Experience Leading to Royalty

Royal High’s 7-1 record is no surprise. Marmonte League girls’ basketball coaches saw the Highlanders coming for two seasons.

Coach Mike Kohl’s team oozed talent. It had size. It had depth.

But, as the youngest team in the league, it sorely lacked experience.

That’s no longer the case, and Royal is the favorite to win its first league title in 15 seasons.

Marmonte League play begins tonight, when the Highlanders play host to defending co-champion Channel Islands (5-1).

Three all-league selections return for Royal--guards Alicia Weber and Jessica Sanders, both seniors, and 6-foot-1 junior center Teresa Russell.

Senior forward Becca Voigt, injured much of last season after starting as a sophomore, also is back. Sophomore Kristen Galbreath, a 5-10 returning starter, led the Highlanders in scoring during the summer.

“The girls have high expectations,” said Kohl, whose team defeated regional powers Moorpark and Channel Islands, as well as nine-time Southern Section finalist Santa Ynez, last week to win the Gold Coast tournament.

“There’s talk of winning the [Southern Section] championship,” Kohl said. “I don’t know if we’re that good, but we really want to win league and we’re capable of beating anybody.”

Here’s a look at the other teams in the league:

Channel Islands--The Raiders survived a tumultuous pre-league schedule which featured the six-game suspension of Coach Pat Bell and the denied varsity eligibility request of two-time all-county guard Jaline Bradley after she transferred from Oxnard.

Bradley, a junior, must play the entire season on the junior varsity, but Bell returns to the bench tonight.

Guard Chenne Tuimoloau is one of the league’s best players and senior Alma Perez also will be a key for the Raiders, who were 19-8 and tied with Thousand Oaks for the league championship last season.

Thousand Oaks--All-county center Jenn Detmer has graduated but the two-time defending league co-champions shouldn’t be counted out.

Forward Elena Salvador and guard Melissa Simonetti both started as juniors during a 20-7 season. They have the Lancers off to a 3-1 start.

Simi Valley--The Pioneers finished 20-10 and in third place in the league last year, then ousted top-seeded Palmdale and advanced to the Division I-AA quarterfinals for the third consecutive season.

Simi Valley (4-2) is capable of surprising again. Junior guard Jamie Sturdivant, a second team all-league selection last season, heads a starting lineup that features five underclassmen, including junior forward Molly Little, sophomore forward Elise Metcalf and junior guard Annmarie Turpin, the Marmonte League high jump champion.

Agoura--Forwards Meghan Skelly and Julie Cox and guard Michelle Pollara are seniors who have started since their freshman season, when the Chargers were 1-23.

As juniors, they were 10-15 and for the first time qualified for the postseason.

Westlake--The Warriors might be a force in the future, but could struggle in the near future under first-year Coach Don McMaster, Westlake’s third coach in three seasons.

McMaster has the league’s top freshman, 5-8 guard Tawny Thorp, and has size in 6-foot sophomore center Lottie Kanama, but the Warriors are young at key positions.

Camarillo--The Scorpions finished 4-20 overall and in last place in league at 1-13 last season, but are optimistic after a 3-3 start.

Sophomores Tanya Wismann, Heather Stangeby and Laren Ferreira have been promoted from the junior varsity, which won the league championship.

Newbury Park--The Panthers, three years removed from a Division III-A championship, figure to struggle. They enter league play 1-3, including a 58-44 loss last week to Camarillo. Junior Tawni Yamauchi and seniors Nadine Levsey and Caroline Swartz are Newbury Park’s top players.

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AT A GLANCE

* THE PROVEN: Sophomore guard Chenne Tuimoloau averaged 10 points and a league-high 6.4 assists last season in helping Channel Islands to a league co-championship with Thousand Oaks, which returns starters Elena Salvador and Melissa Simonetti. Senior guard Jamie Sturdivant scored 10.4 points a game for Simi Valley. Camarillo senior Jessica Mendoza has accepted a softball scholarship to Stanford. Royal has three returning all-league picks, seniors Jessica Sanders and Alicia Weber, and 6-1 sophomore junior Teresa Russell. Meghan Skelly averaged 11 points and 12 rebounds as a junior for Agoura.

* THE PROMISING: Westlake’s Tawny Thorp may be the best freshman in the area. She has had a 31-point game and is the Warriors’ leading scorer. Becca Voigt returns to Royal after sitting out last season with an injury. Simi Valley junior forward Molly Little was a standout during the summer. Sophomore guard Tanya Wismann helped Camarillo win the junior varsity championship last season. Sophomore point guard Vanessa Garcia will be a key for Channel Islands.

* FAST FACT: This will be the 16th and final season for Thousand Oaks Coach Chuck Brown, who announced his retirement last summer.

* 1996-97 STANDINGS: 1. (tie) Thousand Oaks, 12-2 league, 20-7 overall; 1. (tie) Channel Islands, 12-2, 19-8; 3. (tie) Simi Valley, 10-4, 20-10; 3. (tie) Royal 10-4, 15-9; 5. Agoura, 6-8, 10-15; 6. Newbury Park, 4-10, 7-16; 7. Westlake, 2-12, 4-19; 8. Camarillo, 1-13, 4-20.