Athletics at Santa Catalina School

The Santa Catalina athletic program seeks to develop each student's full potential for leadership and cooperation through teamwork. The interscholastic program offers regional league competition in seasonal sports at the varsity and junior varsity levels. Practices are demanding, and coaches require individual commitment from each player. Every girl strives for her personal best in athletics, but no matter who makes the goal or scores the final basket, the win belongs to everyone.

Santa Catalina participates in interscholastic events in the following sports: basketball, golf, cross country, field hockey, lacrosse, softball, equestrian team, soccer, swimming and diving, tennis, volleyball, water polo, and track and field. Please use the menu at left to view news about a specific team.

Spring Varsity Sports Wrap-Up 2009

Lacrosse
Lacrosse finished the 2009 season with two wins: one against North London Collegiate visiting from England and another against Notre Dame San Jose. With a final record of 8-4-1, the Cougars were ranked 27th in Northern California. The MVP honor went to co-captain Vita Burn ’09, who scored 27 goals and had 17 assists. Kudos also go to co-captain Erin Gall ’09 for her incredible season with 25 goals and 12 assists and to Blair Evans ’10 for her 25 goals and 16 assists. The standout player and recipient of the Coach’s Award was goalie Michaela Scanlon ’12, who had two tremendous games against rival Stevenson. The other Coach’s Award was given to defender Anna Viviana ’11 who was incredible on ground balls, and a relentless defender!

Softball
Catalina softball wrapped-up one of its most successful seasons in school history in late May. They finished with an overall record of 16-6-1, and a league record of 9-3. Finishing in second place in the MTAL, the team earned an automatic birth to the CCS playoffs where they faced Mercy Burlingame in the first round. They won the game 1-0, becoming the first team to win a CCS softball playoff game in school history! Pitcher Alex Pingree ’12 had 13 strikeouts in the game. Four players were named to the MTAL All-League team: Clare Bolton ’09, Christine Torrise ’10, Daniela Aiello ’11, and Alex Pingree ’12. Alex was also named as co-MVP of the MTAL. Way to go!

Swimming & Diving
Finishing the season with a record of 8-4, the swim team finished in third place in the league. The highlight of the season was the 400 relay team finishing ahead of Pacific Collegiate by 5 seconds to secure the third place finish at the League Championships. Congratulations to the 400 relay team of Vanessa Woodard ’12, Seaira Truppelli ’11, Annie Bowlsby ’11, and Kelsey Player ’11 for their tremendous effort and win in the pool!

Track & Field
The track and field team had a great dual season with an overall record of 4-1. Entering the final league meet tied for first place, the Cougars finished third in the MTAL. Stand out performances elevated the team to a whole new level of competition. They ended the season well represented at the CCS Championships with personal record performances by the 4x100 relay team (Alexa John ’10, Cristina Tarriba Villa ’09, Kelly McDonald ’11, Calyx Gaston ’09); April Campos ’10 in the 800 M; Cristina Tarriba Villa in the long jump; Taylor Fox ’10 and Sandhya Ashokkumar ’10 in the high jump. Cristina Tarriba Villa earned All-League honors by placing first in the long jump.

Winter Varsity Sports Wrap-Up 2009

Basketball
The Basketball team played an ambitious pre-league schedule, including a trip to the Nike Tournament of Champions in Phoenix where they played national teams and came back a strong, cohesive unit. Despite key injuries during the course of the season, the team captured a share of the Mission Trails Athletic League Title and moved on to the CIF/CCS playoffs. The team advanced to the final four before ending a great season.

MTAL coaches chose Taylor Fox '10 as League MVP, Michelle Briggs '09 and Lottie Dowson '09 as All League, and Leigh White as Coach of the Year in the Basketball All League. The Monterey County Herald All County Team included Taylor Fox, Michelle Briggs, and Leigh White as Coach of the Year.

Soccer
Knowing they would be a playoff contender this season, the Varsity Soccer team challenged the strongest teams in the county during their preseason and then proceeded to capture their fourth straight MTAL title and assume their usual spot in the CIF/CCS playoffs. The team made it all the way to the final four before ending a strong season.

