Seniors: It was a really fun ride:)

This is a farewell to a very special group of multi-sport seniors. I have attended a huge amount of games, meets, and tournaments over the last four years

Year 1:  Freshman Domination

Volleyball:  The JV volleyball team was dominated by a very strong freshman class with Molly Z, Molly F, Cheyenne P, Paige U. and Kaisa S all making contributions to the team.  The team ended the Southern League in third place.

Basketball: Three of this year's varsity squad were starters on TC's first Southern League JV Champions with 14 wins and 1 loss.  The team was lead by the scoring of the Molly's with Molly F leading the team and Molly Z second.  Molly Zuhlke was the "Human Eraser" as she seemed to block a boat load of shots every game.  There is a little girl in LeGrand who is still in therapy after her 3 point attempt was swatted into the 10th row of the bleachers just before halftime at LeGrand.  Some say this may have been the best JV team ever as many of the JV teams in the league were dominated by sophomores who moved up to varsity the next year an left a "weakened" league for the 15-0 2008-2009 Eaglettes.

Softball: There were a load of freshman on the team this year, led by Molly Farrar and Kara Gabrielson (3 doubles each), Cheyenne Perry and Paige Ulrich in the outfield, Steph Huber, and Rea-lynn Vanderweide.  The team finished the season in 5th place in the Southern League.

Soccer: I had the honor of watching my daughter play soccer on the last team to have a winning record at the close of the season. Their record was 9 wins - 8 losses - 4 ties back in the Fall of 2007. Molly was a mid-fielder on that team and played a lot. The most confusing thing was that about two-thirds of the team had light brown hair, pulled into ponies, and I found myself cheering for Amy Wright or Megan Brown all the time.

Alana attempts to rip Molly's leg off

Molly Z (in white) vs Sonora - Nice vertical even on the grass - Cool action shot:-)

Girls Varsity Basketball - The End of an Era?

Four years ago the current senior class entered high school and brought with them a winning "home-grown" tradition in basketball.  Of the four players entering TC as freshman who went on to participate in sports all four years they were all lifers (K-12) at Turlock Christian.

2008

TC Junior Varsity Southern League Champions 2007-08

Kaisa Spycher was moved up to varsity while Molly Farrar, Molly Zuhlke, and Kara Gabrielson were the core of the JV team. Both teams saw success, as the varsity took second in the Southern League and went to the second round of the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Tournament.  While Kaisa and the varsity had a very good season the Little Eaglettes had the best season ever as they won the Southern League championship for the first time in the school's history with 14 wins against only 1 loss.  Some say they were the best ever despite the next year's JV team going 15-0, the reasoning being that almost all the quality players in the Southern League moved up to varsity for the 2009 season.

The statistic leaders included:

Scoring:  Molly Farrar 1st and Molly Zuhlke 2nd leading scorers.
Rebounding:  Molly Zuhlke 1st and Kara Gabrielson 3rd leading rebounders.
Blocked Shots:  Molly Zuhlke with an amazing 4 blocks a game.

One can only imagine what they would have been like if Kaisa had played on JV that 1st year, maybe the league would have given them double wins as they pounded their over-matched Southern League foes.  That JV team included 3 freshman starters in Molly Z, Molly F, and Kara G. who were moved up to varsity as sophomores.

2009

In 2009 they got the old band together and the tour was impressive.  The Lady Eagles took second place in the Southern League with an 11-4 records and ended the season ranked 4th in the CIF-Sac-Joaquin Section - Division 5.  They concluded the year with a 3rd round loss to Bradshaw Christian at Galt High School.  It was the deepest a TC team had ever gone in the Section tournament.

Kara G

The team was a defensive power house at they were the #2 rebounding team in the entire state with 51 rebounds per game without a dominate rebounder and #15 in blocked shots at 7.6 per game.

Kaisa S

Individual Statistical Leaders included:
  Assists per game:  Molly Farrar (2nd / 2.3)
  Blocks per game:  Kaisa Spycher (1st / 2.3) & Molly Zuhlke (2nd / 1.5)
  Rebounds per game: Kaisa (1st / 8.6), Molly F (3.9), Molly Z (3.5) & Kara Gabrielson (3.2).
  Steals per game:  Molly F (2.4), Kara (1.9) & Kaisa (1.3).

Molly F

The Lady Eagles ended the season with a 22-8 records and ranked 4th in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division 5.

Molly Z

2010

This team rose to new heights reaching the section finals at Arco Arena and host the 1st round of the California State Tournament.

Tough Girls Rule

The team had a very tough per-season schedule that included 3 tournaments.  Bradshaw, West Coast Jamboree, and TC's own.  They won the Bradshaw and TC tournaments and play some really good teams in Brentwood at the West Coast Tournament.

The Southern League was dominated by the Eagles as they won the league for the first time.  TC had won league titles before but never the Southern League.

Outstanding Team Stats:
* 4th in the state with 53.2 rebounds per game.
* 6th in the state with 9.4 blocks per game.

Team Stat Leaders (per game):
* Scoring: Kaisa (9.5) & Molly F (9.3)
* Rebounds: Kaisa (11.0), Molly F (6.3), Molly Z (4.5) and Kara G (3.7)
* Assists: Molly F (4.5)
* Blocked Shots: Kaisa (1.9) & Molly Z. (1.1)
* Steals: Molly F (3.7)


Molly Z skies for the rebound in the section play-offs.


