Sports Update April 2013

          Submitted by Miriam Rotman

Softball

Last week Gunn Titans improved their league record to 4-2 with a 6-2 win against the Mountain View Spartans.  The Lady Titans took an early lead in the top of the 2nd when Iris Chin reached base on a double and was knocked home by a triple by Emma Wager.  The Titan bats came alive in the 4th inning scoring an additional 5 runs.  Winning pitcher Klausner had a shutout going until the bottom of the 6th when the Spartans were finally able to put up 2 runs. Last Friday The Gunn Titans beat the Cupertino Pioneers 6-2 in Cupertino.  The Titans got out to an early lead scoring 3 runs in the top of the 2nd.  Claire Klausner hit a line drive double to left field knocking in Roya Huang and Iris Chin for the first runs of the game.  The Titan's bats stayed hot delivering 4 doubles, including 2 deep shots by Klausner, a ground rule double by Anna Tevanian that bounced over the fence, and a hard shot off 3rd base by Natalie Mackraz.  The Pioneers were scoreless until the 6th inning when they tried to mount a comeback but they were already down by 6 and could only muster 2 runs.  Winning pitcher Claire Klausner racked up 12 strikeouts.

Gunn had a senior on the slab in Claire Klausner and a freshman behind the plate in Katie Garvey. The battery blended youth and experience to outlast host Palo Alto 3-2 in a thrilling nonleague softball game on Thursday that went 9 innings.

Both teams feature first-year coaches -- George Marshall of Paly and Matt Maltz of Gunn.

"That was a battle until the end," Maltz said. "It was a great game. Palo Alto played so well. They stepped up and put the pressure on us."

"It was an entertaining game from the spectators' standpoint, I would imagine," Marshall said. "Against a quality pitcher, I was happy how we came back late in the game and made adjustments. The effort was A-plus on our side."

Klausner was in a duel with Paly junior Julia Saul, who also went nine innings. Gunn's Iris Chin led off the top of the ninth with a single past shortstop Maya Padilla. Chin got to second on an infield ground out, then Klausner walked. After the runners advanced on a fielder's choice, Garvey singled sharply over Padilla's glove. Chin scored easily, but a great throw from left fielder Kabria Dame one-hopped into catcher Maddy Martinson's glove. Martinson tagged out Klausner, who had banged hard into Martinson, who somehow held on to the ball.

Klausner pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to end the game. Klausner fanned 14 batters, though she had trouble with Paly third baseman Hannah Bundy, a pest at the plate. Klausner plunked Bundy with a pitch to start the bottom of the second. Bundy was on second base with two outs when Casey Glassford's fly ball in the infield sailed over Anna Tevanian's head at shortstop for an RBI single.

Bundy lined a ground-rule double down the right field line with two outs in the fourth, then swiped third on a delayed steal. However, Klausner got a ground out to second to end the threat.

The Vikings were outhit 10-3, but had a golden opportunity to win the game in the bottom of the seventh. Trailing 2-1, Padilla got to first on a fielding error. Klausner bounced a pitch to the plate that grazed Bundy's foot, the second time Bundy was hit by a Klausner pitch. Saul lined a single through the box, but Marshall held Padilla at third base, leaving the bases loaded. Shannon Fee singled to right to tie the game. Klausner bore down to strike out two batters, forcing extra innings by inducing a ground out.

“I could see Claire was getting tired, but she fought her way through it," Maltz said. "She's a great player who knows what has to be done to win a ballgame."

"We kind of lost focus in the seventh inning, but I was proud how we could stay strong for the whole game," Klausner said.

After leaving three runners stranded in the fourth inning, the Titans pushed two runs across in the fifth to go up 2-1. Chin was robbed by a fine catch from Paly second baseman Tori Destefano, who went to her right to snag a liner. Klausner singled on a 3-0 pitch, moving Emma Wager, who had walked, to second. Wager was forced at third base when Nat Oda hit what looked to be a base hit to center. Garvey doubled off the glove of Bundy at third, scoring two runs.

Garvey was 3-for-5 with three RBIs. In the second, Garvey threw out Glassford trying to steal second. Wager, also a freshman, had two hits batting out of the ninth spot in the order.

"We had a couple freshmen coming through for us," Maltz said. "Garvey stepped up to the plate and did what she had to do. She's my clutch hitter right now."

"I was ecstatic about the win," Garvey said. "I was so much more pumped up than I usually am because we were playing Paly."

Marshall said Garvey's day at the plate was the difference in the game. "They won the game because Katie Garvey was able to get two two-out hits," Marshall said.

