The varsity football team’s seson can best be described as streaky.

After opening the season with three straight wins, Cal lost its next three games before bouncing back with another three-game winning streak.

It all adds up to a 6-3 record, 5-3 in league, heading into last Friday’s season finale at Monte Vista. Results were not available before The Californian went to press.

Win or lose, the Grizzlies are guaranteed a strong seed in the Division I NCS playoffs that begin this weekend.

 “Hopefully we’ll win the rest of our games here on out” varsity running back coach Chris Tori said after Cal lost to San Ramon Valley, Foothill and De La Salle.

Cal did just that.

 The Grizzlies made a statement at its  homecoming game on Oct. 13 by blowing out Dougherty Valley, 49-7. They followed up that win with convincing victories over Granada and Dublin. Cal beat Granada 34-17 on Oct. 20 and Dublin 38-20 on Oct. 27.

Cal went into the season finale third in the EBAL behind undefeated San Ramon and second place Foothill.

“I want to help the team as much as I can by scoring and getting as much yards as possible” said varsity running back Christian Velasquez. 

Women’s Volleyball 

The women’s varsity volleyball team has been playing very well this season and is positioned for a deep NCS run.

Cal (29-3 overall, 16-2 EBAL) opened NCS on Oct. 31 by beating No. 14 Deer Valley in straight sets, 25-16, 21-16 and 25-15.

The victory set up an EBAL showdown in the quarterfinals on Saturday between third-seeded Cal and No. 6 San Ramon Valley. Results were not available before The Californian went to press.

“I am excited for NCS this year because I believe that this team has the ability to go very far,” senior captain Marissa Tsang said at the end of the regular season.

The winner of Cal’s quarterfinal match will face either No. 2 James Logan or No. 7 Castro Valley on Wednesday in the semifinals.

“The season has been super successful and fun, everyone is working so hard,” said sophomore player Sofia Aguilera, who was named player of the match against Dougherty Valley, which Cal swept 3-0.

Cal finished second in EBAL behind top-seeded Monte Vista.

“My favorite part of the season was when we won first place in the Irvington High School Invitational tournament,” said senior Marissa Tsang. 

Junior Lindsey Burt agreed.

“We all came out with a ton of energy and it was a great start to the season,” Burt said. “I am so proud of my team this year we have been all super focused. Our team has such a great connection, so we work really great together.”

           – Michelle Kuperman

Women’s Water polo 

    The women’s varsity water polo team has erperienced an extremely successful season.

Cal (17-4) won its NCS opener last Thursday by defeating No. 10 Heritage 13-9. Seventh-seeded Cal played No. 2 Monte Vista on Saturday in the quarterfinals. 

Results were not available before The Californian went to press.

The Grizzlies won many impressive non-conference games this season, beating Redwood 10-3, James Logan 11-9 and College Park 9-5.  Cal’s only losses came against San Ramon Valley, Acalanes, Las Lomas, and Campolindo. All of these schools are higher seeds in NCS.

As a whole, Cal has been working hard, and it showed by the girls winning their last two tournaments. 

“The season is going great! We are winning a lot of games and I’m proud of my team,” said senior captain Drew Halvorson. “We can definitely improve on our passing and shots.”  

Sophomore varsity player Frances Scanlan said she has been playing for two years and continues to play because she loves the speed of the game.

“Our team works well together and I am proud of our wins,” said Scanlan.

– Michelle Kuperman

Women’s Tennis

The women’s varsity tennis team has been on an amazing winning streak with an overall record of 14-3. 

Cal won matches towad the end of the season against Granada 9-0 and Carondelet 9-0, and San Ramon Valley 6-3.

The girls played in the EBAL championships last Thursday and Friday. Results were not available before The Californian went to press.

The women’s team has been successful holding on to their winning streak so far in the season, only losing three games to Northgate, Monte Vista, and Dougherty Valley. 

The girls did get their revenge against Monte Vista by beating the Mustangs on Oct. 24. The match was tied 4-4 before the doubles team of Jacqueline Hsing and Rachel Chan won a tiebreaker.

“We beat some schools that we lost to last year,” said senior, May Zhu.

Zhu said the team’s top singles players have been Oviya Kumaran and Bridget Huang.

“I’m proud of how far our team has gotten and I strongly believe we will make it to NCS,” said sophomore Aishwarya Rajan. 

– Michelle Kuperman

Men’s Water polo

The men’s water polo team’s season ended in the first round of the NCS playoffs again last week.

Cal (11-15 overall, 4-5 EBAL) was seeded 15th and was forced to travel to No. 2 Sir Francis Drake last Thursday. The Grizzlies fell behind 8-0 in the first quarter and ultimately lsot 14-4.

Players throught the team might make a deeper run as the team improved throughout the season. 

“We’ll make it to the second round[of NCS], then run into some trouble, and might make it into the third round.” said senior Christian Clephan. 

Cal wrapped up its regular season with an 8-5 loss to De La Salle. The team placed fifth in league with its four EBAL wins coming against Dougherty, Amador, Granada and Livermore.

Cal dealt with many injuries this season, ranging from six concussions to multiple lacerations and dislocated hands, thumbs, and fingers. 

“We’re looking pretty good, moving past lots of injuries, lot of concussions and physical wounds,” junior Daniel Browne said late in the season.

– Alex Suehiro

Women’s Golf 

The women’s golf team wrapped up its season last month with a 15th place finish at the NCS Tournament of Champions.

The team shot 520 on Oct. 30 at Lone Tree Golf Course in Antioch after a rough day.

Cal played significantly better two weeks prior in the EBAL Championships, also at Lone Tree.

The team placed eighth at EBAL with a team score of 481. Anushka Erram led the team with a round of 87, followed by Tiffany Lam’s 89. Camryn Calgagno shot 93 and Jessica Olimpia fired a 95.

“EBAL was really fun,” said Calcagno, who enjoyed the season overall. 

“We focused on getting to know each other this season, and hopefully we improve and get better for next year.” said Calcagno.

– Alex Suihero

Cross Country

The cross country team has been doimg well this season with star runners including seniors Cameron Reyes, Kayla Neuman and Alyssa Brewer. Both the men’s and women’s teams are among the top five in NCS and if they perform well they will make it to state.  

“The team has been doing well and can’t wait to see how we will do in NCS,” said senior Kayla Neuman. 

The team is looking forward to the NCS Meet of Champions on Nov. 18.

– Haia Haidari