Cuesta

The Pierce men's tennis team, which has lost only once in its last 120 conference matches, continued to roll Friday with a 9-0 win over Cuesta in a Western State Conference match at Cuesta. Pierce Coach Paul Xanthos altered his singles lineup, but none of the Pierce players had difficulty winning their matches. Dave Valastro, who played in the No. 5 position during the first round of conference play, played at No. 1 Friday and defeated Steve Vines, 6-3, 7-6. Robert Grundy, who played at No.

When Yamith Cuesta was traded from Chivas USA to the Chicago Fire in March, the Colombian defender faced many changes. The teammates, the coach, even the weather changed. The jump to the Midwest also forced Cuesta to refocus his efforts on learning English. "Here [in Los Angeles] there are a lot of people, some say 80% of the people, who speak Spanish," Cuesta said. "For me, being in Chicago, using my English every day, it's improving every day. " The language barrier didn't only challenge Cuesta's everyday life, but also his performance on the field.

A prosecutor Monday called the shooting deaths of two sisters as they sat in their car an "execution" and urged a jury to convict the son of one of them. In closing arguments at the murder trial of Charles (Carlos) de la Cuesta, Deputy Dist. Atty. Pamela Davis-Springer told jurors to consider the substance of the testimony of the prosecution's key witness--an admitted prostitute and heroin addict--and not her life style. "She's a hooker and she's a hype," Davis-Springer said.

It was an emotional Sunday evening, with feelings running high in both Major League Soccer locker rooms -- joy in one and despair in the other. Over in the Galaxy's quarters, David Beckham was holding forth on the bumps and bruises he had suffered in a 1-0 victory over Chivas USA that advanced the Galaxy to Friday's Western Conference final, also in Carson, against the Houston Dynamo. "It's sore," Beckham said of his bruised back. "I got a knee in my back and it went into spasm.

Canyons 109, Cuesta 45--Vonetta Lanier made 10 of 12 shots in a 20-point, five-steal performance for the Cougars in a Western State Conference interdivisional game at Cuesta. Siosi Tuli had 16 points and 11 rebounds for Canyons (5-1). MEN'S BASKETBALL Glendale 86, Cuesta 63--Mark Walters had 19 points and seven rebounds for the Vaqueros in a WSC interdivisional victory at Glendale. Tim Taylor had 16 points for Glendale (5-2).

In the wake of a death threat against a defendant in a murder case, court officials Friday assigned three more bailiffs to protect the man, who is accused of shooting his mother and aunt. The added security--usually there is only one bailiff assigned to a courtroom--came as the jury deliberating the case against Charles (Carlos) de la Cuesta told San Fernando Superior Court Judge Howard J. Schwab that it was deadlocked.

The son of one of two sisters shot to death in their car last November was arraigned in San Fernando Municipal Court Tuesday on two counts of first-degree murder. Another man also has been arrested in the case. Charles (Carlos) de la Cuesta, 28, is accused of murdering his 61-year-old mother, Angie Hernandez, and his 52-year-old aunt, Mary Gomez, early on the morning of Nov. 8 as the two women drove along a Pacoima street, Deputy Dist. Atty. John Spillane said.

An admitted prostitute and heroin addict testified Wednesday that she saw a Mission Hills man arguing with his mother and aunt on a Pacoima street moments before she heard gunshots coming from their direction. The two women were found dead soon after. The prostitute, Joanna Aguirre, the key prosecution witness in the San Fernando Superior Court murder trial of Charles (Carlos) de la Cuesta, testified that she never saw a gun.

Stacy Champy pitched a no-hitter and Canyons defeated Glendale, 6-0, in a Western State Conference South Division softball game Thursday at Canyons. Champy (9-10) struck out 13 batters and walked one. Traci Rocha hit a two-run double for Canyons (11-11, 7-3 in conference play. In other softball games: Pierce 13, Santa Monica 3--Jenaye Brown hit a grand slam for the Brahmas in a WSC game at Santa Monica. Amber Gutierrez went five for five, including a home run for Pierce (14-9, 8-3).

Just when you thought it was safe to come out and play, the Western State Conference divisional races are heating up. Today's main attraction comes courtesy of Oxnard and Glendale colleges. Oxnard leads the Northern Division with a 9-2 record, one game ahead of second-place Cuesta. The Condors (15-8) took two from Cuesta last week. Glendale is on top in the Southern Division at 9-2, two games ahead of Pierce and Citrus.

