SPORTS NOTEBOOK:
GLENDALE — The following are odds and ends from the local sports scene.
?
LOCALS MOVING UP AND DOWN IN DIVISIONS
The CIF is once again shaking up which leagues are in which divisions throughout high school sports.
Excluding basketball, which will be announced at a later date, and cross-country, track and field and golf, the divisional changes for 2008-10 were released on Monday.
Among the biggest shake-ups as it relates to locals come in swimming.
Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy, which finished second in CIF Southern Section Division II swimming last year and is considered a title favorite this season, will move up to the ultra-competitive Division I as a part of the Mission League.
Pacific League boys’ soccer’s CIF struggles will see the league moved down from Division II all the way to Division IV, just as Pacific League football will move from the Central Division to the Southeast Division, seen by many as the equivalent of going from Division V to Division VII.
Another major change will see the Mission League move up to Division II from Division III in baseball. St. Francis advanced to the Division II final in 2006.
For a complete list of leagues with local teams and their divisions, see the attached sidebar.
?
FALCONS DEBUT IN RANKINGS; REBELS SLIP
The Crescenta Valley High softball team cracked the CIF rankings for the first time this season, while the Flintridge Prep boys’ volleyball slipped a few spots.
The Falcons (10-0) debut at No. 6 in the Division III softball rankings after reeling off four straight wins to capture the High Desert Classic in Lancaster on Monday, culminating with a 5-3 win over Santa Monica in the finals Monday night.
Santa Barbara-bound catcher Lainey DePompa earned tournament MVP honors for the Falcons, who have outscored opponents, 102-16, this season after winning their first two Pacific League games.
Flintridge Prep (5-6) tumbled to No. 7 in the Division V rankings after beginning the season third.
The Rebels, who advanced to the CIF semifinals last season, were ranked No. 4 last week.
Prep opened league play on Thursday with a four-game home loss to Chadwick .
?
NEMESIS NABS AYSO TOURNAMENT TITLE
Nemesis, an AYSO Region 88 Girls’ Under-19 Girls tournament teams, finished first in the Rancho Cucamonga Grape Stomp Tournament on March 15 and Sunday.
Nemesis fielded just 11 players because of injuries and prior commitments.
A stingy defense, led by sweeper J.J. Chavez, goalkeeper Bridget Hahnlein, defenders Becky Soken and Ebony Lopez and center defender Celia Flores yielded only one goal in each of the four matches. Midfielders Amy Rosales, Dana Murphy, Tatiana Jimenez, Bianca Ghermezian, and Amanda Rincon teamed with forwards Taylor Luskin, Natalie Diaz and Kirsti Jackson to score seven goals in the tournament.
Against Walnut, Luskin took a pass from Ghermezian for a breakaway goal to make it 1-0. After Walnut tied the score early in the second half, Rincon chipped in a goal on a pass back from Jackson to give Nemesis a 2-1 win.
Nemesis then suffered a loss to Chino in the next pool-play contest, but it then rallied for a 3-1 victory against Upland. Diaz scored a pair of goals and Jackson added one to earn the right to face Claremont in the championship match.
Short-handed Nemesis and Claremont battled to a 1-1 tie through regulation and two overtime sessions. However, Nemesis won by defeating Claremont on penalty kicks, 4-3.
The team was coached by Pat Chavez, Doug Wallis and Vartan Ghermezian.