Freshman Volleyball
The Marymount Freshman Volleyball Team completed an outstanding season undefeated!  The Freshman team was led by captains: Victoria Shepherd and Carly Wagenbach.  Victoria proved to be an outstanding libero and server throughout the season and Carly was an exceptional setter, server, and hitter.

The freshman team was filled with talent in every position.  Jamie Marvil was a superior libero and server providing tough defense.  Alexandra Alcala was instrumental in the back row with great passing and tough defense.  Rio Morigi was also an exceptional setter, server, and hitter for the Sailors.  Anne McRoskey was a tough right side hitter, server and setter.  Chyna Perkins and Chandler McGrath were dominant forces in the middle with kills and blocks every match.  Cassandra Zimnoch was a strong outside hitter and server with kills in every game.  Mia was also a strong outside hitter and server with kills in every match.  Frances Watne had great defensive plays along with strong hitting and serving.  America Garza proved to be a strong all around player as outside hitter, server, and passer in the back row.

The real success of the freshman team was the teamwork and hard work demonstrated all season.  

Frosh/Soph Volleyball
It was the inaugural year of the Frosh-Soph team and they did not let Marymount down.  Although the team was faced with a limited schedule of games, they ended the season 7-3 and came within 2 points in the third game of playing our sister team, the Marymount Freshman, for the North Torrance tournament championship.  The captain and setter, Rachel Vetter, made the All-Tournament Team at that tournament.  The Marymount Frosh-Soph team pretty much owned the west-side of LA, defeating Santa Monica High and St. Monica High in the North tournament.  The athletes were warriors, playing all-around in almost every match.  The team had a great advantage in practicing with both the JV and the Freshman teams every day.  All of the girls worked hard and each girl on the team improved tremendously.  Next year the Marymount Volleyball Program anticipates another great showing from the Frosh-Soph team and their ability to showcase their talents with a full schedule.

JV Volleyball
The JV Volleyball Team presented their best efforts all season and was handsomely rewarded with an undefeated season and TWO tournament championships at the Gahr and North Tournaments.  Kathleen Harris and Ashlie Williams made the All-Tournament Team and Nicola Ribisi was named All-Tournament MVP at the North Tournament.  Lead by Head Coach, Laura Holloway, the team learned the importance of teamwork and demonstrated excellent sportsmanship throughout the season.

Varsity Volleyball
The 2009 Varsity Volleyball Season was a season for individual accolades and team achievements.  The season began with a bang wining Prep Nationals, defeating heavyweights Mira Costa and Harvard-Westlake on their home turf and two players receiving individual honors: Jennifer Bonilla was ranked 60th in the USA and selected as a Senior Ace by Prep Volleyball editor, John Tawa and Samantha Hirschmann was named Fall Semester's first ESPN RISE CalHiSports.com Girls State Athlete of the Week.  Furthermore, the team was undefeated in league, thus leading to the 10th consecutive Sunshine League Championship.  The Sailors ventured back into CIF Playoffs, for the 10th year in a row, looking comfortable and ready for what was to come.  After defeating Atascadero in the first round of playoffs and West Ranch in the second round, Marymount faced Huntington Beach in the quarterfinals.  This game proved to be a challenge for the sailors who pushed through five games, but came up short losing 13-15 in the fifth game.  Nevertheless, Marymount Varsity Volleyball had an exciting season and perpetuated the noteworthy athleticism that is Marymount Athletics.


This season Marymount reentered the Mission League after reinstating the Marymount Golf Program three seasons ago. Going 2-6 in 2007, and 8-2 in 2008, 2009 saw the Sailors go 8-4 in the competitive seven-team Mission League. Finishing with a 9-4 overall record and 3rd place overall in League, the team came very close to qualifying for the CIF Playoffs. Individually the season was a smashing success. As the Mission League Champion and Mission League MVP, Michelle Folan advanced to CIF Individual Regoinals, and then on to the CIF Individual Finals and WSCGA Qualifier held on November 12 at Talega Golf Club in San Clemente.  Only one other Mission League player also advanced to the individual finals.  Michelle played a strong round at Talega, with a final score of 82 on a very tough course, competing against some of the best high school girls golfers in Southern California. Samantha Batkin qualified for Mission League finals and finished 10th overall out of 42 girls. Lauren Wallender showed vast improvement and developed into one of the top 4 players. The team had some terrific newcomers: Katrina Stevenson, Isabela Lorenzo, McKenna Bailey, Dasha Suharev, Emma Newbern, Jacqueline Zachariadis, and returning Sophomore Devon Fleiss was huge in stepping in at League Finals playing admirably. Last but not least the Senior Captains, Cambria Winding, who was our number 2 player, provided great leadership, along with Maureen Flaherty and Madison Bailey. All three seniors were hit by the flu bug as were others on the team but it did not deter us or give us an excuse in any of our wins or losses. Additionally, there was a great deal of sportsmanship demonstrated by our team and our opponents. Overall it was a great season with 13 players, 10 of which can return and provide us with a great deal of depth and experience for many seasons to come!


