Page 6 November 18, 2021 EL SEGUNDO HERALD
Sports from page 3
Previewing Boys Basketball
The 2021 Eagles had arguably their best
season since appearing in the CIF finals in
2003 and the longest win streak (14) since
winning 34 consecutive games during the
1966-67 season. The Eagles finished their
season 14-1, losing in the CIF Southern
Section Division 4 quarter-finals. They look
to build on their success, with arguably one
of the South Bay’s top guards returning in
Preston Engle and four other returners off
their deep bench. The price of their success
is being promoted to the CIF-Southern Section
Division 2AA Division.
The Eagles have prepared for the season
with a summer program consisting of
practices and games from June to August.
When school started, they went into a Fall
program that consisted of daily conditioning
and basketball workouts. Head coach David
March says Engle has been such a positive
influence and has shown his leadership skills
in what amounts to an entirely new starting
five. “Preston (Engel) was a unanimous
first-team all-league player. Returners Farren
Affel, Holden Coulter, Jesse Gutierrez, and
JP Pintens all had great off-seasons and will
play key minutes this year.” Two newcomers
to the team but not the program are Dylan
Bucher and Nolan Kelly, who return to
basketball after taking last season off due
to the Covid fiasco.
Coach March says the key to continuing
their success from last season is developing
a killer instinct rooted in their identity of
toughness and defense. “The team worked
tremendously hard on the defensive end, and
everyone played their role on offense. With a
younger and somewhat inexperienced group,
we need the early battles in the preseason to
develop as a team on both ends of the floor.”
The early-going schedule will challenge
the Eagles. According to Coach March, it is
well balanced with a mix of local Division
2 and Division 3 games, including schools
like Peninsula, Leuzinger and Palos Verdes.
They will be tested in three tournaments too
to start the season. The Pioneer League is
returning each coach and some key all-league
players making each game a battle. Lawndale
and West Torrance are the likely early
favorites along with the Eagles to compete
for a league title. South Torrance will push
for a top-three finish this year with their
key returners. North Torrance and Torrance
have younger teams, but both will compete
to make the Pioneer League no easy path to
a league title.
The Eagles started their season on Tuesday
against Chadwick on the road and faced Palos
Verdes on the road Friday at 7:30 p.m. Next
week the Eagles are entered in the Wiseburn
Tournament and play Monday at 3 p.m. and
Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. against team’s TBD.
Their first home game is scheduled for Saturday,
December 11, against CIF perennial
power Windward during the one-day El
Segundo Classic.
Lady Eagles Look to
Experience with New Coach
The John Peterson coaching era is over.
Coach Peterson led the Eagles to the program’s
first league title and advanced to the
CIF playoffs each season as head coach. The
legendry basketball coach has turned the
program over to Terrence (Sippi) Wilson, a
long-time assistant coach to David March
with the boys’ program, and Coach Peterson
with the girls’ team.
Under the watchful eye of Coach Wilson,
the Eagles have prepared for this upcoming
season with two scrimmages against Vistamar
and Mira Costa. They’ve also been practicing
and conditioning during the start of the
school year.
The Eagles return three key starters from
last year. Four-year starter senior point
guard Bo Takehara and three-year lettermen
starters include juniors, Nicole Ungaro and
Leila Sugimoto. Also returning is backup
guard sophomore Abigail Ouaknine. Seniors
Christina Tsukahira and Paris Gravett return
to the team after opting out last year due to
Covid reasons. New additions to the team
include sophomores Hailey Wantz, Emma
Vitale, and Junior California Dahlstorm, as
well as freshman Annabel Gross.
The schedule is once again a challenging
one, but Coach Wilson says his team will be
prepared. “Our schedule is extremely tough
the first couple of weeks, which includes the
Redondo Tournament and Brentwood Tournament.
We also have a showdown with Culver
City and a cross-town battle against Da-Vinci.
The Pioneer League will be a balanced
league, but reigning champion West Torrance
is probably the favorite competing against
North Torrance and the Eagles. But this
league is tough from top to bottom, which
also includes Torrance, South Torrance and
Lawndale.
The Eagles open their season Friday night
at Palos Verdes at 6 p.m. They play in the
Redondo Tournament next week, starting
with North Torrance on Monday at 7:30 p.m.
and Rolling Hills Prep on Tuesday at 6 p.m.
Sydnee-Anne Moeller
Signs Letter of Intent
Arguably one of El Segundo High
School’s best girl’s lacrosse players in the
program’s history has signed a letter of
intent to play at the University of Colorado
– Colorado Springs. Sydnee-Anne is the
school’s first girl’s lacrosse player to accept
a collegiate athletic scholarship. She was
the Ocean League’s Most Valuable Player
as a junior after scoring 74 goals, the most
among all players in Los Angeles County.
Additionally, she was an All-CIF selection
(Division 2) while helping guide the Eagles
to a league championship and the program’s
first playoff win. •
Preston Engle (on the right), who is expected to be one of the South Bay’s top guards, returns to lead the Eagles. Junior center Nicole Ungaro will lead a talented Eagle’s squad.
Junior guard Leila Sugimoto is a three-year starter and will help guide the offense.
Sydnee-Anne Moeller has signed a Letter of Intent to play her college lacrosse at the University of Colorado.
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