Marin Independent Journal
Redwood High’s Drew Kells put to rest any ideas that his MCAL winning streak might be in jeopardy Tuesday. The Giants made quite a statement of their own, too.
Kells dispatched Drake’s Sky Lovill 6-1, 6-3 in a matchup of two of the county’s top junior players and the Giants rolled to an 8-1 win over the Pirates (0-2, 0-1 MCAL) in the league opener.
Kells beat Lovill 6-3, 6-1 last week at a USTA junior tournament in Hawaii. The set scores flip-flopped Tuesday in Lovill’s first league match since his freshman year.
“Sky is a great player, but Drew is exceptional,” Redwood coach Nick Hoppe said. “(Drew is) a little stronger, a little more consistent, but it was a great match. There were some jaw-dropping points, but Drew won most of them. It was fun to watch.”
Redwood won all of its matches in straight sets. Drake’s Andrew Klyce won the No. 6 singles match against Chris Hannum 6-7, 7-6, 10-4 in a two-hour marathon. Klyce improves to 2-0 on the season.
Both sets of brothers - Jonathan and Daniel Kaplan, and Sam and Jake Zeisler - won doubles matches for Redwood (2-0, 1-0).
“There were some real battles out there that the scores didn’t indicate,” Hoppe said. “Drake is a much-improved team.
I was pleased with how everybody played.”
Branson 5, Marin Catholic 4
The difference: The Wildcats lost by the narrowest of margins, dropping two super-tiebreakers including a nail-biter at No. 4 singles between Bryson Malone and Branson’s Wells Johnston. Johnston won the match 7-6 (4), 4-6, 10-8.
From the coach: “That was a real heartbreaker,” MC coach Keith Hayes said. “Wells had our guy in the tiebreaker 9-4 and you play to 10. Malone won four points in a row to make it 9-8. On the last point Malone came in to tie it all up and (Johnston) hit a ball that hit the top of the tape and trickled over to win the match.”
Notable: The other tiebreaker came at No. 1 singles, with Branson’s Nate Currier and Brooks Madden emerging with a 4-6, 6-1, 11-9 victory over Stuart Adamson and Chris Ottoboni. Jacob Cohen won at No. 1 singles for Branson (1-0, 1-0) over Alec Govi for the Wildcats (1-1, 0-1).
Justin-Siena 6, San Marin 3
The difference: With everyone playing up a spot due to the absence of No. 1 singles Chris Sangster (flu), the Mustangs stumbled at the top of the singles ladder and dropped their league opener to Justin. Mike Grech won his first ever high school match at No. 6 singles over Reid Dagul 6-0, 3-6 (7), but San Marin was shut out in singles other than that.
From the coach: “Everyone was playing one higher,” San Marin’s Ryan Berberian said. “I was proud of Mike. It was his first ever high school match and he won the first, lost the second, but recovered and got the jitters out and won the tiebreak.”
Notable: David Greenhalgh and Jamie Greene won at No. 1 doubles and James Austin and Alex Reed took the No. 2 doubles match to account for the Mustangs’ other two points.
San Rafael 7, Novato 2
The difference: The Bulldogs (1-0) came out on the winning end of three of the four matches that went to super-tiebreakers to give them a narrow win over Novato. Danny Thompson, Andrew Beckerman in singles and the doubles team of Michael Benesch and Oliver Ingsixiengmay all won in the extra set for San Rafael.
From the coach: “If we would have won those tiebreaks we would have won the whole thing,” Novato’s Birdie Petrini said. “San Rafael played well and they are a good team. The best match of the day was Ian O’Leary, our freshman (against Beckerman). He fought hard but he was just beaten by someone with more experience. (O’Leary) played a good match.”
Notable: No. 4 singles Eric David and the doubles team of Jean Pelletier and Andrew Louie got wins for Novato. Andrew Friedman of San Rafael beat Connor O’Hara 6-3, 6-2 in the No. 1 singles match.
Tam 7, Terra Linda 2
The difference: Tam won two of the three-set matches in their season opener against a struggling Terra Linda squad. CJ Fazekas defeated Tam’s Aldrich 6-0, 6-1 at No. 1 singles while Alex Kaiser easily defeated his opponent 6-3, 6-0 at No. 2.
From the coach: “It’s a good start to the season. … We lost a lot of players last year and we’ve got a very young team,” Tam’s Bill Washauser said. “We’re just learning how to go out there and win and I was really happy with what the top did today with their wins. They played well. Every match will be an adventure.”
