Athletics News for the Week of December 15-21, 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. Download the brochure. For further information, contact Coach Kallio aterik.kallio@gmail.com.
Girls' Varsity Squash: The team has been training hard. We are focusing on improving racquet techniques and foot speed. As the players' strokes improve, they are learning about proper shot selection in various situations. The girls' squash team faced two strong opponents last week. On Tuesday, we played a dominant Greenwich Academy. All seven girls played well and demonstrated all the tools they have acquired. GA just outplayed them, and there is no shame in playing the best you can and losing to a stronger opponent. On Thursday, the team travelled to Hackley. Eighth grader Catherine Kimmel played a tough match at her debut at #1. Filling out the rest of the team were Maddie Pierpont, Yana Lee, Gabby Johnson, Michelle Haut, Sydney Ginsberg, and Samantha Cooper. Yana Lee played a strong opponent but succumbed in four games. Maddie Pierpont, Gabby Johnson, and Sydney Ginsberg fought until the end, but all lost in the final points of the fifth game. Michelle Haut played a lovely match, hitting the ball deep into the back corners and then going short when the opportunity arose. She walked away with a 3-1 win.
Boys' Varsity Basketball: The team lost a tough conference game at home to St. Luke’s last week but bounced back and won a key conference game on the road at Hamden Hall. The Wildcats are 1-2 in the conference and 3-4 overall. We play at home against Lawrence Woodmere on Tuesday, December 18, and another big conference game on Thursday, December 20, at Masters. Tyler Fernandez continues to lead the way, averaging 21 points a game. Salim Green leads the team in assists, and captains Andrew Waite and Ignacio de Lera lead the team in rebounding. The Wildcats continue to get strong play from key reserves Jack Zenkel, Vince Conn, and Peter Shu.
Varsity Fencing: Fencing continues to put the competition en garde! In particular, girls’ varsity foil remains undefeated after a dominant 7-2 win over league foe Marymount. Girls’ epee also won against Marymount, notching a 6-3 victory. Foilists Emma Chu, Bonnie Ishiguro, and Cynthia Luo all earned two victories apiece. Captain Michael Katzovitz led the girls' epee squad, winning each of her three encounters, while Jess Cordiano won two. Of particular note, though, were Acacia Dougan's foil victory and Morgan Waggoner's epee victory; Acacia Dougan and Morgan Waggoner both just began fencing four weeks ago, and they were each able to earn a victory on the varsity strip. Morgan Waggoner’s win, in fact, was the individual bout that won the team the competition. Surely, these girls both have long, successful, fencing careers in front of them.
Varsity Wrestling: The team split two matches last week. Although we dropped a close one to Rye High School 36-48 on Wednesday, we actually won more matches on the mat than they did. Jon Almodovar, Marc Schneider, Max Wright, George Matelich, and Bobby Linton all won by pin. Friday afternoon, we beat Riverdale 53-6, although to their defense, they only came with five eligible wrestlers. Winners that day included Max Wright and George Matelich, along with Dylan Bronson and Sean Price. It was Sean Price’s first varsity win. This Thursday, we head down to the Bronx to take on highly regarded Horace Mann before the break.
Boys' Varsity Squash: The team improved its overall record to 4-2 with strong wins over Hackley and Hopkins. In the match against Hackley, all 8 players won by impressive 3-0 scores, and Kyle Eagan limited his opponent to four total points in three games. In addition, James Pierpont played an attacking style of squash, putting his opponent under a great deal of pressure throughout the match, while earning the victory. This was an awesome team win from start to finish. Next, the boys headed up to play Hopkins for the first of two meetings this year. The two squads played a total of twelve matches, and RCDS won all but three of them. It was evident that all of the conditioning work this year is paying off, as, time and again, the Wildcats won the extended rallies and games. Matt Swain, James Pierpont, Carl Shuck, Jared Yanis, Teddy Tananbaum, Eli Rattner, Nathan Spring, Jonathan Singer, and Chase Goddard were all victorious in the team win.
Girls' Varsity Basketball: The team played in the 50th Annual Paul “Frosty” Francis Invitational at Kingswood-Oxford School in West Hartford this past weekend. It was the first time in 10 years that the program has had an overnight trip. It was a blast! Not only was it a great bonding trip for the team, the girls played some of their best “team” basketball of the season and improved their record to 9 wins and 1 loss. On Friday night, we faced Governor’s Academy from Massachusetts. It was a back-and-forth game from the start, but unfortunately, the Wildcats lost 48-46 to the eventual Tournament Champion.
On Saturday afternoon the team came out on fire. The full court press smothered Ethel Walker’s ball handlers and led to one layup after another. The 60-30 win boosted the girls’ confidence and set us up for an early season FAA show down with rival Convent of the Sacred Heart. On Sunday morning, the team took to the courts with conviction. In a scrappy, well played game, the Wildcats shut down Sacred Heart’s centers and tallied 11 steals, which led to the 57-43 victory. The final individual statistics for the weekend are as follows: Tara Berger: 31 points and 26 rebounds; Carolyn Binder: 86 points, 10 assists and 11 steals; Jenn Howland: 14 rebounds, 6 blocks and 7 assists; Nereida Mendez: 27 points, 8 assists and 6 steals; Zoe Verni: 10 points, 8 assists and 9 rebounds. Starter Maria McEnroe played solid defense and set the screen of the season! Freshmen Maddy Cooper, Melanie Mandel, and Olivia Sullivan saw limited playing time but certainly contributed to the success of the weekend. The Wildcats play visiting Portledge on Wednesday, as they attempt to go into winter vacation with a 10 wins-1 loss record.
Boys' Varsity Hockey: The team hosted Portsmith-Abbey on December 12. It was a very competitive game that saw RCDS take a 1-0 lead after one period on a Kyle Halloran goal that was assisted by Zach Coppola. PA was able to tie the game in the second period. RCDS was able to get many quality scoring chances, but was unable to convert. An unlucky bounce found its way on to a PA stick for the game-winning goal late in the third period. On Saturday, December 15, RCDS hosted the King School. The first period saw a lot of back and forth action with King pouncing on a turnover and getting the first goal of the game. The second and third periods were dominated by RCDS with King managing only 5 shots over the final 2 periods. It took until the third period and Serafim Rocco's shot to solve the King goaltender. With 6 minutes left to play, Will Halloran found the back of the net for the game-winning goal for RCDS. The team will travel to St Thomas Moore on Wednesday and then will take on Harvey on Friday.
Girls' Varsity Hockey: The team traveled to Chelsea Piers Connecticut in Stamford to play Greenwich Academy last Wednesday, December 12. Although the Wildcats were up 2-1 going into the third period, they regrettably lost 2-4. Senior goaltender Rebecca Mendelsohn had an outstanding performance with 35 saves. Rose Rather had 2 points (1 goal and 1 assist), Ciara Clare scored 1 goal, and Jamie Simensky had 1 assist. On Saturday, December 15, the team was victorious against Summit High School 12-2. The game was played at Bridgewater Arena in New Jersey with only 8 RCDS players on the roster (due to injury and personal commitments). Rose Rather had an impressive 8 points (7 goals, and 1 assist), Stephanie O’Brien, Charlotte Fleischman, Sarah Ince, and Haley Shea each scored 1 goal and 1 assist, Georgia Kleiner netted 1 goal, and had 4 assists, and Maddy Lyons contributed with 1 assist. Juliet Fitzpatrick put forth an impressive effort and showcased the improvement of her skills through a regular shift during the game. The Wildcats currently have a record of 5-1, and will look to add another win with their last game before break against Greenwich High School on Tuesday, December 18, at home at 4:45pm.