Synchronized swimmer Kate Hooven, daughter of Pleasanton residents Robert and Katherine, competed in Melbourne Australia from March 17 to 24 in the FINA World Championships.
Hooven, 22, is in her second year as co-captain of the U.S. National Team and has been a part of the team for seven years. At FINA, the team finished fourth overall (238) behind Russia (334), Japan (290) and Spain (288), and received a bronze in the free combination.
FINA is known as the biggest aquatic competition prior to the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Robert said the team has a good shot in qualifying for the Olympics.
Her interest in synchronized swimming started 10 years ago when she signed up for a class at the Dolores Bengtson Aquatic Center. Since then she’s been a member of the Walnut Creek Aquanuts, Santa Clara Aquamaids and Ohio State University teams, as well as competed in national and international competitions.
For more information about the U.S. National synchronized swimming, visit www.usasynchro.org.
Foothill frosh baseball gets the win
The Foothill freshman baseball squad recorded their sixth win of the young season with a 5-1 victory over Clayton Valley High School. Held to only five hits, the boys in blue were able to combine timely hits, walks and solid base running to produce five runs. The offense was lead by Will Anderson with a double and two RBIs; Brandon DeFazio with a triple, three walks, three runs and one RBI; and Matt Owen contributed two singles. Falcon pitchers Anderson and Michael Slifer scattered six hits over seven innings while giving up only two walks.The Falcons were scheduled to open the EBAL season opener Wednesday.
Hart wrestlers take home medals
The Hart Middle School Huskies grabbed 13 medals, out of 23 participants, making for a very successful tournament at the Harvest Park Invitational last weekend.Four Huskies grabbed gold medals with Perry Cheney taking first place in the sixth grade bracket, Kevin Thompson in the seventh grade bracket, and Michael Meneses and Andrew Abbey in the sixth/seventh combo brackets.
Falling just short, but still earning second place was Cesar Caranvang. Cal Dutrow came tantalizingly close to taking first, falling 11-10 in the championship match.
Pleasanton Rage U 15, Division 1 AC finishes tourney season
In their final tournament competition of the season the Rage traveled to the Turlock to compete in the CYSA U15 State Cup. In Saturday’s game against the Manteca Rangers, the Rage scored early off a Brittany Carrolan through pass and a Julia Frizzel shot to the deep left corner of the goal. The Rangers came back late in the first half to tie the game at 1-1. In the final minutes of the second half the Rangers scored the decisive goal on a direct kick.In Sunday’s games the Rage faired better; walking away with two ties against two formidable opponents; SF Vikings Tremors and Heritage Strikers. Frizzel once again supplied the scoring punch, scoring once in each game. The final score was 1-1 in both games. The Rage played well in all three matches and out shot their opponent in each one.
Vortex lacrosse falls to Diablo Scorpion
Last Sunday the sixth-grade, 12-year-old boys PUP lacrosse, Vortex, was stung by the Diablo Scorpions 5-8 in a gruelingly intense battle. Alex Trombadore scored two goals, with one each also scored by Kenton Koos, Jose Salas, and Daniel Arthur, who also made the most shots at six. Zach Wilner won the most faceoffs at three.Blizzard lacrosse continues winning streak
The Pleasanton Lacrosse Girls Blizzard team continued their reign on the field as they beat the South Marin Wolfpack and Lamorinda Fire at Acalanes High School in Lafayette March 25. The Blizzard beat the Wolfpack with a score of 4-1. Excellent passes were made by Madison Steele and Mallory Manzano. Melissa West brought the ball down the field with amazing speed. Outstanding ground balls were made by Lindsey Kail. Goalie Meghan Serrano showed no fear as she blocked the Wolfpack’s shots. Kirsten Jensen scored the first goal of the game from an assist by Cambi Cukar. Rebecca Dumanski, Kira Ewanich and Cierra Kocik also scored goals.It was a fierce and physical battle against the Lamorinda Fire, but the Blizzard overcame their injuries with a 7-3 victory. Tough defense was made by Andrea Bright and Jennifer Gubner. Haley Brodnick, Cukar, Lauren Hall, Kocik, Jensen and Serrano scored the goals for the Blizzard. Outstanding ground balls by Sarah Monday. Strong support was also shown by Jessica Young, Jaime Rinetti, and Alyssa Marceno.
