Westmont

men’s tennis resumes season with win over Sewanee

By JACOB NORLING WESTMONT SPORTS WRITER

After a 12 day hiatus Westmont Men’s Tennis (55) returned to action on Thursday in Santa Barbara when they hosted NCAA Div. III Sewanee (6-3). In the first ever meeting between the two, the Warriors bested the Tigers, the 22nd-ranked team in Div. III, by a score of 5-2. The Warriors came out with their foot on the gas in doubles, setting the tone for what proved to be an exciting match. With the first clinch of the day Ethan Ha and Logan Thompson defeated G.T. Alexander Liam Selvido 6-1 on one, and to secure the doubles point, Benny Saito and Owen Vander Ark bested Hugh Graham and Liam Baer by the same score on two.

“On paper, this was a team who was favored to beat us,” admitted Westmont head coach Mark Basham. “I’m super happy with the way we started in doubles today. We took care of business on one and two and had great energy, and I was also happy with the way number three battled.

“Doubles really set the tone, we carried it over big time.”

In singles Thompson was the first Warrior to push the club closer to clinch, as he defeated Alexander 6-4, 4-1 on one. Following Thompson’s result, Cody Ray Emery pulled Westmont within one point of victory after he defeated Selvido 6-3, 6-3, on court two. The Tigers got their first point of the match on court three, where Matt Barnett out-lasted Vander Ark 6-3, 7-6 (5), but the Warriors would not surrender another point before clinching the match.

Doing the honors once again was none other than Ha, who defeated Jax Harbour 7-6 (1), 6-3. Following their clinch on three the sides played the match all the way through, with the day coming to an end on six after Saito won a tiebreaker in the final set.

“Logan got it done on one, really taking control when he won that close first set,” reflected Basham. “Cody Ray did a great job putting us up on two, which was awesome. Collectively, the guys were playing more aggressively today.

“The guys were playing more to win, stepping in and using their legs better. I loved that Benny won his match serving a volley. It was super to see Ethan clinch again as well.”

The Warriors now turn their attention to GSAC play where the club will host two conference rivals this weekend. On Friday at 1:00 p.m., the Warriors host Menlo, and on Saturday at 10:00 a.m., Westmont hosts Jessup.

“It’s nice to get back to .500,” noted Basham, “and we’ve had some good wins along the way. We’re looking forward to getting ready first for tomorrow, and then Saturday.” email: sports@newspress.com

Jacob Norling is the sports information assistant at Westmont College.

Sports Roundup

Warriors split with Santa Paula in track and field

Carpinteria track and field had a hard-fought meet against Santa Paula, tieing 1-1. The girls won 65-62 and the boys lost 34-91.

For the girls, Ainslee Alexander led the way with wins in the long jump, triple jump, shot put, and the 100-meter hurdles. Melanie Avalos won her first varsity competition with an 80-8 personal record in the discus.

Emily Ehlers was another winner for the Warriors in the 100 meters, coming in at 13.96 seconds.

Hugo Alvarado was the only individual winner for the boys. He won the 1600 meters with a seasonal best time of 5:05.23.

The Warriors will compete next in the San Marcos Tri-City relays on Saturday.

Bishop boys volleyball sweeps Cate

The Cardinals boys volleyball team played Cate on March 16 at home. They swept the Rams with scores of 25-12, 25-21, and 25-20. The Cardinals improve to 6-2 overall and 3-1 in league.

Liam Flood led the team, recording 15 kills and five aces. Braylon Katers also added to the win with nine kills and two aces.

“With tough serving and a transition offense, I thought our guys executed really well tonight. That level of play will keep us in contention this weekend at the Dos Pueblos Invitational,” said Head Coach Dillan Bennett.

Like mentioned above, alongside other Santa Barbara teams, the Cardinals will head to UCSB to play in the Dos Pueblos Invitational this weekend.

Santa Ynez falls to Dos Pueblos in beach volleyball

Santa Ynez was swept in a non-league match 3-0 against Dos Pueblos.

Kaki Allen and Gianna Pecile lost with scores of 21-11 and 21-7. Sadie Lishman and Hannah Allen also lost with scores of 21-9 and 23-21. Cailin Glover and Arelie Perez put up a fight with their opponents, taking them to three sets. They ended up losing with scores of 21-19, 19-21, and 15-7.

“We needed to control the ball better and limit our errors. We have work to do with our new lineup, however the girls are making good progress,” said Head Coach Melissa Rogers.

The Pirates will play against Arroyo Grande on March 21.

San Marcos beats Dos Pueblos in boys tennis

The Royals boys tennis team defeated Dos Pueblos 13-5.

Jed Greenwald led the Royals in the singles, sweeping Dos Pueblos. Joey and Charlie Friedman continued their winning streak, defeating all three Dos Pueblos doubles teams. Shea Suzuki and Kyle Shaffer also added to the decisive defeat with two wins. Nathan Shaffer and Henry Challen took down Dos Pueblos’ doubles team.

The Royals will play against Rio Mesa on March 20.