Uncategorized – Acalanes Boosters

GIRLS TENNIS WINS DAL WITH CLUTCH VICTORY OVER MIRAMONTE

It came down to the last match of the league season to determine who would be the DAL League Champions for Girls Varsity Tennis! Both the Miramonte and the Acalanes were tied 4-0 going into the match!
DONS WIN 6-3 VS. THE MATS! DONS GO UNDEFEATED IN LEAGUE AND WIN THE DAL CHAMPIONSHIP FOR THE 2ND SEASON IN A ROW! CONGRATULATIONS TO EVERY PLAYER ON THE TEAM! YOU ALL MADE THIS TEAM A SUCCESS THIS SEASON!

The Matadors while always tough opponents showed real class by including our 3 seniors in their Senior Day recognition. Nothing but respect for their coaches and players.

In doubles, the Mats came out strong at lines 1 and 2. Williams and Picard (line 1 dubs), Harley and Scheirer (line 2 dubs), put up a good fight, but couldn’t get the victory. Line 3 doubles was an epic comeback victory for the Dons!(Dawkins and Donner), took their opponents to a 3rd set ten-point tiebreaker and edged out a great win, 12-10 in the final set! VERY EXCITING!

In singles, Bates at line 1 played great, winning against her opponent who played her best form on the day. Ruczynski and Burns won at lines 2 and 4 against very strong opponents. Congrats to them! Morris at line 5 singles fought hard against her opponent, but fell short in a hard battle. At line 6 singles, Condy again squeezed at a great win 10-8 in a very close 3rd set ten-point tiebreaker. Let’s just say that was a little nerve-racking.

But the match of the day goes to senior Jasmine Toni with a legacy win at 3 singles. Playing in her final high school tennis match, Jasmine was down a break in the first set but fought super hard to come back and win the first. The 2nd set was a nail biter the whole way through. Toni was up 6-5 , but her opponent took her to a 2nd set tiebreaker. In the tiebreaker, Jasmine’s opponent fought off several match points, but finally JJ hammered the final nail and won 10 -8. For her performance, JJ earned the Dons Player of the Match!

GREAT SEASON TEAM ! Its a young team with four freshman making the squad, good luck in years to come

Dons lose to Eagles in a Tale of Two Halves

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A strong first half wasn’t enough as the Acalanes boys basketball team fell to the Clayton Valley Eagles 55-43 on Thursday.

The Dons controlled the first half, holding an 18-11 lead at the end of the 1st quarter and 29-22 lead at the half. The Dons sharpshooters started hot, nailing seven 3-point shots in the half, with two apiece by each of Jackson Aris-Dumas, a senior, Noah Bloch, a junior, and Scott Ruegg, a senior.

To start the third, neither team seemed inclined to score, as the Eagles hit the first bucket of the half with under six minutes remaining in the quarter. The Eagles then swung the momentum, turning up the defensive pressure, forcing turnovers and converting them to easy transition buckets. When the dust settled, the Eagles had scored twelve unanswered and held a 34-29 lead.

The fourth quarter saw the Dons battle back, hitting another four three-pointers and shaving the Eagles’ advantage to 46-43 with a minute and a half remaining. Undaunted, the Eagles quickly ran the lead to eight. The Eagles tacked on another four at the free throw line to finish the contest 55-43. Ruegg led the Dons in scoring with twelve points, followed by seven each from Aris-Dumas and Bloch.

Freshman Hoops: Dons Squeak Past Las Lomas

2 days ago 0Comments

Acalanes scored the last 6 points to turn a 43-40 deficit into a 46-43 victory in an exciting game Wednesday in Lafayette. Cooper Edelman, Liam Krackeler, and Jordan Brown each scored close range baskets in the last two minutes to surge ahead. The Dons are now 3-1 in league play.

Speaking to reporters after the game, Coach Eric Thomas said “This was a great team win. We dug ourselves a bit of a hole by halftime. But we stayed resilient, adjusted well in the second half and did what we needed to do to come away with the W.”

Las Lomas took a 29-18 lead at the half, leaning on their strong 3-point game. Coach Thomas made a key adjustment at halftime, switching to a zone, enabling the Dons to storm back in the 3rd quarter. Calvin Kotarba had some key steals and layups, Jordan Brown had some slashing drives to the basket, and Alex Kurimai dominated the boards.

Jordan led the way with 15 points. Calvin Kotarba and Liam O’Keeffe added 8 each. Logan Farzan, Alex Kurimai, and Trevor Carrillo also scored.

GIRLS TENNIS BEATS CAMPO 5-4 ON SENIOR DAY ! WAY TO GO DONS!

