PHOTOS BY LIZZY THOMAS/BIG RED
Audrey Wilson Lucy Putnam Mila Barzdukas Associate Editor Managing Editor Associate Editor Wilson: I think that girls’ water polo will go furthest in CIF
this year. With CIF championships in 2011 and 2012 and head coach Brian Flacks ’06, who led the boys’ team to a CIF victory already this year, the girls are in a very good position for success. Though it will be a challenge with only two seniors on the team, Sydney Cheong ’14 and Rebecca Armstrong ’14, I think they can help take their younger teammates far in CIF playoffs.
Loeb: I think the girls’ soccer team will finally achieve their
goal of winning a CIF Championship this season. After last year’s disappointing semifinal loss to Chaminade, the team’s seniors are determined and refocused, and with the emergence of young talent like Courtney O’Brien ’15, the team appears to be destined to win it all.
Eric Loeb Grant Nussbaum Sam Sachs Managing Editor Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor
Q: What was the biggest storyline of 2013 in Wolverine sports? Sachs: The biggest storylines of 2013 have to be the success of
our baseball and boys’ water polo teams as both were able to capture CIF titles. On their way to being named the best team in the country the baseball team outscored their CIF opponents 28-4 fueled by the dominating arms of Conor Cuse ’13 and Jack Flaherty ’14. The boys’ water polo team was not quite as dominant but was able to beat powerhouse Mater Dei 9-6 in the CIF championship game, avenging an 11-8 loss to the Monarchs earlier in the season.
Loeb: After being defeated in CIF finals last year, the girls’ field
hockey team’s championship season this year was well earned. After the team’s more experienced players suffered an overtime loss last season, watching them finally get their ring they deserved was great to see.
Nussbaum: 2013 saw not one but two former Harvard-West-
GOLAZO Forward Courtney O’Brien’ 15 evades an Oaks Christian defender in a non-league game. The team recently won the Mater Dei Invitational for the second year in a row. GRANT NUSSBAUM/BIG RED
lake athletes make national headlines and bring issues to light on the stage of professional sports: Jason Collins ’97 after becoming the first active professional male athlete to come out as gay, and Jonathan Martin ’08 after leaving his Miami Dolphins team, alleging that his teammates bullied him. With the nationwide buzz and impact created by these two alumni, they certainly should be at the top of the “biggest storyline” list. Collins and Martin have both brought awareness and helped move the professional sports scene toward becoming a less hostile, more welcoming environment, and have represented Harvard-Westlake in doing so.
BIG RED WINTER 2013 • 19