Branson hoops star Butler commits to Illinois
Jase Butler flipped the tradition for his 18th birthday celebration by giving his friends and family a surprise treat. The Branson School basketball star on Wednesday announced his commitment to the University of Illinois.
Surrounded by teammates in the Branson gym, the Bulls' 6-foot-5 senior guard/forward unzipped his hoodie to reveal an Illinois t-shirt during an announcement broadcast on X (formerly Twitter).
He'll join a Fighting Illini team that finished 2013 overall last season after a first-round loss to Arkansas in the NCAA Men's Tournament. But this season, Butler will take the reins at Branson as the Bulls defend their
MCAL title.
Butler, the 2022-23 MCAL boys basketball player of the year, helped lead Branson advance to the CIF NorCal Division II quarterfinals before the No. 2 Bulls fell to No. 7 Weston Ranch, 56-55.
“I love what we're building here at Branson and excited for the last year with my guys,” Butler said. “We came up a bit short the last two years to meet our end goals of a state title, and so I really want to accomplish that for my senior year. When it's all set and done I just want to leave an impact on Marin County hoops and help our area gain a little more notoriety.”
Girls volleyball
Jaden Hendrickson was one of three Redwood players to post a double-double in a three-game sweep against Terra Linda on Wednesday night. Hendrickson paced the Giants (22-4, 5-0 MCAL) with 19 kills and 13 digs. Katie Lazzareschi (34 assists, 10 digs) and Madeleine Wagner (11 kills, 12 digs) also had big games for Redwood. Nancy Ritchey also had nine digs.
• Branson (19-4, 5-0) also remained perfect in league play following a 2511, 25-3, 25-17 win against San Marin.
Girls tennis
Ella Povio battled past Maria-Jose Stuart in the most competitive match of the day at No. 2 singles to lift Redwood to a 7-0 win against Tam on Wednesday. Povio prevailed 7-5, 6-4, joining Jordan Marotto,
Julia Povio and Julia Laury in the win column for Redwood.
Tennis
Patrick Kypson and Ethan Quinn emerged victorious following a marathon match at the Tiburon Challenger on Thursday, rallying for a 4-6, 7-6, 13-11 win against Mitchell Krueger and Evan King.
The top two seeded teams also advanced — the No. 1 duo William Blumberg and Luis David Martinez and No. 2 team of Skander Mansouri and Luke Johnson. Alfredo Perez and George Goldhoff also advanced to the semifinals.
Thursday's singles action saw Bernard Tomic, Tristan Schoolkate and Adam Walton advance to the quarterfinals.