Athletics News for the Week of December 1-7, 2012
Wildcats' Hockey Clinic: This clinic is open for boys and girls who are 7-12 years old. Come hone your skills with Erik Kallio, head RCDS boys' hockey coach, and Courtney Doucette, head RCDS girls' hockey coach. The clinic will be held at the RCDS Ice Rink on January 2 and end on January 4, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. each day. The clinic brochure can be found on the Athletics Web page at www.ryecountryday.org. For further information, contact Coach Kallio at erik.kallio@gmail.com.
Girls' Varsity Squash: The team kicked off the season against Greens Farms Academy at Southport Racquet Club. Maddie Pierpont, Catherine Kimmel, Yanna Lee, Gabby Johnson, Michelle Haut, Gabi Salomon, Sam Cooper, and Sydney Ginsberg came out of the gate ready to play. They made quick work of the young GFA team and handed them a 0-8 defeat. RCDS girls' squash traveled to Cityview Racquet Club in Long Island City in Saturday to play in the 2nd Annual Chapin Invitational Tournament. Participating was the 8-girl team of sophomore Caroline Kimmel, senior co-captain Liz Judd, freshman Maddie Pierpont, 8th grader Catherine Kimmel, sophomores Marianna Lee and Michelle Haut , and juniors Gabby Johnson and Sydney Ginsberg. The tournament was played in a round robin format against Brearley, Holy Child, Chapin, and Packer. RCDS defeated the first three schools 8-0 and dropped only 3 matches against Packer to win 5-3. RCDS was defending the title from last year.
Boys' Varsity Basketball: The team kicked the season off in the Fieldston Tournament this past weekend. We lost the first game to the host team, Fieldston, 73-50 and lost the consolation game to WHEELS (Washington Heights Expeditionary Learning School) 49-35. We entered the tournament short-handed, missing senior captain Ignacio de Lera and junior Dylan Bass, and then lost junior Jack Zenkel to an injury quickly after the start of the first game. Tyler Fernandez made the all tournament team, scoring 22 points in the first game and 12 in the consolation game. Salim Green, Andrew Waite, and James McPhail all had strong performances in the tournament. Although we were missing some key players, the Wildcats played hard in the Fieldston tournament and will be ready for the challenges this week. We start league play tonight against King and play in the Horace Mann tournament this weekend.
Varsity Wrestling: Our Wrestling team competed at the Canterbury Tournament this past Saturday, which included a JV scrimmage, as well as a varsity tournament. We wrestled a total of 17 matches on the mat and won 13 of them. Max Wright, Sean Price, Peter Sanchez, Max Pil, and John Almodovar all won every match. George Matelich and Dylan Bronson each split matches against good competition. We start the dual meet season Wednesday at home against Byram Hills, then travel to Trinity on Saturday for a dual meet tournament.
Boys' Varsity Squash: RCDS opened up the season with the long trip up to Hotchkiss. When we arrived, the even numbered positions took to the courts. After some spirited play, we found ourselves down 2-1 and by the end of the match, Hotchkiss had a slim 5-2 advantage. With many new faces on the squad, it was excellent to see that we were able to keep up with a perennial power in the squash world. Jared Yanis was able to earn his first varsity win in the number seven spot, and the entire team demonstrated excellent determination. John Shuck also used his tight rails and deceptive dropshot to earn a win in the number 2 spot. Next, we hosted St. Luke' s in our first home match. Jack Mattson stole the show and the victory with a thrilling, five-game win. He never gave up and was able to retrieve some near impossible shots. James Pierpont, Will Chai, and Jared Yanis were also able to secure wins to give the team a 4-3 win. Earlier this week, the team traveled to Stamford to play the King School. We came away with a 7-0 victory and all the players won 3-0. Congratulations to Will Chai, Carl Shuck, Jack Mattson, Jared Yanis, Teddy Tananbaum, Eli Rattner, Kyle Eagan, and Nathan Spring on their fine performances. Please come out and support us as we play Hackley next Friday at 4:30!
Girls' Varsity Basketball: The Girls’ Basketball team has started the season 3-0. We opened up on November 27 at Marymount with a 61-25 win. Three players were in double figures: Carolyn Binder 16 points, Jess Grasso 12 points, and Tara Berger 10 points. Others who chipped in offensively were Jenn Howland 8 points, Nereida Mendez 7 points, Melanie Mandell 4 points, and Maria McEnroe with 2 points. Freshman Maddy Cooper gave us some quality minutes at the point.
On Friday and Saturday nghts, we competed in and won the Fieldston Tip Off Tournament. Both games were a total team effort. Friday we posted a 61-45 win against a very tough Staten Island Academy. Carolyn Binder led all scorers with 17 points while grabbing 10 rebounds and dishing out 4 assists. Zoe Verni and Nereida Mendez each added 15 points. Jenn Howland chipped in 6 points to go along with her 3 rebounds. Maria McEnroe added 4 more points, while Tara Berger and Melanie Mandell rounded out the scoring with 2 each. Saturday we faced a scrappy Fieldston team that played various defenses in an attempt to throw us off our game. We were able to withstand them all with excellent passing, court awareness, and boxing out. Carolyn Binder earned Tournament MVP and Tara Berger was named to the All Tournament Team while grabbing 14 rebounds and scoring 8 points in the win. Jenn Howland came off the bench to spark us with 10 points. Nereida Mendez added 8, Zoe Verni had 7, and Melanie Mandell chipped in 1 point. Jess Grasso added 3 assists, and Maria McEnroe grabbed 4 rebounds. Freshman Olivia Sullivan recorded her first of many blocks and also grabbed a rebound. Freshman Maddy Cooper continues to improve at the point. The team opens up at home Wednesday, December 5 and also plays at home on December 7 and December 8.
Boys' Varsity Ice Hockey: The team continues to progress and learn the new systems being put in place this season. The team hosted St. George's School on Saturday evening at RCDS. After a tough first period that saw RCDS fall behind 5-0, the team regrouped between periods and came out strong. Through the next 2 periods it was a very fast and physical game. Michael Mossman made several big saves in the second and third periods, including stopping a penalty shot. RCDS eventually fell 6-0, but showed determination and character after falling behind to a strong St George's team. The injury bug has hit the hockey team hard early in the season and we lost Patrick Kissell in the St George's game to a broken wrist, but look to get Blake Beber and Andrew Gillen back from injury over the next week. This week sees the team travel to Hamden Hall on Wednesday and then the Princeton Day Tournament on Friday.
Girls' Varsity Ice Hockey: The team began the season on an impressive note last Wednesday, knocking off NEPSAC rival Canterbury, 4-3, for the first time in over a decade. Senior Rose Rather tallied two goals and two assists for the Wildcats, while Ciara Clare contributed with one goal and two assists and Charlotte Fleischman had one assist. Netminder, Rebecca Mendelsohn had 31 saves to Canterbury’s 18 saves. On Thursday, November 27, the team also scrimmaged Darien High School, notching another win. Eighth graders Sarah Ince and Stephanie O’Brien both scored their first varsity goals. The team is now preparing for its next game versus Pingry School at home on Thursday, December 6 at 4:45 p.m., followed by the Princeton Day School Holiday Tournament. Hopefully the team will solidify its 5th consecutive championship title for the tournament.