For the first time in the last 25 years Culver City high school has four winter teams that have advanced deep into the CIF Playoffs. “There must be something blue in the water around here,” said longtime head and assistant football coach and security officer Cornell Myles. A happy and proud Myles made the statement after the girls’ basketball team defeated South Pasadena last Saturday at Culver City. Myles was referring to Culver City’s school colors of blue and white.
Girls’ basketball, boys’ basketball, girls’ soccer and girls’ water polo all advanced into the second week of the extremely competitive CIF Southern Section Playoffs. Athletic director Tom Salter should get a lot of credit for hiring the right coaches. In the last three months six Culver City teams have made the playoffs.
The 23-4 girls’ basketball team played their quarterfinal game last Wednesday against Colony of Ontario at home. If they win the Centaurs will play a semi-final game on Saturday. To reach the quarterfinals the Centaurs needed help from their bench and steady leadership from their three seniors in the second half to pull away from South Pasadena.
“I think the bench did an excellent job coming in and pushing us forward,” said head coach Julian Anderson. “The man thing is the whole team has to figure out a way to stay focused and be more consistent.” The bench players who sparked the Centaur run were Amy Yoon, Lindsey Kojima and Alyse Hayes.
One of the more consistent players all year has been senior Lauren Jones. Against South Pasadena Jones controlled the tempo of the game. “We just need to come out strong every game and execute the game plan and keep working together,” said Jones after the victory last Saturday.
Another senior, Angel Morris played one of her best games of the season according to coach Anderson. “It was a struggle in the first half but I just needed to play my best and get everything done in the right way,” said Morris after the South Pasadena game. “I just want to keep on winning for the city of Culver City. This is my city. I love Culver City.”
The boys’ basketball team is 18-9 and they played their quarterfinal game last Tuesday against Buena of Ventura at Buena. If they win their game on Tuesday they play a semi-final game on Friday. Last Friday they beat a very good Torrance team 76-57.
The Centaurs used their pressure defense to wear down the Tartars. “We always try to be a good defensive team,” said head coach Reggie Morris Jr. after the win on Friday. “We have to make sure we compete and play hard on every possession. If we take care of whatever we need to take care of we feel we can beat whoever we need to beat.”
The girls’ water polo team is 17-8 and they played their semi-final playoff game last Wednesday against Tustin at Mira Costa high school. The team is led by longtime former assistant and first year head coach Nestor Dordoni Jr. Dordoni replaced his father Nestor Sr. who retired after coaching water polo and swimming at Culver City for more than 25 years.
“It’s really cool being the head coach,” said Nestor Jr. who graduated from Culver City in 2004. “I always wanted to be a head coach and I knew my dad was going to retire someday and now I get that opportunity. I love coaching and interacting with the young kids”
The team is one game away from playing in the CIF final on Saturday if they win on Wednesday. To get to the semi-final they beat Montebello 5-4, Hemet 13-3 and Glendora 9-8. “We have a lot of solid players and they have been a resilient group of girls,” said Nestor Jr. “They work extremely hard. Thanks to Alexis Anderberg’s mother filming games we have been able to have film room sessions this year. This has all come together.”
The 14-3-3 girls’ soccer team played their played their second round playoff game last Tuesday against Flintridge Prep of La Canada at Occidental College. If they win that game they will advance to the quarterfinals on Friday. The girls are coached by first year head coach Pete Bartlett who is one of the best soccer coaches in Southern California.
Rounding out Culver City’s busy sports week is the baseball game on Saturday at Culver City against Chavez at 11 a.m.
Because the playoff games were played after the Culver City News deadline, readers are encouraged to call the school to find out which Culver City team advanced to the next round of the playoffs. The school will have information on what time they play and the location of the game.
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