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1996
The Tridents Athletic Awards
Senior Male Athlete of the Year. Danny Whiting. A fierce competitor on the mat and on the football field. A true wild man.
Senior Female Athlete of the Year. Kelly Kaiser. Has great natural athletic ability and makes ground balls seem mighty simple. A tiger in volleyball and basketball.

Junior Male Athlete of the Year. Wes Bare. On the soccer and baseball fields he has done it all. His skill in leadership will be needed next year in both sports as the Cards try to win it all.
Senior Female Athlete of the Year. Jennifer Cummings. The best pitcher in the league, who led her team to another softball title with scorching fast balls, tape measure home runs and incredible enthusiasm. An amazing swimmer as well.

Sophomore Male Athlete of the Year. Matt Windt. Fought through what seemed to be a season ending knee injury only to come back and play Iron-man football. An excellent baseball player as well.
Sophomore Female Athlete of the Year. Cori Tom. Cori always gives at least 110 % on and off the field, has a great love for sports and is an amazing basketball and volleyball player.

Freshman Male Athlete of the Year. Morgan Pena. A ‘Animal’ at tight end in football, who can rip down the boards in basketball, not to mention he is also a solid baseball player.
Freshman Female Athlete of the Year. Ella Harley. A gifted athlete with great enthusiasm for sports and even greater expectations. Varsity volleyball and basketball and JV softball.

Female Three Sport Award:
Jennifer Croghan that all American girl who runs track, cross country and excels on the basketball court and she does it with a smile!
Male Three Sport Award:
Anthony Torchio does it all, water polo, swimming and basketball. Just an all around athlete with a great love of sports.

Honorable mention
Amiee Ghio an all around superior athlete who is always full of team sprit.
Travis Rowland has a great sense of humor, a greater smile and laugh. Uniquely agile for a big man.
Tara Hill a devil on the basketball court with a real passion for sport.
Nich Thompson You can’t say enough about Nich. He is a great competitor on and off the court. CIF Scholar Athlete of the Year.
Chance Prior a man of few words, the calm before the storm. Chance was never afraid to give or take punishment on the gridiron and he got the job done.

Male Mad Dog Award. Bart White enjoyed the physical part of football and wrestling. I like to inflict pain.
Female Mad Dog Award. Anita Fearnley took a licking and kept on ticking. As the starting catcher for Jennifer Cummings it isn’t exactly all that easy.

Coach Of The Year. Mr. Miguel who coached the softball team to its second consecutive championship. As a varsity assistant football coach, he spent countless hours working with running backs. Our only ongoing two sport varsity coach, Mr. Miguel’s dedication is outstanding.

Biggest Sports Fan Of The Year
Pedro Ibarra, Jeff Truhitte, John Peterson and Daniel Cortez. Truly our biggest sports fans. Literally!!!! Averaging over 250 pounds and attending every type of event and getting kicked out of every type of event. Whenever they didn’t agree with the refs or umps everybody knew it. Their Cardinal spirit could not be squashed.

Girls track school records: Kim Reimann set records in the 50 meter, 100 meter and 200 meter freestyle events, the 200 individual medley and the 100 backstroke. The relay team of Kim Reimann, Corey Miller, Jennifer Cummings and Taryn Nagy broke the 200 freestyle relay in 1:46.94.

1996
FOOTBALL Practice games: Stevenson 0-48, Carmel 16-17, Westmont 0-7, Menlo 19-27. Practice record 4-0. League: Harbor 7-38, Aptos 14-17, Monte Vista 6-18, Watsonville 7-16, SLV 14-15, Soquel 16-33. League record 0-6 tied for last place. Season record 0-10.

Yearbook. Winning Isn’t Everything.
This years seniors Jude Zills, Chance White, John Dawson and Elias Alvarez had a difficult task of leading a young and inexperienced team. “This is the kind of sport where experience counts. We had to draw from the sophomore class to have a competitive team,” said head coach Ron Mehuron. Despite a losing record, this years team played with incredible intensity and desire. Although this year may have seemed a disappointment to some, it was a year of promise to others. The experience gained by the underclassmen will prove invaluable in the future.

Yearbook Roster: Rudy Barreto, Brad Canepa, Tyler Masamori, John Peterson, Colin Arlt, John Dawson, Elias Alvarez, Gabe Anguiano, Javier Andrade, Ryan Delong, John Howard, Paul Newman, Danny Whiting, Bart White, Jason Cardoza, Lee Keyse-Allen, Jude Zills, Nick Robinson, Sule Edmonds, Javier, Santana, Kenyette Edmonds, Bracken Christopher, Gabe Harris, Pete Ibarra, Daniel Cortez, Jeff Truhitte, Travis Roland, Jacob Bruce, Billy Logan, Brandon Williams, Chance Pryor, Geroge Urban, Clay Tol, Matt Anderson, Robert Ames and Forest Rayfield.
Coaches Ron Mehuron, Vic Miguel, Brandon Barbera, Jesus Cortez and Ben Sampson.

Sentinel preseason write up. Look for a lot of new faces for the Cards, who return only nine players. “We’re going to be inexperience, said Coach Ron Mehuron, who is starting his twenty-third year with the program. “We’ll get up and be motivated for each game. As for how we are going to perform, it’s really too soon to say.” Last years defense was last in the league. Senior, defensive end, Lee Keyser-Allen, junior outside linebacker, Jonathan Howard and senior outside linebacker Danny Whiting anchor a squad that will try to rectify those past defensive problems. Seniors Jude Zils and Brad Canepa will stabilize the secondary. Senior running back John Dawson, who averaged 5.1 yards a carry last year, is expected to get the most carries in the fly offense. Quarterbacks Gabe Harris, Kenyatte Edmonds and Ryan Delong are fighting for the starting spot, and Mehuron said the race is too close to call. They all do different things well. Despite the holes in the offense, Mehuron seems happy with the progress the new faces are making. “We have a large group of juniors and a few sophomores that will be playing. I can not say how well we can do, but we definitely will be more of a team this year,” Mehuron said.

Trident preseason review. SC has three big sophomore linemen, who played together on the freshman team last year. They are George Urban, who weighs in at 263, Daniel Cortez at 280 and Pedro Ibarra at 300+. At the Jamboree, the offensive line off George Urban, Paul Newman, Jeff Truitte, Travis Roland and Brandon Williams showed flashes of forming an impenetrable wall to protect quarterbacks Ryan Delong and Kenyatte Edmonds plenty of time to find open receivers. Three transfers, Javier Santana, Paul Newman and Gabe Harris well help the team. Two other players, Travis Roland and Bart White, who sat out last year are back. Senior Lee Keiser-Allen at 170 can play on the defensive line or at linebacker, plays bigger than he is.

Sentinel November12. Spotless Ledger for Soquel. Cards Make Gallant Run. Soquel beat last place SC 33-16. SC without a win this season has had a penchant in recent weeks of playing the near spoiler to the league elite. Last week, SC nearly upset play-off hungry SLV before falling 15-14. SC put up a respectable 16-7 showing against Watsonville and lost 17-14 on a last second field goal to Aptos. This game was no exception. Although Soquel proved they were physically dominant and visible wore down the Cards late in the second half. Soquel actually had to overcome a brief 16-14 third quarter deficit to prevail. Soquel jumped out to an early 14-0 lead. Two consecutive special teams miscues led to SC scores. After a fake punt did not work, SC too over at midfield. Bracken Christopher broke through the line and into the clear for a 33 yard TD. Following a missed field goal attempt, SC once again pounded away up the middle and got a huge 54 run by Chance Prior on a third and nine. Quarterback Kenyatte Edmonds then scored on a 14 yard option run to send SC into halftime trailing only by a missed extra point. The hard running Cards made the vaunted Soquel defense actually look vulnerable. SC took the lead with 8:26 left in the third quarter, when Jason Cardoza drilled a 40 yard field goal out of the sand pit at Soquel. The rest of the second half belonged to Soquel.

Trident, November 16. Winning Isn’t Everything. “We’re not asking for victory lord, cause that’s not what its all about, but let us play together as a team and play hard” were the words of Ron Miller in the team prayer he led before each of the Cardinals games in the 1994, 12-1 season.
Two seasons and seventeen losses later the meaning behind Millers words remain. The SC football program though winless in 1966, played a season of tough competition and improvement of which every player and fan Can Be Proud Of. The young, enthusiastic squad was plagued by penalties and the inability to put close games away late in the fourth quarter turned victory opportunities into bitter defeats. Most notable, against SLV and Aptos.
In week five against Aptos, SC played solid and were in position to secure their first win of the season. But late in the fourth quarter, Aptos drove downfield and with little time left kicked a long field goal to take the game.
In week nine against SLV, SC scored the potential game winning touchdown with two minutes left in the game, but missed the two point conversion, when John Howard was stopped short of the goal line and lost 15-14.
SC also lost close games late in the fourth quarter against Carmel and Soquel. Nonetheless, the positive attitude and competitive fire of the Cards endured the tough losses. “We don’t go out there to lose,” was sophomore George Urbans response to the question. “Nobody‘s is quitting…we‘re all staying together and playing like a team,” commented junior Jeff Truhitte after the SLV game.
The Cards season was not all defeat and heart break. Individually, players put in memorable performances this season. Senior Bart White was the defensive force up the middle from his linebacker position to lead the Cards in tackles. Linebacker Jeff Truhitte was always around where-ever the ball was. Offensively senior fly back John Dawson and senior fullback Chance Pryor had a productive season rushing. The majority of offensive and defensive starters will be returning next year,

No Cardinals made the All County first or second teams this year. Honorable mention: Jason Cardoza, running back: Chance Pryor, running back; Bart White, linebacker.

No Cardinals made the ALL SCCAL first or second teams this year. Honorable mentions were Jude Zillis, defensive back; Bart White. Linebacker and Chance Pryor, running back.

JV FOOTBALL
Yearbook. Difficult Season For Young Players. With the loss of many players due to injury and the need for more players in the varsity program, it was difficult to compete with the other teams in the league. Despite a losing record, the season was filled with highlights, including a win over Harbor.

Roster: Andrew Hoge, John Howell, Nick Miller, Matt Lawton, Sam Martisius, Erik Hansmann, Chris George, Rosendo Alvarez, Apollo Terry, Tiny Mires, Leonardo Garcia, Marcos Olivas, Nick Doan, Ryan Deane, Nigel Miller, Damon Favor, Josh Earnest, Brian Lynn, Matt Windt and Caylin Tardif. Coaches Randy Quilici and Brian Criswell.

FRESHMAN FOOTBALL
Yearbook. The story was much the same for the freshman team, as some of their players had to move up to the JV’s to help fill out its team. The freshmen finished league in last place. “We were close in most of our games. All we need were a few breaks, that never came.” said coach Zwerling.

Roster: Mike Croghan, Augustus Stanchfield, Sager Chowlera, Jeff Stephens, Sonny Ramirez, Kris Fullum, Eli Wilson, Morgan Pena, Emanuel Kester, Karl Lund, Kristian Vega, Renaldo Alevas, Chris Newey, Mike Litel, Ralph Vallenthia, Brandon Belgard, Roland Garero, Amos Nunnally, Carlos Perez, Ian Falks, Bernabe David, Agustin Perez, Naya Benlevi and Keith Quilici. Coaches Zwerling, Trumbull, Danner and Scoppetone.

CROSS COUNTRY BOYS Placed sixth at the league meet.
Trident, October 15. Scoring for cross country is the top five runners on each team are added up and the lowest score wins. Only the top seven runners are designated to run on varsity. The JV and freshman have no limit to the amount of runners.

Yearbook. Runners Overcome All Obstacles
“We had a very outstanding team. We had the potential to be league champions,” stated first year coach John Marden. The team powered to a sixth place finish in league, led by seniors David Kessler and Dave Martin. Other members: Ethan Kitzhenry, Mike Ross, Scott Randall, Torrey Smith and Aaron Mohamed.

Trident, October 15. The freshman group is probable the most talented group in the league, led by Aaron Smith and Aaron Vangieson.

Sentinel. September 15. Dave Kessler took a wrong fork at the top of the Soquel cross country course, before two of his opponents right behind him corrected him. Kessler went on to win the race.

Trident, November 16. The boys didn’t have the depth or the talent of the girls team. The team took sixth at the league meet. The core of the team were seniors Dave Martin and Mike Ross. The future of the team is sophomore Ethan Fitzhenry.

Trident, March 14. David Kessler has run cross country and track at SC for four years. It was only during his freshman year that he began to take running seriously. In track he runs the 800, the mile and two mile. He has been very successful, qualifying for National Junior Olympics after both his freshman and sophomore years. He had been awarded All League honorable mention, Athlete of the Week numerous times and set a meet record at the RLS Invitational. USF a Division I school has offered him a half academic and half sports scholarship.

CROSS COUNTRY GIRLS

Finished fourth in league.
Yearbook. The woman’s team was plagued with injury and a low turnout, but they still took fourth place in league, led by juniors Bridgette Connerly and Jenny Croghan, who have split time as the number one runner so far this season.

Trident, October 19. Junior Rebecca Boyd almost made it to the State meet as a freshman, but missed last season traveling. Junior Heidi Brockman is one of the best hurdlers in the league and her speed carries over well in cross country. Senior leadership comes from Janeen Aldrich and Katie McGraw. Junior Soji Howe and Seanna Haynes have been injured, but will be in training soon. Coach Jennifer Hodges wants her charges to heal before starting to train.

Trident, November 16. The girls finished the league season in fourth place. Four Cards were in the top 20 placers at the league meet, more than any other team. Soquel did have four also. All four are juniors. The were Bridgette Connerly sixth, Jenny Crogan seventeenth, Rebecca Boyd seventeenth and Heidi Brockman nineteenth.

GIRLS TENNIS
League matches: SLV two wins; Soquel two wins; Watsonville two losses; Harbor two losses.
League record 4-4.
Yearbook. Varsity team members playing singles were Greta Hansen, Sarah Hoffman, Cathy Scargill and Alison Marshall. Double teams were Catherine Dunn and Hanife Esengil, Hillory Brooks and Melena Vega, Karinn Pearson and Angie Woodard. Freshman Emily Cariglia was the only other player mentioned.

Trident, October 15. The team lost a lot of players from last year, but is coming back strong with lots of new freshmen and a new coach Ryan Witt. The team has two wins against SLV and Soquel and two loses against Watsonville and Harbor. They have been practicing for a month and had their first match on September 12. Players listed from first to four on the ladder of play. Number one singles player is Greta Hansen, 2. Sarah Hoffman, 3. Cathy Scargill and 4. Alison Marshall. Doubles are 1. Catherine Dunn and Hanife Esengil, 2. Hillary Brooks and Melena Vega, 3. Karinn Pearson and Angie Woodard,.
The JV players were Emily Cariglia, Jayme Kilburn, Alysia Piffero, Jill Thompson, Jullian Swenson and Tami Pinhero.

GIRLS SWIMMING AND DIVING
SCCAL meet: Aptos 425, SC 267, Harbor 188. Second place in league
League dual meets: defeated Harbor, Soquel and Watsonville for second place in dual meets.

SCHOOL RECORDS
Kim Reimann broke the school record for five events: the 50 free, 100 free, 200 free, the 200 individual medley and the 100 backstroke.
Laura Beach broke the school and league record in diving with 392 points
At CCS championships, the fab four of Corey Miller, Kim Reimann, Taryn Nagy and Jennifer Cummings swam the 200 free relay in school record time of 1:46.94

Yearbook. Small But Powerful Team Takes Second In League, behind long time rival Aptos.
Led by seniors Kim Reimann and Taryn Nagy and juniors Cori Miller and Jennifer Cummings SC continued the girls team tradition of excellence. The 200 yard relay team of Reimann, Nagy, Miller and Cummings again qualified for CCS. Other varsity members: Anne Leber, Cara Shumate, Elizabeth Schiffrin, Shera Grellmann, Laura Beach, Nancy Pepper, Clarisa Moore, Melissa Garrett, Shana Barton, Ali George, Heather Tyler and Erin Bareis.

Sentinel Prep Girls Swimming Preview. Sept 28. The top non-Aptos swimmer in the SCCAL is Kim Reimann a SC senior, who finished eleventh in CCS in both the 100 backstroke and 200 freestyle last season. And was the only Card to qualify for CCS last year, so Coach Traci Kreppel said the team goal is to add more swimmers, most likely senior Taryn Nagy or junior Corey Miller to the list.

Trident, October 15. SC alumnus Traci Kreppel returns for her second year, just graduated from UCSC with a math degree, will pursue a teaching credential next fall. Last year Kim Reimann broke the school record in the 100 backstroke and the 100 freestyle and hopes to break them again this year as well as the 200 free and the 50 freestyle. Mari Lang an SC alumnus is the new JV coach this year that are mostly freshman. Coach Kreppel, “I hope more than one person qualifies individually for CCS. That’s our goal.”

Trident, November 16. SC beat Harbor, Soquel and Watsonville in dual meets and went into the league finals intent of retaining second place. Junior and third year varsity swimmer Corey Miller spent most of this season and last season trying to break one minute in the 100 yard freestyle. The closes she has come is 100.09. To prepare herself, she spent hours practicing perfecting her starts and finishes as well as her flip turns.
Corey finished her race in 59.33 to qualify for CCS. “It took two years, but I’m really stoked and couldn’t stop hugging everyone,” she said. Corey’s next goal was in the 100 backstroke and she came out of the race with a 107.79 and a second CCS qualification.
Kim Reimann is in her fourth year swimming for SC. Kim broke the school record for five events: the 50 free, 100 free, 200 free, the 200 individual medley and the 100 backstroke. At the league finals she competed in the 50 free and won in 25.73 and took second in the 100 backstroke at a 102.27. Kim’s amazing success at the SCCAL meet inspired her ultimate performance at CCS the following week. At CCS championships, the fab four of Corey Miller, Kim Reimann, Taryn Nagy and Jennifer Cummings dressed for success with their SC swimming suits with the Cardinal on the rear were to swam the 200 free relay, in which they swam a 149.65 at the league finals. They did a 2:03 plus in the 200 medley relay and broke the school record in the 200 free relay with a 1:46.94, a time that would place them as alternates for the finals the next day. Kim’s spilt for her 50 free was a 25.55, a new school record since Christina Raffaeli held the record previously swimming 25.64 in 1983.
Kim and Corey each improved in their individual events. Corey bettered her time in the 100 free with a 59.13 and in the 100 back with a 1:06.23. Kim swam a 1:02.55 in the 100 back and 1:56.85 in the 200 yard free, for another school record in place of Raffaeli’s 1:58.45 from 1983. Kim’s two individual events placed her in the CCS finals, which would take place the next day. Kim placed eighth in the 200 free and twelfth in the 100 backstroke. “I went into Fridays meet hoping to put out my best effort, because it was my last high school competition. I was proud of how I did an I accomplished all the goals I had set for myself. I have been determined since last year to reach the CCS finals,” Kim said happily.
The season was a successful one for the swim team on the individual level as well as the team level. SC finished second at the SCCAL finals with 267 points to first place Aptos’ 425 and ahead of third place Harbor at 188 points. Many strong simmers contributed to this success including seniors Heather Tyler and Allie George, who placed sixth and seventh in the 100 butterfly. Senior Taryn Nagy also triumphant for fourth place in the 100 breaststroke and third place in the 200 individual medley.

