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Top Spots In Sunshine Athletic Conference At Stake

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By MATTHEW PARKE, Tribune correspondent

Published: October 3, 2007

As the regular season wraps up, a few surprises shook up the Sunshine Athletic Conference. Ridgewood's boys and Wesley Chapel's girls upset their opponents and turned the conference on its head.

With the conference tournaments coming up next week, Pasco County has some hot races for the finish line. Mitchell and Wesley Chapel are vying for the girls regular season title, whereas a wild week for the boys could result in a standoff between Mitchell and Ridgewood.

WESLEY CHAPEL: A stunning win for the Wildcats (7-0) as they defeated Mitchell (8-1) 189-197. The win puts the Wildcats at the head of the Sunshine Athletic Conference. Their last regular-season match is against River Ridge (7-1) on Thursday. Win out and the Wildcats capture the regular season title.

Wesley Chapel's T.J. Adipietro shot a 37 against the Mustangs to lead all golfers. Mitchell's Megan Van Etten was the next-best golfer with her round of 41. Sam Friese came in third for the Wildcats with her score of 45.

'I have very high expectations for the postseason. Last week was a huge win for us,' Coach Scott Boyd said.

Adipietro will face down her conference tournament competition at the same course where a late disqualification cost her the 2006 championship. Zephyrhills will host the girls tournament at Hidden Creek on Oct. 11.

'This is reconciliation for T.J. after last year. It's at the same place, which is eerie. Expect a good one from T.J.,' Boyd said.

MITCHELL: Despite a loss to Land O'Lakes on Tuesday, the 9-2 boys team is still the favorite to win the conference title. Ridgewood (8-1) could steal the conference with a strong performance in the tournament.

In last week's action, the Mustangs maintained their undefeated conference winning streak with wins against Zephyrhills, 155-175, and Wesley Chapel, 154-160, pushing it to 19 straight. The close win over the upstart Wildcats was spurred by freshmen Sterling Bash and Isaac Schaefer, who shot 39 and 40, respectively.

Coach Rick Hyatt said that he is 'looking for someone to step up this week and show that they deserve to be in the postseason lineup.' One player certainly in that lineup will be Kenny Cavender, who shot a 37 against Zephyrhills at his home course of Crescent Oaks.

Cavender will enjoy the home field advantage as Mitchell will host the conference tournament on Oct. 9. But first, Hyatt's squad will travel to Pinellas County for a quad match against East Lake, Tarpon Springs and Clearwater on Thursday.

Mitchell's girls team lost its first conference match in 79 straight meetings when Wesley Chapel upset it on Sept. 25.

RIDGEWOOD: Gary Zimmerman's squad is crashing the conference tournament with their upset of Land O'Lakes (8-2), 149-155. Randy Watkins and Jeff Koos led the way for the Rams with their scores of 36 and 37.

'Jeff came through with his lowest round of the season, which was big ... Jeff was key, as he was able to make up the deficit. Randy expanded it with his position at No. 5,' Zimmerman said.

LAND O'LAKES: Losses to River Ridge and Ridgewood curtailed the Gators' hopes for a chance for the conference regular-season title. However, boys coach Tom Clark is still excited about his team's chances in the tournament.

'I am looking forward to a solid postseason from Wes Parrish. Josh Barnett has a 39 average and Robbie Nieman has been impressive,' Clark said.

SADDLEBROOK: The girls team is 1-0-1 after its first win of the season came against Tampa Prep, 165-227. Ankiea Tiwana led her team with her round of 38.

The boys team moved to an 8-1 record with its 159-192 win over Tampa Prep.

ACADEMY AT THE LAKES: The golf team moved to 4-3-1 with wins against Keystone Prep (198-275) and Bayshore Christian (197-252). Alex Irish was the low golfer with rounds of 42 and 41.

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