Prep League

Though the Flintridge Prep boys? volleyball team fell short in its quest to win a CIF championship, a quintet of its players once again proved to be among the best the Prep League has to offer. Flintridge Prep advanced to the quarterfinals of the CIF Southern Section Division V playoffs after taking second in the Prep League. Having Dylan Walker, Reed Bradley, Gavin Thomson, Peter Denton and Edmund Chow on board proved that each could offer something to help the Rebels finish in the upper half of the league standings.

In recent seasons, the Prep League has been considered one of the toughest in the region. That might not be the case this season, which led Flintridge Prep boys? volleyball Coach Sean Beattie to provide an outlook on how the league might shape up the next few weeks after the host Rebels earned a 25-17, 25-18, 25-13 league-opening home win over Pacific Lutheran on Tuesday afternoon. ?Recently, it?s been Chadwick, Chadwick and Chadwick,? Beattie said referring to the multiple-time defending league champion.

Senior night at Flintridge Prep’s gym turned into a lopsided massacre as the Rebels crushed Chadwick, 75-41, to go undefeated in league play and take the Prep league title. “We usually start slow, like this team, where we were 1-3,” said Rebels Head Coach Garret O’Hara. “Now we’re 17-6 and that’s partly scheduling, knowing that we’re peaking for league and CIF. They’ve made progress, they’re playing their best basketball now and that’s what you want to see.” For some, it was a more of a sobering moment.

The Prep League has announced that five Flintridge Prep players were named to the All League Girls Soccer team for the 2008-09 season. Making the first team were sophomore Brooke Elby and freshman Connell Studenmund. Elby, a sophomore from Sierra Madre, led the team in scoring with 10 goals and five assists. Studenmund, a defender from Pasadena, anchored a strong defense that allowed only seven goals in nine league games (the second fewest in the league). Making the second team were forward Alex Baptiste, a senior from Pasadena; midfielder Alina Okamoto, a sophomore from Altadena; and freshman midfielder/defender Kate Lyon, a freshman from Pasadena.

Aside from a couple of defensive misplays that led to two decisive goals, Flintridge Prep girls? soccer Coach Sean Beattie had few complaints following his team?s 3-2 Prep League loss to visiting Chadwick at the Glendale Sports Complex on Friday afternoon. ?I told the girls the reason I was proud was because they never stopped,? Beattie said of his team, which trailed the Dolphins, 3-1, at halftime. ?A two-goal deficit to a team as good as Chadwick is sometimes real tough to come back from, and a lot of teams can sense that and drop their play.

Playing with heavy hearts following the death of former longtime defensive coordinator Tom Fry, the defensive unit of the Flintridge Prep football team put up an admirable fight that Fry would have liked. Unfortunately for the Rebels, they couldn?t match that effort on offense, despite having a scoring chance in the closing moments against their chief Prep League rival. Flintridge Prep finished with 183 yards of total offense in a 14-7 league home loss to Pasadena Poly on Saturday night at La Cañada High.

With two weeks to prepare for one of the top teams in the region, the members of the Flintridge Prep football team came into Friday night?s Prep League opener against Rio Hondo Prep optimistic. Fresh from a bye week, the Rebels came in thinking they stood a chance against the defending league and CIF Southern Section Northeast Division champions. From the opening whistle, Flintridge Prep was swarmed by bigger and more talented athletes, and couldn?t match up, in a 48-0 road loss.

Flintridge Prep girls? water polo Coach Alex Supple couldn?t have asked for a better start. It?s the middle and the end that once again doomed the Rebels. Flintridge Prep allowed five unanswered goals in less than five minutes in the second quarter, as it suffered a 9-3 loss to visiting La Salle on Tuesday afternoon in a Prep League match. The Rebels (4-7, 0-7 in league) jumped out to a 2-0 lead early in the second quarter before the Lancers (9-8, 3-2) made their move on offense to complete a two-match season-series sweep between the programs.

BOYS' VOLLEYBALL La Cañada 3, Maranatha 0: Orion Burl posted team-highs in kills (nine) and assists (10) in La Cañada's sweep at Maranatha Monday, 25-20, 25-17, 25-22. Jonathan Sullivan had an all-around game with seven kills, seven assists, six aces and two blocks for the Spartans, who also got six kills from Jack Anderson. Stephen Gannon had a team-high 10 digs for La Cañada (5-17). Editor's Note: It was incorrectly reported previously that La Cañada was winless in league.

