McMorrow and Sanders win singles titles at Ojai tournament

Just a quick recap of what happened today/Saturday in the Ojai Valley Tennis Tournament: Kyle McMorrow of Thousand Oaks won the CIF Boys' Singles with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Crossroads' Reese Milner.

Britney Sanders of Ontario Christian won the Girls' 18s Singles division when Kaitlyn Christian retired after losing the first set, 6-1. Freshman Marcos Giron of Thousand Oaks lost to Weil Academy's David Watson, 7-6(6), 6-3, in the Boys' 16s final.   

Crossroads and Santa Barbara shared the Griggs Cup, awarded to the team that accumulates the most combined points in singles and doubles.

-- Steve Galluzzo 

-- Image from www.ojaitourney.org

Baseball: For St. Anthony, this Austin is stone cold good

Just spotted a name... Austin Muhleka, the shortstop for St. Anthony. Saw him listed as one of the nation's leading hitters with a .569 average, according to MaxPreps.

Then, I did some Googling and -- that's it! -- I now know where I remember him from... the gridiron. He was St. Anthony's quarterback, who threw for nearly 2,000 yards this past season and led the Saints to a 7-4 season.

On the diamond, Muhleka is the centerpiece of the Saints' offense and pitching staff. He has that awesome batting average, two homers and 24 RBIs while compiling a 7-2 record with a 2.10 ERA and five complete games for St. Anthony (16-2, 10-1), which is in second place in the Santa Fe League and has two games remaining with first-place Salesian.

Ojai tournament: Lancers' freshman trails in Boys 16s final

Temperatures continue to rise out here in Ojai ... and so does the level of tennis.

Thousand Oaks High freshman Marcos Giron lost the first set of the Boys' 16s singles final in a tiebreaker to David Watson of the Weil Academy and trails in the second set. With Lancers' teammate Kyle McMorrow cheering him on from the stands, Giron rallied from a 5-2 deficit to take a 6-5 lead but wasn't able to capitalize on a set point in the 12th game.

McMorrow will play Crossroads' Reese Milner in the CIF final after Giron's match. McMorrow was down a break in the second set but won the last three games to close out his semifinal against Brentwood's Walker Kehrer, 6-3, 6-4, at Thacher. An apparent incorrect line call appeared to cost Milner the first set against top-seeded Fabian Matthews of Corona del Mar, but he rebounded to win, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2.

The race is still on for the coveted Griggs Cup, awarded to the high school that accumulates the most combined points in singles and doubles. Santa Barbara began the day in the lead with seven points, followed by Crossroads with six and Corona del Mar, Irvine University and Peninsula in a three-way tie for third with five points.

-- Steve Galluzzo

-- Image from www.ojaitourney.org

Ojai tennis: CIF singles semifinals living up to expectations

I'm out at Thacher School in beautiful Ojai Valley for the semifinals of the CIF Boys' Division singles semifinals, and so far I've witnessed some scintillating tennis. Thousand Oaks' Kyle McMorrow has taken the first set over his former doubles partner, Walker Kehrer of Brentwood, after a brilliant display of shot-making by both players.

McMorrow got off to a blazing start with three service winners, then broke Kehrer and held with a topspin lob winner for a 3-0 lead. But Kehrer, one of the craftiest junior players around, broke back with a crosscourt backhand on the line, held, then ended a 23-stroke rally with a passing shot off his back foot to level the set at 3-3. McMorrow broke again to go up 5-3 and served out the set. McMorrow just broke to open the second set, but it's still anyone's match.

These two won the Easter Bowl 16s doubles last year and know each others' games well.

Moments ago on the next court over, Corona del Mar's Fabian Matthews broke for a 6-5 lead and held serve to win the first set against Crossroads' Reese Milner.

Check back later!

-- Steve Galluzzo

-- Image from www.ojaitourney.org

Ojai tournament: No bumps along Christian's road to final four

Orange Lutheran sophomore Kaitlyn Christian reached the semifinals of the Southern Section Individuals tournament in December. Now, at Ojai, she's not settling for second place.

The 15-year-old is seeded No. 1 in the Girls' 18s Singles and to this point she's looked the part. Christian has dispatched her first three foes by a ridiculous 36-7 margin in games and none of her sets has been closer than 6-3.

Ojai tournament: Super semifinals set for CIF singles division

Tournament organizers couldn't have asked for two more attractive semifinal matches Saturday morning in the CIF boys' singles division.

Surviving the top half of the bracket Friday were No. 1-seeded Fabian Matthews of Corona del Mar and Reese Milner of Crossroads.

The bottom half will feature a clash between former doubles partners, Walker Kehrer of Brentwood and Kyle McMorrow of Thousand Oaks.

The 'Dirty One' speaks ... but, unfortunately, nobody can hear him?

Let me apologize to all of you reading this. And to Noe Ramirez too.

I interviewed Ramirez after Alhambra beat Schurr, 11-2, on Friday. But because of unexpected strong winds, and camera inexperience, you can hardly hear the interview. A thousand apologies. This was my first time doing something like this, and I promise I'll get better.

If you have any suggestions as to which athletes from the San Gabriel Valley area should be spotlighted, please let me know.

-- Jaime Cardenas

Tennis: For Whittier Christian, Oh is hitting his 'peak'

Don't say oh-no. Say oh-yes -- for Andy Oh, the senior stalwart for Whittier Christian. Oh showed his opponents no love today by winning three sets by love, improving his league record to 25-4 and leading the Heralds to a dominating 18-0 victory over Village Christian.

Oh's overall record is 41-8. "He has a renewed intensity to get the job done," Coach Bob Hubbard said. "It's great to see him peak."

District's new stadium at Estancia gets its official opening

Friday was opening day at Estancia High, where the school district's new football/soccer stadium officially opened. It will be a shared facility for the Eagles and their arch-rival, Costa Mesa.

The stadium has FieldTurf and an all-weather track, which is pretty typical by today's standards. Here is a story giving details about the building of Jim Scott Stadium -- named after the booster who basically helped make sure the thing got built -- along with some nice photos.

Softball: Montebello Oilers are quite slick right now

Ignore their lousy record. Don't point out how they've been shut out five times this season. And forget about the 10-game losing skid which seemed, at one point, to leave them doomed. Just take a look at the standings and appreciate their chutzpah.

The Montebello Oilers, at five games under .500, have pieced together enough wins of late to be tied for first place with Keppel in the Almont League.