Girls lacrosse prepares for the new season

Téa Sklar Managing Editor

On Jan. 21, the girls’ lacrosse team held their tryouts, officially kicking off their 2022-2023 season, with the intention of making it all the way to CIF finals.

Penelope Reille, a senior varsity player, started playing lacrosse when she was in sixth grade and continued playing all the way until her senior year on the Newbury Park team. Reille initially had heard of Newbury Park’s impressive reputation growing up, which then caught her attention as she got older. “I had heard that the Newbury Park team was one of the best in the state, so when I joined my sophomore year, I was super excited to have finished second in the CIF championships,” Reille said.

Charly Taylor, junior and a player on the JV team, aims to have more people show interest in the team. To help grow the team, Taylor encourages new players and interested players to come out to play with the team. “There are a lot of beginners who have never played before, so if someone wants to try it, they definitely should,” Taylor said.

Sarah Skenderian, a senior on varsity, originally started playing because she thought it seemed fun. “I didn’t really have a sport going into high school, and it seemed really fun, so I went to the tryout to get to know everyone and I met two of my teammates who were also starting lacrosse for the first time, and I think that’s really what made it enticing to come,” Skenderian said.

Skenderian’s goal for her last year on the team is to go to the CIF Championships again this season and make it to the finals. “We’ve gone to CIF the past three years and we made it to the finals one year so we just have a lot to prove…we all just want to win,” Skenderian said.

Reille describes the challenges that she predicts the team will face in her final year on the team, and the new changes to their division this season. “We have some teams in our league that essentially aren’t playing in our league anymore, so our season is going to be a little bit different this year and it’s going to be a little harder to get to CIF, but I think we’ll still be able to earn a chance to go to playoffs,” Reille said.

Despite these expected challenges, Reille intends to enjoy this year as much as she can. “Since it’s my last year I want to enjoy it to the fullest…not take anything for granted and enjoy all practices…and just having a good time with them [other players]. I’m excited to play one more season with them,” Reille said.