Spring Athletics Preview

The 2013 season will bring significant change to First Girls’ Tennis, as they will move from a 4-3 format to the 6-3 format (six singles matches, three doubles matches, with overlap). Under the 4-3 format, players were not allowed to play both singles and doubles. In the new format, players can play both. Moving forward, the girls will work hard to determine a singles ladder but also be tested to demonstrate their doubles skills. Three of the four top singles players are back, including co-captain Skyy McGeachy-Campell '13, Katherine Kelter '14 and Lia Petersen '14. Brittany Swanson '14 and Julie LeBlanc '13, who played mostly doubles, also return. With co-captain Haley Lowenstein '13 coming back from an injury, the rest of the field is wide open for the final singles positions, as well as some doubles positions. Newcomers Ginny Durfee '15, Wells Poler '16, Emily Sirbaugh '13, Madeline Purdy '13 and Julia Cooper '15 — who is up from the Second team — round out the squad.
 

Without any Sixth Formers and only three returning players, the squad is relatively young and somewhat inexperienced this spring. There is a great deal to be excited about with this year’s team, however. The players have displayed a great work ethic and willingness to commit to improving each and every day. Captain Charlie Russell '14, Andrew Bell '14 and Harry Ganek '14 are the team’s veterans. Steve McCormick '14, Carlo Cormia '14 and Steve Cox '14 have been nice additions to the team as well as newcomer Rob Muhlholland '15. The strength of the group will be its athleticism and tenacity. The boys traveled to the Dominican Republic for spring break to get ready for the season. It was a great bonding experience and allowed the team to get a leg up on its competition. Look for this squad to improve quickly because of its persistence and dedication.
 

The First Girls’ Lacrosse team is a young and talented group of players. Under the leadership of Sixth Form captains, Eleni Tebano and Alex Regan, the team had a strong preseason. The program is welcoming many new faces this spring including Fourth Former Katie Savage in the net. She shares the responsibility with Katie O'Connor ’15 who also contributes to the team as an attacker. Olivia Bey '15 and Madison Caan '13 return to lead the low defense with new teammates Ellie Deveaux '14, Meg Forelli '15 and Isabel Tibbetts '15. Sixth Former Lindsay Hanau will be integral in quarterbacking the attack and will find support from returner Eliza Christman '15 and new players Susanna Baker '15 and Stina Ladd '15. Annie French '13 and Mary French '15 have proved vital in winning possession off the draw, and midfielders Margot Frank '15 and Tori DeAngelis '14 will be key in executing a solid transition. The team also welcomes Megan Walsh '15 and will look to her and Kaitlin Tse '15 to add speed and quickness to the midfield. Despite the number of younger players, the Sixth Form leadership and the athleticism of the whole team will surely take advantage of the new talent to carryout a fulfilling and surely exciting season.
 

This year’s squad will try to build on momentum from last year's (second consecutive) first place finish in the Founders League. The team has big shoes to fill, but they are cautiously optimistic about their prospects in this very competitive league. Sixth Form captains Alec Dunn and Gardner Imhoff lead a talented group of returners including Sam Dardani ’14 (A), Tristan Rai ’14 (A), Matt Knight ’14 (M), Ben Shively ’14 (D), Angelo Hunt ’14 (G), Connor Janson ’13 (M) and Pat Brandell ’15 (M). New players Henry Anderson ’14 (G), Danny O'Connell ’13 (A), Mark Ellis ’13 (M), Ryan Nardi ‘13 (D), Aidan Keohane ’13 (D), Brian Smyth ’16 (M) and Noah Fosse ’16 (A) will look to make an immediate impact on the field. This 2013 squad combines experience, youth and speed to create a group of players that will be exciting to watch.
 

With nearly the entire team from last year returning, along with several excellent young players, the golf team looks to be very competitive this season. Co-captains Jack Rubino '13 and David Hallisey '13 lead the way, along with several other players with solid match experience (Daniel Snyder '13, Xavier Morin '13, Philippe Morin '15, MacKenzie Hawkes ' 15 and Derek Leydecker '15). A significant number of new players look to compete for spots on the roster, including Sebastian Aboitiz '14, George Doolan '15, Addison Cilmi '16, Brett Roenick '16, Taggart Corriveau '16 and Teddy Sirbaugh '16. This will be a team with significant depth of talent and should be very competitive this year.
 

With the largest numbers the team has seen in many years, Track and Field is poised to have an exciting and successful season. There are more than 60 athletes in the program, split pretty evenly between the girls’ and boys’ teams. The large and enthusiastic squad is led by captains Stephen Reyes ’14, Kevin Murray ’13, Bridget Gorham ’13 and Yamilex Muñoz ’14. With hard work and gained experience, the team should find success in all events. In particular, the girls’ team almost tripled in size, so they should be a real contender this season, as they will be able to compete in events that have gone unfilled in past seasons.
 

After a terrific 14-4 season highlighted by a seventh consecutive strong showing in the Class A New England Tournament, First Team softball returns its entire roster for the 2013 season. The team is led by Sixth Formers Alli Devins, Hayley Ahouse and Michela Gozzi, and Fifth Formers Jordan Gowdy, Rachel Monroe, Kat Pate, Amanda Savino and Brooke Wolejko. Gowdy and Monroe were All-League selections last season, and Gowdy and Savino were named to the All-Star team. This season, the Martlets also look forward to the contributions of talented young players Jade Marlowe '15, Paige Capistran '16, Catherine Crawley '16 and Kaitlyn McCausland '16. The Black and Gold will miss the talents and leadership of injured co-captain Sydney Daniels '13, but are confident that others will successfully step up.