Menlo-Atherton High School BearNotes 

 

 GIRLS GOLF - The girls golf team defeated Hillsdale (by forfeit) last week. The players with the five lowest scores were Abigail Pederson (43), Margaret Sten (46), Christiana Park (48), Cassidy Barman (52), Taylor Waddell (61). The girls won again on Thursday against San Mateo (207-239). Scoring for M-A were Naomi Lee (38), Ashley Utz (40), Pederson (40), Ana Park (42), and Greta Sten (47).

 

 GIRLS FRESHMAN VOLLEYBALL - On Saturday, the freshman team played their first tournament at San Mateo losing only one match and winning first place in the Silver division. One of their toughest matches was against Aragon - the same team that had defeated them five days earlier. The match came down to the final point of the third game, but this time the Bears came out on top! To win the division the Bears faced Terra Nova's JV team. M-A won the first game handily, lost the second and won the third despite a very enthusiastic Terra Nova crowd. Carly McClanahan and Mackenzie Hazard contributed to the wins with aces and kills while Camille Rowe and Greer Hoyem led overall in kills. Nicole Kang and Emily Young shored up the victory by leading in aces.

 

The match with St. Francis had everyone on the edge of their seats as the lead changed hands several times. Even though St. Francis won in two, the scores from those games tell the whole story: 24-26, 27-29. Aces came from Kang (3) and Shea Kearns (3), with two aces each from Gabby Rubio, Lila Roginski and Rachel Frost. Hoyem and Frost led with three kills each, followed by Young (2) and Rowe (2). Nine digs from Roginski and 3 from Hannah Roitman kept the Bears alive. Cameron Lindsey and Rowe led in serve-receive.
 

The Bears were put to the test by a very seasoned St. Francis team made up of club players, many of whom had been to Nationals with their teams. Against this squad, the Bears fought well and refused to be shut out. Kills came from Hoyem (3), Kaile Prosser (2), Rowe (1) and Roginski (1). Young served up 2 aces; Rowe and Roginski led in serve receive and had 3 digs each. 

 

GIRLS JV VOLLEYBALL - The Bears went 1-1 in a tough week of pre-season matches. On Tuesday, the Bears beat St. Francis 2-1 (25-23, 20-25, 15-12) in a close back and forth match. Kelsey Tonsfeldt and Tatum Maines led the offense, each posting 3 of the team's 11 kills. The offense was backed up by a strong defense led by Fiona Lokey with 7 of the team's 18 digs. The Bears' strong serving forced the Lancers into 28 errors. Shauna Sabet posted 2 of 5 team aces. On Thursday, the Bears continued to serve well, but lost 0-2 to a tough St. Ignatius team (19-25, 14-25). The offense was led by Cameron Montalvo with 4 of 16 team kills, and Lokey led the defense with another 7 digs of the team's 27 digs. Sara Gerber posted 2 of the teams 3 aces.

 

 GIRLS VARSITY VOLLEYBALL - Congratulations to the Bears as they extend their pre-season winning streak to 5-0 with impressive victories over both Saint Francis (25-20, 25-21, 19-25, 17-25, 15-11) and Saint Ignatius (25-16, 25-23, 25-21). In Tuesday's bout with Saint Francis, the Lancers put up a good fight, coming back from a 2-set deficit to push the match to 5 sets, but it wasn't enough, as the Bears rallied and pulled through. Leanna Collins, after slamming 9 kills in the previous sets, came through with 5 more merciless kills to clinch the final set. Kirby Knapp had 32 assists, Devin Joos matched Collins with 14 kills, and Ally Ostrow put down 7.  Defensive play was critical against the Lancers' power hitters, and Kaitlin Tavarez led with 17 digs, followed by Ostrow and Joos with 16 each, and help from Jacqueline DiSanto (7), Eliza Grover (5), Kiana Sales (2) and Katie Wilcox (1). The team served 12 aces throughout the match, led by Grover (4) and Ostrow (3).