Kara drives to the hoop in Arco

Farrar vs Bradshaw - No contest

TC Fans Rock the Arena

Kaisa snags the RB





The team went 26-6 over-all and 14-1 in the Southern League.  They were rated 2nd in the section.

2011

The 2011 Lady Eagles

This season the team upgraded its pre-season again, playing to of the top teams in the Oakland area as they traveled to Head-Royce and St. Joesph Prep.  They ended the season with an undefeated Southern League season, 14-0.  They went to the semi-finals of the Sac-Joaquin and then travel to Santa Rosa to play Rincon Christian in the 1st round of the state tournament.  It was a great year.

The Senior Eagles

Statistic Leaders per game:

Points:  Molly Farrar (12.2), Kaisa Spycher (10.2) and Kara Gabrielson (6.2)

Rebounds: Kaisa (8.0), Kara (7.0), Molly Zuhlke (5.6), and Molly F. (5.5)

Assists: Molly F (4.4), Kara (1.7) and Kaisa (1.4)

Steals:  Molly F (3.9), Kara (2.5) and Kaisa (1.8)

Blocks: Kaisa (1.4) and Molly Z (1.0)

Team Statistics

Sac-Joaquin Sections

* Blocks - 7th - 7.4

* Rebounds - 1st - 47.8

* Steals - 10th - 15.9

* Assists - 9th - 13.7

California

* Blocks - 9th in California / Division 5

* Rebounds - 3rd / Division 5 and 7th in all divisions in California

The Seniors Go Out in Style

Little TC Makes a Big Splash at County Meet

Molly Z and former TC student and current Turlock HS star Jacy G in a totally unposed picture.

The TC Eagles took to the pool on Saturday and made a big splash with a very little team.  Five Lady Eagles and four boys hit the surf at the All-County Meet @ Johnanson High School in Modesto.  The boys had a very good day and the girls had a "great" day as they swam to a fifth place finish.  The meet include 19 teams all much larger then TC.

Ever wonder what swimmers do between races?  Now you know:-)

- Kurt Lemos, Becca and Colin -

The Eagles swam to 6 first place finishes:

Molly gets ready to swim the final leg of the 200 Medly

The girls 200 Medly Relay of Becca Muller, Simone Gagnon, Hailee Baldwin, and Molly Zuhlke took a first lowering their CIF Section qualifiying time to 2:00.90.

Hailee took the next 1st with a victory in the 200 IM, hitting the wall at 2:13.04.

Colin gets ready for the 50

Colin Russell repeated as the "All County" champion as he bested the field with a victory in the 50 Free with a 22.57.

Simone swam a 1:02.97 for a 1st place at 1:02.97 in the 100 Fly.

Colin swam to his second 1st place in the 100 Free with a 50.06.

Hailee became a three time champion as she took the gold medal in the 100 Breast @ 1:07.66.

Other outstanding performance included:

Simone  -- 200 Free - 3rd Place - 2:04.54
Becca    --   50 Free - 2nd Place - 24.40
Becca    -- 100 Free - 2nd Place - 56.00
Simone, Hailee, Becca, and Mandy Beech -- 200 Free Relay - 3rd Place - 1:50.51

Mandy places 1st in her 50 heat

I was a great day for the swimmers and spectators.

State Tournament: Why?

Starting last year the CIF began placing teams into the California State Basketball Tournament according to the number of teams in each division.  The Southern Section had lobbied for this going on 15 years and finally wore down the CIF board.  The logic was that the Southern Section deserved a proportionate number of teams in the tournament and being the largest section, by far, they should have a lot more teams in the tournament.  The number of team invited is based on the number of total teams in each section.  In the Northern California tournament the North Coast and Sac-Joaquin Sections have the most division 5 teams, therefore they each get 4 teams in the tournament, where the Central Coast and North Sections have fewer D-5 teams and only get 2 teams in the tournament.  The Southern Section has 7 teams in the Southern California Division.

Last Tuesday the TC Lady Eagles faced the Knights of Brookside Christian and lost 60-72.  The game was close but a 29-10 first quarter that included 16 of the Eagles turnovers sealed the deal for Brookside.  The Eagles played better then Brookside for the rest of the game but could never make up for the 1st quarter.

The team out rebounded Brookside by 36 getting 54 compared to Brooksides 18 and actually shot a better precentage from the floor, 39% to 36%.  The downfall of TC was 31 turn-overs that became a load of points for the Knights and a horrible night shooting freethrows.

The team leaders included:

Points: Molly Farrar and Natalie Snyder (15 pts each), Marly Burton (12 pts), Kaisa Spycher (10 pts) and Kara Gabrielson (8 points).

Rebounds: Marly (17) and Kaisa (8).

Assists: Molly F (5), Rebekah Muller (4) and Kara (4).

The girls play Tuesday @ Rincon Valley Christian in Santa Rosa @ 7:00 PM.  The two team both have played St. Joe's / Norte Dame and had similar results.  TC lost by 29 and Ricon lost by 19 and 23 points.  This first game is not a guaranteed 1 and done, the Lady Eagles have a real chance to win.  Take a drive to the North Bay and watch the girls play.

Click the here to go the MaxPrep version / Click on "Pregame" in the bracket to get a comparison of the teams playing.

