Community Sports

Sports Beat: Gig Harbor blanks Peninsula in soccer rivalry match

Two of the region’s top soccer programs faced off Tuesday, Sept. 26, when Gig Harbor (6-1-1, 6-1 South Sound Conference) and Peninsula (5-2-1, 5-1-1) met at Roy Anderson Field. The Tides scored early and held on with a fine defensive effort to win 3-0 in a matchup with huge conference ramifications.

Peninsula could have jumped out to a commanding two-game conference lead with a victory. Instead, the Seahawks face a half-game deficit thanks to the Tides’ win and two subsequent results on Sept. 28: Gig Harbor’s 4-0 victory over Yelm and Peninsula’s 1-1 tie with Central Kitsap.

Early goal

A Tides-Seahawks game is always loaded with talented players and plenty of emotion. The first goal came in the first two minutes, when Sage Sturrock surged to get open while midfielder Kennedy Marler raced down the sidelines with the ball.

As a defender closed in, Marler struck the ball on the run with a perfect left-footed pass that traveled precisely between two lunging Seahawk defenders and hit the sophomore Sturrock in stride. As Seahawk goalie Brooklyn Finch sprinted toward the ball, Sturrock punched a low liner into the corner of the net to give the Tides an early 1-0 lead.

Sage Sturrock (18) celebrates with Elizabeth Hayes after Hayes’ second goal of the night versus Peninsula. Photo by Bryce Carithers

“Normally I can tend to overthink a lot, so it was nice to have this goal right off the bat,” Sturrock said. “It’s great to kind of get out of your head when you score early … it allows you to breathe and just focus on the rest of the game.”

Peninsula had a few opportunities to score, but Tides goalie Ella Conrad was ready each time and Gig Harbor’s physical back line didn’t allow many shots on goal. The Tides’ 1-0 lead stood until halftime.

Second-half deluge

A storm cell dumped a massive amount of rain after the break. But the passing and ball control was still crisp and the players seemed unaffected by a complete deluge.

Tides striker Elizabeth Hayes is a ball of energy who plays with the tenacity of a junkyard dog. She scored twice in the second half to put the game away. Both times, the talented Hayes bounced off defenders, kept her balance and broke free after receiving long passes from her teammates.

Her second goal, at the 32-minute mark, was especially nice. Marler picked up her second assist of the night with a beautifully placed 25-yard pass that bounced once and landed on the foot of the sprinting Hayes. The sophomore expertly controlled the ball in the pouring rain and attacked the goal to create an angle, firing into the net for the final 3-0 margin.

Rematch on Oct. 19

“It feels really good to beat Peninsula,” Marler said, adding that the Tides will have to get past Capital and Peninsula to secure a league title. The Tides lost to Capital 1-0 earlier this season and look to even their series Oct. 12 at Roy Anderson Field.

When asked about her two-goal night and physical style on the pitch, a smiling Hayes said: “It’s such a big game when we play Peninsula, so there’s just a lot of emotion that comes out of me in these games.”

Even though Peninsula was held scoreless, the Seahawks played a solid game and were emotionally invested throughout.

“They’re a very solid team, they made us work hard and it was a great game,” Gig Harbor coach Katie Bennett said.

The two teams’ rematch is scheduled for Oct. 19 at Roy Anderson Field.

Gig Harbor’s Kennedy Marler gets to the ball a fraction quicker than Peninsula’s Nora Sutherland during the Tides 3-0 victory. Photo by Bryce Carithers

Gig Harbor swimmers sweep Timberline

The Gig Harbor (3-1) girls swimming team got off to a fast start this season with lopsided conference wins over River Ridge and Central Kitsap. But then the Tides fell to Bainbridge, one of the state’s top Class 3A swim teams, 109-77.

Gig Harbor went back to their pool determined to improve and the Timberline Blazers paid for it on Sept 28. Gig Harbor won all 12 events en route to a 137-46 win.

Longtime Tide coach Mike Kelly is as invested in his program as any high school coach can be and he is constantly looking for ways to improve his swimmers’ times. Against the Blazers, he switched up events and put his athletes in different lengths of races.

“Part of our responsibility as coaches is to push athletes into new experiences,” Kelly said.

The other benefit is that Kelly evened up his relay teams so they were essentially competing against each other and the Blazers at the same time. In the 200 medley relay, the Tides’ “A” team beat the “B” team, 2:06.74 to 2:07.56. Both teams were several seconds ahead of the Blazers’ relay teams.

