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2009 Girls Field Hockey
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Girls Field Hockey
Senior-laden Lancers are out for more
Defending Metro champs led by 12 seniors
Posted Sept. 24, 2009
The Hilltop Lancers captured last year’s Metro Conference girls field hockey championship with a perfect 8-0 league record. However, Hilltop coach Lynn Garcia said she expects her team to receive “major challenges” from all teams in the league this season.
“We play a difficult Division I, North County-rich preseason,” Garcia said. “We will play in both the junior varsity and varsity Serra tournaments. Our goal for the preseason is to play strong, come away with some wins and get us ready for league play.”
The Lancers’ 2009 roster includes 12 seniors, all of whom have at least one year of varsity experience, Garcia noted. That upperclassmen-heavy lineup includes a pair of returning first team all-league players and a strong midfield.
Top returners include senior captains Jordan Rhudy, Jordan Akers, Kaitlin Mayal and goalie Emily Scheet. They join Devon Senneseth and junior Nicole Wolfe amid a senior rich team that includes Sweetwater school board student representative Kiera Murphy, a midfielder/defender.
Mayal and Scheet both earned first team all-league honors last season while Rhudy is a four-year varsity starter who earned second team all-league recognition in 2008 along with Senneseth.
Garcia lists the team’s impact newcomers as sophomores Ashley Keeline and Chelsea Ventura, who have come up from last year’s JV championship squad. The Hilltop coach said they will fill big holes left by the graduation of all-league first teamers Casey Dow and April Estrada.
The Lancers program is filled with alumni coaches. Joining Garcia at the helm this season are Rita Delgadillo and Lorena Martinez.
Other Hilltop alums who are involved in other Metro programs at the coaching level include Brianne Martinez and Carleen Garcia at Otay Ranch and Julian Hernandez, parent of Erica Hernandez, Hilltop’s 2007 Metro Player of the Year, at Eastlake.
Spartans look to be highly competitive in 2009
The Chula Vista High School girls field hockey program remains up-and-running and head coach Ben Villanueva is looking forward to another competitive season, perhaps more so this year than in recent seasons.
“We lost a bunch of players to graduation, but we did have our best JV team ever last year,” the Spartan coach said. “We are rebuilding but are quite optimistic about the athletes we have this year. I think we will win some league games this year — we did not last year.”
Chula Vista finished 8-10 overall last season and could make some noise — or at the least, have a hand via an upset or two — as to which team captures this year’s Metro Conference title.
Top returners include seniors Monica Santiago and Rebecca Padilla and sophomore Rachel Porras.
Impact newcomers include sophomores Samantha Cota, Amanda Baker, Bibiana Garcia, Areceli Santiago and Claudia Perez along with senior Linda Chu.
Pretty in pink
Hilltop field hockey team raises awareness, funds for breast cancer cure
Posted Oct. 14, 2009
By Scott Hopkins
Many of us know a woman who has dealt with the dreaded disease of breast cancer. It strikes without warning, indiscriminately invading the bodies of seemingly healthy women and (rarely) men.
In my own family, my mother fell victim to this aggressive killer, which took her life at the age of 59. It left behind only miserable memories of surgery, radiation therapy, hair loss, doctor visits and a stunningly quick demise after she chose to discontinue treatments.
Over at Hilltop High School, Lynn Garcia has two close friends battling the disease, and the Lancers girls field hockey coach decided to help raise awareness among her players and team followers.
And so, when her Lady Lancers hosted the Lady Titans of Eastlake last Friday, the match was declared a “pink game” by Garcia and a concession stand was set up to sell snacks and beverages. All money from sales and donations will go to a national organization dedicated to patient support and finding a cure for the disease.
Hilltop players dressed in special pink jerseys and wristbands for the occasion. The four corner markers on the field bore the pink ribbon symbol used to denote the disease. Because parents and backers donated everything sold, every cent went into the donation sum. An early accounting showed the game raised more than $600.
Garcia was aware that Hilltop librarian Nikki Riemenschneider will participate in the upcoming Breast Cancer 3-Day, a 60-mile walk for women who have collected donations prior to the event. The walk is part of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure organization, which now has members active in 50 countries around the world. To date, nearly $1.3 billion has been given.