Nov. 4. At The SCCAL Swim Meet. School Record Set As Card Diver Wins SCCAL Crown. Friday was no ordinary day for Laura Beach, who dove into the annals of SC with a near perfect day on the springboard. Beach, a 15 year old, sophomore broke a school record en-route to the SCCAL diving championship with a score of 392, which outclassed the league field and broke the old SC mark of 352. Beach and five others advance to the CCS finals next Saturday at the Santa Clara Swim Center. “I was having a real good day. I was totally pumped up, ready to go. Teammate Cara Shumate finished second with a score of 370.86

The SCCAL swim meet. Nov. 5. Aptos went into the swim section trailing SC, who won the diving section on Friday. But Aptos won every swim event except one, the 50 yard freestyle won by Kim Reimann in 25.76 over the race favorite. Aptos is stronger this year than last, but may not be as good next year as this is a peak year for the squad. Reimann was thrilled with her win. “I was really stoked. I’ve been working hard all season. I’m a senior and this is my last meet,” said Reimann, who will also compete at CCS. “Our divers did really good. We deserved to finish second in league.

Sentinel girls swim top five bests times for the season by events. Swimmers listed by place, name and time.

100 FREESTYLE
2. Reimann, 55.98
100 BACKSTROKE
3. Reimann, 1:04.07
200 FREESTYLE
5. Reimann, 2:18.05
500 FREESTYLE
5. Reimann, 5:34.82
200 MEDLEY RELAY
2. SC, 2:06.40
200 FREE RELAY
2. SC, 1:49.37
400 FREE RELAY
2. SC, 4:11.22
DIVING
1. Beach, 232.50
3 Shumate, 208.65

JV MEMBERS: Diana Willis, Osha Maloney, Summer Vanslager, Amelia Metcalf, Adrienne Cramer, Kara Hallam, Julia Jones, Nicole Sheppard, Molly Martin, Erin Helsman, Jamaica Haveman, Elka Easter and Molly Divine.
Coach Mari Lang

BOYS WATER POLO (Combined boys and girls)
The boys record was 0-8 in league and 8-18 overall.

Yearbook. New Coach Tor Swanson Brings A Winning Attitude.
Led by seniors Nilo Alvarado, Seth Gargano and Andy Stumpf entered the season with a winning attitude. Although they lost every game, they played extremely well, ending the season with two players selected on the All League team, (no mention who they were)
Varsity boys not mentioned above: Anthony Torchio, Bobby Hansen, Casey Nichels, Steve Kele and Carey Webber. Girls: Cori Miller, Ali Chapin, Shelley Gill, Maria Willis and Laura Strickland. Coach Tor Swanson

Sentinel. September 12. Last season. SC finished at the bottom of the league. But a new coach with a winning attitude may just spell the difference this season. Former Harbor standout, Tori Swanson takes the reins this year, just three years out of high school. Swanson most recently held the women’s water polo coach position at UC Santa Barbara and takes over from Cary Smith. Swanson will benefit from some senior leadership by four year players Andy Stumpf, hole-set; Nilo Alvarado, driver and Bobby Hansen, goalie. Juniors Casey Nichols, Steve Kele and Corry Miller, plus seniors Seth Gargano, Antony Torchio and Joel Silver add depth to the 18 member squad.

Sentinel Nov. 3. Harbor 10, SC 2. (no SC information, just Harbor)

Nov. 10. Wildcats Advance At SCCAL Polo Championship Tourney, by beating SC 13-9. SC trailed 3-2 at the end of the first quarter, before Watsonville pulled away. SC was led by Andy Stumpf, who scored three goals, followed by Casey Nichols and Seth Gregano, who added two apiece. Soquel went undefeated in league play and defeated Aptos in the SCCAL championship game 10-7.

Trident November 16. Andy Stumpf led the team in scoring with 70+ goals. Seth Gargano, Nilo Alvaarado and Goalie Bobby Hansen will play at Cabrillo next year. The team wouldn’t have gone anywhere if it weren’t for the efforts of juniors Casey Nichols and Steve Kele. Kudos to the women on the team, who stepped up and proved that they could play a male dominated sport. The heart break of the season was the final league game against Watsonville in a 13-9 loss in a great effort. Andy Stumpf led the team with three goals an goalie Bobby Hansen had 17 saves.

Trident, March 14. Andy Stumpf is a dual athlete, who has played water polo for four years, three on varsity, and is beginning his fourth year in baseball. “Sports I play are something I’ll remember the rest of my life. Also he has learned teamwork and winning isn’t everything.” In water polo he was award first team ALL SCCAL by the coaches and Athlete of the Month by the Sentinel. In baseball as a junior he was the TCI player of the game against Aptos and this year was first team ALL SCCAL. His biggest athletic moment was as a junior, when the water polo team won their only league game against Watsonville. He is hoping to be a NAVY Seal.

Sentinel Nov. 29. Senior Andy Stumpf was selected by the league coaches to the SCCAL ALL LEAGUE first team as a field player. On the second team was Seth Gargano. Honorable mentions were Andy Hofman and Nilo Alvarado. Stumpf was a second team member last year.

JV BOYS : David Casey, Dan Tepperman, Royce Perez, Lloyd Mueller, Colin Constant, Sean Echols, Tawn Kennedy, Casey White and Luke Palmerants.

GIRLS WATER POLO
Sentinel. October 16. SC 5, Harbor 1. Corey Millers three goals led the Cards to victory as SC’s defense stopped Harbor. Laura Strickland, Adrienne Cramer were noted for their outstanding play as were goalies Ellen Sherrill and Ali Chapin.

Yearbook Girls: Diana Willis, Michelle Blight, Julie Dryden, Erin Helsman, Katie Semas, Crystal Geiger, Kara Hallam, Michele Peregrin and Annelisa Ocha. Coach Ramey White.

GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
League record 5-7 for fourth place. Made it to the CCS Division III playoffs as tenth seed. Overall record 13-16
League: Monte Vista 0-3, 0-3; Watsonville 3-0, 3-0; Harbor 0-3, 0-3; SLV 1-3, Aptos 2-3, North Monterey 3-2. (Three games missing) Lost to King City 1-3 in the first round.

Trident, October 15. Team members by class: seniors: Miriam Abrams, Alicia Beach, Katie David and Kelly Kaiser. Junior Anita Fearnley. Sophomores: Megan Eastman, Katie Hintz, Amy Reidt and Cori Tom. Freshman Ella Harley.

Yearbook. Cardinals Serve Up A Winning Season, coached by Gabby Houston for the fourth year and led by seniors Katie David, Kelly Kaiser and Alicia Beach, the Cardinals finished league play 5-7 for fourth place. The still worked their way into the CCS playoffs for the third consecutive year.
Two players were selected to the All League team. (no mention who they were)
Nothing was said about a JV team. Other players listed in pictures were Cori Tom, Meagan Eastman and freshman Jasmine Lepore.

Sentinel. September 15. SC defeated North Monterey 15-7, 15-8, 9-15, 12-15, 15-7. SC opened fast, winning the first two games. But the Condors came back to win the next two and it required a strong fifth game for the Cards to pull out the victory. “I guess we like to keep it exciting,” said coach Gabby Houston, whose Cards improved to 6-4 in non-league matches. Cori Tom and Katie David had 11 and 10 kills respectively, while Amy Reidt had 14 digs.

Sentinel preseason write up on September 19. Coach: Gabrielle Houston, second year. 1993 record 21-11 overall; 5-5 in league, tied for third. Key players: Freshman Ella Harley, swing hitter, 5-8; senior Kelly Kaiser, middle hitter, 5-8; Sophomore Cori Tom, middle hitter, 5-8. Scouting report: Underclassmen have been thrown into emergency duty, because of sprained ankles suffered by two senior starters. Middle hitter Kelly Kaiser may be back for the league opener, but swing hitter Alica Beach may be out for the season. A sophomore Amy Reidt, may play in Kaisers spot. Two new setters in a 6-2 offense are junior Anita Fearnley and senior Miriam Adams; senior outside hitter Katie David is the most experience player on the floor, will be counted on for her leadership.
Coaches outlook: The expectations are the same as last year. But we may be hard pressed to meet them. When Kelly is back, you’ll see a lot better ball control. We hope to make CCS, that hasn’t changed.
On this date in the Sentinel and Salinas Californian top ten ranking of the three local area leagues, SCCAL, MBL and MTAL, SC is ranked tenth with a 6-4 record.

Monte Vista defeated SC 15-3, 15-13, 15-10. SC is 0-2 in league and 6-6 overall. MVC is 2-0 and 12-1. (no SC information. MVC home game and they reported the game)

September 29. SC defeats Watsonville 15-1, 15-12, 15-12 to improve to 2-2 in league and 10-10 overall. Even after missing two starters, coach Houston gave her bench player the majority of the playing time after the first game and they responded, much to the pleasure of Houston. A pair of sophomore hitters, Cori Tom with 10 kills and Amy Reidt 7 kills as well as the all around play of setter Mariam Abrams, who notched 19 assists and had just one service error in 23 serves.

October 11. Harbor at home defeats SC 15-5, 15-7, 15-9. SC fell to 2-4 in league.

October 13. SC defeats SLV 9-15, 15-4, 15-8, 15-2. Finally only 23 matches into the season, SC coach Houston, has her team together and healthy. SC improves to 3-4 and 11-12. “It would have been nice to start out the season like this. We’re really just starting out again and we’re making up for lost time. Kelly Kaiser led SC with 13 kills, senior outside hitter Katie David had 8 kills, Anita Fearnley was a perfect 23 for 23 from the service line.

October 18. Monte Vista defeated SC 15-12, 15-4, 15-9 to improve to a 6-2 record in league. SC is 3-5 and 10-12. Kelly Kaiser had 11 kills and 13 digs. Katie David had seven kills and 15 digs.

October 25. SC defeats Watsonville 15-5, 15-7, 15-2. SC is 5-5, one game behind third place Monte Vista. Overall SC is 12-12. “Everybody played and played well, We just got some strong all around play,” Coach Houston. Cori Tom had 11 kills. Sophomore Megan Eastman had six kills and Katie David had seven kills.

October 27. Mariners Receive A Scare. Aptos, one of the best teams around these parts for years was caught flat footed by a team that has been trying to reach that level. SC with sprained ankle victims Kelly Kaiser and Alicia Beach getting back to full strength, put a major scare into Aptos. It took five games to come up with a winner, 15-10, 8-15, 15-11, 11-15, 15-11.
“SC played unbelievably good, said the Aptos coach, whose team is second in the SCCAL with a 10-1 record. “SC had to play well to guarantee a spot in the CCS playoffs. We knew we were in for a match.” Katie David had 18 kills and 23 digs. Kaiser had 12 kills and 36 digs. Beach had six solo blocks and five block assists. Kaiser and Beach both missed a month with injuries, came in and surprised Aptos. Setter Miriam Abrams dished off 43 assists. Game five was tied 10-10, before Aptos pulled away.

November 3. Bucs Wrap Up Another Championship for their thirteenth consecutive time defeating SC 15-10, 15-7, 15-8. (no SC info)

November 5. Five SCCAL Schools Reach CCS. The SCCAL enhanced its reputation for outstanding girls volleyball teams by sending five of its seven teams to the CCS playoffs. Four were locks, but SLV squeaked in as the sixteenth and final seed in the Division III tournament. Through all the politicking and campaigning at the CCS seeding meeting, three SCCAL teams are seeded among the top three in their divisions. Along with SLV 16-18 in Division III, Harbor 20-5 was seeded second and SC 13-15 was seeded tenth. All other Divisions have eight teams. Monte Vista 27-7 coming off its best regular season finish in history at third place is seeded second in Division IV. Aptos 22-6, the SCCAL runner up is seeded third in Division I.

Sentinel November 9. In the CCS Division III playoffs, 7 seed King City closed out a 9-15, 15-9, 15-7, 15-7 win over SC in the first round. Senior middle hitter Alicia Beach went down with a sprained ankle in game four. Beach had missed six weeks of the season with a bad ankle, but injured the other one early in the last game. “That really hurt. It’s too bad,” said Coach Gabby Houston. Senior Katie David led the tenth seeded Cards with 11 kills, seven in the game one victory. “Then our passing got worse and their blocking got better,” said Houston. Sophomore Cori Tom had six solo blocks. SC finished with a 13-16 record.

In All League write up, Monte Vista won their first every CCS Division IV championship. In the Northern California playoffs, they lost in the semifinals.

Trident, March 14. Katie David was selected by the league coaches to the first team ALL SCCAL team and by the Sentinel ALL COUNTY on its second team. The Sentinel selected her Athlete of the Month of September. The team voted Katie most valuable and the best hitter on the team. By her sophomore year she was on the varsity volleyball, basketball and track teams. Katie will be joining former SC athlete Evie Smith, who attends UCSB an is also an outstanding athlete. Katie would be a member of the track team as a triple jumper.

Sentinel November 26. On the ALL SCCAL first team selected by the coaches was senior, outside hitter, at 5-8 Katie David. On the second team was senior, middle blocker, at 5-9 Alicia Beach.

BASKETBALL BOYS VARSITY SCCAL CHAMPIONS for the fourth time in five years.
Practice games: Alisal 86-56, RLS 64-56, Jefferson 71-50. Dad’s Club Tourney: Beat Carmel by 30, beat Paso Robles, Aptos 75-53 for the tourney championship. St. Francis of Mt. View Tourney: San Luis Obispo 72-57, St. Francis 49-63, Palo Alto 65-73. Practice record: 7-2 (games missing) League: Aptos 86-56, Loss; Soquel 64-61, 41-35; SLV 78-60, 66-54: Watsonville 71-43, 77-50; Monte Vista 74-66, win. League round robin record 11-1. In the league playoffs in the semifinal defeated SLV 52-45 and the final against Aptos 52-36 for the SCCAL championship. CCS Division III, won first game, won quarterfinals against Soquel 41-38 in overtime and lost to Palo Alto in the semifinals 52-55. Season record 24-7 (from Sentinel)

League standings by school, league games and then overall record:
SCHOOL LEA OVERALL
SC 11-1 24-7
Aptos 10-2 21-6
Soquel 8-4 15-12
SLV 6-6 17-9
Monte Vista 3-9 11-14
Harbor 2-10 7-19
Watsonville 2-10 5-20

Yearbook. The team had a 9-7 preseason record and won the SC Dads Club Tournament. Kam Watson was name tournament MVP and Nick Theodosis and Jason Brooks were selected All Tournament. The Varsity took fifth at the St. Francis of Mt. View tournament and went undefeated in the first half of league play.

No rosters were listed in the yearbook.

Sentinel High School Boys Basketball Preview. Card Seniors Middle name is ‘Fearless’ To understand rebounding is to understand desire. As a basketball caroms off the rim, ten players converge, but only one assumes ownership. Kam Watson holds the pink slip to every bouncing ball in the county. At a slender 6-4, the senior forward is not a dominating presences inside the paint, but his long arms collect rebounds like he’s picking fruit off a tree as he did in the jungles of Costa Rica. In Nigerian, Kambui means “fearless” and no better word describes this rebounding machine. Kam is smart, he’s versatile and plays the game hard,” said Coach Newell, whose star led the SCCAL in rebounding last year with a 11.1 per game average. Kam was the best eighth grader in the county coming out of Mission Hill according to coach Newell. Watson honed his skills playing against older players in the field houses at UCSC, where he and his mother lived as she went to school there. Find someone to say something bad about Watson and you have yourself a scoop. His friends come from all walks of life. He’s a favorite babysitter of parents, a star at Newell’s basketball camps for kids. “I can’t say enough positive things about him in every facet of his character,” Newell said. “He’s a pleasure to coach.”
It’s easy to see why, Watson moves swiftly on the court and seems to sense the future, anticipating passes and bounces off the rim. He mixes it up inside but is coordinated enough to dribble past pressure, spin to the basket and score off a delicate finger roll. “He gives us the flexibility to surround him with different combinations,” Newell said. “He can rebound but also shoot the three.”
He started at center his freshman year but his promise came crashing to earth when he broke his ankle as a sophomore, missing the entire season.
Last year he averaged 13.4 points and was named first team all-SCCAL and all-county. He does it all quietly. When asked about his rebounding prowess, he talks instead about how the team–which returns 10 players–can win the league title after finishing second last year. “Everyone is going to be shooting for us,” he said. “That’s a lot of pressure.” But he knows that’s not really pressure. Pressure comes in other forms.

Sentinel. November 25. Santa Cruz Roll Behind Watson’s 31. Senior forward Kam Watson scored SC’s first ten points of the game and finished with 31 as the Cards opened the season with a 75-64 road win over Alisal. Watson, who dominated inside with 13 rebounds and also had several three point plays on fast breaks. “He didn’t miss much, assistant coach Pat Jones said. Point guard Nick Theodosis added 14 points and 10 assists. It was tied at halftime 29-29. SC pulled away in the second half, outscoring the Trojans 47-35.

Sentinel. November 26. Cards Hold Off RLS 64-56. SC led 18-5 in the first quarter, had to hold off RLS down the stretch. RLS’ top scorer hit five 3 pointers and 24 of his 28 points in the second half. The Pirates came within four points in the last 130. But, Kam Watson’s tip in followed by a free throw with 30 seconds left gave SC with a 2-0 record, and a seven point lead that iced the game. Center Jason Brooks had 14 points, seven rebounds and went 8 for 12 from the line. Watson added 13 points and nine rebounds. Nick Theodosis scored 14 and Michael McDuffie grabbed eight rebounds.

December 19. SC 72, San Luis Obispo 57 in the opening round of the St. Francis Tournament. Kam Watson led SC with 26 points and 10 rebounds, while Nick Theodosis added 22 points and 9 assists as SC improves to 9-3. Jermaine Hunter contributed 10 rebounds and Michael McDuffie scored 14 points, including four 3 pointers. SC opened what was a tight game in the third quarter with a big early run. While SLO fought back, Theodosis hit a late 3 pointer and added a steal and an assist as SC stretched a seven point lead to 12.