Close race in 100 breaststroke

Other notable races included Bridget Oates winning the 200 intermediate medley in 2:32.53; Beau Ensminger dominating the 50 freestyle race with a district-qualifying time of 27.50; and Eva Dahlins winning two events, the 200 freestyle and the 100 butterfly.

Karina Yevstifieva qualified for the district meet in the 100 freestyle with an impressive winning time of 59.77. Tides diver Julia Davis remained undefeated for the season with her winning score of 225.45.

The race of the day was the 100 breaststroke between Tide teammates Ashlynn Pepich and Yevstifieva, who were neck and neck on the last leg. Pepich finished first by just a third of a second, 1:21.45 to 1:21.78.

The Tides are now on to the Swimvitational meet on Saturday, Sept. 30, at the North Kitsap pool in Poulsbo. The huge event brings together several successful programs and promises to provide the Tides with the competition necessary to prepare for future district, regional and state meets.

Gig Harbor’s Snyder plays Pebble Beach

Gig Harbor sophomore golfer Theo Synder made local Canterwood members proud and a few harbor hackers a tad bit jealous as he was seen on the Golf Channel last week strolling the fairways of the famed Pebble Beach Golf Course in Carmel, California, during the Pure Insurance Championships.

The tournament pairs a high school First Tee representative with a PGA touring professional. Snyder was the Puget Sound region’s First Tee representative.

Gig Harbor sophomore Theo Synder rips a drive at Pebble Beach during the Pure Insurance Championships.

First Tee provides opportunities for youth golfers to learn the intricacies of the game from a young age and has brought thousands of participants in to the sport over the years. The three-day tournament, played  Sept. 22 to 24, saw Snyder and professional Ken Tanigawa post some very impressive scores.

A round at the Beach is bucket list-worthy. It costs a cool $625 dollars to play the picturesque setting along the Monterey Peninsula.

Performing on camera

Snyder was one of only four sophomores in the field of high school standouts from across the country. He didn’t disappoint, as the pair went 17 under for three rounds playing an alternate shot, best ball format.

Snyder had 12 birdies out of 54 holes.

“We played very well together and luckily when I had a bad hole, Ken would cover me with a par,” Snyder said.

The duo finished seventh overall. Individually, Snyder posted rounds of 2 over, 1 under and 2 under at Pebble Beach.

Snyder, who would love to play for Stanford University one day, more than held his own. His beautiful approach shot on hole 9 stuck five feet under the hole and his putt was true for par with the Golf Channel cameras rolling. He looked like a natural, as he gave a pro tour wave to the gallery while the announcers talked about this talented kid from Gig Harbor who was sitting in second place with Tanigawa at one point in the tournament.

Synder, who helped his Tides team to a fourth-place finish at state last year, seemed to like the cameras on him as he hit a beautiful approach shot at the famed 18th hole. He then pulled out his putter instead of a wedge and calmly dropped an impressive 15-foot putt for birdie as the announcers gushed about the kid who usually plays the slightly less prestigious Madrona Links during his high school season.

“To be honest I was kind of nervous going into the tournament because there was a lot of pressure with the cameras and playing with a pro,” he said. “But once I hit the first tee shot I was able to relax, because that’s mainly when everyone’s eyes are on you.”

Synder described Pebble Beach as “perfect” and said, “everything there was amazing, they had buffets every day with amazing chefs cooking for you. The staff and everyone involved were so nice.”

Bright golf future for Tides

Tides coach Shane Henderson said Snyder “averages about 285 yards off the tee and is most impressive with his approach shots that give him plenty of short birdie opportunities.”

So what can he improve on?

“Some may say it’s his putting but for me, it would be just more experience,” Henderson said. “Getting to play in the Pure Insurance Championship is huge for him. The pros look at a golf course completely different than the rest of golfers.”

As good as Snyder is, he was the Tides’ No. 2 player last year, with then junior Chet West holding down the top position. West was in second place after the first day of the Class 3A state tournament last year.

Both he and Snyder will be on the short list of possible individual champions in 2024. Their friendly competition for the top spot will only advance the efforts of the team as they will possibly push each other to greater heights.

With Synder, West and other fine players returning the Tides could win a team title as well.

“I am super excited. I feel like we have a really good chance of winning it all,” Snyder said.

Gig Harbor’s Theo Snyder and pro tour teammate Ken Tanigawa pose in front of the Pebble Beach score board. The duo finished in a impressive 7th place finish.