The Coat of Arms previews all seven fall sports, looking into team leaders, coaches, and goals for the season.

Written by Justin Kasser and Baily Deeter.

Photo courtesy of Pam Tso McKenney.

As school begins, the Menlo community is extremely excited for another year of fantastic sports! This fall, the Knights have seven different sports teams playing, and the Coat of Arms is excited to preview each one briefly as their seasons start up. During this season, Menlo features football, boys water polo, girls water polo, girls golf, cross country, girls tennis, and volleyball.

Football: Following the end of last season, the Knights lost some very talented seniors. Quarterback Mackenzie Morehead, receiver RJ Babiera, and running back Charlie Roth were a few notable players who departed from the offense. However, head coach Mark Newton was not worried about these losses when getting a glimpse of the rising juniors and sophomores. Hayden Pegley, entering his second year of varsity football, has taken over the quarterback duties. Pegley is a confident leader, with a precise arm and great durability in the pockets. Other players to watch are senior Charlie Ferguson, a two-way threat who ran for 200 all-purpose yards in the Knights’ first win of the season last Saturday, and junior John Henry Tevis, who lead the league in sacks last season at defensive end. Senior receivers Evan King and Jack McNally will be consistent threats for Pegley to target throughout the fall. Looking ahead, Menlo is hoping for a win in the prestigious Valpo Bowl against Sacred Heart, while they prepare for other strong opponents like King’s Academy and Half Moon Bay. “I think we are expecting to build off of last year,” student manager Ben Somorjai said. “Our goal this year [is] to go deep in the playoffs.”

Volleyball: If there is one distinct difference between last season and the upcoming one, it’s the size of the Knights volleyball team. Losing former seniors Maddie Stewart, Payton Mack, and Olivia Pellarin will be tough to overcome, but the team has solid young players to take over those starting roles. Leading the way are senior captains Jessica Houghton and Mia Vandermeer, who have been playing on varsity for four and three years, respectively. However, the team is looking for other players to step up and take on starting roles. Junior Ashley Dreyer is considered to be the main power hitter by her peers, and she will adjust to an starting role in this current season. Looking ahead, the Knights target Notre Dame Belmont as a fierce opponent, as well as Sacred Heart. Nonetheless, the team has expectations to make a second straight trip to CCS.

Girls Tennis: After winning CCS last season, the varsity girls tennis team has high expectations for this fall. Head coach Bill Shine, who has led Menlo’s boys and girls tennis programs for over 15 years, has always preached hard work and sportsmanship. Leading the team this year will be seniors Georgia Anderson and Kaitlin Hao and junior Kathryn Wilson. “They have done a great job of leading our team by example,” senior Avery King said. “They show up to all practices and always work hard.” Keep an eye out for some exciting tennis this fall.
 

Boys Water Polo: Over the summer, the boys water polo team went through an experience that would not only bond them for life, but would prepare them, physically, for the season. The team trained with the Navy Seals; the team worked out on the beach and trained to their peak of exhaustion, but were happy they got to try an intense workout. Heading into the season, the team is working hard to get a better winning percentage during the season compared to last season. They are looking to make CCS again and expect a tough battle against Sacred Heart if they do make the tournament. Senior team captains Scott Little and Tiago Bonchristiano are both excited to help guide the team and motivate them. “Scott and I want a team where everyone feels they can be a captain and can push one another to be their best,” Bonchristiano said. With some exciting upcoming games, including Saint Francis and Bellarmine, Menlo is in for some fantastic boys water polo.

Girls Water Polo: The 2015 season was a success for the girls water polo team, who finished 11-1 in the PAL Ocean division (finishing as co-champions) and 14-7 overall. With a new coach, Alana Burgess, who played collegiately for San Diego State and previously coached at nationally-ranked San Jose State, expectations are high for the team once again. “I think we will succeed because of the chemistry in and outside of the pool. The team [chemistry] doesn’t end when practice ends,” junior Parker Callender said. Callender and fellow juniors Sarah Donato and Gillian Bressie, as well as senior Chloe Ebrahimian, will lead the team this season.

Girls Golf: Another first-year coach, Jim Miller, who has taught golf lessons at Stanford and played professionally, has high hopes for the 2016 season. Led by Sophie Siminoff, the 2015 “San Mateo Daily Journal” Golfer of the Year, who just missed qualifying individually for state last season, the Knights are coming off of a phenomenal season. They won the WBAL tournament to qualify for CCS, where they finished fourth in a 13 team pool in the CCS championships, just four strokes from advancing. While four of the six players from last year’s team graduated, Siminoff and senior Lauren Yang, who consistently shot in the low 40s (very close to the overall par of 36 strokes over nine holes), will return for the Knights. “Given that we have four freshmen who are all very strong, I think we have a chance to win league,” Siminoff said. Even though the girls golf team is under the radar, they are set to have a very successful season.

Cross Country: In contrast with the girls golf and girls water polo programs who have first-year coaches, cross country coach Jorge Chen is going into his fourteenth year with the school. He has ample talent to work with, with a strong core spearheaded by junior Robert Miranda. Miranda finished ninth in the 3.1 mile course at the CIF state meet, finishing the course in a phenomenal 15 minutes and 40 seconds. Current senior Eliza Crowder finished twelfth in the CCS Championships last season, and other standout runners included current seniors Sophia Donovan, Tom Welch and Nikhil Singhal, and sophomores Lauren Ferguson and Joshua Eichbaum.