Bishop Diego volleyball standout Karina Urzua collected the first Phil Womble Ethics in Sports award and local high school sports teams highlighted their student-athletes and seasons at Monday’s SB Athletic Round Table Press Luncheon at Harry’s Plaza Cafe.
The local fall sports teams are in the midst of some of the most crucial games of the season, with several big rivalry matchups on this week’s slate.
The SBART Press Luncheon is sponsored by Fidelity National Title Group, Investec Real Estate, Knight Real Estate Group and Carp Physio.
Karina Urzua Earns Bishop Diego Phil Womble Ethics in Sports Award
Urzua was awarded the Bishop Diego Phil Womble Ethics in Sports Award at the top of the program at Monday’s luncheon.
As it states on the SBART website, “This award acknowledges student-athletes who value and incorporate into their daily lives the following qualities: accountability, respect of teammates, opponents, and officials, honesty, positive attitude, reliability, loyalty, sportsmanship, others above self, and team above personal interest.”
Her standout performances on the volleyball court, along with her contributions around campus and attitude on and off the court, made her the first Phil Womble Award recipient of the school year.
“Karina reflects Bishop Diego’s core values of respect, compassion and perseverance, and it’s exactly what the Phil Womble Award was created to honor,” Bishop Diego head coach Dillan Bennett said.
Karina is the last of the Urzua sisters to go through Bishop Diego volleyball, growing up inside the Brick House until contributing as a key member of the program.
She has been a standout on the varsity team for all three years of her career thus far, playing a crucial role in the team’s CIF-SS D3 Runner-Up finish in her freshman year and several CIF-SS postseason teams.
Bennett has seen Urzua embody the spirit of the Phil Womble Ethics in Sports Award this fall in her junior campaign.
“A setter by trade, Karina has done whatever her team needs, including stepping into a primary role as an outside hitter this season. As one of the top setters in our community, Karina could have easily convinced me to let her resume her setting role, but she accepted her new role with a smile,” Bennett said.
“Thanks to her selflessness and willingness to do what is best for our team, we’ve punched our ticket to our program’s 10th consecutive playoff appearance.”
Urzua has continued her commitment to excellence off the court as well, boasting a GPA near 4.0 and being heavily involved around campus at Bishop Diego.
She is the first of eight Phil Womble Ethics in Sports Award winners for this school year. The award is sponsored by Dave Pintard of the Pintard Group.
“Thank you to [SBART] for this award. I’m extremely grateful and honored,” Urzua said. “To my coaches, for always supporting me athletically, and my parents, who instilled these characteristics in me, thank you.”
Packed Rivalry Week Across Sports
The upcoming week of sports in town will pit rivals against each other at both the high school and college level in several different sports.
It all begins on Tuesday, which features crosstown rivalry action from almost every single high school fall sport in the area.
In the afternoon, Dos Pueblos will host San Marcos for a boys water polo matchup at 3:30 p.m. at Elings Aquatics Center. Those two schools will also clash for a girls golf match at 3 p.m. at Sandpiper Golf Course.
Tuesday afternoon will also feature a pair of local girls tennis showdowns, as Santa Barbara High is set to host Dos Pueblos and Laguna Blanca will roll out the welcome mats for Bishop Diego.
The Brick House will host the next rivalry matchup of Tuesday’s slate, as Bishop Diego will host longtime foe St. Bonaventure at 5:30 p.m. The busy day will be rounded out by a flag football battle between Dos Pueblos and San Marcos at Warkentin Stadium at 7:30 p.m.
The rivalry action shifts down to Carpinteria on Wednesday, as Cate and Carpinteria high will meet in the pool for a boys water polo matchup at 3:45 p.m.
San Marcos and Dos Pueblos will face off again on Thursday, this time with their girls volleyball squads clashing at Sovine Gym at 6:30 p.m. for a non-league contest.
The Bishop Diego-St. Bonaventure week will be rounded out on the gridiron on Saturday at 7 p.m. when the Cardinals host the Seraphs at La Playa Stadium.
The biggest crowd of the week will be out in Isla Vista at Harder Stadium on Saturday at 7 p.m. when UCSB hosts Cal Poly for the Blue-Green Rivalry Men’s Soccer game. The Mustangs beat the Gauchos, 2-1, in the non-conference edition of the matchup earlier in the season.
“These games are always the most attended games in college soccer every year. We’re looking to host a crowd that cracks into the top 10 of all time, so we’re looking for upwards of 11,000 to 12,000 folks at Harder Stadium,” UCSB assistant communications director Eric Boose said.
“It’s going to be some really high-level, intense college soccer. These are both programs that have sent guys on to play professionally. We’d love to have you out to support Santa Barbara, make some noise and beat those Mustangs.”
Student-Athletes in Attendance
Bishop Diego Volleyball, Girls Basketball: Karina Urzua
San Marcos Girls Golf: Simrin Singh, Mia Rocha
San Marcos Girls Volleyball: Harper Dees, Anja Firestone
Santa Barbara High Football: Nate Meister, Cade Mault, Nathan Kittle
Santa Barbara High Flag Football: Talia Gil, Lanaya Solis, Destinee Lopez
Bishop Diego Flag Football: Addisyn Galvez, Keisi Calel
Bishop Diego Football: Gabriel Phillips, Poamo Liu
Santa Barbara High Girls Volleyball: Jules Horton, Jacqueline Durling
Dos Pueblos Football: Baruc Rios-Guendulain, Joan Esparza
San Marcos Flag Football: Sutera Raring, Kalina Estrada, Hayden Wood, Lucca DiGuilio
Santa Barbara High Girls Golf: Blake Kaufman, Miley Zender
