TheLounge
03-08-2007, 04:26 PM
:)
The winter sports season isn’t officially over until the M-A and Menlo School boys’, and Carlmont girls’ basketball teams are eliminated from NorCal tournament play. But it’s close enough to give my annual review of the past winter season:
Players I’d pay to watch
Theresa Cornwell, Carlmont soccer: She had the goal of the season in the Scots’ 2-0 win over Burlingame Jan. 17. She split two defenders, slalomed around two more and feathered a shot past the charging Panther goalkeeper and just inside the post.
Eddie Attaway, Hillsdale basketball: Arguably the quickest player in the PAL, he definitely has the best cross-over dribble. He’s quick enough to get his own shot, isn’t afraid to take the ball to the hoop but also has a nice jumper.
The quintessential point guard.
Steve Call, M-A basketball: One of the best pure shooters in the PAL this season. Was capable of going for 20 points on any given night. Absolutely killed Mills this season.
Alexa Tafralis, Mills basketball: The type of player the Golden State Warriors need — someone who can do a little bit of everything. Once she returned from a bout with the flu midway through the season, Tafralis became monster on the court. She scored in double figures with regularity, was a force on the boards, set up teammates with penetration and kick, came up with steals on defense and dove on the floor for loose balls. She did it all for the Vikings this season.
Kaitlyn Revel, Aragon soccer: The senior goalkeeper has been one of the top keepers in the PAL since starting the first game of her freshman year. This season, she took her game to a whole different level.
Revel was known to make the spectacular save one moment and letting in a soft goal the next. She continued making the brilliant saves this season but also improved her overall consistency. That was never more than evident in the Dons’ 1-0 loss to Valley Christian in the CCS semifinals. Revel made 11 saves, including a couple world-class stops, proving to all in attendance she was a legit Division I caliber player.
She’s going to play at Fresno State next season.
Games of the year
Boys’ soccer — Hillsdale vs. Woodside, PAL playoffs: The PAL Bay Division used a four-team playoff to determine the final automatic playoff spot to CCS and this game turned into one for the ages. Hillsdale, down 4-1 including two own goals, scored five times in the final 20 minutes. Victor Paredes scored three times for the Knights and freshman Sean Dunn scored twice — including the game-winner in stoppage time.
Wrestling — Serra vs. Bellarmine: The Bells extended their winning streak over the Padres to 21 straight but Serra pushed them to the very end. More important was the atmosphere. The stands in the Serra gym were pretty packed and plenty of Bellarmine supporters showed up as well.
It was a raucous bunch but the focus was squarely under the spotlight of the two wrestlers. It showed what the high school wrestling experience should be.
Basketball — Mills vs. Serra, CCS quarterfinals: Chalk one up for the PAL as the Vikings became only the third PAL team to beat Serra in the last seven years.
And it came at the biggest moment. Mills withstood a 15-0 Serra run and overcame a five-point second-half deficit to knock the Padres out of CCS.
The Stephen Lumpkins-Matt Fochtman matchup was one of the best of the season and neither disappointed. Lumpkins, Serra’s 6-foot-7 junior post, scored a game-high 26 points. Fochtman, a 6-8 senior center, had 12 points and 14 rebounds.
Greatest heartbreak
Burlingame soccer: Both the boys and girls squads were two of the best around but found no CCS magic. The boys, after going undefeated and winning the PAL Bay Division , held a 3-1 lead in the first round of the playoffs, only to lose on penalty kicks.
The Panther girls suffered a number of close defeats but also had a number of strong wins, earning them the No. 2 seed in the Division II playoffs. The soccer gods just weren’t with them this season — again. They couldn’t knock Carlmont off the top of the PAL standings and were eliminated by Aragon in the CCS quarterfinals.
Teams of the year
Carlmont girls’ soccer: The Scots won their eighth straight PAL Bay Division title and it was one of the toughest. The rest of the Bay Division is closing the gap on the Scots.
Aragon girls’ soccer: The Dons struggled early in the year with a young team, but they were arguably the best team on the Peninsula the last month of the season. Aragon was the only team to beat every opponent in the Bay Division and capped the regular season with a 1-0 win over Carlmont. They advanced to the semifinals of the CCS Division II tournament.
The win over Carlmont may be a preview for the next couple of years. Aragon is by far the youngest team in the division and could be the team to beat as soon as next season.
Menlo School boys’ basketball: The Knights won their first PAL tournament title and advanced to the CCS finals. Not the tallest or biggest team, the Knights get fearless play from two seniors — Beau Heidrich and Michael Guertin. Coach Kris Weems has, in three years, developed into one of the top coaches in the PAL.
Carlmont girls’ basketball: With their win over Washington-SF Tuesday night, the Lady Scots became the first Carlmont team to advance this far into the season.
All this NorCal tournament business is icing on the cake, however, as the Scots won their second CCS title in three years — doing it with a total team effort on both ends of the court. In the first round of CCS, center Kathleen Burrell scored a career high 16 points. In the semifinals, Emily Richard drained five 3-pointers in the first half and in the championship game Melissa Ho set a championship game record with six 3-pointers.
Defensively, the Scots allowed an average of 40.3 points in three CCS wins.
Serra wrestling: The Padres announced their arrival on the wrestling scene with a strong regular-season showing in the WCAL and capping it with a WCAL tournament title.
Nathan Mollat can be reached by e-mail: nathan@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 117. What do you think of this column? Send a letter to the editor: letters@smdailyjournal.com.
