Boys Volleyball Looks Ahead to Win League

By Andrew Gen

Boy’s volleyball continues their season in April with their first game against Torrance. The Eagles played at home, and had a close game with the Tartars. The Eagles played five games after winning the first game 27-25, the Tartars struck back and won the second 19-25, after setting up a new strategy, the Eagles went on the offensive and dominated 25-23. But Torrance couldn’t be outdone and won the fourth game 22-25. With a heart-stopping fifth game only to 15, the center blocker junior Lyle Wawryk stepped it up and gained 6 blocks and won 15-13 winning overall 3-2. 
    The Eagles then had two weeks to prepare for their next match-up against the North Saxons. Their two weeks of practice paid off in the first game against the Saxons; the Eagles were down but made a comeback and won the first game 26-24.  The Eagles kept a high pace and easily continued their domination 25-15, 25-21 giving the Eagles a 3-0 victory. 
    On April 16, the South Spartans outdid the Eagles in all three games 22-25, 20-25, and 18-25 concluding in an Eagle loss 0-3. The Eagles then traveled to the Chadwick Invitational Tournament. The rules state that there are two games per match-up and one game in the finals. The Eagles first heads up game was against the St Margaret's Tartans. The Eagles tied the Tartans 1-1 with an Eagle comeback 25-17 after losing the first game 22-25. With the tie, the team went to the tournament finals and again played against St. Margret’s but lost 23-25. The Eagles then went to play the Tartars again, but lost the first game 22-25, but the Eagles, hungry for victory won the second 25-23. However, in the end the Tartars overcame the 22-25 and 19-25 ending the game in an Eagles 1-3 loss. The team then traveled to face the North Saxons for the second time, looking for another victory. After losing the first game 18-25, the Eagles came back in the second and won 25-23, but couldn't hold on and lost the next two games 23-25, 18-25; losing overall 1-3. 
    The Eagles hold a 6-7 record with one game to go against North on May 5. Junior Christyan Osorio stated, “We have a lot of potential. We know we can win league or at least get in second easily. All we have to do is focus.”

 

Tennis Team Sweeps Up Competition

By Andrew Gen

El Segundo boys tennis started their league games on March 31 with their match against North. The Eagles put up a tough fight with a sweep from singles player senior Andy Stier, but came up short 8-10. The team complained that the line up needed correction and the team created a new line up and went to face South in their second league game. With their new line up the Eagles won 10-8. After spring break the team went to play Torrance on April 14. Doubles team of seniors Manny Rodriguez and Andrew Gen swept 7-5, 6-2, and 6-4 and so did Stier 7-6, 6-2, and 7-5. But even with those wins, the team wasn't able to come out ahead and lost 7-11. 
    On April 16, the Eagles went to face North again. With such a close match last time, the Eagles focused and came out on top 11-7 due to a sweep from freshman Robert Gladstone, a great turn around after loosing to Torrance. The Eagles then traveled to South to get another win. It was an easy victory with sweeps from Stier (6-1, 6-2, 6-3) and Rodriguez-Gen (6-3, 6-3, 6-1). The Eagles won 11-7.
    The Eagles then had a home match against the Torrance Tartars. The team came up short, with no sweeps and only won four games against Torrance's 14 wins. Number one singles player Andy Steir comments on the season, "We think we're going to go far, with a little more discipline, we can definitely become a competitor." So far the Eagles have a 8-8 overall record and a 3-3 league record. The Eagles look forward to their remaining games. Go Eagles!

Girls Softball Dominates Competition

ByJeff Liu

Well into their spring season, the Lady Eagles Varsity Softball team has triumphed with the opening of April. The Lady Eagles have achieved epic victories at each game, with only a very slight setback at Bishop Montgomery of 4-5 on March 27. Despite the close loss, the team soared to victory in the following week after March 28 ­in the Savanna Tournament. In a dominating performance, they defeated South Pasadena, Rosary, and Centennial, without even allowing the opposing team to score, with scores of 7-0, 2-0, and 10-0, respectively. With the start of April, the Lady Eagles continued their winning streak in the Savanna Tournament, as well as joining the fray in the Whittier Christian Tournament. In the Savanna Tournament during April, the team was up against adversaries including Village Christian High and Sunny Hills High, but emerged victorious with scores of 5-3 and 7-4. These successes gave the title of Savanna Tournament Champions to the Lady Eagles.

The Whittier Christian Tournament pitted El Segundo against familiar foes. Their first game against Whittier Christian resulted in a win for the Lady Eagles 5-0. Up against Cerritos, the Varsity softball team triumphed again with 6-2, and narrowly defeated Torrance 2-1. The Lady Eagles concluded the Whittier Christian Tournament in two games against Costa Mesa and Walnut, each with incredible wins of 11-1 against Costa Mesa and 5-0 against Walnut; the latter game sealed their title as the champions of the Whittier Christian Tournament of 2009.

April 24 was a major game for the Lady Eagles. This event was against North Torrance, who previously defeated El Segundo last year during CIF Finals, and then proceeded to become CIF Champions. The Lady Eagles started out the game rocky, taking some time to warm up to North’s formidable pitcher. However, after a while, the team was able to successfully contend with the opposition. The breakpoint was when Senior Anissa Noland stepped up to the plate and batted in three runs for her team sealing a victory for El Segundo. The Varsity softball team defeated North in a dynamic feat with a final score of 4-0.

