Glendale resident wins qualifier for SCGA Tournament
The following are odds and ends from the local sports scene.
HONS QUALIFIES FOR TOURNAMENT
Kris Hons, a Glendale resident who finished runner-up in the inaugural Glendale City Golf Championship last year, carded a three-under-par 69 on Monday at Tijeras Creek Golf Club in Rancho Santa Margarita to place first in a qualifying round for the Southern California Golf Assn. Mid-Amateur Tournament.
Hons finished with five birdies, 11 pars and two bogeys on the 6,826-yard course.
The tournament will be held April 15-16 at Bermuda Dunes Country Club in Bermuda Dunes.
VANDERFORD NAMED TOP PITCHER
Glendale Community College starting pitcher Tei Vanderford was named the California Community College Baseball Coaches Assn. Pitcher of the Week on Wednesday. Vanderford, a St. Francis High graduate, finished 2-0 on the week.
The right-hander went seven innings and struck out 11 in the Vaqueros’ 3-2 Western State Conference Southern Division road victory against Bakersfield College on March 9.
Vanderford also picked up a nonconference victory against Cerritos College on March 2. He went five innings and didn’t allow a run in a 3-1 victory.
In 31 innings, Vanderford has a 0.29 earned-run average.
WALLECK, PORTER GRAB ACCOLADES
The Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy water polo team showed vast improvement, going 12-14 and 4-6 in the arduous Mission League.
Hannah Walleck and Anna Porter played huge roles in reshaping the Tologs. For their work, the duo received all-league recognition.
Walleck, a senior driver, was named to the first team after collecting a team-best 93 goals and 49 assists. Porter, a senior driver, earned a spot on the second team after finishing with 63 goals.
“Hannah took a huge step forward with her all-around playmaking skills,” Flintridge Sacred Heart first-year Coach Carlos Ponce said. “She got everybody involved and drew a lot of double teams.
“Anna was another very good shooter. You can’t score unless you shoot more and she would shoot any chance she had.”
HART EARNS LEAGUE HONORS
Though the Flintridge Prep girls’ water polo team didn’t win a match this season, it did have a reliable defender in senior Savannah Hart.
Hart, a hole/guard, finished with a team-best 14 steals to earn a spot on the All-Prep League second team for the Rebels (0-13, 0-10 in league).
“She was one of the most experienced players on the team,” Flintridge Prep Coach Ryan Goto said. “She held the team together with her leadership and we depended on her to get the team by.”
FIVE KNIGHTS GET POSTSEASON AWARDS
A quintet of St. Francis High boys’ soccer players received All-Mission League honors. The Golden Knights (8-11-4, 5-6-1 in league for third place) had two players named to the first and second teams with one receiving honorable mention.
Selected to the first team were senior goalkeeper Luca Coppola and senior defender Luke Hatanaka.
Coppola finished with 98 saves and recorded four shutouts. Hatanaka served as one of St. Francis’ top defenders.
“Our league is filled with a lot of excellent goalkeepers and to say Luca is one of the best is a compliment,” St. Francis Coach Glen Appels said. “We’ve had a long standing tradition of fine goalkeepers at St. Francis and he must have made about 10 highlight reel saves.
“Luke was one of those guys who put in a lot of effort to make himself better. He played with a lot of courage and set a great example for a lot of our younger guys.”
Senior midfielder Brookes Treidler and freshman midfielder Jake Anderson earned spots on the second team. Treidler collected eight goals and five assists for 21 points. Anderson notched four goals and four assists for 12 points.
Christian Green, a senior defender, earned honorable mention after starting all 23 matches.