 

Thursday's match against Saint Ignatius was also hard-fought, but the Bears won in three straight sets, with a series of devastating kills delivered by Joos (19), Collins (14), and Ostrow (11), with credit to Knapp for 45 on-target assists. Joos also dominated on digs, popping up a total of 16 while Tavarez (8), DiSanto (5), and Ostrow (5) backed her up. Grover served 5 of the team's 8 aces to round things out.
 

 GIRLS VARSITY TENNIS - This week the Bears moved to 3-0 in league play with wins over Aragon, 6-1, and San Mateo, 7-0. M-A has historically had tough matches at Aragon, but quick wins by Sami Andrew, Julia Marks, and Laila Volpe at #1,#2, and #3 singles, respectively, gave the Bears a commanding 3-0 lead. Taylor Noble and Julia Chang clinched the match at #1 doubles. Also winning at doubles were the teams of Sally Carlson/Amanda Scandalios and Amelia Tiemann/Beata Brenner. In the sweep of San Mateo, Laney Van Linge, Andrew, Marks, and Volpe won their singles matches, while Noble/Chang, Carlson/Scandalios, and Tiemann/Caroline Kelly won at doubles. On Tuesday, September 23 at 4 p.m., M-A travels to Sequoia, and then hosts Burlingame on Thursday, September 25 at 4 p.m.

  

JV FOOTBALL - The Bears notched their first victory of the season beating Archbishop Riordan 26 to 6 . The day was ruled by the defense which only allowed 6 points in a late, inconsequential score by the Crusaders. Leading tacklers were Anders Chiang, John-Paul Gray, Jordan Mims, Dimitri Sakalia, and Raynor Zarco. Devon Dundas, Gray, and Mims caused fumbles recovered by Kennedy Ojeda, Zarco, and Tate Tussing. Two of these fumble recoveries occurred in the first quarter leading to quick touchdowns and early momentum. Offensively the day was ruled by Mims who tallied 4 touchdowns on 238 total yards from scrimmage, scoring on an 80 yard screen pass from Aaron Johnson, on a 20 yard run, 4 yard run, and an 80 yard punt return. Josh Lepulu had a solid day on the ground with 28 yards rushing a long run of 16 yards. Jesse Donnellan converted two PATs. This week the Bears play at Monterey on Friday, September 28 at 5 p.m.

 

 VARSITY FOOTBALL - M-A brought home a thrilling victory over Archbishop Riordan with a final score of 21-20. The Bears got on the board early with a screen pass from Robby Beardsley to Stavro Papadakis for a 49 yard touchdown and continued with a 25 yard touchdown pass to Chase DelRosso to end the first quarter with a 14-0 lead. Riordan scored 20 unanswered points in the second and third quarters but failed to convert a 2-point attempt. The failed extra point proved to be the deciding factor as M-A scored late in the third quarter on a Beardsley quarterback sneak that was set up by a 66 yard screen pass to DelRosso to take a 21-20 lead. Riordan had two opportunities to score on field goals late in the fourth quarter but failed to convert either attempt. Overall, Beardsley was 14 of 22 attempts for 293 yards and 2 touchdowns. DelRosso was leading receiver with 182 yards on 6 receptions. Papadakis led the rushing attack with 45 yards. Cole Shafer stepped in for extra point kicking duty and made all 3 attempts.  The defense played well giving up only 2 touchdowns and was led by Bryce Rodgers, Casey Gernaat, Papadakis and Jack Gray (each participating in 10 or more tackles). Sivi Fillia had a bone jarring tackle that forced a Riordan fumble and Gray had an interception. The Bears will play at Monterey on Friday, September 28 at 7:30 p.m.

 

GIRLS VARSITY WATER POLO - The Bears built on a 2-goal half-time lead to pull away from Hillsdale for a 9-3 victory in PAL league action on Tuesday. Francesca Gilles was formidable in goal with 10 saves, while Nadia Paquin (4 steals) and Kiera Shepard (2 steals) thwarted the Hillsdale offense. Annabelle Paris fired in 3 goals along with 2 assists, Paquin added 2 goals and 1 assist, and Renee Butler, Kyra Sheeper, Sofia Bergmann, and Fiona Jackson each scored a goal. Kiki Canny chipped in 2 assists.

