Crespi Carmelite Athletics Spring and Winter Round-Up

With spring just around the corner, Crespi Carmelite's winter sports are still hot heading into March. Head Coach Russell White and the Crespi basketball team have secured another bid in the state tournament. Crespi will open the first round of the CIF State Playoffs at 7:00 P.M. on Wednesday, March 7, at the Crespi Alumni Memorial Gym against Kingsburg.

In soccer news, Crespi seniors Kai Imazu and Marino Bianchi were selected to play in the CIF Division I Senior All-Star Game on Saturday, March 4, at Basset High School in La Puente. The pair represented the East Team and pitted their skills against other top players from Southern California. Bianchi finished the game with MVP honors. After junior Blayne Briceno led his team to a Mission League title in wrestling, he added two great individual performances to finish the season. After winning the individual Mission League title, on Friday, March 3, he earned the first medal for a Crespi wrestler at state since 2006.

As the winter sports draw their seasons to a close, Crespi’s spring athletic programs were back into full swing at the end of February. Crespi swimming began the seasons with wins over Birmingham and Valencia. Crespi volleyball opened the season with a loss to Loyola and followed with a win against St. Francis. Ashton King finished the St. Francis game with eighteen kills.

After a rough team start in the Easton Showdown Tournament, Head Coach Scott Muckey and the Celts the Crespi baseball are trying to put things in place. Crespi handily defeated Thousand Oaks 7-2 and Burroughs 9-0 but lost in heartbreaking fashion to Calabasas 6-5, Valencia 6-5, and Oaks Christian 4-2. In Crespi’s loss to Oaks Christian, the Celts left seven runners in scoring position. Crespi has a few days to regroup before they play a double-header on Wednesday, March 7. They will face Saugus at 3:15 P.M. on Hartunian Field and the second game will be at 7:00 P.M. at Birmingham High School.

Crespi lacrosse celebrated the opening of the season with a special Celt Day to showcase the talents of each player in scrimmage games for Junior Varsity and Varsity on Saturday, February 25. The day was filled with fun, food, music, prizes, and plenty of activities for families and fans of the Crespi lacrosse program. Crespi Taiko participated in opening ceremonies and led the players to field for the scrimmages. The fans participated on to the field in the “fastest shooter contest” between the scrimmages.

The event definitely showed how Head Coach Brock Livingston has the Celts on the right track as he begins his second season at the helm. This year’s Junior Varsity team introduced its largest group in the seven year history of the program with forty-two players. All of these activities helped the Celts to victory on Wednesday, February 29, over Palos Verdes Peninsula. The Junior Varsity won 5-3 and the Varsity followed up with a 15-6 victory. The next game is at Crespi on Tuesday, March 6, at 5 P.M. against local rival Harvard-Westlake.

Crespi Volleyball Sets Up for another Great Season

Twelfth year head Coach Raissa Adolphe has Crespi in position for another successful season. This is no surprise for Crespi volleyball fans. With Adolphe at the helm, Crespi has been in the CIF Division I Playoffs eight out of the last nine years. In 2003, 2004, 2009, and 2010, the team finished second in the competitive Mission League.

This past season, the Celts were ranked in the top fifty nationally by ESPN, and were also ranked in the top ten in the CIF Southern Section Division I. The 2010 Varsity Team received the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Team Academic Excellence Award.

On the court, the Celts were led by six seniors and finished second to Loyola with an overall record of 25-9. Two of the seniors are playing at Division I schools. Brandon Lebrock ’10 is at CSUN, while Daniel Stork ’10 is at UCI.

The tradition of success continues this year for the Celts and they are set up for another great season. Even though this may look like a rebuilding year, the 2011 squad might surprise a few opponents. In pre-league play at the annual Best of the West Tournament in San Diego, Crespi finished ninth overall. According to Coach Adolphe, “This team has already done something that no Volleyball Team has done at Crespi. We finished in the top 10 in The Best of The West Tournament, which was comprised of all the top CIF Division I High School Teams in California.”