Daniela Aiello '11, April Campos '10, Isabelle Williams '11, and Kate Wright '10 were selected for Soccer All League. The Salinas California All County Team included Daniela Aiello, Isabelle Williams, and Rod Gilchrist as Coach of the Year.

Fall Varsity Sports Wrap-Up 2008

Cross Country
Cross Country completed another outstanding season, finishing with a record in dual meets of 6-1 for varsity and 4-3 for JV. A complete varsity squad (rather than just individual runners) qualified for the CCS Championship meet for only the third time in ten years. The team achieved impressive individual and group results based on their season-long support for one another and their “whole team” philosophy that cheers on every runner from first place to last. Special thanks from the team were offered to graduating seniors Yvonne Chin, Barbara Eastman, Erin Gall, Rosemary Hall, Jaklyn Nunga, Nikki Ranchhod, and Sarah Rudolph.

Field Hockey
The field hockey team had its most successful season in years, finishing third in the MTAL. With an ambitious group of girls, Santa Catalina was able to put major pressure on top ranked teams. All-League First Team honors went to Katie Goodson '10 and Alex Strenfel '10. Second Team honors went to Gina Aiello '11, Lisa Enny '09, and Laura-Ashley Smith '10.

Golf
The golf team finished regular season play undefeated, earning them another trip to the CCS Tournament where they finished fifth out of twelve teams. The team says good bye to three seniors: Lani May Centeno, Ariana Patterson, and Ryan Tuttle. However, the future looks bright for next year’s team as Cristina Bowery '10 and Annie Bowlsby '11 emerged as strong players and leaders this year.

Tennis
The varsity team played a tough schedule with some very good results. This season they placed third in league, despite a point tie with the second place MTAL team from Carmel High School. The MTAL Tournament individual matches were fantastic with departing seniors Khatijah Corey, Michele Jaeger, and Maddie Vitanza all representing school for the last time with grace, athleticism, and integrity. The team finished the season 12-7, while the JV squad finished 5-2 overall, with only one league loss, to tie for first place. Special recognition to several JV players who finished the season undeafeated: Megan Bomar '12, Franchesca Cortes '11, Joan Davidson '12, Keeyanna Donaldson '11, and Devon Walter '11.

Volleyball
For the sixth time in eight years, the varsity volleyball team won the MTAL title, advancing to the CCS playoffs for the eleventh straight year. At the recent MTAL coaches’ meeting, setter Clare Bolton '09 was named the league’s MVP. She was joined on the All League Team by Michelle Briggs '09, Shelby Carroll '09, Taylor Fox '10, Danyel Kahumoku '10, and Sage Wright '11. The team wishes to thank their legion of loyal supporters who came to every game, home and away.

Water Polo
The water polo team was in a rebuilding year, having graduated a number of experienced players. Anisa Joseph '09, Camille Massaro '09, Katie Morey '09, and Emily Zubick '10 helped guide a large number of new players. The highlight of the season was a triple overtime victory against a more experienced Monterey team with Shannon White '11 scoring the winning goal in the third overtime period. Anisa Joseph and Camille Massaro were selected to the TCAL All League Second Team. The league honored Emily Zubick with a selection to the TCAL Sportsmanship Team.

CURRENT COLLEGE HIGHLIGHTS

Vanessa Block '05, Yale University, Track
Eleana Collins '07, University of Virginia, Golf
Lexi Dauernheim '07, U.S. Naval Academy, Lacrosse
Miki Fukushima '06, UC Santa Barbara, Tennis
Emily Helbig '07, Canisius College, Softball
Brogie Helgeson '06, Tufts University, Volleyball
Devin Kennifer '08, Harvard University, Water Polo
Katherine Kennifer '05, Notre Dame University, Water Polo
Courtney Mazzei '07, Middlebury College, Golf
Kelly Trapp '07, Amherst College, Lacrosse
Kelsey Wilson '05, Brown University, Softball
Sarah Wright '08, Dickinson College, Soccer