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Thanks to everyone for coming out to senior day and supporting our 3 seniors who are graduating this year!! Jasmine Toni has played Varsity singles all four years and will attend UC Santa Barbara next year. Eliza Bates has played the top line of Varsity singles all four years, she was recruited to play tennis / study at Cal Poly. She was the NCS singles champion last year and is sorry to have post season cancellations this year. Lauren Williams, has played two years on Varsity and she will attend UC Davis in the Fall. We all wish you the best as you move forward in life and continue your successful journeys. Always a Don!

Today’s match vs. Campolindo ended well. Dons won 5-4 taking home the league season win to remain undefeated.

Singles lines 1-5 (Bates, Ruczynksi, Toni, Burns, Condy) put the points on the scoreboard to seal the deal on the day with Cate Condy playing her best tennis of the year. It was Classic Cate back in action on court 6 battling it out like she’s been known to do. Because of her good form today and making a big impact today at line 5, Cate earned the Dons player of the Match. Great job Cate!

**SINGLES WINNERS CATE CONDY IN THE MDDLE EARNS DON OF THE DAY**

Lauren Williams put up a great fight today at line 6 singles but fell just short, 3-6, 5-7.
In doubles, a new duo made an appearance at line 1 (Morris and Scheirer). Both Dons played very well together but lost 2-6, 3-6. Harley and Berkowitz put themselves in a good position to take the 2nd second today and possibly win their match, but the team had to retire due to a severe leg cramp from Berkowitz. No worries, she’s okay and this team will be back. And finally at line 3, Donner and Wisniewska put in a strong outing but couldn’t get the win. We’ll keep working!

LAST MATCH OF THE SEASON AT MIRAMONTE ON THURSDAY. GOOD LUCK LADIES !

Acalanes Freshmen Outlast Miramonte, 54-49

April 30, 2021 0Comments

Acalanes bested Miramonte 54-49 Thursday in Orinda, behind 19 points each from Jordan Brown and Calvin Kotarba. The two boys led a furious 2nd quarter rally, turning a 5 point deficit into an 8 point halftime lead, which ballooned to a 16 point gap at the end of the 3rd. This would prove insurmountable, despite a late 4th quarter comeback by the Mats. Notable on defense, Calvin recorded 5 steals, many of which led to transition baskets for the Dons. Jordan led the team with 8 rebounds.

Freshman Hoops: Campo Blasts Dons

April 30, 2021 0Comments

Campolindo jumped out to an 18-2 lead after the first quarter thanks to a fierce fast break attack, and held on for a 50-31 victory Wednesday in Moraga. Acalanes mounted a steady comeback in the 2nd quarter, and showed flashes of brilliance in the 4th, but ultimately succumbed 50-31. Jordan Brown and Trevor Carrillo led the Dons with 8 points each.

Freshman boys beat College Park 61-54

April 29, 2021 0Comments

Acalanes freshman basketball slipped by College Park on Saturday by a score of 61-54, to start the year 1-0. Jordan Brown led the way with 21 points and 8 rebounds. Liam Krackeler added 12 points, including 4 free throws in the final minute to ice the game. Trevor Carillo chipped in with 8 points and 8 rebounds.

Varsity Baseball Cruises Past Oakland Tech 16-6 at Acalanes

April 28, 2021 0Comments

The Dons hosted Oakland Tech on Wednesday on a beautiful sunny day at Acalanes and finally showed what their bats are capable of. Coming off a 1-0 victory in 12 innings last week against Concord High, the Dons put 16 runs on the board yesterday.

It was a 5-4 game with 2 outs in the 4^th, when the Dons bats exploded. After a walks to Jack Cusumano (jr) Miles Bergman (jr), and Kyle White (jr) delivered a 2-run line drive single to left. Davis Diaz (sr) followed with a walk and Sam Heyman (sr) sent a booming 3-run home run over the left field wall. Brady Hutchingson (sr) then singled to left, stole second and came in to score on Luke Souza’s (jr) line drive single. Souza later came in to score on Cusamano’s single. The Dons scored 7 runs with 2 outs and suddenly the score was 12-4 and the game was all but over.

Davis Diaz had a one hop hit to the wall in the 5th. Sam Heyman (featured in the cover photo) hit Diaz in with an HR. Heyman had two Homeruns for the Dons against Oakland Tech.

The Dons added 4 more runs the next inning, highlighted by a two-run triple by Davis Diaz and Sam Heyman’s second home run of the game. In total, the Dons compiled 11 hits, with Heyman and Brady Huchingson (sr) both grabbing two and Luke Souza taking top honors with three. It was so nice to see the bats we’ve all been waiting to see wake up finally do so.