Livermore Indians beat Pleasanton Royals 9-8
The Indians and Royals played a very tight game in Mustang Division action. The score never differed by more than one run. Alex Cupps and Ryan Ruley had two hits each for the Indians. James Dayton, Kameron Johnson, Joe Carr and Jacob Dayton had a hit apiece. Drew Webber, Ruley and Cupps pitched well for the Indians. The best play of the game was a double play in the third inning. Webber struck out a batter, Ruley threw the runner out at first on a dropped third strike that Johnson immediately returned to the plate to catch the runner going home.Yankees win an exciting game
The Yankees parlayed excellent defense and timely hitting into 6-3 victory over a very strong Livermore Pirate team in mustang division action. Andy Duran delivered a bases loaded triple to drive in three runs in what proved to be the game winning hit. Jeffrey Klei and Stone Godi both pitched excellent in holding the Pirates to just three runs. Ruben Mercado paced a strong defensive effort by completing a double play on a hard shot line drive. Jack Connolly once again made his share of fine fielding at first base as well.Pleasanton Giants beat Livermore Indians 9-7
The Pleasanton Giants came from behind to beat the Livermore Indians 9-7 by scoring five runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. Moore (2B,1B), Jackson (1B,3B), Friedman (2B), Morris (1B), Bartolomucci (1B) and Chavez (1B) all hit for the Giants and Jackson was strong on the mound. Ryan Ruley (1B,2B), Carsen Paynter (1B, 2B), Alex Cupps (1B), Drew Webber (1B), Kameron Johnson (1B), and Jacob Dayton (1B) powered the Indian offense while Kameron Johnson (4K,1H,2R) and Drew Webber (4K,2H,2R) pitched well for the Indians.Mustangs win big at State Cup
In State Cup Action in Lemoore, Calif. this weekend the Mustang Strikers U-16 boys advanced to the Round of 16 coming away with three victories.After losing goalie Ryan Rivera to an injury, George Mayer and Jay Jafarpour stepped into the goalie duties for the weekend.
In game one versus Mission SF JC Mexico, the Mustang Strikers came out strong with a 7-0 victory over the Mission SF JC Mexico team. Franco Cruz recorded a hat trick for Mustang assisted by Dillon Mullaney, Michael Guillen and Shaun Daut. Adding to the scoring were Ashwin Subramanian with an unassisted goal, Alex Alvarez assisted by Jessie Rosdahl, Rosdahl assisted by Nadav Kariv and Mullaney assisted by Guillen.
In game two versus Alum Rock Santos, the Mustang Strikers again came out strong with a 5-1 victory.
Cruz scored two goals assisted by Mullaney and Daut, Jose Garcia assisted by Cruz, Kariv assisted by John Wainscott. Rosdahl assisted by Mayer.
Going into the third game, Mustang was tied with Fresno CVSA Cylcones and needed a victory to advance. After finishing the first half with a 0-0 tie with several scoring opportunities for both teams, the Mustang Strikers came out strong in the second half. Rosdahl scored both goals for the Strikers. He was assisted on the first goal by Michael Janjigian and the second goal Rosdahl hooked the ball into the corner of the net on a corner kick.
Mayer in the nets for Mustang Strikers made several key saves to protect the shutout victory.
He was helped out by the excellent defensive play of Michael Janjigian, Jafarpour, Tory Jorgensen, Stephen Rakowski and Wainscott.
Providing strong midfield play for Mustang were Kariv, Garcia, Daut, Alex Alvarex, Mayer and Subramanian.
Strong offensvie play was provided by Cruz, Mullaney, Guillen and Rosdahl.
On March 23, Foothill J.V. Girls Softball Team began the Walter Wood Tournament with a win against Washington High School in only three innings with all player contributed offensively. Ali Sraub was on base three times and scored three times, Jennifer Flaming hit a home run, and Alia Ismail pitched a demolishing no-hitter with four strike outs, enforcing the “slaughter rule”, defeating Washington 17-0.
The Foothill Falcons began their second game of the day against their strongest opponent, Newark Memorial. Mariah Worley started the game by striking out five of the first six batters. In the third inning, Haley Piona hit a single and advanced to third on two wild pitches. Alex Herman sacrificed to bring in Piona making the score 1-0. In the sixth inning Newark Memorial rallied for two runs witch ended in their victory. Even though Worley made 10 strike outs and gave up only three runs, it wasn’t enough.
On March 24, the Falcons began their day facing Castro Valley High. It was a pitchers’ dual until Foothill scored a single run in the sixth inning. Foothills defense was outstanding in the bottom of the seventh with Piona making two assists for the first two outs. Daniel Scott made a game-saving catch in right field to secure the win. Worley pitched a no hitter with eight strike outs for a 1-0 victory.
Next, Foothill met James Logan in the semi-final game. Flaming led the offense with three hits; Jennifer Ong, Piona, Worley, Lauren Ayers, and Taylor Schoonover, all had two hits each; and Taylor Kanty had an RBI making the final score a 10-3 victory for Foothill. Worley had six strike outs, no walks and no earned runs allowed.