The Zulkster's State Tournament Predictions

I wanted to get my bracket prediction out before they are officially posted on Sunday.   This is my "BEST GUESS" not the actually brackets.

I will post a blog of the game vs Brookside sometime on Sunday.

So here they are:

I have studied the film, not really, and will now make my predictions for the seeding of the tournament.  This is based on looking at the play-off results from the four sections that participate in the Northern California bracket of the California State Girls Division 5 Tournament.  TC could play Rincon Valley Christian (best case) or East Side Prep of East Palo Alto (worst case).  Both of these teams are really good.

#1 Pinewood (24-5) - Central Coast Section Champions (CCS) - 1st Round Bye

#12 Turlock Christian (21-9) - Sac Joaquin Section (SJS) - Semi- Finalist
vs
#5 Rincon Valley Christian - Santa Rosa (29-3) - North Coast Section (NCS) - 2nd Place (155 mile drive - 2.5 to 3 hour drive)

#7 Brookside Christian (25-6) - SJS 2nd Place
vs
#10 Sonoma Academy (25-5) - NCS - Semi-Finalist

#4 Hamilton (24-4) - NS - Champion - 1st Round Bye

#3 Bradshaw Christian (22-9) - SJS Champions - 1st Round Bye

#8 Portola (25-4) - North Section (NS) - 2nd Place
vs
#9 Convent of Sacred Heart (19-10) - NCS Semi-Finalist

#6 Eastside Prep (21-8) - CCS 2nd Place
vs
#11 Vacaville Christian (20-10) - SJS Semi-Finalist

#2 St. Joe's / Norte Dame (22-4) - Alameda - NCS Champions - 1st Round Bye

Wilton Wilts vs Lady Eagles

The game, on paper, seemed to be a perfect match.  Wilton had taken TC to the hole when they met at the Bradshaw Tournament in December and just came up short losing 39-47 to the Eagles.  The good game that Wilton dreamed of ended up just being a nightmare for the Lady Patriots as they fell behind 43-20 by halftime and ended losing 35-64.  The one dimensional aspect of Wilton's offence, Kendra Jeffcott does everything and the rest of the team hopes its enough, didn't work to well against the aggressive defense of the Eagles.  The first half pretty much took any fight out of Wilton and the second half was just an opportunity for everyone to play a lot.

Outstanding Performance:

Leading Scorers:  Kaisa Spycher (15), Molly Farrar (12), Natalie Synder (11), Rebekah Muller (9), and Kara Gabrielson (8).
Leading Rebounders: Marly Burton (15), Molly Farrar (9), and Kaisa (7).
Steal Leaders: Becca (5), Molly F and Natalie (3 each).
Assist Leaders: Molly F (5), Becca and Nat (4 each) and Kara (3).

The Lady Eagles face the 2nd ranked team in the play-offs this afternoon.  Brook side is one of the highest scoring teams in the state and does it all with only 6 players.  Fatigue and fouls would seem to be there weakness but that has not happened.  The two teams have played 2 common opponents, Elliot Christian lost to TC by 48 points and to Brookside by 49 points, Patterson, on the other hand, was crushed by Brookside but only beaten by the Eagles.  The Patterson games were early in the year and TC had differently become a much better team since then.  All the pundits give a very large edge to the Knights of Brookside.  It is an interesting match-up, Brookside with a team recruited from the "travel" ball world, including their coach and TC with a home grown team that includes four seniors who have attended TC for 13 years.

To see a comparison of the two teams click "I want to see a comparison :-)".

Make the drive to Galt and support the team.  Tip-off is at 4 PM.

Click here to find direction.

Elliot No Match For Eagles

The TC Lady Eagles began the play-offs with an impressive win in the battle of the Eagles, beating Elliot Christian by a 78-30 score.  The Lady Eagles out gunned and out hustled the over-matched ECers.  Elliot made no effort to slow down the Eagles with any type of pressure and just hung on for the play-off ride.  It was apparent that they felt there was no hope of a victory as the Elliot coaches made no attempt at disrupting TC's offence.  The Eagles of Elliot went down without a fight.

Outstanding performances included:

Molly Farrar with a rare triple-double scoring 14 points, grabbing 12 rebounds and dishing out 11 assists.
Molly Burton with 8 points, 9 rebounds and 4 blocked shots.
Kaisa Spycher with 15 points, 8 rebounds and 3 blocked shots.
Natalie Snyder with 21 points to lead the team and 4 assists.
Kara Gabrielson with 6 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists.
Rebekah Muller with 10 points and 2 blocked shots.
Molly Zuhlke with 4 points and 10 rebounds.

The girls played the second round on Thursday.

Lady Eagles to Begin Play-offs at Home

The Lady Eagles have been seeded 3rd in the Sac-Joaquin Division 5 Tournament and will be facing Elliot Christian at home on Tuesday, Feb. 22 @ 7:00 PM.  The two teams have both faced Escalon in the pre-season resulting in a 32-40 loss for Elliot and a 52-12 win for TC.  Both teams faced Escalon very early in the schedule and could be playing a different game by now.

