The weekly Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table press luncheon was highlighted by the triumphant appearance of the CIF-SS Division 3 Champion Santa Barbara High girls tennis team.
The Dons looked back on their run through the playoffs, which included four road matches, and shared the keys to their historic success. Santa Barbara defeated Santa Monica on Friday November 15 in the Championship match.
“These girls brought the energy. They brought the focus. They love each other. They work incredibly hard,” said Santa Barbara High coach Danny Echt. “There were a lot of tears and a lot of laughs and I tell you that was part of it. What you put in is often what you get out.”
In a game that is decided by individual and doubles performances the Santa Barbara high success was built upon team chemistry and the strength of the collective group.
“I want to thank them individually and collectively for helping me understand what a team can be,” Echt said. “I challenge them for the remainder of their lives to become team members as they did this time and their lives will be that much better.”
Athletes of the Week
John Duffy of Dos Pueblos High boys’ tennis and Juliana Horton of Santa Barbara High girls’ water polo were honored as SBART Athletes of the Week.
Horton scored 25 goals in four games, including a Santa Barbara High single game record ten goals in an 18-15 loss to Camarillo. Horton is only a freshman and leads an extremely young Santra Barbara High team.
Duffy scored five goals in four games at the Cats & Hounds Tournament. Dos Pueblos won the tournament and Duffy was named tournament MVP.
Scholar Athlete of the Year Carpinteria
Kayla Manriquez is both a standout on the tennis court and in the classroom. As a result she was named the Scholar Athlete of the Year for Carpinteria High.
Carpinteria High girls’ tennis has captured back-to-back Citrus Coat League titles and Manriquez is a huge part of that success as a two-time CCL Doubles Champion along with her teammate Charlotte Cooney.
Manriquez maintains a 4.7 GPA and earned the President’s Education Outstanding Academic Excellence award three times.
In addition, Manriquez has received the Carpinteria High School Athletics Award, Most Improved Carpinteria High Varsity Tennis award, CIF-SS Academics Integrity Athletics Award among many other accolades.