BOYS’ VOLLEYBALL
The boys’ volleyball team had their first scrimmage on Friday, February 21.
“We didn’t keep score, but we played well for the most part,” junior Joe
Worsley said. There are 3 new players on the team this year, and according to Worsley a lot of the boys already knew each other prior to being on the team “We don’t have league for another month or two now, so we’ll get to play some tough competition before then,” he said.
Worsley said morning training sessions have been challenging. “All last week we had 6:00am practices, so that was rough,” he said.
The team will be traveling to Santa Barbara and San Diego this year and will be competing against some of the top teams in the country.”There’s going to be a lot of good competition,” he said. Last year, the team only lost about 2 matches, according to Worsley. They were also awarded the Northern California Division II title. “I expect the same, if not better this year,” Worsley said.
DIVING
Softball coach Bob McLaughlin said that the team has about 6 new players who have never played softball before. However, McLaughlin is happy they were able to pull a team together despite few signups. “The girls have been working hard and trying to improve,” he said. “I think we’re going to be competitive, but we definitely do not have the firepower that we had last year.”
Softball claimed the NCS title last year; however, 6 seniors graduated.
BASEBALL
“We should be pretty good,” Matt Tuan said.
The baseball team lost 7 seniors last year, but Tuan remains optimistic. “It’s kind of a different team without those guys, but we’ll make it work,” he said. Last year, the team won their 4th straight NCS crown.
“We’ve been getting our work in,” Tuan said.
TRACK & FIELD
“We were very pleased with our first 2 week turnout, with over 100 athletes on the roster,” coach Chuck Woolridge said. “It’s too early to tell what kind of talent we have in our newcomers, but their attitude at practice definitely bodes well for what we can achieve this year,” he said.
Last year, the boys won the league championship meet and several athletes moved on to the NCS championships. Senior Aidan Goltra and junior Brighie Leach advanced to the state finals.
The girls varsity squad came up one point short of the league championship title in 2013, so Woolridge believes the they will be motivated this year avenge that result.
“The core of our team is made up of the distance runners,” Woolridge said. In addition to that strength, hurdle and jumping veterans Ashley Bernardo and Miranda Protzen return this year, along with thrower Maddie Daum.
BOYS’ GOLF
“It should be fun,” Robert Young said.
According to Young, practices have been loose and carefree so far. Last year, the golf team just missed advancing to the NorCal tournament. “We’ve got some new freshman, but the varsity starting 6 has pretty much stayed the same,” Young said.
Only 1 person was cut from the golf program this year.
LACROSSE
The boys’ lacrosse team has 5 freshman this year, one of them being Matthew LoPresti. According to LoPresti, the team has done poorly in the past. “Hopefully we’ll be better than we have in previous years.”
The team has a new coach this year, Mitchell Frey, and LoPresti believes this will be an advantage. “He has a clear set goals for the season,” LoPresti said. “He talked about progressing throughout the season and seasons to come.”
There is only 1 senior on the boys’ team this year.
Girls’ lacrosse advanced to the NCS semifinals last year, where they lost to University High School. According to junior Mary Hildeburn, this was the deepest trip into the post season for the program. Hildeburn said half of this season’s team is made up of new players, including Rebecca Hull, the only freshman on the team. “We approach every game with a positive attitude,” Hildeburn said.
New varsity coach Jessica Hoffscheider, who guided the junior varsity squad to a winning record last year, brings winning experience to the program as a member of the 2005 Acalanes team that won the NCS championship.
The girls’ lacrosse team has their first game on March 4 against Granite Bay.
SWIMMING
After impressive performances last year by Sven Campbell and Steven Stumph, the swim team looks to fill those rather large shoes. Many of the local Orinda Aquatic swimmers are transitioning from their competitive swim season to the school team.
According to junior Tara Dadafarin, the swim team has been adjusting to new assistant coach, Sophie Lai. “She is really straight-forward in her practices, and we’ve been practicing hard and working on technique,” Dadafarin said.
