The Week in Sports

May 17, 2018

The girls lacrosse team capped an incredible season with a tough loss to one of the best teams in Southern California last week. The Rams finished the year 16-1 and, despite a 15-9 loss to top-ranked Redondo Union in the greater LA area semi-finals, have so much to be proud of. The team went undefeated in league for the second straight year. The team will say goodbye to a handful of talented seniors. Brie Walker ’18, Julia Farner ’18, Hailey Panzer ’18, and Margaux Vitols ’18 all were major factors in Cate’s success thanks to their hustle and leadership. Walker ’18 left her mark all over the field for the Rams and will leave the program as one of the top scorers in school history.

On the volleyball court, the Rams advanced to the CIF-ss playoffs thanks to a convincing three-set victory over visiting Santa Ynez in the wildcard round. The victory saw Cullen Barber ’19, Theo Mack ’20, and Carson Williams ’19 come through with clutch serves and big-time spikes. Albert Barber ’21 and Sebastian Richardson ’19 were key for Cate, both passing well and setting teammates up for nice clean looks at the net. Mack ’20 finished with 14 digs, while Barber ’19 ended that game with 10 kills. Unfortunately for the Rams, their season came to an end in San Luis Obispo in a three-set loss to a very talented Tigers team. With just one senior on this season’s roster, Cate will have plenty of talent coming back next season. Ian MacFarlane ’18 provided a great presence for Cate and his leadership will be missed next year.

The boys varsity tennis team used a strong end of the season to push themselves into the CIF-ss playoffs. The Rams closed out their year with a big league win over rival Thacher and a non-league win over crosstown foe Carpinteria. The victory over the Toads meant Cate had locked up a playoff berth in the CIF-ss division two playoffs. Cate’s season ended in the first round of the tournament when the team fell to eventual semi-finalist Arroyo Grande on the road. Joseph Thomassen ’18, Carter Melnick ’18, and Cole Dexter ’18 will leave the program having help take the team through several league championships and playoff runs. While the team’s run might be over, not all of the Rams and ready to hang up their rackets for the year. Ethan Ha ’20 will compete in the CIF-ss individual tournament as the Tri-Valley League’s #1 singles representative. That tournament will kick off on Thursday, May 24.

The swim team held the preliminary and final round at the Horowitz Aquatic Center on Cate’s campus this season, giving the Ram swimmers a sense of familiarity when they jumped in and competed. That “home pool advantage” proved to be beneficial, many of the Cate swimmers had personal bests in the race. A handful of Rams even posted times fast enough to qualify them for the CIF-ss preliminary races in Riverside. The Cate season came to an end in that race, with Marcos Brasil ’20 narrowly missing out on a position to race in the finals.

The majority of the track team has hung up their spikes for the year, but a handful of Rams did qualify for the CIF-ss Finals. Isabela Montes de Oca ’18 had an impressive showing at the CIF preliminary finals and qualified for the finals but due to school commitments will not race. The girls 4×100 relay team of Elle Smith ’19, Rivers Sheehan ’19, Sarah Polowczak ’19, and Rovenna Armi ’19 also posted a qualifying time but won’t run in the finals. The one Ram that will be competing is Sheehan ’19, who will participate in both the long jump and the high jump. Despite losing some talented seniors, the program will have plenty of talented runners, jumpers, and throwers coming back to the team next spring.

After dropping a tough game at rival Thacher to open the final game of the regular season, the Cate baseball team entered the season finale with their back against the wall. The Rams needed a win against their foes from Ojai in order to keep their faint playoff hopes alive. With the pressure on, the team delivered in a big way. Jack Deardorff ’19 tossed a gem on the mound and also had two doubles to lead the Rams to a big 7-3 win. Patrick Armstrong ’18 also had two hits for the Rams, while Emily Burns ’18 singled and played great defense. The victory meant Cate wrapped up the season 8-7 and all alone in 4th place in league. Their playoff fate was in the hands of the CIF-ss and on Monday, May 14, the Rams got the news they were hoping for. Cate earned a spot in the CIF-ss Division 7 playoffs and will take on Vasquez High School on Friday, May 18.