Though they have been having to dodge the on again, off again, rain showers in the area, the 2023 spring sports season has kicked off for athletes at Riverbank High School. Here is a look at some of the first events of the spring campaign for the Bruins.
Co-Ed Tennis
The Riverbank teams hosted their annual doubles tournament at the end of last week, helping start the season. The two-day event was held on all the tennis courts in town, on the RHS campus, the courts next to Cardozo Middle School, and on those in Zerillo Park.
Coach Bruce Edwards reports that Orestimba High School, from Newman, took first overall, with Escalon coming in second, Argonaut at third and Riverbank at fourth place in Division A.
There was competition in boys’ pairs, girls and mixed doubles. Riverbank boys’ number one pair came in second, while boys number two finished fifth, girls number one and number two teams tied for fourth place. Mixed doubles number one finished fourth while mixed doubles number two came in third.
Edwards noted that he felt good about his team, since there are a number of freshmen on it.
In Division C, Riverbank placed first, with Ripon coming in at number two, Millennium of Tracy at number three, Waterford was number four, and Livingston number five.
In mixed doubles, senior Jimena Cuellar and junior Matthew Hardin finished in first place and freshman Victor Jacobo and sophomore Ines Fernandez, a foreign exchange student from Spain, finished in second place, with help from substitutes, freshmen Zaira Villegas and Lili Fibrow.
The RHS number one girls doubles team placed second. Edwards said freshmen Cynthia Pantoja and Nathalie Garcia were “pitted against upper classmen from Ripon in a very close match, losing in a tie breaker for the championship.” The number two girl’ pair, Morelia Galvan, a sophomore, and Jocelyn Victorino, a freshman, placed first in their heat.
The number one boys pair, seniors Frank Manzo and Arthus Schnebeien, finished in second place. Schnebeien is a foreign exchange student from France.
Number two boys doubles, Roberto O’Agnano, a senior exchange student from Italy, and sophomore Noe Gutierrez also recorded a second place finish.
The teams are set to play at Millennium High School in Tracy on Friday, and at Hughson next Tuesday.
Lady Bruin Basketball
Riverbank’s number 12 seeded girls basketball program finished its season with a contest in the first round of the CIF NorCals Division IV tournament on Tuesday, Feb. 28. It was a trip to San Jose to take on number 5 seed Valley Christian High School. The girls fell 55-49, ending their season. VCHS fell in round two to 13th seed Marysville, who fell to number 1 San Domenico in the semifinals last Saturday. The regional finals were scheduled for March 7, with the state final on March 11.
Lady Bruin Softball
The girls have hit the diamond, with a couple of games in the books already.
On Thursday, March 2, they traveled to Big Valley Christian High School, winning 4-3. On Friday, they hosted Beyer High School of Modesto, battling to a 4-4 tie, in preseason play.
The girls were scheduled to host Ripon Christian yesterday, and play in the preseason high school classic this week on Rainbow Fields, weather permitting.
Bruin Baseball
Riverbank hosted Linden in varsity baseball action on Friday, March 3, falling 20-0 in non-league play. They were scheduled to host Big Valley Christian on March 7 and travel to Waterford for action on March 8. They’ll host Summerville, from Tuolumne County, on Monday, March 13.
Co-Ed Track & Field
Bruin teams were to host Big Valley Christian in a scrimmage meet on March 7, with a Stanislaus County meet set for Friday, March 10 in Hughson. Next Wednesday, March 15, there’s the Trans-Valley League Relays in Ripon.
