sports
softballStarting the season undefeated, the varsity softball team continues to work hard to return to the playoffs. After being ranked first place in the city, their chances look promising to advance further in the playoffs.
The girls’ first tournament was a success, winning 7 of 8 games. “Our goal is to win every game,” head coach Rick Perez said. “We shall see what happens at the end of our season. We have a lot of really good players coming up next year. If they work hard and do the necessary work outs required, they will be able to replace the graduating seniors next year.’’ One developing player, starting off this year as a freshman on varsity, Kaela Steuart describes her journey.“Since I began playing softball, i've always played with and against older girls. This has helped me adjust to each level as I moved up,” Stuart said, “As a freshman, I sometimes feel pressured and nervous starting for varsity. I need to work on staying calm and just letting the game flow” Stuart’s feelings are strong when it comes to the team and coaches reliance on her. “Im proud and I've worked hard to get this position and im glad coach Perez has confidence in me,” Stuart said. So far, all of the girls’ games have been a success. They started out the season with a dominating, 17-2 win against Socorro, and have continued to follow up. With wins over Chapin and Eastlake, the Lady Cougars prepare for Coronado. |
Baseball |
soccer
Girls |
boysBy Irais Urias & AileneWith their season coming to a close, the boys’ varsity soccer team is pursuing their first playoff appearance in six years.
“This year as a team we have better chemistry because everyone on the team trusts one another,” senior defender Robert Gutierrez said. “If our mentality stays high I can tell that we will go to playoffs and even further because the talent is without doubt there.” Gutierrez says the Coronado game was rough because of the close win. “The game against coronado was intense because we had the same record so who ever won would go on top of the other, and simply it’s Coronado; its a big rivalry game” Gutierrez said “It is no longer who is the better team but who plays harder and wants it more.” After six consecutive years of losing to Bel Air, the soccer team finally had a 3-2 victory against the Highlanders. Despite trailing 2-0 for the most part of the game, the Cougars bounced back and scored three unanswered goals that captured the win. “It’s hard to come back from a big win and we had just beat Coronado, usually teams don’t win because it’s a lot of physical work,” head coach Gilberto Montes said. With a 2-1 win in penalty kicks over Americas, the Cougars keep district championship hopes alive. After two back to back saves from junior goalie Miguel Reyes, the Cougars kept their winning streak alive. “It brings my confidence up a lot with this win,” Reyes said. “As a team it leads us to bigger and greater things.” These wins placed the team tied for first place in district. “Right now we’re in first place, but the district is very competitive, the last place can beat the first place. We have some of the best soccer players in the state but just being able to stay in first place is very hard” Montes said. The team is hoping to go to playoffs and Gutierrez believes it is possible because of their dedication. “We all show up to practice you can see the seriousness in the guys and we are actually dedicated to do well this season,” Gutierrez said. |
tennisBy Cyrene Cardenas & Jackie Perez
After finishing a doubles tournament where the varsity tennis team came in second to Cathedral by only 5 points, the team is ready to continue their victories into the next single matches. On Feb. 21-22, the Cougars competed in the Midland tournament, where they played a total of 5 matches. On the boy’s side, Thayer Brown, served as a leader to the young team after becoming a consolation finalist. “We came back from Midland and I won the consolation draw,”Brown said. “It was a tough first round. I lost 10-8 in the third set, but overall it was a pretty good tournament.” Head coach, George Cortez, is satisfied with how the spring season has gone so far and is content with how his team performed in the Midland tournament. “We’ve had a really good start off to the spring season,” Cortez said. “On that level tournament that was a pretty good showing. I’m real happy with how we’ve done so far.” Freshman Elena Liam transitioned from being ranked number six to the top of the team. “I’m nervous about being number one because when I was six in the beginning of the year I was not as worried,” Liam said. “I wasn’t judged as much since I was at a lower level so now it’s kind of pressuring.” With district matches approaching, Liam holds high expectations for herself and wants to continue progressing. “I need improvement in consistency getting the ball back,” Liam said. “I have to practice a lot more I get nervous so I need to try to calm myself down because I think I’m a little bit too worked up about this stuff.” Brown continues to prepare for the following matches and hopes to make it into regionals in April. “Practices have been going good,” Brown said. “I hope to make regional’s in either doubles or singles this year. That’s my goal.” As the team looks forward to the rest of the season, coach Cortez expects his team to continue to grow in order to keep doing well and eventually beating their greatest opponent, Coronado. “We have a very young team and so in a couple years that’s when I raise the bar in the expectations that’s when we start to chip away some of that armor that Coronado has.” Cortez said. “My expectations are for my team to be getting experienced and to grow a little bit every year, you’re looking for growth during the year and that’s all.” |
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