This year’s Royals have eight seniors on an 11-player roster. Assisting Sheldon will be 2006 Team MVP Sonia Crawford, who went on to play two strong years at SBCC. Sheldon also wanted Solis to thank the Goleta Valley Girls Softball Association for helping maintain the Royals’ field.

The player accompanying Solis was senior Kelly McKay, who started every game at first base last year and never made an error.

UCSB: The Gauchos are in their third week of the season and have already played the defending national champion (Washington) and the No. 4 team in the country (UCLA) twice.

“Now we’re gonna take it easy on ourselves and play a No. 7 team,” joked coach Brie Galicinao, referring to Thursday’s game at Arizona State.

She introduced pitcher MeLinda Matsumoto, a senior who recently picked up a win in the circle to help the Gauchos end a lengthy losing streak.

VOLLEYBALL

UCSB: The Gaucho spikers are fresh off of a 3-0 road trip and a win in the Morgan Classic in Massachusetts, where they beat Harvard to kick things off.

“It’s always fun to beat up on some smart kids,” said associate head coach Lee “The Tree” Nelson. Jeff Menzel was named MVP of the Morgan Classic.

The Gauchos, who have a big home match against defending national champ UC Irvine on Wednesday, also heat Ohio State on the weekend road trip. Oddly enough, the Gauchos are 1-4 at home and 5-1 on the road so far this season.

SAN MARCOS: The Royals graduated most of last year’s starters, but coach Roger Kuntz said he still has plenty of talent remaining on his team, which opens up the season against Oxnard on Tuesday.

He introduced junior captains Johnny Manzo and Zach Yinger and also pointed out that he has three big guys from the Channel League-champion basketball team who have come out to give the middle-blocker position a try.

“They’re still trying to figure out that there’s not a hoop up there,” said Kumtz.

BISHOP DIEGO: Speaking of big guys, Joe Reiken brought his two biggest to his first luncheon of the year. At 6-foot-7, former basketball player Spencer Shull has Reiken feeling grateful.

“I’m so glad he decided to move over to the right side,” he chided.

Outside hitter Johnny Brand will also be a force at the net, having apparently grown from 5-11 to 6-3 since last season. The Cardinals will be young with no seniors this season.

Reiken also publicly acknowledged Father Tom Elewaut, who will retire as principal after this school year.

BASEBALL

UCSB: The Gauchos did nearly everything right in a 3-game series over the weekend, out-hitting, out-stealing and out-scoring San Jose State over the 3-game stretch.

“When you outscore them, that’s usually a pretty good stat,” said coach Bob Brontsema sarcastically.

Unfortunately, the Gauchos somehow lost two of the three games to the Spartans.

“Winning a baseball game is like telling a good joke. Timing is everything,” said Brontsema.

At 2-2, the Gauchos will play at Loyola Marymount on Tuesday before heading up to play a perennial power in Stanford.

McAlister, who hopes to attend either USC or Stanford, has started all three years as a forward on the team and is also an avid equestrian.

“There is no one who displays the character of the Phil Womble Award more than Lauren McAlister,” said Athletic Director Mike Biermann.

Biermann specifically recalled a game in which the Owls cleared the bench after going up 5-0. The only starter who stayed in was McAlister, and from the sidelines Biermann was able to see how much of a leader she is, instructing her younger teammates.

She also had the Owls’ only goal in Friday’s loss to top-ranked CAMS at the Home Depot Center.

Lauren McAlister

Male Athlete of the Week Tim Freeman of the UCSB swim team had quite a meet at the Big West Championships, breaking a 20-year-old Big West record previously held by Brian Pajer of UC Irvine in 1990 in the 100 breaststroke. The previous time was 54.26, and Freeman touched the wall at a 53.90, shattering the record. Freeman’s time qualifies him for a NCAA “A” cut standard. He also won the 200 breaststroke by setting a UCSB record.

