Preps of the week: Branson kicks off spring playoffs with tennis title

The gauntlet that is the spring postseason kicked off in earnest last week as the MCAL team tennis tournament took place on Tuesday and Thursday.

Branson backed up its unbeaten regular season with two more wins to claim the program’s first title in more than 20 years.

It was a big week in track as well, as three of the top programs in Marin — Redwood, Archie Williams and Tam — battled it out for county supremacy. Many of the top athletes then competed at the Viking Classic at Montgomery High on Saturday.

Tommie Higgins, Branson boys tennis

The Bulls remained undefeated on the season through 21 matches with victories against No. 4 Tam and No. 2 Redwood in the MCAL playoffs. The title was the first for the program since 2001 and was claimed largely on the strength of the Bulls’ depth in singles. Higgins led the way at No. 2 singles, winning both his matches including a 2-6, 6-3, 1-0 victory against Tam on Tuesday. Branson swept the Nos. 3 and 4 singles matches as well last week, courtesy of Chase Hoeveler and Ishwar Jayaraman, respectively.

Angelique Addae, Marin Catholic girls track

Addae had a strong weekend with three podium finishes at the Viking Classic on Montgomery High. Addae was victorious in the 100-meter race in the Invitational category in 12.42 seconds and placed third in the 200 (26.62 seconds). Addae also ran the anchor leg for MC’s victorious 4×100 relay team with Lea Gorham, Millie Weitz and Alivia Etcheber. Addae is the defending MCAL champion in both of the sprint events. The MCAL track championships are scheduled for May 4 and 6 at San Marin High.

Ziggy Nacco, Marin Catholic boys track

Nacco also brought home a pair of first-place finishes at the Viking Classic, winning the boys invitational 800 in a personal best of 1 minute, 56.84 seconds and he helped MC’s 4×400 relay team to another victory. Nacco was joined on that relay by JR Bosch, Reece Barrett and Calvin Tobin.

Ethan Werner, Redwood boys track

Werner came away with victories in both the 1,600 meters and the 3,200 to help lead Redwood to dual-meet wins against both Tam and Archie Williams last week. Werner ran a season-best 9:53.53 in the 3,200 and claimed the 1,600 with a time of 4:33.60.

Ruby Hauth, Redwood girls track

Hauth was a double winner in the dual meet against Archie Williams and Tam, helping the Giants pick up victories over both teams. Hauth won the 100-meter hurdles and the high jump at the dual meet. She followed that up with a second-place finish in the invitational category in the high jump at the Viking Classic, tying her personal record of 5 feet, 2 inches.

Megan Murphy, San Rafael softball

Murphy put together two dominant outings last week in wins against Marin Catholic and Archie Williams. Against the Wildcats, Murphy went seven innings and allowed four hits, one run and struck out 12. Murphy also had three hits against MC. Archie Williams forced Murphy to work overtime, needing eight innings and 13 strikeouts to register a 2-1 victory against the Peregrine Falcons.

Maddie Sofnas, Redwood softball

Redwood pulled out a 3-0 week with wins against Terra Linda, Tam and Vintage largely on the strength of Sofnas’ bat. Sofnas went 7 for 12 across the three games, driving in 10 runs and scoring three times. Sofnas had at least three RBIs in every game — most crucially driving in the winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning of a 5-4 win against Tam.

Brad Burnes, Marin Catholic baseball

MC’s cleanup hitter got the week started off right, hitting a solo homer in the second inning to give the Wildcats an early lead in their first-place showdown against Redwood. MC snagged a 1-0 lead on the homer and went on to win 3-0. Burnes was given less of a chance to impact Friday’s rematch as he was walked three times. Still, he managed to go 1 for 1 with a run scored. Catcher Jake Lyall had the big hit in the second game. Starting pitchers Liam Smith and Gavin Simurdiak both had strong outings as MC vaulted over Redwood into first place with the two-game sweep.

Paige Murphy, Archie Williams softball

The Peregrine Falcons’ ace split a pair of games against MCAL opposition last week, beating Tam 7-0 before falling to San Rafael 2-1 in eight innings. All told, Murphy worked 15 innings across those two games, allowing seven hits, no earned runs and striking out 29 hitters.