Samantha Cookson
Staff Writer
After a tough start, the men’s water polo team has played extremely well and is now positioned for what they hope is a deep run in the NCS playoffs.
The Grizzlies (19-5) earned the fifth seed and played No. 12 Alameda (16-7) on Saturday. Results were not availble before The Californian went to press.
The winner of Cal’s game plays the winner of No. 4 De La Salle (16-8) and No. 13 Liberty (13-9) on Tuesday.
“We’re looking to be the highest NCS seed Cal High has been in 10 years,” said coach Tony Tovani, whose team accomplished this goal.
Cal recorded two incredible victories in early season tournaments to help the team build momentum.
The Grizzlies took first place in the De Anza College tournament in Cupertino. They also won the San Luis Obispo Classic, defeating Campolindo 11-9 in the finals.
Despite losing two of their first three games, the team has played brilliantly this season.The Grizzlies placed third in the EBAL behind top-seeded San Ramon Valley and De La Salle, which beat Cal in the season finale to finish second.
Key seniors Alex Voloshko and Austin Thomas are both confident the team will do well in NCS.
Alex has scored more than 70 goals this season.
Women’s Water Polo
After a seven-year absence from the playoffs, the ladies are back in NCS.
Cal (12-10) earned the No. 13 seed and played No. 4 James Logan (21-3) on Saturday. Results were not available before The Californian went to press.
“We’re definitely going to put a bit in and hope for the best,” said coach Jenna Casady.
The winner of Cal’s game will play the winner of No. 5 Washington (19-5) and No. 12 Liberty (13-11) on Tuesday.
This was the first time Cal reached NCS since 2003, when the Grizzlies earned the 12th seed.
The ladies gradually picked up the pace during the season and had a big, unifying win against Piedmont in the Pinole Valley tournament.
“The team came together; defense worked as a team, offense went smoothly, and transitions were smooth,” said Casady.
– Samantha Cookson
Women’s Volleyball
Cal had a great chance to win its first league title in years going into the season finale last Thursday night against Carondolet.
The Grizzlies (9-4 EBAL, 18-6 overall) controlled their own fate. With a win and losses by San Ramon and Foothill, they are champions. But if Cal lost and Foothill won, the Falcons are champions.
Results were not available before The Californian went to press.
“Our team is doing really good so far,” said senior Maya Kordahi. “Hopefully we continue winning and make it to the playoffs.”
The playoffs were pretty much guaranteed, whether Cal places first or second. Playoff seedings were determined on Sunday.
One of the Grizzlies’ biggest wins came on Oct.13 when Cal beat San Ramon Valley 3-2 after losing to the Wolves earlier this season.
“We were able to put in people that normally don’t play as much, and they were the ones that finished out,” said senior Lindsay Wood. “We become a closer team each week. We are able to trust each other on the court.”
– Justine Chang
Football
October was a scary month for the Grizzlies.
Two one-point victories and two tough losses have dropped Cal (3-2 EBAL, 6-2 overall) to a second place tie with San Ramon Valley in league.
Monte Vista and Livermore fell in spectacular fashion, while San Ramon and Granada took it to the Grizzlies. Cal lost last-second heartbreakers to Granada, 26-22, in its Oct. 28 homecoming game, and to San Ramon 42-38 on Oct. 14.
Cal is pretty much guaranteed a playoff spot heading into its final two games at Amador Valley and De La Salle on Friday.Results from the Grizzlies’ game at Amador last Friday were not available before The Californian went to press.
– John Sexton
Cross Country
The boys and girls teams had a bit of a slow start, but they are still determined to win this season.
At the Oct. 12, both teams placed fifth out of seven EBAL schools.
As a team, the men shaved 40 seconds off their personal record. Even though they had a rough first half of the season, both teams seem to be looking up.
“We are more united, and our team spirit has tripled,” said senior women’s co-captain Molly Walker.
Junior Brian Paniagua said that although the team hasn’t done as well as they hoped, there are a few strong individual performances carrying them. Some people from the teams think that seniorSameer Patel is a great asset to them.
“Sameer is one of our strongest runners,” said Paniagua. “Even though he doesn’t get the best personal record, he still runs in front of everyone.”
Others who are doing well include sophomore Conner Lax and freshmen Rana Koussa and Christian Aldana. Many of their teammates think that these underclassmen will succeed greatly in their senior and junior years with more experience.
– Justine Chang
Women’s Tennis
Cal’s young squad got off to slow start and never really recovered this season.
The Grizzlies (4-10 EBAL) are now hoping a few individual will be seeded for NCS. Seedings are decided Thursday.
Cal had a dominant win against Livermore with a score of 9-0 on Oct.11. But some weaknesses started to show against Foothill and Monte Vista.
“We’ve been off to a shaky start, but the we’re improving individually as well,” said sophomore Jessica Ma. “We only had one team practice since we had to make up our games.”
Despite the recent losses they’ve had, many of them think that they are all individually capable of making NCS.
“We are hoping that we will win,” said junior Michelle Kim. “We are all trying our hardest and we are becoming individually strong.”
– Justine Chang
Women’s Golf
Senior Angela McElroy reached the NCS Tournament of Champions for the second straight year and ended her high school career on a high note by shooting 86 at Las Positas in Livermore on Oct. 31.
McElroy advanced to the TOC by shooting 90 at the NCS qualifer on Oct. 24. Junior Madalyn Schenk also advanced to the qualifier for Cal, but she did not move on from there.
– Amir Sagafi
