San Marcos athlete Campbell Thayer swings into action at the tee on hole 1 during the Royals’ match Thursday against Santa Barbara. Coach Sarah Ashton praised Thayer for her improvement during the season.
Santa Barbara defeated cross-town rival San Marcos 260-263 in girls golf action Thursday.
The Dons’ Ella Arce was the match’s medalist with the lowest score, 44.
Others on the Santa Barbara team and their scores were Riley Malmsten, 51; Jasmine Zukor, 51; Lauren Fitzgerald, 57; Natasha Torres, 57, and Ella Sales, 58.
“Junior Ella Arce shot a personal best and parred holes 3,4 and 6,” Dons Coach Ryan Throop told the News-Press in an email.
“It was so close today and could have gone either way against a well-coached Royal team,” Throop said. “This win completes the league and puts the Dons in a three-way tie for second place in the league with San Marcos and Santa Ynez.”
Santa Barbara now has a 10-5 record overall. Its Channel League record is 6-4. The Dons will next compete Monday and Tuesday during the Channel League Individual Finals at Alisal Ranch Golf Course.
During Thursday’s match, Riley O’Brien led San Marcos with 45.
“Her drives and tee shots were consistent, and she put herself in excellent scoring positions on the course today,” Coach Sarah Ashton told the News-Press in an email.
Others on the Royals team and their scores were Evelina Erickson, 48; Campbell Thayer, 52; Fia Torrey, 55, and Talia Cummings, 63.
“Freshman Campbell Thayer had a heck of a day on the course,” Ashton said. “She parred hole 3 and posted her new PR (personal record) at 52, a significant improvement over her prior PR. She sank a key putt on hole 8 after a tough lie off the second shot.
“Her putting was excellent today, and she showed a lot of intention in her choices. I’m really proud of her improvement this season,” the coach said.
Ashton said her team had a disadvantage Thursday.
“It’s not an excuse, but we were missing our No. 2 and No. 5 players due to illness and a serious medical issue,” she said. “We missed them today and hope they are healthy enough to return to play soon.”
CARPINTERIA BEATS NORDHOFF IN WATER POLO
The Carpinteria Warriors boys water polo team had a fast start and kept up the pace, defeating the Northoff Rangers 17-9 Thursday.
Asher Smith scored the Warriors’ first four goals of the Citrus Coast League game.
“The Warriors led 5-1 at the first quarter then extended the lead to 9-1 at halftime,” Coach Jon Otsuki told the News-Press in an email. “The large lead enabled reserve players to filter in throughout the second half.
“Senior Reyn Clayton made the most of his play time, tallying two steals and a field block defensively and two goals scored on the offensive side,” Otsuki said. “Smith added 3 additional goals for 7 on the day while senior Zach Isaac pitched in three, Coby Gonzales and Justin Main, two, and Gavin Lohuis rounded out the scoring with one.”
The Warriors will travel to Camarillo on Monday, then host Hueneme for a double header Thursday before heading to Cabrillo on Friday.
The Warriors are now 2-0 in league play and 15-4 overall.
CARPINTERIA BEATS FILLMORE IN TENNIS
The Carpinteria girls tennis team defeated Fillmore15-3 Thursday during a Citrus Coast League match.
“I was really pleased with how we played in doubles,” Coach Charles Bryants told the News-Press in an email. “We dropped just two games total.
“But it was more than that,” Bryants continued. “We did an excellent job of being much more consistent and also working on being aggressive. There were not too many unforced errors today from any of our tandems.
“Natalie Martinez/Ariana Lounsbury, Natalia Perez/Cassandra Maya Prado each went 3-0 and did not drop any games,” the coach said. “Abbie Delwiche/Valerie Ojeda went 2-0 and Stephanie Gonzalez/Nansy Velasquez went 1-0.
“But all our teams looked sharp today. We had a good warmup and it carried over to all three of their sets,” Bryants said.
“In singles, we had a more difficult time,” the coach said. “Zahra Porinsh went 3-0 but had to pull out a tie-break win against the Flashes’ No. 1 player. Silke Leonard went 2-1, and Sasha Porinsh went 1-2.
“I thought Sasha played well and was close to knocking off the Flashes’ top player,” Bryants said.
“Whereas our doubles team really cut back on their unforced errors, our singles players were a little less patient and were a bit more aggressive in their shot selection,” he said. “We seemed to lose those long rallies too often.
“Overall, I was happy with how the girls played,” Bryants said. “We now have a tough matchup at Malibu on Monday.”
Carpinteria is now 12-4 overall and 8-0 in the Citrus Coast League.
LAGUNA BLANCA DEFEATS THACHER IN VOLLEYBALL
Laguna Blanca beat Thacher 3-0 in volleyball during a home game Thursday.
Game scores were 25-7, 25-19 and 25-21.
“Senior Amelia Fowler led the way offensively with 8 kills,” Coach Jason Donnelly told the News-Press in an email. “She also had 8 digs and 1 service ace.”
Senior libero Frances Carlson made 10 digs.
email: dmason@newspress.com
