Week in Sports

February 10, 2017

Marco Pliso ’18 jumps for a basket during an away game at Carpintera High School against Grace Brethren. ©Daniele Huerta for Cate School

As we close out the 2017 winter season, we would like to take a moment to thank our amazing coaching staff. We are fortunate to have many wonderful people that invest their time in our student-athletes, helping them to become better athletes and people. We would also like to acknowledge the seniors who have played their final games in a Cate uniform. We are grateful for their dedication and leadership demonstrates in their careers

This week saw Andy McHarg ‘18 and Ella’s Hendriks ‘19 named athletes of the week by the Coastal View News. Andy had a standout game for the boys basketball team against Villanova, while Ella led the offense in the girls water polo victory over Santa Paula.

On Wednesday, a huge crowd gathered at the Emmett Horowitz Aquatic Center as the girls water polo team played their final regular season home game. In a contest with Villanova that would decide the league championship, the girls did not disappoint the raucous crowd. The game also marked the final home game for Assistant Coach Charlie Plummer who will be retiring at the end of the year. Charlie founded the boys water polo program at Cate in 1986 and was instrumental in helping former faculty member Erin Habelt get the girls team off the ground a decade later. The girls rose to the occasion and gave the Wildcats all they could handle in a wild match. Lila Dressler ‘17 opened the scoring for the Rams in what would become a back-and-forth match. Unfortunately, the Wildcats would take their first lead of the match with a minute left in the game. Their goalie came up with two saves in the final ten seconds to preserve the win for our rivals. The girls did earn a consolation prize in qualifying for the playoffs which begin next week. The team had outstanding play from Aparna Iyer ‘17 and goalie Jazmin Estevez-Rosas ‘18. It was an amazing atmosphere, and despite the loss we could not have been prouder of the girls and their effort.

Boys basketball will also be participating in the postseason this winter. Boys basketball has moved up to #7 in the latest CIF poll. With their latest win over Grace Brethren the team clinched a spot in the playoffs. It is the first trip to the postseason since 2013 for the Rams and the team could not be more excited. CIF brackets will be announced on Sunday with game details posted to our website on Monday afternoon.

The squash team will compete next in the Southern California High School Team Championships. The squad will travel to Orange County to play at the Renaissance Club in Aliso Viejo. Cate will enter both A and B teams into the tournament draws. The B team is coming off of an upset victory over the Santa Barbara School of Squash. The Rams notched a 4-1 win behind the efforts of Kate Bradley ‘19, Kenneth Liou ‘20, Stefan Suh ‘19, Carter Melnick ‘18, and Carlos Rosario ‘20. The team is excited to travel and compete one more time as a group.

Thanks again to all of the parents and fans who helped to make this season special. We look forward to seeing you during the playoffs over the next few weeks. It is hard to believe spring sport tryouts begin next week! Go Rams!