Morgan Hale, left, and Ryan Chung are the senior leaders of the Santa Barbara High boys tennis team. (Presidio Sports Photos)
Greg Tebbe was feeling the pressure while his Santa Barbara High boys tennis team was battling Dos Pueblos for a share of the Channel League lead last week at the Dons’ courts.
Santa Barbara, the dominant team in the league for many years, had lost the first meeting against the Chargers — ending its 114-match league win streak — and the rematch was close. Adding to Tebbe’s anxiety was the fact former Dons coaches Steve Geremia and Jack Trigueiro were on hand.
“They were there to root us on, but also subtly applying the pressure to me to not be the coach that loses the championship,” Tebbe said with a smile at Monday’s Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table press luncheon. “I was feeling a little bit of the pressure but, fortunately, our guys came through in a big way.”
Santa Barbara won the match, 11-7.
“It definitely was the biggest tennis match within the Channel League the last few years,” Tebbe said. “It’s just great to see the high quality of tennis in the league this year. There’s a lot of good players on a lot of the teams.”
Tebbe brought two of his top players, seniors and co-captains Morgan Hale and Ryan Chung. He said both players have great attitudes, which has rubbed off on their teammates
Tebbe called Hale “one of the best, if not the best, doubles players I’ve ever coached at the school. And that’s saying a lot because we have a strong tradition of excellent doubles.”
Hale was the league doubles champion in 2012.
The coach said Hale carries a 4.36 gpa and is hoping to be accepted to the U.S. Naval Academy.
Chung is starting to find his rhythm after recovering from a shoulder injury he suffered while skiing in December. He’s 11-0 since returning to the team.
“We thought we weren’t going to have him for the whole season,” Tebbe said. “He made a quick recovery and played his first match a couple of weeks ago. It’s great to have him back. The team hasn’t lost since he’s been back in the lineup.”
Chung has a 4.5 gpa and is deciding between Santa Clara and UC San Diego.
Santa Barbara is 7-3 overall and 4-1 in Channel League. The Dons have three more league matches and five non-league matches against some of the top teams in CIF.
Dos Pueblos boys tennis coach Liz Frech credited Tebbe for helping her in coaching.
“I have learned a lot from a lot of coaches,” she said. “I have to make mention of Greg Tebbe. He taught me at Santa Barbara High for four years He’s one of my mentors.”
Frech introduced two of her standout players, Greg Steigerwald (24-3) and Andrew Tufenkian (32-4). She also recognized assistant Alison Golledge, who was the first woman to coach the boys team at Dos Pueblos.
Other tennis players attending the luncheon included Spencer Ekola and Matt Hammond of Bishop Diego and Carpinteria’s doubles team of Ruben Andrade and Bryan Taira. Ekola has a 33-0 record.
BASEBALL
Longtime Santa Barbara assistant George Rempe said the Dons face a big week with two games against Dos Pueblos.
“Those games will go a long way toward deciding who’s going to win the Channel League,” Rempe said.
He introduced shortstop Bryce Morison, outfielder/DH Dalton Schroeder and first baseman/pitcher Trevor Moropoulos. Trevor is the son of SBCC football coach Craig Moropoulos and his grandfather is former SBHS athletic director and legendary football coach Mike Moropoulos.
The San Marcos baseball team was represented by senior catcher Parker Rozenberg and shortstop/pitcher Wesley Ghan-Gibson.
Senior batterymates Kevin Stein and Mo Sanchez are the leaders of the Carpinteria baseball team, said coach Pat Cooney.
Cooney said the baseball team will be under pressure on Saturday when he works as the hurdles crew at the 95th Russell Cup track and field meet.
“There’s lots of pressure to do that correctly,” said Cooney.
Dos Pueblos coach Nick Katzenstein said he’s glad to have pitcher Erik Olson healthy. He earned a save last week against Ventura
Katzenstein added that sophomore Quinn Peacock has provided a spark since coming over from the JV team.
The Chargers are 8-9 and 3-1 in league.
Bishop Diego has been getting good play from left-handed Luke Speier and Matt Shotwell.
Santa Barbara High softball coach Victor Alvarez with players Maria Arambula, Esmeralda Estrada and Emilia Sanchez.
SOFTBALL
San Marcos coach Jeff Swann introduced Sienna Berlinger, Cara Christian and Sarah Douglas.
He said Berlinger, a first-year varsity player, has picked up things quickly. On Christian, he said her speed enables her to track down everything in the outfield. He said Douglas has come back from a broken finger and is batting .440.
The Royals (8-8) play Buena twice this week.
Carpinteria Athletic Director Pat Cooney said the softball team is led by seniors Hannah Galsterer and Natalie Saito.
Santa Barbara High coach Victor Alvarez said Maria Arambula, Emilia Sanchez and Esmeralda Estrada hadn’t played softball until their freshman year. They’re key players on the squad.
The Dons are 4-8 overall and 0-4 in Channel League.
Dos Pueblos coach Jon Uyesaka brought his power hitters to the luncheon. He introduced sophomore Ali Milam, who “hit the furthest ball of the season” for a homer against Ventura. In that same game, Alexi Catalan belted a ball over the center fielder’s head for a three-run triple.
The other hitter coach Uyesaka brought was Maddy Buie. “She’s a left-handed slapper with a great ability to put the ball wherever she wants,” he said.
The Chargers are 11-1 and 4-0 in Channel League.
VOLLEYBALL
San Marcos coach Roger Kuntz introduced three players who have made big contributions off the bench: setter Greg Kronen, outsider hitter Connor Everman and libero Joe Terre.
The Royals, 19-1, 4-1 in Channel League and ranked No. 1 in CIF Division 2, play their last regular season home match against Dos Pueblos on Tuesday. The winner takes sole possession of first place in the league.
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Westmont went 6-0 over a three-day span and outscored its two opponents 69-13.
The wins improved the Warriors to 30-14, giving the program 30 wins for the first time in 25 years and only third time in history.
Coach Robert Ruiz said redshirt sophomore Blake Mathias hit three pinch-hit homers in three games. He added that Brent Fukushima set the career record for games played at 183 and Russell Harmening improved to 10-2, tying him for first in the nation for wins.
