With Thanksgiving a few days away, Westmont College women’s basketball coach Kirsten Moore took some time during Monday’s Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table press luncheon to give thanks that she is part of this community.
“I want say how thankful I am for this community,” she said. “All of us should be really grateful to be part of a community like this that supports each other and wants to see not only a lot of wins happen on the field but a lot wins happening off the field, too.”
Moore also is grateful for the basketball schedule. For the first time in 20 years of her basketball life (as a player and a coach), she won’t have a game during Thanksgiving weekend. She and her daughter Alexis will be spending the holiday with her family, “which is something to be thankful for,” she said.
Westmont men’s basketball coach John Moore is glad he recruited CJ Miller. He’s the team’s leading scorer, averaging 20 points a game.
“If you ever get the chance to recruit a guy, recruit the youngest of a bunch of boys, especially if (the parents) have boys who are all 6-7 and above,” Moore said. “Better yet, if you can recruit all three of them, that’s the way to go. I had Johnny Miller, Lucas in the middle and CJ. And CJ is the best of the bunch.”
UCSB women’s basketball assistant Heather Zurich said the Gauchos don’t have much height, so a win last week against a Santa Clara team that had two 6-4 players was an ego boost for the squad.
“It was great we could beat a team with size,” she said.
The Gauchos (2-2) host Hampton on Tuesday and San Diego State on Saturday.
The UCSB men’s basketball team was without standout center Alan Williams for its last two games and lost both against Utah State and Colorado.
“You take away 24 points and 13 rebounds that he’s averaging this year and it changes the way teams defend us,” assistant coach David Campbell said. “When he’s in there, it makes our perimeter play that much more aggressive.”
Williams has been suffering from back spasms.
Campbell hopes he’ll be back in the lineup Friday when the Gauchos play host to South Dakota State.
SOCCER
Carpinteria boys soccer coach Leo Quintero will be putting his young team through a tough pre-league schedule.
“We’re playing higher division teams,” he said. “Playing teams at a higher level will prepare us physically and mentally for the tough Tri-Valley League we play in.”
The Warriors are looking for their fourth straight TVL title.
Quintero introduced senior Jesus Ortega, who is back after missing last season. “I know he’s going to be a key asset to his program,” Quintero said.
Rob Lauderdale takes over the reins as the boys varsity soccer coach at San Marcos.
Lauderdale is part of the new look at San Marcos.
“We have new uniforms, new sweats, a new group of folks and we’re excited. This is where the fun starts,” he said.
Lauderdale introduced his team captains, Robbie Landeros and Nick Hall. “They are real important players in our program,” said the coach.
Chantel Cappuccilli, the women’s assistant soccer coach at Westmont, said Saturday’s penalty-kick win over Westminster, Utah in the NAIA National Tournament aged her.
“I feel like I aged, maybe not in appearance but emotionally,” she said. The Warriors rallied twice and won in a PK shootout to earn a trip to Orange Beach, Ala., for the tournament’s round of 16. They play Martin Methodist (Tenn.) on Monday, Dec. 2.
Carpinteria girls coach Lucy Carlton introduced Kelly Lam and Giselle Estrada as two key members of the soccer team.
FOOTBALL
Carpinteria coach Ben Hallock said last Friday’s CIF Northwest Division quarterfinal game against El Segundo was “more like a tennis match, going back and forth, and something was going to break eventually.”
The Warriors tied the score at 31-31 — deuce, I suppose,” Hallock said. “They came back with their ace, which was one of their fine players. He returned the kickoff for a touchdown.”
After forcing Carpinteria to punt for the first time, El Segundo scored again and won the game 45-31, ending a fine season for the Warriors.
“We would love to be practicing this week and watching sunsets, which are great this time of year. But it wasn’t to be,” said Hallock.
Hallock brought juniors Jorge Arroyo and Greg Elizarraraz, whom he expects to be the team leaders next season.
STATE CHAMPIONS HONORED
The SBCC women’s golf team was recognized for winning its third state community college championship. Coach Chuck Melendez brought the entire squad to Monday’s luncheon. The team members
are Fanny Johansson (the individual state champion), Haley True, Saralisa Ortega, Alexandra Brunell, Megan Herrera, Emilie Arnoldi, Vanesa Villa, Maggie Daly and Jackie Ramirez.
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