JV Tennis
The Marymount JV Tennis Team had another outstanding season loaded with freshman talent that began with eight consecutive wins.  Coach Charles regarded this group of tennis athletes as a very talented bunch and predicted they would go undefeated.  Nika Soon-Shiong played number one singles, Brooke Gowey at number two and Danielle Levine at number three each had outstanding seasons.  Shayne Nichols also played well at the number three singles spot.  At the number one doubles position, Sasha Mokhtari and Chole Zarco had a great freshman season going 10-0 before losing for the first time during our fifth match against Brentwood.  At the number two doubles position, Lucy Galloway and Hannah Gulla played extremely well with eight wins and two losses throughout the first four contests.  The number three doubles team, Melissa Hilaire and Crystal Tjoa had a fine freshman season.  Alternating at four doubles were Margaretta Iselin, Selene Smith, Elisabeth Doherty and Victoria Lim along with Alexandra Hall.  Following retreat week, many team members fell ill to the flu, which resulted in two more losses for the team.  Even with important players missing in key positions, the JV team was only defeated by Marlborough.  With youth on the side of the Marymount JV Tennis Team, next year should be a very exciting season.

Varsity Tennis
The Lady Sailors have accomplished a great deal this 2009 Fall Season. Daniela Festa, Meghan Page, Morgan Halsey, Misha Rafalowski, Vicky Kasar, Nicole Rodarte, Ellie Volpicelli, Nell Zaloom, Reilly McCoy, Azalea Motamed, Alexandria Smith, Kelli Snyder, Alexandra Spring-Anderson, Morgan Woods, Sophie Zaloom, and Alex Otto are the 2009 Sunshine League Champions again for the second year in a row.

This all began back in August with one goal in mind: Back-to-back League Champs. A lot of hard work was put in through practice and pre-season play that included a big win over Notre Dame Sherman Oaks, which eventually led to a 6-0 finish in the Sunshine League. Two of those league victories were over their cross-town rival Marlborough extending their record to 4-0 going back to last season.

Then the Lady Sailors followed up with the Sunshine League Singles and Doubles tournament sending four Marymount players to represent the league for second year in a row on November 20th at CIF Section Toyota Girls Tennis Individual Championships. They are Sunshine League Singles Champion Soph. Alex Spring-Anderson (also 2008 singles champion), Sr. Singles Finalist/Runner-up Jr. Alex Smith (also 2008 doubles champion), and Double Finalist/Runner-up Sr. Daniela Festa (also 2008 doubles champion) along with Double Finalist/Runner-up Sr. Meghan Page. The Lady Sailors also competed in the CIF Team Championships, which began on November 12th at home against St. Lucy's, repeating a meeting they had in 2006 in which St. Lucy won 10-8.  In the first round St. Lucy took the lead 4-2. Then midway through the second round the Lady Sailors tied them at 5-all, but by the end of the round St. Lucy went back up 7-5.  The third round was a battle with Marymount pulling within one, but in the end it was St. Lucy's day, winning 11-7.

Congratulations to the Lady Sailors for a great season and to Alex Spring-Anderson, Alex Smith, Daniela Festa and Meghan Page who represented the Sunshine League at the 2009 CIF Southern Section Toyota Individuals.


The Marymount 2009 cross-country season was characterized by consistency and strength. We will be graduating four seniors but also welcomed five enthusiastic and talented freshmen. Senior Dana Olson ’10 finished the season with the team’s fastest times, consistently ran under 21 minutes, and won the meet run against NDA. Freshman Meagan Rafferty ’13 pressured Olson all season and logged some excellent times in her first year running cross-country. Sophomore Jozefa McKiernan ran Varsity for her second year and significantly improved her individual times and proved to be an invaluable part of the team. Senior Cece Osborn brought strength and experience to the team and provided excellent leadership as well as strong times to the Varsity results. Senior Raika Daquel, in her first year running cross-country, infused the team with her determined spirit and unifying attitude. Nicki McCann ’11 and Marie Hiedewohl ’12 rounded out the Varsity squad with consistent, excellent running, always performing with focus and speed. 

Freshmen Jessica Turkmany and Kara Duncan pushed each other each meet to better and better times. Madeline Whitesell and Callie Rehm, also freshmen, likewise showed improvement over the entire season. Sophomore Mara Zimmerman demonstrated an unfaltering drive that provided inspiration for her teammates. The solid junior runners, Luisa de Carteret, Sofia John, Jasmine Omidfar, Kelsey Sherman, Anaisy Tolentino, and Melissa Vartanian, not only ran solidly in practices and meets this season but will also carry their enthusiasm and solidarity into next year’s season as seniors.

The season could not have gone as smoothly as it did without team managers Christine Lubieniecki ’10 and Morgan Alessini ’11. Lubieniecki was also a runner for three years; although an injury sidelined her this season, her constant assistance and support surely motivated her teammates.

The team as a whole ran each invitational and league meet with perseverance and a sportsman-like attitude perfectly representing Marymount athletics. All runners supported each other while pushing themselves, and always treated opponents with respect. The team grew a lot in their technique and confidence this season, and we look forward to improving even more through next year.