With Thursday’s match between Gilroy and Christopher tied at 3-all, it was up to the No. 3 doubles team to decide a winner.
Christopher’s Sara Blawski and Nikki Chen won the first set 7-5, but dropped the second to Gilroy’s Sophia Magana and Daniela Castillo 6-3 to force the tiebreaker. Magana and Castillo pulled out the win by a 10-6 score to secure the 4-3 win at Christopher High.
The Mustangs swept doubles play. The No. 1 team of Nicole Holder and Savanna Brandon needed three sets to get past the Cougars’ Kelly Nantais and Toni Martinez. Christopher took the first set 7-5, but dropped the next two 6-0, 11-9.
Gilroy’s Maggie Pickford and Mya Esquivel, the No. 2 doubles team, had an easier time as they beat Samantha Ramirez and Sabrina Zhang 6-2, 6-1.
Gilroy’s Ang Martin, the No. 3 singles player, secured the lone win in solo play but also needed a tiebreaker to do it. After dropping the first set 6-4 to her Cougar counterpart Malia Campos, Martin rebounded with a 6-2 win in Set 2 and 10-0 score in the tiebreaker set.
Christopher’s No. 1 Sydney Tran made quick work of Gilroy’s Brea Martin, winning 6-0, 6-2. Kaitlyn Lombardo, the No. 2 singles player, won by the same scores over Gilroy’s Didi Bakita in their match. Niet Khay also won for the Cougars, beating Catherine Bell 6-4, 6-1.
Christopher (0-1) will play at 4 p.m. Tuesday at Monte Vista Christian.
FIELD HOCKEY
Mustangs top Carmel
The Mustangs opened league play with a 3-2 win at Carmel Thursday.
Gilroy dominated possession and hammered Carmel’s goalie with 23 shots to the home team’s four.
Three of Carmel’s four shots came in the final four minutes, as did their goals.
“The breakdown came in the final minutes when we made some critical errors and allowed them in our zone with numbers,” Mustangs coach Adam Gemar said via email. “But all in all we did what we had to do and possess the ball and pass. All our girls got many touches on the ball which is really important in seeing different situational play on the field.”
Two of the Mustangs’ goals came on short corners, but Gemar said he’d like to see more production in front of the net.
“Minor tweaks in positioning is an easy fix and discussing shot options with the team is always fun in practice,” he said. “As our team is young, only good can come from these type of situations.
Maddy Cox was named the Mustangs’ Player of the Game for her overall performance.
Gilroy (2-0-1 overall, 1-0 in league) will be back on the field at 3:30 p.m. today at North Salinas.
VOLLEYBALL
Cougars split at Surf City Tourney
Christopher finished 2-2 at the Surf City Tournament Saturday at Harbor High School.
The Cougars beat Carmel and San Lorenzo Valley 2-0 before losing to Granite Bay and Notre Dame 2-0.
Katelyn Viray led the Cougars in their 25-23, 25-23 win over Carmel with nine kills. Christa Arroyo notched 21 assists, while Marielle Gomez had 12 digs.
Against SLV, the Cougars won 25-15, 25-22. Samantha Dolan led the team with seven kills and Viray added five. Grace Gundy served up four aces in the game and Arroyo tallied 22 assists.
Things got tougher for Christopher against Granite Bay. The Cougars were held to just six points in the first set as they lost 6-25, 22-25. Viray had five kills, while Dolan had four. Arroyo had 12 assists, while Gomez had 12 digs.
Notre Dame made quick work of the Cougars, winning 25-13, 25-9 to close out the tournament for Christopher. Arroyo led the Cougars with 11 kills, while Viray had 13 digs.
Christopher (10-4) will be back on the court at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Watsonville.
GIRLS WATER POLO
Cougars finish second in Stinky Rose tourney
Christopher outscored its opponents 44-17 heading into the championship game against Mountain View. Unfortunately for the Cougars, they were unable to keep up the momentum in the finale.
Mountain View beat Christopher 14-2 in the final game of the 3rd annual Stinky Rose Tournament Saturday at CHS.
