This November, the Sword & Shield recognized four fall varsity sports captains as our Athletes of the Month: Oleg Shatskikh of boys’ water polo, Pearl Stapp of girls’ volleyball, Anna Gubin of girls’ tennis and Chloe Lin of girls’ golf. We congratulate all of them for success in their respective sports, a result of the dedication and determination they have exemplified.
Senior Shatshikh, who started his water polo career nearly a decade ago, aspires to continue his athletic career at a Division 1 university. Throughout his time at UHS, he’s been a standout athlete and recipient of the boys’ water polo team’s Most Valuable Player award. After winning the league title during his sophomore year, which he credits as his favorite memory as an underclassman, Shatshikh received the keys to the team.
“My favorite memory was our CIF run [which was] fun and exciting,” Shatshikh said.
This season, the team’s CIF run ended on Nov. 4 after a matchup with El Segundo in which the opposing Eagles narrowly came out on top. For his underclassmen teammates who still have more of their career to play out at UHS, he has some advice.
“Work hard all the time . . . That is the best way to improve,” Shatskikh said.
Moving out from the pool and into the gymnasium, Stapp is the next recognized Athlete of the Month from girls’ volleyball. Her high school career is full of joyous memories she will forever cherish, many of which were formed off of the court.
“[One of my favorite memories was] having [the upperclassman] drive me around and just being able to hang out with them,” Stapp said.
As a senior, the team’s Senior Night was also a special experience for her.
“I was able to play for my family and be recognized for all my hard work over the years,” Stapp said.
Tennis star Gubin credits the success of the UHS Girls’ Varsity Tennis dynasty to her coach, John Kessler.
“It is with Coach Kessler that our team is brought together by his contagious energy, continuous inspiration and meticulous understanding of the game, which translates [into] each girl’s development,” Gubin said.
Although her head coach has tremendously helped her development, she has shown great signs of determination by herself. She says her favorite memory before her senior year was returning from her ACL injury only three months after surgery. Incredibly, she was able to make a comeback and qualify for CIF doubles. Her favorite memory of her senior season, however, was against Beckman High School where she ended her final in-league match dominantly by sweeping all three of her matches.
She wants to leave her teammates with the message that tennis is much more than a sport.
“Don’t focus on the winning and losing aspects so much,” Gubin said. “Of course, in the moment you want to win and that’s all that appears to matter but in reality . . . you will look back and remember all the fun practices, bus rides to and from other schools, the post-game-celebrations and the feeling of being surrounded by a group of girls who only want to watch you succeed.”
The final honoree for this month is Chloe Lin, a lifelong golfer who began to amp up her commitment to the sport right before her freshman year. For her, golf provides a community that would not be as accessible elsewhere.
She reflects on her four years in the girls’ golf program, mentioning how she has made so many great memories and friendships.
“Being on the team has also given me the unique opportunity to get to know people in different grade levels, which I think is especially valuable,” Lin said.
Her favorite memories of her senior season consist of the times she was able to bond with her teammates.
“I give them advice about anything and tell stories about things that happened in past years when I was on the team,” Lin said. “It was really fun for me.”
Once again, congratulations to all four of these tremendous athletes for their contributions to not only the success of their team but to the culture each of their programs has developed.
