Spring Sports preview

Swim
Varsity boys’ swim coach Brian Helmrich has had great success in prior years with the swim team and he hopes to make the team even better this spring season.

“[We’ve had] a lot CIF qualifications very early in the season already. I’m very excited about that,” Helmrich said.

Varsity boys’ swim have won eight Bay League championships in a row, with varsity girls’ swim having won five.

“I think we’ll do really well,” varsity girls’ swim coach Ali Isham said. “Our goal is to win Bay League again and, hopefully, we can qualify more girls for CIF.”
Girls’ Lacrosse

Varsity girls’ lacrosse looks to win their first Bay League title this year.

“I’m really excited because I have a great group of girls who are really excited about playing hard and learning more, and of course they want to win Bay League,” varsity girls’ lacrosse coach Paula Borstel said.

“My goals for this season are that the players reach their full potential and try for their personal best.”

The girls’ captains intend to help prepare their team for their best season to date.

“There are a few more things we need to work on, but hopefully we will be making history in Peninsula lacrosse,” senior and captain Shannon Nakamura said.

Softball

Varsity softball coach Tim Hall is excited for this season because there are many new additions to the roster. Hall is looking forward to seeing how the new roster can fit together well to translate to improvement.

“I’m excited to see where this team can go by the end of the year,” Hall said. “My goals for this season are for the team to grow and improve, to come together, to learn how to play and to trust and support each other, and then with that we’ll see where we are in the standings in the end.”

Boys’ Lacrosse

This season, varsity boys’ lacrosse strives to continue its success in recent years.

“The program has come a long way in the last four years. We were co-Bay League Champs with Palos Verdes [High School] last year, so we continue to get better every year and it’s exciting,” head coach Lane Jaffe said. “We’ve built our foundation based on accountability and effort. And that’s what we continue it on. When we buy in and we’re committed we’ve been pretty successful, so we look to continue what we’ve built.”

Boys’ Tennis

Varsity boys’ tennis plans to build upon the success they have had to begin their spring season. Peninsula tennis started off the season on a high note with a win on Feb. 27, defeating Torrey Pines, which had been undefeated for 3 years.

“Our team has grown even stronger. We aim for the top. I’m really excited to see what the future holds,” varsity captain Tyler Yin said. “We have a bunch of potential and we can push ourselves and go really far this year.”

Boys’ Golf

“In terms of the talent level, I think this is going to be one of the best years we’ve had in the last five years,” varsity boys’ golf coach Glenn Van Enk said about his team. Van Enk is happy with how the team looks this year and with the attitude of the players. He hopes the team can win Bay League this year.

“I believe there’s a very good chance we can do it,” Van Enk said.

Boys’ Volleyball

Boys’ varsity volleyball coach Kevin Williams is excited for the challenge of the upcoming season.

“Our league is really tough, but I think we have the ability and capability to compete with the other teams in the league,” Williams said. “[We want to] make sure we’re having fun while trying to improve.”

Williams believes his team can win a majority of its games and reach the playoffs.

Baseball

Varsity baseball coach John Hangartner says he is very excited for this season.

“We’ve spent a lot more time on defense and pitching and less time on hitting this year. I think that’s where we really lacked last year,” Hangartner said. “We have the means to do it. We’re heavy junior-wise, but our senior pitching is going to help us. Once they get grooving, hopefully, we will do well.”

Track

Track and Field sprint coach Bradley Wilkins is filling in for Coach Dale Thompson for the 2016 season.

“I see a lot of potential. The [freshman/sophomore] team looks really good. We got a lot of strong runners, women and men,” Wilkins said. “And the varsity team looks really solid.”

Coach Wilkins is excited about what he has seen from the athletes so far and is eager to get the upcoming season started.