Both teams played good defense, combining for just one error. Titans first baseman Casey Maltz made a diving catch in foul territory on a short pop-up by Martinson. Destefano temporarily saved the day in the fourth inning by contorting her body enough so she could catch an off-target throw by Saul to get Roya Huang out at first base.

Tennis 

Coach Jim Gorman wasn't sure and neither were his Gunn High tennis players whether they had clinched the SCVAL El Camino title outright. Thus, there was no celebrating after the Titans had clinched their 5-2 win over Homestead on Tuesday at the Cubberley Community Center courts. Tuesday's win over Homestead gave Gunn no worse than a tie for the El Camino Division title.

Gunn improved to 10-1 (11-5) with only one division match remaining, but Gorman still wasn't positive his team had wrapped up a championship. "I don't know," Gorman said. "I used to keep all the stats. I don't know what everybody else is. I guess it's possible we might not win it."

Mountain View apparently resides in second place at 8-2, with both losses to Gunn. The Spartans are off this week. Milpitas has at least three losses and Wilcox has at least four. While the Titans hold the tiebreaker over Mountain View should the teams tie, Gunn still has to beat Santa Clara in the final match of the regular season to win the division title outright.

Gunn took care of things quickly by sweeping the singles in straight sets behind victories by Ameya Rao, Jake Chua-Gonzani, Daniel Jacobson and Mario Khosla. For good measure, the Titans' No. 1 doubles team of Avner Kreps and Alex Matthys posted a fast 6-1, 6-0 triumph to get things rolling.

Gunn will be in Davis on Friday for a rare tri-meet with its host and Monte Vista (Danville). Then the Titans will turn their attention to making their league title official with a match at Santa Clara next Wednesday.

Megan Mahoney - Gunn High sophomore basketball standout Meghan Mahoney has won a National Athleadership Grant sponsored by NCSA Athletic Recruiting and the NFLPA.

The award is only given to a select number of student-athletes throughout the country in all sports. The Athleadership Grant is awarded to student-athletes who qualify based on leadership in their community, academic achievement, athletics and a required essay written by the student athlete.

"We are very pleased to be involved with NCSA in assisting in the recognition and the selection of young qualified student athletes to receive scholarship opportunities," said DeMaurice Smith, Executive Director of the NFLPA. "Anytime you can identify, help and reward future leaders to further their education and athletic pursuits, it's a win-win and we are pleased to contribute to this worthy effort with NCSA."

As a result of Mahoney's selection, NCSA Athletic Recruiting will work with her and her family throughout her high school career and assist her in finding a collegiate institution that best matches her academic and athletic achievements.

"Our passionate team of 300 former athletes will personally guide and educate Meghan throughout the entire recruiting process, giving her the tools that she needs to be successful in recruiting and in life." said Chris Krause, CEO and founder of NCSA Athletic Recruiting. "Picking the right college is a life changing decision. It's important for student-athletes to recognize that the choice of a college or university is not just a 4-year decision; it is a 40-year decision that will impact their professional future and personal success in life."

Athletic Recruiting

NCSA Athletic Recruiting is the nation's premier "athletic recruiting network" and leadership platform for student athletes to get connected with collegiate scholarships, internships and careers.

Sarah Robinson - Gunn High junior Sarah Robinson expects to be playing soccer for the Stanford women's team starting in the fall of 2014, but the Cardinal track coaches might want to make her a two-sport athlete after watching her compete at the annual Stanford Invitational on Saturday.

Competing in the girls' mile at Cobb Track & Angell Field, Robinson finished second, set a school record and ran one of the fastest times in the nation this season.

Just two days after competing in a SCVAL De Anza Division dual-meet win over Mountain View, Robinson blazed to a 4:49.26 time while finishing second. That time, which converts to 4:47.58 for 1,600 meters, broke the 1982 Gunn record of 4:54.85 that Esther Berndt ran in the CIF State Meet finals.

Robinson improved upon her previous best of 5:00.34 set last year while moving to No. 2 in the nation this season in the mile and No. 3 in the country in the 1,600, based on times listed on dyestat.com. She now also ranks No. 10 all-time in the Central Coast Section.

"Sarah had an awesome race," said Gunn first-year coach PattiSue Plumer, a former All-American runner at Stanford and former assistant coach there. "We knew that it would be fast, and she executed the race plan perfectly.

"We were both thrilled that she broke 4:50 in the mile. I felt confident that she was capable of racing that fast this season, but wasn't sure that it would be today. This is the first competitive race she has been in this season, and I am very pleased with how she rose to the challenge."