The transition between the winter sports season and the spring is always busy, due in large part to the success rate of the winter sports teams. Historically all five clubs (boys and girls soccer, boys and girls basketball and girls water polo) compete well into the playoffs and the teams often capture CIF crowns. In addition, there are nine varsity-level spring sports beginning their regular season schedules simultaneously. When you sprinkle in a dash of spice from the winter program post-season banquets into the mix, a normally straight forward column gets pretty complicated.

The Islander Girls Soccer Team’s season came to an end Thursday when the CIF Division III champs, the team that finished with the overall No. 1 ranking in San Diego County, lost their Regional Division II semi-final game 3-2 in overtime to Beckman High School of Irvine. It was a really well-played contest, which found the teams alternating goals, and included plenty of back and forth action throughout.

Beckman scored first, with 25:56 left in the first half on a nice combination of passes. At the 19:30 mark, Islander Stephanie Hamilton hit a long, looping shot from the 15-yard line, near the home sideline, over the outstretched arm of the Beckman goalie. Hamilton’s scoring effort seemed to provide the Islanders with new life and they seemingly took control of the game. However, with less than two minutes remaining in the half, a Beckman counter-attack earned the visitors a 2-1 lead, which carried into halftime.

The first 18 minutes of the second half were scoreless, before Mallory Mitchell hit a bomb from the 12-yard line, from well to the side of the goal, which found the back of the net. The shot probably traveled 25 yards in the air, but with a lot of oomph behind it. Hamilton and Mitchell both had outstanding games, working hard to advance the ball in their offensive end of the field.

“Stephanie Hamilton has been playing unbelievably well lately,” said Islander Head Coach Kiko Medina. “She had a great set piece and had some great services that gave us chances. Cassie Callahan blended well with Stefanie Pietkiewicz and helped control the game. Pietkiewicz has been consistent all year. She stepped up and got things going.”

The Islanders had numerous chances to win the game in regulation, hitting an assortment of shots that with a little luck would have scored. Uprights were hit, crossbars were collided with and on one occasion the Islanders missed a largely empty net when the Beckman netminder was caught out of position.

Beckman scored the winning goal 8 minutes into overtime, but wound up falling to Granite Hills 2-1 in the Division II championship game.

“It was a great game and it was unfortunate that we didn’t get the break,” Medina said. “Overall their team speed matched ours, which we haven’t been used to. Normally we outrun the other team. I told the kids to have no regrets and to leave it on the field. I know they walked away being happy with their play and their performance.”

The quarter-final game, which was also played at Coronado two days prior, found the Islanders defeating Sierra Vista of Baldwin Park 5-0. In what could only be described as a bizarre game, Coronado scored at the 11:33 mark of the first half to take a 1-0 lead at the half. The Islanders dominated the game from the outset, but was not able to put the visitors away, until late in the game. With 9:56 remaining, the scoring flood gates opened. Avery Woodhouse scored, followed by a goal from Annie Lovering three and one-half minutes later. Ali Culora scored at the 4:52 mark and Nicole Davis completed the Islander scoring with less than two minutes remaining. Or to put it another way, Coronado scored once in the first 70 minutes of the game and four times in the last 10 minutes.

Medina summarized his team’s season, which included the aforementioned CIF title and an overall mark of 22-2-3. “I honestly thought we went into the year with a chance to do something special. The girls worked hard and accomplished everything I thought they could. It was an unbelievable year and by far the most successful and fun team I have been  a part of.”

Islander Softball Starts Season with Win over Bishop’s

Despite missing two starters out with injuries, the Coronado Girls Softball Team dominated The Bishop’s School 13-2 in the Islanders regular season opener. The normal starting battery of pitcher Brianna Feist and catcher Olivia Nebo were both sidelined with arm injuries. Head Coach Tony Isabella expertly juggled his lineup, placing veteran hurler Kayla Englehart on the mound, moving starting first baseman Anik Ribera behind the plate and playing sophomore Jodi Adair at first. Senior Jessica Adair, Jodi’s sister, took over the shortstop slot for Englehart.

“Anik did a tremendous job catching,” said Isabella. “That’s how loaded this team is this year. At every position this year we will be strong, including the backups. In the Bishop’s game, we were putting the bat on the ball. Last year we went two-thirds of the season without batting cages. This year we have the cages and we tweaked the pitching machines to work on curves and junk pitches. So far the girls are on top of the ball and playing very well.”

