C6 Sports
The Chronicle
Feb. 12, 2014
Boys’ Lacrosse
Team hopes to maintain momentum after title win By Mila Barzdukas
JACK GOLDFISHER/CHRONICLE
CATCH HIM IF YOU CAN: Roman Holthouse ’15 runs down the field in a game against Oak Park at Ted Slavin Field last season. The Wolverines lost the game 13-11 in one of four losses last season.
The lacrosse program had its most successful season ever last year. Young but experienced players combined with a new coach to take home the program’s first ever Northern Division trophy. The only thing missing was a Southern Section title, which they lost in a 15-8 game to St. Margaret’s. Despite the loss, the Wolverines are back with the same winning mentality and much more experience. “I think we have a great shot of winning everything this year,” Jack Temko ’14 said. “The loss against St. Margaret’s was tough because we played very evenly for the first half and then we relaxed in the third quarter and then they started putting away goals.”
The Wolverines’ first goal is to be the only team to hold the league title this season. They tied for the title with Crespi last season. “Overall our biggest rival is Crespi,” Temko said. “But our league is very talented from top to bottom.” Leading the charge on the field are Gettysburg commit Noah Pompan ’14 and Hamilton commit Temko, who is also reigning Mission League Player of the Year. By only graduating starter Matt Edelstein ’13 and captain Luke Holthouse ’13, the Wolverines are ready to pick up from where they left off. Two freshmen to watch are Nico Econn ’17 and Shane Houska ’17. Over the summer, Interim Head Coach Alex Weber
became Program Head after leading the Wolverines to a 15-4 record last year. He is the first coach in four years to last more than one season. In preparation for this year, he added all new coaches to the roster, including a new offensive coordinator. “We’re going to score a lot,” Temko said. “Our offensive coordinator is developing a bunch of new schemes for us. Weber says everyone is going to have multiple goals this season.” “I’m so excited to have Weber back this season,” Joe Woody ’15 said. “He brings an energy that makes everyone feel important, and he’s really good at uniting the team.” The season opens with a league matchup against Oaks Christian March 3.
Track and Field
Program adds 2 assistant coaches By Tyler Graham
Three athletes who went to State Championships last year will be returning to take a leadership role on the 2014 squad. Lizzy Thomas ’14, Alex Florent ’15 and Courtney Corrin ’16 represented last year’s squad at State Championships, and have big plans for the upcoming season, which officially started this week. Coming off an unprecedentedly decorated offseason, Corrin will aim to step into a leadership role in the 2014 season. Along with being the reigning Big Red Female Athlete of the Year, Corrin was named Athlete of the Year by the Los Angeles Daily News for girls’ track. The attention Corrin has been receiving be-
gan after she won State and the New Balance National Outdoor championships in her freshman season, both in long jump. Corrin currently holds the national freshman long jump record with a jump of 21 feet even. “We definitely expect Corrin to take a leadership role on the team even though she is just a sophomore,” long jumper and triple jumper Cole Fletcher ’15 said. “Based on what she has already done and the work ethic that she has showed we all expect her to have a big year.” Thomas went to State after placing seventh in the girls’ 3200-meter race at CIF Masters. The week before Masters, Thomas placed fourth at Mission League Finals. Thomas starred on the cross-country team in the fall, finishing 20th
overall at state finals last season. Florent capped off her 2013 season with a second place finish for girls’ high jump at State Championships. Florent currently holds the school record for girls’ high jump. “Everyone is eager to start the season,” Fletcher said. “After many weeks of training everyone is excited to see what they can do or how much they have improved from last year. Personally I want to see if I will be able to improve in the long jump.” Two new coaches were hired to help fill the void after Johanna Hayes left the program to coach at UCLA. Olympic medalists Tasha Danvers and Shawn Crawford will fill out the coaching staff, joining two-time Olympic gold medal winner Felix Sanchez.
Boys’ Volleyball
The boys’ volleyball team lost almost its entire starting lineup to graduation, but this year’s squad features a strong base of juniors and sophomores who hope to be a strong force in the Mission League routinely. Loyola, who routinley has one of the best boys’ volleyball programs in the nation, is expected to earn another league title. However, a second place finish and a playoff bid is certainly in the grasp of the young Wolverines. “Although we have lost many seniors who graduated last year, we still have high expectations coming into this season,” outside hitter Hudson Ling ’15 said. “Losing some of the important leaders from last year, the upperclassmen on the team this year will have to step up. Loyola and Notre Dame will have excellent teams this season, but with continual hard work, so will
we. Because our team consists mostly of juniors, our team strives for strong teamwork and communication that will be vital not only this upcoming season, but also the season following.” The team is led by lone senior Elliot Sassouni ’14, who is expected to be starting libero. An underclassmen trio comprised of Ling, setter Brad Comisar ’15 and outside hitter Scott Nussbaum ’15 are expected to be in the starting rotation as well. The team will play its first match against Mission League rival Loyola March 3. During the middle of the season, the club will battle in the Santa Barbara High School tournament and will play in non league matches against Oaks Christian and Simi Valley. With the departure of eight seniors, the underclassmen will have the opportunity to take over more responsibility and leadership roles this year. “The future this program
HOPS: Scarlett Wildasin ’16 jumps over the last hurdle in a 300m race last year. She is one of two female varsity hurdlers on the team. The new coaches will coach sprints and hurdles. “It’s very nice having such winning coaches,” Jamie Skaggs ’15 said. “All of them attended the Olympics, and all of them have experienced being the best. We really are
getting the best coaching in Southern California.” Both the boys’ and girls’ track and field teams will open up their season at Crespi High School March 6, with the boys’ team facing Crespi and the girls’ team facing Louisville.
Boys’ Tennis
Junior standout leads squad in spring season
Young team takes on Loyola in first match
By Elijah Akhtarzad and Mila Barzdukas
CAITLIN NEAPOLE/CHRONICLE
By Lucy Putnam
ERIC LOEB/CHRONICLE
TOP SPIN: Setter Brad Comisar ’15 prepares to serve the ball in the teams’ match against Newport last season. lies in the hands of the players,” Ling said. “We have many freshman and sophomore junior varsity players who have proved talented and fast learners, as well junior and senior team leaders.”
After falling to Corona Del Mar High School 12-6 in CIF semifinals last year, the boys’ tennis team looks inward to player development to prepare for its upcoming spring season. “Our team is pretty young this year but we have some good young talent,” team captain Max Rothman ’14 said. “I’m hoping that we can get back to a fourth consecutive CIF semifinal.” According to Rothman, Michael Genender ’15 is likely to make a large contribution to the team. Genender moved up to 17th nationally as reported by Tennis Recruiting Network and second in the Boys’ 18s Southern California Tennis Association. Genender has earned this spot by dominating numerous boys’ 18’s designated tournaments, reputed to be some of the toughest USTA tournaments in Southern California. “I have been training hard with my coach for upcoming international individual tour-
naments so I will be ready for the matches in high school,” Genender said. He is not the only team member logging extra hours on the court. Sam Hummel ’14 and Rothman have been training with their coach to prepare to be a principle doubles team. That said, there have been no full team workouts thus far. Not only have members of the team put in outside work, but some of their rivals, University High school and Corona del Mar, would seem to have become weaker, losing their top three and two singles players respectively. “I think we are just focused on trying to play our best at the end of the year and to go deep in the CIF tournament,” said Genender. “We will use these first couple months to test different lineups, get experience and grow as a team. I don’t think it is a good idea to put emphasis on a particular end result and say that if we make it to this point we had success this year and vice versa.”