Crosstown Rivalry: Vikings vs. Titans

Paly was up 35-0 against Gunn with four minutes left in the game when students and fans stormed the Gunn stands. is is just one of the many stories that exempli es the rivalry between the two schools.

Since the rivalry began in 1964, sporting events between the two schools are among the most attended and anticipated games throughout the seasons.

Boys varsity basketball coach LaMere said competing against Gunn brings out the best in his players.

“ ese are people that we know well,” LaMere said.

“When you play, when you compete against somebody that you know, you always want to put your best foot forward. Win or lose, you’re going to see these people again, and you want to be able to hold your head up with pride and know that you left everything on the oor and did everything you could.”

Junior varsity basketball player Alaap Nair said the rivalry fosters a special sense of community within each school since they are closely intertwined.

“Rivalry is a healthy way to bring together both of our schools,” Nair said. “It’s an important part of our culture and legacy.”

Despite the highly competitive atmosphere, Nair said the excitement stems from the intensity of the players.

“Competing against rivals is the best part of any sport that you play because it’s exhilarating and in the moment, the pressure weighs on you,” Nair said. “ ere is a lot on the line, so one can really see how good a player is based on how they perform in these high stakes situations.”

On rare occasions, the rivalry had gotten so lopsided that the Gunn Titans have opted out of rivalry matchups against Paly, Vikings head girls varsity basketball coach Scott Peters said “I had emailed their (athletic director) a couple times, and they never got back to me,” Peters said. “ ey just didn’t want to play, and part of the reason is that it’s been a number of years since Gunn has had a good team, and recently games haven’t been competitive.”

Sophomore basketball player Vienn Sheng said she was disappointed when she heard the team would not play against Gunn this year.

“Because we’re on the girls basketball team, no one watches the girls, and so we don’t really get any fans,” Sheng said. “Usually, at the Gunn games we garner a crowd, and not having the game was disappointing because it is a special thing to look forward to during the season.”

Junior and girls varsity water polo player Anne rekheld agrees and said the high-stakes competition and intense energy adds fun to rivalry games.

“It’s fun to be passionate during games, having back and forth friendly competition, as well as saying, ‘Hi’ to everyone after,” rekheld said. “As a competitor, I always have a good time with the rivalry, especially because we had some really close games this year.”

With the help of three experienced players, girls lacrosse is focusing on improving their skills and strengthening the team bond, coach Kaitlin Chiu said.

“I had three of my players — Ella Bishop, Skylar Burnett and Lauren Hajadi — lead practice to teach the rest of the team about defensive positioning and strategy,”

Chiu said. “ ey did a stellar job in leading drills to e ectively teach proper defensive movement, and our defense has become increasingly strong.”

Chiu said she implements check-ins at the beginning of Wednesday practices, sharing a rose, bud and thorn for their week.

“ e girls seem to love our sitdown moment together, so I really hope it becomes a tradition in the future,” Chiu said. Chiu also created team awards because she wanted to recognize the hard work of players.

“I’ve developed a Sports Bra award,” Chiu said. “ is was an award my college coach came up with to award someone who did what a sports bra typically does: support the girls.”

Sophomore Isabelle Carlsen said she enjoys building a strong team spirit by hanging out with the team outside of practice.

Carlsen especially likes the team’s special pasta feeds.

“I love it as it is a chance to bond with people outside of practice and get to know what they are really like,” Carlsen said.

Carlsen said the team’s bond has allowed players to have more fun on the eld while cheering each other on.

“We pretended to be bowling pins that got knocked down,” Carlsen said. “As we collapsed on each other all I could hear was us laughing. It’s de nitely an experience I will never forget.”