Athletics

Two Panther Teams Reach CSS Competition— Girls Volleyball Team Wins CSS; Sean Harris Runs at State X-Country

WPS’s Girls Varsity Volleyball team pulled out all the stops, winning the Central Coast Division 5 championship, and the first of three matches in the Northern California championship. Seeded sixth out of six teams in Division 5, they demonstrated terrific team spirit and commitment to win the CCS title, said team coach Rick Riebhoff.

“Even during vacation breaks, you couldn’t stop most of this team from practicing,” Coach Riebhoff remarked. It is the kind of drive that took this small campus’s team to a state championship in 2000 and a state runner-up victory in 2001.

This team may also be unique in having three pairs of sisters, including one set of twins—Katie and Alexa Zappas.

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Exuberant players celebrate a hard-fought victory early in the CCS playoffs. They are (from top row left) Coach Kendall Holland, Coach Megan Andrews, Katie Zappas, Alexa Zappas, Tania Valetsky, Katie Lampert, Laura Trudelle, Ensci Nemeth, Chrissa Trudelle, Coach Floyd Alexander; (from bottom row left) Cassey Limgenco, Lauren Hecht, Leila Novotny; (on the floor) Kai Novotny, Head Coach Rick Riebhoff. Coach Kendall Holland, now a senior at Stanford, was a member of the 2000 state champion team.

Tennis Legend Sandy Mayer Is Coaching WPS Girls Team

In his tennis pro career, Sandy Mayer had wins over such luminaries as Bjorn Borg, John McEnroe, Ivan Lendl, Boris Becker, Jimmy Connors, and Ilie Nastasie. He is a member of the Stanford Hall of Fame, Collegiate Tennis Hall of Fame, and more. He is at WPS because, after several years away from the game, he felt a pull to teaching. Following a conversation with Athletic Director Mark Stogner in February 2004, Sandy was on the Priory courts coaching middle and high school players. Sandy’s philosophy of play is that tennis is difficult, and it requires time and effort to compete effectively. But, “you want to balance the work and the fun,” he said. His girls varsity team held their own this fall. Longtime coach Celso Onofre is still coaching the boys varsity team.

All-League Athletes

Cross-Country Sean Harris

Boys Soccer Honorable Mention Erik Park Jay Sohn Justin Crandall

Girls Volleyball First Team Laura Trudelle Second Team Lauren Hecht

WPS’s spirited mascot, Sophomore Nick Coombs, cavorts, cartwheels and cheers---then takes a muchneeded breather out from under the heavy, black fur.

WPS runners relax after the CSS CrossCountry meet. Sean Harris placed tenth on this very difficult course and represented WPS at the State competition.

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Priory Community Honors Five Outstanding Supporters

Woodside Priory School 302 Portola Road Portola Valley, CA 94028 (650) 851-8221 fax (650) 851-2839

St. Benedict’s Medals , the Priory Community’s highest honor to its community of support, was awarded to Wayne and Cindy Davison, Jack and

Joan McGraw, and Jane Yates this year. Wayne and Cindy received their medal at the annual Appreciation Dinner in September, and Jane at a chapel ceremony in January. The McGraws will recieve theirs this spring at a private presentation in

Palm Springs.

The Davisons became active supporters of WPS when their daughter, Amanda, Class of 2000, enrolled in sixth grade. (Their son, Andy, is a sophomore this year.) Wayne and Cindy have headed or chaired key committees for eleven school auctions (including this year’s). Their leadership is evident in the growth of this event as the school changed and increased in size over the past decade. Wayne served two terms as chair of the Board of Trustees and is now chair of the Golden Jubilee Campaign Steering Committee. He also is a member of the board of trustees’ finance committee. The Davison’s vision, creativity, personal support and countless hours of volunteer service have benefited hundreds of students and their families.

Jack and Joan McGraw were early supporters of the Priory during its first decades, and they have remained, with their family members, constant supporters over the years. They joined with Father Egon Javor, OSB, in seeing the need for a school based on academic excellence and Benedictine values, and they willingly took on the numerous leadership tasks required in those early years. Their names are on a plaque in Founders Hall today, recognizing their leadership contribution to replacing the old farmhouse with today’s administrative building. The farmhouse was the original building in which the school began, and it burned to the ground. The McGraw’s two sons graduated from WPS—John, class of 1980 and Michael, class of 1983. Both were active leaders who excelled in academics and sports. Jane Yates has been part of the Priory chapel community for more than four decades, and Jane’s friendships with the monks cover all of those years. That makes it particularly fitting that the five monks who comprise the Woodside Priory School Board of Directors, whose tenure covers all of those decades, plan to personally present her with her medal. Jane co-chaired (with Peter Kasenchak) the current, successful $250,000 fundraising campaign to renovate and expand the chapel. Many people who were involved with the Priory community in earlier decades will remember her very popular wineryvisit auction items. Jane is a member of the Buehler Winery family in St. Helena, and the family annually hosted a lovely luncheon in their home for the successful bidders. Over all of those years, Jane’s interest in and unflagging support of this Benedictine community has touched many, many lives. —C. Dobervich

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