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Victor Maccharoli
Kevin Lunn, Laguna Blanca Cross Country - Placed third in the state over the weekend in Fresno in a race consisting of 169 runners. His time was 16:01.

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Disaster and birth top Ath. Round Table

By COLBY FRAZIER

Breathing heavily, eyes bright and alert, Carpinteria High School boy’s soccer coach Daniel Torres took the podium briefly at yesterday’s Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table luncheon, and showed how dedicated he is to his young athletes.

“I’ll make it quick,” he said. “I have to go to the hospital. My wife just had a kid.”

With that, Torres said he was thrilled to have his entire squad academically eligible going into the Warriors’ season opener today at Buena, and pledged to turn his team into a CIF-caliber team.

While Torres’ announcement was an early highlight of the weekly event, updates from Westmont College men and women’s basketball coaches were also laden with emotion.

The fire-ravaged school hosted a chapel service yesterday, which Westmont men’s basketball coach John Moore said showcased, “Warriors rising out of ashes.”

“We have a lot to be thankful for,” he said. “Our campus is still standing. No one lost their life.”

Westmont is 3-3 going into this Thursday’s game against No. 9 Concordia, but Moore said two of the losses came in the final seconds of play, leading him to believe his team could easily be 5-1 and ranked.

“That’s athletics,” he said. “Near misses that build greater character.”

Westmont women’s basketball coach Kirsten Moore said the last couple of weeks have been emotionally charged, but “We have, through all that, played some really good basketball.”

While the Warriors were in Helena, Mont., beating Montana Tech on Nov. 13, the Tea Fire sparked to life and quickly consumed several structures on the religious school’s Montecito campus, including the dorm rooms of two female basketball players.

Given the level of devastation, Kirsten Moore said she and her team is upbeat and looking forward to the remaining games.

“We’re really, really excited about the rest of the year ahead,” she said.

Another banner event, not dealing with destruction or birth, was the Santa Barbara High School girl’s volleyball team’s dominant performance in the CIF playoffs. The Dons put an exclamation point on an already successful season on Nov. 22 with a win over Dos Pueblos in Robertson Gym to claim the CIF Division 1-A title.

Santa Barbara coach John Gannon said his team put together strong performances all year, and the last couple of weeks have been “icing on the cake for us.”

During Gannon’s three-year tenure as head coach, he’s led the Dons to third, second and now first place finishes in CIF play — results that he said clearly show the unyielding dedication of his athletes.

“It’s really good to see these girls bring that effort to the court every single time,” he said. “Things are looking really bright for Santa Barbara volleyball.”

The Dons finished the season 26-8, the eight losses coming at the hands of “some of the best teams in the nation,” Gannon said.

Prep basketball officially begins this week and the majority of local programs were represented at the luncheon, offering up a preview of the year to come.

San Marcos girl’s basketball coach Krysten Miller said her team is young this year and will hit the ground running this week with five games in six days.

“We may not look like the most competitive team but gosh, we look like it,” she said.

The Royals opened the season last night against Channel Islands and will travel to the Fillmore Tournament on Thursday.

Carpinteria girl’s basketball coach Dan Mercer called his team, “very athletic.” The Warriors opened up play yesterday in the Viewpoint Tournament in Burbank, and will play two more games this week in the Los Angeles area.

San Marcos boy’s basketball coach Jarrod Bradley introduced two athletes to the Round Table. The first was Shane Moore, who the coach said was the only person he’s ever met who has three twin brothers, and possibly as a result of being part of a family with quadruplets, is ultra competitive.

“He hates to lose,” Bradley said. “He’s one of the most competitive athletes in our program.”

Bradley also introduced his top shooter, Bryant Koopmans, who he said hit 250 free throws on 261 attempts during a recent contest.

“His shot is just amazing,” he said.

The Royals open up play Friday at San Luis Obispo.

Dos Pueblos girl’s basketball begins today at Santa Ynez while the boys also open the season today in Bakersfield at the Simi Valley Tip Off Classic.

Carpinteria boy’s basketball coach John Ward said his team looked solid in a recent scrimmage against four other teams. The Warriors start regular season play next Tuesday at Cate.

Bishop Diego girl’s basketball starts off Thursday in the Fillmore Tournament, while the boys hit the court last night against Santa Ynez and will open play in the Bishop Diego tournament on Wednesday.

Santa Barbara City College Sports Information Director Dave Loveton said the men’s basketball team, currently 3-7, will travel to the Monterey Bay Classic this weekend, followed by the Santa Barbara City College Classic next week. The women’s team plays Santa Monica at 6 p.m. tonight in the Sports Pavilion.

The Round Table athletes of the week were Laguna Blanca cross country standout Kevin Lunn and Amber Stevens, of Westmont women’s basketball.

Lunn placed third at the state meet last weekend in Fresno, covering the three-mile course in 16 minutes, one second.

Stevens notched a double-double (15 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and two steals) in a win over Occidental last week. In the Warrior’s next game, Stevens continued her hot-streak, shooting 4-for-6 from the floor with 12 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals in a win over Menlo.

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