The Carl Gellert and Celia Berta Gellert Foundation Awards Mercy High School $4.75 million

The Largest Gift In The History Of The School

We are pleased to announce that we have received a generous grant from the The Carl Gellert and Celia Berta Gellert Foundation in the amount of $4.75 million— money that will be allocated for the school’s Capital Campaign for an Athletic and Student Life Center and a new endowed scholarship in the name of the Gellert Foundation.

“This is an incredible, life changing gift for Mercy High School in that it will open so many doors. The obvious answer is that a gym will allow our student athletes to finally have a home facility, which is a game-changer, yet there is also a significant community aspect that it will bring to the school that we are so excited about,” said Mercy Head of School

Natalie Cirigliano Brosnan '02, Ed.D. “It is incredibly meaningful that the foundation sees us as an institution because it shows that they see us—they see the value of our education, they see the mission of our education,” Cirigliano Brosnan said.

This grant is served as enormous boost to Mercy’s Building the Dream Capital Campaign which aims to raise the funding necessary to construct an athletic and student center that will house a gymnasium, pool expansion, and a student life space on campus. The Gellert Foundation has dedicated $3.5 million to the capital campaign and another $1.25 million to create a newly named endowment fund for tuition assistance.

Part of the mission of The Carl Gellert and Celia Berta Gellert Foundation is to support Catholic schools. The foundation’s mission believes that investing in Catholic education “provides a critical path for the future success of our youth.” The foundation is a respected supporter of Catholic organizations focused on building a strong community.

Four members of The Gellert Foundation made a visit to Mercy to deliver the check. According to Gellert Foundation Board Member Bob Grassilli, this gift from the foundation will build on every girl’s experience at Mercy. “The main reason the investment will make such a big difference is because we are investing in a school that has existed for more than 90 years and has done a wonderful job of educating young women and preparing them for the world. Students at Mercy enter as girls and leave as confident, young women. The new gymnasium and student life center is just an add-on to this and will change the experience for these girls, and we are happy to play a part in its progress,” Grassilli said.

Our Varsity Volleyball team soared to new heights in 2022! They began the season on a 9 match winning streak that set them up for a league opener with Notre Dame Belmont. We hosted our first ever “Blue Out” at that game and took the win streak to double digits. The team finished league tied for 2nd overall in the highly competitive WBAL league. After they were incorrectly given the number 5 seed for the CCS Tournament, our athletes found themselves determined with something to prove. After beating Gonzalez we found ourselves with a rematch against Notre Dame Belmont. We hosted our first ever “Black Out” and passed out black playoff shirts to all of our fans as we packed the stands in Belmont. After we swept the Tigers we made our way to Carmel, upsetting the number one seed and taking us to the CCS Championship game against Harbor in which Mercy won its first ever CCS Team Championship in any sport. Throughout the entire CCS Tournament, Mercy Volleyball did not drop a set, winning each match in three straight sets. After winning the CCS Championship, Mercy entered the Northern California Volleyball Tournament as the number 3 seed in CIF Division 3. After continuing their three set win streak and beating Foothill, Kingsburg, and Pleasant Valley, Mercy Volleyball found itself competing in the first ever CIF Norcal Championship Game against Archie Williams. Just one game shy of the state championship, our season came to a respectful end.

We will forever be grateful to our 2022 Volleyball Student-Athletes for inspiring our school community and filling us with pride in a sports season fit for laying the ground of a future inspirational sports movie. Congratulations to this team for all they accomplished- they will go down in our record books.

—Kelly Hickey ATHLETIC DIRECTOR

Volleyball

Varsity Volleyball See the amazing story left, and photos on page 16.

ALL LEAGUE HONORS:

1st Team Anna Snigorenko

2nd Team Raquel Calderon

Honorable Mention Katie Callagy, Ava Cacao

Junior Varsity Volleyball had an amazing season. They placed in every tournament they participated in, securing titles as the Tiger Cup Consolation Champions, JV Spikefest 3rd Place Silver Division Team, and the Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Fest 2nd Place Gold Team. JV Volleyball finished league this year tied for first place. Freshman Volleyball learned and grew tremendously throughout the season. They placed 3rd overall at the Half Moon Bay Tournament and were the Tiger Cup Consolation Champions. Freshman Volleyball finished 2nd in league play.

Tennis

Varsity Tennis faced some stiff competition early with preseason matches against Crystal Springs and St. Ignatius. They were especially proud of their victory against Riordan. When it came to league play, every match proved to be close, and our athletes persevered time and again.

Junior Varsity Tennis found their pre-season matches to be critical to their preparedness for league play. When it came to doubles they excelled in league and went undefeated, earning them the WBAL Skyline Division League Champions. Congratulations to Coach P and all of JV Tennis.

Golf

Varsity Golf Varsity Golf finished with a 6-8 record in league and 8-8 overall. Eva Denten ‘23 and Jaylyn Remolona ‘24 competed in the CCS Golf Championships where they took on the most challenging holes of Laguna Seca Golf Ranch while the sun was still shining. Both athletes scored a 93 and finished in the top half of 119 golfers.

ALL LEAGUE HONORS:

Cross Country

Cross Country led by a core group of seniors in Nicole Castagna, Elise Trinidad, and Sophia Knapp, Cross Country continued to improve their times each race. In her first year on the team, Nicole had a personal record of 22:45 in the WBAL League championships which qualified her for the CCS Championships. Congratulations to Nicole and all of Cross Country.

ALL LEAGUE HONORS:

2nd Team Maria Shelley, Honorable Mention Persia Ehteshami, Audrey O’Brien

Water Polo

Varsity Water Polo built on their successes from last year with a strong senior core and one brand new senior to the sport. While they faced some adversity under the water against some aggressive opponents, they made tremendous strides as the season progressed and celebrated each victory with excitement and grace. One of the many highlights for this program was the return of the Watsonville Tournament which has served as a Mercy water polo tradition for decades and an overnight weekend of fun and bonding time.

ALL LEAGUE HONORS:

2nd Team Kelly Philpott

Honorable Mention Summer McGuire

For the first time in many years, Mercy fielded a Junior Varsity Water Polo Team. The team was composed of all underclassmen who gained incredible experience as they played against other local JV teams as well as played at the Varsity level when opponents only had one team.