Terra Linda 3, Lowell 0
The difference: Freshman Maddie Tight scored twice to lead host Terra Linda (3-1-1) to victory. Tight finished a cross from Alex Carr in the 30th minute, and knocked in a through ball from Jordyn Theroux in the 55th minute. Theroux found Tyler Compagna with a nifty pass five minutes later, and Compagna scored to account for the final margin.
From the coach: “We played pretty well,” Terra Linda’s Bruce Gustin said. “It was our fifth game, and we’re basically seeing improvement with each game. Our speed of play is picking up, our movement around the ball is picking up. I’m pretty happy with them.”
Notable: Tight was named to a list of the 20 best players at the Trojans’ recent tournament at St. Mary’s of Stockton.
Urban 2, Drake 1
The difference: Keni Shea scored directly on a bending corner kick to trim the Pirates’ deficit to 2-1, but they were unable to complete the comeback.
From the coach: “Urban was a (North Coast Section) seed last year,” Drake’s Luis Quezada said. “It’s a very strong showing for us even though we didn’t win. We were very unlucky when it came to finishing but it gives us something to strive for.”
Notable: Quezada credited Erin Freeman, Stephanie Kyne, Tia Farando and Kelsey Shea with playing strong games.
Marin Catholic 2, Head-Royce 0
The difference: In the 45th minute of the second half, Molly Scheuffler scored the first goal for the Wildcats on an assist from Kimmy Koenig. From there Marin Catholic (2-1-0) held a strong midfield played by Theresa Devine, Noel Fie and Karly Lundy. In the 60th minute, Adrienne Vita scored on an assist from Megan Harmer to seal the win.
From the coach: “Our possession and passing were very strong and the defense stayed organized,” MC’s Rob Funes said.
Notable: MC took 24 shots to Head-Royce’s one.
Branson 7, College Prep 0
The difference: Amy Schlueter scored four goals and had plenty of help as Branson blasted its way past College Prep for its first win of the year. The Bulls (1-0-1) also got goals from Katie Scholick, Carly Helfrich, and Juliana Stone.
From the coach: “We had real good balance,” Branson’s Tom Ryan said. “We obviously moved the ball around real well and a lot of different people contributed. It was nice to see other kids step up and show offensive potential.”
Notable: Caedran Harvey tallied two assists and Scholick and Helfrich each had one. Ryan praised the play of Emily Chang on defense. Jess Cohen and Meghan Crowley combined for the shutout.
St. Patrick/St. Vincent 2, Marin Catholic 0
The difference: Marin Catholic (0-1) played errorless defense and added four base hits against St. Patrick/St. Vincent (1-0). MC’s Sarah Sherburne had nine strikeouts. She allowed just four hits, but St. Pat’s came up with three doubles and a triple, scoring in the third and sixth innings.
From the coach: “We’re working a new combination that we’ve never done before and the girls are still getting used to it, but I think they did well adjusting,” MC’s Gina Grant said.
Analy 3, Drake 0
The difference: McKenna Silva registered a solid effort on the mound, scattering four hits over seven innings and striking out five batters, but it wasn’t enough as the Drake offense sputtered in Sebastopol.
From the coach: “McKenna did a good job and kept her composure after giving up two runs in the first,” Drake’s Melissa Kirby said. “Our defense was solid, but we’re young so we’re still a little inexperienced in a few situations.”
Notable: Silva, Maddi Wachs and Danielle Curtain all registered hits for the Pirates (0-2).
Redwood 11, Analy 9
The difference: After a series of rainouts last week, the Giants started off their regular season with a forceful offense and a showcase of young talent. Sophomore Nate Tsang pitched through the fourth and allowed no earned runs. Alex Wirta went 2-for-3 with two RBIs while teammate Dave Lam also went 2-for-3. Sophomore Taber Watson went 4-for-4 with a double. The Giants allowed six runs in the sixth, but Analy’s lineup couldn’t pull out the win.
From the coach: “It was a real team effort. Other than the last, we scored every inning which was nice to see as a coach.” Redwood’s Gino Pomilia said. “It was good that someone different in every inning was getting hits.”
Notable: Tsang also went 3-for-3 with a double.
San Marin 10, Petaluma 2
The difference: The floodgates opened for the Mustangs (2-0) in the third inning, as they scored nine runs in a victory over at Petaluma (0-1). Tony Taylor had three RBIs in the inning for San Marin, including a run-scoring triple. San Marin’s Michael Lopez got the win.
From the coach: “We got fortunate (in the third),” San Marin’s Mark Whitburn said. “They made a few errors and walked a few batters, and then (Taylor) had a bases-loaded single to bring in a couple more.”
Notable: Mike Gonzalez had a double for San Marin, which pounded out eight hits for the game.

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