The Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table recognizes one outstanding student athlete from each of the local high schools each year for tremendous achievements athletically and academically.
The first recipient of the Scholar Athlete of the Year award was girls’ tennis standout Sarah Monroy of Providence School, who was honored at Monday’s Press Luncheon.
Monroy is the top singles player for Providence and an All-Tri-Valley League First Team selection. She also contributed to a CIF-SS championship in 2021.
In the classroom, Monroy maintains a 3.5 GPA while taking AP Calculus, AP Spanish and Honors English. She also earned the Providence Athlete Perseverance Award and the Providence Athletics Award.
“I go to an amazing school,, and I super appreciate my family, my friends and everybody who has supported me along the way, especially, Leanne {Patterson} ny tennis coach who has supported me in every way,” Monroy said. “I am super thankful.”
Special Olympics Athlete of the Month
Local Softball player Michael Madrigal was honored as Special Olympics Athlete of the month at Monday’s press luncheon.
“Michael is one of our more talented softball players but more importantly he is the team’s emotional leader,” Special Olympics softball coach Bill Chiplis said. “He patiently and constructively gives less-able players tips on how to improve their swings and chances of hitting successfully.”
Madrigal has also been an inspiration to other Special Olympics athletes.In 2023, Santa Barbara did not have enough athletes to participate in official Special Olympics softball games and Madrigal recruited additional athletes to join the team. They now have enough players to compete.
Athletes of the Week
Sebastian Reed of Carpinteria boys’ water polo and Josie Gamberdella of San Marcos girls’ volleyball were named SBART Athletes of the Week.
Gamberdella led the Royals to a third-place finish at the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions. She expertly orchestrated the San Marcos attack at setter and is an extremely versatile player overall.
The Royals are currently unbeaten in Channel League play with an 8-0 record.
Reed led the Warriors to a 20-8 victory over Nordhoff and a 7-6 win over Santa Barbara, in which he notched 14 saves, including three in the final 90 seconds to clinch the victory.
Blue-Green Rivalry
The Gauchos (6-2-1 overall, 3-0-1 Bigwest) are coming off a 2-0 non-conference loss at Cal Poly this past Saturday,, but have an opportunity for revenge at Harder Stadium on Sunday. The second matchup between the two teams will be a Big West contest and broadcast nationally on ESPNU beginning at 4 p.m.