December 20. Santa Cruz Falls To St. Francis 63-49. Cards Meet Palo Alto For Third Place. It was a loss, but it was progress. SC stayed with the defending State Division II champion St. Francis for the first half of the St. Francis Holiday tournament in the semifinals, but the game slipped away in the third quarter. SC 9-4, led 27-19 with 2 minutes left in the second period, before St. Francis 11-1 uncorked a 6-0 rung to close the half. A 20-10 surge in the third quarter by St. Francis’ use of an effective full court press took control.
The top St. Francis scorer had 39 points the night before, but was held to three first half points and five through three quarters, because of the straight up man to man defense of Tayo Enna and Kam Watson, before breaking through for 19 for the game. Watson score a team high of 18 points followed by Nick Theodosis with 16. “We definitely want to use this as a springboard for out season. Our goal is to play better Saturday then we did Thursday, meaning a steady progression throughout the tournament. So far, we’ve done that. This was a great effort,” said assistant coach Pat Jones.

Sentinel. December 23. Wild Plan Works For SC Boys. It didn’t matter that the wheels seemed to be falling off the wagon for SC. With Kam Watson and Tayo Enna pushing from behind, the souped-up Cards passed Jefferson in the slow lane en-route to a convincing 71-50 win. Playing without starters Theodosis and Jason Brooks, Coach Newell laid a course for Watson and Enna. The plan? Turn the 6-5 Enna loose on the boards and let Watson run the offense. But, Enna, a junior, lacks game experience and Watson has never played point guard before. It could have left SC vulnerable on the boards and prone to turnovers.
Instead, Watson responded with 21 points and four assists. Enna played brilliantly off the bench to finish with 15 points and eight rebounds. “Tayo’s been given the opportunity of more playing time with the encouragement from coaches and players to shoot the ball more, said Newell, whose team improved to 8-3. “He’s really been playing well.” He had to. Gone were a combined 24 points a game from Theodosis’ 14.6 point average and Brooks 9.4.
Watson took over in the first quarter, scoring 12 of his teams 21 points as the Cards took a quick 11 point lead after 8 minutes. Most of Watson’s points came off the set offense as the quick angular senior cut through the lane with a defender hopelessly in pursuit. Enna saw significant time in the second quarter, scoring four points as the Cards maintained their 11 point lead at 38-27.
It was the third quarter, when the game turned into a rout. Watson hit two free throws at the four minute mark to make it 42-29. Then Michael McDuffie followed a turnover with a 3 point bomb from the wing. Another forced turnover set up Watson with a fast break layup, which he missed, but McDuffie tipped it in for a 47-29 advantage. The icing came seconds later, when Watson tipped away a pass at half court and finished it off with a two handed dunk. The Slam and subsequent 20 point lead broke the spirit of Jefferson. SC outscored them 18-6 in the third quarter, including a 11-2 run to start the quarter.
The reserves earned some playing time in the fourth quarter. As for playing Watson at guard, “Kam is a four year player, a senior with experience,” coach Newell said of his all league forward. “I thought he did well considering he’s never played the position before.” McDuffie had 10 points and reserve guard Nicholas Thompson scored eight.

January 4. BOLD STATEMENT. Santa Cruz Races Past Aptos 86-56 In League Opener. It took SC about two minutes to assert themselves as the class of the SCCAL. SC made a clear statement by the final buzzer. The road to the SCCAL title goes right through Fehliman Gym. Aptos was thought to be the Cards toughest challenger. SC played nearly a flawless first half and thoroughly crushed the Mainers in a game that wasn’t even as close as the score indicates. “Our team played a good as any coach could ever expect of a team in the first half,” said Coach Newell, whose team blitzed Aptos 75-53 in the final of the Dads Club Tournament. “We took the game to them.”
While SC did score a lot of points, 57 in the first half, it was a ferocious man to man defense that completely stifled the Mainers from the opening tip. SC forced 20 first half turnovers and held Aptos to 28 percent shooting from the field, 19 of 69, and consistently contested ever Aptos pass, shot and every dribble. SC won the rebounding 37-20 though it was without two starters.
It was simple. SC got in Aptos’ face and would not go away. Aptos coach Dan Gruber, “We hit a juggernaut. They are taller, faster, quicker and more talented. They just went out and took it to us.” Before the game, an inspired SC team listened to two former Cards Reggie Stephens and Jermaine Robinson talked to the team about the rigors of league play. Newell said it was evident his team carried what the two former stars, now playing for Cabrillo College, had said onto the court. SC opened with a 14-4 run.
Then SC got hot behind the shooting touch of Nick Theodosis, who proceeded to score 11 of the teams next 12 points. The score got to 26-14. Next it was Mike McDuffie’s turn to get hot. He hit a jumper with his foot on the three point line. Theodosis stole the ball and passed to McDuffie, who hit behind the three point line to make it 37-14. Game, set, match. McDuffie scored 15 points in the second quarter and reached a game high of 20 points. Theodosis also had 20, while spreading out nine assists. Watson recorded a triple-double with 11 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. Tayo Enna and Jason Brooks were out with sprained ankles.

January 6. SC Machine Routs Cats 71-43. The usual cast of characters came up big for SC. Nick Theodosis scored 26 points and Kam Watson had 19. SC is 10-5 overall and 2-0 in league. It was 13-6 at the end of the first quarter. SC scored 26 points in the final quarter.

January 12. Cards Rally To Win 64-61 over Soquel to keep itself undefeated 4-0 in league and 12-5 overall. Soquel opened the game with an 18-1 run. It wasn’t until guard Nick Theodosis took over down the stretch by scoring eight of his teams last ten points, that SC finally was able to catch up. Theodosis made two free throw with 1:32 left to give the Cards their first lead, 56-55. They would never trail again.
Early on, Soquel looked unbeatable as they scored inside and outside. Also their aggressive man to man defense seemed to confuse SC. “We started out of rhythm,” said Newell. “We reasserted ourselves defensively and got turnovers to get back into it.” SC opened the second quarter with a 13-0 run, hitting three 3-pointers and getting transition baskets off turnovers. Soquel weathered the storm and still led by six at halftime. Soquel came out in the third quarter and forced turnovers and got easy buckets with a 9-2 run with drives to the hoop, giving them a 45-32 lead midway through the third quarter.
SC played aggressive defense again in the fourth quarter and had another big run, 14 unanswered points to lead by five. The close game didn’t surprise Newell. In fact, he predicted it to his players at a team meeting the day before. Kam Watson, who scored 14 points, thought the result would help SC in future close games. “Now we’ve had this experience, we know we can overcome a lot,” he said. “We’ve already had adversity with all our injuries.”

January 14. Nick Does The Trick For Cards. Seventy-five percent of Nick Theodosis proved to be 100 percent effective for streaking SC as the Cards cruised to a 78-60 victory over SLV as the senior point guard spent the evening riddling the Cougar defense with precision passes, knifing drives or soft jumpers from the perimeter. All accomplished on a badly sprained right ankle. “Amazingly his about 75 percent right now. Nick has raised his game to a higher level since league began,” said coach Newell. SC is 5-0 in league and 14-5 overall and shows no chink in their armor.
They bolted to a 25-9 lead after one quarter and survived one SLV rally before delivering the knock out punch. Theodosis led the way from the outset, finishing the first quarter with seven points and five assists as SC simply could not miss. SC connected on 10 of 13 field goals and finished the game shooting 61 percent. SC committed six turnovers in the second quarter as SLV closed the score at halftime to 37-28.
At halftime, Newell tinkered with his team’s offense against the zone and preached execution and spacing. It worked. SC found open shots and hit 9 of 15 in the third quarter to continue their torrid pace. A nine point lead at half suddenly ballooned to 23 points, 60-37 entering the fourth quarter. “We knew we had to stop their two guards and dominate inside,” said Theodosis, who finished with a game high 23 points and nine assists. Kim Watson scored 17 points and pulled down 15 rebounds.

January 27. SC 77, Watsonville 50. Nick Theodosis scored a game high 24 points, draining five 3 pointers to enable SC to rebound from their first league loss earlier in the week. SC 16-6, 7-1 built a 23-11 first quarter lead and cruised the rest of the way to remain in a first place tie with Aptos. Kim Watson had nine rebounds.

January 31. Harbor Is No Pushover, But. Santa Cruz Wins. SC won a defensive struggle at Harbor 53-45. SC 17-7 overall and 8-1 in league pulled away from a scrappy Pirate team, which is 2-7 in league, with an 18-7 run bridging the third and fourth quarter. The score was tied 32-32 in the third quarter, when SC answered with a three by Michael McDuffee to start the run. Five other Cards would contribute to the scoring.
Nick Theodosis, who led all scorers with 20 finish the run hitting a 3 pointer to give SC its biggest lead of the game 50-39. It could have been even bigger, but the Cards couldn’t convert several fast break opportunities. Kam Watson scored off a steal in the run, but turned the ball over twice after getting steals. Watson only score six points, but did get 11 rebounds and often kept the ball alive for others to score. The missed chances allowed Harbor to get back in the game, as suddenly the score was 50-45.
Then SC stepped up its defense. “We talked about not finishing at halftime. The defense came out strong the second half and we got more turnovers,” said coach Newell. SC often had second and third shots over the shorter Pirates. But SC also committed a number of turnovers. The sloppy play in the first quarter allowed Harbor to take a 17-15 lead. In the second quarter the defenses really took over. Harbor with about three minutes left and trailing 24-21, went into a delay and SC fouled allowing Harbor tie the game at halftime 24-24.

February 2. Soquel Stalls, But Santa Cruz Wins 41-35. The best action was no action. Soquel was down just three points with 6:30 left in the game. Newell ordered a two-three zone, and Soquel did nothing as the Knights decided to shorten the game, by holding the ball, instead of giving the run hungry Cards a chance to blow the game open, . The prolonged stalemate prompted a debate on the long standing issue of a shot clock. A 30 second shot clock is used in girls basketball. Both coaches said they favored adopting a shot clock for boys as well. SC has recently shown a tendency of playing flat and mistake prone basketball as the SCCAL schedule winds down.

February 4. Santa Cruz Wins, But It’s Slump Is Unmistakable. A win is a win, but a slump is still a slump as the Card beat SLV 66-54. “We still have a ways to go to regain our consistence,” said Coach Newell, whose team improved to 10-1 in league and 19-6 overall, one win from clinching at least a tie for the SCCAL crown. SC showed long stretches of brilliance midway through the season until a spell of inconsistency hit the team a few weeks ago. They slipped by Harbor and Soquel, but dropped a game to Aptos. SC eventually earned a 20 point lead after three quarters, but SLV cut it in half 59-49 with four minutes to play.
Nick Theodosis and Michael McDuffie righted the ship with steady play down the stretch. Theodossis finished with 18 points, including 7 of 8 from the line. McDuffie hit five 3-pointers, including an incredible half court bomb to end the first quarter, scored a team high 21 points. SC led the rebounding battle 35-19 with 12 of them on the offensive end. SC effectively sealed off the paint.
Kam Watson controlled the middle, pulling 12 rebounds, but only scored nine points as his mini-slump continued. Newell isn’t concerned about his team leader as much as he is a general team wide malaise. He hopes a few days of some rigorous practices will cure what ails the Cards in time for the playoffs. There is a whole different intensity level in the playoffs.

February 10. SC 74, Monte Vista 66. SC wrapped up a co-championship by finishing first in the round robin season at 11-1, one game ahead of Aptos. A huge defensive effort in the first half set up the victory, as Monte Vista managed only four points in the first quarter and eight in the second, as SC 20-6, ran off to a 43-12 halftime lead. Monte Vista which finished fifth in league lit it up in the second half with 54 points to make it close.

Feb. 16. Prime Time Rematches. Ultimatum Spurs SC Past SLV. After a less than spectacular first half effort, SC coach Pete Newell gave his players a simple choice. “I told them they could either win and play in the league championship game at 8:30 or lose and practice at five.” Easy decision. SC went on a 8-0 run to open the third quarter turning a 26-22 deficit into a 30-26 lead and then hung on for a 52-45 victory over SLV in the semifinals of the SCCAL playoff tournament at Cabrillo. SLV was held to seven points in the third quarter.
The two best teams in the league SC and Aptos will be playing in the championship game. But SLV nearly got in the way. Giving top seeded SC all it could handle before being forced to foul late in the game. SLV led much of the way, not giving the Cards an inch early on. SLV 18-10 led by four after a first quarter and at halftime as both teams struggled from the field. SLV hit 10 of 26 while SC made 9 of 25 in the first half.
SC remained patient and turned up its effort in the second half. The increase in intensity came in time as SLV was working hard for the upset. Nick Theodosis scored 16 points and Kam Watson scored 15 to save SC offensively, as they have done for much of the season. “Nick kept us in the game the first half and Kam in the second half,” Newell said.

February 17. Santa Cruz Sweeps Up Titles by winning both the boys and girls SCCAL championships. Card Boys Batter Aptos In Title Game 52-36. Girls Leave No Doubt Who’s Best with a 57-46 victory over Monte Vista Christian.
A physical, blanketing in your face defense by SC snuffed the life out of Aptos in the boys SCCAL basketball tournament championship finals. The victory gave SC its fourth league title in five years, thanks in whole to the defense, which limited the high scoring Mariners with a 68 points a game average to 16 second half points.
“It was the most physical game we’ve played against them this year and with SC, a physical game favors them,” said Aptos coach Dan Gruber. The teams split their two league round robin meetings this season and Aptos would have been considered co-champions by winning the tournament. The raucous, standing room only crowd at Cabrillo College drowned out the sound of crashing bodies and screaming coaches. It was a treat for the fans, who witnessed two teams playing at an entirely new level of physical play.
The fight of the Cards deep bench wore out the Mariners. Coach Newell was pleased with his reserves and the role they played in the outcome. “Our depth was the difference in the second quarter and it paid dividends later in the fourth. We contested nearly every pass, fought through every screen and tried to beat them to the post position. It was our best defensive game of the year,” Newell said.
Newell unleashed a three headed monster to stop Aptos’ league leading scorer with a 18 point per game average, who went 4 of 12 shooting because of the defensive efforts of three Cards; Tayo Enna, Jimmy Jones and Jimmy Cahill. Kam Watson and Jason Brooks took care of business in the paint defensively. Another Aptos player, who had been averaging 16 points a game in the last nine games was held to eight points, had this to say about the Cards, “You have to hand it to SC. They came out in the second half and wanted it more than we did. They completely took us out of our offense. It was a tough physical game. They got the best of us.” The score was tied 20-20 at intermission.
SC 22-6 scored the first nine points of the second half, the big blows were a pair of 3-pointers by Michael McDuffie. Mean-while, the Card defensive pressure forced seven turnovers and generally put the Mariner offense in disarray. By the time Aptos recovered, they trailed 35-28 heading into the final eight minutes. This is were Watson and point guard Nick Theodosis took over on offense. With Aptos camped inside the key, Watson drained two 12 footers and Theodosis tallied four assists, including a beautiful no look pass in transition to Brooks, which gave SC their biggest lead 42-32 with 4:33 remaining. Watson led SC with 13 points, but eight players contributed offensively. On defense, it was a team effort. “It was depth and determination. It was great to see,” Newell said.

February 25. CCS Basketball. Boys thriller: Cardinals Clip Knights In OT 41-38. Theodosis scored all of his 16 points in the second half to help SC from a nine point fourth quarter deficit to a 41-38 overtime win over Soquel before a packed house at Cabrillo College in the CCS Division III quarterfinals. The biggest blow, Theodosis delivered was the last. With the score tied 38-38 and the clock winding down in overtime, he drove the lane and missed. The ball kicked back out to him and he drained a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
After Theodosis had been held scoreless in the first half and SC has just eight total points, Coach Newell told Theodosis at halftime, to just keep playing that’s all you can do Soquel led 34-27 with five minutes to play and then self-destructed. A Soquel player threw an elbow and Theodosis made one of the technicals two free throws and then made his first two field goals. With one minute left he made a driving layup to tie the score 35-35. The real key was Soquel not being able to hit their free throws down the stretch.
Watson aided the rally by crashing the offensive boards and getting to the free throw line where he scored five time in the final quarter. SC clearly had the momentum in the four minute overtime, as Soquel made only a lay up and a foul shot. SC had their woes as well. Theodosis scored on a drive and Watson tied the score 38-38 on a free throw. Then Theodosis hit his three pointer at the buzzer. Soquel controlled the tempo by holding the ball for and average of more than 40 seconds per possession.

Feb. 28. Cardinals to Test Top Seed. From an offensive standpoint, the SC machine has had a bumpy ride along a ten game stretch. “We’ve needed a tune-up for too long,” said Newell. Hopefully the warranty doesn’t run out on us.” The defensive minded Cards 24-6 a number five seed will battle the number one seed Palo Alto 20-6 in the CCS Division III semifinals at Bellarmine. The Cards have weaved their way through the division with the largest number of teams 23. SC has done it with defense.
In its last four games, including two playoff games, SC has given up 45, 36, 51 and 38 points. “Our defense has carried us, it’s been magnificent the last four games. It would be nice to play in a sustained offensive rhythm, to find it early and ride it for a while,” Newell said. Palo Alto is a run and gun team that won the De Anza division of the SCVAL, the best league in Santa Clara county with a 11-1 record. Palo Alto beat SC in late December in the St. Francis of Mt. View tournament 73-65. In the last meeting, SC roared to a 27-14 halftime lead, but couldn’t sustain that momentum. Jason Brooks and Tayo Enna didn’t play in that game.

Feb. 29. Palo Alto Puts Stop To Cardinals Season. Palo Alto earned a 55-52 victory, snatching it away in the last few minutes to advance to the finals against second seeded Westmont. For SC, the emotional wreckage left behind was evident 40 minutes after the heart breaking loss as several players milled about the quiet locker room, packing their bags on a successful season, but pained by the defeat nonetheless.
Still in uniform but ready to leave, senior Kam Watson spoke in hallowed tones about a win that somehow slipped away. And as he spoke, the four year starter seemed to realized that his high school career had ended. “I won’t ever be in uniform again,” he said slowly. “We’re all disappointed because the game was right there for us.” SC certainly deserved it through three and a half quarters.
But the last five minutes of the game told the story. SC scored only one field goal over that span as Palo Alto suddenly changed from a vulnerable zone into an aggressive man to man. It stopped SC cold. SC managed only six fourth quarter points, but had the ball with two minutes left and the score tied 50-50. Palo Alto scored to go ahead by two. Looking to win, SC set up a play, but it collapsed as the ball scooted out of the hands of a Cardinal and into the hands of a Palo Alto player, who was able to pass ahead to an open teammate for a lay up with five seconds left.
It seemed a fitting ending, because everything fell just out of grasp of the Cards all evening. “We played well enough to win, but Palo Alto had a few more answers,” Newell said. Most of them came in the critical fourth. SC shot just 2 of 9 in the quarter with many attempts rattling around before missing. Other times, it seemed the team appeared out of sync.

