Prep Sports Notebook: Viewpoint's Golf Team Has it Down to a Tee

s golf team is really getting into the swing of things.

Led by sophomore Alex Angard, the boys are 7-1, 4-0 in league competition, including a 28-stroke win Tuesday over Flintridge Prep at Altadena Golf Course.

“So far, so good,” coach Paul Bastedo said. “I’m looking at the scores, and we’ve really improved from last season. The team average is down nine strokes, and five or six of players are about two strokes better than they were last year. I’m encouraged. As long as we stay healthy, I think we’ll keep playing well.”

Angard shot an even-Par 35 over nine holes against Flintridge Prep, paring every hole.

“He’s our top guy. Basically, he has a zero handicap,” Bastedo said. “I know a couple of colleges are looking at him. He has been a medalist in all but one of our matches.”

Angard can drive the ball 290 yards.

“He hits the ball far – sometimes a little over-aggressive, but I say that to everybody,” Bastedo said. “I remember last year, he had a five-iron and still out-drove our No. 2 guy.”

On March 16, Viewpoint defeated Hillcrest Christian of Granada Hills and Milken of L.A. in a three-way at Knollwood in Granada Hills. Jake Kester shot a 38, and Will Bastien shot a 40, followed by Ian Levy (42), Trevor Kaufman (44) and Bobby Webster (47). Viewpoint shot a 211 compared to Milken (251) and Hillcrest Christian (276).

Two days earlier on March 14, Viewpoint competed in the Oak Park Invitational, finishing 14^th in a field of 30 at North Ranch Golf Course – mostly against larger schools.

Playing from the farthest tees, Kester shot 79 to tie for 15^th, and Alex Angard shot 80 to tie for 17th. This tournament featured 90 of the area's top golfers.

Viewpoint is on spring break beginning today, and Bastedo said their only instructions are to be careful.

“I remember last year, Daniel Cha broke his collarbone snowboarding,” Bastedo said.

Here are the season averages: Angard  36.4; Kester  39.5; Will Bastien  40.0; Levy  42.3; Kaufman  43.3; John Walsh  44.0; Webster  45.5; Cha  50.4.

VIEWPOINT SOFTBALL GROWING UP

With a young team facing mostly larger schools, Viewpoint’s softball team is focusing on improvement.

The Patriots are 2-6 with a roster consisting of eight freshmen, two sophomores, one junior and one senior.

“We’re a  very young team, and we’ve yet to play an opponent from our division (Division 7),” coach Pam Oseransky said. “Our play has been a little bit inconsistent. Our hope is all these tough games will get us prepared for anthing we might face in our division further down the road.”

Viewpoint defeated Lawndale 8-0 on March 12 and Serra 7-2 on March 5.

The girls have a three-week spring break before resuming April 13 at Ramona Convent in Alhambra.

Tatum Ozen, a freshman infielder, was 2 for 2 Thursday in a loss to Maranatha. She’s batting .250 with two runs and two RBIs.

Blake Bertha, a sophomore pitcher, has both wins. She is 2-0 with 1.84 ERA and 16 strikeouts in 19 innings.

CALABASAS LOOKS TO BREAK BASEBALL SLUMP

Calabasas’ baseball team has lost four in a row heading into a scheduled Marmonte League game today at 3:15 p.m. against visiting Simi Valley. The Coyotes (3-6, 0-3) are struggling to find the right hit at the right time, scoring a total of eight runs during the four-game losing streak.

Overall, Calabasas has a 3.04 team ERA but is hitting just .221. Jacob Fields and Josh Ehrlich are batting .381.