CHANGE IS GOOD FOR H.-W., EICHLER SENIOR TRANSFER FROM MARYMOUNT HAS BECOME KEY COG FOR WOLVERINES.Byline: IVAN OROZCO Staff Writer Audrey Eichler appeared to have everything in place: a solid academic path and a promising high school volleyball career. This after enrolling at Marymount of Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. , a highly regarded all- girls college preparatory school preparatory school: see school. preparatory school School that prepares students for entrance to a higher school. In Europe, where secondary education has been selective, preparatory schools have been those that catered to pupils wishing to enter that has won four straight state volleyball championships. But Eichler didn't think she belonged. Despite the hype that comes with being part of a prominent team, on which she was considered one of the country's top middle blockers, Eichler last summer transferred to another prestigious school with a solid volleyball team. After two years at Marymount, she brought her services to Harvard- Westlake of Studio City. ``I wanted to be here in the first place,'' Eichler said. ``Going to Marymount was a good decision at the time, because I totally believe being without guys allows you to develop as a young girl. As silly as that sounds, but it's true. I don't have anything bad to say about Marymount. ``(The decision to transfer) was just building, and it never went away. It was always in the back of my mind when I would hear about Harvard- Westlake.'' A desire to be with childhood friends -- and play for the school that paved pave tr.v. paved, pav·ing, paves 1. To cover with a pavement. 2. To cover uniformly, as if with pavement. 3. To be or compose the pavement of. the way for her brother Peter to play volleyball at Princeton -- helped her decide. The 6-foot-2 middle blocker is having a superb first season with the Wolverines, leading them to a 14-4 overall record and 2-1 mark in the tough Mission League. Harvard-Westlake coach Jess Quiroz and league rivals quickly took notice of Eichler's powerful and accurate attack and consistency as a blocker. ``Audrey is not the type of person that falters,'' Quiroz said. ``And if she does, it's on defense. But then again, I don't use her on defense. She's here to swing at the ball.'' Eichler, a senior bound for Boston College Boston College, main campus at Chestnut Hill, Mass.; coeducational; Jesuit; est. and opened 1863. Actually a university, the school's Chestnut Hill campus comprises colleges of arts and sciences and business administration, the graduate school, and schools of nursing , might be the difference as Harvard-Westlake seeks a Southern Section Div. I-A championship. The second-ranked Wolverines lost to Notre Dame Academy Notre Dame Academy may refer to:
``(Eichler) is the missing piece,'' Quiroz said. ``Without Audrey, we would have to reposition players. It's not like we can't do it, but it makes it easier. ``Audrey just came to us like that, period. Just totally mature. What you see is what you get (jargon) What You See Is What You Get - (WYSIWYG) /wiz'ee-wig/ Describes a user interface for a document preparation system under which changes are represented by displaying a more-or-less accurate image of the way the document will finally appear, e.g. when printed. .'' Eichler was unavailable to the Wolverines last season. She hadn't changed addresses and was this ineligible to play for Harvard-Westlake's varsity team In the United States and Canada and UK, varsity sports teams are the principal athletic teams representing a college, university, or high school or other secondary school. Such teams compete against the principal athletic teams at other colleges/universities, or in the case of after transferring, and she opted to sit out her junior season instead of playing with the JV team. ``We struggled, because she couldn't play her first year,'' Quiroz said. ``That was tough. (She) could practice, but not play. She was really practice bait for a while. You had the candy, but you couldn't have any.'' Sitting out taught Eichler to be patient, and she bonded with teammates while challenging them at practice. She took on former teammates for the first time at the Archbishop Mitty tournament in San Jose San Jose, city, United States San Jose (sănəzā`, săn hōzā`), city (1990 pop. 782,248), seat of Santa Clara co., W central Calif.; founded 1777, inc. 1850. late last month, but No. 3 Marymount defeated the Wolverines 25-15, 25-19, 25-16 in the semifinals. ``It was very tough to play them, because we stalled,'' Eichler said. ``We shied shied 1 v. Past tense and past participle of shy1. shied Verb the past of shy1 or shy2 out of that game when we could have really brought everything we have. ``It's really tough to play against a team that I went to and to lose, but we weren't our very best. I think I may have been a little over-psyched, because we have never played them before. After all, it's just one game. As much as it sucks, we're gonna gon·na Informal Contraction of going to: We're gonna win today. have to play better next time.'' Next time could arrive in the Div. I-A playoffs. ``We will approach them with calm and focus,'' Eichler said. ``We'll be able to treat them as one team instead of `Marymount,' as if the connotation con·no·ta·tion n. 1. The act or process of connoting. 2. a. An idea or meaning suggested by or associated with a word or thing: of Marymount is so much bigger than just another team.'' ivan.orozco@dailynews.com (818) 713-3607 ATHLETE OF THE WEEK BOYS Michael Cybulski, Royal, Sr. Boys' cross country The two-time 3,200-meter state champion clocked 15 minutes, 3 seconds Saturday at the 5,000-meter Woodward Park Woodward Park (34 acres) is a public park, botanical garden, and arboretum located between 21st Street and 24th Street, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA. It is open to the public daily. course in Fresno to win the Clovis Invitational in·vi·ta·tion·al adj. Restricted to invited participants: an invitational golf tournament. n. An event, especially a sports tournament, restricted to invited participants. Adj. 1. . Cybulski's time was the fastest in 16 years at the meet. GIRLS Shannon Murakami, Saugus, Sr. Girls' cross country Murakami ran 17 minutes, 43 seconds over three miles to finish first at Saturday's Jim Danner Invitational in Troutdale, Ore. Murakami, whose Centurions captured the team event, won the race by 14 seconds. UP & COMER Trevor McHugh, Alemany, So. Boys' water polo water polo, swimming game encompassing features of soccer, football, basketball, and hockey. The object of the game is to maneuver, by head, feet, or hand, a leather-covered ball 27 to 28 in. McHugh, who has played just two years of organized water polo, has emerged as Alemany of Mission Hills' starting goalie. McHugh has 61 saves and 11 steals as the Warriors have started a surprising 10-2. TRIVIAL MATTERS Birmingham of Lake Balboa Balboa, town (1990 pop. 2,751), Colón prov., in the former Panama Canal Zone, on the Gulf of Panama. The port for Panama City, Balboa was the administrative headquarters of the Panama Canal Zone. It was also the site of a U.S. navy base (closed 1999). (2-3) is home Friday against Taft of Woodland Hills (2-3) in one of the area's fiercest football rivalries. The two-time defending West Valley League champion Toreadors advanced to the City Section final last year, but Birmingham might be the better team this season. The last time Birmingham defeated Taft? In the second round of the 2004 City Championship playoffs, a 41-19 victory en route to the title. CAPTION(S): 3 photos, 7 boxes Photo: (1) Audrey Eichler has helped lead Harvard-Westlake to a 14-4 overall record, 2-1 in the Mission League. Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News (2) Michael Cybulski, Royal, Sr. (3) Shannon Murakami, Saugus, Sr. Box: (1) ATHLETE OF THE WEEK (see text) (2) UP & COMER (see text) (3) TRIVIAL MATTERS (4) THEY SAID IT (5) OTHER TOP PERFORMERS (6) DAILY NEWS RANKINGS (7) DAY PLANNER |
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