Over the past few months we’ve discussed the prowess of both Islander Lacrosse programs. The Boys and the Girls squads have been ranked No. 1 in the state this season and both are still within hailing distance of the top rung of the state rankings ladder.

As a point of reference for how good the Islander Girls Lacrosse Team is, we’ll localize the Westsidelax.com ranking to the San Diego Section only. Coronado is ranked No. 1 and last Saturday morning’s opponent Santa Fe Christian is currently rated No. 9 in the section. The Islanders defeated the Eagles 14-3 with Coronado missing nine varsity players for a variety of reasons, while SFC entered the contest at full strength.

Sensing the need for a talent infusion due to a lack of available players, Coronado Head Coach Jessica Battle summoned Erica Keamy and Heidi Garbers from the JV squad Saturday and both players scored two goals each. Goalie Meganne Weissenfels chipped in with eight saves. Mollie Privett, Caroline Carlson and SDSU-bound Lauren Maack all scored three goals. Martha Byrne scored a goal and just for grins took over the draw control duties from Kaitlyn Couture later in the contest and won nine draws to Couture’s five.

The SFC game concluded the week’s schedule, but to begin the week Coronado bested Cathedral Catholic 16-3. Maack led the scoring with five goals, followed by Michaela Guerrera and Couture with four goals each. Anna Coumes, Carlson and Privett added one tally each. Weissenfels had 13 saves and the Islanders had another victory.

“The team played well,” said Battle of her team’s effort in the Cathedral contest. “We have been kind of escalating since the St. Ignatius game. That was a bummer, but every game since them we have been lights out. We win all the draw controls and the groundballs. We have been working on our shooting for the past couple of weeks in practice and that has been good.”

Friday Coronado took their show in the road and played at La Costa Canyon, which is ranked No. 4 in the Westsidelax.com poll in the San Diego Section. The Islanders emerged with a 15-6 victory, with their scoring again led by Maack and Couture with four goals each. Couture had an amazing 14 draw controls won to go with 11 ground balls won and four caused turnovers. Maack caused three turnovers and had six ground balls, while Privett corralled five ground balls.

“They were missing one of their top players,” Battle said of the Mavericks. “But in the overall scheme of things, it didn’t make a huge difference. We had two of our starters Alex Reidy and Nikki Kruger out. Unfortunately Nikki is out for the season, but Alex should be back next week. Kaitlyn Couture had a great game against LCC and so did Lauren Maack. Caroline Carlson stepped up and played very well. Meganne Weissenfels has been playing awesome.”

The Islanders final regular season game is Tuesday night at Serra, where Coronado should complete their undefeated City Conference season.

The CIF San Diego Section Division II Playoff seedings will be out Thursday and the first playoff game will be played Saturday. At press time, the Girls (16-1) who are ranked No. 2 in the state of California were planning to play their quarter-final game at 5 pm Saturday, followed by the Boys at 7 pm, with both games at Coronado. The Semi-finals will be played Wed., May 18th, with the game time for the Girls likely to be at 3 pm.

Islander Boys Lacrosse Bests Poway 9-5

Last week the Islander Boys Lax (I’m on a first name basis with the program) Team’s schedule described a similar arc to that of the Coronado Girls Lax (ditto) Squad. They both played three games, but the only difference was that the Boys week culminated with their big game of the seven-day period.

To kick off the proceedings, Tuesday Coronado traveled to Cathedral Catholic to face the Dons and came away with a 10-6 victory. Friday the Islanders hit the road again, this time to Scripps Ranch and Coronado emerged with a 16-6 win over the Falcons. Those two contests were tune-ups for the big contest of the week, which was a 7 pm Saturday home game against Poway.

Depending on which of several ratings options you choose, the Titans entered the contest with a 12-1 record and were ranked higher than Coronado which is now 14-3. After watching the game, you would have to wonder how that ratings faux pas came to pass.

