Tam, Redwood have plenty of new pennants to hang

PREPS OF THE WEEK

Tam High senior Madi Smith tries to run out the clock in the final seconds of the MCAL championship against Marin Catholic in the MCAL girls lacrosse final on Saturday in Kentfield. FRANKIE FROST — SPECIAL TO THE MARIN INDEPENDENT JOURNAL

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By Ian Ross

iross@marinij.com

Five team titles and countless individual ones were handed out over the past week with squads from Tam High and Redwood sweeping the honors in swimming, lacrosse and boys volleyball.

Tam’s big week began when No. 1 singles player Witt Bulger claimed the MCAL singles title. The Red-tailed Hawks continued to pile up pennants with victories in boys swimming, girls lacrosse and boys volleyball.

Anything Tam didn’t win this past week was claimed instead by Redwood, which was victorious in boys lacrosse and girls swimming.

Madi Smith, Tam girls lacrosse

Smith led the Red-tailed Hawks in scoring in both of their MCAL playoff games last week, leading the program to its first league pennant. Smith had three goals and two assists as Tam cruised to a 13-2 semifinal win against San Marin. Smith was even better in the final — and she had to be — scoring six times as Tam held off Marin Catholic for a 16-15 victory. Tam opens the North Coast Section Division II playoffs on Tuesday as the No. 1 seed.

Jake Vasquez, Redwood boys lacrosse

Vasquez scored a game-high six goals in the MCAL title game, leading the Giants to a 17-2 victory against Tam on Saturday. Vasquez was key to Redwood’s first start, scoring two goals in the first quarter then adding a goal and two assists in the second as the Giants took a 9-1 lead into the half. Redwood heads into Tuesday’s NCS playoffs as the No. 3 seed in Division I.

Yaseen Ashraf and Adrien Van Doren, Tam boys volleyball

The Red-tailed Hawks claimed their first MCAL title since 2006 with wins against American Canyon and Archie Williams last week. Ashraf was a big part of both victories, piling up 30 assists and 10 digs against American Canyon then following that up with 27 assists, six digs and three aces in the final. Van Doren came up with 10 kills and seven digs in the semifinal then tacked on eight more kills and six digs in the title game. Tam begins its quest for NCS glory on Tuesday as the No. 2 seed in the D-II bracket.

Witt Bulger, Tam boys tennis

The sophomore closed out the MCAL campaign with 12 consecutive victories, rolling through the singles tournament for three of those wins to claim the title. Bulger didn’t drop a set in picking up wins over San Marin’s Jesse Chi in the quarterfinals, Branson’s Tommie Higgins in the semifinal, and Redwood’s Jackson Sichel in the final. Bulger’s win granted him an automatic berth into the NCS D-I tournament, which begins Friday at James Logan High in Union City.

Marre Gattnar, Tam boys swimming

Tam’s superstar swimmer stole the show again at the MCAL championships this weekend, after doing the same last year as a junior. The Harvard University-bound senior won both of his individual races and was a part of two triumphant relay teams to help push Tam to its second MCAL title in two years. Gattnar’s time of 48.80 seconds in the 100-yard backstroke was more than 8 seconds faster than the field and his 100 fly time of 48.22 established a new league record. Next up for all swimmers is the North Coast Section championships this weekend at the Concord Community Pool. Last year, Gattnar finished second at State in the 100 back (48.30 seconds) and placed fifth in the 50 free (20.39).

Mia Solomon, Redwood girls swimming

The Giants claimed their second consecutive pennant since the pandemic with Solomon leading the way, claiming victories in the 100 breast and the 100 fly. The Tufts University-bound senior finished almost 7 seconds ahead of the field with a time of 1:03.85 in the 100 breast and was victorious in the 100 fly with a time of 56.71. Solomon also chipped in on a pair of strong relay teams, helping the Giants win the 200 medley relay and take second in the 200 free relay.

Micah Sher, Archie Williams boys swimming

Sher also had a strong showing on Saturday, winning both freestyle sprints and helping the Peregrine Falcons secure a victory in the 400 free relay. Cher turned in a time of 21.21 to win the 50 free and touched first in the 100 free at 47.34.

Holly Tarantino, Marin Catholic girls swimming

Tarantino left the MCAL championships with four more gold medals than she entered with, securing victories in the 200 individual medley, 100 back plus the 200- and 400-free relays. Tarantino’s effort in the 200 IM was particularly impressive. Her time of 2:08.32 was more than 13 seconds faster than the rest of the field.

Estelle Engelskirchen, San Rafael girls swimming

Engelskirchen was also a double winner at the MCAL championships, taking home wins in the 200 free (1:57.34) and the 500 free (5:17.28). Her 200 free time broke a school record that had stood since 1977.

Brittany Casper, San Marin softball

The Mustangs posted one of the score lines of the season blasting past then-league leaders San Rafael 15-2 last Monday. Casper started inside the circle and limited San Rafael’s high-octane offense to two hits and one earned run over six innings while striking out eight. Ava Free and Shelby Atkinson were also pivotal, picking up three hits apiece to pace San Marin’s offense.

Aiden Cohen, San Domenico baseball

The senior tossed the first no-hitter in program history on Friday, striking out 18 hitters in a 2-0 win against Stuart Hall. Cohen allowed two runners to reach in the first inning on a hit by pitch and an error then was flawless after that. Cohen helped the Panthers with his bat on Saturday, picking up two hits, driving in three and scoring twice in a 14-1 demolition of Urban.