The Cupertino Courier

Pioneers þoat to fourth

Rekeita helps 'Tino serve up a victory

By Dick Sparrer

The Pioneers may have left Harbor and Los Gatos in their wake, but the Cupertino boys' water polo team couldn't beat Leland or Palo Alto and had to settle for a fourth-place finish in the Rosenbrock Invitational at Lynbrook last weekend.

Cupertino handled Harbor 12-9 and splashed Los Gatos 10-4, but the Pioneers lost 15-9 to ultimate tourney champion Leland in the semifinals, then fell 8-7 to Paly in the third-place game.

Steven Puccinelli poured in three goals, and Ben Donaldson added two, but the Pioneers came up a goal short against the Vikings.

Brandon Robinson and Trevor Pegg also scored goals for Cupertino in the third-place game.

Robinson and Donaldson tossed in three goals apiece, but the Pioneeers ended up losing 15-9 to Leland in the semi's. The Chargers went on to defeat Serra 15-5 in the tourney title game.

Cupertino opened the tournament with a 12-9 win over Harbor. Donaldson led the Pioneers with four goals, and Robinson fired home three. Puccinelli, Chris Dunlap, David Steinwedel and Daniel Biskupski chipped in with a goal each.

Puccinelli poured in four goals, and Robinson and Dunlap buried two apiece to lead the Pioneers to the 10-4 win over Los Gatos. Pegg and Adrian Malamitsas added goals for the winners.

In other action in the tourney, Ross Morrill canned four goals and Clifton Awuy added two, but Lynbrook dropped a 12-9 decision to Leland. David Shin, Frank Liao and Ylan Iocobovici also scored goals for the Vikings.

Cupertino was coming off a 19-14 win over Monta Vista in a league game last week. The Pioneers led 15-5 after three periods and held on as the Matadors outscored them 9-4 in the fourth.

Robinson and Dunlap led the Pioneers with five goals each, and Donaldson and Malamitsas added three goals apiece.

Cupertino improved to 2-0 in the De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League with the win.

Girls' water polo

Suzannah Johnson tossed in two goals and Tine Van Criekinge, Nicole Morasky and Joanna Chung had one each, but the Lynbrook girls' water polo team dropped an 8-5 heartbreaker to Castilleja in the finals of the St. Francis Invitational last weekend.

The Vikings had beaten Menlo-Atherton 8-4 and Mountain View 10-3 to earn the spot in the finals.

Girls' volleyball

Melanie Rekeita was 23 for 24 from the service line for 19 points to lead the Cupertino girls' volleyball team to a 15-9, 6-16, 15-6, 15-13 win over Saratoga.

"That was her best game ever as a Cupertino Pioneer," said 'Tino boss Marty Redman of Rekeita, who also had six kills and 10 digs. But she wasn't alone.

Margaret Le finished the night with 14 digs.

"She was just outstanding," said Redman of Le. "Without her, I don't we would have won. She tugged some real hard stuff that came over from Saratoga."

Of course, junior sensation Erica Boss was a key player for the Pioneers in the win. She finished with 12 kills, 11 digs and seven service aces. She was 15 for 16 from the service line.

"She really brought some attention to herself at the San Jose City College Tournament with that jump serve," said Redman of Boss. "People are starting to recognize that it's probably the best jump serve in CCS."

Cupertino improved to 2-1 in the El Camino Division of the SCVAL with the win over Saratoga.

Cupertino faces a crucial test this week. The Pioneers will visit first-place Lynbrook on Oct. 9, 7 p.m.

Lynbrook is off to a perfect start in the El Camino Division with four wins to open the season. Senior Susie Perry and junior Michelle Buffum lead the attack for the Vikings.

The Vikings, 14-2 for the year, beat Wilcox 16-14, 15-10, 15-5 last week before handling Milpitas 15-5, 12-15, 15-12, 15-13.

Cupertino, meanwhile, is 11-6 for the year after finishing 12th in the 32-team San Jose City College Tournament.

Caitlyn Moran was 44-for-46 at the service line for 31 points in the tournament, and Boss finished with 29 kills and 10 service aces. Denise Stewart supported with 15 kills and nine blocks.

The Pioneers lost to Mountain View, but beat Oak Grove and Silver Creek in their pool. They were up 15-5, 8-1 against Leigh when top server and setter Catherine Auch went down with a hand injury. 'Tino ended up losing 17-16, 15-9 to Leigh.

In De Anza Division play last week, Monta Vista lost 15-1, 15-5, 15-5 to unbeaten St. Francis to slip to 1-2 in league action. The Matadors, who were coming off a second-place finish at the San Jose City College Tournament, are led by Heather Janssen, Stephanie Knopp and Allison Thee.

Homestead lost twice, despite the efforts of Donna Tripiano and Erin Norcia, to drop to 1-2 in league play and to 6-7 for the year. The Mustangs won the first two games against Palo Alto, but ended up losing a 9-15, 9-15, 15-9, 16-14, 15-10 heartbreaker to the Vikings. They fell 15-13, 15-8, 15-9 to Los Gatos later in the week.

Girls' tennis

Belinda Rungsea won twice at No. 1 singles, but the Lynbrook girls' tennis team could manage just a split last week.

Rungsea won 6-0, 6-0 to start the Vikings on the road to a lopsided 7-0 win over Cupertino in a non-league match.

But her 7-5, 6-4 win at No. 1 singles wasn't enough to lead the Vikes to victory against Saratoga in the De Anza Division of the SCVAL. Lynbrook lost 5-2 to slip to 1-5 in the division and to 4-6 for the year.

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