TheLounge
04-26-2007, 10:59 PM
Erica Moston’s athletic career didn’t exactly get off to a rousing start.
As a freshman at Notre Dame-Belmont in 2001, she tried out for the volleyball team and was promptly cut. Undeterred, Moston then tried out for the golf team. Same result. Moston started to ask herself, “can I do this?”
Yes she can.
Now a sophomore at San Jose State, Moston’s career reached new heights Wednesday when she won the Western Athletic Conference championship at the New Mexico State University Golf Course in Las Cruces, N.M.
Moston finished at 1-over 217 over the three-day tournament, a whopping seven strokes better than the second-place finishers. After a slow start, Moston finished with a 2-under-par 70 on the final day to win going away.
The victory continued an ascent that not even Moston envisioned. As a freshman in high school, Moston never — and she means ever — imagined in her wildest dreams that one day she would receive a golf scholarship, let alone become a Division I force.
“No way,” Moston said in an interview with me three years ago. “Last year (2003) people would ask, ‘So where are you going (to college)?’ I didn’t like that question because I didn’t know if I was good enough to play at the college level.”
But with a work ethic that would make Vijay Singh proud, Moston has steadily improved every year. She’s been blessed with some talent, too. Her blazing club head speed generates tremendous torque and power. She averages over 270 yards off the tee, putts with a Midas touch and plays with the intelligence and imagination of a Fortune 500 CEO.
Moston had played golf only a handful of times when she played a round with her dad Arnie at Cinnabar Hills in San Jose the summer before her freshman year in high school. From that moment on, she was hooked. It was her epiphany.
“I kind of found my passion for the game right there and then,” she said. “Something clicked.”
It sure did.
Having fun
It was kind of generic, according to Daily Journal Sports Editor Nathan Mollat, but nonetheless fun to watch. College of San Mateo third baseman Price Kendall got his much ballyhooed revenge against his coach, Doug Williams, in the aftermath of the Bulldogs’ 10-1 win over Skyline on Thursday.
Kendall and teammate Ryan Scoma showered Williams with the ice bucket treatment a month after the CSM skipper plastered Kendall with a shaving cream pie. According to Mollat, Williams took it like a man and smiled. Moments later, the two hugged. All together now, aww. Mollat said Williams was already devising a way to get Kendall — again. Stay tuned.
Hot on the links
The Serra High golf team won its third West Catholic Athletic League championship in the last four years after beating Valley Christian 195-215 at Green Hills Country Club in Millbrae on Thursday.
The host Padres, who finished 13-1 in league play, received another strong performance from medalist Matt Hovan, who shot a 1-under-par 35. Alex Duvivier (37), Billy Paras (40), Andrew Tilton (41) and Kaivon Talai (42) rounded out the Serra scores.
Showing progress
The wins have been hard to come by for the San Mateo High baseball team, but first-year coach Robert Walker feels his team is much-improved from the beginning of the season. The Bearcats (3-7 PAL Ocean, 4-14-1 overall) won a thrilling 7-6 decision over Aragon on Wednesday. Talk about some high drama.
The Dons had a runner at third base with one out in the seventh when Scotty Kalush hit a deep fly ball to right fielder Lex Walker. Nick Borg, the runner at third, tagged up and went for home. Walker relayed the throw to second baseman Danny Weber, who made a perfect throw to catcher Jeff Rice to nail Borg and end the game.
Duel in the semis
The top two players on Serra’s tennis team faced off in a classic match in the semifinals of the WCAL tournament on Thursday. Padres ace Spencer Talmadge upended Raymond Worley 6-1, 4-6, 7-5 in a match that extended well over two hours at Mountain View’s Cuesta Park. Talmadge improved to 15-3, while Worley is now 16-4.
Contact Emanuel Lee by e-mail: emanuel@smdailyjournal.com, or by phone: (650) 344 5200, ext. 109.
As a freshman at Notre Dame-Belmont in 2001, she tried out for the volleyball team and was promptly cut. Undeterred, Moston then tried out for the golf team. Same result. Moston started to ask herself, “can I do this?”
Yes she can.
Now a sophomore at San Jose State, Moston’s career reached new heights Wednesday when she won the Western Athletic Conference championship at the New Mexico State University Golf Course in Las Cruces, N.M.
Moston finished at 1-over 217 over the three-day tournament, a whopping seven strokes better than the second-place finishers. After a slow start, Moston finished with a 2-under-par 70 on the final day to win going away.
The victory continued an ascent that not even Moston envisioned. As a freshman in high school, Moston never — and she means ever — imagined in her wildest dreams that one day she would receive a golf scholarship, let alone become a Division I force.
“No way,” Moston said in an interview with me three years ago. “Last year (2003) people would ask, ‘So where are you going (to college)?’ I didn’t like that question because I didn’t know if I was good enough to play at the college level.”
But with a work ethic that would make Vijay Singh proud, Moston has steadily improved every year. She’s been blessed with some talent, too. Her blazing club head speed generates tremendous torque and power. She averages over 270 yards off the tee, putts with a Midas touch and plays with the intelligence and imagination of a Fortune 500 CEO.
Moston had played golf only a handful of times when she played a round with her dad Arnie at Cinnabar Hills in San Jose the summer before her freshman year in high school. From that moment on, she was hooked. It was her epiphany.
“I kind of found my passion for the game right there and then,” she said. “Something clicked.”
It sure did.
Having fun
It was kind of generic, according to Daily Journal Sports Editor Nathan Mollat, but nonetheless fun to watch. College of San Mateo third baseman Price Kendall got his much ballyhooed revenge against his coach, Doug Williams, in the aftermath of the Bulldogs’ 10-1 win over Skyline on Thursday.
Kendall and teammate Ryan Scoma showered Williams with the ice bucket treatment a month after the CSM skipper plastered Kendall with a shaving cream pie. According to Mollat, Williams took it like a man and smiled. Moments later, the two hugged. All together now, aww. Mollat said Williams was already devising a way to get Kendall — again. Stay tuned.
Hot on the links
The Serra High golf team won its third West Catholic Athletic League championship in the last four years after beating Valley Christian 195-215 at Green Hills Country Club in Millbrae on Thursday.
The host Padres, who finished 13-1 in league play, received another strong performance from medalist Matt Hovan, who shot a 1-under-par 35. Alex Duvivier (37), Billy Paras (40), Andrew Tilton (41) and Kaivon Talai (42) rounded out the Serra scores.
Showing progress
The wins have been hard to come by for the San Mateo High baseball team, but first-year coach Robert Walker feels his team is much-improved from the beginning of the season. The Bearcats (3-7 PAL Ocean, 4-14-1 overall) won a thrilling 7-6 decision over Aragon on Wednesday. Talk about some high drama.
The Dons had a runner at third base with one out in the seventh when Scotty Kalush hit a deep fly ball to right fielder Lex Walker. Nick Borg, the runner at third, tagged up and went for home. Walker relayed the throw to second baseman Danny Weber, who made a perfect throw to catcher Jeff Rice to nail Borg and end the game.
Duel in the semis
The top two players on Serra’s tennis team faced off in a classic match in the semifinals of the WCAL tournament on Thursday. Padres ace Spencer Talmadge upended Raymond Worley 6-1, 4-6, 7-5 in a match that extended well over two hours at Mountain View’s Cuesta Park. Talmadge improved to 15-3, while Worley is now 16-4.
Contact Emanuel Lee by e-mail: emanuel@smdailyjournal.com, or by phone: (650) 344 5200, ext. 109.