Benji Braunstein got the start for Acalanes Dons Varsity. The righthander allowed five hits and four runs over five innings, striking out five

On the defensive end, the Dons got another fine pitching performance out of Benjy Braunstein (jr), who pitched 5 innings, giving up 2 earned runs and striking out 5. To go with his 3 hits, Luke Souza came into close matters out with his first performance of the year.

Next up for the Dons is Ygnacio Valley High on Thursday at Aca at 4pm. Let’s hope the bats (and the weather) continue to stay hot.

GIRLS TENNIS SWEEPS COLLEGE PARK

April 28, 2021 0Comments

Today might have been the swiftest victory we’ve seen since coaching at Acalanes. Dons go 9-0 vs College Park.

Singles lines 1-4 (Eliza Bates, Analese Ruczynski, Jasmine Toni, Martha Burns) and 6 (Lauren Williams) won rather quickly today with Ruczynski bringing home the first win for the Dons in record time at line 2. Line 5 singles, Anna Scheirer brought home the final singles win, grabbing their 2nd set in a tiebreaker.

Line 1 Doubles (Kayli Harley and Emily Berkowitz) played great, with Harley playing some of her best tennis of the year. Berkowitz threw in 3 aces during that match and played great at the net. This performance earns them “Dons Players of the Match”.

Lines 2 (Ashley Donner and Marcela Wisniewska) and 3 dubs (Olivia Dawkins and Lilou Picard) did great today too. Let’s just say Donner was locked in and firing on all cylinders.

A big welcome back to CATE CONDY AND ELLA MORRIS to the Varsity team. Condy played with Sarah Shepherd in doubles. Ella is anxious to return to action as her achilles heals.

HOME MATCH THURSDAY VS LAS LOMAS 3:30 START SENIOR DAY NEXT TUESDAY MAY 4TH

Lady Dons Polo 59 Game Streak Comes to an End in Close Match with Mats

April 28, 2021 0Comments

Wednesday saw the Lady Dons’ most anticipated game of the season as local rivals, the Matadors of Miramonte, visited the Heaston Aquatic Center. Miramonte, like the Dons, boasted an unbeaten record coming into the game and brought a strong, experienced team. Over the last two seasons the Mats had given the Dons some of their toughest games and expectations were high for a fiercely contested game. The fans were not to be disappointed.

Miramonte won the sprint to start the game and attacked with intent but the Lady Dons defense held firm. The game went back and forward with both defenses looking strong and giving the attackers little space. After some crisp passing the Dons finally broke through when Claire Rowell converted after a pass in from Heidi Heffelfinger. Heffelfinger then made it two for the Dons from an assist by Carol Schirmer. The Dons continued to defend well with Ava Donleavy making some good blocks in the goal, but the Mats were not to be denied and finally they grabbed a goal. The Dons returned to the attack and were denied when a strong shot by Alex Mould was pushed onto the post by the Miramonte goalie. It was 2-1 Dons at the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter saw the intensity remain high with both defenses holding sway. Miramonte scored first to level the game before the Lady Dons hit back with goals from Rowell (assisted by Alana McCartney) and Heffelfinger (assisted by Mould) made it 4-2. Still Miramonte kept coming and eventually their pressure told when they were awarded a five meter penalty shot. It was 4-3 Dons at the half.

The Dons started the third quarter quickly and moved two goals clear when Rowell scored with a superb backhand after a pass in from Emma Miller. However, Miramonte kept coming and as the Acalanes starters began to tire, the Mats greater strength on the bench began to tell. The Mats pressed hard and scored three goals in succession, including another penalty shot, to give Miramonte the lead for the first time. The Dons rallied to level when Rowell scored her fourth after a pass in from Mould to make it 6-6 at the end of the third quarter.

The matchup was proving to be everything that had been expected, tough, feisty and close with a high standard of play. It was anybody’s game as the fourth quarter began. Perhaps the defining moment came when Heffelfinger was called for her third exclusion and fouled out. Miramonte scored from the resulting powerplay to take the lead for the first time. The Lady Dons had their backs to the wall and try as they did they could not tie the score. At the end, Miramonte were awarded a third five meter penalty shot to make the final score 8-6 to the Matadors. It had been a great game. The Dons had shown some great defense but at last the unbeaten run had come to an end. Final statistics showed four goals for Claire Rowell and two for Heidi Heffelfinger. Two assists for Alex Mould and one each for Alana McCartney, Heidi Heffelfinger, Emma Miller and Carol Schirmer. Alex Mould made five steals with two from Carol Schirmer and one each from Alana McCartney and Emma Miller. Alex Mould drew three exclusions with Alana McCartney and Heidi Heffelfinger each drawing two. Next game is home to Davis High School on Saturday.

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