Again, Foothill Falcons faced Newark Memorial, their toughest opponent, but this time for the championship. Worley, pitching her third game of the day, finds herself in another pitchers dual with no score until Newark Memorial battled for three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. It looked like Foothill was in trouble with only one more at bat to strike back. Combined with some bunting, smart base running, and a timely hit by Ong, Foothill was able to tie the game with three runs of their own. Worley held Newark Memorial in the bottom of the seventh inning and forced the game into an international tie breaker. With Ismail on second, stealing third on a fake bunt, Flaming drove in the tie breaking run with a single. Foothill scored another run on a pass ball, a stolen base, and an error. Foothill scored the third and final run on a walk, pass ball, stolen base, and a sacrifice by Ayers. Jenica Holt hit a line drive single to rev up the Falcon spirit. Worley shut down Newark Memorial in the bottom of the eighth inning with two strike outs and and assist to claim a 6-3 championship victory. Worley battled with 13 strike outs.
West Coast Olympic Gymnastics Academy has three all around state champions
The Men’s Junior Olympic Gymnastic State Championships were held on March 17 and 18 at Tokay High School in Lodi, Calif. Vince Miller, head coach and owner of West Coast Olympic Gymnastics Academy, located in Pleasanton, had much to celebrate. Three of his gymnasts were all-around state champions. Christopher Siebel, a 10 year old from Dublin, took gold medals on the floor, still rings, vault, and parallel bars. He was the level five state champion all-around. He is also a USA developmental team member. Chris Turner, a 15 year old level 10 gymnast from Fremont took gold medals on the pommel horse and parallel bars to claim the all-around level 10 state championship title. He is a junior national team member. Jonathon Liu, a 13 year old from Fremont, took gold medals on the still rings, parallel bars, and high bar which earned him the level nine all around state championship.In addition, the following gymnasts from West Coast Olympic Gymnastics Academy placed in the top six to earn them a spot on the regional select all star team which will compete in Hawaii the week of April 10. These boys will represent Northern California and will compete against teams from Nevada, Arizona, Southern California and Hawaii.
Level 10 regional select team include: Chris Turner from Fremont, Mark Ringle from San Ramon, John-Nathan Monteclaro from San Ramon and Joseph Wilcox from Danville.
Level nine regional select team: Jonathon Liu from Fremont and Justin Woo from Tracy.
Level five regional select team: Chris Siebel from Dublin.
AVHS boys JV volleyball falls in finals at SRV tourney
Amador Valley High’s men’s JV volleyball team swept the table in a difficult preliminary round and marched through the playoffs, but fell to Washington in the championship finals at the San Ramon Valley JV tournament.In pool play, AVHS avenged a non-league defeat by edging the Huskies in three sets. Amador Valley also prevailed against Monte Vista and Heritage, securing a top seed in the championship playoffs. Through the preliminary round, the Dons were led by the strong serving and blocking of Nick Holke and Brandon Barkdull, good decisions and many assists from setters Clay Curtice and Stephen Conway, big hits from Alex Schlick and John Rodriguez, and the good passing of Nick Desin and Brett Peterson.
A key turning point in the playoffs occurred in the second set against Salesian. The Dons were in danger of losing all momentum as Salesian built a huge 12-point lead. The Dons roared back, led by digs and passes from Joey Corbett, tough serves and hits from Tyler Christensen and hits and blocks from Jack Reedy. The spark of life returned to AVHS, which went on to dominate the third and deciding set. In the finals, Washington–which prevailed in a tough three-set match in the other semifinal pairing against Foothill–threw considerable firepower at AVHS and made very few mistakes of their own. Amador Valley continued its dogged defensive effort and kept the match close all the way.
After the final point, the Dons acknowledged the well-deserved praise of their many fans in attendance. Exhausted and drained after 15 sets in 10 hours, the JV Dons are proud of their efforts and look forward to yet another rematch with Washington.
BUSC U15 United reaches the semi-finals of Nomads
Class: Class 1, Age Group: U15Home : WCFC -Cal South, Score:3
Visitor: BUSC -Cal North, Score:2The U15 boys, coached by Jerry Losson reached the semi-finals in thePremier flight this past weekend at the Nomads College Showcase in San Diego. The boys competed against some of the top competition in the Western Region. The weekend started slow against a very tough FC United Select team from Illinois, but our boys came out on top 1-0. In the afternoon game against the Honolulu Bulls the United was in total control, leading 3-0 at the half and coasting to a 3-1 victory. The game Sunday morning, against a very tough Paris Saint Germain team from Cal South was played to win our bracket. The two teams played to a 0-0 tie which was good enough to win the bracket. The boys played a very tough Inter FC Premier team from Utah in the quarterfinals, again, the United was up to the challenge and came out on top with a 2-1 victory, and advanced to the semi-finals were they would face one of the top 5 rated teams in Cal South, West Coast FC. The United competed head to head with WCFC for 70 very tough physical minute.
