Preps of the week: Redwood tennis claims first title of the spring

The spring playoffs kicked off last week as the Redwood High boys tennis team capped un unbeaten league campaign with the MCAL team title on Friday.

Several other spring sports are set to begin their playoffs over the next two weeks, including track and swimming. In track, both Redwood teams capped unbeaten runs through the MCAL while in swimming, the Tam girls and Terra Linda boys both finished 8-0.

Julian Zhang and Jackson Sichel, Redwood boys tennis

The Giants claimed the MCAL title following a 7-0 semifinal win against Archie Williams on Wednesday then a 6-1 victory against defending champ Branson on Friday. Zhang and Sichel competed atop the singles ladder in both matches at Nos. 1 and 2, respectively. Zhang posted a 6-0, 6-0 win on Wednesday then a 6-4, 6-1 win against Tommie Higgins in the final. Sichel had a 6-1, 6-0 win Wednesday then battled Chase Hoeveler into the third set before Hoeveler retired with an injury at 4-4 in the third.

Antonio Bayon, Redwood boys track

Bayon won four individual events during the highest profile tri-meet of the league season as Redwood took down Tam and Archie Williams to run through the MCAL unbeaten. Bayon was victorious in the 110-meter hurdles (15.71 seconds), high jump (5 feet, 10 inches), pole vault (14′,7″), and triple jump (41′,1″).

William Mulliken, Archie Williams boys track

Mulliken set a pair of personal records last week, winning both the 800 and the 1,600 against Redwood and Tam. Mulliken finished the 800 in 1:58.47 and won the 1,600 in 4:19.94 — more than eight seconds in front of a strong field.

Trinity Chancellor, Annalise Horn, and Tatum McPeek, Redwood girls track

Horn and McPeek helped the Giants sweep the 100, 200, and 400 as they also finished the league campaign unbeaten. Horn won the 100 (13.05) and the long jump (16′,4″) while McPeek won the 200 (27.49) and the 400 (1:03.08). Chancellor won the pole vault with a mark of 10 feet then went 10 feet, 6 inches to win the event again at the Viking Classic at Montgomery High on Saturday.

Elle Philp, Tam girls swimming

Philp pulled off a tough double win touching the wall first in both the 500 free and the 100 back against San Marin to help the Red-tailed Hawks secure an unbeaten season in the MCAL. With just one relay in between them, there’s not much recovery time between the 500 free and 100 back.

Ben Butler, Nicholas Arinduque, and Cam Hellar, Terra Linda boys swimming

The Trojan trio all picked up two wins as TL wrapped up the league campaign with an 8-0 mark. Butler took wins in the 100 free (46.71) and 100 back (53.64), Arinduque won the 100 fly (53.83) and 100 breast (58.81), and Hellar touched the wall first in the 200 free (1:52.46) and 500 free (5:08.94).

Sophia Everett, Thomara Drummer, and Angel Amesa, San Rafael softball

The Bulldogs stretched their win streak to 10 games following a 3-0 week with victories against Marin Catholic, Archie Williams, and Windsor. Drummer pitched all 22 innings and was just about unhittable. MC didn’t register a hit until the seventh inning as Drummer went eight innings with one hit, two earned runs and 16 strikeouts. Drummer held Archie Williams to four hits and one earned run while striking out 13 in a game the Bulldogs had to have to move into a tie for first place. Drummer then one-hit Windsor with 13 more strikeouts in a 7-0 win. Drummer also went 6 for 12 at the plate with five RBIs and four runs. Everett had a dominant week at the plate, hitting a home run in all three games. All told, the standout shortstop went 6 for 10 with 6 RBIs and seven runs. Amesa also had a strong week, delivering one of the biggest hits of the entire season for the Bulldogs — a two-run homer in the top of the eighth inning in the 4-2 win against MC.

Leah Cronin and Brittany Casper, San Marin softball

The Mustangs completed a season sweep against Marin Catholic with an 8-1 win Monday — a result that put San Marin in pole position to make the MCAL playoffs. Cronin had a huge game batting sixth for San Marin, piling up four hits with three RBIs and a run scored. Casper started inside the circle, scattering seven hits and allowing one earned run while piling up 11 strikeouts.

Jack Moseley and Theo Trono, Redwood baseball

The Giants put themselves in great position to claim the league title with a sweep against Tam this week, with a non-league win against Montgomery sandwiched in between. Trono had three hits in the first game against Tam while Moseley hit a two-run homer. Trono had two more hits, three RBIs, and scored twice against Montgomery while Moseley had two hits — including another home run — two RBIs and scored three times. Trono reached base four more times in the second game against Tam with two hits and two walks. Moseley hit a two-single in the first inning to get Redwood off to a strong start.