Cross country dominates as Cubs tennis, golf and volleyball pull off thrilling down-to-the-wire victories
Last year, Mayfield and Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy (FSHA) started our own “Rivalry Series” in 10 sports. Our schools are separated by less than seven miles and many of our students are friends from elementary school—plus, I am married to a Tolog (sorry, everybody!) and even worked on “the hill” for seven years! In the inaugural 2018-19 edition of the series, FSHA won six of the 10 events to earn the first victory, but the Cubs are making a strong effort to turn the tide.
Back in August, the golf team defeated the Tologs by the smallest of margins—a slim two-shot victory. Then yesterday, the tennis team traveled to take on the Tologs. Tennis is scored out of 18 matches, with each school’s top three singles players and doubles tandems competing in three sets of six matches. After the first set of matches, the Tologs and Cubs were tied 3-3. The score was still tied, 6-6, after the second set, with the Cubs leading 50-49 in games. It came down to the final match of the day. The Cubs led 9-8 and needed a victory to win the day. With all the other matches completed, both teams and all their fans descended upon Court 7 at Scholl Canyon to watch subbed-in Michelle Cheng ’22 take on her Tolog opponent. Cheng won her match 6-4, securing the 10-8 victory for the Cubs and now a 2-0 lead in the Rivalry Series. It was quite an afternoon!
Our Cubs golfers also picked up two big wins this week to remain in the hunt for a sixth consecutive Prep League title. On Tuesday, the Cubs defeated Poly by a razor-thin margin. The two teams were tied 244-244 at the end of the match, and Daniela Bachman ’20 scored just low enough in the tiebreaker to earn the thrilling win for Mayfield. Yesterday, the Cubs had a much easier time. Led by our Athlete of the Week, Amy Baum ’22, the Cubs soundly defeated Buckley, 242-302. The young Cubs golfers seem to improve with each match and they are a true pleasure to watch.
In any other week, any of the above victories might have been the biggest of the week, but in perhaps the most dominating performance, our Cubs cross country runners ran in the lone Prep League cluster meet of the year on Tuesday at CV Park. The Varsity team went 1-2-3 and all five scoring runners ended in the top 11 to dominate the field. The Cubs had the low score (that's good!) of 24, with second place Chadwick (51) and third place Poly (71) well behind. JV had a much closer meet. Despite finishing 2-3-4, the Cubs score of 30 just beat out Flintridge Prep, who had a 33. This weekend, both teams will have a terrific experience—they’re camping outdoors tonight up in Ojai, before running in tomorrow's Ojai Invitational.
Lastly, the volleyball teams continue their huge improvement and push towards potential league titles. The Frosh-Soph team improved to 5-0 with a come-from-behind victory on the road at Flintridge Prep on Tuesday. The Cubs won a dramatic third set, 16-14, for the win. JV also remains undefeated after their straight-set victory over the Rebels. At 6-0, the JV team hasn't lost a game in league since 2017… that’s a string of 23 matches in a row! The Varsity squad took on the CIF #5-ranked Flintridge Prep team. After dropping the first two sets, the Cubs stormed back to tie the match at 2-2, before falling 15-12 in a riveting fifth set.
The races and matches this week were some of the most exciting sporting events I have seen in years, and I suspect it will only continue in the weeks to come. It helps so much to have our fans in the stands, clad in red. The girls and I hope you can make it out to a Cubs game—you won't be disappointed. Follow along on Twitter @msscubs and help our student-athletes by joining our Boosters.
And mark your calendars for Monday, Oct. 7—the Dig Pink volleyball match with FSHA and Booster BBQ is in just two short weeks! Email me today to order your hand-dyed Dig Pink tie-dye shirt (today's the last day to order) and you can pick your $10 shirt up at the game.
Go Cubs!
Steve Bergen
Athletic Director
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Established in 1931, Mayfield Senior School in Pasadena, CA is a Catholic, independent, college preparatory school for young women grades 9-12. Noted for its rigorous academic program, which includes 28 Advanced Placement and Honors courses, Mayfield’s curriculum is underscored by a philosophy of educating the “whole child,” which also encourages commitment to and excellence in the arts, athletics, community service and spiritual growth. The nurturing environment at Mayfield Senior School allows each student to flourish in an atmosphere of personal attention.
