Girls’ Lacrosse

The Paly girls’ lacrosse team return strong this season after losing to the St. Francis Lancers, 16-15, in a sudden death triple overtime in the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League (SCVAL) championship last season.

Although the Lady Vikes beat the Lancers twice during the regular season, they couldn’t pull out the third win. The team finished the league season 14-0, and with the loss to St. Francis in the playoffs the record stood at 15-1.

This was the third consecutive year that girls’ lost to St. Francis in the SCVAL championship. This year the team is hoping to break St. Francis’s championship run.

“I want to end in a championship,” co-captain Kristen DeStefano (‘14) said. “I have been on varsity four years and we have lost to St. Francis [three consecutive years] in the championship.”

The girls have a chance to reverse the outcome this year; however, the loss of 12 seniors will pose a challenge. The team lost Charlotte Biffar (‘13), who won a spot on the German National team, and Nina Kelty (‘13), who earned All-American honors and is a current starter on the USC women’s lacrosse team.

Coach Jamie Nesbitt looks at this loss of players as a motivating factor, rather than as a setback.

“I think people are going to really underestimate us because of the loss of the seniors,” Nesbitt said. “I think the underdog mentality is really going to help push them to work hard. I think there are really good things to come.”

• coach: Jamie Nesbitt

• 2012-13 record: 14-0 regular season. 15-1 overall with post-season

• Who to look out for: Ami Drez (‘14), Kristen DeStefano (‘14), Sama Soni (‘14), Meredith Kinnaman (‘16)

• Losses: Charlotte Biffar (‘13) won a spot on the German National team. Nina Kelty (‘13)

Softball

The Paly softball team welcomes new coach and former major league baseball player, Bill Laskey to its team this season. Laskey played for the San Francisco Giants from 1982-1985 and again in 1986 after playing with the Montreal Expos in 1985.

“The new coach is going to be tough and I think our team needs it,” Hannah Bundy (‘14) said. “We need a good kick in the butt. I think he will take our team in the right direction, so I have high hopes for him.”

A new coach and a new year, the Lady Vikes are looking to do better compared to last year. Last season the team ended with a record of 3-22, subsequently relegating them to play in the lower league this year.

In order for the team to improve its statistics from last year the team will have to make some changes.

“The goal for our team this year is to come back a lot better than last year,” Bundy said. “It wasn’t true to how we can play. We can definitely play a lot better, we have very good players we just need to learn to play as a team and not individually.”

• coach: Bill Laskey

• 2012-13 record: 3-22

• Who to look out for: Hannah Bundy (‘14) Julia Saul (‘14) Casey Glassford (‘15)

• Major Losses: Anna Rizza (‘13)

Girls’ Swimming

For the Paly girls’ swim team who placed second in the SCVAL finals last year, a major focus this year is to finish with a win.

“The goal for the girls is to win league championship,” Coach Danny Dye said. “Going undefeated is going to be kind of tough…but the best thing about swimming is you can lose a meet and still get to the league championships and win league.”

Co-captain Karina Goot (‘14) thinks team identity will be a large factor for the team’s success.

“Once we get our pace going and figure out where everyone clicks into the team dynamic, we will have a really good season,” Goot said.

In addition to working hard, she hopes to go one step further and make the season enjoyable for the whole team.

“I have been a part of this varsity team for four years now and I think this is my year to give back, so I am really excited about the opportunity to be co-captain with Caroline [Moeser] (‘14) and just make the season as fun as possible for everyone,” Goot said.

“We did lose some seniors, but we have a giant freshman class. We actually have ten freshman, and each brings something special. ” Goot said.

With the incoming freshman bringing unique skills to the team they are hoping to win leagues and go undefeated.

• coach: Danny Dye

• 2012-13 record: 6-2

• Look out for: Grace Zhao (‘17) Jayna Wittenbrink (‘14) Mimi Lin (‘16)

• Major Losses: Molly Zebker (‘13) Serena Yee (‘13) Nadya Nee (‘13)

Boys’ Swimming

In addition to the girls’ swim team, the boys’ swim team also has high hopes for the new season. The team ended with a 7-1 record last year and a few individuals made it to the Central Coast Section (CCS) meets.

One of the CCS qualifiers, Andrew Liang (‘14) has committed to Stanford and will swim there in 2015. With a strong roster, the boys’ team is aiming to win league finals.

“It’s just a really solid team,” Coach Danny Dye said. “They all have potential to score if they come out with the right attitude, work hard, work together as a team, and push each other then it could be a real team effort that gets it all done.”

