They're only just getting started

The Claremont High School varsity girls tennis team is on a roll. With a 10-0 record overall and an 8-0 Sierra League record going into today's match against Charter Oak, we could very well be seeing the female rendition of the championship success enjoyed by the CHS varsity boys tennis team in 2009 and 2010.

Interestingly enough, the CHS girls squad has the exact same head coach that the boys team had during its back-to-back years in Tom Spinosa. From there, just as the boys team was led by a Spinosa (Clarke Spinosa) and a Liu (Frank Liu), the varsity girls team is led by their sisters, Drew Spinosa and Cindy Liu. And like their brothers, they are quite good.

Just as the boys team had an incredibly deep team that featured the likes of Trevor James, Carter Hafif, Scott Donaldson and Alan Leahy, the girls team contains Ryley Settles, Chelsea Edirsuriya and Hailey Kayatta. Yet another similarity.

Are we perhaps looking at a girls tennis mini-dynasty in the making at CHS? It's certainly possible.

CHS boys water polo is a contender

What a difference a year can make.

The Claremont High School varsity boys water polo team avenged a pair of defeats suffered at the hands of Ayala last year with a 14-11 win over the Bulldogs on Tuesday.

"It felt so good to beat Ayala," said Stephen Zetterberg. "Last year, I remember that they beat us twice by one goal. But we really won this one and it shows the great heart that we have as a team this year."

Claremont rode the backs of Luke Miller (6 goals), Jonah Dowd (5 goals) and freshman goalie Steven Cable, who recorded several saves and deflections for the Pack in the victory. Remy Ertaud (2 goals) and Zetterberg scored Claremont's other 3 goals.

Personally observing the team, Claremont has made huge strides from 2010. Although the team is younger with just a few seniors, the Wolfpack's underclassmen (led by Cagle) have been playing solid at the varsity level. Along with defeating Ayala for the first time in 3 tries, CHS also played competitive against Damien last week in a match that was decided by just 5 points. Last year's Claremont team lost to the Spartans by 15.

Coach Melissa McKown has gotten her team in prime position to make some noise this year. Like the CHS varsity girls volleyball team, only mistakes will be able to prevent the Wolfpack from advancing a few rounds into CIF this year.

In case you missed it...

Claremont High School head football coach Mike Collins was featured in a segment on the ABC 7 Sports Zone show last Saturday due to being selected as a 2011 ABC 7 - NFL Coach of the Week. Check out the video below to see what was televised on Saturday:



Congratulations to Coach Collins and the entire CHS football program. The 4-1 Wolfpack will host Damien tomorrow tonight to open Sierra League Play at 7 p.m.