Miramonte’s traditionally strong water polo teams – both boys and girls – have already splashed into action this fall. And of course, so have all the other fall sports.
Lost in the glare of football, other fall sports can find it hard to emerge from the shadows, but there are many Miramonte athletes and teams worth paying attention to. Here’s a brief rundown of what to expect from the other seven teams in action right now.
Girls’ water polo
To say that the Mats’ girls’ water polo team has an illustrious past would be a bit of an understatement. It wasn’t that long ago that John Roemer’s team ran off 78 straight wins – yes, 78 – and even though no starters are returning from an 18-8 team that lost to eventual NorCal champion Sacred Heart Prep in the semifinals, Roemer is confident the beat will go on.
Seniors Roxie Tarantino and Kate Liu will play key roles in Miramonte’s unorthodox, but very fluid, offense, and junior Samantha Lurie will anchor the defense.
As always, the Diablo Athletic League’s top division will be very competitive, with Acalanes, Las Lomas and Campolindo all expected to be very strong. “No one’s going undefeated in league,” said Roemer, but then again, no one thought a team could win 78 straight games either.
Girls’ tennis
You’d expect to find Riki Sorenson coaching basketball, as she was a star at Campolindo and started for Tara VanDerveer at Stanford, but after picking up tennis as an adult, she’s been the Miramonte coach for the past five seasons.
And she’s very excited about this year’s group. “This is the best team we’re going to have for the next several years,” she said. “All of our singles’ players are back, plus two good freshmen,” so she’s hopeful the Mats can outlast Campolindo and Northgate in league play and get past Dublin, American and San Ramon Valley in North Coast.
Seniors Caitlin Chan, Maddie Silviera, Jessica Hui and Amelia Mordy are expected to occupy the singles’ lines, but Sorenson must replace all three doubles’ teams – which is where the incoming frosh might fit.
Boys’ water polo
If the pool deck looks crowded when the Miramonte boys hit the water, don’t be surprised. “We have a coaching staff of seven,” says Lincoln Hayes, who will be the co-head coach along with Olympian Drew Holland.
Seniors Tristan Tucker (who will play for UCLA next year), Brock Bliss (Navy) and Jackson Cherry will lead the way for a team that “is very good in transition and has a lot of speed,” said Hayes. But like most coaches, Hayes added, “We pride ourselves on our defense.”
Competition this year will come, not surprisingly, from Campolindo in league play, and De La Salle in the NCS.
Girls’ golf
Doug Sens has pretty much done it all when it comes to coaching at Miramonte, as his resume includes such disparate sports as basketball, diving and tennis – but for the last five years, he’s been in charge of the girls’ golf team.
And though some would call his approach unorthodox, especially since he doesn’t actually play golf, the Mats won a North Coast Section title in 2021 and are always competitive in league play and beyond.
The unorthodox part, though, is that Sens doesn’t focus on winning. “We work on competitive joy,” he said. “We focus on the team even though golf is an individual sport.”
And led by senior tri-captains Paige Sovocool, Karlee Tu and Emma Wang, the Matadors embrace his philosophy and will once again look to battle Acalanes, Campolindo and Northgate for the Foothill Division title.
Girls’ volleyball
Leslie Ray, the eighth-year volleyball coach, casts 2024 as “a rebuilding year,” but she’s quick to add “we got a lot out of it. We have a strong group of returners,” she said, “plus a couple of talented newcomers,” so Ray is looking for a return to the top of the DAL table.
Setter Maddie Yun and all-leaguer Sena Hens are both juniors, and Ray is hoping for big things from freshmen Lucy Taragosi and Cindy Gu, so the nucleus of a bounce-back season appears to be in place.
“We’re going to be a defense-centered team,” said Ray, “and we want to create tempo.” A mid-September trip to the Livermore Roundup should show Ray and her team where they stand, but she’s more concerned with building off the experience than winning the tournament. “Losses become lessons,” she said.
Flag football
A plethora of rule changes will make this year’s flag football look a lot different, and co-coach Kevin Newby will not only have to continue building a program, but also adjust to a new style of play.
For example, the quarterback can now run on every down, instead of just one out of four, and rushers will start just one yard off the line of scrimmage instead of seven.
This will make the quarterback position even more important, and Newby expects senior Penelope Hogan to rise to the challenge. “She understands the complexities of the playbook,” he said, and she will have plenty of support from sophomore running back Katelyn Soe and sophomore wide receiver Lucy Daoust.
Cross country
With 100 runners in the program, Miramonte has the depth to compete in a sport where repetitive stress injuries are always an issue. The Mats, though, also have some top individuals, starting with senior Logan Letulle.
Letulle finished eighth in the state meet in Division 4 last year, as the boys made their second straight trip to Fresno. He was third in the DAL, but new head coach Julia Hall was quick to point out that the two runners who finished ahead of him both graduated.
Senior Preston Repulles and junior Brendon Collins should both score well for the Mats this year, and Hall is confident the team will be able to replace its graduation losses.
The girls are led by sophomore Isabel Mickel, who finished seventh in the league meet. Seniors Teia Adler and Alana Jardine are both consistent runners, and the girls have plenty of experienced depth to back them up.
