
Davis Diamonds gymnast Chloe Chan pirouettes on the high bar at last weekend's Junior Olympic Region 1 Championships in Anaheim. Courtesy photo
More than 1,000 young gymnasts gathered at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim for last weekend’s Junior Olympic Region 1 Championships, but there were two Diamonds in the rough.
Isabela Martinez became the first Davis Diamonds gymnast in the history of the program to perform well enough at this event to earn a spot on the Region 1 team for the Level 9 Westerns, while Chloe Chan took 25th in the Level 9 all-around.
Martinez, a junior at Winters High School, finished sixth in the all-around with a personal-best score of 35.725.
Her day started when she took ninth on uneven bars, before nailing her beam routine (personal best 9.175) to get fifth. Martinez used a series of high-flying leaps and good tumbling to take earn sixth on floor (9.15) then matched that finish on the vault to complete the best meet of her career.
Chan, a Da Vinci sophomore, highlighted her performance with a beautiful Tsukahara pike vault. She was awarded a 9.125 for 13th on that event and finished with a solid 34.725 all-around score.
Matrix soccer
The Davis Matrix, a U14 girls soccer team, won a championship at the Comstock Shootout last weekend in Carson City, capturing all four of its games by combined score of 14-1.
Opening up group play, the Matrix powered past Bishop, 6-1. Megan Kong got the Davis onslaught started with a goal early in the first period and Hana Wood scored next on a penalty kick.
Meanwhile, the local defense — paced by Laurel Krovetz, Nancy Avoce, Erin Benedict and Claire Williams — kept Bishop to one goal all game long. The Matrix then piled on in the fourth quarter with Fiona Strachan-Payne, Lucia Ferrer, Kong and Khalida Pergher all scoring.
Davis then used great passing — including assists from Bella Heeren and Karynna Lopez — and shutout defense to top South Tahoe Futbol, 5-0. Goals from Alissa Casillas, Kong, Wood and Pergher (two) were more than enough thanks to local defense from Madeline Spangler and goalie Erin Benedict.
The next contest, against the Truckee Avalance, ended in a scoreless tie and goalkeeping from Strachen-Payne, along with PKs from Kong, Wood and Kelly Zheng, gave the Matrix a 3-1 shootout win to reach the finals.
Davis defeated the Mount Diablo Fury, 3-0, in the championship contest.
Nighthawks soccer
The Davis Nighthawks, a U12 girls soccer team, swept a pair of one-goal league games last weekend in Davis.
On Saturday, the locals edged the Woodland SC Elite, 2-1, behind goals from Belle De Leon and Jaylen Hewitt. Throughout the contest Davis got strong play from goalkeepers Anna Sutton and De Leon and top-notch defense from A.J. Zaragoza-Smith, Maria Aldrete, Simrin Sidhu and Cara Baker. Eliana Enriquez and Madeleine Smith excelled in the midfield.
The Nighthawks then slipped past Boca, 1-0, on Sunday with Sochi Rivera tallying off an assist from Sarah Maranta. Gabi Skilling, Cyres Figueroa and Susannah Costello each contributed to the Davis win.
Tsunami soccer
The Davis Tsunami, a U10 girls soccer team, went into Carson City and swept its four games to take first place at the Comstock Shootout.
The locals opened with a 2-1 win over a tough PH Ambush squad, getting goals from Camila Iandolino and Manulya Gunasekera.
Next, in a 5-0 win over Legacy 04, the Tsunami saw Aubrey Watts and Grace Shin each score twice. Stellar defense from Corinne DeJong and Reagan Cusi and two assists from Cesca Fanucchi contributed to the victory.
Watts scored two more goals in the semifinals and Eva Sedillo’s first tally of the season was the difference in Davis’ 3-2 win over the Booming Strikers.
Sedillo stayed hot in the championship contest as she and Iandolino scored to lift the locals to a 2-0 victory. Defense from Julia Limburg and Rachel Ballowe was key for the Tsunami.
Knights U15 lacrosse
The Davis Knights’ U15 boys lacrosse team earned a split of games last weekend at Foothill High.
The locals first defeated the Pleasanton Tornados, 8-3, despite allowing a goal just second into the contest. After that, the Davis defense — paced by Bradley Kishada and goalie David Zingaro — allowed just two more goals.
Meanwhile, the Knights got quick goals from Casey Aikawa, Cole Koeberer and Nathan Soeth to take a 3-1 first-period lead, then ran away behind tallies from Luke Maffly (two), William Johnson, Jamie Kanchananakhin and Neil Welch.
Next, the Pleasant Thunder survived a hat trick from Soeth to top the locals, 9-5. Koeber also scored the first goal of the game for Davis, while Kishaba had the other goal and Zingaro added an assist.
On the other end of the field, Knights goalie Wade Matern stopped six shots and Ethan Iacono played tenacious defense to finish with two takeaways and five ground balls.
Knights U13 lacrosse
The Davis Knights’ U13 boys Blue team defeated the Folsom Red, 9-4, on Saturday at Playfields Park to improve to 5-1 in conference play and 9-2 overall.
Tanner McNamara had four goals in the win, while Justin Qvistgaard added two and Corbin Russo, Sean Smith and Nick Mahoney each scored once.
Meanwhile, local defense from Kyle Difuntorum, Logan McNamara and Lucas Griffiths made things tough for Folsom and Gerad Christian-Lichtenhan was solid between the pipes.
In addition, Stanley Topete won two of three face-offs for Davis while good midfield play from Evan Mack, Cayden Hotaling, Kevin Halozan, Lucas Kinder and Morgan Heard was key.
Junior Blue Devils
The Davis Junior Blue Devils will host a pair of information nights in the next few weeks for interested families to learn about the youth tackle football and cheer program.
The meetings are set for Thursday, April 24, from 6:30 to 9 p.m., and Saturday, May 10, from 9:30 a.m. to noon. Both are in the Blanchard Room of the Stephens Branch Library, 315 E. 14th St.
Registration for next season — which is open to players and cheerleaders ages 6-14 — opens on May 1. For more information or to register, visit www.juniorbluedevils.com.
Alliance soccer
The Davis Alliance U14 girls soccer team is looking for select-level players interested in joining the team for the spring season and beyond.
The Copper-level squad invites players to come to training sessions on Monday and Wednesday from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at Walnut Fields, on Lillard Drive near Cowell Blvd.
For more information, contact coach Kimber Banta at [email protected] and Phillip Bachand at [email protected]