About 90 seconds into Saturday night’s game Poway scored and held the lead for less than two minutes. Kyle Runyon scored with 8:52 remaining in the first quarter, on an unassisted goal from about 10 yards out. About 90 seconds later Hunter Corpus scored from 25 yards away and the Islanders would not relinquish the lead. Four minutes later Runyon scored his second goal, this one after a steal, a long run and nice assist from long stick defender Billy Schmitt. Alex Bookout would compete the first quarter scoring on a nice one-touch shot from a Runyon assist and the Islanders held a 4-2 lead at the first break.

The second quarter belonged to Coronado as Runyon scored on a high-low fake and shot, followed by another Corpus goal and then Runyon scored again on another Schmitt steal, sprint and assist. If you are keeping score, that was Runyon’s fourth goal of the game. The Islanders lead 7-2 at the half.

In the third quarter, Poway scored less than a minute into the game, but Bookout found the net at the 10:11 mark of the quarter and again at 9:25 to make the score 9-3. The final was 9-5 and after the first half, the result was never in doubt. The Islander defense dominated Poway and never let the Titans get on track offensively.

“That felt pretty good,” said CHS Head Coach Alex Cade of the win over Poway. “Our defense is slowly getting better and better as the year goes on. Defense is a selfless thing in lacrosse and they are playing well as a unit. Guys who are playing a big role include Jake Shepherd who is steadily improving. Paul Rodriguez has been filling in and already is an excellent junior defenseman and playmaker. He is learning long stick defense and long stick midfield is really suiting him well. That is allowing Billy Schmitt to run up the field a little bit. Billy had a nice game Saturday night. He has really embraced his new role. We’re getting a defensive dynamic that we like.”

Cade discussed his midfielders and their contributions. “We got great faceoff efforts from Andrew Woolf and Tyler Smith. Sergio Flores played hurt and he is a tough, tough kid. He has been one of our emotional anchors all year. He is way less than 100 percent. That was the second game back for Hunter Corpus, who was hurt before our first game. Having him back is a nice treat. George Bailey has been a workhorse for us and Jacob Lujan has embraced his role offensively and defensively at midfield. He’s a tough kid who likes to get out and bang the other team. Reis Stanley played with a thumb fracture that is common for goalies. I thought he played pretty well under the circumstances.”

On this week’s schedule are the last two games of the regular season, which starts with Monday evening’s home game with Patrick Henry. But the big game of the week and one of the bigger contests this season is Wednesday night against La Costa Canyon. Game time is 7 pm. LCC (15-3) is ranked No. 2 in the state of California and Coronado is currently No. 3.

“I think we match up well with LCC,” Cade said. “I firmly believe the only team that can beat us is ourselves. With this team that is especially true. About halfway through the season we stopped doing scouting reports (on the opposition) and started focusing on ourselves. The kids have learned that if they play up to their potential and work hard during the week that there isn’t any team anywhere that we can’t beat.”

Cade acknowledged the great crowd for the Poway game. “We had an awesome turnout. The kids play up to the fans. We hope we can get that kind of turnout Wednesday too. I’m looking for improvements from the team Monday and Wednesday night. I’m just excited to see how these kids end up.”

Islander Boys Volleyball Wins Three Straight to Conclude Regular Season

Finishing their regular season on a decided upswing, the Islander Boys Volleyball Team swept three opponents last week, including Hoover on the road Wednesday evening. “I was really proud of the boys and how we played against Hoover,” said Head Coach Shawn Patchell. “We gave them their first loss in league and it was a good win to have going into the CIFs.”

Patchell reported the set scores as 25-23, 20-25, 25-20 and 25-18. “I was really pleased with the energy and the concentration, with the exception of Game Two,” Patchell added. “In that game we had a little lapse. We really played with a lot of focus, which was nice to see.”