Cuesta Benberry, one of the nation's foremost quilt scholars who pieced together the history of the art from castoff patches of information, died of congestive heart failure Aug. 23 at Forest Park Hospital in St. Louis. She was 83. Benberry's research was so fundamental that "in nearly every quilt book today, Cuesta Benberry will be quoted in the text or her name will appear in the bibliography," the Quilters Hall of Fame noted when she was inducted in 1983.

Henry Cuesta, a highly regarded clarinetist best known as a featured musician with the Lawrence Welk Orchestra, has died. He was 71. Cuesta, whose technical mastery of the clarinet was often compared to that of Benny Goodman, died of cancer Wednesday at his home in Sherman Oaks. Cuesta performed with the Lawrence Welk Orchestra on television and in concerts from 1972 to 1982, when Welk's weekly program ended after 27 years on ABC-TV and in syndication. Welk died at 89 in 1992.

John Manuel and Jimmy Stone scored on a fielder's choice by Jon Horwitz in the ninth inning to give Glendale College an 8-7 victory over Moorpark in a Western State Conference interdivisional baseball game on Thursday at Moorpark. Horwitz, who beat the throw for what would have been an inning-ending double play at first base, had three hits and scored a run to help Glendale (20-3, 11-2 in conference play) win its sixth consecutive game.

Just when you thought it was safe to come out and play, the Western State Conference divisional races are heating up. Today's main attraction comes courtesy of Oxnard and Glendale colleges. Oxnard leads the Northern Division with a 9-2 record, one game ahead of second-place Cuesta. The Condors (15-8) took two from Cuesta last week. Glendale is on top in the Southern Division at 9-2, two games ahead of Pierce and Citrus.

Without a high-powered offense, Oxnard College has emerged as a contender in the Western State Conference baseball race with pitching, defense and a fearless nature. Just ask Cuesta. Durell Price hit two run-scoring singles and Patrick Dunn allowed one run in seven innings to lead the Condors to a 2-1 victory over the Cougars in a WSC Northern Division game Thursday at Oxnard College. The Condors (14-8, 8-2 in conference play) moved into a first-place tie with Cuesta (16-5, 8-2).

Center Zac Fray scored 30 points to lead Santa Ana past Cuesta, 90-83, in the first round of the Bakersfield men's basketball tournament. The Dons (4-1) face Ventura at 6 tonight in the semifinals. Forwards Joe Nichols and Mark Watson each scored 15 points for Santa Ana. At the Orange Coast Invitational: Long Beach 82, Cypress 64--Long Beach (6-3) went on an 18-2 run to start the second half and take control. D. Jay Lucas had 23 points and six steals for Cypress (1-5).

Recently, nine has been more than enough for the College of the Canyons baseball team. "We've been struggling to play nine innings of baseball," Coach Len Mohney said. "We play well in spurts, but we can't hold it together. We're having trouble playing solid ball for an entire game." Nevertheless, the Cougars continue to roll.

Tim Lockhart gave up two runs in the first two innings but retired the last 15 batters as Cerritos College defeated Orange Coast, 11-2, Thursday in the Orange Coast baseball tournament at Costa Mesa. Lockhart (8-1) pitched a five-hitter, struck out six and walked one. He allowed one hit after the second inning. Cerritos, the No. 1 community college team in the state, is 27-4; OCC, ranked second, is 24-7. Orange Coast stranded five runners while taking a 2-0 lead after two innings.

Canyons 109, Cuesta 45--Vonetta Lanier made 10 of 12 shots in a 20-point, five-steal performance for the Cougars in a Western State Conference interdivisional game at Cuesta. Siosi Tuli had 16 points and 11 rebounds for Canyons (5-1). MEN'S BASKETBALL Glendale 86, Cuesta 63--Mark Walters had 19 points and seven rebounds for the Vaqueros in a WSC interdivisional victory at Glendale. Tim Taylor had 16 points for Glendale (5-2).

Right-hander Noah Lowry struck out 17 in eight innings to help Ventura College defeat Cuesta, 6-5, in a Western State Conference Northern Division baseball game Thursday at Cuesta. Lowry (3-2), who allowed five hits, was one strikeout shy of the school record of 18 set by Gary Anglin in 1971. Matt Cresto and Mario Robledo each had two hits for Ventura (21-16, 11-10 in conference play).