For a side by side comparison of the two teams click here

Grizzles Put a Scare into the Eagles

Mariposa came out with an attitude that said, "TC can be beat".  They out shot the Eagles and were only down by a point at halftime.  This was the first time during league that the Lady Eagles were actually challenged in the first half.  It says a lot about our girls spirit as they came out in the second half a destroyed the Grizzles.    Kaisa lead the second half charge scoring 18 of her 19 points in the half and grabbing 21 rebounds, the most by an Eagle since Kasia had 21 rebounds at Mariposa 2 years ago.  The victory insured an outright league championship for the Eagles.  

Kate Goes for the Block

Outstanding Performances Included:

Kaisa Sypcher:  19 points & 21 rebounds (tied a career best).

Molly Farrar: 15 points, 7 rebounds, 5 steals & 6 assists.

Kara Gabrielson: 12 points, 10 rebounds, & 4 steals.

Knights Almost Trap the Eagles

The night of the living dead is how one fan described the TC student section at Thursday's game.  While the RC fans made noise, screamed, complained, stood, shouted, stomped, and made the TC home court into a Ripon Christian satellite, the TC fans appeared to be taking naps.  If they are this boring as teenagers what are they going to be like all grown up?  Ouch!  This was a championship game, if we had lost RC was tied for 1st, but few TC students even attended.  Where was the student section?  There was room for some RC parents to actually sit in it and they did not seem uncomfortable with all the crazy TC fans around them, maybe because there weren't any.  TC you need to get excited about a team that wins championships.  Teachers, administrators, and staff get the word out that the play-offs are coming.

Lady Eagles Clinch 2nd Championship in a Row

The Knights of Ripon Christian came to town on Thursday night with a goal, to move into a tie for 1st in the Southern League and almost pulled it off.  The Eagles slowly pulled ahead, increase their lead every quarter, and ended the 3rd quarter with an impressive 42 - 28 lead.  But then the wheels came off the TC wagon.  With 3 starters getting their 4th fouls midway through the 3rd quarter and a 4th player picking up a 4th foul at the beginning of the 4th the Eagles had to count on a boat load of reserve players to hold off the surging Knights.  In the end they did just that.  3 starters and one of the 1st players to substitute in all fouled out, those players included Kara Gabrielson, Molly Farrar, Kaisa Spycher, and Becca Muller and Marly Burton had 4 fouls.  You hate to see a game that is so effected by the caliber of the officials.  One actually apologized for a missed call, a double dribble when the RC player dribbled the ball the length of the entire court, posted up, stopped her dribble, head faked, ball faked, and then dribble out of the post, just seconds after the non-call.  It was something to see.  A story for years to come.  As most of the starting team was replaced due to the fouls, those replacing them didn't get the message that they were ahead by a lot and that taking their time was a good thing.  The players took many shots, at least 8, after only five seconds ran off the shot clock.  With 55 seconds left RC had narrowed the gap by only 6 points and had a throw in under their basket.  A Knight got the ball in the corner and took the shot, only problem was that Molly Zuhlke rose up and swatted the rock and collected the pebble.  Just a few seconds later Mary Sargisian somehow did the same thing to seal the deal.  A combination of all the fouled out players and horrible shooting resulted in a game that should not have been so close.

There were many outstanding performances and the team defense, top to bottom, was fabuleous.  Natalie Snyder lead the team, with the most points by any player this year, hitting three 3s and scoring 24 points.  Molly Farrar and Kara Gabrielson also had double figures scoring 11 and 10 points.  The team continued to hit free throws well with Molly F and Natalie S hitting 7 for 9 and Kara making 4 of 6.  Outstanding rebounding helped keep the team ahead with Marly Burton the leader with 12 and Kaisa Spycher and Kara G with 10 each.  In the end the fact that the Eagles are a much better defensive team then the Lady Knights proved to be to much for RC.

The Lady Eagles have guaranteed as least a tie for their second Southern League championship in as many years.  As they play the next two games, one win gives the girls an outright league championship and two wins would give them TC its first undefeated Southern League championship.

Take a ride up the mountain to Mariposa on Monday night and then come to the Calvary gym on Thursday for our final league game before play-offs.

Click to see a comparison of TC and Mariposa @ MaxPreps

Eagles Cage the Bulldogs

News Flash: TC Elementary Girls Team Shuts Out Foe

The TC Baby Birds played at halftime of the JV Girls game at homecoming and crushed the Upward Basketball Club in front a jubilant crowd.  The TC BBs lead by Coach TT (Tim Tanis) showed no mercy as they shutout the much taller Upward team.  Way to pave the way for the Lady Eagles varsity with their inspiring win.

Molly Farrar was one of four Lady Eagles who scored in double figures on Monday night at Le Grand High School with 21 points, followed by Natalie Synder's 18 and 10 by Marly Burton and Kaisa Spycher.  The Eagles leaped out to a 20 point 1st period lead and were ahead by 54 points by the end of the 3rd quarter.  TC combined balanced rebounding, led by Marly's 13 and Kaisa's 9, outstanding quickness, as seen in the 26 steals, and precision passing that resulted in 21 assists.  The Eagles continue to show improvement as they move through league play.  The other hot teams in the league will be their opponents the next three games.  RC will be fired up, as an upset will give them a share of the league title, and both Waterford and Mariposa have been dominate in wins the last few games.  The girls will need to be at their best as RC comes to town tomorrow night.

The JV were impressive as they rebounded from Friday night's loss to soundly beat the LeGrand Bullpuppies.