And Riemenschneider, it turns out, was a classmate of mine at Point Loma High School in 1967. Small world indeed.
“The parents were phenomenal,” said a beaming Garcia after the game. “We had a huge snack bar that was all donated. Every cent we collected will be given in Nikki’s name for the walk,” she added.
Ironically, the grandmother of a current Hilltop player, also a longtime Chula Vista friend of mine, had surgery for breast cancer earlier this month and is solemnly looking forward to upcoming chemotherapy treatments.
The Susan B. Komen for the Cure movement is named for a lady who succumbed to breast cancer in 1980 at the young age of 33. Her sister, Nancy Goodman Brinker, started the organization to honor her sister’s memory.
The Breast Cancer 3-Day has been described as a wonderful, life-altering experience by my San Diego cousin, who has completed the event several times. Walking side-by-side with women who have defeated the disease and those currently battling it was highly emotional, yet inspirational for her.
Together, as a city, a state, a country and a member of the world community, we must all do what we can to help eradicate breast cancer, which has infiltrated our homes and will continue to haunt both present and future generations. But we must also aggressively seek cures to other cancers and diseases that have wrought havoc upon us in so many ways.
Together, we can do this. For those whom we care about, for those we love.
‘Pink’ is the word at Hilltop High School
While the stated purpose of last Friday’s girls field hockey game at Hilltop High School was to raise awareness — and funds — for a breast cancer cure, the contest pitting the host Lancers and the Eastlake Titans also served as the teams’ Metro Conference opener.
Hilltop captured a 2-0 victory in the ongoing rivalry on goals by Ashley Keeline (her first varsity goal) and Nicole Wolfe. Assists went to Jordan Rhudy and Chelsea Donahue, respectively.
The Hilltop girls volleyball team plans its own “Dig Pink” game on Oct. 28 against Otay Ranch. Tip-off is 4:30 p.m.
Lancers edge Mustangs, remain Metro’s best
Posted Nov. 12, 2009
Members of the Hilltop High School field hockey program — past and present — assembled for an alumni game last Saturday. Twenty-seven alumni showed up, including former standouts — er, legends — such as Wendy DeFord and Janine Dare. It was a proud moment for Hilltop head coach Lynn Garcia to see so many of the players she helped get a start in the sport return to give something back to the program.
Garcia has to be proud of what she saw on the pitch Wednesday as her current Lancer team completed back-to-back 8-0 Metro Conference championship campaigns with a 1-0 victory against visiting Otay Ranch. What made the match-up even more significant was that the Mustangs were coached by a pair of former Hilltop players.
“Otay Ranch is becoming a great rival, even more so because both their coaches played for me,” said Garcia, whose team improved to 13-4 overall on the season. “It’s really cool.”
The lone goal in the match was scored by Hilltop’s Nicole Wolfe, with an assist from Jill Kenbeek, with 14:39 left in the first 30-minute half. The second half was scoreless, though the host Lancers had several chances to extend their lead.
Otay Ranch goalie Andrea Rodriguez was credited with two saves; Emily Scheet was credited with one save for the victorious Lancers.
This is Garcia’s 11th season as Hilltop’s varsity coach. In that span, the Lancers have won six league championships and finished runner-up on five occasions. With Wednesday’s victory, Hilltop secured an automatic berth in the upcoming San Diego Section playoffs. Garcia is hopeful at least one other South Bay team will be included in this year’s 12-team divisional draw.
“I’m hoping Otay Ranch can get in,” Garcia said. “But their schedule (lack of being seen by major opponents) might hurt them.”
The Mustangs finished 6-2 in league play, with both losses to Hilltop. The Lancers captured the teams’ first-round match-up by a 2-0 score.
Garcia credited Hilltop’s defenders with preserving Wednesday’s title game win. “We scored in the first half and just played defense the rest of the game,” the Lancer coach said. “We kept the pressure on. We never let up.”
