Teams play several games during Christmas Vacation

While the halls of Fresno Christian were quite for three weeks over Christmas break, many Eagle athletes were busy with practices, games and tournaments. Both the boys and girls basketball teams had several games over break.

The girls varsity basketball team continued their impressive pre-season over break. The Lady Eagles began Christmas break by taking on the Alpaugh High School, Dec. 21. The Eagles easily won the game with a final score of 68-9.

The varsity girls played Frazier Mountain next, Dec. 22. Despite playing a game the day before, the Lady Eagles showed no sign of fatigue and outscored Frazier Mountain by 16 points in the first quarter alone. The Eagles finished with a score of 54-13 over Frazier Mountain.

The girls traveled to the coast after New Years for their next two games. The Eagles narrowly defeated Coast Union in Cambria by a score of 34-32, Jan. 5.

The team traveled to Monterey next to play Trinity Christian, Jan. 6. Despite being down four points in the first quarter, the Eagles came back with strength to beat Trinity Christian by a score of 56-17.

By winning every one of their games over break, the Lady Eagles head into the rest of their season with confidence and momentum. Four years after resurrecting the Fresno Christian girls varsity team, the team looks to be a serious contender under the leadership of head coach Robert Foshee and assistant coach Mike Zamarripa.

The team has improved greatly and we’ve done a great job in our games and tournaments over break. It was a good idea to have games over break because we wouldn’t be in rhythm if we took to many days off. I think we will do well this season as long as we can figure out our offensive. Our trip to the coast has been my favorite part and we’ve had a great time bonding as a team. — Griffin Schmidt, ’19

Junior Sophia Kalugin, a former Eagles varsity soccer player, joined the girls basketball team this year to try something new, and appreciates the extra time to practice over break.

“The team has gotten to work on new skills and plays over break,” Kalugin said. “I think practices are good over break because we can spend more time working on plays. My expectations of the season are looking pretty good. I think that the team will do really good. My favorite memory so far is the this weekend when the team drove up to the beach for a couple of days.”

Kayla Vanderlinden, ‘20, has seen vast improvement from the team throughout the pre-season and anticipates the team doing well in league play.

“The team has improved a lot during these tournaments because we can try things out and see if they help us or hurt us,” Vanderlinden said. “It is important to have practices over break to stay active, but I think games are unnecessary because we aren’t in school. My expectations are high for our team this season because we have a lot of talent, and I believe we will go far this season.”

The boys varsity team also played a busy schedule over break, competing against the same schools as the girls varsity team. In their first game against Alpaugh, the Eagles took the win in a close game with a final score of 54-49, Dec. 19.

Despite being behind during the first quarter in their next game against Frazier Mountain, the Eagles rallied back to claim the victory with a final score of 69-29, Dec. 22.

After traveling to Cambria, the Eagles faced the Coast Union team. The game was close, with both teams playing good defense, but in the end it was the Eagles who came out on top with a final score of 30-27, Jan. 5.

During their final game of break, the Eagles faced an experienced Trinity Christian team in Monterey, Jan. 6. The Eagles lost the away game with a score of 56-51.

The boys varsity team faces a challenge this year, as all of their players (with the exception of senior Wyatt Koop) have never played on a varsity basketball team before. Head coach Jon Penberthy is working to get the team ready for their regular season.

First year varsity basketball player Griffin Schmidt, ‘19, believes the games over break are a great opportunity for the team to work on their offense.

“The team has improved greatly and we’ve done a great job in our games and tournaments over break,” Schmidt said. “It was a good idea to have games over break because we wouldn’t be in rhythm if we took to many days off. I think we will do well this season as long as we can figure out our offensive. Our trip to the coast has been my favorite part and we’ve had a great time bonding as a team.”

Both the boys and girls varsity teams have home conference games this Tuesday, Jan. 9. The boys play at 4:30 p.m. against the Parlier Panthers. The Lady Eagles play against Parlier at 6 p.m.

For more articles, read: Christian campus offers students various opportunities or Campus soccer teams place in annual tournament.

Mariana Fikse can be reached via email.