Trident, March 14. Champions. Memorable Varsity Boys Go 24-7 To Win SCCAL Title. And make it to the CCS Division III semifinals against number one seed Palo Alto, who the Cards lost to by three points. SC had won 14 of 15 games before this game. With a minute to play the score was tied 52-52. Undefeated in close games and having the confidence in their ability to finish strong in the fourth quarter, it was not to be. Down by one with fifteen seconds and possession of the ball the cool, calm demeanor which of late characterized SC’s play in games, escaped the Cards and after a stolen pass, followed by a Palo Alto lay-up, the clock struck twelve on the season far sooner then the Cards had hoped for. Kam Watson said it for the six seniors and the rest of the team as well, “It was an amazing season.”

Sentinel season ending stats: for top scorers by place in order, name, games played, total points, high game and average per game.
PL NAME GP TP HG AV
1 Theodosis 30 518 26 17.3
5 Watson 31 499 31 16.1
8 McDuffie 30 423 21 14.1
20 Brooks 22 193 14 8.8

Top rebound by place, name, games played, total rebounds, high game and average per game.
PL NAME GP TR HI AV
2 Watson 31 293 17 9.5
Only shows top ten rebounders.

SC was tops in defense allowing 1712 points with a game low of 35 for an average of 55.2 points per game average given up. On offense, SC was third with a 24-7 season record, 1964 points scored with a high of 86 in a game and a 63.4 points per game average.

Sentinel ALL COUNTY first team includes two Cardinals senior, 6-4, forward Kam Watson and junior, 5-11, point guard Nick Theodosis. Watson was the PLAYER OF THE YEAR and Theodosis was the JUNIOR OF THE YEAR. No other SC players were honored on the second team.

ALL SCCAL team
Results Not Stats Earn Watson MVP of the ALL SCCAL basketball team chosen by the league coaches. Nick Theodosis was named to the first team. Senior, 6-1, shooting guard Mike McDuffie was named to the second team. Honorable mentions were Jason Brooks and Jermaine Hunter.
Watson didn’t lead the SCCAL in rebounding, scoring or assists, but he never toiled in anonymity, turning in a spectacular season in which he excelled in virtually all aspects of basketball. The league was rich in talent this year. “Kam literally carried us for much of the season. We fed off his energy as he nightly played different positions based on our needs,” said coach Newell. In 16 league games, Watson averaged 13 points and ten rebounds a game. But his MVP award was not measured on the stat sheet. Watson took the court as 75 inches of muscle and desire. He’s a relentless rebounded on both ends of the court, showed tenacity on defense and played all five positions.
Theodosis ran the show for SC, controlling the tempo while dishing out assists to Watson and company. The junior found time to average 16 points per league game. “Nick is a premier point guard in this league. It makes it so much easier to coach when you have a player of his caliber,” Coach Newell said.
On the second team, McDuffie hit 44, 3-pointers for a 10.2 average per game.

JV BOYS BASKETBALL
Yearbook. Under the leadership of eleventh year coach Charles Burks had a 7-6 preseason record an took the consolation championship of the Soquel tournament.

FROSH BASKETBALL
Yearbook. Although limited in size, the team had a season filled with highlights, including a last minute come back win over SLV.

GIRLS BASKETBALL SCCAL CHAMPIONS for the second straight year. UNDEFEATED IN LEAGUE. 12-0. Season record 23-5. Up until the CCS quarterfinals, the Cardinals had a 17 game win streak, which earned them a second seed, when they lost to St. Ignatius of San Francisco.
Practice games: Alisal 52-39, Pinewood 39-51. Pioneer Tournament: Westmont 48-32, Pioneer 52-19, Monta Vista 45-54 for second place. Mitty Tournament: Mitty 73-56, Live Oak 47-39, Leland 52-41, Buena of Southern California 28-68 for fifth place. Practice record 5-4. According to the Sentinel the records was 8-4. (3 games missing)
League: Aptos won, 66-57; Watsonville 51-40, 52-38; Harbor won, 59-42; Soquel won. 60-34; SLV 72-39, 76-34; Monte Vista 53-41, 51-49. League record 12-0.
Defeated Aptos 53-39 in the semifinals of the SCCAL playoffs and defeated Monte Vista in the finals 57-46.
Won their first CCS game and lost to St. Ignatius in the quarterfinals.

Yearbook. Former SC player Silviano Gaona, after working with the boys teams in the past, took over the girls head coaching position this year. After preseason losses to Buena and Monte Vista, the Cardinals came together under the senior leadership of Kelly Kaiser, Tara Hill and Natalie Gibbons. With a good work ethic and genuine determination, the team finished the first half of league play undefeated. Only two other girls were listed in the yearbook. They were Adrain Cramer and Cori Tom.

Sentinel pre-season write up. Coach: Silviano Gaona, first year. Last years record: 17-6 overall, 10-2 in league for first place. Key senior players are forward, 5-10, Kelly Kaiser; point guard, 5-4, Tara Hill; guard, 5-6, Natalie Gibbons; forward/center, 5-9, Alicia Beach. Junior, forward/center, 5-9, Soji Howe. Sophomores are forward, 5-7, Kali Macardit-Campbell; center, 5-11, Jamie Ross. Scouting report. Gaona a 1987 alumnus of SC, returns with the vision and talent to keep SC at the top of the league elite. Barring a few minor changes, Gaona plans to keep the game plan similar to the one Wilson left behind, an up tempo game with hopes of the defense creating some easy scores.
Although he anticipates a possible size disadvantage, Gaona said the multi-dimensional nature of his athletes will allow him to adjust the lineup to magnify the opponents weakness. Coaches outlook: This is one of those jobs you want to take over, as opposed to starting all over. I’m going to try and change things the least possible. Hopefully I can get them to play together and play hard. I want to be fast break oriented, but you still have to be able to run and offense. We want to be able to go from a power game to a passing game at any time. I coach because I love to coach and I’m eager to have a chance with such a talented group.

Trident, December 20. In their first game of the season on November 22, the Cards defeated Alisal 52-39.

Trident. In the first game of the Pioneer tournament, the Cards beat Westmont 48-32 and blew out Pioneer in the semifinals 52-19. In the finals against Monta Vista of Cupertino, who had won the tournament the previous four years, the Cards went up by seven at halftime, but lost 54-45.

Trident. In their first home game on December 4, against defending state champion Mitty, the Cards were down only three points at halftime, before eventually losing 73-56.

Sentinel. December 15. SC 47, Live Oak 39. Tara Hill connected on a pair of three point baskets, sparked a third quarter surge that led the Cards to a non-league victory. After a slow paced first half, the score was tied 16-16. At the outset of the third quarter, reserve shooting guard Natalie Gibbons entered the game and ignited the Cards defense. The intensity went up and the pace of the game gathered more speed, just the way SC likes it. The Cards outscored Live Oak 18-11 in the third quarter to take control. Forward Kelly Kaiser scored 15 points and Hill had 8 for SC now 4-2. Soji Howe grabbed 7 rebounds.

December 31. SC 52, Leland 41. SC took fifth place at the Mitty tournament as Natalie Gibbons gave SC 8-4, a boost with 15 points in a start. Coach Silviano Gaona noted that his team played about how he wanted it to heading into league play this week. After the game against Buena, a 68-26 loss to the state powerhouse in the second round, we wanted some momentum heading into league and we wanted to win our last two games. Mission accomplished with help from Gibbons, Kelly Kaiser and Kali Campbell. Kaiser was named to the All Tournament team, had 12 points and six rebounds, while Campbell added ten points and four rebounds.

January 6. Kaiser, Howe Pace SC Girls in a 51-40 defeat of Watsonville. Kelly Kaiser and Soji Howe combined for 28 points and helped SC to a 10-4 overall and 2-0 in league play. Kaiser’s versatility proved valuable when guards Natalie Gibbons and Tara Hill got into foul trouble in the first half. Kaiser responded with 11 points before intermission and 15 for the game. Howe had nine of her 13 points in the second half. “Kelly’s senior and floor leadership made a big difference,” said coach Gaona, who added that Cori Tom was strong defensively off the bench.

January 14. SC 72, SLV 39. Natalie Gibbons led a well balanced SC scoring effort with 11 points to help SC to a 4-0 league record and 13-4 overall.

January 20. Slighted Cardinals Tag Loss On Mustangs, 53-41. “I felt like we didn’t get a lot of respect,” guard Tara Hill said of the attention Monte Vista got for their 15-0 start, the best in Santa Cruz county girls basketball history. “We are the defending champions. We wanted to show that we are still on top.” SC is alone at the top of the SCCAL with a 5-0 record, followed by Monte Vista 4-1. The biggest difference was the turnovers. Monte Vista had 26 to SC’s 16. Next time, Kelly Kaiser said, the Cards plan to apply the same tough defense. “We wanted to play hard defense and we did. They are a great team. But we just wanted it. We aren’t 15-0, but we’re still the best.”
SC with a 14-4 record wanted to prove its record wasn’t shabby, particularly since the four teams who beat the Cards came into this week with two losses between them. Kaiser led the team with 16 points. The teams will play at least once more, but more probably twice more, finishing up in the finals of the league playoffs. But if the Cards play in the fourth quarter was any indication, they will be ready for anything. Anytime. Anywhere. Kaiser hit a free throw, a 3-pointer and a driving layup to give SC some breathing room at 38-28 with 5:28 left to play. Monte Vista made it a game again pulling within 40-36 with 4:13 to play. Cori Tom converted a three point play, two free throws and another shot inside that keyed a 9-0 run as SC took control 49-36 with 2:22 remaining.
When the final buzzer sounded, Natalie Gibbons did a nice cartwheel as she joined her teammates to celebrate. But they didn’t celebrate too long. The game had a championship feel, intensity, a near capacity crowd and even cheerleaders for Monte Vista and a pep band for SC. But both teams know this was only Round One.

January 24. Aptos’ top scorer ended up with 36 point, which was not enough to defeat SC, who won 66-57. “She was taking the ball to the hole and getting the calls,” said coach Gaona, whose team is 15-4 and 7-0 in league. “She was 18 of 23 from the line. All the players went as hard as they could for as long as they could.” Kelly Kaiser scored 19 points and Tara Hill added 11. Soji Howe had ten points and a team high seven rebounds.

January 26. Cardinals Share In The Wealth. Kelly Kaiser’s talent jolted the local girls basketball scene last year as SC’s shooting guard, MVP of the SCCAL and Player of the Year by the Sentinel. Tara Hill’s talent was apparent as well, even though the Cards point guard didn’t accumulate the statistics or notoriety of her well known teammate. Natalie Gibbons’ talent was only a sneak preview during her junior season, because of the number of seniors in the limelight of a league championship season. All are seniors now. Kaiser has maintained her lofty standard of play. Hill and Gibbons have joined Kaiser on the podium, a full step up for Hill and two steps for Gibbons. There isn’t a better explanation available to account for the Cards 15-4 overall record and the 7-0 league record.
“This is great,” Kaiser said of the threesomes enjoying a banner senior season. “We have been friends forever. We warm up together, shoot together and play together … that’s something we lacked a little last year as Natalie did not play as much. This season has been a lot of fun.” Kaiser is the leagues second leading scorer with 12 points a game. Gibbons is contributing 7.4 points and Hill 6.0. But to watch them move on the floor together with the younger Cards and one understands why stats don’t tell the story and why SC was able to hand MVC its first loss of the season.
Nick Adams, the very successful Harbor coach, calls them the Big Three. “The have a very competitive attitude. I’ve watched them a lot this year and the don’t like to lose. They play harder when the chips are down or when it gets a little bit close. Experience wise the only team that matches up with them is Monte Vista.”
Gaona had drilled with the SC girls some last season with former coach John Wilson and coached many of them at camps directed by boys coach Pete Newell, but the friendships between Wilson and the girls was going to be missed. Gaona said it was a credit to Wilson’s program that there were gifted and dedicated players to form this years team. But there was an adjustment period that probably didn’t end until the win over Monte Vista. “Their world was turned upside down when John left and it took some time for them to warm up,’” said Gaona, a former SC and Cabrillo guard. “John was a very good coach and was very close to them. We both run pretty much the same system, but we’re different coaches. I’m not much of a friend to the girls, like they were used to. I’m more just a coach. There is still some adjustments going on now, but fortunately we all have the same goal, to win league.”
The goal is getting closer to their grasp with each victory. It’s only become possible with the emergence of Hill, Gibbons and the supporting cast, which includes six sophomores and two freshman. Hill has assumed quarterbacking duties and is one of the best passers in the league. Gibbons has continued to spearhead the defense and the fast break. “Natalie has always been a good player, so I would say she is no surprise,” said Kaiser, who primarily played off guard last season, but has moved to small forward to make room for Gibbons. Gaona said, “She has improved a lot. She is always in your face. That’s what I saw in her right from the beginning. She’s got to be the best athlete on the team. Even in practice, everyone hates to be guarded by Natalie. You know when you put her on the others team best offensive player, someone else on their team will have to step it up for them to win.” Hill has graduated to a higher plateau in part, because of her off season regimen. She and Gibbons play in a San Jose league last spring and the Cabrillo College league during the summer with the results being a steady development in each facet of their game.
“Tara definitely caught me by surprise,” said the Monte Vista standout. “I was impressed by her ball handling skills. They both drive the lane well and didn’t seem scared to take the ball to the hoop. Last year, I don’t really remember Tara as being that much of a threat. This year they have three people to worry about rather than just two last year.” “Attacking Monte Vista and winning felt good. That gave us the best rush. We wanted the rest of the league to know,” said Gibbons. The point is crystal clear.

January 27. SC 52, Watsonville 38. Kelly Kaiser scored 17 points to go with 13 rebounds and four steals as SC bumped off the Wildcats. Kaiser had a very good game overall. Defensively, offensively, rebounding wise, she was all over the place,” said coach Gaona. She needed to be as it was a one point game, late in the first half, before SC went on a 8-0 run to close the half. SC limited Watsonville to six points in the third quarter to secure the win. Kali Campbell had nine rebounds. SC is now 16-4 overall and 8-0 in league.

January 31. Cards Fly Past Bucs’ To Kelly Kaiser and her teammates a 59-42 victory over Harbor was more than just another league victory for undefeated SC. It represented an unofficial changing of the guard. Last season, SC broke Harbor’s streak of ten straight SCCAL championships. At this game, SC ended an era, sweeping the regular season series and emphatically proving that the balance of power has shifted. “Harbor had its years,” said Kaiser. “These are SC’s years to set up.” Coach Gaona, “Harbor was the standard in the league. No one else even had a chance. The only question was who’s going to come in second? What we’re trying to do is set the standard. We broke the chain last year, but SC-Harbor is always going to be a big game.”
SC is now 17-4 and 9-0 in league. Harbor couldn’t handle the SC full court trapping zone defense and forced shots the entire game. Harbor committed 25 turnovers, but a jittery SC had 27. When SC plays its game, they are so quick they can transform a normal rebound into a fast break, which they did often. All it takes is a quick outlet pass and players running hard to the proper spaces. It doesn’t hurt to have Kaiser with 18 points and four steals, who may be the leagues quickest player. SC is also has an outstanding passing team with talented role player. For example, 12 players grabbed rebounds and ten scored points. Tara Hill had 11 points, Cori Tom ten and Kali Campbell eight.

February 2. Santa Cruz Girls Clinch Crown. Rout Assures Round Robin Title For Cards in a 60-34 victory over Soquel. In a tribute to the teamwork it took to get this far, all 14 players saw steady play time. Since practice started in November, under a new coach, it took the effort of them all to get at least a share of the SCCAL tile. A smothering SC defense put Soquel out of reach after the first eight minutes of the game. Behind a full court press SC exploded for a 23-4 lead after one quarter. The combination of Tara Hill and Kelly Kaiser did most of the damage, Hill scored 12 points and Kaiser added 13 and seven rebounds.

February 4. Unexpected Source Helps SC Wrap Up Title with its fourteenth straight victory as SC clinched their second straight SCCAL title by defeating SLV 76-34. They got an unexpected performance from Janeen Aldrich, who was one of the four seniors who started the game, responded with career highs in points eight an rebounds with 11. Soji Howe scored a game high 17 points and Natalie Gibbons had 16 points. But what didn’t show in the box score was SC’s crisp passing. “This was our best passing game I’ve seen all year. We were moving the ball and finding the open player. It was unselfish basketball,” said coach Gaona. “I did take over a very successful program, but I was a new coach. I didn’t know whether they would play as hard for me as they did for John Wilson. We did struggle early in the year, but we’ve adjusted and we’re probably playing our best ball right now, said coach Gaona.

February 10. Spotless Record For Cardinals Girls. SC has been rolling along all year, but its never easy to go undefeated in the SCCAL. Rival Monte Vista pushed the Cards hard, but they survived to win 51-49 to go undefeated at 12-0. Monte Vista 9-3 in league and 19-3 overall were hoping to avenge the 53-41 loss to SC on January 19, which broke their 15 game win streak to start the season.
Both teams played aggressively, with big runs, turnovers and hard work inside. MVC held a 47-46 lead with 2:08 left. SC took a timeout and then worked a nice back door play to guard Natalie Gibbons to regain the lead. Then added a foul shot to go up 49-47. MVC went inside for a score to tie it 49-49. Kelly Kaiser was fouled with 15 seconds left, but missed both shots, but got the rebound and kicked it out to Tara Hill, who knocked down the shot from the top of the key for the winning points. Both teams appeared up tight at the start, making numerous turnovers.
SC settled down and went on a 14-1 run to go up 22-9 midway through the second quarter. Then MVC went on a 19-4 run to go ahead 28-26 early in the third quarter. After that both teams took a turn trading the lead. “It was a great game, very physical. They are a bigger team than us and they took advantage,” said coach Gaona. MVC had a 34-23 advantage on the boards. “But we continued to fight with them. We got on the boards when we needed them,” Gaona said. Kaiser’s rebound at the end of the game being the biggest.
Gaono praised Kaiser, Hill and guard Natalie Gibbons, who got a number of fast break hoops. “I don’t think you ever think you can go undefeated. It shows you what teamwork can do for you. I was curious to see how we would react. Give the girls credit. It’s good to know we can come out on top,” Goana said.

Feb.16. Santa Cruz Overcomes Aptos Aces 27 points. Aptos lost to SC in the semifinals of the SCCAL playoff tournament 53-39. Aptos gained an early lead and kept it close at halftime with SC ahead 23-17. Santa Cruz grad Silviano Gaona saw his team recover from a slow first half on its way to staying undefeated against league opponents. After SC adjusted to a half court trap by Aptos, their depth and ability to finish the fast break put them in charge for good. Kelly Kaiser score 19 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.