There isn't a much better way Benoy Menon could have ended his high school career with the Pasadena Poly boys' soccer team. The senior was voted Prep League Most Valuable Offensive Player and was also named an All-CIF Southern Section Division VI first-team selection. Both honors came as a surprise to Menon, a midfielder who helped the Panthers (11-7-3) take second in league this season with a 6-2 record. "It was nice to win the award, but I wasn't really expecting it," Menon said.

LA CAÑADA FLINTRIDGE - Winning a draw was just as important as a goal for the Westridge School lacrosse team as its Prep League road game with La Cañada went to the wire. Sara Khan did both in the dwindling minutes for Westridge Tuesday as she scored with a 1:41 left to give the Tigers a two-goal cushion and won a draw, following a La Cañada goal 15 seconds later, that allowed them to drain the clock and hold on for a narrow 9-8 victory. "It was important [to kill clock]

SOFTBALL La Cañada 10, Alta Loma 0: Lauren Cox threw a one-hitter, striking out 11 batters Wednesday in the San Dimas Tournament. The Spartans offense put together an impressive game, too, with 15 hits. Jessica Ogden led the way with a three-for-four day at the plate. Annie Monroe and Michelle Grochow both had a pair of hits for La Cañada (2-0). BOYS' GOLF Flintridge Prep 225, Azusa 264: Jack Bouchard shot a five-over-par 39 to share medalist honors Wednesday in a nonleague match at Azusa Greens Country Club.

Both the La Cañada High and Westridge Schools girls' lacrosse teams will look for success in the Prep League with new coaches at the helm. The Spartans will look to Kyle Smith to lead the team after they finished 2011 with a 10-8, 5-1 in league record. It will be a new-look team after La Cañada graduated eight seniors last year including, Prep League Most Valuable Player Lucy Dodson and its top three goal scorers. “We have a relatively young team because almost all our varsity team last year was seniors,” Smith said.

LA CAÑADA FLINTRIDGE - In listening to Flintridge Prep girls' soccer Coach Esteban Chavez, one wouldn't realize his team just won its third consecutive Prep League title. The coach expects more out of his squad. “I'm trying not to be negative, but going into the playoffs, it was disappointing how we played,” said Chavez following the Rebels' 1-0 victory against Westridge at home on Thursday. The win wrapped up the regular season and an outright league championship, with the CIF playoffs coming next week.

GIRLS' WATER POLO Poly 13, Mayfield 4: Hannah Grotzinger (five steals) and Lindsey Kelleher (five assists) each scored a team-high three goals, while Catherine Finney and Allison Woo notched a pair of goals for the Panthers (19-2, 11-0), who clinched the Prep League title outright on Tuesday afternoon. Mimi Moorish tallied 11 saves for Poly, while her counterpart Ellie Karl finished with seven saves for Mayfield (13-5, 7-4). Christina Coppersmith scored two goals for the Cubs.

BOYS' BASKETBALL Flintridge Prep 66, Rio Hondo Prep 36: The Rebels faced an 11-9 deficit at the end of the first quarter Tuesday, but bounced back with a 17-7 run in the second quarter to go up, 26-18, at halftime. Prep was even more explosive in the third quarter, as it started the third out on a 17-0 run and went into the fourth quarter of the Prep League game up, 54-27. Robert Cartwright led the way for Prep with a game-high 18 points, along with seven steals and six assists.

NORTHEAST GLENDALE — Whether at even strength or down one player, the Flintridge Prep boys' soccer team generated plenty of quality scoring opportunities Thursday afternoon during its Prep League match against Webb. Flintridge Prep Coach Mathew Bowden couldn't find fault in the effort after watching his players get turned aside with excellent saves by Webb goalkeeper Ian Harbison in the Rebels' 2-0 home loss at the Glendale Sports Complex. "We just couldn't get the goal at the right time," said Bowden, whose team fell to 7-5-1, 3-2 in league and split the two-match season series with Webb (7-7, 2-3)

ALL-AREA SINGLES Andrea Kevakian, frosh., Flintridge Prep Compiled a 54-3 record in leading the Rebels to the second round of the CIF Southern Section Division II playoffs, where she was 5-1. Went 30-0 in the Prep League to win the league most valuable player award, and also won two matches to advance to the third round of the CIF Individuals Tournament. Maral Tavitian, junior, Westridge Performed well in the Prep League to earn a spot on the all-league singles first team.