Tim Freeman

Amanda Schulenberg

The two-minute drill is something left to a quarterback, but with a packed house at Monday’s Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table Luncheon, everyone at the podium had to give it a try.

Some failed miserably when it came to giving updates on their teams in under two minutes, while others — such as SBCC Sports Information Specialist Dave Loveton — were impressively swift-tongued.

Sure, Loveton went sixteen seconds over the limit, but he was giving updates on five Vaquero teams.

The SBCC women’s basketball team has won eight of its last nine games to close out the regular season and earned the 16th seed in the Southern Cal Regionals. The Vaqueros will host No. 17 on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

Vaquero guard Francesca DeAngelis, the top-scorer in the WSC at 20.4 per game, was named second-team All-State on Monday. DeAngelis and Jake Kelly previously earned first-team All-WSC North honors, while Sandrine Krul was named the conference’s Coach of the Year.

The men’s team finished its season at 8-18, but finished strong by winning three of their last four. Former Santa Barbara High standout Willie Reese scored a season-high 26 points on 12-16 shooting in a 77-59 win over Hancock on Wednesday. On Saturday, the 6-6 freshman missed a double-double by one rebound (12 points, 9 rebounds).

The Vaquero baseball squad is 4-3, having hit a remarkable 15 home runs in those seven games. Sophomore left-hander Joe McGrew held Solano to four hits over eight innings in a 7-3 win on Friday. He struck out five and didn’t allow an earned run. McGrew, who’s signed to play for UCSB next year, has given up zero earned runs in 17 innings this year.

The team hosts Irvine Valley at 2 p.m. on Tuesday.

The men’s tennis team is off to a 4-1 start while the women’s netters are 3-3. Both squads, however, are 2-0 in the WSC.

Bravo, Mr. Loveton.

GIRLS SOCCER

DOS PUEBLOS: Coach Molly Imel didn’t come close to keeping it under two minutes, but she’s so enthusiastic about her first year back with the Chargers that she couldn’t help it. DP’s season came to an end last week with a 2-1 first-round playoff loss at San Clemente, the top-seeded team in the Division I bracket.

Imel introduced Kristen Witchey, a defender who recently committed to play for Cal Baptist — a top-10 team in the NAIA — next season. Also present were freshman standouts Maria Solis and Rachel Smith as well as junior Amber Altavilla, who played every minute of every game this year. Last but not least was goalie Megan Bellefeuille, who notched 12 shutouts on the season.

LAGUNA BLANCA: The Owls are still alive heading into the second round of the playoffs, and will face Arroyo High School in El Monte on Wednesday. Athletic Director Mike Biermann introduced three-year starter Kelsey Douglas, a junior, and fellow defender Carolina Beltran. Should the Owls win on Wednesday, they’ll likely host top-seeded CAMS in the quarterfinals on Friday.

CARPINTERIA: No, the Warriors aren’t going to the playoffs, but their improvement from last season was impressive.

“Last year we were shutout in every (Tri-Valley League) game except for one. This year, we scored on every team in league, including two goals against Oaks Christian,” noted coach Lucy Carleton.

Having 12 seniors on the roster certainly helped this year. Along with Carleton on Monday were seniors Michelle Rivas, Ariana Martinez and Jacqueline Perez. All three are likely to continue playing at the collegiate level.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

LAGUNA BLANCA: Thanks to Female Athlete of the Week Amanda Schulenberg, the Owls are the only prep hoops team still alive in the playoffs. Schulenberg, a senior, scored 21 points Saturday in a 60-57 win at Hesperia Christian in the second round of the Division V-A playoffs. Laguna will host No. 3 Hillcrest Christian on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

Biermann also introduced last week’s Athlete of the Week, Megan McAlister, who is averaging 10 points and 12 rebounds, as well as top-defender and point guard Julia Kent.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

WESTMONT: Coach John Moore said he can now change the “Beat Biola” chant after last week’s upset win over the fourth-ranked Eagles.

