Former Brahma goes Pro BRIEF:

FELIPE GAMINO & BLAKE

WILLIAMS

Sports Editors @fgamino13 @BlakeMWilliams_

Former Pierce College football player Xavier Ubosi has signed with the Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots as an undrafted free agent.

Ubosi, a wide receiver, played with the Brahmas during the 2015 season. That year, he played in seven games and caught 31 passes for 658 yards and nine touchdowns.

He graduated from Pierce in 2016 and transferred to the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where he scored nine touchdowns with 1,065 total yards in his two years as a Blazer.

Athletic Director Moriah Van Norman said Pierce tries to build a program that allows players to reach their goals.

“That’s the plan, to get students where they want to go and build a foundation here,” Van Norman said. “It is great to hear that he was from Pierce and the valley.”

According to Pro Football Focus, Ubosi was a deep threat

Kim said that the team will prep for next year.

“I love to play passionately with heart. Now, we’re going to have more talent. We don’t need it, but having bodies will be enough for us.” supshaw.roundupnews@gmail.com

Tennis swings out at Ojai Pierce reps eliminated on day one

FELIPE GAMINO Sports Editor @fgamino13

The journey on the grand stage for both Christian Ponce and Daniel Vinterfeld came to an end on day one of The Ojai Tennis Tournament.

Christian Ponce and Daniel Vintereld advanced in the doubles competition, beating Reedley College’s James Garcia and Joel Reimer 6-4 and 6-1.

They were eliminated in the Round of 64 by Riverside’s Miles Clark and Gleb Mityurin in two sets by a score of 6-2.

Head Coach Long Dao evaluated the performance of his players in the first game of the doubles tournament.

“It was a good win in the first round even though it was a shaky start they got their footing right and it went pretty smooth from there,” Dao said.

Dao said that in the second game against Riverside, they were tough opponents because they were the number five seed.

“We had some really good chances against them, but we didn’t execute the game plan and it was a tough loss,” Dao said.

This was Vinterfeld’s second year competing in the tournament. Last year he was eliminated in the first round of doubles when he teamed up with Siraj Dail.

Dao said it was great for him to be back, as his experience was going to help Ponce, who was debuting in this tournament.

Vinterfeld said they played pretty well in the first round and said it wasn’t considered an improvement in comparison to last year when he played with Dail.

“It was my last game as a community college player and it was fun,” Vinterfeld said. “I don’t see it as an improvement for me.” fgamino.roundupnews@gmail.com for the Blazers. On passes that went 20-plus yards in the air, Ubosi had 12 catches for 546 yards (45.5 yards per catch average) and seven touchdowns.

Ponce debuted in The Ojai losing in the first round of singles against College of the Desert's Sebastian Gomez by scores of 6-2 and 6-1.

Ponce said that it was a learning experience for him.

"I didn't play well, but winning in the first round of doubles really helped my confidence. I will learn a lot from playing at Ojai this year and will be back stronger next," Ponce said.

As an undrafted free agent, he has an uphill battle to make the Patriots’ 53-man roster. If he doesn't make the opening roster, Ubosi could land on the practice squad or sign with another team.

The Patriots begin their title defense against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sept. 8 as part of Sunday Night Football on NBC. fgamino.roundupnews@gmail.com bwilliams.roundupnews@gmail.com