Coach Fox Discusses Girls’ Basketball at Season’s Halfway Point

By Hayley Harrison, Dunn Student Journalist

Girls’ Basketball had two games on January 13th and 15th against Laguna Blanca and Thatcher respectively. At the halfway point of the the season, we caught up with Coach Laura Fox and asked where she sees the team.

“I won't lie, it's been a rough road,” said Coach Fox. “We keep coming up against these teams that just have so much more height and experience than we do, and it's been really frustrating.” However, “regardless of the score,” Coach Fox told us, “we never give up and we always hustle. I’m not just saying that either.”

The girls lost 23 to 35 against Laguna Blanca, which so far is their best game of the season. The score was very close for the majority of the game and all of the girls showed a lot more intensity than any other game this year, particularly Senior Katey Gillispie. “She out-rebounded everyone on the court and made 90% of her free throws, the best percentage of anyone this season,” said Coach Fox.

Katey said that the other team intimidated her at first, but with some encouragement from Coach Fox, she and the rest of the team fought back with force. Katey relived the moment when she took a bad hit to the face and had to step out. “Mr. Martin, our Athletic Director, was really nice to me; he said ‘I know it’s tough kid, but you gotta buck up and get back in there,’ and it turned out to be one of my best games ever.”

The girls struggled more against Thatcher, ending with a 15 to 42 loss. But Nikole Layton commented again on the increased aggression of the team, as things got pretty heated on the court. Katey Gillispie pointed to Nikole as a key presence on the court. “She was really reminding us of what we had been practicing; she’s great as a point guard.”

“Our last two games against Laguna and Thatcher have shown huge improvement,” Coach Fox continues. “We have started to move beyond basic fundamentals and actually implement an offence that is showing off our instincts as a team.” Coach Fox singles out Nikole Layton, Tiffany V., and Alex Jones as her continuous top players. “Although she’s just a freshmen, Alex is showing a great deal of promise.” But the player that is surprising Coach Fox the most is Janet Yu, showing a “tremendous amount of aggression on defense. She has good instincts for where the ball is going and has an impressive amount of steals.”¬¬ Coach Fox stated that she wants to refine the team’s offense by becoming more physical and work on perfecting the box out technique. “We never want the opponent to get off more than one shot. If we can shut them down on the boards, I think we will be surprised at what a difference it makes.”

The team seems poised to continue improving and, as Coach Fox said, “the girls never give up.”

Dunn Middle School Boys' Volleyball in Championship Round

Yesterday's upset against Jonata put DMS Boys' Volleyball in the championship round. We will playing for the championship tonight against Solvang at 7:00 (location: Jonata gym).


It was an amazing set of 3 games. Jonata won the first game, we won the second game, and the third game went to us with a score of 26-24. The boys played amazingly well. We had lots of loud and spirited fans to add to the excitement.

Carpe Diem,
Eric Gaylord
Head of DMS

Dunn Graduate Signs Pro Soccer Contract

The following article is from Presidiosports.com

By Barry Punzal on Wednesday, January 5, 2011 View Comments


UCSB’s Michael Tetteh has signed a Generations adidas contract and will be attending the Major League Soccer Player Combine Friday through Tuesday in Fort Lauderdale Fla.

Tetteh told Presidiosports.com on Tuesday that he signed the contract a couple of days ago and is excited about pursing his dream of becoming a professional soccer player.

Besides Generation adidas signees, the combine includes invited Division 1 collegiate seniors and five non-collegiate players. UCSB defender Michael Boxall is among the college seniors who will be looking to impress MLS coaches and general managers before the league’s SuperDraft on Jan. 13.

The players will play a series of matches while being evaluated by the coaches and GMs.

“We expected it might happen,” UCSB coach Tim Vom Steeg said of Tetteh going pro. “He was on the list last year. It’s great for him and good for our program.”

Tetteh, who is forgoing his senior year at UCSB, is the third player in the program’s history to sign a Generation adidas contract. Eric Avila and Ciaran O’Brien (both in 2007) are the other players who turned pro before their senior seasons. O’Brien, who was a sophomore, was taken by the Colorado Rapids as the No. 5 overall pick in the 2008 MLS Super Draft, while Avila, a junior at the time, went in the second round to FC Dallas.

The Generation adidas contract includes money for players to continue their college education.

A native of Ghana, Tetteh, 22, played as an outside midfielder and a defender for the Gauchos. Although he was bothered by injuries most of this past season, he scored a brilliant left-footed goal in the NCAA Tournament loss at Cal. And he scored it while wearing a bandage around his head to cover a gash he suffered earlier in the game.

He came to the U.S. in 2005 as part of a program with the Tom Vernon’s Right to Dream Academy in Ghana and Dunn School in Los Olivos. He played three years at Dunn before going to UCSB.

“He’s just got to go have a good combine,” Vom Steeg said. “If he has a good combine, he has a chance to be first- for second-round pick.”

Boys’ Varsity Basketball - All Fired Up

By: Laura Barrett-Elfering
Dunn student journalist

The Dunn boys’ varsity basketball team looks as if it will have a good 2010/2011 season. Coaches Ulises Casteneda and Eric Deguin feel that their team, with eight returning players, five of whom are seniors, will play cohesively as a team against top competitors: Cate, Thacher, and Laguna Blanca. This season the coaches are trying to focus on establishing a positive chemistry with the team. The Earwigs will be led by senior, Corbin Meyer. Corbin has been a key player on the varsity team since arriving at Dunn his freshman year. Other seniors on the team are Troy Johnson, Michael Tseng, Jeff Wang, and Alex Zheng, all of whom have been a part of Dunn basketball in previous years. The boys are scheduled to play a pre-season scrimmage against a young Orcutt Academy team on December 2nd . League play begins the following day, December 3rd, against cross town rival, Midland. Both games will begin at 5:30 in the Dunn gym. Take a brief study break, and come out and support the boys in their first games, which will hopefully lead to a very successful season.

Dunn Students Excel at International Equestrian Event

Click here to read about two outstanding equestrians currently attending Dunn School.