B’ball Crushes Competition in Preseason

The girls placed third in Providence’s fall tournament on Nov. 5-7, which was “great because last year we were the winners of the consolation prize so we moved up a bracket,” said Vanessa Romero ’11, MVP for the past two seasons.

The girls crushed Ramona Convent 46-32  last Thursday when their quick speed and determination helped them to gain the lead early on.

They also came close to beating Buckley when they tragically lost 47-49 last Monday.

In spite of these successes, the Tologs still face huge opposition from perennial rivals Harvard-Westlake and Notre Dame Sherman Oaks, the top two schools in CIF.

Co-captains also include Stephanie Kiang ‘10 and Stephanie Ramsden ‘11. Returning players are Ivy Fitzgerald ’12, Natalie Janji ’12, Vanessa Romero ’11 and Olivia Warner ’11.

New to varsity are Dana Budzyn ’13, Lana Haddad ’12, Darby Halloran ’11, Kate Herman ’11, Lauren Pantiskas ’11, Maddie Romero ’12 and Nora Welsh ’12.

Varsity coach Gino Pacella, in his second year as head of the program, is assisted by Gary Pantiskas.

Junior Varsity
After  beating Sacred Heart of Jesus 43-8 and Ramona Convent 21-17, the JV team is still trying to bring its program back up from last year’s league record of 0-10.

“We’re hoping to improve individual player’s skills and strengthen the girls’ ability, especially with the freshmen, to play within a team system,” said Coach Ty Buxman.

The toughest game is expected to be against long-standing enemy Harvard-Westlake.

Co-captains are sophomores Erika Johnson and Cathy Nivera. New to the team are junior Bree Escobedo, sophomore Alenna Escobedo and freshmen Mel-ene Agakanian, Amber Casillas, Bridget Fitzgerald, Elizabeth Herman, Juliet Hook, Chandler Little, Megan Pantiskas, Emily Puls, Kate Russell and Savanna Williams.

Assistant coach is Denise Dal Ponte, a former guard for Chapman University.

The next game is this Thursday against Providence at 5:30 p.m. in the SAC.