Sentinel. February 17. Santa Cruz Sweeps Up Titles by winning both the girls and boys SCCAL championships. Girls Leave No Doubt Who’s Best with a 57-46 victory over Monte Vista Christian.
With 16 wins in a row to finish off the regular season, coach Silviano Gaona is guessing his team is going to be seeded in the top three at worst in the CCS Division III tournament. SC is number one in the SCCAL with their win over Monte Vista. “I always felt that we were the better team,” said senior, forward Kelly Kaiser after the Cards (22-4) put away Monte Vista (20-4 ) for the third time in their rugged three game league series. “We were ready for this game.” “ These girls deserve a lot of credit, because they worked their butts off,” said Gaona, who is in only his first year as the SC girls team coach. (A former Card point guard, he has coached the Cardinal freshman boys team) “Were jelling. We’re playing good basketball.” Kaiser said, “We’re going all the way. No one is going to stop us, the way we are playing. We’re mentally strong.”
The turning point in the game was a 11-0 Card run in the third quarter. Card point guard Tara Hill said, “I don’t know what there team chemistry is like, but we just wanted it so bad. We knew they were out to get us.” SC led 26-24 at halftime. Monte Vista was down 27-25 and turned the ball over with 5:30 to play in the third quarter. That was the end of the close game. SC reeled off 11 unanswered points, and four different players score in the run, to go up 37-25 with three minutes to play in the quarter. Over the second and third quarters, SC held MVC to only one field goal for a stretch of 11:50 minutes. MVC made 17 for 50 field goals for 34 percent. Natalie Gibbins led SC with 18 points and nine rebounds, while Kaiser scored 13 and had seven rebounds and Cori Tom added ten points. SC concentrated on closing down MVC’s top scorer and forced them to shoot from outside. It worked, she scored on six points. “They had to prove to us they were going to hit consistently. We played the percentages and it worked out,” Gaona said.

SC the second seed at the CCS Division III lost in the quarterfinals to St. Ignatius.

February 20 Sentinel Athlete of the Week was Kelly Kaiser, who led her team in scoring and rebounding in winning the SCCAL championship tournament. As has been the case all season, Kaiser came up with timely key plays. (all the rest of her honors are close by)

Sentinel season ending stats: for top scorers by place in order, name, games played, total points, high game and average per game.
PL NAME GP TP HG AV
2 Kaiser 28 385 27 13.8
10 Gibbons 28 226 18 8.1
14 Hill 28 204 12 7.3
22 Howe 24 140 17 5.8

Top rebound by place, name, games played, total rebounds, high game and average per game.
PL NAME GP TR HI AV
7 Kaiser 28 190 13 6.8
9 Howe 24 155 13 6.5
16 Campbell 28 152 9 5.4

SC with a 23-5 season record led the league in scoring with 1507 points for a average per game of 53.8. On defense they were third, giving up 1186 points for a 42.4 average scored against.

ALL COUNTY Girls Basketball. Recipe For Success. Kaiser Puts It All Together For Cards. Kelly Kaiser was named the PLAYER OF THE YEAR and Coach Silviano Gaona was named COACH OF THE YEAR. The Sentinel ALL COUNTY first team, included Kaiser as the only Cardinal, but the second team selected two Cardinal seniors Natalie Gibbons and Tara Hill. Kaiser had already proven herself as a junior, when she captured the MVP honors in the SCCAL and the Player of the Year award on the Sentinel’s All Santa Cruz County team. What more could she do? Do it all again. And she has.
Kaiser is going to savor three things more than anything else from this season. 1) beating Monte Vista. 2) beating Monte Vista again. 3) beating Monte Vista for the third time. “Against Monte Vista, we knew they were a good team and it was going to be a tough game. We knew most of their players. Our goal for the season was to win league, which meant we had to beat Monte Vista,” said Kaiser. Kaiser scored a team high 16 points in the first meeting of the series, a 53-41win that stopped the Mustangs’ season starting 15 game win streak. Kaiser turned a tight game around early in the fourth quarter, by hitting a free throw, a 3-pointer and a layin to make it 38-29. SC held on and improved to 14-4 and 5-0 in league. Kaiser was limited to six points in the next meeting, a 51-49 win. A dish off for the winning shot in the last seconds along with some vicious defense, more than made up for the low point total. “I didn’t feel I played the best that I could, but I was still smiling because we won,” Kaiser said. In the SCCAL tournament final against Monte Vista, Kaiser had 13 points and seven rebounds as SC pulled out a 57-46 victory.
“Her biggest goal was always to win. She was never selfish about her playing time, her scoring chances or her stats. She wasn’t worried about that stuff, She was the ultimate team player,” said Coach Gaona. The fact is, Kaiser’s talent was just as impressive as her willpower or leadership. The SLV coach, “With Kelly, she already knew where she was going to go before she got the ball. She knew where the defense was and where her teammates were and what option was the best. Rarely did she get trapped into a bad situation.”
One of the few bad situations Kaiser was stuck with was back in the middle of December after a 51-39 loss to Pinewood. She spoke up at the post-game meeting, which turned into something more than a casual chat. With a 4-3 record and a bit out of sync, the team was at a crossroads. “Her thing was, ‘we’re not a 4-3 team … we shouldn’t be a 4-3 team,’ Coach Gaona said of what Kaiser told the team. “She was frustrated, but what she said wasn’t meant to be anything negative. She brought it up more, because she wanted everyone to do something to change it.” They did and Kaiser’s inspirational performance set the tone for the rest of the season..
In a run down of the other two Cardinal players selected on the second team starting with Natalie Gibbons: Kaiser may have been the all-around impact player that posed the most problems for opponent, but Gibbons was unparalleled as a defensive specialist and was instrumental in the Cards success. Although she hadn’t played a major role her junior year, Gibbons became a vital cog. She scored 18 points in the SCCAL tournament title game against Monte Vista. “She’s the best athlete on our team. She was our defensive spark,” Coach Gaona said.
Tara Hill: SC was able to execute their game plans to near perfection, because of Hill’s expertise at the point position. “The things we wanted to do, to change the game in our favor, it was Tara we went through,” said Coach Gaona. “”She brought the whole thing together for us. She was the leader.” She came through, when SC went to play previously unbeaten Monte Vista, taking a pass from Kaiser and hitting the game winning shot, with seconds left.

Sentinel COACH OF THE YEAR Gaona Fills Shoes Nicely In first Year. Former coach John Wilson had coached the team to the SCCAL title last year and was a dear friend to many of the Card players, left to be the Athletic Director and Coach at Soquel. Many of the players were emotional wrecks, when the news came out that Wilson was leaving. They wanted to repeat as league champs. But Silviano Gaona was able to walk on eggshells the entire season and juggle the psyches of 15 teenage girls. With major assists from assistants Monique Jones and Danny Paz, Gaona led SC to the league crown with a 12-0 record and a 23-5 overall record. For achieving that unenviable transition period, Gaona is coach of the year.
“The thing that kept it all together was we all had the same goal, win the league,” said Gaona, a former SC guard. “That’s what made it work. The main thing is, the girls deserve the credit. They are the ones out there making the plays.” At the start of the season, SC was overshadowed by Monte Vista’s 15 game win streak. But the Cards recovered from their 4-3 start, to win 17 straight games, including all three match-ups with Monte Vista. The undefeated league season was the first since 1983-84, when the program was 14-0 in league and 25-3 overall.
Of the five losses this season, all but one came from either CCS championship teams or Northern California divisional champs. The other was a 68-26 waxing by Buena, one of Southern California’s top teams. “Every single team we lost to was a quality team,” said Gaona. Kaiser, the league MVP and county Player of the Year, said Gaona prepared us well for each outing, The homework paid off especially in their games against Monte Vista. “In practice, Silviano had us running all their plays. That really helped. He deserves a lot of the credit.”

Encore Performance. Kaiser Honored As SCCAL’s Best One More Time. Senior, 5-8 guard, Kelly Kaiser was selected by the league coaches as the PLAYER OF THE YEAR for the second year. Two other seniors, 5-6, guard Natalie Gibbons and 5-4, guard Tara Hill both were selected as first team members, (which is like saying SC had three of the best players in the league) Junior, 5-10, center Soji Howe was picked for the third team. Honorable mentions were Cori Tom and Cali Campbell. Coach Silviano Gaona was COACH OF THE YEAR.
Anything that SC needed this season, Kelly Kaiser was there. Always at the right time and at the right place. “She was the ultimate of what a Most Valuable Player or Player of the Year is supposed to be,” said coach Gaona. “If we needed a steal, she got a steal. If the need was a basket, she got it. If it was just getting the team focused, telling them, ‘lets get it together,’ she did that. She is overall the best player.”
Kaiser led the Cards to a 12-0 league record and two wins in the league tournament last week, has averaged 13.2 points and 6.6 rebounds a game. But rarely played a complete game. “We were ahead of so many teams by 20 or more point, but she never complained. And there were other scorers on the team. If she had needed to be the offensive weapon, she could have averaged in the high teens or 20’s. But she is an unselfish player, If there was someone open, she would give up the ball. She is the ultimate team player,” said Gaona.
COACH of the YEAR Silviano Gaona had the following to say: I wanted us to be successful, for all the seniors. I didn’t want them to not have the successful year they should have. When the preseason started 4-3, I felt some pressure. But I put more pressure on myself than anyone else. I knew we had talent. The players deserve the credit for the Coach of the Year award. They are the ones out there playing the game. It’s really easy to tell them what to do.

JV GIRLS BASKETBALL
Yearbook. The team was mostly freshmen, as a large number of sophomore players went up to the varsity. Under coach Barbara Christiansen the inexperienced team showed a lot of heart and dedication in the face of defeat.

WRESTLING
Yearbook. Six wrestlers went to the CCS meet. A very high number for one school. Senior Mitchell Toshitsune, who was counted on to led the team missed most of the season with a shoulder injury. The slack was picked up by seniors Bart White and Danny Whiting and junior Travis Rowland and sophomore Ryan Deane, who all went to CCS.

December 19. Sentinel Athlete of the Week was Danny Whiting, who grabbed second place in the 160 pound division, despite being unseeded in and elite statewide field at the Coast Classic. Whiting was 4-1 in the two day event, losing only to the seventh place finisher in last years state meet. Whiting was out pointed 10-6, but it was considered a positive result by his coach Ken Pollastrini. “I think, more than anything, he’s more confident in himself now.” Whiting now 12-4 on the season, went 3-0 with two pins the first day.

Trident, March 14. Wrestling Wrap Up. Last years coach Garth Taylor was not able to continue coaching after mid season and former coach Tex Ronning and Ron Mehuron took over. The team started out with 20 wrestlers and midway through the season only half remained.
Senior Danny Whiting, a four year varsity wrestler and one of the most valuable on the squad has a record of 29 wins and 4 losses. He placed in every tournament that he attended. He one first places in the SCCAL meet to be the 160 pound league champion, first in the St. Francis of Mt. View Invitational and first at the Live Oak Invitational. He was second in the highly regarded Coast Classic. He enjoys wrestling because it is a difficult sport and is a true challenge. He plans to continue wrestling in college.
Sophomore Ryan Deane is another SCCAL champion. He has a record of 17 wins and 12 losses. Ryan started wrestling in junior high and plans to continue, because it helps him stay in shape for football and likes the individuality of the sport.
Freshman Luke Pomerantz wrestles in the 103 pound weight class. He placed at the SCCAL meet. He is one of the strongest and most determined wrestlers. In some matches he was giving up 25 pounds. Luke says, “Wrestling helps with other sports and it strengthens you mentally.”
Junior Rudy Barreto is another excellent wrestler on the team. He came out with intense energy and compiled a 10-5 record. For Rudy, wrestling is a good challenge.
Other strong members were seniors: Bart White and Mitchell Toshitsune, junior Travis Rowland, sophomore Ethan Fitzhenry and freshman Manny Kester.

BOYS VARSITY SOCCER
Practice games: In twelve team Watsonville pre-season tournament, Gilroy 3-1, Overfelt 5-1, (three other matches not reported), but Cards went 4-1 for second place. Practice record 7-1-1.
League: Soquel 3-0, 1-0; Aptos 5-0, 2-1 in two OT; SLV 0-3, 4-4; Monte Vista 5-2, 3-1; Harbor 3-1, 2-1; Watsonville Loss, 2-3. League record 8-3-1. Finished second in the league to Watsonville.
CCS Division II first round, defeated Mt. View 1-0 in OT. In quarterfinals, lost to Pioneer 1-3.
Overall record 16-5-2.

Yearbook. The experienced team was led by seniors Jesse Gelwicks, Kumi Rauf, Joel Abraham, Bernardo Xicotencatl and Miguel Heredia. Sol McCormick held together the defense with Ruben Gonzales and the scoring attack was led by Wes Bare, Ivan Wilson and Oscar Monroy, the star exchange student fro El Salvador. Only a few others were listed. They were Jed Brady and Jose Mondecino.

December 13. Sentinel preseason write up. It’s a long shot, but Coach Sergio Sierra said he knows his team can beat Watsonville with superior conditioning. “If we play them and it’s raining, the muddy field takes away from the skillful play of Watsonville. They have superior ball skills, but if those are taken away, by the conditions, we have to find a way to beat them and that’s by being a more powerful and well conditioned team.” SC has some superior talent as well, starting with its two man attacking combination of junior Wes Bare, the outstanding forward of the SCCAL last year and freshman Joey Perez, a member of the US under 15 national team pool.
The Card midfield does well in advancing the ball to the offensive end. That’s the job of junior center halfback Ivan Wilson and sophomore David Cooper. The defense is led by stopper Jesse Gelwich and right side defender Kume Rauf, who possess the speed and stamina to cut down an attack at midfield or recover to regain his position, if he gets beaten. SC 7-1-1 this year has better depth than Watsonville, which leads to confident substitutions. The Cards took Watsonville into a one game playoff for the league title last year before losing .

Sentinel. December 12. At the Watsonville preseason Tournament, SC 3, Gilroy 1. SC joined Watsonville as the only two teams among the 12 team field to have a perfect record after two tournament matches. Coach Sergio Sierra had said winning this match was crucial for SC to advance to the semifinals. SC didn’t disappoint improving to 4-1 record.

Sentinel. December 19. SC 3, Soquel 0. Freshman Joey Perez and Oscar Monroy and junior Wes Bare scored for SC 8-1-1, who kicked off league play in style. Junior goalkeeper Hugo Escalante earned the shutout with the help of stopper Jesse Gelwicks, according to Coach Sierra. Ivan Wilson’s free kick set up Perez on the first goal, a one touch shot from short range two minutes before halftime. Monroy made it 2-0 on a direct kick over a wall of defenders and into the upper corner of the net. “He kicked it with all the confidence in the world, it was beautiful,” Sierra said. Bare beat three defenders on a breakaway shot midway though the second half.

Trident, December 20. Cards beat Overfelt 5-1. Oscar Monroy scored the first goal. The only freshman on the team Joey Perez scored the first goal in the second half. Sophomore David Cooper made it 3-0. No mention of the last two scores.

January 11. Cardinals Shut Out Aptos 5-0. After nearly three weeks without a game, the Cards were itching for action. “We were really antsy to play. We’ve been off for the whole break and we had a bye before the break. We were so eager to play it didn’t matter who the first opponent was, it was going to be domination on our part. At least I felt that way,” said coach Sergio Sierra. Wes Bare got it going just five minutes into the game, scoring on an assist from Bernardo Xilonchotl. Bare made it 2-0 minutes later on an assist from Oscar Monroy. Ivan Wilson’s first goal made it 3-0 at halftime. Wilson and Monroy added second half goals and SC improved to 2-0 in league and 9-1-1 overall.

January 13. SLV 3, SC 0. SLV opened the scoring against SC 9-2-2 overall and 1-1 in league at the 23 minute mark and then scored again with five minutes to play. SLV coach, “It was a hard fought game. SC had many chances to score. Fortunately we converted on the chances we had and held them off. To get a shutout against o team like that is tough.”

January 20. SC 5, Monte Vista Christian 2. SC erupted for four goals in the final 31 minutes. “It was a hard fought game. Monte Vista doesn’t give up. Coach Sierra, “We were up 5-2 and they were still pressing us. We did not cruise.” Monte Vista out shot SC 16-12 and tied the score 2-2, two minutes into the second half. But SC countered two minutes later. Freshman Oscar Monroy was taken down in the box on a breakaway, setting up Wes Bare’s go ahead goal on a penalty kick. Ruben Gonzales followed with another penalty kick score, after he also was taken down. Joey Perez finished off the scoring with two minutes left. The victory lifts SC to 3-2 record and into a three way tie for second place with SLV and Harbor.

January 23. SC 3, Monte Vista 1. Monte Vista could smell upset while leading 1-0 at halftime, but the Cards 11-3-1 overall and 4-2 in league, made defensive adjustments and pulled out the league victory. Sophomore David Cooper, junior Jed Brady and senior Wes Bare had goals within a 15 minute span of the second half. Cooper and Bare scored after being setup on corner kicks by Bernardo Xicotencatl. Coach Sierra credited the second half efforts of stopper Ruben Gonzales, sweeper Sol McCormick and fullback Kumi Rauf for shutting down the Mustangs. Monte Vista out shot SC 13-11.

January 27. SC 1, Soquel 0. Bernardo Xicotencatl’s goal in the twenty- eighth minute of the first half stood up for the Cards. SC 6-2 in league and 13-3-1 overall, relied on their defense in this game and it came through much to Sierras delight, “We’re starting to come around. The defense played a very solid game, stopping any kind of attack. It was really encouraging because we haven’t been the best back there,” said Sierra. Sierra credited stopper Ruben Gonzales and sweeper Sol McCormick for their defensive play. Jose Montesionos making his frist start in goal and recording a shutout.

Soccer Teams To Flee To Watsonville. League coaches meet to figure out a way to save their storm ravaged season. Fields are too wet from the months nearly non-stop rain. The answer seems to be Watsonville, where there has been less rain and the fields are dry enough to handle up to three games a day, starting Saturday. Two fields at Watsonville high plus two fields at E. A Hall Junior High are to be used for SCCAL games. The coaches decided that teams in contention to make the CCS playoffs would get priority playing dates, while other teams would have to get in what games they can.

February 3. SC Boys Top Aptos In Two OT’s 2-1. Sophomore halfback David Cooper fired a a shot through traffic and into the net with four minutes remaining in the second of two ten minute overtimes and preserving SC’s hopes for a sectional playoff berth. SC is 7-2 in league for second place and SLV is third at 5-3. Aptos scored first midway through the first half. Wes Bare nailed a penalty kick goal in the twenty-fifth minute of the second half. Ruben Gonzales assisted on the game winner by Cooper. Coach Sierra said sweeper Sol McCormick and back up goalkeeper Jose Montesinos were standouts.