MV held the Cougars scoreless in the first half to take a 6-0 lead at the break. It added five more goals in the third to Christopher’s 1. The Cougars scored another in the final frame.
Stats from this game were not yet available.
The Cougars (4-4) will host Catalina at 5 p.m. today.
CROSS COUNTRY
Gilroy’s Ruelas leads area runners at Chieftain Invite
Monica Ruelas led the Gilroy-area athletes at the Chieftain-Spirit Classic Invitational Saturday at Toro Park in Salinas.
Gilroy High’s Ruelas finished 24th in a time of 21:13.3. Her teammate Eric Heiser was the next highest finisher, taking 65th in the boys race in a time of 18:21.6.
Braulio Campos, of Gilroy High, finished 73rd in 18:33.70, while Karla Lozano took 71st on the girls side in 24:00.4. Christopher’s Natalie Fillippi was the lone female runner for the Cougars and she took 87th in 25:08.9.
Edelbert Claudio, Michael Kropff, David Garcia and Logan Flores finished 98, 109, 117 and 127, respectively. Jose-Tony Barradas was 132nd, followed by Christopher’s Andre’ Selby in 133rd place.
Sawyer Ciccon, of Christopher, took 142nd, while teammates Hiram Rodriguez and Brandon Ellemberg were 151 and 152, respectively.
The Cougars and Mustangs will race at Pinto Lake at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday.
BOYS WATER POLO
Stevenson edges Christopher
Christopher and Stevenson’s match came down to the wire Thursday, but it was the Pirates who came out with a 15-14 victory.
The two teams were tied 7-all at halftime, with both teams scoring three goals in the first and four in the second.
The Pirates bested Christopher in the third quarter, outscoring them 4-3, which proved to be the difference in the game.
The Cougars (1-2) look to rebound when they take on The York School at 4 p.m. today.
GIRLS GOLF
Mustangs fall to Santa Catalina
Gilroy hit a rough patch in its match at Santa Catalina Thursday, losing 326-242.
Lizette Alcantar led the Mustangs with a 56, but told coach Daniel Valdez it was “not my best” performance.
Captain Alessandra Esposito had the next lowest score with a 62, followed by Nicole Dan with a 63. Newcomer Judith Diaz was right in the mix, carding a 64 for the Mustangs. Valdez said she was pleasantly surprised to finish so closely to her teammates.
The Mustangs (0-4) will host Notre Dame-Salinas at 3 p.m. Tuesday.
Find out when and where your favorite teams are playing this week:
CHRISTOPHER
9.21—Boys water polo vs. The York School, 4 p.m.; Girls water polo vs. Catalina, 5 p.m.
9.22—Girls golf vs. Santa Catalina, 3:30 p.m.; Girls tennis at Monte Vista Christian, 4 p.m.; Boys water polo vs. Soquel, scrimmage, 4 p.m.; Volleyball at Watsonville, 6:30 p.m.
9.23—Field hockey vs. Carmel, 3:30 p.m.; Cross Country at Monte Vista Christian, 3:30 p.m.
9.24—Girls golf at Watsonville, 3:30 p.m.; Girls tennis vs. Alisal, 4 p.m.; Boys water polo vs. Harbor, 4 p.m.; Girls water polo at Salinas, at Hartnell College, 4 p.m.; Volleyball vs. Salinas, 6:30 p.m.
9.25—Girls water polo vs. Santa Teresa, 4 p.m.; Football vs. Hillsdale, 7:30 p.m.
GILROY
9.21—Field hockey at North Salinas, 3:30 p.m.
9.22—Girls golf vs. Notre Dame-Salinas, 3 p.m.; Girls tennis at Notre Dame-Salinas, 4 p.m.; Girls water polo vs. Monterey, 4 p.m. Volleyball at Notre Dame-Salinas, 6:30 p.m.
9.23—Cross Country at Monte Vista Christian, 3:30 p.m.
9.24—Girls golf vs. Alvarez, 3 p.m.; Girls tennis at Watsonville, 4 p.m.; Field hockey at St. Francis, 6:30 p.m.; Volleyball vs. Alvarez, 6:30 p.m.
9.25—Football at Piedmont Hills, 7 p.m.