“We’ve beaten Biola. We beat, beat Biola!”

The Warriors went on to take down Point Loma on Senior Night at Murchison Gym, holding the Sea Lions to just 16 field goals. Moore introduced Assistant Coach Larry Knapp as well as Athletic Director Dave O’Dell.

“Westmont athletics is on the rise because of the support Dave O’Dell has shown for our teams,” said Moore to O’Dell.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

WESTMONT: “Hope and perseverance” are the themes for Kirsten Moore’s squad, which is still holding on to hopes of a berth in the NAIA Tournament despite being depleted by injuries.

On Tuesday, the Warriors will host Fresno Pacific, which features freshman Brandi Blackwell, a graduate of Santa Barbara High. Moore said she expects Blackwell to start for the Sunbirds in the game.

After that, Westmont will have a chance to prove itself against two of the top teams in the nation, Vanguard and Azusa Pacific, before the GSAC Tournament.

UCSB: The Gauchos have struggled this year, but after a 55-43 decision over Cal State Fullerton on Saturday, hopes are still alive for UCSB to get a No. 4 seed and first-round bye in the Big West Tournament, which begins in less than two weeks.

The Gauchos set the school’s single-game blocks record with 15 against the Titans, who only made a total of 17 field goals on the day. Mekia Valentine had nine of those blocks to go along with 17 rebounds.

WRESTLING

DOS PUEBLOS: The three local wrestlers still alive in postseason competition are all Chargers, and they were all in the Ranchero Room on Monday. Speaking of three, coach Anthony Califano proudly announced that his team has a combined 3.3 GPA.

Unseeded Mario Elias defeated the top seed among the 130-pounders last weekend at the CIF Individual Championships in Oxnard, and ended up moving on to the Master’s meet with a third-place finish.

Junior Harrison Solomon, wrestling at 119 pounds, beat the buzzer to keep his season alive. The top five finishers at each weight advanced from last weekend’s meet, and Solomon scored a take-down with four seconds left in his fifth-place match to break a tie and move on.

Meanwhile, Chuy Lopez was seeded third and finished accordingly in the 135-pound class to move on to his second Master’s meet.

SAN MARCOS: A strong season for the Royals came to an end over the weekend.

“On Saturday we had a little bit of a meltdown,” said coach Tony Becerra.

He introduced senior captain Louis Giroux, who pinned the eventual third-place winner in his weight class. Becerra said Giroux is expected to play collegiate football somewhere next year.

BOYS GOLF

BISHOP DIEGO: Co-coach Pete Georgi introduced seniors Scott Grimes and Jun Hu — both of whom have GPAs over 4.3 — before making the most meaningful announcement of the day.

Lauren Ashley Herrera, the daughter of co-coach Marty Herrera, passed away at age 15 back in 2000 and the Lauren Ashley Herrera Foundation was subsequently set up. More than $100,000 has been raised by the organization since it began in 2001, and Georgi presented SBART President Catherine Manset-Morreale with a check for $2,500 to help the Round Table in its continued service in the athletic community.

Whether or not Lauren was a golfer, it was a hole-in-one gesture from the foundation that carries her name.

BASEBALL

UCSB: The Gauchos are “anxious to play anybody” according to coach Bob Brontsema, as inter-squad scrimmages and practices have left the team restless and ready to face actual opponents.

They’ll get their first taste of a real opponent when they host Westmont at 2 p.m. on Tuesday. UCSB will then go on a 7-game road trip.

Brontsema brought along former Westmont head coach John Kirkgard, who has served as his assistant at UCSB for 14 seasons.

“He was Westmont’s head coach for 13 years, and this is his 14th as a Gaucho, so I think that officially makes him a Gaucho,” said Brontsema.

John Moore would later proclaim “Once a Warrior, Always a Warrior,” but that’s a score that can be settled on the diamond Tuesday. Brontsema also introduced was new assistant Jason Lefkowitz.

