PREPNET / SPEAK OUT

What opposing team or individual do you respect the most and enjoy competing against. Why?

TYLER OHANIAN

Calvary Chapel, Baseball

Probably the team I respected the most was Riverside Arlington. They were No. 2 in the nation last season and we beat them to win the West Coast Classic. They ended up winning the Division I baseball championship. They were a very good team and the whole team was made up of nice guys. They had a lot of guys who ended up going to big colleges and getting drafted.

TAM NGUYEN

Garden Grove/UC Irvine, Badminton

My biggest rival was Kevin Bui (Long Beach Wilson). I lost to him every time I played him, and that was like six or seven times. I finally beat him in the Southern Section individual championship last year. I really wanted that badly and I was on that day. So that was a really big win for me.

KRISTIN FARBER

Los Alamitos, Softball

The pitcher I’ve faced for four years that I really respect is [Fountain Valley’s] Natalie King because she always has a great attitude no matter what the circumstances are, and she’s just a great pitcher. I think her and [Mater Dei’s] Tia Bollinger are the best pitchers I’ve seen this year. But I also liked hitting against Amanda Freed [Pacifica, 1998], because if you got a hit, it was a real accomplishment. You had nothing to lose when you faced her, and if you struck out, it really wasn’t a big deal because she struck out everybody at some point.

ERIN JONES

Sunny Hills, Softball

I respect Sonora’s class on the field. Their coach, John Link, has always been a very nice guy. He’s very sportsmanlike. The past four years, some teams in our league could be snobby and arrogant, but his teams have always been classy, and they always play a good game against us.

STEPHANIE HSIAO

Irvine, Swimming

I think that any fellow competitor in most circumstances, whether in a race or in practice, is a person whom I respect and enjoy competing against because without the challenge they present, there would be nothing motivating me to work harder. I believe that close, intense competition causes both competitors to excel and ultimately succeed in achieving their goals and from each race, both gain more experience, either about themselves or their competitor.

JENNIFER BULLOCK

Loara, Volleyball/Swimming

I think we have the best league in Southern California, I can’t think of a school that I hated to play against. All the schools in the [Empire League] have such great attitudes and sportsmanship-like conduct. I think part of this is because every year our league meets for a sportsmanship conference and 10-15 people from each school attend. At these conferences you get to meet and become friends with the people you play against.

MATT ABRAMS

Los Alamitos, Football

Without a doubt Esperanza is our biggest rival. Our rivalry with them goes way back before I was in high school. The atmosphere on campus is nothing less than electric when we have a football game against Esperanza. The games are always amazing and they always come down to the last couple minutes. It is obvious how much each team wants to win and everything is always left on the field. The team that wins that game usually wins the league [title]. I don’t like them, but I do respect them.

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