D2 Sports
The Chronicle
Field Hockey
Facts & Figures
20
Oct. 12, 2021
year boys tennis win streak broken
Girls volleyball players committed to D1 schools
100%
3
Girls tennis league win percentage
.83
Boys water polo overall win rate
Meet to Watch Boys and Girls Cross Country OCT. 22 at 2:00 p.m. The boys and girls cross country team will compete at the Mt. San Antonio College Invitational on October 22, 2021. At the competition, runners will face off against league opponents. The team came off a second place finish Sept. 28 in the first Mission League Cluster at Pierce College and looks to keep up momentum. Team captain Gabriel Levin ’23 said the team plans to capitalize on their success in the Mission League Cluster. Levin said the team has been training extensively for the competition since before the school year began. “We began our cross country training back in early July, and everyone has made significant progress since then,” Levin said. “After months of training, a week in Big Bear doing altitude training and countless workouts and miles, we are ready.” Levin said runners have performed very well in recent competitions, and he looks forward to seeing more high-level play in the Nov. 2 CIF Finals. “I’m very excited for the CIF finals,” Levin said. “Our team has come a long way over the past year, and I’m confident that we will see our hard work pay off.”
PRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF KYRA GOLDSTEIN
DRIVING THE CHARGE: After six straight wins at the start of the season, Fiene Oerlemans ’22 scans the field in a loss against Bonita High School on Ted Slavin Field on Sept. 23. The team bounced back from the loss with a 6-0 closeout win against Edison High School on Oct. 1.
Field hockey wins four games after historic loss By Charlie Seymour
The girls field hockey team’s successful season continued, reaching a 6-0 overall record until a 2-0 loss to Bonita High School on Sept. 23 ended their winning streak. The team beat Bonita 1-0 last year, finishing 3-1 in a season shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic. The team’s only loss in the previous season came in a 2-0 defeat against Huntington Beach High School. The squad’s record is now 10-1 after winning consecutive games against Chaminade High School 2-1 and 6-0. The team also won against Edison High School and Marina High School in the past two weeks. In all of the six games before its loss to Bonita, the team won by a margin of at least two goals. Although the loss ended the team’s near-perfect record, forward Lily
Saada ’22 said she believes this adversity will ultimately benefit the team. “[The loss] can ground us and make us become a closer team,” Saada said. “It also reminded us that we still have lots of work to do, something we haven’t really learned from other games, where we’ve dominated.” Field Hockey Program Head Erin Creznic said the players still have certain aspects of their games that they need to improve upon throughout the season. “We need to continue to work on our defense and our ability to move up and down the field as a team,” Creznic said. “Since many of our players play the entire game, they are still working on improving their condition and endurance so that they can give a 100% [effort] for the full 60 minutes of a game.” Saada said while talented and committed athletes like Bel-
la Ganocy ’22, Ella Ganocy ’22 and Fiene Oerlemans ’22 have allowed the team to dominate the league in the past, beating harder opponents like Bonita require a full team effort. “The team we played was so good that our top three players couldn’t carry us by themselves,” Saada said. “Since one thing we really have to work on is using the whole team, we weren’t able to beat [Bonita] the way we normally can beat other teams, which is by relying on [Bella Ganocy, Ella Ganocy and Oerlemans] and a few other really strong members of the team.” Defender Dylan Perkins ’23 said the team’s mental toughness and emotional strength will help it to regain its footing as the end of Mission League play approaches Oct. 20. “We have a really positive attitude about everything and no matter what’s going on in our
own personal lives or with school drama or anything like that, we always come onto the field and support each other,” Perkins said. “When someone has something they need to work on, we work on it together. Knowing that we have the support of each other [both on] and off the field has really helped us to trust one another [during games].” Perkins said he hopes his teammates will treat themselves with the same positivity that they treat each other with. “I think because we are so good and work so hard, we can be overly critical of ourselves and our little mistakes,” Perkins said. “Even though we are all incredibly supportive of each other, we need to make sure we keep the same energy for ourselves.” The girls field hockey team will play its next league match against Bonita High School on Oct. 12.
Girls Tennis
Tennis follows consecutive losses with back-to-back competition victories By Paul Kurgan
KATE BURRY/CHRONICLE
SERVING IT UP: Mimi Rhee ’25 tosses up the ball before serving it across the court during practice at Weddington Golf & Tennis on Oct. 6.
After winning six consecutive games and moving to an 8-2 overall record, the girls tennis team moves forward from its mid-season success toward the end of the season. The team defeated Calabasas High School 10-8 in its first game of the season. Leading 9-8 in the third round, the squad needed one set to secure a win. Singles player Margaret Piatos ’23 closed out the match with a 6-4 set win. She said she was relieved to secure victory for her team. “[The] pressure was on early and I had to deliver,” Piatos said. “I knew I had to be super focused so the team could win.” After facing physical stuggles throughout the match, the team faced a 4-2 score deficit late in the set, but Piatos went on to win four straight games for the Wolverines. Piatos said her team’s support ultimately willed her to a 6-4 set win. “Everyone has been supportive of each other and encouraging
on and off the court,” Piatos said. “I’m proud to be a part of such a loving team, and I always look forward to them cheering me on when I play.” The squad lost to Mira Costa High School 11-7 and Westlake High School 12-6 in its third and fourth games. Although the team lost twice in a row, singles and doubles player Annabelle Nickoll ’23 said she has high expectations for the rest of the season. “Our season has gotten off to a really great start,” Nickoll said. “We need to continue to sharpen up our doubles strategies and keep practicing hard to become the best team we can be.” The squad bounced back from its losing streak over the past three weeks, defeating Campbell Hall, Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy, Valencia High School and Chaminade College Preparatory. Doubles player Sam Plageman ’23 said the team’s practice habits have fueled its recent success. “In our past three games everyone has stepped up and played
well,” Plageman said. “We all want to compete and leave it all on the court. I think that training super hard in practice, coming up with new strategies, and working on our mental game has helped us start the season off strong.” The team’s overall performance during the regular season will determine its seeding going into the CIF championship tournament after a match versus Marlborough High School on Oct. 19. Team Captain Jade Zoller ’22 said the girls need to stay focused and enjoy every moment on the court for the rest of the season. “[We want] to make the most out of our time together, especially since last year was a total mess with [COVID-19]restrictions,” Zoller said. “We put a lot of emphasis on having fun and relaxing when we play, which I have noticed helps our game so much, as nerves are a big factor for us [in how we perform] and of course, getting ourselves a [CIF] ring [is our ultimate goal].”