WESTMONT: First-year head coach Rob Ruiz made his luncheon debut and reported on the Warriors’ 4-5 start to the season. Two standouts so far this year for the Warriors have been Tim Leary, who is hitting .387 with three homers, and Daniel Cabuling, a big lefty with a 3-0 record and 1.02 ERA.

After taking on the Gauchos, Westmont will play two GSAC games at Fresno Pacific before hosting the Sunbirds in a doubleheader Saturday at Russ Carr Field.

COLLEGE TENNIS

UCSB MEN: The Gauchos are almost halfway done with their season but have yet to play a home match. They beat Utah two weeks ago and briefly broke into the national rankings before losing to Irvine and USD.

The 4-time defending Big West champs will finally be home this weekend with matches against UC Davis on Saturday and Pacific on Sunday, with both slated for 1 p.m. Davis introduced a new addition to his staff in former Santa Barbara High and Stanford standout Blake Muller.

“The only thing that would have been better is if he’d accepted my offer to join us before he went to play at Stanford,” joked coach Marty Davis.

UCSB WOMEN: Like the Gaucho men, the women’s team has been hitting the road, having played only one home match over its first nine. Pete Kirkwood’s team is 3-6, but four of those losses have come to nationally ranked opponents.

Nine of the remaining 13 matches will be at home, including 1 p.m. matches against UC Davis on Saturday and Fresno Pacific on Sunday. Jill Damion is expected to return from injury to the top singles spot in a week, which will provide a big boost.

WESTMONT MEN: Santa Barbara native Mark Basham is the Warriors’ new coach, and the program is currently ranked No. 16 in the NAIA. The Warriors have already upset fifth-ranked Point Loma on the road, 7-2, and beat Claremont last weekend 5-4.

“We’re not very deep, but we have five really good players,” said Basham.

Three of them were at Harry’s — Mattias Neuman of Sweden, Diego Almeida of Brazil and senior captain Bryan Cox.

WESTMONT WOMEN: The No. 17 Warriors are 1-3, but who knows how different it would be if not for two players coming down with swine flu and another with tonsilitis. Regardless, everyone is healthy now, and top singles player Alyssa Matthews has shaken off the rust after spending the last semester in Europe.

Next up for the Warriors is a road match against No. 11 Azusa Pacific.

BOYS TENNIS

SAN MARCOS: Jarrod Bradley’s still coming down from a Channel League championship in boys basketball as he begins his other coaching job with the Royal netters. The team opens up at Camarillo on Tuesday. Bradley introduced Travis Enholm, a 4.5-GPA student who “is never short on words,” as well as captan Scott Messier.

DOS PUEBLOS: The Chargers graduated only one player last year and return their top player in UCSB-bound Sasha Gryaznov. While coach Liz Frech said that Gryaznov is the comedian on the team, she also introduced “rock star” Christian Edstrom. The third captain, “philosopher” Andy Silverstein, will be at later luncheons.

The Chargers, whom Frech described as deep and talented, hosted Calabasas on Monday.

BOYS VOLLEYBALL

SAN MARCOS: Roger Kuntz has added legendary Royals coach Jon Lee as an assistant, which will put Lee coaching on the court that was recently named in his honor. Kuntz said that his team features a large group of juniors this year, including setter Neil Holliday and Jackson Kunz, a returning starter at outside hitter.

He has a particular interest in economic development in Latin America, and is a member of the Dean’s List at Westmont.

“I began racing in seventh grade and haven’t stopped since,” he said.

He said that it’s been a blessing to work with coaches like Russell Smelley, who put more emphasis on character and personal achievement than winning.

Sean Adams

Reservations will not be accepted prior to March 15.

We expect this event to be a sold out affair, and encourage you to have your invitees register and purchase their tickets after March 15.

See inductees here.