A scramble is a popular format for a golf competition.
The girls golf teams at Santa Barbara High and Carpinteria will be playing a different kind of scramble for the remainder of the season. They’ll be scrambling to find another course for home matches as their regular home course of Montecito Country Club closes to undergo a major makeover.
“We’re losing our home course this week,” said Santa Barbara coach Ryan Throop at Monday’s Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table press luncheon at Harry’s Plaza Café. “For the next 18 months, we’re going to have to find a course, probably Muni (Santa Barbara Golf Club) or some other generous golf courses in town.”
Dos Pueblos coach Rob Schiff felt Throop’s pain. Their teams played at Montecito on Monday.
“We’re playing at Montecito Country Club before they dig it up,” Schiff said. “We might be one of the last matches played there.”
The course closure also affects a Carpinteria program that is gaining more interest, coach Steve Benzin said. “The program looks good for the future, if we can find a golf course again.”
Dos Pueblos: Schiff brought three members of his 4-1 squad: Megan Caird, Mika Henrickson and Jamie Sharpe. Caird won the Channel League title two years ago and finished second last season. Schiff said he’s expecting big things from her this season.
Henrickson is a steady performer, the coach said. “You always know that her score is going to be in a certain range; she’s steady and solid.” On Sharpe, Schiff said she’s “the player that keeps everybody up.” Sharpe qualified for the CIF Individual Finals last season.
Santa Barbara: Throop has no seniors on his squad. He said freshman Marie Kuschmann, an exchange student from Munich, Germany, is the team’s best player with a 20 handicap. Junior Bridget Gerlach brings good chemistry to the squad, he said. Gerlach carries a 4.3 GPA.
San Marcos: Coach Sarah Ashton introduced her team leaders Mallory Sestak and Remi Ho. “They’re very humble and very strong players mentally and athletically,” said Ashton. Both players have each earned medalist honors three times. The Royals are 7-0.
Carpinteria: Coach Benzin said Elizabeth Esquivel and Yarely Aviles lead the Warriors. They were both all-league second-team picks last season. Benzin noted that 18 girls are in the program this season.
SBCC: The Vaqueros are off to one of their best starts in program history. They’ve won four tournaments are 26-0.
FOOTBALL
SBCC: Coach Craig Moropoulos said the team needs to play better at the start of the game. It fell behind 14-0 in the first half of last Saturday’s 21-14 loss to East Los Angeles College.
“We have a tendency to do that,” Moropoulos said. “We have to find a way to get started faster.”
The coach said Clayton Hanly of Santa Ynez has been a standout at offensive tackle and wide receiver Osha Washington is reliable in any offensive situation. He caught a touchdown pass and threw one in the East L.A. game.
The Vaqueros open American Pacific League play Saturday at West L.A.
Santa Barbara High: Coach JT Stone called the 47-45 loss to Rio Mesa “a great learning experience for our football team.”
The Dons now travel to Simi Valley-Royal, which has a couple of defensive linemen that go 6-4, 280 and 6-4, 270.
Stone praised the work of his defensive linemen, juniors Edwin Rivera and Daniel Rivera, in Friday’s dogfight with Rio Mesa.
He said the team is anxious to get back on the field and turn things around.
“We’re hungry. We walk away from this loss ready to go on Friday.”
Carpinteria: “They say if you don’t win you have the opportunity to build character. So, we’re building some character,” assistant coach Rick Candaele said about the 0-3 Warriors. “What we’d like to do now is build some self esteem with a victory.”
After watching hours of film over the weekend, the coaches came to the conclusion: “We need to tackle and block better,” Candaele said.
He introduced linemen Sam Ernst and Jason Martinez as two of the team’s “grinders” and added that they’ll be playing in new positions on Friday at South Torrance.
Dos Pueblos: Before going against a tough opponent in Newbury Park last Friday, coach Nate Mendoza said he challenged his players “to respond to whatever negative things go on the field. I feel like they definitely did that.”
Newbury Park took advantage of a DP secondary decimated by injuries and threw seven touchdown passes.
“We had some injuries in our defensive backfield and it definitely showed against some very good athletes at Newbury,” Mendoza. The Charger offense put up 400 yards but missed on some opportunities in the red zone.
Mendoza introduced his captains Eric Botello and Austen Pearce. Botello, the center and defensive tackle, is a four-year varsity player. Pearce, a defensive end and tight end, suffered a broken leg in the second game of the season. He still attends every practice to encourage his teammates.
“I brought him to show my appreciation,” said Mendoza.
The Chargers are on the road again Friday at Lompoc.
San Marcos: Coach Anthony Linebaugh said D’Shaun Vines and Paul Gularte are players who “bring a supreme effort” no matter the score. Their effort helped the Royals win their first game of the season, 24-19 over Hueneme.
Linebaugh said Gularte will do anything for the team. In the last moments of the Hueneme game, he punted and put the ball out at the 16. He then made a huge defensive play, sniffing out a screen pass to thwart a comeback.
The coach praised Vines for his unselfishness and being a team guy when called upon to be the Royals quarterback.
Laguna Blanca: Coach Shane Lopes said the Owls are stronger than ever and are aiming to achieve their goals. “We have a lot to prove. There are teams in our league we haven’t beaten and there are three teams I haven’t beaten in my four years at Laguna.”
Lopes introduced team leaders Robert Estrada and Alex Lindskog.
TENNIS
San Marcos: Renee Handley the Sarah Yang have swept all of their doubles matches this season for the Royals, who ended Santa Barbara’s 77-match win streak in Channel League last week. “They’re wrecking shop out there,” said Sarah Ashton, speaking for coach Fred Hartzman. She added that the girls also are involved in the community, working with Special Olympics.
On the court, Yuka Perera (the Athlete of the Week), Handley and Yang “are feisty and fiery.”
Santa Barbara: First-year coach Sally Becker introduced her two returning players, Cade Pierson-Sorensen and Hope Dalton. Sorensen is a three-star recruit and the top singles player for the Dons. Dalton is the team’s No. 1 doubles player who will pair up with anyone.
Becker said the Dons are a work in progress. “We’re having a rebuilding year, so we’re rebuilding and hope to be tough as nails again.”
Carpinteria: Senior Alondra Costilla and junior Kathryn Blair have benefited from tough competition early in the season. Their improved play helped the Warriors win their last two matches after a 0-5 start, according to coach Charles Bryant.
SOCCER
Westmont men: Assistant coach Tovi Eliasen said the Warriors challenged themselves with a difficult nonconference schedule and went 3-2-1. The team has lost four players to season-ending injuries. “We’ve been unlucky there, but we’re very proud of our record so far,” he said.
Eliasen praised the play of senior midfielder Tanner Wolf, the son of head coach Dave Wolf. He’s gone from an unrecruited player out of high school to “one of the best players in the whole division.” Eliasen also lauded freshman Asher Booth, who has scored four goals in six games.
UCSB women: The Gauchos are 5-1-0 in their last six matches, and coach Paul Stumpf credits the success to the team’s high soccer IQ and chemistry.
“The IQ and chemistry is all going in the right direction,” he said.
The Gauchos have two more nonconference matches before starting Big West play.
SBCC men: The Vaqueros are 5-1 and ranked No. 2 nationally. Jonathan Mora, a sophomore out of Santa Barbara High, has score in four straight games.
SBCC women: SBCC (5-0-1) is ranked ninth in the nation and has outscored its opponents 10-2. The team is unbeaten in its last 22 games, going 17-0-5.
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