The Sunnyvale Sun
Sports
Cupertino pair share league MVP award
By Mike Barnhart
A fantastic run by the Cupertino boys basketball team ultimately came to an end on Feb. 27, just one game away from the Central Coast Section Division III finals.
The Pioneers, whose consistent team play at both ends of the court earned them the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League De Anza Division crown this season, were outmatched in the semifinals 45-27 by Archbishop Riordan of San Francisco.
The Crusaders (20-10), who went on to defeat Sacred Heart Cathedral for the CCS Division III title, were only the sixth team to knock off Cupertino (23-6). After jumping ahead of 'Tino 22-8 in the first quarter, they maintained a margin of more than 10 points the rest of the way.
Riordan put the clamps on 'Tino's offense, allowing no Pioneer to score in double figures. It was the first time since a season-opening loss at Serra back in November that no Cupertino player scored in double digits.
In shutting down Cupertino, Riordan did what no De Anza Division squad was able to do during the 12-game SCVAL season. In division play, if an opponent kept 6-foot-5 senior forward Mike Carson from leading 'Tino's scoring attack, 5-foot-8 senior Brian Ly or 5-foot-11 junior Kevin Lew seemed to rise up and deliver a big offensive game. The Pioneers always had somebody in double figures, as they racked up a 10-2 De Anza record and won the division by two games.
The De Anza Division coaches acknowledged Cupertino's balance with their all-league selections, which were announced recently. Carson and Ly, who were second team choices last season, were named co-Most Valuable Players and Lew was placed on the all-De Anza first team.
Other first team picks were 5-foot-10 senior guard Keon Ghafouri of Saratoga, 5-foot-11 senior guard Greg Walters of Los Gatos, 6-foot-6 senior forward Dom Powell of Palo Alto, 6-foot-3 junior forward Kyle Perricone of Gunn and 6-foot-1 senior guard Michael Nguyen of Milpitas.
Blake Warren, Cupertino's "sixth man," was one of eight players tabbed to the second team. Joining the 6-foot-3 senior were a pair of 6-foot-1 Gunn players, senior Richard Wiley and junior Ryan Miller, 6-foot-2 senior Andy Capek of Saratoga, 6-foot-3 senior Jordan Jefferson and 6-foot-5 sophomore Kevin Brown of Palo Alto, 6-foot-5 senior Garrett Blackwell of Los Gatos and 6-foot-1 senior Edric Egberuare of Milpitas.
The eight-man honorable mention list featured five seniors, Cupertino's Jonathan Deborba and Sean Brinkerhoff, Saratoga's Steven Walker, Palo Alto's Mike Scott and Los Gatos' Evan Vandenberg. Juniors Nick Robinson of Palo Alto and Stephen Castro and Los Gatos sophomore Michael Hodgeman also were tabbed.
No Fremont players were placed on the squad, but senior Jacob Ryan, junior Kyle McIntyre and sophomores Jordan Sever and Aaron Moore all merited consideration.
Sanders tops list
Lynbrook guard Steven Sanders was selected Most Valuable Player by the El Camino Division coaches. Sanders, a 5-foot-11 junior, often was a catalyst for the Vikings, who earned a co-championship with Los Altos in the El Camino circuit this winter.
Andy Meunier, a 6-foot-9 senior center, was another key player as the Vikings posted a 10-2 record in El Camino play and were 20-8 overall. Meunier was tabbed co-Senior of the Year, along with Wilcox's Sean Brown, a 6-foot-2 forward. Monta Vista's Kevin Lang, a high-scoring 5-foot-9 guard, was named Junior of the Year.
The four special award-winners were picked to the first team, along with junior Trevor Scott of Wilcox and a pair of Los Altos players, Sophomore of the Year Spencer Wells and senior Erik Johnson.
Homestead seniors Jeff Whitford and Patrick Myers were tabbed to the second team along with senior Sean Brar and junior Phaniteja Kannegati of Monta Vista, senior Anthony Ngo of Santa Clara, junior Edwin Jeng of Mountain View and senior Justin Arcune of Los Altos.
The honorable mention list included Lynbrook senior Kameron Zhao and junior teammates Jon Chang and Emre Titizer, 6-foot-8 junior Doug Rathbun of Homestead, junior Marcus Romo and sophomore Kyle Johnson of Wilcox. The Freshman of the Year was Sean Oswald of Santa Clara.
Wilcox dominates
The Wilcox girls basketball team won all of its De Anza Division games this season, beating out a tough Gunn team for the championship. The Chargers then beat out Archbishop Mitty for the CCS Division II crown and advanced to the CIF Northern California tournament. Not surprisingly, the Chargers earned the most recognition from division coaches.
Sophomore forward Deanna Weaver, the Most Valuable Player, and seniors Chrissy Montez and Dara Taleni were Wilcox's first team selections, and a pair of junior teammates--Anecia Jones and Nadia Williams--headed the second team.
Other players named to the first team included seniors Chelsea Ryan (Los Gatos), Neva Hauser (Gunn), Natalie Warmbrodt (Mountain View) and Liz Slater (Palo Alto) and junior Jasmine Evans (Gunn).
Senior Vay Brady of Los Gatos and sophomore J.T. Wozniak earned honorable mention.
Sclavos, Lee MVPs
Juniors Alexandra Sclavos of Saratoga and Diana Lee of Lynbrook shared the Most Valuable Player award for El Camino Division girls. While Sclavos paced the Falcons to the division championship, Lee sparked the Vikings to a second-place finish.
Other first team choices were senior guard Kaila Li of Monta Vista, freshman guard Hanna Nielson and senior post Vanessa Guzman of Saratoga, junior guard Tiffany Wang of Cupertino and sophomore guard Sharon Hao of Lynbrook.
Second team picks included Homestead's Emily Blazensky, Lynbrook sophomore Jennifer Flanagan, Cupertino senior guard Victoria Wu and two Monta Vista teammates, senior point guard Kat Rodriquez and freshman forward Alex Chiu. Vanessa Truong of Santa Clara and Paige Logan of Los Altos rounded out the second team.
Senior point guard Erica Baba and junior guard Sheeva Hamidieh of Saratoga made the honorable mention list, along with senior guard Amanda Hui and junior forward Zoe Booke of Monta Vista.