According to Patchell, senior setter Jake Nicholson was an important factor in the victory. “Jake had a strong match. He had never beaten Hoover in his high school career and he talked about this match all year. Jake started the ball rolling with the guys being focused. I was really pleased with our outside hitters John Nettleton and Josh Abrantes, both of whom had a very good match. You are only as good as your outside hitters. We beat the number one team in the league. We passed well and played with some poise in some tough situations. I’m excited to see how well we do in the playoffs.”

The Islanders first match of the week was a three set win over Clairemont on the road Tuesday. Thursday the Islanders played Madison on the road, with Coronado winning in five sets. “Madison became a nail biter,” laughed Patchell.

Coronado concluded their regular season with a record of 10-9 and a 10-2 mark in the Central League. With the regular season over, league honors were recently announced with Nicholson being named Central League MVP. Andrew Orozco earned Second Team Central League honors, with Jason Fielder, Tyler Webb, John Nettleton and Josh Abrantes all earning Honorable Mention accolades.

So now it’s on to the Division IV Playoffs, where Coronado will host a First Round home game against Mater Dei Wednesday evening at 7 pm. If they win, they will advance to the Quarter-Finals Saturday at 5 pm at St. Augustine. “We’ll take it one match at a time,” said Patchell. “I wouldn’t want to play us in the playoffs that’s for sure.”

CHS Boys Tennis Team Downs St. Augustine

We noted last week that the CHS Boys Tennis Team was having a resurgent year. They completed the regular season portion of their schedule last week with a 12-6 win over St. Augustine. Coronado finished with an overall mark of 11-4 and was 6-4 in the Western League.

Singles stalwarts Sean Lee and Greg Lyon led the way against the Saints, with both players winning all three of their singles matches. Cort Dalton playing at No. 3 singles won one set.

On the doubles side, Luke Hoffman/Kyle Koshland won three sets. Brad Mathews/Weston Breay and Shaun Koshland/Grey Halpin won one set each.

Starting their post season campaign this week, the Islanders drew the No. 4 seed in CIF Division III and will host Christian Tuesday at 3 pm. If form holds and the Islanders defeat the Patriots, Coronado will host the Bishop’s Knights Wednesday afternoon at 3 pm. CIF Team play will conclude this week and the Western League Tournament for singles and doubles competition will be held next week. Congratulations to Head Coach Leslie Koshland and her squad for a fine regular season.

Islander Boys Golf Performs Well in City Conference Event

My goals in life are simple. One of them is to eventually understand the Byzantine prep golf playoff system. With considerable assistance from CHS Head Coach Randy Coutts, we’ll forge ahead and attempt to relate the good news from the Balboa Golf Course of last week.

Last week’s City Conference event was played over a two-day period, with the first day used to determine All-League teams. The Central League, the Western League and the Eastern League together comprise the City Conference. Coronado competes in the Central League in golf.

The Islanders sent six players out in the first day of play and taking the best five scores shot a 371 for the team. On the final nine holes, the team shot a collective score of 179, which is one stroke under par. Leading the way for Coronado were seniors Andrew Lister and Brian Turley, who both shot a round of 69. This fine outing earned them Central League Co-Player of the Year honors and landed them on the First Team All-Central League. Joining them on the First Team was Cole Summers, who shot a 76. Second Team All-Central League honors were accorded to Nick Spear, Sven Karlsson and Jordan Oval.

“We beat St. Augustine and Cathedral,” said Coutts of the Islanders team score. “It was an amazing day.”

On the second day of play, the Islanders as a team cooled off a little bit and only Lister and Turley qualified for the City Conference Match Play event, based on their two-day total score. Lister was tied for second overall and Turley was seventh. The top 32 players in the entire conference qualify for match play, which is held starting Monday of this week at Torrey Pines South.

“The big thing is Torrey Pines South is a long course,” said Coutts. “And both Andrew and Brian drive long. If they play against a kid who is average in length, they should do well. I would be very surprised if they don’t advance.”

The CIF Team and Individual and Team Championships will be played at the Coronado Municipal Golf Course May 24 and 26. Some of the best amateur golfers in Southern California will be competing in the event. Coronado qualified for the team competition in Division II as the Central League regular season champion.