Come out and support the team as they attempt to put some distance in the standings between 1st and 2nd place.

The youth of yesterday the stars of today

Power Rating Up-date


TC is rated 4th in the latest section power ratings behind #1 Bradshaw, #2 Brookside Christian, and #3 Vacaville Christian.  The new league alignments have improved the power rating of the league Bradshaw is in and lowered the TC's league rating just a "tiny" bit with the addition of another D5 school (RC) to the Southern League.  TC is rated 6th in the Modesto Bee's district ratings.  Just click "Sac Joaquin Section D5 Power Rating" and scroll down to the bottom of the page to see the current seeding.  This seeding will be tweaked by the selection committee so teams from the same league will not play each other early in the tournament, but it is usually pretty close to what the tournament looks like.  Last year TC was "rated" #1 but was "seeded" #2.  As it happened, that appeared to be a correct choice.

Homecoming an Impressive Victory

Sometime after the Gustine blog the "Zulkster Sports Center" was viewed for the 5000th time.  Thanks for supporting the teams:-)

The Lady Eagles showed up to play at the homecoming on Friday night.  Kaisa Spycher lead the team with a great shooting night (9 for 11) scoring 18 points and Molly Zuhlke had a career best 16 rebounds. Others contributing to the win included 12 points and 4 steals by Molly Farrar, 8 points by Marly Burton, and 6 steals and 2 assists by Kara Gabrielson.  The team looks to be fine tuning the basketball machine showing the huge homecoming crowd what an outstanding team they are.

The JV lost in the final minutes to the Coyotes and fell to 8 wins and 2 losses in Southern League play.

The teams travel to LeGrand on Monday night.  Car pool with someone and come support the teams.  JV @ 6 and the  varsity @ 7:30.

Gustine Falls Flat

Rankings:  The TC girls varisty is seeded third in the CIF-SacJoaquin Section Division 5 mid-season rating. Also the Lady Eagles are ranked 6th in the Stanislaus district by the Modesto Bee.  The district includes parts of San Joaquin and Calavaras counties, and Stanislaus, Merced, and Mariposa counties.

Click Here to Goto the Game Stats @ MaxPreps

Kaisa (4 years varsity), Kara, Molly Z, & Molly F (3 years varsity)

Coach Edwin

The TC Lady Eagles traveled to Gustine on Monday night to face the Lady Redskins.  The stage was set as the senior girls still tear up as they remember the humiliation they felt as their 8th grade team battle with the Gustine Junior High School Indians.  That was the infamous game where the Gustine coach kept her top players in and pressing for the entire game and then was surprised when the TC coach mentioned it to her at the end of the game.  The Gustine coach said all of her players were the same quality.  The TC coach thought, "Oh, I'm sure you really believe that".  At least one of those top players is still playing for Gustine and she was held to zero points and swatted so many times the coach of that TC eight grade team almost couldn't record all of blocked shots.  Some say that the girls don't even remember that game four years ago and that the rivalry is just a product of a sore loser, but I say --- Well, I probably am a sore loser.

Now on to last Monday's game.  The contest was completely one sided as the Eagles jumped all over the over matched Redskins.  The second half was a nightmare for Gustine as they were out scored 21 to 1.

Here are the outstanding performances for the game:

Points Scored: Natalie Snyder (15), Molly Farrar (12) and Kara Gabrielson (9).
Rebounds: Molly Zuhlke and Molly F (7 each) and Kate Farrar (a career best 6).
Blocked Shots: Marly Burton (6), the Mollies (2 each).
Steals: Molly Farrar (a career best 10) and Kara G (6).


Molly F. had a double-double, which is not a burger served at Micky Ds, but when an athlete has 10 or more of two statistical categories.  We usually avoid using turn-overs as one of those categories, but we do have a few players who have the ability to include that stat in a double-double.  Back to the point, Molly Farrar had a double-double with 15 points and 10 assists.  That is so cool:0


The JV won again, it is almost getting to be a routine with them, and improve to a Southern League record of 8 wins and only 1 loss.  Way to go "Baby Birds".

Home Coming on Friday



All the teams will be playing at CSUS on Friday against Denair.  A special thanks to the Coyotes for being our homecoming opponent.  As a former varsity coach I know what it is like to be the visitor at a basketball homecoming and it is long and tedious.   The games start @ 3:30 (Girls JV), 5:00 (Boys JV), 6:30 (Girls Varsity) and 8:00 (Boys Varsity) with the coronation at halftime of the last game.  Come out  and support the flock.

Eagles Fly by the Hawks

The 2011 Lady Eagles

TC opened the second half of the Southern League last Thursday night as the Delhi Hawks visited the Eagle's Nest.  The Eagles came out in a full court press and quickly took the lead.  Coach Edwin only pressed for about two minutes and then went to a combination of man and primarily zone defenses for the rest of the night.  The aggressive defense, over-powering rebounding, and a Delhi team that didn't know how to slow the Eagles down resulted in a lopsided 70 -14 win.  TC was led by the scoring of the inside duo of Marly Burton with 13 points (a career high) and Kaisa Spycher with 11 points.  The team hit 3 three pointers with Mary Sargisian, a crowd favorite, hitting her 1st varsity 3.  Molly Zuhlke grabbed 12 rebounds to lead the Lady Eagles in that category and blocked 2 shots,  while Marly ripped down 9 offensive rebounds and a total of 10 and 1 block, while Kaisa contributed 9 rebounds and lead the team with 3 blocks.  Rebeka Muller lead the team with 5 assists and 6 steals while Molly Farrar had 4  assists and tied with Beka with 6 steals.  The Delhi players were just out sized and out quicked by the much bigger and much more athletic Eagles.  TC needs to keep focused on playing better ball every game despite the quality of their opponents.  Both RC and Waterford have very athletic teams that given the right opportunity could upset the Eagels with players that match up well with the size and speed of TC.