The winter sports season isn’t officially over until the M-A and Menlo School boys’, and Carlmont girls’ basketball teams are eliminated from NorCal tournament play. But it’s close enough to give my annual review of the past winter season:
Players I’d pay to watch
Theresa Cornwell, Carlmont soccer: She had the goal of the season in the Scots’ 2-0 win over Burlingame Jan. 17. She split two defenders, slalomed around two more and feathered a shot past the charging Panther goalkeeper and just inside the post.
Eddie Attaway, Hillsdale basketball: Arguably the quickest player in the PAL, he definitely has the best cross-over dribble. He’s quick enough to get his own shot, isn’t afraid to take the ball to the hoop but also has a nice jumper.
The quintessential point guard.
Steve Call, M-A basketball: One of the best pure shooters in the PAL this season. Was capable of going for 20 points on any given night. Absolutely killed Mills this season.
Alexa Tafralis, Mills basketball: The type of player the Golden State Warriors need — someone who can do a little bit of everything. Once she returned from a bout with the flu midway through the season, Tafralis became monster on the court. She scored in double figures with regularity, was a force on the boards, set up teammates with penetration and kick, came up with steals on defense and dove on the floor for loose balls. She did it all for the Vikings this season.
Kaitlyn Revel, Aragon soccer: The senior goalkeeper has been one of the top keepers in the PAL since starting the first game of her freshman year. This season, she took her game to a whole different level.
Revel was known to make the spectacular save one moment and letting in a soft goal the next. She continued making the brilliant saves this season but also improved her overall consistency. That was never more than evident in the Dons’ 1-0 loss to Valley Christian in the CCS semifinals. Revel made 11 saves, including a couple world-class stops, proving to all in attendance she was a legit Division I caliber player.
She’s going to play at Fresno State next season.
Games of the year
Boys’ soccer — Hillsdale vs. Woodside, PAL playoffs: The PAL Bay Division used a four-team playoff to determine the final automatic playoff spot to CCS and this game turned into one for the ages. Hillsdale, down 4-1 including two own goals, scored five times in the final 20 minutes. Victor Paredes scored three times for the Knights and freshman Sean Dunn scored twice — including the game-winner in stoppage time.
Wrestling — Serra vs. Bellarmine: The Bells extended their winning streak over the Padres to 21 straight but Serra pushed them to the very end. More important was the atmosphere. The stands in the Serra gym were pretty packed and plenty of Bellarmine supporters showed up as well.
It was a raucous bunch but the focus was squarely under the spotlight of the two wrestlers. It showed what the high school wrestling experience should be.
Basketball — Mills vs. Serra, CCS quarterfinals: Chalk one up for the PAL as the Vikings became only the third PAL team to beat Serra in the last seven years.
And it came at the biggest moment. Mills withstood a 15-0 Serra run and overcame a five-point second-half deficit to knock the Padres out of CCS.
The Stephen Lumpkins-Matt Fochtman matchup was one of the best of the season and neither disappointed. Lumpkins, Serra’s 6-foot-7 junior post, scored a game-high 26 points. Fochtman, a 6-8 senior center, had 12 points and 14 rebounds.
Greatest heartbreak
Burlingame soccer: Both the boys and girls squads were two of the best around but found no CCS magic. The boys, after going undefeated and winning the PAL Bay Division , held a 3-1 lead in the first round of the playoffs, only to lose on penalty kicks.
The Panther girls suffered a number of close defeats but also had a number of strong wins, earning them the No. 2 seed in the Division II playoffs. The soccer gods just weren’t with them this season — again. They couldn’t knock Carlmont off the top of the PAL standings and were eliminated by Aragon in the CCS quarterfinals.
Teams of the year
Carlmont girls’ soccer: The Scots won their eighth straight PAL Bay Division title and it was one of the toughest. The rest of the Bay Division is closing the gap on the Scots.
Aragon girls’ soccer: The Dons struggled early in the year with a young team, but they were arguably the best team on the Peninsula the last month of the season. Aragon was the only team to beat every opponent in the Bay Division and capped the regular season with a 1-0 win over Carlmont. They advanced to the semifinals of the CCS Division II tournament.
The win over Carlmont may be a preview for the next couple of years. Aragon is by far the youngest team in the division and could be the team to beat as soon as next season.
Menlo School boys’ basketball: The Knights won their first PAL tournament title and advanced to the CCS finals. Not the tallest or biggest team, the Knights get fearless play from two seniors — Beau Heidrich and Michael Guertin. Coach Kris Weems has, in three years, developed into one of the top coaches in the PAL.
Carlmont girls’ basketball: With their win over Washington-SF Tuesday night, the Lady Scots became the first Carlmont team to advance this far into the season.
All this NorCal tournament business is icing on the cake, however, as the Scots won their second CCS title in three years — doing it with a total team effort on both ends of the court. In the first round of CCS, center Kathleen Burrell scored a career high 16 points. In the semifinals, Emily Richard drained five 3-pointers in the first half and in the championship game Melissa Ho set a championship game record with six 3-pointers.
Defensively, the Scots allowed an average of 40.3 points in three CCS wins.
Serra wrestling: The Padres announced their arrival on the wrestling scene with a strong regular-season showing in the WCAL and capping it with a WCAL tournament title.
Nathan Mollat can be reached by e-mail: nathan@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 117. What do you think of this column? Send a letter to the editor: letters@smdailyjournal.com.