The Crespi Volleyball Team earned some great experience and finished second in pool play. Crespi had impressive wins over host school Poway, ranked twenty-first by the ESPN FAB 50, and defeated Palos Verdes. The Celts had to defeat Palos Verdes to make the consolation final after losing to Mira Costa, ranked second by ESPN FAB 50.

Although the Celts could not avenge the playoff loss from last year to Mira Coast, they found some redemption in the consolation bracket. In the Consolation Final, Crespi faced Newport Harbor, ranked seventh by the ESPN FAB 50. Through an amazing effort by the entire team Newport Harbor was defeated 2-1.

Since the tournament, the Celts are 2-1 with wins over Oak Park and Notre Dame, and only a loss to Loyola. “This team is intelligent and coachable. They understand how important strategy is in a match, and they have extreme confidence in each other on the court. They demonstrate composure and intensity, as well as the ability to battle and compete to the final whistle,” added Adolphe.

Crespi continues league play tonight at 6 pm against Alemany in the Crespi All-Alumni Gym. This weekend the team will make its annual trip to Santa Barbara for the Dos Pueblos Tournament.

Congratulations to the Junior Varsity Volleyball Team for winning the 32 Team Valley Christian Tournament!

The Celts did not drop a game throughout the entire tournament, defeating many teams, including La Mirada in the quarter-finals, San Gabriel in the semi-finals, and Juniper Serra in the finals. A terrific Team effort!!!

All Tournament Honors went to Freshman OH Brandon Enbody, Sophomore Libero Christian Beltran, Junior Setter Evan Herbert, and Junior OH Nick Martinez.

Crespi Volleyball Hangs Tough in Hawaii

Congratulations to the Varsity Volleyball Team for their performance in the Iolani Tournament in Hawaii! The Celts won their pool, handily defeating Moanalua 2-0, Hana 2-0, and Damien 2-0. They defeated state power house Hawaii Baptist 2-1 in the in the quarter-finals. It was a great win for Crespi as Hawaii Baptist was ranked #17 in the country by the ESPN Fab 50. Crespi lost to the host school Iolani in the semi-finals to finish fourth overall out of sixteen teams. Special congratulations go to Senior Libero Liam Gallagher, who received All Tournament Honors for his outstanding play. The results of a C.I.F poll rank Crespi Volleyball number two in the San Fernando Valley with an overall record of 18-7 and 4-1 in league. Join UC Irvine bound and Junior National Team Selection, Daniel Stork as he leads the Celts in two key league matches at home this week at against Alemany and Chaminade.

(Pictured on the right is Daniel Stork. Pictured below are Crespi Volleyball Team and tournament selections for outstanding performances from the Iolani Tournament in Hawaii.)

Crespi Volleyball Records Two Mission League Victories on Consecutive Nights

Results against Harvard-Westlake on 3/23/10

Frosh/Soph: Harvard-Westlake 2, Crespi 1
JV: Harvard-Westlake 2, Crespi 0
Varsity: Crespi 3, Harvard-Westlake 1

Brandon Lebrock 23 Kills, Daniel Stork 48 assists, Liam Gallagher 15 digs

Results against St. Francis on 3/22/10

Frosh/Soph: Crespi 2, St.Francis 1
JV: Crespi 2, St. Francis 0
Varsity: Crespi 3, St. Francis 0

Quinn Costello 10 Kills, Brandon Lebrock 9 Kills, Liam Gallagher 10 Digs, Daniel Stork 23 Assists

Congratulations to the Crespi Varsity Volleyball Team!

The Celts participated in the Dos Pueblos Invitational Tournament this past weekend among 35 other teams. Crespi went undefeated in pool play and was seeded first going into the playoffs. Crespi then defeated Mount Carmel from San Diego in the quarter-finals, and Santa Barbara in the semi-finals. The finals proved to be a rematch from 2009, with Bellarmine from San Jose. Both teams fought hard with Bellarmine coming out on top, defeating Crespi 15-13 in the third game. Senior Setter Daniel Stork and Senior Outside Hitter Brandon Lebrock received All Tournament Awards for their extraordinary performances.