The JV continued to be impressive as they played another close game, making some key shots and free throws near the end of the contest to improve to 7 wins and only 1 loss in the Southern League.

Make the drive out to Gustine and cheer the girls on.  JV @ 6 and the varsity to follow on Monday.

HOMECOMING IS COMING!  Friday, February 4
- All games will be played at Cal State University @ Stanislaus

JV Girls @ 3:00 PM
JV Boys @ 4:30 PM
Varsity Girls @ 6:00 PM
Varsity Boys @ 7:30 PM

King and Queen presentations at half time of the boys varsity game.

See You All There!

TC Sweeps Southern League 1st Half

Click here to see all the game stats @ MaxPreps

The TC Lady Eagles ended the first half of the Southern League with an impressive win over the Waterford Wildcats.  If the home team had pulled off the upset there would have been a 6 win / 1 loss log jam at the top of the league standings.  That "up set" was not to be as the Eagles came out and scored the most points in a first quarter this year.  The team looked impressive on offense as they shot close to 50% for the first three quarters and hit 6 out of 8 threes for an amazing 75% from beyond the arc.  While Waterford's hopes were being dashed on the rock know as the Lady Eagles, TC was scoring at will.  The trio of Viss sisters were all impressive players and Waterford was much improved over years past but not improved enought to clip the Eagles wings.  This team came within 10 points of beating RC in their first Southern League meeting, but they could not keep up with the high octane Eagles.

Impression Performances Included:

Three Point Shooting:  Natalie Snyder (3/3) and Kara Gabrielson (3/4)
Shooting %: Marly Burton (60% - 6/10), Natalie and Kara (56% - 5/9), and Kaisa Spycher (50% - 7/14)
Rebounds: Marly and Kaisa (9 each) and Kara, Molly Farrar and Molly Zuhlke (6 each)
Assists: Molly F (9)


The JV continued to impress as they forged a large lead and then hung on for their 6th win in 7 league games.  They are now in second place behind RC.

Come out and support the teams as they play Delhi tonight at Calvary.

Natalie Snyder: Bee Athlete of the Week - WOW

This honor does not include her outstanding game against Waterford on Monday night where she scored 13 points (3 for 3 from the 3), ripped down 2 rebounds, had a steal and 3 assists.  Way to go Nat, I'm a fan, how about you.

Here is the article from the Modesto Bee.

NATALIE SNYDER
Turlock Christian guard

Natalie Snyder usually earns her playing time with tough defense, focusing on the opposition's backcourt. The 5-foot-7 junior showed an offensive side, though, scoring a season-high 19 in a 59-45 Southern League victory over second-place Ripon Christian. "Natalie has improved in her ability to know when to take her shot and when to pass," coach Edwin Santiago said. "Marly Burton's presence inside has given her more outside shooting opportunities, since it is difficult to concentrate on Snyder alone and leave Marly with single coverage underneath. "She did not do anything different other than capitalize on all the attention Marly Burton was getting. RC decided to focus on other players inside and Natalie seized her opportunity." Snyder averages 7.4 points, but has had games of 18, 17 and 15 points this season. She also hit 5 of 9 3-point shots last week and is now shooting 31 percent from behind the line. Her defense is just as critical to TC's success, though: "Her defensive abilities are her greatest contribution," Santiago said. "She makes it difficult for guards to get their shots."

Read more: http://www.modbee.com/2011/01/25/1526638/high-school-athletes-of-the-week.html#ixzz1C7QkXtwq

TC Swats the Butterflies

The Grizzles made their way down from the hills and stepped into the trap know as "The Eagle's Nest".  Mariposa put their game face on and appeared to be determined to stay with the current Southern League leaders and then the 1st quarter came to an end.  The rest of the game was all TC as they held Maripose to only 6 points combined in the 2nd and 3rd quarters.  The Grizzles fell to 2 - 4 in the SL while TC improved to a league best 6 - 0.

Outstanding Performances included:

Assists: 6 - Molly Farrar
Steals: 3 - Kara Gabrielson & Kaisa Spycher
Blocks: 2 - Molly Farrar
Rebounds: 9 - Molly Zuhlke
Points: 10 - Molly Farrar


The Lady Eagles face the Waterford Wildcats on Monday night in Waterford.  Make the drive, north on Geer, right on Yosemite and right at the first school in Waterford.  Really nice gym and Waterford in currently tied with RC in the Southern League with 5 wins and only 1 loss.


Click on the link to see a head to head comparison of the two teams:  Eagles @ Waterford


Go Eagles:)


Take a look at the video below.  Not basketball but interesting.

Wilson - The Football of the NFL

A friend of mine sent this to me.  I thought it was better cool, enjoy.