The team will be led by senior captains Shannon Julius, Feist and Adair the Elder. Once she returns, Feist will get roughly two-thirds of the starting pitching assignments, and play shortstop when she isn’t on the mound. Julius will patrol centerfield. Other seniors include Rachael Bible who will play second base, infielder Bailey Haines, infielder and outfielder Sarah Moore, outfielder Grace Puglisi and Jessica Adair who plays in both the infield and outfield.

The junior class is a talented lot and includes the aforementioned Englehart, who pitches, catches and plays shortstop. Ribera, who found herself behind the plate in the opener, is the starting first sacker. Coach Isabella says that third baseman and outfielder Nicole Aguilar has the potential to be a Division I player. Alanna Pompa plays the outfield, and will also likely be the Islanders closer, a role she filled nicely against Bishop’s. Adair the Younger, who like her sister plays in both the infield and outfield, is the only sophomore on the 13-member team.

This year marks the first time in many seasons that Coronado will compete in the Central League. The league roster includes Madison, Our Lady of Peace, Hoover, Crawford, Lincoln, Kearny, San Diego and Coronado. “We’ll be playing more city schools and the top two teams are Madison and OLP,” said Isabella.  “With the league having eight teams, there won’t be any byes in the schedule. I’m not a big fan of byes. If you are on a hot streak, it slows you down. If you aren’t playing well, you need a game to find it again.”

Coronado will once again compete in CIF Division IV, after bouncing around Division III for a couple of seasons.

Joining Isabella on the coaching staff are bench coach Mike Pompa, outfield coach Brenda Smith, infield coach Karen Van Ert, and pitching coach Janine MacNaughton. Jay Kruer returns to the helm of the JV program, where he is ably assisted by Doug Barker.

CHS Boys Golf Posts 3-0 Week

Playing their first full week of competition, the Islander Boys Golf Team kicked it into high gear and came away with three victories. Coronado got a little help from Clairemont and Mar Vista, as neither school could field a full team and technically the Islanders had two forfeit wins and one competitive victory. As Head Coach Randy Coutts said, “We would have won the forfeit matches any way.”

Another interesting tidbit is that the Islanders had three different medalists (low score in the match) last week. Sophomore Brian Turley started the week by posting a round of 38 at Torrey Pines South to help defeat Clairemont. “Everybody I talked to said that Brian’s score was just outstanding,” Coutts said. “There hasn’t been a lower score so far this season from all the teams that have played Torrey South.”

The following day Alex Valle and Turley both turned in rounds of 42 to earn co-medalist honors against Otay Ranch to pace Coronado to a 225-232 victory. It is at this point each year that we point out that six players compete in a match for each school, with the five best scores added together to determine the team score. The single highest round is thrown out for team scoring purposes and the lower total score wins.

Wednesday Coronado hosted Mar Vista, although both schools claim Coronado Muni as their home course. Islander Jake Schwartz shot a 40 to capture medalist honors. “Our top three Alex, Brian and Jake are capable of taking on anybody’s Top 3,” said Coutts. “They can shoot between par and 40.”

Also on the team is a transfer from Texas Nick Milburn. Soccer midfielder Paul Romero is also playing golf this season. Three members of the freshman class Jordan Oval, Nick Spear and Riley Peterson round out the eight-man squad. “They all played middle school golf and have talent,” said Coutts of the trio. “They play the four through six slots. They are battling and are pretty close together. The strength of the team is that the eighth player could be subbed for the fourth player. They will be battling each other and getting better. There is a lot of athleticism and they are not burned out as junior golfers. There is a lot of excitement about scoring lower and seeing new courses. They get along and have developed into a pretty good team.”

Coutts thinks Crawford, Christian and Coronado will battle for the league title. Other schools in the Central League for golf include Madison, Lincoln and Clairemont.

This week Coronado faces Bonita Vista at Salt Creek Tuesday; Wednesday they host Point Loma and Thursday Coronado hosts Christian at 4 pm for an important Central League match.

Islander Boys Tennis Wins One, Loses One to Rain

On a neutral note, Coronado’s Boys Tennis Team had their Wednesday match with High Tech High postponed until Thursday of this week. On the plus side, last Thursday the Islanders defeated Hilltop 12-6 to win their regular season opener.