Otay Ranch’s defense had to contend with Tarah Trotter and Gigi BaÒales, both speedy breakaway threats. “When you have to defend speed, you’ve got to stick with them or switch off,” Garcia said. “Both of those girls are fast and our defenders did a really good job dealing with that.”
Hilltop will likely host a first-round playoff game on Saturday The section finals are Nov. 21 at Scripps Ranch High School. The Lancers graduate 12 of 16 players off this year’s varsity team. Otay Ranch has eight seniors.
Girls Volleyball
Dig this! Girls volleyball season tips off on winning note for Titans, Lancers
Posted Sept. 24, 2009
The Eastlake High School girls volleyball team is brimming with a lot of potential, according to coach Erwin Macalgulm.
“If the girls can develop some team chemistry, then we will be very successful,” he said.
With a 9-6 record, the Titans have been successful to start the 2009 season. Eastlake finished 4-1 in the recent Monte Vista Invitational and 3-4 in the prestigious Nike Tournament of Champions.
The Titans tipped off the season with non-league victories against Coronado and Mar Vista before suffering their first loss — in five games — to Steele Canyon.
Eastlake is idle until Sept. 30 when the Titans play at Valhalla. Eastlake faces off Mesa League play with an Oct. 7 game at Bonita Vista.
The Titans are led by a pair of returning first team all-league players: senior outside hitters Monik Richardson and Chelsea Almario. Both serve as team captains.
Other top returners include junior Malia Valdivieso and senior Romni Kilby.
Impact newcomers, according to the Eastlake coach, include sophomore Brenna Bailey, juniors Kelsey Reyes and Cindy Fifield and freshman Chelsea Speaks.
The Hilltop Lancers have also started out the new season on a winning note after compiling a 6-1-1 record through their opening eight non-league contests.
The Lancers went 3-1-1 at the Hilltop varsity tournament and are looking forward to competing in this weekend’s La Jolla Beach Cities Invitational, annually one of the section’s top talent draws.
Girls Tennis
Eagles might be the best but who’s No. 2 in the South Bay League?
Posted Sept. 24, 2009
Defeating the Olympian Eagles for this year’s South Bay League girls tennis championship title might be a tall order this season but that hasn’t curbed the enthusiasm surrounding some of the league’s other programs.
This is Sweetwater’s second season in the South Bay League and the Red Devils enter the 2009 campaign led by senior captains Alyssa Castaneda (7-2) and Brenda Coronel (6-3), the team’s top returning players from last year.
SuHi coach Rob Bonilla said a newcomer to keep any eye on is freshman Areli Martinez (7-0).
Casteneda was one half of the doubles team that made it to the championship match last year against Olympian.
“If anybody wants to win the banner, they have to beat Olympian,” Bonilla said. “The rest of the league is up for grabs with no clear cut second best in league.”
The Red Devils recently defeated Castle Park for their first league victory this season.
Mesa League notes
TheMater Dei Crusaders hope to repeat their performances of the past two seasons with a third consecutive undefeated season in league play and another league champions title, according to varsity coach Lea Borck.
Mater Dei’s top three singles players all return: junior Jenny Borck (26-3 last season), senior Vivian Moreno (23-2 last season) and Mariel Castillo Casta (24-4 record). Moreno and Borck shared the Mesa League singles championship title last season while Borck was the South Bay League singles champion the previous season with Moreno taking second place in the finals.
The Crusader coach said the team looks to benefit from the play of freshman Lynn Angelie San Ramon, a highly-ranked USTA player like the team’s top three singles players.
Girls golf
Mater Dei notepad
H
ead coach Bill Gerken expects the Crusaders to face a challenging season in the Mesa League while competing against schools with much larger enrollment levels (2,500 or more students as opposed to Mater Dei’s enrollment of 750 students).
Nonetheless, Gerken expects his team to be competitive and, in his words, “give Bonita Vista, Eastlake and Otay Ranch a run for their money during the season.”
The Crusaders’ top returner is senior Perla Laborin, a Second Team All-Metro Conference selection in 2008 and team captain. She will be joined in the line-up by returning juniors Florencia Tena, Francisca De La Parra and Marissa Fajardo.