• coach: Danny Dye

• 2012-13 record: 7-1

• Look out for: Andrew Liang (‘14) Willy Lee (‘14) Andrew Cho (‘16) Daniel Sing (‘16) Winston Wang (‘16) Reed Merritt (‘16), Scott Hillen (‘15), Jonathan Kosaka (‘14)

• Major losses: Alex Francis (‘13) Cole Plambeck (‘13)

Girls’ Track & field

A few alterations and additions have been made to the coaching staff to strengthen the Paly track and field program. Head coach and physical education teacher Jason Fung has decided to step back from the main coaching position, and instead will take a smaller role in coaching for the 2014 season.

New coach, Taylor Monts will take on many of Fung’s old responsibilities. Monts is bringing his running philosophies with him to the new job.

“Helping the girls have a foundation, an aerobic foundation and [making] sure that they can build off that to get them to where they want to be [is important]…,” Monts said. “Everyone is different and I would like to see what each individual has to offer.”

In addition to building a foundation, Monts believes that athletes shouldn’t stress winning.

“We all love to win and it would be fun to win, but it would be more or less [an achievement] to learn, put in hard work, [overcome] barriers… and to get the best out of each kid, find their potential,” Monts said.

Although Monts is in charge of the entire girls’ track and field team, he will focus more on the distance, rather than the sprinting.

“With distance running it is a big mental aspect, so focusing on the mental aspect of things to get to that success, being mental sharp. Hard work is the common theme here.”

Track sprinter, Megan Tall (‘14) believes the future looks bright for the team this season and she thinks the team will go far.

“The girls’ team has a good chance at winning league and there are a couple standouts that could definitely do well in CCS,” Tall said.

• 2012-13 record: 5-1 Dual meets (2nd place) and 2nd in leagues

• Who to look out for: Megan Tall (‘14) Bryn Carlson (‘16) Jess Branson (‘14) Katie Foug (‘15) Audrey DeBruine (‘14) Pippa Raffel

• Major Losses: Nora Rosati (‘13), Alexia Garcia (‘13)

Boys’ Track and Field

In addition to the girls’ track and field coaching staff alterations, the boys’ coaching staff has also been adjusted. Kelsey Feeley (Gunn, ‘08), the boys’ distance coach from last year, is expanding her coaching role this year and will be in charge of the entire boys’ team.

Despite being the boys’ coach she mainly wants to focus on strengthening a middle distance program at Paly, for both girls and boys.

“Paly track has set really high standards, so to get some of the guys and girls to get up to that caliber of running would be great all across the board: running, jumping and throwing,” Feeley said.

The boys’ track team finished last season with a 6-0 dual meet record and won first in the league finals; however, the team was unable to clench the Central Coast Section (CCS) title, as it did in 2012. This year, Nick Sullivan (‘14) hopes to bring back the success that was achieved in the 2012 season.

“I am pretty confident that we can get the CCS title as a team. We have a pretty good distance team this year,” Sullivan said.

Feeley is also confident about the talent this year; she believes some individuals will go far.

“I would love to get a couple boys and girls to go to state this year. We have a tremendous coaching staff. We brought on a lot of new people this year and they are all more than qualified.”

• Coach: Kelsey Feeley: specialized in middle-distance

• 2012-13 record: 6-0 Dual meets (1st place) and 1st in league finals

• Who to look out for: Nick Sullivan (‘14), Eli Givens (‘16) Lucas Matison (‘15) Kent Slaney (‘17) Dami Bolarinwa (‘16)

• Major Losses: Victor Du (‘13) Jayshawn Gates-Mouton (‘13) Justin Gates-Mouton (‘13) Matt Tolbert (‘13)

Baseball:

After finishing 18-16 last season, Paly’s baseball team is looking to bring back a league title. After losing key players Michael Strong (‘13), Rohit Ramkumar(‘13), Isaac Feldstein (‘13) and four other seniors, the team has to make up for those losses. In addition to losing many players, the league is full of competitive teams.

“We probably have the toughest public school schedule,” Coach Erick Raich said. “The biggest thing for us, .is to control what we do. If we do that and a team comes in and beats us we can live with that.”

With a host of new talent this year including Justin Hull (‘16) and Owen Plambeck (‘16), along with long time varsity players Jack Cleasby (‘14), Danny Erlich (‘14) and Chris Smith (‘14), the team is poised for a good season.

“We will have a good team this year,” Nick Beeson (‘15) said.

