The562’s coverage of Millikan Athletics for the 2025-26 school year is sponsored by Brian Ramsey and TLD Law.
The562’s coverage of Long Beach Poly Athletics for the 2025-26 school year is sponsored by Former Jackrabbits Wendell “WoWo” Moe, Jr. & Tyson Ruffins.
A pair of teams with championship pedigree faced off on the LBCC Sand Courts on Wednesday afternoon with a trip to the CIF-SS Division 3 finals on the line.
Millikan and Long Beach Poly split the regular season series between the two Moore League rivals, and the rubber match would determine which school would be the last team standing from the city.
The Rams were locked in from the first serve, winning all five of the opening sets on their way to an impressive 4-1 victory over the Jackrabbits, earning a trip to the CIF-SS finals for the second year in a row.
“It was amazing,” said Millikan assistant coach Andy Jaszczynski, who was filling in for head coach Antoinette De La Espriella. “It started off with a lot of preparation throughout the season, and I think everybody came in with a mindset, ‘Okay, this is the deciding game. These are the semifinals. It’s win or go home.’ And in my opinion, the girls worked so hard throughout the entire season. We had a lot of scrimmages outside of our Moore League season, they did a lot on their own competing in other tournaments. And I believe it shows.”
The Rams ended up sweeping four of the five courts on Wednesday, making it about as stress-free as a semifinal can be.
The first win of the day came on Court 3, where Madison Jones and Johanna Swerdloff were 21-13, 21-13 winners, giving the Rams their first point of the day. Next it was the top flight of Bethany Arnold and Sarah Thaut, who improved to 2-0 on the year against Poly with a 21-19, 21-14 victory.
“Today was a lot of pressure because it’s the semifinals, but I think just staying calm, talking to each other a lot, and just staying together helped us,” said Arnold of her and her partner’s performance. “I felt a lot of trust in Sarah today, and I felt like we had good chemistry. So it was a very fun game because we were just playing.”
Shortly after their win on Court 1, it was the fives who brought the clinching point. Olivia Viltz and Samantha Guzman were able to finish off a 21-14, 21-19 victory for the all-important third point, sending the Rams through to the finals.
Millikan came up short in last year’s championship match, losing a heartbreaker against a different set of crosstown rivals from Wilson. Wednesday felt like a similar hurdle to clear, but one the Rams have been preparing for as they set their sights on another trip to the championship round.
“Once you make a deep CIF run, you realize how possible it is,” Thaut said. “So last year, it definitely instilled some confidence in us. This was our goal from the minute we lost last season. So it feels good to actually do it and get to the finals again.”
Thaut also knows something about winning CIF titles. Just a few months ago, a few hundred yards across the LBCC parking lot, she won a ring with the Millikan girls’ soccer program. On Saturday, she’ll have an opportunity to double her haul on the exact same sand.
“Definitely, I want two rings,” Thaut said with a big smile and a laugh.
The Rams added a sweep on Court 4, with Estella Lopez and Lucy Morris rallying late in set two to claim a 21-19, 21-19 victory to put Millikan up 4-0 in the match.
Long Beach Poly was able to battle back and earn a point on Court 2, as the pair of Aleeya Salima and Keola Napoleon-Alvarez recovered for a 12-21, 21-19, 15-10 victory.
Millikan will be back in action on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. at LBCC, facing either Canyon/Anaheim or Windward in the Division 3 championship match. Those two schools will face off on Thursday afternoon in the other semifinal.
