Schools

It was only last weekend, in a tournament in St. Helena, that the Greyhound girls got their first win, a  2-0 shutout over Ferndale. But at least it was a win—and if the volleyball team is burdened by a 1-11 record so far this year, new coach Jonathan Nuttall hopes the win helps turn the tide.

Healdsburg's boys basketball team remains without a win in league play this year, 0-4, and only three wins on the season against 15 losses, while the Rio Vista boys team is 6-7 overall, 1-4 in the league.

Two recent track matches have helped bring the Healdsburg Greyhounds teams into focus. The distance runners continue to make strong showings, and sprinters pound the track to the finish line.

A pair of great seasons came to an abrupt end last week for Cloverdale High School baseball and softball teams, with both advancing in the North Coast Section Division-4 playoff tournament before being bounced in the quarterfinals.

That the sport of badminton is again being played in high school gyms around the area is due in large measure to the efforts of Scott Bischof. A former competitor and founder of the World Badminton Museum, he introduced the sport at several schools including Healdsburg.

The Eagles weathered a tough stretch on the NCL-1 boys basketball circuit last week, combining a 60-59 win over Lower Lake with a disappointing 41-35 loss to Middletown.

The irregular thwack-thwop-pop of tennis rises up from the high school courts every afternoon of the week, and often on weekends, as the student-athletes of Healdsburg High School hone their serves, returns, backspins and lobs. It seems worth the while: The school’s boys tennis team is definitely competitive this year.

As is often the case, track and field is among the first spring sports to get underway. The big event opening the season was the Big Cat Invitational, held at Santa Rosa High on Saturday, March 1. Last weekend came the Gaucho Relays, at Casa Grade High. This weekend it's the Field Event Jamboree in Santa Rosa.

The girls soccer squad has started off undefeated in their first four matches, winning three more times following their 3-0 season-opening shutout against St. Helena on Nov. 14. Meanwhile the boys are fielding another strong team this year. They, too, started their season on Nov. 20 with a win against Cloverdale, a one-sided 6-0 victory....