February 4. Card Boys Air It Out In The Mud. Wet and muddy conditions played havoc with the vaunted passing attack of the Cards, but they adjusted well enough to beat Harbor 3-1. Playing a make up game through a continual downpour, the Cards found passing through standing puddles and mud bogs impossible. “I think the conditions hurt us more, because we like to pass the ball around and keep it on the ground. What you have to do is play the ball through the air and we did that well,” said coach Sergio Sierra.
SC 8-2, 15-3-1 overall, opened the scoring with a goal typical of the entire day. At the 20 minute mark of the first half, the ball got stuck six yards out of the Harbor box and Bernardo Xicotencatl found the Pirate goalkeeper on the ground. Xicotencatl still had to struggle to get a kick off and the ball trickled in. With the score 1-0 at the half, SC came out in command, scoring a goal in the first five minutes, when Wes Bare booted one in left footed. SC went up 3-0 on what Sierra called the prettiest goal of the year. Jose Montestinos fed Oscar Monroy down the right flank about 16 yards out and he unleashed a bullet across the box into the upper left corner. “The keeper couldn’t even get his hand up,” said Sierra, who also credited sweeper Sol McCormick with great play.

February 6. Cats Clinch While SLV, SC Draw. SLV 4, SC 4. An emotional pendulum swung back and forth in a quagmire at SLV. And in the end, there were no winners. Only wet, muddy tired soccer players. SLV coach, “It was a great match.” He watched a victory slip out of reach near the end of regulation, only to see his team scrape together a goal with 10 second left in second overtime to secure a 4-4 tie. The SLV celebration hadn’t even begun before the official blew the whistle ending the game. SLV leading 3-2 near the end of regulation were dealt a
blow, when Oscar Monroy forced overtime with a goal at the 78 minute mark. Coach Sierra, “It was an awesome game.” SC with a 8-2-1 record have one game left in league against unbeaten Watsonville. SLV at 5-3-1 have three games left. Both teams are striving for second place to become eligible for the CCS playoffs. SLV took a 2-0 lead, but SC rallied to tie the score on goals by Bernardo Xicotencati and Monroy before the half.

February 8. Cats Finish League Unbeaten. Cats beat host SC 3-2 to finish league 12-0. Watsonville has now reeled of 23 straight SCCAL victories spanning two seasons. The last defeat came against SC in the league opener last year. Watsonville Coach, “We’ve had a couple of close games, but this one was the closest. The game was scoreless at halftime, but Watsonville score three unanswered goals to earn a comfortable lead. SC scored two late goals by freshman Oscar Monroy and Jose Montesinos. SC finished 8-3-1, but clinched second place to get an automatic bid to CCS playoffs.

Trident, March 14 After losing their last two games, this game with Harbor was a must win. Harbor took a 1-0 lead in the first half. The officiating was sub par, but nothing can be done
about it, so the team had to step it up. In the second half freshman Joey Perez made a corner shot to the muddy goal box area with bodies falling. Wes Bare got a great touch by the keeper in the mess four yards out and placed it over the keepers head in the first ten minutes of the second half to tie the score. Later many shots were deflected off the goal post and bar. On the second goal, Wes Bare came down the wing and shot the ball in the net to win the match 2-1.

Trident, March 21. Watsonville defeated SC 3-2 to win league and put SC in the second spot, which qualifies them for the CCS playoffs. The first Card goal was scored by freshman Oscar Monroy on a free kick from the left side into the right side of the net. Three minutes later Jose Montesinos put the ball into the right corner, but too little time remained to tie the score.

February 14. Cardinals Sloppy, But Effective. With a diving header by freshman Oscar Monroy, SC discounted any notion that the Cards didn’t deserve to win. Often sloppy and often unfocused, SC proved that beauty doesn’t matter, only the final score a 1-0 victory over Mt. View in the first round of the CCS Division II playoffs. Though Mt. View controlled much of the play, it lacked the finish of Monroy, who nailed a perfect crossing pass from Bernardo Xicotencatl eight minutes into the first of two 10 minute overtimes to set up a second round meeting with top seeded Pioneer. “He put it in the only place he could, low and under the keeper. A great shot,” Coach Sierra said.
The goal came on a resurgence in the Cards play. Moments before, Dave Cooper looped a shot toward the far post that bounced off the crossbar. It was evident that Sierra’s season long emphasis on conditioning has paid off. For the first two weeks of practice, the players never saw a soccer ball. When they weren’t running, they were preparing to run. It was tough, but Cooper said that because of it, the team is in better condition than any opponent. Fitness leads to confidence. “Our strength is our ability to pull it out,” Cooper said. That certainly was the case against Mt. View, who bombarded the SC end in the first half with long balls that found gaps in the defense. Mt. View missed open net shots three times before SC adjusted, adding a fifth defender Sol McCormick.
SC was without Wes Bare, who will not be able to play until February 24. Two freshmen took his place up front, Monroy and Joey Perez. Sierra may use a third attacker, Jed Brady in the next game. Monroy, who immigrated from El Salvador nine months ago, has the mentality of a scorer.

February 18. Bitter Loss To Pioneer For Cards. Top seeded Pioneer eliminated the Cards 3-1. Coach Sergio Sierra was not at all pleased. He feels his team outplayed Pioneer and he can’t understand why they were seeded first with a record of 11-7-4. The Cards were seed eighth with a 16-4-2 record. Pioneer took a 1-0 lead in the first five minutes, but SC tied it up on Jose Montecinos’ goal in the tenth minute. Pioneer added two more first half goals to seal the win. Wes Bare and David Cooper were not able to play. “We missed some open net goals and we let in some goals and under ten team probably wouldn’t let in. It was that bad. It was sickening,” said Sierra. SC played the second half one man down, due to a red card ejection to Oscar Monroy. One bright spot for SC, which finished the season 16-5-2 was the play of senior Bernardo Xicotencatl. “He had his best game of the year. He was unbelievable,” Sierra said.

Febrauary 22. Three Cards made the ALL SCCAL first team. Juniors Wes Bare a forward and Ivan Wilson a midfielder. Freshman Oscar Monroy a forward. Honorable mention were Bernardo Xicotencali, Jesse Gilwicks, David Cooper, Ruben Gonzales and Joey Perez

JV BOYS SOCCER no information

GIRLS VARSITY SOCCER
In the preseason the Cards played Cupertino, Lincoln 2-1, Menlo Atherton, Overfelt and North Monterey for a practice record of 2-3. (do not have individual scores for four)
League: Harbor 0-2, 0-3; Soquel 1-0, 1-0 in OT; SLV 1-3, 1-2 in overtime; Monte Vista 3-0, 1-0; Watsonville 3-1, 2-1; Aptos won, loss. League record 7-5. Overall record 9-8.

Yearbook. The girls had a lot of heart. After many rainouts, the team was forced to play five games in the last week of league play. A tough loss to Aptos, kept the team from qualifying for CCS.
Seniors Heather Tyler, Naomi Rothman and Emily Street led the team. Naomi led a powerful offense, but due to injury, she was unable to play in some important games. Cara Shumate and Shannon Griggs stepped in to take her place. Emily Street led the defense with the help of Francine Lynch and Anne Rentz. Heather Tyler was a standout goalie. Coach Jose Sierra said, “Heather’s cleats will be hard to fill next year and I will deeply miss all the seniors. I‘ve never seen so much heart.”

December 1. Santa Cruz Girls Net First Win Of Season. Shannon Griggs scored both goals for SC, who edged Lincoln of San Jose 2-1 for their first win of the season after dropping their first two games. Griggs scored from 18 feet in the first half on a throw in and the Cards led 1-0 at halftime. Lincoln tied it up early in the second half. Griggs was awarded a penalty kick halfway through the half, when she was tripped in the penalty box. She made the kick and SC had the win. “Our entire defense played well,” said Coach Jose Sierra.

December 12. Sentinel Soccer Preview. Last seasons runner up SC, is expected to have an impact in league. With two freshmen and four sophomores in the starting lineup, SC is young and inexperienced and with only 14 players on the roster, depth is limited. “But we do have talent,” coach Jose Sierra says. “Despite losing 12 players from last season, I don’t want it to be a rebuilding year. Naomi Rothman is a senior returning all league player, who is one of the best center halfbacks in the league.”
Two other seniors, stopper Emily Street and goalkeeper Heather Tyler, need to be leaders, along with Ellen Sherrill, a junior forward. Two top sophs are returning starter Francine Lynch, moving to sweeper from fullback an Shannon Griggs at forward. Annie Rentz is a sophomore stopper, who fractured a check bone in the preseason and is waiting for clearance to play again. Kaya Schonick is one of the freshmen, starting a the outside fullback. Consistency is a key. “”When you have a team this young, everyone has to stay focused and things will work out,” said Sierra.
Coaches have noticed a wave of young talent jumping into the varsity rosters. There seems to be freshmen and sophomores running around, fast all over the place. “The talent that is coming out is amazing. It shows how the league is progressing. Compared to other leagues, even over the hill, in Santa Clara Valley, we are crushing some of those teams.,” Coach Sierra.

Trident, December 20. In the preseason the Cards played Cupertino, Lincoln, Menlo Atherton, Overfelt and North Monterey. There record was 2-3. Then in their first league game against Harbor they lost 2-0.

Sentinel. December 20. SC Kickers Scratch To Beat Soquel 1-0. This game was as close as the score indicates. Cara Shumate’s shot past the goalkeeper with five minutes remaining in the game was the difference. “You have to give credit to the visiting Knights,“ said Coach Jose Sierra. “No one really dominated. I think the shots per goal were pretty even. It just went our way this time, because of some hard work from the team.” The goalie moved out from the goal to defend Naomi Rothman, but Rothman made the through pass to Shumate, who tapped in the game winner. SC goalie Heather Tyler was supported in the shutout by defenders Julie Dryden, Kaya Schonick, Francine Lynch and Emily Street. Ellen Sherrill was ill and was missed.

January 12. SLV 3, SC 1. SLV went out to a 3-0 lead in the first half. SC 2-2 in league, changed its lineup at halftime and Ellen Sherrill scored quickly to make it 3-1. SLV coach, “I was nervous because hey had us on our heels in the second half. In the end our defense came through.”

January 24. Harbor with six seniors in their fourth varsity season is undefeated and kept it going with a 3-0 win over the Cards. SC goalkeeper Heather Tyler had 14 saves.

Sentinel. January 26. SC Nets Winner In OT, defeating Soquel 1-0. The ball caught the defense off guard and the shot was perfectly placed. The teamwork between Emily Street and Ellen Sherrill resulted in the winning goal with six minutes left in the second overtime. Street gained possession near midfield and chipped a pass over the flat footed defense and into the path of Sherrill, stomping through a muddy pitch to reach the ball. One on one against the standout Soquel goalkeeper, Sherrill worked a fake rather than taking an immediate shot and found room to her left. She left footed it into the far corner. “It was a nice play all the way around,” said Coach Jose Sierra. “Sometimes that pass is either too soft or too hard and you don’t’ get your teammates a chance to receive the ball.” Street was playing stopper, but was pressing forward at the time. Sherrill, a junior, has scored four of the Cards six goals in league. Sierra said, SC 3-3 had most of the play, but Soquel threatened with some breakaways. Outside fullback Julie Dryden was impressive in limiting Soquel’s opportunities.

January 30. Santa Cruz Beats Monte Vista 3-0. Getting healthy and hoping to make a run for the playoffs, SC used the Rothman-Sherrill connection to win. “Now we are starting to play with a little more confidence,” said Coach Jose Sierra, whose team is 4-3 in league in third place behind co-leaders, Harbor and SLV. “We have to put together two wins. Everything is starting to go for us.” Ten minutes into the first half, Naomi Rothman’s corner kick was rebounded back to her and she nailed it into the upper corner. In the second half, Rothman’s pass set up Ellen Sherrill for an easy goal and an 2-0 lead at 11 minutes. Then at 20 minutes, another Rothman corner kick got loose and Sherrill one touched it from point blank range for the third goal. SC lost twice to Harbor and once to SLV. Only the top two teams in the league are guaranteed spots in the CCS playoffs. Sierra hopes his team can either move up to second or earn a wild card spot. “Right now we are healthy. We were sick before. I think we can only move forward,” Sierra said.

February 5. Soccer Teams On Tough deadline. Both SC soccer teams have five games to play in six days and are unable to play on their own field, because of weather and field conditions. The boys are in second place and the girls are tied for third and must play these games to have the chance to make the CCS playoffs.

February 6. Cardinal Star Hurt in Win. After a 3-1 victory over Watsonville, Coach Jose Sierra waited to here about injured star Naomi Rothman. It was a slightly torn ligament in her right ankle that could keep her out for the season. Faced with the prospect of playing five games this week due to wet and muddy conditions that forced cancellations, the Cards 5-3, now see an uphill battle without Rothman. Rothman had a goal and an assist before her injury. Ellen Sherrill and Shannon Griggs added the other tallies.

February 7. SLV 2, SC 1 in overtime. SLV clinches CCS playoff spot as the league second place team. Holding onto a 2-1 lead for the last 12 minutes of overtime was harder for the Cougars than the first 8 minutes of overtime or the two regulation halves. SLV coach, “We had to rely on our defense. We were hanging on in what was a very intense game.” “This one is going to be hard to swallow,” said coach Sierra. SC dropped to 5-4 and has three more games to play, Sierra figures the Cards must win all three of the remaining games to have a chance to make the CCS playoff as an at large team. Eight minutes into the game, SLV found a loose ball in the mud and popped in a unassisted goal for a 1-0 lead. At 21 minutes into the half, SC tied the score on a Ellen Sherrill shot from 20 yards out after taking a pass from Francine Lynch. Lynch moved to offense from defense to replace the injured Naomi Rothman. “I think we out played them. Unfortunately, we wound up losing,” Sierra.

February 9. SC 2, Watsonville 1. If SC can finish the season standing, it may have a shot at a CCS at large playoff berth. SC 6-4 completed their third of five matches this week, including their third over a three day stretch. They have won two so far, but coach Jose Sierra believes SC must go 4-1 this week to have a chance at advancing. The Cards have a 10 a.m. game with Aptos on Saturday and Coach Sierra will head to the CCS seeding meeting in San Jose right after the game. Shannon Griggs and Cara Shumate made his job easier. Griggs broke a scoreless tie five minutes into the second half with an unassisted goal. Shumate gave SC a 2-0 lead on a rebound of Kaya Shonick’s long shot. SC allowed a goal with ten minutes left, but hung in against a winless team. “We’re getting tired. We have two subs and that’s it. You can tell their legs are getting weak. Hopefully, they can hold up for two more games,” Sierra.

February 10. After Fourth Game Of Week, SC Girls Still In Hunt. With one game remaining in their most brutal week of the season, SC is still alive in the playoff picture. Ellen Sherrill scored from 35 yards on a pass from Priya Campbell with four minutes to go in the second overtime, as the exhausted Cards staved off feisty Monte Vista 1-0. SC playing for a CCS at large berth, had more opportunities than the Mustangs in regulation. “We controlled the game about 80 percent of the time, their keeper played a solid game,” said Jose Sierra, whose Cards are 7-4 in league play, heading into the final game of league today against Aptos. Monte Vista almost scored late in the second half, stopped only by a brilliant save by Annie Rentz, who slid in to knock the shot away after the goalie had left the box. “I told the girls before the game, to just accept the fact that every game will be difficult for us,” Sierra said also the Emily Street turned in a fine game and that fan support served as further motivation in overtime.

February 23. The Cards had three starters on the ALL SCCAL first team. Senior defensive players Naomi Rothman and Emily Street. Junior forward Ellen Sherrill. Honorable mention were Shannon Griggs, Cara Shumate, Heather Tyler, Priva Campbell, Francine Lynch and Annie Rentz. Coach Jose Sierra was selected COACH OF THE YEAR.

BASEBALL
Practice games: Riordon of San Francisco won, Los Altos won, Gonzales 8-3 Capuchino Tournament: Burton of San Francisco 20-3
League: Soquel two loses, Monte Vista 2-1
League record 5-7 tie for fourth. Overall record 10-9.

Yearbook. Roster: Sule Edmonds, Wes Bare, Chuck Lynn, Andy Stumpf, Ruben Gonzales, Kenyette Edmonds, Tyler Masamori, Nigel Miller, Noah Kerrigan, Ben Begandy, Brad Canepa, Ryan Delong and Jason Cardoza. Head coach Mark Hodges and assistants Mike DiTano and Steve Pacheco.

Sentinel preseason write up. Coach: Mark Hodges, second season. Last years record 6-16-1 overall and 3-9 in league for seventh place. Key juniors were Wes Bare, SS/P; Brad Canepa, 2B; Andy Stumpf, C; Jason Cardoza, OF/P; Ruben Gonzales, OF. Sophomore, Nigel Miller, SS. Scouting report: Hodges will have to rely on a squad largely comprised of juniors. In his second year, he hopes to work on establishing some stability in the program. Despite a lack of varsity experience, Hodges is planting seeds for longevity. Bare is the only player with any awards last year, as he was an honorable mention All League. Most of the players were on the JV team last year. Hodges said the defense has looked sharp and noted that Miller is an outstanding shortstop.
As far as pitching goes, Hodges said, “We will be pitching by committee, everyone is going to help out. The team has good speed and have shown the ability to play as a cohesive unit. The lineup may lack power, but could make up for it with speed and smarts on the base paths. Coach’s outlook: “This team will be more a reflection of the coaching than the previous year. This team is willing to put side personal spats for victories. If you to that these days, that’s saying something.”

Trident, April 25. This years team is starting with a new attitude and many new faces. Mark Hodges a former Cardinal is back for his second year as head coach and has two former Cards Steve Pacheco and Mike DiTano to assist. These three coaches bring with them a high level of knowledge and experience, along with an extreme enthusiasm for the game. Jimmy Jones will fill the role as number one pitcher with an overpowering fastball an unforgiving curve. Brad Canepa, Ryan Delong and Wes Bare will relieve and start for the small but powerful SC pitching staff. Senior Ben Begandy, in his first year at SC, will play third base and add a consistent bat to the lineup. Sophomore Nigel Miller will play shortstop, to make the left side of the infield solid. Canepa and Bare will play second. Jones and Sule Edmond will play first. Junior Jason Cardoza in his second year on the varsity has a good arm and mobility in center field.
The Cards have started out strong going 3-1 preseason with wins over Riordan of San Francisco, Los Altos and Gonzales. SC started league shaky with a loss against Soquel. But bounced back behind the pitching of Brad Canepa with a strong win over Aptos. Jimmy Jones pitched a complete game win over Monte Vista 2-1 to set up a three way tie for first with Harbor and Soquel. SC does not have the strength to be a powerhouse, so they stress fundamentals and work toward playing error free baseball. With no one dominant player, success will require hard work from all the players.

Sentinel. March 10. SC 8, Gonzales 3. Starting pitcher Jason Cardoza picked up the victory for SC, which improved to 3-1 in non-league games. Cardoza allowed two runs in his three innings of work, giving up three hits and striking out five. Chris George and Jimmy Jones finished up on the mound. George also drove in two runs with a fourth inning single. Ruben Gonzalez went 2 for 3 with a stolen base and two runs scored.

