On Friday, LJCDS officially inducted the newest members of the Athletic Hall of Fame. Congratulations to Diego Rovira '00, Lauren Swigart '03, Jerry Fleischhacker, and the 2001-02 Women's Basketball team (you can find the roster below).
Diego Rovira '00
Diego is one of the greatest soccer players in La Jolla Country Day School history. He was a talented left-footed midfielder who played from 1996 to 2000 and finished his LJCDS soccer career as the all-time leading scorer at the time. His head coach, Jerry Fleischhacker, described him as, “a fine young man and team leader who did a great job teaching the seven freshmen about team attitude. Those seven freshmen went on to win a CIF title and were then mentors to the new freshmen.” Diego was named First Team All-Coastal League three times and First Team All-CIF as a senior. Aside from excelling on the field, Rovira was a three-time member of the academic honor roll and was a high school all-academic team selection by the San Diego Union-Tribune. Diego went on to become an honorable mention All-WCC player at St. Mary’s. He then had a tremendous professional career with the San Diego Sockers, winning four championships. In the 2010-2011 season Diego scored 19 goals in 15 games for the Sockers and was named Second Team All-PASL.
Lauren Swigart '03
Lauren was a cross country and track and field star from 1999 to 2003. She led three cross country teams to both Coastal League and CIF championships. She also led three teams to impressive finishes in the state championships. Lauren was a top-five finisher in both the Coastal Conference and CIF during all four seasons. She was the Division IV individual CIF champion in both 2001 and 2002. Lauren was named all-Coastal Conference and team MVP all four of her cross country seasons and was a four-time all-academic selection by the San Diego Union-Tribune. As a track and field athlete, Lauren led the Torreys to three Coastal Conference Championships and was a three-time CIF finalist. Lauren went on to run both cross country and track and field at Santa Clara University. She was named first team all-WCC in cross country in both 2003 and 2006 and was an WCC all-academic selection as well. Beyond college, Lauren continued her running and competed in Ironman Triathlons and ultra-marathons. She now lives in the mountains of Colorado and has climbed all of its 58 peaks over 14,000 feet.
Jerry Fleischhacker
Jerry Fleischhacker was a beloved soccer coach and history educator for twenty-nine years at La Jolla Country Day. “Coach Fly” did not miss any of the 704 games played by his teams between 1991 and 2020. His teams had a record of 364-215-125 making him the winningest soccer coach in school history. His teams won five Coastal League championships and two CIF championships. Coach Fleischhacker was a positive mentor to his players who clearly thought highly of him. “I’ve played soccer my whole life and had many coaches, but none like Fly,” shared Diego Rovira ’00. “He cared so much about the players and the team. It was never about winning (though he liked winning) - it was all about the journey in helping us grow up and become better people.” According to Zack Wolfenzon ’09, “Everyone who’s taken a class with Fly comes out a better student. Everyone who's played for Fly comes out a better soccer player. Everyone who’s had a chance to know Fly is ever grateful to have him as a coach, teacher, mentor and friend.” Coach Fleischhacker will be inducted as a San Diego Coaching Legend by the San Diego Hall of Champions in 2021.
2001-02 Women's Basketball Team
The 2001-02 women’s basketball team were Coastal League co-champions, CIF Division V champions (108-35 over Julian), Southern California Regional champions (63-37 over LA Pilgrim), and State champions (53-49 over Modesto Christian). They played a very challenging non-league schedule, won three pre-season tournaments, defeated nationally ranked and state championship teams, and finished the season with a record of 27-5. The Torres were ranked number one in all of San Diego County, were the number one ranked Division V team in California and were ranked in the top ten overall in California. The roster was made up of LaToya Cunningham ’05, Mercedes Fox-Griffin 05’, June Brubaker Landry ’02, Ashley Rentz ’03, Marissa Rivera ’04,Gabriela Sanz-Douglass ’04, Chrystina Sayers ’05, Candice Wiggins ’04, and Sarah Wilson ’02 and was coached by Terri Bamford, Brian Murphy, Corinne Brunn, and Genevieve Ruvald.