The local scholastic lacrosse season has swung into action for a number of area teams. On the girls side, La Jolla Country Day (LJCD) School looks to improve on last season’s losing record with Roya Bagheri, Liv Hipkins, Veronica Lee, Jodi Morris, Lani Frankville and Ariana Elegado (hurt as of last week) leading the charge. Head coach Dave Jenkins noted that this is Country Day’s fourth year with a girls lacrosse program.   “We’re excited about having our first graduating class of seniors who have been with the program for all four years of their Country Day experience,” Jenkins commented. “Improvement has been steady over the years and I think we have a team that will be better and more competitive. The girls have been working hard, are off to a good start and excited about the season.” Jenkins is also working this season for the first time with assistant coach Karen Elitzky. “I am excited to have Karen join the team,” Jenkins said. “She brings high school and collegiate experience to the team and the very valuable perspective of an on-campus coach.” At The Bishop’s School, head coach Meghan Carr and the Lady Knights finished 12-7-1 a season ago, sharing the Coastal League crown at 9-1 with Francis Parker. While losing Emily Johnson and Jacqueline Rhodes to graduation, Bishop’s will look to Ali Bishop, Jameson Kearney, Camilla Johnston, Hillary Halter and Sophia Muller to lead the way. “My expectation for the team is to play as a whole to accomplish a Coastal League title,” Carr remarked. “We are coming into the season late compared to the rest of the teams, as we were on spring break and the overlap with soccer. We need to focus on improving our speed and endurance in order to make our goals. Many of our eight seniors have played together since seventh grade and have been on the varsity team since their freshman year. This is their senior year and with their energy and skill, I have no doubt they will be strong leaders.” At neighboring La Jolla High School, new head coach Jenn Tapscott and the Lady Vikings will look to keep a winning tradition going, finishing 18-11 a season ago. Some key players to watch this season include midfielders Mackenzie Gloven, Annette Pulliam, Margaret Nettleton and Ellie Wheeler; defender Mika Marsh; attackers Sarah Shigley and Cami Felt; and goalie Anjali Thota. “This year’s team is comprised of a senior class who encompasses the talent needed for success,” Tapscott commented. “Their leadership skills and drive to achieve great things has trickled down throughout the younger players and has made others do more than they thought they could accomplish. La Jolla is also blessed with a very talented freshmen class whose desire to win will separate them from other teams in years to come.” On the boys side, The Bishop’s School went 12-6 last season and finished seventh in San Diego County for head coach Steve Sepata. Key players for the Knights this year include Jack Kelly (goalie), Nick Eggemeyer (defense), both Mike Jensens (midfield) and Trevor Gudim (attack).   “We have a strong senior class and several young guys that we expect to contribute this season,” Sepata said. “At this point, we are taking things one day at a time.” At La Jolla Country Day School, the Torreys under head coach Mike Tobey were 2-13 a season ago. This year’s team will look to Jason McCallum (midfield), Patrick Taron (attack) and Patrick Butler (face-off/attack) to lead the way. “The season is already under way and we are off to a good start at 3-1,” Tobey remarked. “We expect to be a much tougher opponent in league play this year. A group of our core guys that have been moving up in the system are finally juniors this year. Still, we have only one senior, so we think that our best seasons are yet to come.” — Editor’s note: Information on the La Jolla High boys team was not available as of press time.