Sentinel March 30. Card Right-hander Holds Off Mustangs in 2-1 win. Jimmy Jones kept Monte Vista off balance all game, then it was he who slipped. Jones, a senior right-hander, recovered from a shaky start in the seventh inning, Friday night to strike out the final two batters and preserve a complete game victory. After he’d subdued a potent line up by hitting the strike zone with a variety of pitches, Jones hit a batter and walked another in the top of the seventh. With runners on first and third and just one out, Coach Mark Hodges showed faith in Jones, by letting him finish the game. “When a kid works like that, he deserves to win it or lose it. He had a couple of bad breaks, but we were going to go with him all the way,” said Hodges. Jones finished with six strikeouts, surrendered just four hits and showed Hodges that SC 2-1 in league and 5-2 overall has a starter that can go the distance. “It was one of my better pitching games of the year,” said Jones, who held the middle of the lineup to one hit. SC scored in the bottom of the fourth, when Kenyatte Edmonds walked and stole second. With two outs, his brother Sule hit an infield single, barely beating the throw to first. Kenyatte rounded third an headed home without hesitating, catching the Mustang defense napping. He scored easily.

April 6. SC 20, Burton 3.. The Cardinals exploded for 20 runs on 14 hits in their biggest offensive output of the season, routing Burton of San Francisco with a 6-3 record in the first round of the Capuchino Tournament. Brad Canepa went the distance for SC with a 8-3 now, allowing six hits and three runs. None of Burtons runs were earned. Jason Cardoza went 3 for 5 and 4 RBI’s and two runs. Sule Edmonds went 2 for 4 with 3 RBI’s and 4 runs. Wes Bare added a triple and an RBI.

April 20? Soquel won in 12 innings

Harbor beat Soquel to take the league lead, but then SC upset them in the last game of the year to give Soquel its fifth straight league title.

Sentinel end of the season baseball stats. Hitting stats by place in order, name, at bats, RBI’s and average above .260..
PL NAME AB RBI AV
20 Gonzales 45 5 .333
26 Cardoza 55 16 309
29 Begandy 37 6 .297
33 K. Edmonds 49 4 .286
42 S. Edmonds 53 9 .264

Bare was second in triples with 2. Sule Edmonds had 9 steals and brother Kenyetta had 7 steals.
SC with a 10-9 record was last in hitting with a team batting average of .243 and 70 RBI’s, but they also played the fewest games.

Pitching stats by place in order, name, wins and losses, innings pitched, walks, strike outs and ERA. A pitcher had to pitch an average of one inning per game.
PL NAME W/L IP W SO ERA
1 Jones 1-5 41 27 27 1.35 Jones had two saves
4 Bare 3-1 39 15 12 1.79
8 Canepa 4-2 29 29 19 2.39

SC had the best team pitching ERA in the county. In 133 innings the Cards gave up 129 hits, 99 runs, 84 walks, has 73 strike outs an ERA of 2.01, which is very good.

On the Sentinel ALL COUNTY team, SC had one player on the second team, who was senior pitcher Jimmy Jones with a 1.35 ERA. A 1969 SC grad, Rod Fleming a three sport athlete and All League baseball player, who has been coaching Harbor for five years, was selected Coach of the Year as his team ended up being upset by SC in the last game of the year taking away a Harbor co-championship.

May 21. Senior, infielder Ben Begandy a .330 hitter was selected for the ALL SCCAL first team. Ruben Gonzales and Wes Bare were selected on the second team. Jimmy Jones and Sule Edmonds were honorable mention.

JV BASEBALL
Yearbook. Roster: Apollo Terry, Adam Karon, Matt Windt, Jeff Cook, Morgan Pena, Reed Santee, Eric Noller, John Howell, Chris George, Django Whittington, Mike Litel, Caylin Tardiff, Nick Doan and Ben Levi. Head coach Barry Bariteau and assistant Mario.

GIRLS SOFTBALL SCCAL CHAMPIONS SECOND CONSECUTIVE YEAR
Practice games: Twin Creek Tournament: won two games, Monterey 1-2, Presentation 0-2. Live Oak Tournament: Palo Alto 3-2, Alisal 13-0, St. Francis of Mt. View 3-2, Willow Glen 6-0. Practice record
League: Soquel 2-1, 7-0; Harbor 1-0, 4-0; Aptos 4-2 in ten innings, win; SLV 1-4, win; MVC 5-4 in 12 innings, 5-1; Watsonville win, 7-0. League record 11-1.

Yearbook. Aimee Ghio, Naomi Rothman, Kelly Kaiser, Allie George, Brenna Williams, Heather Tyler, Erin Hichman, Kalra Valdess, Alicia Flores, Kara Hallam, Megan Eastman, Katie Hintz, Anita Fearnley and Jen Cummings. Head coach Vic Miguel and assistant Dina Avila.

Trident, April 25. The starting lineup is Anita Fearnley C, Jennifer Cummings P, Brenna Williams 1B, Kelly Kaiser 2B, Naomi Rothman SS, Aime Ghio 3B, Ali George LF, Katie Hintz CF and Kara Hallum RF. Other outfielders are Heather Tyler, Alicia Flores, Carla Valdez, Erin Heichmann and Meghan Eastman.

Sentinel. March 9. Pitcher Shines For SC. Jennifer Cummings supported her own three hitter by blasting the game winning hit, a two out single up the middle in the top of the sixth inning to lead the Cards to a 2-1 win at the Twin Creeks tournament. Cummings struck out ten and walked none to help the Cards to a 2-0 record. She retired the side in order in the sixth and struck out the first two batters in the seventh, then allowing a single. She got the last out by inducing a popup to third to end the inning and game. SC produced both its runs with help from sacrifice bunts. Naomi Rothman moved Amy Ghio along to set up the winning run. In the second inning, Brenna Williams bunted Katie Hintz along and Hintz scored on a pass ball.

March 20. Cummings Hurls Two Hitter To Get Cards Rolling. Even though Cummings lost her shutout with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning, she wound up with a two hitter as SC opened defense of its SCCAL championship with a 2-1 win over Soquel. Cummings, a senior who was the SCCAL Player of the Year last season struck out ten and walked two. SC with a 4-3 record, scored an unearned run in the second. Cummings singled in the inning and Brenna Williams doubled. In the third Kelly Kaiser drew a one out walk, moved to second on a single by Naomi Rothman and scored on a single by Katie Hintz.

March 24. Live Oak Tournament. Palo Alto 3 2; Alisal 13-0; St. Francis of Mt. View 3-2 and Willow Glen 6- 0. Cummings registered three of the four wins and Williams picked up the other as SC endured a long day of softball to prevail undefeated. Cumming also had multiple hits in three of the games and Williams drove in the game winning run in the St. Francis game. The bats stayed hot for SC, now 9-4, who got two hits from Hintz and two RBI’s from Cara Hallum in the Palo Alto game. Kelly Kaiser had two hits and two RBI’s in the Alisal game to along with Any Ghio’s 3 for 3 with three RBI’s. Ghio and Anita Fearnley added an RBI apiece in the Willow Glen win.

April 17. SC 1, Harbor 0. Cummings pitched a one hitter, an infield single in the sixth. SC 4-1, moved into second place. Cummings struck out nine and walked two. SC scored in the third inning. Ghio reached base on a throwing error, was sacrificed to second by Rothman and took third on a pass ball. With Cummins at the plate, Ghio attracted a pick off throw from the catcher and the ball trickled about ten feet away and coach Miguel, who serves as third base coach, didn’t hesitate to send Ghio home for the eventual winning run.

April 19. Another One Hitter For Cardinal Hurler. It’s hard to believe Cummings has yet to throw a no hitter this season, but she came close, hurling her second consecutive one hitter. She struck out nine and walked two, giving up only a fifth inning one out single, to led SC to a 7-0 victory over Soquel. SC scored multiple runs in each of the first three innings, leading 7-0 after three. Kaiser sparked the two run first with a leadoff bunt single and scored on Rothman’s single. Rothman drove in two more runs in the third inning with a double. Kaiser, Rothman, Cummings and Erin Hickman each had two hits for SC which is now 14-7 overall and 5-1 in league, a game behind first place Monte Vista.

Sentinel. April 23. Athlete of the Week was Jennifer Cummings, junior right-hander, threw a pair of one hit shutouts in two SC wins. “She is just amazing, incredible,” said coach Vic Miguel of Cummings who struck out 18 and walked only four in 14 innings pitched. In her past five games, she has pitched 34 innings, given up nine runs, only two earned, on 14 hits with 38 strikeouts and 13 walks. “She’s definitely on a roll, said Miguel of Cummings, who is now 12-6 overall with a 0.27 ERA. “Her stamina and concentration is tremendous.” But she isn’t resting on her accomplishments. She is still working on a couple of her pitches. She attempts to improve on her quality of pitching in ever game.” Against Harbor, Cummings gave up an infield single in the sixth inning, while against Soquel, she allowed a single in the fifth.

As of April 23, the Sentinel has SC softball with a 14-7 record, ranked seventh of schools in Santa Cruz and Monterey county’s.

April 24. Cardinals Score Two In Tenth To Avoid Upset. Aptos with only one win in league really challenged the Cards. SC now 15-7 overall and 6-1 in league, finally picked up two runs in the top of the tenth inning to hold off a determined Aptos 4-2. Cummings went all 10 innings as did the Aptos pitcher. After three innings the teams were tied 2-2. In the seventh inning, the Aptos centerfielder made a diving catch to save a run and send the game into extra innings. In the tenth, Brenna Williams got on through an error and took second on a pass ball. A single by Anita Fearnley sent her to third, Erin Hickman’s infield grounder drove in Williams with the go ahead run. Kaiser then singled in Fearnley to make it 4-2. The Mariners led twice, 1-0 in the first on a bunt single with two out and a triple. Aptos went up 2-1 in the second on a double and an error. Cummings went 2 for 3 with a home run, while Kaiser went 2 for 6 and Fearnley 2 for 4.

April 29. Cummings In The Clutch. Santa Cruz Beats Mustangs In twelfth Inning. Given the stage to help SC win the biggest game of the year, Jennifer Cummings gave a performance of her life. She hit the game winning home run in the top of the twelfth inning and pitched five shutout innings to out duel Monte Vista’s ace as the Cards triumphed 5-4 in completion of a suspended game. The game was tied 4-4, when it was suspended because of darkness on March 29.
Therefore the action on this day was sudden death. Cummings, who struck out three, pitched a near flawless five innings. Only a walk and a soft single prevented perfection. She retired the last three batters in order, two of whom hit balls back to her. “I wanted this game really bad. Because it puts us back in first place,” Cummings said. Cummings was also the vocal leader of the rally tunes in the dugout. She stood on the bench throughout each SC at bat, firing up her teammates. With plenty on the line for both teams, the game maintained a championship like level of play.
Both teams played error free defense and both pitchers were ahead in the count often. SC collected six hit, but most of them were with two outs. Monte Vista’s only scoring threat came in the bottom of the eighth, on a walk, steal and pass ball put the runner on third. As Cummings walked back to the mound following the pass ball, the runner tried to catch her off guard and headed to the plate. But Cummins spotted her out the corner of her eye and applied the tag for the out. “We played excellent defense. I feel comfortable with the defense behind me,” said Cummings. Hintz, Alli George and Cummings were the only players in the extra innings to have multiple hits.

May 1. Cardinals Slide Safely–Into First Place. Cummings Quiets MVC With One Hitter. There has been only one glaring difference between SC and MVC softball teams this season, Jennifer Cummings. With her, SC has beaten MVC twice in seven days and with three games remaining, is on track to win its second straight SCCAL championship. “She is a classy player and a great player,” said the MVC coach, after Cummings pitched a one hitter and drove in three runs in the Cards 5-1 win. “I guess if they win the title, you have to say she’s the player of the Year.”
“Jennifer again was the difference,” said coach Vic Miguel, whose team jumped into first place in the SCCAL at 8-1 and 17-7 overall. MVC is 8-2 and 17-10 overall. Cummings, a junior right-hander also bats fourth in the batting order, allowed only four balls out of the infield and a single in the top of the sixth inning. She wasn’t dominating, with only four strikeouts, but walked only one and she allowed only four base runners.
“I think we’re coming together more as a team right now,” said Cummings, who last Wednesday hit a home run to beat MVC. Sometimes it’s been just defense and no offense or just the opposite. But when we combine the two, we are a hard team to beat,” She made it even harder for MVC in the bottom of the first inning. After Kelly Kaiser led off with a single and Naomi Rothman’s one out bunt was thrown to second base too late to get Kaiser, the stage was set.
Cummings against the MVC ace pitcher, her number on adversary. The night before the game, she and her dad had talked about what to do at the plate. “She has thrown me at least one changeup, every time at bat,” Cummings said. Her dad told her to widen her stance, keep her weight back and wait for the changeup. It came on the second pitch. Cummings drilled the ball over the head of the left fielder to drive in Kaiser and Rothman for a 2-0 lead.
In the third inning, with runners on s second and third, they went after Cummings again and lost. A wild pitch allowed Aimee Ghio to score and the Cummings hit an outside fast ball to right field for a sacrifice fly and a 4-0 lead. In the fifth inning, with a runner on second and two outs, MVC intentional walked Cummings and got the next batter. “We needed to hit the ball,” Cummings said of the Cards aggressive approach to the game. “We did that and the defense came through.” the only lapse defensively was a dropped fly ball and a wild throw allowed MVC to score their only run.
MVC hit several hard hit balls right to the fielders as they kept battling. MVC has lost only four times in the SCCAL the past two years, each time to SC and Cummings. MVC led in their first meeting this season 4-0, only to see the Cards rally for four runs in the seventh inning, then lose it later.

Cats Blanked By Cummings 7-0. SC Half-Game Up On Monte Vista. It’s beginning to look routine for Cummings. Another shutout. Two hits allowed. No walks. Seven strikeouts. Ho-hum. SC broke the game open in the third inning with three runs on two extra base hits. Erin Hickman reached first on an error and was plated by Kaisers triple. Kaiser came home on a single by Ghio and Rothman’s double put the final nail on the coffin. SC committed only one error and made several fine defensive plays. In the fifth, right fielder Kara Hallam backed up a play at first and threw out the runner trying for third. In the seventh left fielder Allie George made a spectacular shoe string catch of a sinking liner. Brenna Williams went 3 for 3. SC is 9-1 in league and 18-7 overall.

The Sentinel ALL COUNTY selections included Jennifer Cummings as the PLAYER OF THE YEAR. She was also included on the first team along with senior second baseman, Kelly Kaiser with a .284 batting average. On the second team was senior shortstop Naomi Rothman average of .302.

Aimee Ghio has started her fourth year on the softball team. In the past she has been a big part of the great seasons SC has had. She attributes much of her success to her team, “It’s like we’re a family, we work together perfectly. Without the people on the team, I wouldn’t be half the player I am now.” Aimee has been honored with many awards. Her junior year, she was award first team ALL SCCAL and Sentinel ALL COUNTY honors. And also was on the Sentinel ‘Dream Team’ as the third baseman. Her memorable athletic moment was being selected the player of the game against Watsonville that was televised. Her greatest sports influence was Jessica Lang a standout SC softball player, who received a scholarship to Michigan.

JV GIRLS SOFTBALL no information

TRACK BOYS and TRACK GIRLS
Boys dual meets: Aptos 49-58, Soquel 42-88, Monte Vista 81-63, Watsonville 70-56, SLV 67-69, Harbor ?.
Girls dual meets: Aptos 34-82, Soquel 43-77, Monte Vista 45-41, Watsonville 45-41, SLV and Harbor ?

Yearbook shows a picture of both teams together, but no names or no write up. A few pictures listed John Howard, Heidi Brockman, Lee Keiser-Allen, Jeff Truhitte, Katie David and Saha.

Sentinel preseason write up, March 7. As a whole, the SCCAL seems to be stocked with quality athletes. David Kessler returns for SC as a distance runner. He finished ranked fifth in the 800 in 2:05.4 and fourth in the 1,600 in 4:39.4 as a junior. Heidi Brockmann returns to anchor the hurdles.

Sentinel May 5. At the SCCAL track and Field finals at Soquel, the Knights won the championship with 139 points to SLV’s 109. In a three man blanket finish in the 100, John Howard took second place. Three runners were timed within 0.06 of each other.
GIRLS: Harbor won the championship with 139 points followed by Soquel 126 and SLV 121. (no mention of SC)

May 24. CCS Track and Field Championships. The lone Card placing was Kumi Rauf with a long jump of 21-11 3/4 for a personal best jump to take sixth place. Rauf tried in vain for a mammoth jump on his final try, but overextended his stride. He took off a foot behind the board, but from point-to-point, it was clearly a jump in the mid 22 foot range, though it amounted to only 20-8 in the books. Only the first three places move on to state.

May 19. At the CCS track and field semifinals at San Jose City College, senior Kumi Rauf was spotted with a friends 3 ½ foot Python around his neck, on purpose after long jumping a personal best 21-4 ¾ to qualify for the CCS finals.
Since Rauf dedicated himself to track midway through the season, SC coach Chris Trammel has seen an improvement and said Rauf’s best jumping was still to come.
Rauf’s teammate, owner of the python and best friend since second grade, Joel Abraham, will not join him. Abraham, nursing a pulled left calf muscle, appeared to jump a lifetime best in the triple jump, believed to be more than 42 feet, but fouled by half an inch. His best of 42-2 was not enough to qualify.

May 18. CCS Track Semis A Golden Opportunity. Card athletes to qualify for the meet are Joel Abraham in the triple jump; Lee Keyser-Allen in the pole vault and Kumi Rauf in the long jump. No girl athletes reached this far.

At the CCS qualifying meet at San Jose City College, Kumi Rauf achieved a personal best in the long jump at 21-11 for a sixth place finish. Rauf tried in vain for a mammoth jump on his final try, but overextended his stride. He took off a foot behind the board, but from point to point, it was clearly a jump in the mid 22 foot range, though it amounted to only 20-8 in the books.

DUAL MEETS AND EXTRA’S
Sentinel April 5. Aptos 58, SC 49. SC appeared to win the meet 69-58, but was deducted 20 points when it was discovered that quadruple winner John Howard had participated in five events, one over the limit. Howard won the 110 meter high hurdles, 300 intermediate hurdles, 100 and 200. But he was also a member of the 400 relay team that dropped the baton and was disqualified. Howard apparently though the relay would not count because of the disqualification. David Kessler won both distance races, winning the 1,600 in 5:10.4 and the 800 in 2:18 and was not pushed in either.
GIRLS: Aptos 82, SC 34. (no information on SC)

April 19. Soquel 88, SC 42. Soquel went 1-2-3 in four events to improve to 5-0 in league. (No SC info)
GIRLS; Soquel 77, SC 43. Although their 800 meter times were both 2:35, Jenny Croghan edged her opponent in the meets most exciting finish.