A new rule prep tennis this season allows teams, once the 10th or deciding set in a match has been won, to substitute players. Until now, if there was an injury and a player couldn’t continue in the match, his remaining sets were forfeited.

All three Coronado doubles teams did well against Hilltop according to Head Coach Leslie Koshland. “Luke Hoffman and Kyle Koshland won their three sets at No. 1 doubles. Scott Samperio and Chip Fisher won two sets at No. 2 doubles, as did Brad Mathews and Court Dalton at No. 3.”

No. 1 singles player Sean Lee and No. 2 Greg Lyon each won two games and Sean Koshland won two of his three sets at No. 3. Coach Koshland then made a couple of substitutions to spread around the playing time. The chief beneficiary of the new playing lineup was Chase Dalton, who won one set and lost one.

“It’s a new rule this year,” Koshland explained. “However, once you are out, you can’t go back in.”

This week the tennis squad plays at Mira Mesa Wednesday and then returns home Thursday to make up the High Tech High match postponement. The match is slated to start at 3 pm. Competition in the Western League starts the following week.

CHS Boys Volleyball Gains Momentum

Last week the Islander Boys Volleyball Team traveled to Point Loma and defeated the Pointers in three straight games, to build on the momentum they had established with their semi-final result in the Monte Vista Tournament the week before.

Friday the team returned home and polished off Mission Bay 25-17, 25-11 and 25-12. The Islanders, under the direction of Head Coach Steve Merrill toyed with the Buccaneers after a relatively close first set.  

The starters Friday included Will Cumming, Jake Nicholson, Nick De Marco, Cameron Oakley, Chris Maskevich and perhaps the most interesting story of the group which would be David Rodriguez. Until his senior year, Rodriguez was primarily a water polo and swimming athlete, but decided to give soccer a try during the winter. For his efforts, he was named the varsity soccer team’s Most Improved Player (see awards section below). For the spring, Rodriguez decided to play volleyball for a change of pace.

Against Mission Bay Rodriguez unofficially had six kill shots and served for 11 points in the match, all of that accumulated while sitting out most of the second set. Watching Rodriguez hit one of his powerful jump serves or one of his thundering kill shots, is worth the price of admission.

Rodriguez’s presence opens up more opportunities for hitters Cumming, De Marco and Maskevich. The latter got on a roll in the second game, accounting for five kills and serving for five points in that game alone. Another fine effort was turned in by libero (defensive specialist) Trevor Marcone who served for the first eight points of game two for the Islanders. In game three Nicholson had a kill shot and then served for six straight points to get Coronado in position to close out Mission Bay. In the end, the Islanders had too many hitters and too many offensive options.

This week the Islanders host Lincoln Tuesday at 3 pm and then host Christian at 3:30 pm Thursday.

Islander Baseball Squad Goes 1-2

CHS Head Baseball Coach Sam Ceci is still trying to find the right components for his team, and then plugging them in the right slots. The team lost last week to Grossmont 14-1, as the Foothillers unleashed 21 hits. “They were huge kids, all of them 6-1 or 6-2,” said Ceci. “They had 21 hits and I think they maybe had one flare (cheap hit). They were real disciplined and calm at the plate. They had five or six doubles in the second inning.”

That contest was followed by a 5-3 Coronado loss to Chula Vista later in the week, which was tough in large part because Ceci thought his club was better, but perhaps not last Friday. The Islanders first win of the season came Saturday, when Coronado and Mater Dei played at Chula Vista and the Islanders emerged with a 3-2 victory.

Sophomore Jake Meloche earned the victory to even his record at 1-1. Through two outings totaling 11 innings this season, the stylish lefty has an ERA of 1.91. “Meloche pitched well,” said Ceci. “He struggled a little early in the game, but at the end he was cruising. In the fourth through sixth innings he was retiring the side on eight or nine pitches an inning. He got us back in good shape. He finished much stronger than he started.”

In the search to find everybody a position, Hunter Ralph was back at first base and with his soccer season over, goalie/second baseman Patrick Toomey joined with Ralph to solidify the right side of the defensive infield. Dylan Campbell and Jack Mikesell played shortstop and third base respectively, and “Did just fine,” according to Ceci.

Injuries are mounting for the Islanders in the early going. Garrett Smerdon took a pitch off the back of his right hand during the Mater Dei game. Jack Nicholson, who was injured on a seemingly routine play at second base earlier in the spring, hasn’t been able to play since with a severely injured ankle. Centerfielder and occasional starting pitcher Ryan Shepard took a ball to the face during a recent practice, breaking his nose in the process.

