Sportstars
Ace Your Game: Improving Tennis Serve
Athletes need to ace their tennis serve to set the tone of the match. There is more to the serve than just having control from the start and getting the ball in play; a killer serve can set you up for domination on the court. This is why tennis players need to improve... Read more
SportSquad VOTE: Team Of The Week | May 8-13
Newest SportSquad Team Of The Week Options Include Three Section Champions And A Softball Team Undefeated Vs. NorCal Opponents • We’re using this last month of the 2022-23 interscholastic sports calendar to try out a new weekly feature at SportStars. Welcome to our second vote for the SportSquad NorCal... Read more
USTA NorCal’s Cici Bellis is Back on the Court
2020 has been a fresh start for Northern California native CiCi Bellis. After a long recovery from multiple surgeries that kept her from tennis for more than a year, CiCi Bellis is back on the court and feeling good! And, she wasted no time getting back into the swing... Read more
USTA Q&A: Mackie McDonald Headed to 2020 Western/Southern Open
USTA NorCal recently sat down with Piedmont’s Mackie McDonald before he headed to New York for the 2020 Western & Southern Open (Cincinnati Open) and the US Open to discuss how he is preparing his game in these crazy times and what he is looking forward to most for... Read more
’19-’20 Bay Area 75 Rankings, Part 2 | Nos. 50-26
SportStars Magazine Counts Down The Bay Area’s Top 75 Athletes From 2019-20 In Its Eighth Annual Bay Area 75 Rankings • Welcome to our eighth annual Bay Area 75 rankings — SportStars’ countdown of the top 75 Bay Area athletes from the 2019-20 school year. Obviously, the 2019-20 season... Read more
Fall Sports’ Alternate Reality: An Imagined Sports Future
With Football Delayed Indefinitely And Other Sports Forced To Adapt To Virus Concerns, NorCal’s Fall Sports Season Was Like No Other   EDITOR’S NOTE: This is a purely fictionalized look into NorCal’s 2020 fall sports future in a state and region still heavily affected by COVID-19. We composed it without... Read more
Katie Volynets Joins Tennis Pros At The US Open
Talking on the phone with Katie Volynets, it was apparent the excitement of her victory hadn’t worn off yet a couple days after. Granted, she had a great reason to be happy. The Walnut Creek resident had just realized her lifelong dream: qualifying for the main draw of the... Read more
USTA Honor Juniors Honor Roll: July 2019
July is the month where the best in the U.S. battle on the Clay Courts all over Florida during the USTA Boys’ and Girls’ National Clay Court Championships. And it is no exception that Team NorCal is traveling across the country to compete for titles. So let’s dive right... Read more
Bay Area 75: Top 20 Athletes of the Year
These 20 Athletes Conclude Our Annual Ranked Countdown Of The Bay Area Athletes Of The Year For 2018-19 • Below are the top 20 athletes from our seventh annual Bay Area 75 — SportStars’ rankings of the top 75 Bay Area athletes for the 2018-19 school year. The first 55... Read more
Team NorCal Battles on National Level
NorCal Juniors Honor Roll: May 2019 In May, Team NorCal traveled to Florida and Southern California to battle on the national level and on the ITF tour. Team NorCal started the month by heading to Delray Beach, FL, from April 29, to May 4, at the Delray Beach ITF.... Read more
Rock Stars Travel to SoCal and Nevada
NorCal Juniors Honor Roll: April 2019 April was an exceptional month for Team NorCal, on the national and international level. Keeping it close to home, our rock star players traveled to Southern California and Nevada to compete. First on the agenda, the coveted USTA International Spring Championships from March... Read more
CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Boys Tennis Sectionals
The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Sac-Joaquin Section Boys Tennis Sectionals rolls into Roseville May 1-2. Dale Eckenburg of Rocklin High School serves as the tournament director for both Division I and II rounds where tournament play begins at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, May 1 and at 10 a.m. on... Read more