SBART Luncheon: Gwen Chenoweth Earns Santa Barbara High’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award

An individual award was handed out, a CIF champion was celebrated and local teams previewed a busy week ahead at Monday’s Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table Press Luncheon at Harry’s Plaza Cafe.

The luncheon began with Santa Barbara High’s Gwen Chenoweth being named the school’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year, which was followed by an honoring of Providence girls tennis and updates from winter sports squads.

Gwen Chenoweth Named SBHS Scholar-Athlete of the Year

Chenoweth, a standout senior for the Dons, was named the school’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year for her excellence on the volleyball court and in the classroom.

She has played at the varsity level for both the beach and indoor volleyball teams for three years and has served as captain along with being named to the All-Channel League First Team in both sports.

Academically, Chenoweth boasts an impressive 4.92 GPA while taking several AP courses throughout her high school career. She was also a member of the All-CIF Academic Team for beach volleyball.

She is also a very active member of the community, earning the SBHS Principal’s Award for accumulating over 500 hours of community service.

She is the SBHS senior class vice president, a Santa Barbara Youth Council Member and on the Youth Advocacy Board.

“Thank you for this award, I’m super honored to represent Santa Barbara High School’s athletics,” Chenoweth said. “I’m very grateful for my teachers who have encouraged me to work hard inside and outside the classroom and for all that volleyball has brought to my life.”

Chenoweth is the fourth of 11 Scholar-Athletes of the Year for the 2024-25 school year, joining Carpinteria’s Keyla Manriquez, Providence’s Sarah Monroy and Laguna Blanca’s Chloe Gidney.

The award is sponsored by Marc Gamberdella of the Gamberdella-Spruill Group of Merrill Lynch.

CIF Champion Providence Girls Tennis Honored

The Providence Patriots enjoyed a stellar 2024 fall campaign, capturing the CIF-SS Div. 6 championship with a 12-6 win over Thacher.

“Each and every one of these young women showed incredible leadership, resilience and incredible teamwork this season,” Providence head coach Leanne Patterson said. “I’m so proud of each and every shot that they physically made and each and every step that they made as young women developing into a team.”

The Patriots show off their hardware following their CIF-SS title match victory over Thacher in the fall. (Providence Tennis / Courtesy Photo)

Before rattling off five straight wins in the CIF-SS playoffs, the Patriots recorded an undefeated regular season to round out the year with an overall record of 13-0.

“We’re a small school with huge success this year, and that shows that we have huge hearts too,” Patterson said. “I’m proud of these girls for being who they are, the unity and the incredible effort that they showed every single day, which led us to our championship.”