Ceci noted the fine outfield play of Zack Wheeler. “Zack has been playing real well overall. He is as good an outfielder as we have had in a long time, running the ball down and making throws.” It probably helps that Wheeler is hitting .400 and has three stolen bases through four games.

“It will probably take another week or two to sort it out,” said Ceci of his players and where to play them. “We’re struggling some, but I really like the kids. They play hard and in a general sense, we are just a little short on talent. We’ve got to get everybody on the same page and pulling together to have any success. Saturday we did that.”

Wednesday the Islanders play Steele Canyon at Steele Canyon, with the first pitch set for 3 pm. At press time, the doubleheader slated for Saturday with Mar Vista looked like it would be re-scheduled for May 1. Mar Vista is 3-0 in the tournament they are competing in and will likely have to play Saturday morning in that event.

Girls Water Polo Honors And Awards

The CIF Division II champs celebrated their title achievement last week. The Varsity awards as announced by Head Coach Dave Throop included: Captains – Sidney Hoshko and Hillary Estrada; Coach’s Award – Kaylee Ginnane; Most Improved – Kendall Martin; Most Valuable Defensive Players – Colleen Moore and Maddie Murphy; Most Valuable Offensive Player – Ashley Young; Team MVP – Estrada; and the Golden Tassel Award for the highest grade point average – Hoshko. 

The All Western League and All CIF Division II Teams included Young as Player of the Year. Kelly Ronimus and Estrada were both named to the First Team. Second Team honors went to Murphy and Shelby Couture.

Moore, Young, Murphy, Ronimus, and Sidney Hoshko were all named to the Division I vs. Division II All-Star game that was played at Miramar College last Saturday.

The JV and Frosh/Soph awards were combined and were presented as follows: Captain – Kendall Hoshko; Most Improved – Deming Tobin and Sarah Alfano; Most Valuable Offensive Player – Rosie Nolan; Most Valuable Defensive Player – Emma Renly; and Coach’s Awards – Gaby Darlak and Alex Reza.

Awards Presented to Boys Basketball Program

The Boys Basketball program partied hard at VFW Post 2422 Sunday and celebrated the success of the three teams that comprise the program. The Varsity was 22-7 and Co-Champions of the Central League; the JV won the Central League with a mark of 20-2; and the Frosh/Soph team was 13-6. Overall the program had a record of 55-15 for a .786 winning percentage.

The Varsity awards as announced by Head Coach J.D. Laaperi included: Team Captains – Josh McNeal, Peter Zeller and Hunter Ralph; Coach’s Award – Tyler Hill-Hanson; Most Improved – Billy Schmitt and McNeal; and Team MVP – Danny Hebert.

Hebert was runner-up for Player of the Year honors in the Central League and earned First Team honors. Zeller was named to the Central League Second Team.

The JV Awards were distributed by Head Coach Brett Milke and included: Captains – Jason Fielder and Brian Turley; Coach’s Awards – Turley and Fielder; Most Improved – George Bailey and Team MVP – Chris Banks.

Bob Lindfeld, who is retiring as Frosh/Soph Head Coach after 12 seasons, gave his awards as follows: Hustle Award – Nick Wiley; Most Improved – Ryan Herrmann; and Team MVP – Mike Snyder.

Boys Soccer Post-Season Awards

The Coronado Yacht Club hosted the Boys Soccer festivities Sunday. Head Coach Brian Hiatt-Aleu noted that his team was one of five Division III teams from a total field of 26 schools that won at least 15 games this season. Also, Coronado is the lone school in the San Diego Section to reach the semi-finals in soccer each of the past five seasons.

Varsity Awards, which were presented by Hiatt-Aleu went to: Most Improved – David Rodriguez; Most Inspirational – Seth Willey; ISF Award – Tommy Hart; Offensive Player of the Year – Eddie Vita; Defensive Player of the Year – Connor Marcone; and Team MVP – Willey.

JV Head Coach Benny De la Rosa presented his teams’ awards, which included: Captains – Jack Gold and Justin Aden; Defensive Player of the Year – Aden; Offensive Player of the Year – Alvaro Arozarena; Most Inspirational – Jason Vance; Most Improved – Roman Milioti; and Team MVP – Andrew Orozco.