Westmont men’s tennis wins third GSAC match in a row

By JACOB NORLING WESTMONT SPORTS WRITER

Westmont Men’s Tennis (4-4, 3-0 GSAC) is on a three-game conference winning streak after defeating the OUAZ Spirit 6-1 in Surprise. The Warriors swept the Spirit in doubles, and surrendered only one singles match, ultimately cruising to their second win in Arizona.

“We’re really happy about being able to get both wins on this trip,” said Westmont head coach Mark Basham. “I’m really happy with the guys today. They had great energy, great focus, and really took care of business.”

Cody Ray Emery and Santiago Tintore Ramon got the Warriors started in doubles with a 6-1 win on two, which was soon-after followed by a 6-2 win on one by Ethan Ha and Logan Thompson.

In singles the Spirit had only five players competing in the match, giving Benny Saito a forfeited win on six to start. Preston Hastings was the first Warrior to complete a match during singles, with Hastings defeating Saul Bautista 6-0, 6-2 on five.

With the official match clincher, Ha defeated Noah Koeroessy 7-5, 6-2 on three. Following the clincher the two sides continued competition, with Thompson and Owen Vander Ark also coming away with wins on one and four.

“Ethan came back really strong in his singles match,” reflected Basham. “He was down 5-2 in the first set, and it was awesome to see him fight back and win it 7-5. He clinched it for us again, just like he did during the deciding match last night.

“I’m really proud of Preston for winning both his matches yesterday and today. Owen won a super-tiebreaker today, and Logan won a tiebreaker as well in the second set.

“Overall, I’m really happy with the fight and energy we had all day, and I’m excited about our tough match with Westcliff a week from today.”

The Warriors will go for their fourth GSAC win in a row on Saturday, March 4, when they host Westcliff in Santa Barbara.

Jacob Norling is the sports information assistant at Westmont College. email: sports@newspress.com

Weather to remain dry, at least until tonight

By NEIL HARTSTEIN NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

Santa Barbara County residents, fresh off a sunny Sunday following three days of rain, complete with flooding and downed trees, can look forward to a nice day weather-wise today – that is, until late tonight.

The National Weather Service is forecasting a partly cloudy day today, with a slight chance of showers in the afternoon, according to meteorologist Rich Thompson of NWS-Los Angeles/Oxnard.

“Later Monday night we’ll begin to have a weak series of storms across the county, with .5 to 1 inch of rain along the coast and in the valleys, and 1 to 2 inches in the mountains and foothills,” he said.

Santa Barbara city received less than an inch of rain Saturday, with 0.78 inch measured at Santa Barbara Airport, Mr. Thompson said. The overall total for last week’s storm was 2.68 inches at the airport from Thursday night through Saturday night, he said. email: nhartsteinnewspress@gmail.com

The South Coast saw overall totals for the same two days of 4.2 inches at the Santa Barbara Botanical Gardens, 3.64 inches in the Montecito hills, 3.61 inches in Summerland, 3.98 inches in Gaviota and 3.97 inches in the Refugio hills.

Along the Central Coast, the overall rain totals from Thursday night through Saturday night were 5.53 inches in Lompoc, 2.48 inches at Vandenberg Space Force Base, 2.20 inches at Santa Maria Airport, 4.64 inches in Buellton, and 5.87 inches in Los Alamos. Countywide, rain totals were roughly 2.5 to 4.5 inches along the coast and in the valleys, and more in the foothills and mountains, Mr. Thompson said.

As of Sunday, reservoir levels were Gibraltar, 101 %; Cachuma, 99.1%; Jameson, 100.7 %; and Twitchell, 43.1%.

TRAFFiC, CRiME AND FiRE BLOTTER

Ice leads to Cold Spring Bridge accidents

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY – Icy conditions on the Cold Spring Bridge on Highway 154 caused three separate accidents early Sunday involving eight passenger vehicles and one semi truck, Santa Barbara County Fire officials said. “One accident happened in the middle of the bridge,” said Public Information Officer Mike Eliason. “Vehicles on both sides saw the accident and stepped on their brakes and other vehicles hit them from behind.”

One elderly male with moderate injuries required extrication and was taken by ambulance to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital. Two pregnant women were taken to the hospital, too, as a precaution, officials said. The highway was closed after the 7:46 a.m. accident, but the California Highway Patrol reopened the highway around 10 a.m., officials said.

— Neil Hartstein

HETTICH, Victoria P.

Victoria Lynn Hettich passed away December 30, 2022, at Serenity House in Santa Barbara, CA. Born in Modesto, CA, she grew up in Modesto, Chico and Stockton, CA. Vicki graduated from Stagg High School, and Delta Jr College as one of the first technicians for the new Electron Microscopes. She continued her education at UC Santa Barbara (UCSB) with a BA in Biology. She later went on to earn a Masters degree from USC in Engineering. After graduating from UCSB she settled in Goleta, CA where she met and married her husband of 26 years Herb who also worked at Santa Barbara Research Corp. (SBRC).

Vicki began a 40 year career with SBRC as an engineer and manager, and after numerous acquisitions of her employers (Amber, Hughes) she eventually retired from Raytheon in 2021.

Vicki spent much of her adult life accompanying her daughter, Suzy to horse competitions across the country. She loved being a horse Mom, with almost daily visits to see her own horse Riley to enjoy feeding and riding. She also took numerous trips with her husband to visit his family in Germany, as well as family trips across southern California. For decades there were also annual trips for Easter to Morro Bay with family and close friends from across the state.

After the passing of her husband, Herb, in 2018, Vicki faced numerous physical ailments and challenges. Through all her challenges she continued to work and keep a positive and inspiring spirit to her family, friends and care givers. Her last five months were spent at VNA Health Serenity House, and she became a profiled story of “positive attitude” for one of their fliers. The family wishes to thank the staff, nurses and aides at Serenity House for their care and loving attention to Vicki during her time there.

Vicki (née Phoenix) was preceded in death by her husband, Herbert L. Hettich and her mother, Nancy (née Kint) Phoenix. She is survived by her daughter, Suzanne L. Hettich of Goleta, stepchildren, Heather Hettich of Whittier, Adrianna (Matthew) Wiseman of Woodland Hills, and Joseph Hettich of Santa Maria, as well as her father, Earl L. Phoenix of Santa Rosa and brother, Gerald D. Phoenix of Sebastopol. She also leaves behind her aunt, Marian Pasternack and numerous cousins and other relatives. She is also survived by her loving horse, Riley and dedicated ridgeback, Brandi. A rememberance gathering is scheduled for March 25, 2023. For additional details please contact Suzy Hettich at 805-403-6154.

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