Coronado Softball Posts 2-0 Week

The Islander Softball Team came barreling down the stretch of their regular season last week and won twice. Tuesday Coronado traveled to Hoover and came away with a 25-3 victory. Lakota Abdalla-Kane took the mound for the Islanders, struck out eight Cardinals hitters and yielded only three hits.

Coronado’s offense was paced by six home runs, including two from Jodi Adair and one each from Olivia Nebo, Nicole Aguilar, Alanna Pompa and Hali Danna. Hollyn Toomey didn’t have a long ball, but she went 4-5 at the plate and scored four runs. Abdalla-Kane was also 4-5 with three doubles. In the understatement of the spring sports season, Head Coach Tony Isabella said, “We were hitting the ball.” Indeed.

The second game of the week was a home game against the Academy of Our Lady of Peace. The first time the two clubs played, the Pilots won 6-4. This time around Coronado won 3-2 with what Isabella described as, “Late inning heroics.” In the bottom of the fifth inning and trailing 2-1, Coronado scored twice. Adair singled and Brooke Gensler reached base on an OLP error. With two on and two out, Nebo got a hit to drive in Adair, followed in short order by Lauren Curtis driving in Gensler with a base hit for another run.

In the top of the sixth inning, according to Isabella, Pompa made an exceptional running catch in right center field. “She tracked it down and made the putout,” Isabella said. “Our other defensive standouts were Curtis and Danna. Lauren had four assists at third base and Hali had three assists and a putout at second base.”

The two victories place Coronado at 11-5 overall and 9-2 in the Central League. The Islanders final three regular season games are this Tuesday at San Diego, this Thursday at Madison and next Monday, May 16, when the Islanders host Lincoln for their final regular season game.

Islander Baseball Gets Revenge for Loss to Madison

Last week we went into some detail regarding the Coronado vs. Madison game played at PETCO Park, won by Madison 6-0. Technically that contest was an Islander home game, with the second game of the two-game Western League set played last Tuesday at Madison. Coronado defeated the War Hawks 4-1 on a fine complete game pitching performance from junior lefthander Luke Gillingham.

Madison’s lone run was earned, but Gillingham lowered his earned run average for the season to 1.94, which places him in an exact tie with fellow junior left-hander Jake Meloche for the lead in team ERA. “Gillingham pitched very well,” said Head Coach Sam Ceci. “He competed and kept them off balance. We got our four runs and kind of cruised.”

Somewhat ironically, the effort that Madison had to win the game played at PETCO Park wasn’t on display Tuesday afternoon, according to Ceci. “They were as flat as flat could be early. We got four hits and they walked us enough and they had four or five errors which got us the runs. The key plays in the game were them throwing the ball away or not making the play. The breaks went our way.”

Tyler Brownell had two of the Islanders four hits, with Jack Mikesell and Meloche adding one each. Andrew Toomey, Kyle Teachout, Colin Clark and Mikesell scored the Islander runs, while Devin Vaage and Brownell were credited with the RBIs.

Coronado (11-14 overall, 3-5 in the Western League) had only one game last week and this week they play return to the home-and-home game league format with a series against Mission Bay. Tuesday the teams are at Coronado and Thursday the game is at Mission Bay. Both games start at 3 pm.

The rest of the Islander’s Western League regular season is important for playoff seeding purposes. “We have to split with Mission Bay,” Ceci stated. “If we can beat them twice, it puts us in a good position in Division IV. We finish the season next week with two games against Cathedral Catholic. They are the gorilla. They can compete anywhere they want.”

Through last week’s game, several Islanders are among the county leaders in several statistical areas. Mikesell is hitting .379 (22-59); Gillingham (4-3) and Austin Denson (2-2) are included among pitching leaders with at least four decisions; Meloche has 55 strikeouts and Teachout has accumulated two saves.

