North Coast Section Playoff Preview:

BOYS’ WATER POLO

According to senior Giorgio Alessandria, the boys’ water polo team has “every opportunity to win the entire thing. I think we can do it, [as long as we] practice hard, watch the other teams’ film, [and] keep doing what we’ve been doing this entire season. We’ve beaten all the teams in our league pretty handily, but we aren’t going to take any teams lightly.”

The squad was undefeated in league competition, and Alessandria noted that the stronger teams are in their league. The boys’ water polo NCS Finals will be held on November 17.

“I’m really excited because it’s senior season. I hope we can finish on top,” said Alessandria.

GIRLS’ WATER POLO

After a loss in the semifinals last year against Miramonte, senior Jessica Henningsen said, “we have a really good chance at taking the number 1 spot at NCS this year.”

Acalanes may be the Cougars’ toughest competition.  “We’ve been watching them and scouting their players. It’s like we’ve been preparing specifically for our number 1 rival,” said Henningsen.

Though “key players” graduated last year, Henningsen said, “I think we’ve really adapted to it… We have a couple of incoming freshmen who are doing really well.”

FOOTBALL

With a 7-2 record this season, senior Paddo Buckley thinks that the football team is “in a pretty good spot right now going into NCS” as they have some “pretty high seeding.”

Buckley noted that last year there were “a lot of blowout wins,” but it will “be a lot tougher as we move forward in the playoffs” this time around.

With teams like Marin Catholic, Rancho Cotate, and Bishop O’Dowd in Division 2 this year, it “makes it all a lot more competitive, and it definitely won’t be as easy as last year,” Buckley said.

The team is seeded 3rd in the NCS Division 2 playoffs after defeating Miramonte on October 27.

The main focus for football’s NCS run is to “get healthy and be ready to go again for a couple of games,” said Buckley. “We can potentially see some guys that we’ve already seen… Rancho Cotate, who was one of our losses, so definitely be ready, be healthy, and come back hungry.”

BOYS’ CROSS COUNTRY

“It’s going to be a dogfight with Maria Carrillo boys,” said coach Tim Hunter. “[At the] beginning of the year, we were a bit behind them; I think that now, we’re fairly even, so that should be very exciting race. If everybody’s healthy on both sides, we’re pretty even, so it’ll come down to the race day.”

Hunter noted that the team’s health will be a “big part” and said that sophomore Dylan Gunn’s recovery will help. “If he’s as good as he was last year, with no improvement, we’re a little better as a team,” Hunter said.

GIRLS’ CROSS COUNTRY

After a state championship for the girls’ cross country team last year, junior Alicia Hober said this year is a “rebuilding year.”

According to Hunter, the girls’ team will also be chasing Maria Carrillo. “I would say right now, Maria Carrillo is the favorite because we haven’t beaten them head-to-head. But since there are 4 spots in NCS that advance to state, that pressure isn’t really there.”

“If we’re healthy, I think it’ll be an interesting 3-way race between [Maria Carrillo, Carondelet, and Campo],” said Hunter, who added that Campolindo’s history of success on the NCS course at Hayward High School is a “huge advantage for us.”

“Many teams will look at us and say, ‘Oh geez, there’s Campo. We’re going to be 2nd place behind Campo,’ so some teams are beat by us without even running the race,” Hunter said.

“I’m just hoping that we will come out with 1st or 2nd,” said Hober, but she said that the likelihood of qualifying for state is “fairly positive.”

GIRLS’ VOLLEYBALL

The girls’ varsity volleyball team is also set for a successful NCS run, entering the tournament as the #1 seed. The Finals will be held on November 3.

“We’ll take it 1 game at a time and hopefully we go to the end, that’s the ability of having home-court [advantage] and being the #1 seed,” said head coach John Vuong.

GIRLS’ TENNIS

The varsity tennis team is “likely” to qualify for NCS, according to sophomore Noel Seo. “We don’t know for sure until November 3. For tennis, we have to apply for NCS if we aren’t 1st in our league.”

GIRLS’ GOLF

The girls’ golf team placed 4th overall at the DAL Golf Championships on October 15. Though they did not automatically qualify for NCS, the team petitioned for a bid and will play on October 29. According to sophomore Ainsley Woodford, “I think it will go well and the girls playing will try their best. Overall, I think if the team lowers their scores a bit, we could be successful. Our captain Ashley Pan could possibly score well enough to move on to next tournament.”

Gallery • 6 Photos

Hector Chao