 

 BOYS FRESHMAN WATER POLO - The Bears freshmen lost a hard fought game on Saturday to Homestead's frosh-soph team, 11-7. The game was tied at half, 5-5, before Homestead pulled away. The offense was sparked by Andy Maxwell's 5 goals and 1 assist. Chris Lobdell contributed 1 goal and 3 assists and Mason Friedberg fired in the Bear's final goal on a power play. On defense, Lobdell had 8 steals and Maxwell had 3.

 

BOYS JV WATER POLO - The Bears raced to an early lead and never let up, beating Mills 11-4 on Tuesday. Alec Berquist was dominant at both ends of the pool, with 6 goals, 2 assists, and 5 steals. Henry Marks added 4 goals and 1 assist, Davos Paquin had 3 assists and 2 steals, Hugo McMillan contributed 4 steals, 1 goal and 1 assist, and Reed Williams chipped in 2 assists. Cameron Ruff (5 saves) and Jordan Payne (3 saves) split time in the goal.

 

BOYS VARSITY WATER POLO - The varsity boys handily defeated Mills this week in their first league game 25-8. On offense, Mostyn Fero had 5 goals, Alex Hakanson had 4, Jack Beasley and Matt Baszucki had 3 each, Jorge Pont, Nik Caryotakis, James Calhoon and Jace Blazensky had 2 each, while Christian Huhn and Spencer Gran had 1 each. Bears with assists included Pont (5), Hakanson (3), Caryotakis (2) and Huhn (2). Jackson Goudey had 9 saves, 2 assists and 2 steals in goal.

 

On Friday and Saturday, the boys participated in the Roche Invitational Tournament and finished in the middle of the pack. Tournament high scorers were Huhn and Baszucki with 9 goals each. Gran and Hakanson had 4 goals each, Fero had 3 goals, Pont, Blazensky, and Caryotakis had 2 goals each, while Beasley and Teddy Paris contributed 1 each. Pont had 9 assists, followed by Blazensky with 5, and Beasley with 3. In the goal, Goudey had 6 saves and 1 assist while Noah Smith had 10 saves and 1 steal. Field players with steals were Pont (8), Beasley (7), Caryotakis (6), and Baszucki (5). This week the Bears host Half Moon Bay on Wednesday, September 24 at 4 p.m.
 

 

 BRIGHTEN THE FUTURE FOR LOCAL CHILDREN - Help children learn to read by volunteering in a local school library. A student living in poverty who cannot read at grade level by third grade is 13 times less likely to graduate high school on time. However, if children are proficient in reading, their graduation rate soars to 90%. School library volunteers are needed in East Palo Alto and eastern Menlo Park to read with children, help them find and check out books they love, and provide encouragement. To learn more and/or sign-up, please visit the Ravenswood Education Foundation Readers Take Flight website or email amy.arnold@yahoo.com.

 

SIXTH ANNUAL RIDE & YOGA FOR RAVENSWOOD FAMILY HEALTH CENTER - Please join us on Sunday, October 5, to help raise funds for people that are unable to afford health insurance and health care. Choose from a 50-mile ride along the coast, a beautiful 30 mile ride through Portola Valley, or come enjoy a 90-minute outdoor yoga session in the garden. If you cannot attend, please feel free to make a donation! Gourmet coffee, breakfast, and light lunch included. Bike jerseys available with registration! Help keep our community strong and healthy! The first ride goes out at 8 a.m. Register now at 4ravenswood.org! Location: Brody Home, 210 Park Lane, Atherton. Please contact Julie Brody, julie@brodyfamily.net or 650-796-8590 with any questions.

 

SENIORS AND PARENTS NEEDED FOR STUDY ON APPLYLNG TO COLLEGE - Johanna Massé is a doctoral candidate at the University of Michigan working on her dissertation, which is an exploration of how high school students and their families prepare for college. She is recruiting high school students who are currently applying to college to participate in her study. Participation involves three personal interviews, each 1 ½ to 2 hours long, spaced out over the school year. Students will be compensated $20 for each interview. At least one parent or guardian must also agree to be interviewed three times during the school year. For more information about this study, please contact Johanna Massé at johamass@umich.edu or 310-488-4670.

 

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.                                                                                          ~Albert Camus