The fall season has been going well for Lick’s athletic teams. Captains commented on their team’s progress thus far:
Boys’ Cross Country
The boys’ cross-country team at Lick is co-captained by Alex Martinez ’18, Anthony Tsang ’18, Jason Woodruff ’18, and Sean Laidlaw ’18*. On a difficult start to the year, Martinez explained: “We were set back by injuries and sickness at the beginning of the season, but it’s starting to look good again. Erik Stein, one of our best runners, is coming back strong and the situation is looking better than it was two weeks ago.”
Anticipating a long season ahead, Tsang observed: “University [High School’s] cross-country team is looking very good– it’s looking as though they might beat us, partly beause we have a very young team. We have a big freshman class – and we’re really happy that a lot of new people are interested in cross country – but a big class of freshmen makes our job harder. We have to teach them all the drills and instill the right mentality. The competition will definitely be really difficult this year.”
photo courtesy of lwhs.org
photo by Holly Johnson
photo courtesy of lwhs.org
Girls’ Cross Country
The girls’ cross-country team is co-captained by Maggie Drew ’18, Mia Talkovsky ’18, and Jennifer Yeo ’18. On their start to the season, Drew remarked: “It’s going really well. We have a few promising new runners, and many of our best runners are returning. I think we are going to be really strong going to the season. University is also going to be really strong this year and they’re definitely going to be our biggest competition. Beyond that, our Junior Varsity team is also looking really strong. We’re hoping to win a place on the podium at the state meet later this year.”
Girls’ Field Hockey
The girls’ field hockey team is co-captained by Emily Friedman ’19 and Zelda Perkins ’19. Friedman said: “The season is going pretty well, though we haven’t won a game or scored yet. But the bond between the team is very strong – we are all there for each other, which makes practices and games fun. The coaches are really chill and lots of fun, and we’ve learned so much.”
Girls’ Tennis
The girls’ tennis team is co-captained by Lauren Carothers-Liske ’18, Sophia DiSabato ’19, and Frances Jacobson ’18. After a rollicking start to the season, Carothers-Liske remarked: “Things are going amazingly well– we’re undefeated in the league right now, and actually have been for the last three years. The new coaching staff is fantastic, and it’s nice to have women coaching us and turning us into better tennis players.”
Girls’ Varsity Volleyball
The varsity volleyball team is captained by Jessica Cusi ’18. After a promising first few weeks, Cusi said: “We have started off strong, especially after coming in with a pretty young team. Starting earlier than usual – in August – helped us bond and gain chemistry and everything’s going really well. It was really helpful that everyone came in motivated to play – coming in from a lower level can be really intimidating but the underclassmen came in with an open mindset and have worked really hard to improve.
Girls’ Junior Varsity Volleyball
The junior varsity volleyball team is co-captained by Andrea Baldizon ’19 and Amaya Guillen ’20. Baldizon spoke about her team’s cohesion: “At the beginning of the season, we lacked confidence and communication on the court. As the season has progressed, we’ve gotten better at communicating with each other and having each other’s back, and now we really trust each other, on and off the court.”
Boys’ Water Polo
The boys’ water polo team is co-captained by Nick Dolce ’18 and Will Layton ’18. The water polo program at Lick was established only two years ago, and Andrew Chan ’18 remarked that: “The season is going pretty well, and we’ve improved a lot this year. So far, we have won three games and lost four, and our standings have really improved from last year. We’ve beaten teams that we lost to last year and the turnout has improved significantly. It’s really impressive considering that this all only started in sophomore year.”
Girls’ Water Polo
The girls’ water polo team is co-captained by Olympia Francis-Taylor ’18 and Evan Fuller ’18. Francis-Taylor spoke about the team’s success and chemistry early in the season, observing: “given that this program is only three years old, I’m super proud of how we’ve grown as a team and a program in these past few years. We’re learning and improving together every day, even as we play very established and experienced teams. We are super close as a team and we all love each other –
I’m very excited to watch the team grow in the future!”
*The printed article was missing a 4th Boys Cross Country Captain, Senior Sean Laidlaw.
