The Saint Mary’s men’s basketball team is looking to follow up on a strong 2008-09 season. So far, so good. The Gaels have played two games so far this season, winning both impressively at home in McKeon Pavillion.

On Friday, Nov. 13, the Gaels beat New Mexico State, 100-68. They followed that up with an 80-58 victory over San Diego State. Their next game is Friday night when they host Vanderbilt at 8:30 p.m.

The Saint Mary’s women’s basketball team is also off to a strong start. The Lady Gaels won their first two games against Chico State, 78-55, and Idaho State, 76-69.

Their best game so far may have been their third game. Despite losing the game, 68-65, the Lady Gaels played tough and nearly pulled off the upset against a strong Cal team in Berkeley.

The Lady Gaels host Nevada on Friday at 5:30 p.m.

When the North Coast Section announced they would be expanding the playoff brackets, they really meant it.

Despite the fact that not one of the three Lamorinda high school football teams had a winning record, all three find themselves in the playoffs.

Acalanes, who finished 5-5, earned the seventh seed and a first-round home playoff game Friday night at 7:00 p.m. against an Analy team that finished 6-4 on the season.

Campolindo, who also finished 5-5, earned the ninth seed and will travel all the way up to Fortuna to play a 7-3 Fortuna High School team on Saturday night at 7:00 p.m.

Despite a losing record at 4-6, Miramonte earned the twelfth seed and will play at the fifth seed, Healdsburg High School, Friday night at 7:00 p.m. Healdsburg finished the regular season at 6-4.

Despite losing to Acalanes in DFAL play and handing the Dons the DFAL title, Miramonte’s boys water polo team went into Saturday’s NCS final confident they could pull out the win. It was also the first time since 2004 that the Matadors weren’t the number one seed in the playoffs. The Matadors squeezed by the Dons, 6-5, to earn their fifth consecutive NCS title in water polo. It is the eleventh time the Miramonte boys have won the NCS water polo crown since 1994.

The Campolindo girls found themselves in the final against a favored Monte Vista team. Monte Vista jumped out to a 4-0 halftime lead that the Cougars couldn’t return from. The Cougars fell to Monte Vista by a final score of 8-5.

Miramonte went into their game with DFAL leader Alhambra knowing they needed the upset to get into the NCS playoffs. The Matadors fought hard and found themselves tied 27-27 with under six minutes left, but Alhambra scored two touchdowns in the final six minutes to win the game. Miramonte finishes the season with an overall record of 4-6 and will miss out on the NCS playoffs.

Campolindo went into their game against Las Lomas looking to improve their seed in the playoffs. Las Lomas needed a win to get into the playoffs and came out strong, taking a 42-7 lead over the Cougars in the second quarter. Las Lomas won the game by a final score of 63-21. Campolindo finishes the regular season with a 3-3 DFAL record and a 5-5 record overall.

Acalanes finished their regular season last week in a 38-27 loss to Campolindo. The Dons finished 4-2 in DFAL play and 5-5 overall.

The NCS Water Polo Championships are already on to the semifinals, which will take place on Thursday. On the girls side, Campolindo has advanced to the semifinals, which they will host Thursday at 4:30 p.m. Miramonte was knocked out in the second round, while Acalanes fell in the quarterfinals. On the boys side, Acalanes will play in one semifinal Thursday at 5:45 p.m. at Campolindo against San Ramon Valley. Miramonte will host the other semifinal against De La Salle also at 5:45 p.m. The Campolindo boys lost to De La Salle in the quarterfinals.

The NCS Girls Volleyball Division III Championships start tonight. Campolindo earned the fourth seed and will be hosting El Cerrito tonight at 7:00 p.m. Acalanes earned the tenth seed and will be playing at Moreau Catholic at 7:00 p.m. Miramonte earned the overall top seed and a first-round bye. Their first game will be Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. at Miramonte.

The NCS Girls Tennis Championships will take place Nov. 17 and 18 in Santa Rosa. Anastasia Kaiser, of Miramonte, will be the lone Lamorinda representative in the singles bracket. The only local doubles team will be Sarah Holden and Natalie Korich from Campolindo.