CHS Swim Team

The CHS Swim season is drawing to a close and Head Coach Dave Throop provides his perspective on the balance of their campaign. “The City Conference Championships begin with the Girls Prelims on Tuesday, May 10, and are followed on Wednesday with the Boys Prelims. The conference meet concludes Friday, May 13 with the Championship Finals.  All three days of competition are held at La Jolla High School. The Boys and Girls diving will be held Thursday, May 12.  

The team is allowed four entrants per event, all of whom have to meet a minimum time standard. The Top 16 finishers in each event will have an opportunity to compete in the Championship Finals (the top eight times) or the Consolation Finals (times nine through 16) on Friday.  Swimmers score points for the team based upon their placement in the 1-16 finish at the Championships, so early prelim performance is important.  

The criteria we used for entries of the Coronado team members, was that we entered people into each event that we felt would offer the team the most competitive chance for advanced placement. Another factor was to try to reward the athletes for their commitment and training, but that was secondary to our primary purpose of team scoring and placement. 

Our goals entering into the meet are simple.  First was to race, second was individual improvement and with those two met, we feel that team scoring and placement will take care of itself.  

The swim staff, which includes me, Randy Burgess, Sandra Hill and Ashleigh Rood, plus Diving Coach Jake Roberson, is excited to see the group compete and perform.  The swimmers have invested themselves into what's been asked of each of them and their performances should reflect the work they've done to this point.  Traditionally, we've performed well as the season progresses. With the attitudes and efforts of this group being as they've been, the positives should be superlative.”

CHS Alumni Women’s Water Polo News:

The depth of the Girls Water Polo program at Coronado High School can be shown by the additional report that Dave Throop filed regarding the current college water polo season, which is approaching their national playoffs. A total of 13 CHS alumnae are currently competing in collegiate water polo.

“Coronado established a footprint this past season in NCAA Collegiate Water Polo circles.  Here's a list of who helped contribute to their teams in conference championship play. Ashley Young (CHS '10) has been named to the All MPSF Newcomers Team and her Cal Berkeley squad won the MPSF Tournament and earned a No. 2 seed at NCAA's. UCLA’s Katie Estrada (CHS '07), Hannah Sebenaler (CHS '08) and Kelly Ronimus (CHS '10) were MPSF team runners-up and earned the No. 3 seed in the NCAA Championships.

Hillary Estrada's (CHS '10) UC Irvine team won the Big West tournament and earned the No. 5 seed at the NCAA's. Alex Adamson (CHS '09) competes for Michigan and was named Second Team all CWPA and they finished as conference runners-up. Alana Burgess (CHS '08) played a role in the San Diego State's 20-15 record and fine finish in the difficult MPSF conference.   Sidney Hoshko (CHS '10) and Kaylee Ginnane (CHS '10) helped Wagner University to a second place finish in the MAAC conference. Natalie Stringer (CHS '10) helped Marist to a third place finish in the MAAC tournament. 

Carly Hoshko (CHS '08) and teammate Maddie Murphy (CHS '10) were major contributors to Maryland's third place finish in the CWPA. Kathy Bailey (CHS '09) redshirted for the UC Davis Aggies.”

CHS Fun Sports Fact

As we traversed through the various team reports in this column, it occurred to me that the Islander sports teams as a whole were having a particularly good week. In fact they compiled a record of 13-0. Individually, Girls Lacrosse (3-0), Boys Lacrosse (3-0), Boys Volleyball (3-0), Boys Tennis (1-0), Softball (2-0) and Baseball (1-0) all contributed to the perfect week.

CHS Football Organizational Meeting Saturday

New Islander Football Head Coach Tony Isabella and his coaching staff will be holding an organizational meeting for all prospective players and parents interested in football at CHS next season. The confab is scheduled for 10 am Saturday, May 14th and will provide families with the opportunity to meet the coaching staff.

Also, Isabella expects to have the dates for the summer weight room workouts and a look at the 2011 football schedule. The meeting will be held at the CHS Gymnasium.