TC Moves to 5-0

I rant so therefore I am :-)

The RC Lady Knights appear to be one of the Modesto Bee's favorite teams.  Last week there was an article that told us about RC using their vaulted press to crush some hapless Southern League team.  In the past the Modesto Bee has been an apologist on how RC's record was deceiving because they were the only division 5 team in the division 4 TVL.  Well, TC was the only division 5 team in the division 4 Southern League all these years, where was our Modesto Bee moment?  I am sick and tired of the "mighty" Knights and their "Bee" worship.  Last night the 10-3 over-all, and 4-0 perfect Southern League Ripon Christian Knights hosted the lowly 9-8 overall and merely 4-0 in Southern League Turlock Christian Eagles.  If you believed the tone of the Mo Bee you would think TC was grateful for being allowed to visit the RC gym.  First off who have the Knights beaten?  They have played two teams with winning records, Hughson twice and one of Hughson's losses was to Gustine, winning once and losing once, and now TC.  The Eagles on the other hand have lost 8 games, 4 against teams in the top 20 in the state rankings, and 7 of 8 with winning records.  TC may not have the pretty 10-3 record but they have the toughness of a team that has been through the war.

The game was played at the very impressive RC gym.  The floor is ten feet longer than TC's home and looks like it goes forever.  That did not matter as the Knight's looked exhausted by the middle of the 2nd quarter and TC was just getting started.  The Eagles widened the lead after each quarter and ended the contest as a 59-45 winner.  The scoring was lead by Natalie Synder's 19 points, which included three 3s, Molly Farrar's 17 points and Kaisa Spycher's 12.  Top rebounders included Marly Burton, Kaisa S. and Molly F. with 8 each.  Molly F also lead the team with 6 steals and 6 assists and Marly B had a season high 7 blocked shots.  Despite my rantings about the Bee the Eagles are the paper's 9th ranked small school this week with a shout out about TC's strong schedule.  Way to go girls.  See you all at the next game at home on Thursday versus Mariposa.

Le Grand Falls to the Eagles

The only team to beat TC in the Southern League last was the Le Grand Bulldogs, they did not repeat the feat last Thursday by a score of 59-25.  The Eagles and the Dogs were close after the first quarter 8-3 but TC picked up the scoring and left the Bulldogs in the dust.

Outstanding Performances
Assists: Molly Farrar (4) and Natalie Synder (3).
Steals: Molly F and Kara Gabrielson (4 each), Molly Zuhlke, Natalie S. and Tara Lafollette (3 each).
Blocked Shots: Kaisa Spycher and Molly Z (2 each)
Rebounds: Kaisa S (14), Molly Z (10) and Kara G (9).
Points: Molly F (14), Kaisa S (12) and Kara G (10).

The team has improved to 4-0 in leagues and is tied with Ripon Christian for 1st place.

They will be playing on Tuesday night at Ripon Christian High School.  Come out and support the team.  The JV is also 4-0 in league and playing very well.  See You at the Game.

Coyotes Trapped

The TC Lady Eagles made the long road trip to Denair (3 miles) on Monday to face the Purple and Grey.  The Eagles, rotating between man and zone, took it to the Coyotes from the opening tip and were leading by 12 points at the end of the 1st quarter.  Denair was unable overcome the agressive D and ended losing 57-17.  Tara Lafollette had her best game at the varsity level scoring 7 points, grabbing a rebound and making a steal.

Other Outstanding Performances Included:

Points Scored:
- Molly Farrar / 13 points
- Marly Burton / 11 points which tied her career high.
Total Rebounds:
- Kaisa Spycher / 10 rebounds
- Molly Zuhlke / 9 rebounds
- Marly Burton / 8 rebounds
Blocked Shots
- Marly B / 4
- Molly Z / 2


-

Gustine Falls to the Eagles

Click the box score to see all the game stats / Click back to return to blog

Molly Farrar, right, and the Turlock Christian girls basketball team easily took care of Gustine High on Thursday night — winning 71-21 in Southern League play

She shoots, She Scores (Kaisa S)

The Lady Eagles made it 2 straight wins to open the 2011 Southern League campaign defeating the Redskins of Gustine 71-21 at the Eagles Nest last night.  Back in the junior high days this group of Gustine players had an impressive run as they went undefeated and crushed the TC Eagles in a game, keeping both their best players and the press on for the entire game.  Well what goes around comes around.  While the Gustine players' skills either faded or stayed the same, the TC players worked on their game.  The end result was a a crushing of the Redskins and no press was applied.  Sounds like a bit of venting by this writter, who just happened to be the coach of that team Gustine stomped on back in the winter of 2007.

The girls came out aggressively and took a huge lead in the first quarter and never looked back.  The team was led by Molly Farrar's 18 points and Kaisa Spycher's 12.  We shot 41% from the floor, which is a good percentage for high school girls basketball.  The girls struggled from the free throw line shooting only 38% on 12 for 31 attempts.  Normally free throw percentages should be close to 60%.  Leading the team in rebounds was Kara Gabrielson with 8 and Molly Zuhlke with 7. Molly Z had 4 blocked shots and Marly Burton swatted 3.  The Eagles ran the court well, capitalizing on 23 steals, led by Molly F and Kara G with 6 a piece, and dished out 17 assists, 7 by Molly F.

JV 2-0 in Southern League
The Eaglettes continued to fly high in the Southern League hanging on to beat a scrappy Gustine team.  The girls are now 2 wins and no losses in league play.
Here is the article from the Journal.