The Campolindo football team went into their meeting with Acalanes Friday night looking at the game as a “must-win.” The Cougars played one of their best games of the year as they beat host Acalanes, 38-27. Tommy Stephens, the Campolindo quarterback, proved to be the star as he completed 19 of his 26 passes for 255 yards. He also threw two touchdown passes. The Cougars improved to 3-2 in DFAL play and 5-4 overall. Acalanes dropped to 4-2 in DFAL play and 5-5 overall.

Miramonte won their game against host Dougherty Valley, 14-7, on Friday night. The Matadors improved to 2-3 in DFAL play and 4-5 overall.

Acalanes improved to 4-1 in the DFAL after their Friday night victory over Dublin, 35-21. The star of the game was the Dons’ running back Tyler Malley who rushed for 219 yards and scored three touchdowns. If Acalanes can finish the season strong, they could earn one of the top seeds in the NCS playoffs.

Miramonte suffered another DFAL defeat, losing on Friday night to Las Lomas, 35-21. With the loss, the Matadors drop to 1-3 in DFAL play and 3-5 overall. The Matadors are likely to miss the NCS playoffs this year.

Campolindo had a bye this week. Their next game is at Acalanes Friday night, Nov. 6, at 7:00 p.m.

The Lafayette Reservoir Run took place this past Sunday, Oct. 25, with hundreds of participants competing in the 5K and 10K races, as well as the Sports Basement Elite Mile. The winners of each age group are listed below:

5K Winners:

Females
Overall: Shoshana Ziblatt
2-7: Sydney Kupsh
8-10: Katie Tang
11-13: Raea Gragg
14-18: Haley Shipway
19-29: Jenna Zack
30-39: Tasha McNamara
40-49: Diane Batchelor
50-59: Kim Naylor
60-69: Marilyn Modafferi
70-79: Rosemary Bredahl
80 & Over: Dee Farkas and Joan Bruzzone (tie)

Males
Overall: Steve Zirkelbach
2-7: Spencer Gillen
8-10: Payson Newman
11-13: Mathew Whitman
14-18: Charlie Zamanian
19-29: Weston Dunn
30-39: Max Rodriguez
40-49: John Sun
50-59: John Pettinichio
60-69: Phil Murphy
70-79: Walter Schlehuber
80 & Over: Joe Lobianco

10K Winners:

Females
Overall: Alison Zamanian
2-7: Colleen Dukes
8-10: Leslie Coulter
11-13: Helen Coleman
14-18: Elizabeth Zuniga
19-29: Alexandra Bettencourt
30-39: Katie Karst
40-49: Maryann Nelson
50-59: Susan Park
60-69: Connie Chiba
70-79: Barbara Robben

Males
Overall: Rob Elia
2-7: Michael Laurenson
8-10: Thomas Domgeu
11-13: Dylan Foster
14-18: Keenan Byrne
19-29: Holland Smith
30-39: Kurt Schneider
40-49: John Foley
50-59: Keith Duncan
60-69: Dennis Tracy
70-79: Dennis Hassler

Garret Heath won the Sports Basement Elite Mile with a time of  4:08.3.

For complete results, visit http://results.active.com/pages/resultsCalendar.jsp?&orgID=218713.

Pro angler Zack Thompson, of Orinda, recently earned the title of 2009 Land O’Lakes Angler of the Year for the National Guard Western Division of the Walmart FLW Series. He won the honor by having the most combined points of any angler in the division during four qualifying events.

Due to Thompson’s success, he has qualified for the 2010 Forrest Wood Cup on Lake Lanier in Atlanta, one of the biggest fishing competitions in the country. Thompson won’t be the only pro angler from Orinda heading to the Forrest Wood Cup though. Jason Cordiale’s points were enough to finish fourth in the overall standings, qualifying him for the Forrest Wood Cup.

The Lamorinda Baseball Club will be holding tryouts for their 10 and Under boys team on Nov. 7 from 12:30-3:30 p.m. and on Nov. 22 from 9:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m. The tryouts will take place at Rudgear Field, located at 2250 Stewart Ave. in Walnut Creek. Visit http://www.lamorindabaseball.org for more information.

The Lamorinda Rugby Club is currently holding online registration for the upcoming season for boys ages 7-18. The last day to register is Nov. 11. For more information, visit http://www.lamorugby.com.

Registration is open for the Spring 2010 season of the Lamorinda Lacrosse Club. The Lamorinda Lacrosse Club is open to boys and girls ages 7-14. Visit http://www.lamorindalacrosse.com for more information.