Harvard-Westlake's boys' tennis team accomplished something on Friday few have done: topple Irvine University. The Wolverines ended University's four-year run as tennis champions with a 10-8 win at the Southern Section Division 1 championships. University is a 16-time champion.
The final game of the night was Crespi pulling out a 65-61 win over Loyola when Isaiah Barnes scored while falling down with 15 seconds left for the game-clinching basket. Despite the loss, Loyola claimed fourth place in the seedings while finishing in a three-way tie for fourth with Crespi and St. Francis. The Cubs, though, are 14-14 and will need a win Saturday against the winner of Thursday's Bishop Alemany (No. 8) vs. St. Francis (No. 5) game to keep alive their Southern Section playoff hopes. You need a .500 or better record to be considered for an at-large berth.
First-year girls' basketball coach Will Burr of Harvard-Westlake High has already concluded more than a month before the season begins that 6-foot-2 freshman Lucia Khamenia is going to be an impact player. She's the sister of former Harvard-Westlake All-American Nikolas Khamenia, who is now a freshman at Duke. Burr said Khamenia can play different positions because of her size and versatility, go inside or make threes like her brother.
There's already a surprise team emerging in girls' volleyball. Harvard-Westlake, under first-year coach Morgan Wijay, is 7-0 and won its division of the Lakewood tournament last week. Wijay left Bishop Alemany to take over a Wolverines program that went 13-15 last season and 2-8 in league. The Wolverines have a showdown match with 3-0 Marymount on Thursday at Marymount. Maya Stillwell, a 6-foot-4 senior middle blocker who has committed to Northwestern, gives Harvard-Westlake a force in the middle.
Crespi's impressive eight-run first inning against Harvard-Westlake, featuring a mix of home runs and key doubles, propelled them to a 12-1 victory, enhancing their Mission League lead.