CHHUN SUN / The Journal
Sports Writer
csun@turlockjournal.com
209-634-9141, ext. 2041
POSTED Jan. 7, 2011 10:27 p.m.

If the Turlock Christian girls basketball players didn’t score a single point after the first quarter, they’d still have technically won Thursday night’s Southern League contest against Gustine High.

The Eagles never trailed for a moment, fronted a tough-to-overcome 14-0 lead and forced a running clock throughout the final quarter — just some of the highlights in a 71-21 thumping at Calvary Baptist Gym in front of dozens of fans who were rooting for the other team toward the end of the night, perhaps a way to keep themselves entertained.
The Eagles’ biggest lead was 53 points.
“We’ve been working a lot on conditioning and making sure that we run the court,” said senior forward Kaisa Spycher, who finished with 12 points and was one of eight Turlock Christian scorers. “We’ve been focusing on teamwork and meshing well as a team. So I think it’s all kind of starting to come together.”
It was the Eagles’ second consecutive blowout — the first was Monday’s 60-16 league pounding of Delhi High — after being tested and going winless at the West Coast Jamboree against unfamiliar foes.
On Thursday, Turlock Christian held the Redskins to single-digits in every quarter and was ahead 22-3 after the first 8 minutes. The Eagles ruled the court with an abundance of fast break points and pressured the Gustine players into turnovers and bad shots.

But one Eagle didn’t think it was a perfect game.
“When you’re winning, you can get complacent,” said Eagles coach Edwin Santiago after being asked if he had any complaints about his team’s performance. “When you’re ahead in a game, you get complacent and start becoming too comfortable. Not playing defense, not getting into the passing lane, not providing help defense. You start doing those things, you start developing bad habits. We didn’t want to do that. We made sure we stayed sharp.”
He also said that his team wasn’t getting enough rebounds, but that changed with the help of assistant coach Mary Burton, who “made sure they were aware that they weren’t boxing out in the first half.”
That changed in the second half, when the Eagles scored enough points to enforce a running clock.

Though the Eagles (7-6 overall, 2-0 SL) showcased plenty of scoring threats and finished with 17 team assists, it was Molly Farrar who had the best all-around contribution. The senior guard sliced her way through the Redskins defense to finish with a game-high 18 points, to go along with seven assists and six steals.

Other Eagles got in on the fun, as Kara Gabrielson had nine points, Arin Morelli finished with eight and both Mary Sargisian and Marly Burton totaled seven apiece.

The Redskins fell to 3-10 overall and 1-1 in league play. Thursday was only Gustine’s second game since Dec. 15, 2010.
“I think it was harder for them to come up and play after we played so many games,” Santiago said, referring to the Eagles’ tournament play during the winter break. “I think that made a big difference.”
The Eagles expect a challenge today, as they will travel to Oakland to face 5-4 Head-Royce — a Division V state tournament qualifier from last season — at 4:30 p.m. The last meeting between the two teams in 2006 resulted in a 44-32 win for Head-Royce

Eagles Open Southern League with a Win

DUE TO LACK OF PHOTOS -  RANDOM PICTURES WILL BE USED IN THE BLOG

The Lady Eagles traveled to nearby Delhi for the opening of Southern League play after a tough preseason schedule.  During the non-league schedule TC faced some very good teams. Those games included a victory over Orestimba (ranked #10 in the Modesto Bee's small school category), and games against Galt (8th ranks in Sac-Joaquin Section - Division 3), Miramonte (3rd ranked in California - D3) and Whitney (11th ranked in Sac-Joaquin - D3).  Though the Lady Eagles traveled a rough road in the preseason they are a better team for the effort.

The varsity had inspiration from the JV as the Eaglets beat the Hawks in the warm-up game.  A very nice game was played by all led my sophomore point guard Mattie.  Way to go Eaglets!

The 2 Mollies demonstrate their jumping workout

The varsity started off a little rusty having come off of four days without a practice or game but picked up the defensive intensity at about four minutes into the first quarter and went on to ground the Hawks with a 60-16 win.  TC only pressed a handful times as the score could have gotten out of control with to much pressure.  The girls played a very aggressive man and zone that Delhi could not solve.  The intense defense resulted in a slew of steals with Molly Farrar leading the onslaught with 9,  followed by Kara Gabrielson's 5 and Natalie Snyder and Molly Zuhlke with 4 a piece.  The fast break seemed to be working as the Eagles flew up the court at every opportunity.  The leading scorers included Molly F with a career high 22 points, Kaisa Spycher with 12 and Marly Burton with a season high 10.  Kaise put back more than one offensive rebound for points, while Marly used the power game to score against the Delhi post players.  Leading the team in assists were Molly F with 7 and Natalie S with 3.  The Hawks had a hard time rebounding against the strength of the Eagles rebounders.  Molly Z lead the team with 14 rebounds, Kaisa S grabbed 10 rebounds and Kara ripped down 8.  Some sophomore high-lights included Arin Morelli's first 3 pointing in league and Kate Farrar with 6 points.  The Eagles looked very good on defense by mixing man and zone and keeping Delhi confused throughout the game.  The also ran the court well and the inside game to Marly and Kaisa was impressive.  Great way to open the Southern League.

Kara reveals her secret to great defense