The month of May will bring even more challenges for the Varsity Softball team, but with their impressive performance, it can be assured that El Segundo will compete excellently. In the coming days, the Lady Eagles find themselves up against the adversaries including Culver City, North and South Torrance, Centennial and more. Good Luck, Lady Eagles, on the future competitions and CIF!

 

Baseball Keeps a Strong Pace

By Andrew Gen

Since April, the baseball team has continued to do extremely well. Continuing their 8-2 record, the Eagles faced Centennial. Right off the bat, the Eagles took an early 2-0 lead in the first inning. The Eagles continued headstrong and finished the game 5-2. Sophomore Grant Palmer scored three out of the five runs. The next day the Eagles faced the Simi Valley Pioneers. The Eagles played a tough game, but the Pioneers shot out ahead when the Eagles gave them four runs in the fifth inning. The Eagles ended up losing 4-7. The following day, the Eagles went to face the Centennial Apaches and put another win on the board. The Eagles won 8-2 with three runs batted in from junior Brice Savage and two from Palmer.
    The Eagles then traveled to play in the Mike Morrow Lions Invitational tournament in San Diego. The team played the Brighton Bengals from Utah. The Eagles creamed the opposition 9-0 and once again Palmer stepped up and scored two runs against the Bengals. Next in the tournament, El Segundo faced San Marcos. After being down in the third inning 1-6, the Eagles had a rough time trying to get back in the game. The Eagles were unable to come back and lost to the Knights 6-9. In the final game of the tournament, the Eagles faced the St. Augustine Saints. The Eagles had the lead through the fourth inning, until the Saints scored a combined 10 points in the fifth and sixth inning. But by the end of the seventh inning the Eagles lost 7-13.
    On April 15, the Eagles played a close game against Crescenta Valley. Carrying a score of 0-0 until the sixth inning, the Eagles were outscored and lost 1-2. On April 22, the Eagles faced the Torrance Tartars. The Eagles took an early lead in the first inning 2-0 but couldn't hold on to their lead and ended up losing 3-7. 
    The boys baseball team hold a record of 13-6. They look forward to definitely winning league and getting more wins in their next game against Lawndale today. Good luck Eagles!

 

Track Runs With the Tailwind

By Lena Hedayat

   El Segundo High School track has been making great progress, starting with their first Pioneer League Meet against both Centennial and South High School. The Eagles did a fantastic job facing Centennial, both the Varsity and Frosh/Soph coming out on top. Varsity Girls, moreover, defeated both Centennial and South High, making their overall Pioneer record 2-0. The Lady Eagles’ score against South ended 76-42. Varsity Boys did not have such luck, losing to South 36-82. Their Pioneer record remains 1-1.  Following this was the Arcadia Invitational on April 11 starting at 10 AM and going throughout the entire day. The team did an awesome job up against several schools. The next Pioneer League meet took place on April 15 opposing North Torrance. The Varsity boys lost, but the Varsity girls won, improving their league record to 3-0. The meet was extremely windy, causing the runners to have wind-aided personal records. Junior captain Michael Prociopio says of the meet, “It went well, [the varsity girls] beat Torrance and [the boys] barely lost to North Torrance and their schools have twice as many people.”  On April 17-18, the Mt. SAC Relays took place. For the past 50 years this event has occurred annually in Walnut, California, about 30 miles east of Los Angeles. The Eagles took part in this and finished nicely. Prociopio one of the junior captains said of the season so far, “it has been a good season, and it’s only getting better.” Senior Stephen “Pokey” adds his own advice as to what makes the team complete, “Without throwers there is no track team.” Track is now looking forward to their League Prelims on May 4, which will determine the finalists for League finals on May 6.

Swimming Goes for the Gold

By Lena Hedayat

       The Eagles Swim Team has made use of their great potential this month. Going back to Thursday April 2, the Eagles faced Torrance and Inglewood High Schools. Torrance had an extremely well-rounded team that presented the Eagles with a challenge, but Inglewood was an easy win. However, El Segundo lost to Torrance, but we gave the Tartars a hard time, and pushed them to their saucy limits. Senior captain Zack Reed adds, “Although we didn’t win against Torrance it came down to a photo-finish final race that decided the meet. I’d say we did pretty darn well.” With this achievement, the Eagles took their skills and defeated Beverly Hills on Thursday April 16, both varsity boys and girls winning. Most recently, the team swam against North Torrance, and due to the opposing team’s lack of talent, skill, speed, and smaller than average team, El Segundo easily won over both the Varsity boys and girls. Senior captain James Meyerhoff commented on the team’s win, “I feel as if we have passed all the expectations that have been put before us as a team. I think [this] victory over North Torrance just shows what kind of damage we can do. As for league finals, all I expect are good things.”  Almost finished with league, the Eagles have one last swim meet left against South Torrance on Thursday April 30 before League Prelims and Finals take place. This last league meet is at home, so be sure to stop by and show some support!

	Volleyball	Baseball	Softball	Tennis	Track	Swim
Record	2-3	13-6	5-0	3-3	Boys: 1-2 Girls: 4-2	Boys: 4-2 Girls: 4-2
Recent Score	N. Torrance 1-3 Loss	Torrance 3-7 Loss	N. Torrance 4-0 Win	Torrance 4-14 Loss	N. Torrance Girls: Win Boys: Loss	N. Torrance Girls: Win Boys: Win
Next Game	Apr. 30 @ Torrance	May 1@ Lawndale	Apr. 29 @ S. Torance	Apr. 30 @S. Torrance	May 4 League Prelims	Apr. 30 @ S. Torrance

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