Basketball season has officially begun, and Madison Rocha and the Menlo College Oaks mean business. After beating UC Merced 89-83 on Thursday and Notre Dame De Namur 88-75 on Saturday, the Oaks are off to a strong 2-0 start.
Rocha, a Soquel High alum, had 10 points and nine assists spread across the two games. When the guard played with Cabrillo College during the 2015-2016 season, she earned on average 21.7 points a game, making her the team’s leading scorer.
Defensively, Rocha had a strong opening as well, earning five rebounds and two steals throughout the week to help the Oaks come out on top.
The Oaks will take on Simpson University in Redding on Saturday at 7 p.m.
Helenya Hill (Archbishop Mitty), San Jose State, Fr. >> Guard, a Santa Cruz resident, had one steal and one assist Sunday as the Spartans (1-0) beat visiting Stanislaus State 83-72.
Men’s basketball
Sam Walters (Soquel), UC Santa Barbara, Jr. >> Guard scored five points as the Gauchos (1-0) beat visiting Fresno Pacific 92-69 Saturday.
Ben Dorfman (Aptos), UC Santa Cruz, Grad. >> Guard had 11 points and three defensive rebounds Friday as the Banana Slugs (0-1) lost to host Sacramento State 94-75 in an exhibition game.
Men’s cross country
Rene Siqueiros (Watsonville), San Francisco State, Sr. >> Took 97th place in 32:27.9 at the Western Regional Championships on Saturday.
Justin Carrancho (Watsonville), Alaska-Anchorage, Sr. >> Finished 122nd in 32:55.7 at the 10k race at the NCAA Division II West Regional Championships on Saturday.
Women’s volleyball
Sarah Savoca (Soquel), Portland, Sr. >> Opposite earned five block assists, five digs, three kills, two assists, and one serve assist in two games as the Pilots (14-11) went 0-2 in two away games last week.
Jensen Shurbert (Pacific Collegiate School), Kenyon, Sr. >> Setter earned 68 assists, 25 digs seven kills and four serve assists as the Ladies (15-11) went 1-1 in the NCAC Tournament on Friday.
Clare Powers (Archbishop Mitty), Penn State, Jr. >> Outside hitter, an Aptos resident, earned four kills, one serve assist and one dig Saturday as the Lions (23-1) beat visiting Rutgers 3-0.
Megan Toler (Monte Vista Christian), U.S. Merchant Marines Academy, Jr. >> Outside hitter earned seven kills, four digs, three block assists and one assist this week as the Marines (17-7) went 2-0 to win the Skyline Conference Championship.
Savannah Horton (Soquel), Humboldt State, Jr. >> Middle blocker earned 14 block assists, 13 kills, seven block assists, and one solo block as the Lumberjacks (3-19) went 0-4 this week.
Vanessa Ditz (Harbor), S.F. State, Jr >> Libero earned 61 digs, five assists and four serve assists this week as the Gators (8-17) went 1-2 at home.
Tessie Powers (Mitty), Santa Clara, So. >> Setter, an Aptos resident, earned 11 digs and two assists Friday as the Broncos (13-12) beat host San Francisco 3-0.
Lauren Matias (Harbor), UC Davis, So. >> Outside hitter earned three digs and one serve assist Saturday as the Aggies (15-11) beat visiting UC Riverside 3-2.
Men’s swimming
Oli Holt (Bellarmine), Boston University, Fr. >> Finished sixth in the 200-yard freestyle (1:46.49) Saturday as the Terriers (3-1) lost to Massachusetts 154-144.
Women’s swimming
Anna James (PCS), Lewis & Clark, Sr. >> Took sixth place in the 200-yard freestyle (2:13.45) and fifth in the 500-yard free(5:46.58) Saturday as the Pioneers (0-2) lost to visitor Pacific Lutheran 137-68.
Sarah Eichhorn (MVC), Azusa Pacific, Fr. >> Finished fifth in the 500-yard freestyle (5:47.81) as the Cougars (3-0) beat visitor Biola 160-74 Saturday.
Men’s wrestling
Bryan Battisto (Harbor), CSU Bakersfield, Jr. >> Lost 10-8 to to Nick Stephani at 174 pounds Sunday as the Runners (2-0) beat visiting Bucknell 26-10.
Football
Dominic Bonner (Santa Cruz), Minnesota-Duluth, Sr. >> Wide receiver had two receptions for 18 yards and one kickoff return for 14 yards Saturday as the Bulldogs (8-2) beat visiting Minnesota-Crookston 54-6.
Ashtyn Davis (Santa Cruz), Cal, So. >> Cornerback earned three solo tackles and returned five kickoffs for 91 yards Saturday as the Bears (5-5) beat visiting Oregon State 37-23.
Chase Whitney (Aptos), Humboldt State, Jr. >> Defensive lineman earned one tackle Saturday as the Lumberjacks (8-1) beat host Western State Colorado 48-3.
County Connections appears Thursdays in the Sentinel. Contact sports@santacruzsentinel.com if you know of a former Santa Cruz County prep athlete now playing at the collegiate level.