April 26. Monte Vista 81-63. Watsonville 70-56. SC earned its first two SCCAL dual meet victories with wins over Monte Vista and Watsonville during a Tri-meet at SC. Against Monte Vista, David Kessler and Joel Abraham emerged as double winners. Kessler won the 3,200 in 10:40 and the 1,600 in 4:54. Abraham took the triple jump in 41-2 and the high jump in 5-8. John Howard won the 100 in 11.2 and was well on his way to win the 110 high hurdles, when he tripped on the second to last hurdle and did a forward roll. He finished second. Kumi Rami won the long jump in 20-2 and finished second in the high jump 5-2. SC improved their record to 2-3.
GIRLS: In a tri-meet at SC the girls lost to Monte Vista 45-74 and defeated .. Watsonville 45-41 to split a pair of league meets. Jenny Croghan won the 400 in 1:06.8 and the 800 in 2:17. Heidi Brockman won the 110 intermediate hurdles in 18.5 as the Cards split a pair of league dual meets. Against Watsonville, Rebecca Abraham won the long jump in 14-0 and the triple jump in 29-10 as the Cards improved to 1-3 in league.

Trident, April 25. “Everybody Got Faster” The squad is small, but has a lot of talent. Almost all of the athletes on the team are ranked in the top ten in the SCCAL in their respective events. The boys team has improved over last year. SLV with a huge team, won league last year and is a heavy favorite to win this year. We lost just by two points 67-69. Dual meet scoring is 5 points for first place, three points for second and one point for third. One of the high point scorers was senior Lee Keyser-Allen, who won the pole vault with a league best 11 feet, took second in the 100 and took second in the triple jump. Senior Joel Abraham won the triple jump and took second in the long jump. Senior Kumi Rauf won the long jump. Junior John Howard won both the 100 and 200 meter races. The previously mentioned athletes teamed up to win the 4X100 meter relay. Freshman Sam Crick should do well in the hurdles. Throwers are seniors Mike Ross and Robert Ames, juniors Lee Martin, Jeff Truhitte and Javier Santana.

Trident, June 6. With only nine girls on the team and at times half of the girls were injured, you can still have some fun. The squad included throwers Amelia Mitcalf and Joanna Kelly: jumpers, Katie David and Rebecca Abraham; hurdlers, Bridgette Conerly and Heidi Brockman; sprinters Francine Lynch and Ashley Adams and distance crew Jenny Croghan are all well known at the Soquel track.

Sentinel May 30. Final high school track and field bests for the first five places.
By event, place, name and time.
GIRLS LEADERS
400 meters
4 Croghan 1:04.0.
300 hurdles
5 Brockmann 51.7

BOYS LEADERS
200 meters
2 Howard 23.0
1,600 meters
2 Kessler 9:55.6
110 hurdles
4 tied Howard 16.8
Long jump
1 Rouf 21-11
Triple jump
1 Abraham 42-2
Pole vault
2 Allen 12-0

BOYS SWIMMING AND DIVING
Boys League dual meet record 1-4 for fourth place.

Yearbook. Team members: Forest Rayfield, Bobby Hansen, Nilo Alvarado, Carey Webber, Jack Nichols, Lloyd Mueller, Steve Kele, Casey White, Sean Echols and Seth Gargano.

Sentinel. April 25. SC 83, Watsonville 63. Nothing else about SC.

Sentinel May 12. At the SCCAL Swimming championships for the sixteen straight time Harbor won the boys meet. Scoring: Harbor 378, Aptos 230, Soquel 193, SC and Watsonville tied at 134. For SC, Nilo Alvarado took second in the 100 breast stroke in 1:09.04 and Bobby Hanson took third in the 100 backstroke in 59.78.

Trident, June 6. Even though the team only placed fourth in the SCCAL dual meets with a 1-4 record, individually they were more successful. The small number on the squad had an impact on the success of the team. The squad was composed solely of non year around swimmers. In league most of the teams swimmers train year round.
The 200 freestyle relay team of Bobby Hansen, Nilo Alvarado, Seth Gargano and Carey Webber, qualified for CCS with a time of 1:39.63 and placed fourth at the SCCAL finals. The 200 medley relay team of Bobby Hansen, backstroke; Nilo Alvarado, breaststroke; Steve Kele, butterfly and Carey Webber, freestyle placed third at SCCAL meet in a time of 1:48.63 to also qualifying for CCS.
Individually Bobby Hanson made it to CCS in the backstroke with a personal best time of 58.25 for third at the SCCAL meet.
Carey Webber just missed qualifying for CCS with a time of 23.85 in the 50 freestyle, but clocked a lightening fast 22.91 during the 200 freestyle relay at CCS.
The swimmer that improved the most throughout the season was Anthony “Rat” Torchio, who in his first season, went from flailing to swimming a 25 second 50 free.
In the 100 individual Medley, Steve Kele and Nilo Alvarado placed fifth and sixth respectively at the SCCAL meet.
In the 100 breaststroke Alvarado place second with a time of 1:09.15, Casey Nichols finished fourth in 1:09.63 and Kele took sixth in 1:10.63.

Sentinel final boys swim best five marks, listed by place, name and time, May 24.
100 BACKSTROKE
4. Hanson 59.76
100 BREASTSTROKE
4. Alvarado, 1:0904
200 INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY
League record. Hatch, 1:56.10
200 MEDLEY RELAY
3. SC 1:49.69
200 FREE RELAY
5. SC 1:37.24

GIRLS SWIMMING AND DIVING
In the girls meet Aptos dominated, scoring 406 points to Harbors second place 256. Corey Miller said she was “absolutely thrilled with her winning time in the 100 backstroke in 1:03.5. Miller a senior will make her first trip to the CCS meet. “I can’t complain, I improved my time and won the event,” said Miller, who failed to qualify in the 50 freestyle. “This was my last chance to make it. I’m really excited.”
SC sophomore Diana Willis wasn’t as fortunate in her individual quest to post a qualifying time in the breaststroke. Her time was 1:20.88 more than two seconds off her personal best time and more than five seconds short of gaining her a CCS appearance. Regardless, she maintained a positive outlook on the event. “My body was aching,” said Willis, who will get her first taste of the CCS meet as a member of the Card 200 free and 200 medley relay teams. “I wanted to qualify, but I was more trying to just improve my time and support my teammates. Before and after her 100 breast heat, Willis and several other Cards enthusiastically rooted for teammates like Miller. “We’re having fun. And sometimes it helps when you know your teammates are behind you,” Willis said.

GIRLS WATER POLO
Trident, April 25. The team is fourteen players strong this year. They are Seniors Taryn Nagy, Maria Willis and Anne Leber. Juniors Carey Miller, Shelley Gill, Laura Strickland, Ellen Sherrill, Lace Ivison and Ali Chapin. Sophomores: Lici Ochoa, Greta Hansen, Clarisa Moore and Alison Marshall and freshman Diana Willis. Coach Aubrey Miller.

At the Annual Slug Festival Women’s Water Polo Tournament at UCSC, the girls took first place. This is the last season that Girls Water Polo will be a club sport. It will become an officially sanctions school sport. It will be switched to the fall with the boys water polo.

BOYS VOLLEYBALL
Matches: Seaside 3-0, 3-0; Alisal 3-0 Record of 5-9

Yearbook had pictures of the varsity and JV team, but no names or other information.

Sentinel. April 2. SC defeated Seaside 15-13, 15-4, 15-5. The Cards lost number two hitter Gabe Cutuli to an ankle sprain in the first game and Coach Patrick Curry is concerned about not having Cutuli for a few weeks. H was also concerned with his squad’s lack-luster play to start the match. “We’ll need to fill his shoes, because we look to him or Jonathan Norvell for the big hit.” Norvell pocketed a match high 14 kills as SC improved to 3-4 in SCCAL play/

April 24. SC defeats Alisal 15-7, 15-3, 15-12. Jonathan Norvell lashed out 17 kills. Gabe Cutuli came back after a two week layoff from a sprained ankle and had eight kills in two games he played in. Middle blocker, Forest Rayfield and setter Will Hayward excelled for SC which improved to 4-9.

April 27. SC defeats Seaside 15-9, 15-13, 15-10, to improve the Cards to 5-9. Middle blocker, sophomore Dan Terry had a season high seven kills. Gabe Cutuli had five kills and Jonathan Norvell had a team high 14 kills.

BOYS TENNIS Record 3-7 in league.
Trident, June 6. For the first time in close to forty years, the team lost to Harbor twice and to Watsonville for the first time in twenty years. The only wins came against Watsonville once and to SLV twice. The Cards lost seven of its nine starters from last year. The top player was sophomore sensation Gabe Coren, who had a 9-1 league record. The one player he lost to, he later beat in straight sets to win the SCCAL singles championship. Coren is still playing in the CCS competition. Three other players went to the league finals: Gopala Walker and Jay Moore in doubles and Jared Van Kirk in singles lost in the first round. Even though the SC tennis reign has been put on hold, the team managed to maintain the league record for “highest CPA” hosting three 4.00’s, three valedictorians and one national merit finalist.

Team: Craig Elgin, Jared Van-Kirk, Sam Martisius, Jeff Garon, Gabe Coren, Gopala Walker, Stuart Abel, Ben Scheinin, Justin Reyes, Jeff Garon, Fuji Thomas, Jeff Minnis and Jay Moore. Coach Ryan Witt.

Sentinel. March 10. SC 4, Carmel 0. Carmel used to be a powerhouse team, but not this year as SC took advantage to notch it first victory of the season after four defeats. Sophomore, number one player Gabe Coren throttled his opponent 6-0, 6-0 to improve to 3-2 for the season. Other wins came just as easily for the Cards: Gopala Walker won 6-0, 6-0 at number two, Jared Van Kirk won 6-2, 6-0 at number three and Craig Elgin won 6-0, 6-0 at number four. Coach Ryan Witt said, “Carmel was short handed, so we just had a little fun.”

March 17. SC 7, SLV 0. Gabe Coren improved to 5-1 in SCCAL singles matches as the Cards swept the short handed Cougars, so the teams played single only. SC is 3-3 in league and 4-10 overall.

Sentinel. May 5. Aptos defeated the Cards 6-1 to go undefeated in league. We were relieved, because SC made a good run at us. Coach Ryan Witt did a great job with his team. Gabe Coren, a sophomore will be one of the favorites in the SCCAL singles field, beat his Aptos counterpart 6-4, 6-4. In their last meeting the Aptos player won only one game. This time the Aptos player went ahead 3-2 in both sets. “Then Gabe kicked in the turbos when he need to.”

GOLF
Sentinel. March 12. At the twenty-third Annual Hollister Tournament, held at Ridgemark Golf Course, SC took fifth place among SCCAL teams. SC’s Jared Bogard was a medalist from the
Santa Cruz county schools with a score of 87.

March 20. SC 228, SLV 242. Mike Cook’s performance, a five over par 41 on nine holes at Pasatiempo, sparked SC now 1-4, to its first league victory. SC also got fine support from a pair of freshmen, Tyler Stock a 44 and Ryan Baker a 46.

April 19. SC 338, SLV 352. Mike Cook eagled the par-5, 440 yard number 12 hole on his way to a 61, helping SC now 2-8 to its second league win, both from SLV.

INDIVIDUALS

Katie David was selected by the league coaches to the first team ALL SCCAL team and by the Sentinel ALL COUNTY on its second team. The Sentinel selected her Athlete of the Month of September. The team voted Katie most valuable and the best hitter on the team. By her sophomore year she was on the varsity volleyball, basketball and track teams. Katie will be joining former SC athlete Evie Smith, who attends UCSB an is also an outstanding athlete. Katie would be a member of the track team as a triple jumper.

Senior Danny Whiting, a four year varsity wrestler and one of the most valuable on the squad has a record of 29 wins and 4 losses. He placed in every tournament that he attended. He one first places in the SCCAL meet to be the 160 pound league champion, first in the St. Francis of Mt. View Invitational and first at the Live Oak Invitational. He was second in the highly regarded Coast Classic. He enjoys wrestling because it is a difficult sport and is a true challenge. He plans to continue wrestling in college

Kelly Kaiser was named the PLAYER OF THE YEAR Kaiser had already proven herself as a junior, when she captured the MVP honors in the SCCAL and the Player of the Year award on the Sentinel’s All Santa Cruz County team. What more could she do? Do it all again. And she has.
Kaiser is going to savor three things more than anything else from this season. 1) beating Monte Vista. 2) beating Monte Vista again. 3) beating Monte Vista for the third time. “Against Monte Vista, we knew they were a good team and it was going to be a tough game. We knew most of their players. Our goal for the season was to win league, which meant we had to beat Monte Vista.“ Her biggest goal was always to win. She was never selfish about her playing time, her scoring chances or her stats. She wasn’t worried about that stuff, She was the ultimate team player,” said Coach Gaona. The fact is, Kaiser’s talent was just as impressive as her willpower or leadership. The SLV coach, “With Kelly, she already knew where she was going to go before she got the ball. She knew where the defense was and where her teammates were and what option was the best. Rarely did she get trapped into a bad situation.”
One of the few bad situations Kaiser was stuck with was back in the middle of December after a 51-39 loss to Pinewood. She spoke up at the post-game meeting, which turned into something more than a casual chat. With a 4-3 record and a bit out of sync, the team was at a crossroads. “Her thing was, ‘we’re not a 4-3 team … we shouldn’t be a 4-3 team,’ Coach Gaona said of what Kaiser told the team. “She was frustrated, but what she said wasn’t meant to be anything negative. She brought it up more, because she wanted everyone to do something to change it.” They did and Kaiser’s inspirational performance set the tone for the rest of the season..
Anything that SC needed this season, Kelly Kaiser was there. Always at the right time and at the right place. “She was the ultimate of what a Most Valuable Player or Player of the Year is supposed to be,” said coach Gaona. “If we needed a steal, she got a steal. If the need was a basket, she got it. If it was just getting the team focused, telling them, ‘lets get it together,’ she did that. She is overall the best player.” Kaiser led the Cards to a 12-0 league record and two wins in the league tournament last week, has averaged 13.2 points and 6.6 rebounds a game. But rarely played a complete game. “We were ahead of so many teams by 20 or more point, but she never complained. And there were other scorers on the team. If she had needed to be the offensive weapon, she could have averaged in the high teens or 20’s. But she is an unselfish player, If there was someone open, she would give up the ball. She is the ultimate team player,” said Gaona.

David Kessler has run cross country and track at SC for four years. It was only during his freshman year that he began to take running seriously. In track he runs the 800, the mile and two mile. He has been very successful, qualifying for National Junior Olympics after both his freshman and sophomore years. He had been awarded All League honorable mention, Athlete of the Week numerous times and set a meet record at the RLS Invitational. USF a Division I school has offered him a half academic and half sports scholarship.

David Kessler has run cross country and track at SC for four years. It was only during his freshman year that he began to take running seriously. In track he runs the 800, the mile and two mile. He has been very successful, qualifying for National Junior Olympics after both his freshman and sophomore years. He had been awarded All League honorable mention, Athlete of the Week numerous times and set a meet record at the RLS Invitational. USF a Division I school has offered him a half academic and half sports scholarship.

Kim Reimann is in her fourth year swimming for SC. Kim broke the school record for five events: the 50 free, 100 free, 200 free, the 200 individual medley and the 100 backstroke. At the league finals she competed in the 50 free and won in 25.73 and took second in the 100 backstroke at a 102.27. Kim’s amazing success at the SCCAL meet inspired her ultimate performance at CCS the following week. At CCS championships, the fab four of Corey Miller, Kim Reimann, Taryn Nagy and Jennifer Cummings dressed for success with their SC swimming suits with the Cardinal on the rear were to swam the 200 free relay, in which they swam a 149.65 at the league finals. They did a 2:03 plus in the 200 medley relay and broke the school record in the 200 free relay with a 1:46.94, a time that would place them as alternates for the finals the next day. Kim’s spilt for her 50 free was a 25.55, a new school record since Christina Raffaeli swam 25.64 in 1983.
Kim and Corey each improved in their individual events. Corey bettered her time in the 100 free with a 59.13 and in the 100 back with a 1:06.23. Kim swam a 1:02.55 in the 100 back and 1:56.85 in the 200 yard free, for another school record in place of Raffaeli’s 1:58.45 from 1983. Kim’s two individual events placed her in the CCS finals, which would take place the next day. Kim placed eighth in the 200 free and twelfth in the 100 backstroke. “I went into Fridays meet hoping to put out my best effort, because it was my last high school competition. I was proud of how I did an I accomplished all the goals I had set for myself. I have been determined since last year to reach the CCS finals,” Kim said happily.

Cummings Quiets MVC With One Hitter. There has been only one glaring difference between SC and MVC softball teams this season, Jennifer Cummings. With her, SC has beaten MVC twice in seven days and with three games remaining, is on track to win its second straight SCCAL championship. “She is a classy player and a great player,” said the MVC coach, after Cummings pitched a one hitter and drove in three runs in the Cards 5-1 win. “I guess if they win the title, you have to say she’s the player of the Year.” “Jennifer again was the difference,” said coach Vic Miguel, whose team jumped into first place in the SCCAL at 8-1 and 17-7 overall. MVC is 8-2 and 17-10 overall. Cummings, a junior right-hander also bats fourth in the batting order, allowed only four balls out of the infield and a single in the top of the sixth inning. She wasn’t dominating, with only four strikeouts, but walked only one and she allowed only four base runners.
“I think we’re coming together more as a team right now,” said Cummings, who last Wednesday hit a home run to beat MVC. Sometimes it’s been just defense and no offense or just the opposite. But when we combine the two, we are a hard team to beat,” She made it even harder for MVC in the bottom of the first inning. After Kelly Kaiser led off with a single and Naomi Rothman’s one out bunt was thrown to second base too late to get Kaiser, the stage was set. Cummings against the MVC ace pitcher, her number on adversary. The night before the game, she and her dad had talked about what to do at the plate. “She has thrown me at least one changeup, every time at bat,” Cummings said. Her dad told her to widen her stance, keep her weight back and wait for the changeup. It came on the second pitch. Cummings drilled the ball over the head of the left fielder to drive in Kaiser and Rothman for a 2-0 lead. In the third inning, with runners on s second and third, they went after Cummings again and lost. A wild pitch allowed Aimee Ghio to score and the Cummings hit an outside fast ball to right field for a sacrifice fly and a 4-0 lead. In the fifth inning, with a runner on second and two outs, MVC intentional walked Cummings and got the next batter. “We needed to hit the ball,” Cummings said of the Cards aggressive approach to the game. “We did that and the defense came through.”