Vote now: Bay Area News Group girls athlete of the week
Welcome to the Bay Area News Group (Mercury News & East Bay Times) girls Athlete of the Week poll.
For the entire academic year, we will provide a list of candidates who stood out over the previous week and allow you, the reader, to vote for the winner.
This week, we consider performances from April 27-May 2.
Polls close at 5 p.m. Wednesday.
Vote as many times as you'd like until then without using bots or any other artificial methods of voting.
Votes by email and after 5 p.m. Wednesday are not counted.
Scroll to the bottom for the poll.
Winners are announced each Friday online and in the print edition of the Mercury News and East Bay Times sports sections.
Candidates for future Athlete of the Week polls can be nominated at highschools@bayareanewsgroup.com.
We accept nominations until 11 a.m. each Monday.
We also review stats submitted to MaxPreps by coaches/team statisticians.
If you haven't already, please subscribe. Your contributions keep us going.
On to the nominees:
Julianna Altamirano, Live Oak softball:Altamirano narrowly outdueled 2025 Bay Area News Group player of the year Alanna Clincy in a close BVAL Mt. Hamilton matchup, striking out 10 hitters with no walks and three hits in a complete-game shutout as Live Oak won 1-0. It was Willow Glen's first loss to a BVAL team in two years.
Fefe Alusa, Mercy softball: The freshman hit a trio of doubles, had four hits overall and drove in five runs as Mercy routed El Camino in league play. She added a hit in a win over Half Moon Bay.
Brooke Bennett, Granada swimming:Bennett finished second in the 200 IM, second in the 500 free, third in 200 medley relay and first in 400 free relay at the East Bay Athletic League swim meet.
Julia Lambert, Alameda softball: The junior had a strong week in the circle for Alameda, pitching a complete-game four-hit shutout with nine strikeouts in a 3-0 win over Bishop O'Dowd. She pitched three hitless innings with six strikeouts as the Hornets routed San Leandro in nonleague action.
Allison Novick, Gunn softball: The senior drove in four runs in a win over Cupertino with a pair of doubles and scored a run. She added a hit in a loss to Santa Clara.
Sydney Salazar, Dublin softball: Salazar made a big impact on Dublin's 16-6 win over Amador Valley, driving in four runs on three hits and going 3 for 3 with a double and two stolen bases. She added two hits and two RBIs in a win over Granada.
Sydney Semans, South San Francisco softball: The junior drove in four runs with three hits, including a double and home run, as SSF routed Jefferson in league play. She added three hits, a double and two RBIs in a 10-9 win over Half Moon Bay.
Julia Simon, Presentation softball: Simon had three hits, including a double, and two RBIs each in wins over El Camino and Sacred Heart Cathedral. She also walked once per game, reaching base four times in each contest without being retired, and added a hit in a loss to St. Ignatius. Her on-base percentage this season is .732.
Cameron Tran, Encinal softball: The senior pitched a complete-game shutout in a 10-0 win over St. Joseph-Notre Dame, striking out five hitters and walking one while scattering four hits across six innings. She added 11 hits at the plate across Encinal's games with SJND, Mt. Eden, Castro Valley and El Cerrito, including two doubles in the win over SJND.
Kiera Watson, Notre Dame-San Jose softball: The junior had a hit and two RBIs while pitching a complete game with two earned runs allowed on nine hits with three walks and five strikeouts in NDSJ's 11-4 league win over Terra Nova. She added a hit and an RBI in a narrow 9-8 loss to Notre Dame-Belmont.
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This story was originally published May 4, 2026 at 1:15 PM.