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Published on 10/16/1995 All articles from this issue

Prep roundup

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By Andy Nystrom

Town Crier Sports Editor

Fong 10-0 in singles play,

Mtn. View stuck in second

She has a powerful backhand, talks to herself on the court ... and has yet to lose a match this season.

That's the story of Stephanie Fong, Mountain View High's sophomore tennis sensation. Playing at No. 1 singles, she owns a 10-0 mark for the Spartans, currently in second place in the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League El Camino Division.

"Everything's working for her," said Coach Jerry Gosland. "She's a fun player to watch - very competitive."

In Mountain View's second straight 4-3 loss to division leader Palo Alto last Thursday, Fong defeated freshman Marsen Thomas 6-2, 6-1. With her wicked forehand, Thomas hung in for a bit, but then fell victim to Fong's aggressive play. Also in Fong's arsenal was a variety of tricky shots that landed for points.

Other winners for Mountain View (7-2 division, 9-3 overall) were Sandy Baird at No. 4 singles and Denise Rees-Lindsay Goines at No. 1 doubles. Baird triumphed over Emily Short 7-5, 6-2, and Rees-Goines beat Michelle Braun-Sarah Bennion 4-6, 6-2, 6-2.

On Baird, a senior, Gosland said: "She's a fine, consistent athlete. And she has an inner toughness that I wish everyone had."

As for the senior-sophomore doubles team of Rees-Goines, the coach said their friendship and support of one another are keys to their success. Also performing well are freshmen singles players Denise Olmos and Neeru Batra.

Despite losing seven players from last year's team, Gosland is impressed with his current crop of talent. "They're a close-knit group, they work with each other and have a great attitude," he said.

Boys Water Polo

Soro Salerno and Matt Stone are crucial elements to Mountain View High's water polo team. Coach Steve McCoy even mentioned a few weeks back that "the way they play is how the team plays."

But when each player majored out (similar to fouling out) of the semifinal and championship matches at the Rosenbrock Invitational Oct. 7, their teammates stepped up. The result: close wins over St. Francis and Serra for the tournament title.

Against St. Francis, Mountain View jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first quarter behind six Salerno goals. When he majored out at the end of the third, Stone (seven goals) and the rest of the Spartan crew hung on for the 16-14 win.

"(Playing without Salerno) was a big loss. Both on offense and defense," McCoy said.

It got even tougher from there. In the final against Serra, Stone had to leave while Mountain View was leading 7-5 at the close of the first half.

Serra eventually tied the game at 12-12, and had a chance to win in the closing seconds of regulation time. But Mountain View goalie Mishi Schueller blocked a shot off a breakaway to send the match into overtime.

In the three-minute sudden-death period, Peter Skeehan took Mountain View's first pass and scored to net the 13-12 win.

High scorers during the tournament for Mountain View were - who else? - Salerno with 17 goals and Stone with 12. The Spartans also defeated Menlo-Atherton (11-5) and Los Gatos (8-7).

Mountain View continued its winning ways last Wednesday with a 15-10 victory over Lynbrook in SCVAL De Anza Division play. Peter Skeehan, Dan Skeehan and Mac McKinley each chipped in two goals for the Spartans - 3-1 division, 15-4 overall and ranked No. 2 in the Central Coast Section.

Girls Volleyball

In what Pinewood Coach Bernadette Diepenbrock described as a "heated battle," the Panthers downed Fremont Christian 16-14, 4-15, 15-9, 8-15, 15-12 last Tuesday.

It is the team's fourth five-game win in Private Schools Athletic League play and second against Fremont Christian. Pinewood is 9-0 in league and 11-6 overall.

Leading the Panthers Tuesday were Jennifer Arton (22 kills, 17 digs, four service aces), Marisa Gardner (28 assists), Kyoko Fuke (16 digs) and Tracy Hirai (14 digs).