Winter Sports Set To Begin At South Pasadena

The South Pasadena boys basketball team looks to rebound from last year's 9-19 overall record.

The team went 4-6 in Rio Hondo League play to finish fifth in league standings. Returning is junior J.J. Shields, who led the Tigers in scoring (8.6 points per game), rebounds (3.5), and assists (1.5). Also returning is senior Sean Nang, who finished in the Tigers' top three in the same categories.

First up for the Tigers are the Alhambra Moors on Nov. 29 at 6:30 p.m.; Skip Parry coaches South Pasadena.

Boys soccer: The Tigers finished the 2009-10 season with a 8-7-5 overall record and a 5-3-2 mark in league play. Their second place finish in the Rio Hondo League earned them a trip to the CIF-Southern Section Division 5 wild card round where the Tigers lost in penalty kicks to Bolsa Grande.

Returning players include senior Steven Blackwell, who led the Tigers in goals last year, and junior Mathewos Ghebrekristos, who had 28 shots-on-goal last year. South Pasadena begins the year with a home match against Burroughs on Nov. 29. Juan Zurita coaches the Tigers.

Wrestling: South Pasadena begins the year ranked No. 8 in the CIF-SS Division 6 preseason poll. The Tigers open their season with the Carter Invitational Tournament on Dec. 3 and are coached Al Shuton.

Girls basketball: The Tigers went 14-13 last season and finished second in the Rio Hondo League to earn a trip to the CIF-SS Division 4AA playoffs.

The team returns team leaders Kelsey Lee, and sisters Katie and Kelsey Nakamura. All three girls combined to lead the Tigers in points, rebounds and assists. The Tigers have a new coach this season, Rich Kitigawa.

Kitigawa takes over for South Pasadena Athletic Director Ralph Punaro who coached the Lady Tigers for 20 years.

Girls soccer: The Tigers were 11-9-4 overall last year, and return several key pieces from their team, including sophomore Taylor Colliau. The season starts with a home game against Burroughs on Nov. 30. South Pasadena is coached by Randy Lilavois.

Girls water polo: The girls' water polo team is coming off a monster year. In 2009-10 the Tigers went 16-1, a record that included dominating league wins over San Marino 22-7 and Temple City 27-5.

The girls won two games in the playoffs before falling 12-4 to Rio Mesa in the CIF-SS Division 4 semifinals. Half of last year's team has graduated, but the Tigers return both team captains, seniors Tyler Brown and Anna-Lena Hathaway.

South Pasadena will look to continue its winning ways on Nov. 29 with a home match against Pasadena. The varsity team is coached by Robert Echeverria.