GLORY DAYS 1997-98 IN REVIEW: BIG YEAR IN SPORTS, ESPECIALLY VOLLEYBALL.

Byline: Heather Gripp and Jim Inghram

With the closing of the 1997-98 academic year, it's time to take a moment and reflect on some of the triumphs in girls' sports.

Volleyball: Expectations were great for the Westlake High and it didn't disappoint. The team captured the Southern Section Division II-A title with a convincing 15-6, 15-10, 15-7 sweep over St. Joseph's of Lakewood.

The team was pegged as one of the strongest ever to come of the Marmonte League and Ventura County.

Setter Brooke Rundle, who signed with UC Santa Barbara, Erika Denison, Heather Hutchison (UCSB), Courtney Miller and Leigh O'Neill led the team deep into the state tournament. The team was coached by Chris Rundle.

Tiny Cornerstone Christian also captured a section title. The Eagles defeated top-seeded Desert Christian in the Division V-A final 15-13, 15-7, 11-15, 15-7.

Cross country:Laura Jakosky was the star among area girls. She was the only qualifier for the state-championship race at Fresno's Woodward Park.

The Agoura High standout participated in the Division II race.

Soccer: Although no team from the area won a section championship or even reached the final game, teams from all levels had outstanding seasons.

Simi Valley captured the Marmonte League and advanced to the Division I semifinals before losing to eventual champion Mission Viejo 2-0.

Four players were selected to the All-Southern Section Team. Cindy Mallett on the first team, Sara Janke on the second team and Sarah Swancutt and Emily Swanson on the third team.

Two other Marmonte League players were selected to the All-Southern Section team. Westlake's Meghan Daly on the Division II first team and her teammate Patty Hostin on the third team. Daly, the all-time leading scorer at Westlake, signed the University of San Francisco.

Hostin will be across the bay playing for Cal.

On the strength of the play by seniors Katy Young and Jessica Armacost, Calabasas captured its first Frontier League title ever in girls soccer. Both Young and Armacost were selected to the All-Southern Section Division III team.

At the lower levels, La Reina and Oak Park finished in the upper half of the Tri-Valley League and had two players each earn All-Southern Section Division IV accolades. Oak Park's Rebecca Carroll and La Reina's Aimee Thompson made the first team; the Eagles' Marissa Pittman and the Regents' Maria Bueschen were on the second team.

Basketball: Royal won its first Marmonte League title since 1982 and advanced past the first round of playoffs for the first time in 16 years. The Highlanders, who put together a 16-game winning streak after opening with a loss, were eliminated by Buena in the Southern Section Division I-A playoffs but advanced further than any other area team. Royal loses Alicia Weber, Jessica Sanders and Becca Voigt to graduation but can count on Kristen Galbreath and rebounding-leader Teresa Russell to lead the way next season.

Thousand Oaks sent coach Chuck Brown out on a winning note. Melissa Simonetti suffered an early season-ending injury, but Ellena Salvador, Liz Nesbit and Nicole Vasquez picked up the slack to lead the Lancers to a share of their third consecutive league title.

Damaris Hinojosa led Moorpark to a 10-0 record and another league title in the Musketeers' final season in the Frontier League. The Musketeers entered the playoffs as the No. 2 team in Division II-A but saw their season come to an end sooner than anticipated with a loss to Dos Pueblos.

Lisa Estill transferred to Grace Brethren and brought with her the winning ways of her former Moorpark team.

Simi Valley and La Reina were among others receiving playoff berths.

Water polo: For many teams, gaining experience was just as important as winning during the sport's first season of Marmonte League play.

Thousand Oaks and Newbury Park entered the season with the most experience but were challenged by the first-year team from Royal. Players such as Carly Huffman and league co-MVP Jennifer Lilly helped keep the Highlanders in contention for a title as well as providing an upset of Thousand Oaks in the season finale. The 3-2 defeat to Royal was the lone league loss for the league- champion Lancers, whose balanced attack included Marmonte co-MVP Christy Hindley, as well as all-league seniors Kelly Gunderson and Marie Middleton.

Thousand Oaks, Royal and Newbury Park represented the league in the inaugural postseason, but none advanced past the first round.

Young players such as Newbury Park's Katy Fick and Westlake's Colleen Schiman and Hillary Shullar were among those turning in impressive seasons and giving their respective teams hope for the future.

Softball: This is probably the area's premier sport, with talent at every school and throughout the lineups. The benchmark league, as in most sports, is the Marmonte and teams from the league were again the area's best.

Camarillo overcome adversity in several areas to capture the league crown in its final year in the league. The Scorpions move to an Oxnard-based league in the fall. Injuries are what caused Camarillo trouble in the beginning, then the devastating news of sophomore catcher Erika Francis' diagnosis with multiple sclerosis nearly sent it over the edge. The disease likely ended Francis' softball playing, but the team drew strength from her courage and vice versa.

Camarillo made an impressive run through the Division I playoffs before succumbing to eventual champion Mater Dei 2-1 in the semifinals.

The team was led by senior Jessica Mendoza (headed to Stanford) and Cindy Ball (Pacific), but several younger players also contributed mightily to the team's success - freshman Alana Mendoza, sophomores Nicki Sutton and Kathryn Nevard and juniors Alie Taverner and Jill Borchard.

Success was not limited to Camarillo. Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks also enjoyed good seasons. The Pioneers were led by four-year All-League selection Lori Tande (Northeast Louisiana), junior Tracie Hall and sophomore Brittney Green. Tande went 12-1 and had an 0.54 ERA.

Thousand Oaks had two players sign with Division I schools, Kristin Combe at Baylor and Colleen Spencer with Southern Mississippi.

Calabasas matched its accomplishment in soccer by capturing the Frontier League title. The Coyotes were upset in the second round of the Division III playoffs but enjoyed a successful season nonethelesss. The sophomore trio of pitcher Amy Rosson, catcher Sara Hall and first baseman Heather Bell led the Coyotes. Seniors Kelly Cheever, Katy Young and Jessica Armacost were part of both league-championship teams.

La Reina, led by Aimee Thompson, Mackenzie Vandergeest, Chrissy Odre, Stephanie Hall and Stephanie Hyatt, won the Tri-Valley league and entered the playoffs as the top seed in Division IV. The Regents, however, lost in the second round to Harvard-Westlake.

The big success story for the area was Cornerstone Christian's Division VI title.

The Eagles were the top-seeded team and rolled through opponents on its way to the championship.

Swimming: Sophomores Tayrn O'Leary and Denise Paul provided experience and leadership to ensure Westlake another Marmonte League title. The Warriors went undefeated in dual meets and overcame a scare by Camarillo at the league finals to clinch their second straight team title. O'Leary, a transfer from La Reina, was among the area's top performers at the Southern Section finals.

Ingrid Salazar nearly turned into a one-person team for Royal, as she provided the Highlanders with a chance for victory no matter what event in which she competed. While most Royal swimmers struggled to qualify for the Southern Section prelims, Salazar's challenge was selecting which two events she would participate in after qualifying in many.

Few Frontier League swimmers represented the area at the section finals, but Calabasas' Aya Osuga, who provided the foundation of the Coyotes' league-championship team, qualified for two events.

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Photo

PHOTO Erika Denison, shown here blocking, was part of Westlake High's Southern Section-title team that went deep into the state tournament.

Hans Gutknecht/Daily News