• Coach: Erick Raich

• 2012-13 record: 18-16

• Who to look out for: Jack Cleasby (‘14) Danny Erlich (‘14) and Chris Smith (‘14)

• Major Losses: Michael Strong(‘13) Rohit Ramkumar(‘13) Isaac Feldstein(‘13)

Boys’ Lacrosse:

Finishing 15-6 in the 2012-1013 season (third in the division) and 51st in the state, the boys’ lacrosse team is looking to come back and have another successful season this spring. After losing coach Craig Conover last season, a new coach, DJ Shelton, has taken his place.

Shelton is a Paly alum and has also coached against Paly as the head lacrosse coach for Mountain View High School.

“Making it to playoffs and winning a championship [is] a realistic approach because of the success the program has had in the past,” Shelton said. “The toughest obstacles for the team this season will be Sacred Heart Prep and Menlo-Atherton high school,”Shelton said.

The team suffered big losses, losing seniors Tyler Valenti (‘13), Walker Mees (‘13) and Skylar Anderson(‘13). Despite losing these players, Quentin Valenti (‘16), who came up to play goalie as a freshman last season, will be a major player this season.

“[Quentin will be] an anchor in the lineup,” Shelton said.

The team is being joined by experienced JV players like Michael Beisheim (‘15) and Zach Levitan (‘15).

“With these new players [the team is looking to] go all the way which I know they are capable of,” Shelton said.

• Coach: DJ Shelton

• 2012-13 record: 15-6-0

• Who to look out for: Quentin Valenti (‘16) James Harrison (‘14) Jordan Gans (‘14)

• Major Losses: Tyler Valenti (‘13) Walker Mees (‘13)  Skylar Anderson(‘13).

Boys’ Golf:

After making it to CCS finals last year and falling short behind Stevenson and Sacred Heart Prep, the Paly golf team playoff run was cut short.

“[We want to] make it back to CCS, win CCS and make it to Norcals,” John Knowles (‘15) said.

The team said goodbye to senior Grant Raffel (‘13) last year; he now plays at Williams college. Despite this loss, with the returning talent the goal of NorCals is still within reach.

“I think we will do just as well. We have a couple of new freshman six of our top seven are back,” Knowles said.

With all but one of the top golfers from the 2013 season coming back, the team is looking to stay consistent. Led by captains Knowles and Alex Hwang (‘15) the team will do its best to have a successful season.

With the girls’ golf team winning CCS in the fall, the pressure for the boys’ team to do better is building. The roadblocks in the way for league play this year will be Homestead and Gunn.

• Coach: Doyle Knight

• 2012-13 record: 12-0

• Who to look out for: John Knowles (‘15) Alex Hwang (‘15), Patrick Fuery (‘14)

• Major Losses: Grant Raffel (‘13)

Boys’ Tennis:

A team, which four years ago found themselves rebuilding, is ready for a breakout year.

    “After four years we have reached our pinnacle,” Coach Andy Harader said. “[It’s] going to be a good year for us.”

    With returning underclassmen players Shiv Matta (‘16),  Ronak Baldua (‘16) as well a heavy load of seniors, the team is looking to have a successful season.

    “Our primary objective is to get seeded in CCS. We should make it through to even three rounds in CCS,” Harader said.

    The team consists of seven seniors. Two underclassmen are in the team’s top four positions. The team went 13-11 last year. The team is returning seven seniors from last years. “[The team] is very experienced” Harader said.

• Coach: Andy Harader

• 2012-13 record: 13-11

• Who to look out for: Blake Smith (‘14) Austin Leung (‘14) Shiv Matta(‘16) Ronak Baldua (‘16)

• Major Losses: Mikael Lassooy (‘13) Mason Haverstock (‘13)

Badminton:

The Paly badminton team, the last Paly team to play in the George S. Stewart “Big Gym”, is hoping to perform well again this season after finishing last year with a record of 10-1-1.

“I hope we can stay in the upper league [and beat] our rival Gunn High School and possibly Cupertino High School,” Promis Lee (‘15) wrote.

Although the team said goodbye to Gavin Chan (‘13), a nationally ranked player, and Oliver Wang (‘13) the number one Paly varsity player, the team still consists of talented players. Eric Chiang (‘16) and James Wang (‘16) are both nationally ranked and will play for the team this Spring.

• Coach: Wesley Hsieh

• 2012-13 record: 10-1-1

• Who to look out for: Eric Chiang (‘16) James Wang (‘16) Promise Lee (‘15) Alex Touloukian (‘14)

• Major Losses: Gavin Chan (‘13)  Oliver Wang (‘13) Brian Chen (‘13) Jeffrey Ling (‘13) Chia-ching Song (‘13) Jackie Woo (‘13) Clara Lee (‘13)