Wessels steps up for SF State basketball

By MARTY JAMES, Executive Sports Editor

NOTES AND QUOTES for a Monday in the Napa Valley:

Ryan Wessels is off to a good start as a 6-foot-8, 200-pound junior forward for the San Francisco State University men’s basketball team.

Wessels, an All-Bay Valley Conference player for Napa Valley College, had a team-high 16 points on 7-on-7 shooting from the floor with six rebounds, two assists and three blocks in 26 minutes in a 61-60 nonconference loss to Notre Dame de Namur in Belmont Friday.

The Vintage High School graduate and Napa resident had eight points and eight rebounds in the Gators’ 69-58 win over Houghton Nov. 17 in Rio Grande, Ohio.

In San Francisco’s 78-74 win over Rio Grande on Nov. 16, Wessels had eight points on 4-of-4 shooting with three rebounds, two assists and two blocks.

Wessels, who redshirted last season, is a kinesiology major.

“Ryan is going to be able to contribute in a significant way,” coach Bill Treseler said on the Gators’ athletic Web site. “The added strength during his redshirt year has really given him a lot more confidence and the ability to finish inside and compete for rebounds.

“He has outstanding skills for a player his size and has a solid understanding of the game.”

The Gators (3-3 overall) are at home Tuesday to play Bethany University at 7 p.m. The California Collegiate Athletic Association season starts later this month.

Jason Lehman had a big game for Occidental College in a 67-61 loss to Whittier College earlier this month.

Lehman, a former Justin-Siena star, caught four passes for 130 yards, including a 25-yard touchdown pass from Danny Southwick. Lehman’s longest reception of the game was for 43 yards.

For the year, Lehman was fourth on the team in receiving with 22 catches totaling 350 yards, a 15.9-yard average per reception.

Occidental went 7-2 overall, 4-2 in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

Cate Bozzini of Napa took home five medals at the 2007 USA Gymnastics Northern California State Championships last weekend at the Santa Rosa Rancheria in Lemoore.

Bozzini, 10, finished second in the vault competition with a score of 9.0. She placed sixth on beam, seventh on bars and 10th in the floor exercise. Bozzini, a member of the Redwood Empire Gymnastics Level 5 team out of Petaluma, also finished seventh in the all-around competition with a combined score of 34.875.

This is Bozzini’s second year of competition and her second trip to the State Championships. She medaled in the vault in the 2006 meet.

Former Vintage wrestling star Michele Querin went 1-1 for Missouri Valley College in the season opening dual match with Cumberland College last week.

Querin, a sophomore, lost a closely contested match by a score of 8-7, but bounced back with a dominating performance, pinning her opponent in the second round later in the day.

In both matches she wrestled strong, demonstrating her recovery from a torn labrum that ended her freshman season.

In the week prior to the season opener, Querin was named as an Honorable Mention All-American in the 62kg weight class. Missouri Valley, ranked No. 3 in the country for women’s wrestling, is coached by former Vintage wrestler and coach, Carl Murphree.

Heather Dunn of Gonzaga University was named Honorable Mention on the All-West Coast Conference volleyball team for the second straight year.

The Justin-Siena graduate was the Zags’ all-around player. As the starting setter, she closed out the 2007 season with 1,289 assists for a 12.05 assists per game average. She also had 292 digs, 123 kills, 59 blocks and 18 service aces.

Dunn led the team with 14 double-doubles, including seven in WCC action. For her career, she amassed 355 kills, 3,767 assists, 61 service aces, 881 digs and 165 total blocks. Her assists total ranks fourth all-time in school history.

The San Francisco Giants begin their 2008 Cactus League schedule Feb. 28 against the Chicago Cubs in Scottsdale, Ariz. It’s the Giants’ third spring training at the renovated Scottsdale Stadium. The facility has garnered rave reviews for its added public amenities such as expanded grass seating areas and a new concession building, along with improved major league training facilities.

San Francisco will play 15 exhibition contests at its Arizona home.

For ticket information, call (415) 972-2000 or go to www.sfgiants.com.

The ninth season of the Legends Reno-Tahoe Open was a big success for the Reno-Tahoe Open Foundation, its supporters and the community. With 42 new sponsors and a 52 percent increase in ticket sales, the 2007 tournament set the stage for the professional career debut of Tadd Fujikawa, the up-and-coming 16-year-old making his mark on the PGA Tour, as well as crowning a new champion, Steve Flesch.

As the PGA Tour’s only summer west coast venue, the tournament is a regular full-field stop on the schedule and is part of the FedExCup series.

The Legends Reno-Tahoe Open celebrates its 10th anniversary July 28-Aug. 3, 2008 at Montreux Golf & Country Club in Reno, Nev. For more information, go to www.RenoTahoeOpen.com or call the tournament office at (775) 322-3900.

E-mail Executive Sports Editor Marty James at mjames@napanews.com or call 256-2223.

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