By Andy Holden ‘07, Cray Stevenson ‘07, Synne Chapman ‘07, Eli August ‘08, and Corey Sherman ‘07
News Staff Reporters
Girls HockeyThe Girls Varsity Hockey Team has dominated the opposition on a tough schedule, compiling a solid 16-5 record at this point in their season. On the offensive end, the team has been led by the stellar play of assistant Captain Ashley Bairos ’06, Captain EJ Costa ’06, and Hilary Knight ’07. Defensively, the hardnosed play of Captain Molly West ’06 and freshman goaltender Jocelyn Yokow ’09 has held the team to a stingy 1.71 goals against per game. This is quite an impressive feat, considering the team lost eight seniors last year, including star goalie Nicole Stock ’05. “We didn’t know what to expect coming into the season because we lost so many key members of last year’s team. The transition was much quicker than we could have ever imagined,” commented Bairos. Currently ranked number 4 in New England, the squad has appears primed for another run deep into the New England playoffs. Costa said, “If we play our best then we can beat any team in New England.” Berkshire Academy, Pomfret School, and defending champions Noble and Greenough School appear to be the main opposition for the Wild Boars this season, however “the league is really close this year so its hard to tell, any team that makes it to the playoffs has a legitimate chance to win,” observed West. If the team plays to its capability, a New England championship is not out of reach. West noted, “If we maintain positive attitudes and keep our play simple then I like our chances against anyone.”Boys and Girls SquashThe Boys and Girls Varsity Squash teams will close out impressive seasons by heading to the New England Interscholastic Championships on the weekend of February 24th. Both teams carry impressive records into the tournament with the boys posting an 18-7 mark and the girls boasting eleven wins against only one loss to Greenwich Academy.The Choate squads will have one final regular season match with Deerfield on Wednesday afternoon before traveling to their respective post-season tournaments over the weekend. The boys will be on the court Friday night at Middlesex and again on Saturday and Sunday morning. The girls will not commence their pursuit of New England glory until Saturday morning at Exeter.The New England Interscholastic Squash Championships pits the top sixteen teams in each class—A, B, or C—against one another in a format focused on individual match-ups. Choate’s players, competing in Class A, will take on representatives from other schools with equivalent rankings on their respective teams.According to Girls Varsity Coach Amy Salot, the format means that “each girl will have to play very well” to ensure team success. Salot added that she expected the competition to be stiff and would be “very happy” if Choate managed a fourth or fifth-place finish.The boys team has been pointing towards a finish near the top of Class A all season long. In the Championships they will target perennial contenders like Taft, Exeter, and last year’s New England Champion, Brunswick. Although they did not capture the New England title, the 2005 Boys Varsity Squash team was presented with the Team Sportsmanship Award along with St. George’s and Taft at the conclusion of last year’s tournament. Swmming and DivingOn March 3 and 4, the Friday and Saturday after exams, the Boys and Girls Swimming and Diving Teams will head up to Exeter to compete at the New England Championship. More than thirty schools will be competing this year, including Exeter, Andover, Deerfield, Hotchkiss, Loomis, Suffield, Hopkins, Miss Porter’s, and NMH. 16 swimmers (best 4 swimmers in each event) and 4 divers from both Choate teams are going to New Englands.Most likely to fare well at the competition this year on the boys’ side are two-time defending New Englands champion and co-captain John Dillon ’06, co-captain Spencer Haught, Jay Li ’07, Ray Li ’08, Jay Lee ’06, Weston Haught ’06, Alex Oumarbaev ’07, Jeremiah Bolinsky ’06, and diver Gianfranco Galluzzo ’08. On the girls’ side, co-captains Kendall Dacey ’06 and Lena Gayraud ’06 will lead Val Atwood ’07, Carlin Dacey ’08, Maggie Carter ’06, Emily Hunter ’08, Niki Albino ’06, Sarah Albert ’06, and Grace Kelly ’07, all of whom are possible finalists. For the past six years, the boys’ team has finished 2nd, and are ranked in the top 6 this year, while the girls have finished 5th for the past two years and are in the top 5/6 this year.The team practices have been tapered off since the middle of the season. The swimmers don’t swim as fast during practice so they can save their speed for when it counts most — New Englands. Coach Burns says that while the boys’ team has less depth of talent this season compared to last season’s team, they have made up for it with a lot of hard work, and he thinks they are on their way to making significant improvements for the last few meets of the season. The girls’ team on the other hand, started off the season in better shape than last season’s team, but challenges arose when two extremely good swimmers were kept out of the water for medical reasons. These setbacks have not kept the girls’ team from staying competitive with the rest of their league, though.One of the girls’ captains, Lena Gayraud ’06, said that the team is “so pumped for New England’s.... It’s the climax of our season; everything we do is for those final races.” Boys BasketballThe Choate Rosemary Hall Varsity Basketball team, led by co-captains Michael Mackie ’07 and Conor Meehan ’07, is in good position to qualify to compete in this year’s men’s Class B New England championships. With a record of 9-4 in New England, and an overall record of 10-6 as of February 16th, wins in their last three games of the regular season would ensure entrance into the playoffs, which will be held on March 1st.Hosted by the New England Prep School Athletic Council (NEPSAC), admittance to the championships is determined by the Saylor Point System, and the standings based on each team’s overall winning percentage. Under the Saylor Point System, each win in the New England league is rewarded with points. Strength of schedule (opponents W/L record) is also factored into the Saylor rankings, and after each week points are revised to include new games and each team’s respective record. The top eight teams are invited to compete in the championship. As of February 12th, Choate sat fourth in the Saylor Rankings, and fifth in the overall winning percentage standings.After a disappointing record of 5-16 last season, Coach Chuck Timlin attributed this year’s success “to the development of Mike Mackie and Conor Meehan as juniors, and then Cooper Stroman ’06 has been a great addition to the team.” Coach Timlin added that this year “we have great team chemistry. These guys really like each other.” With three games remaining on the schedule, Coach Timlin said, “I hope to win every game ...if we win these next three games, we’re going to be in the playoffs and we would potentially have three more games for the New England championship.” Mr. Timlin emphasized the need for balanced play: “If we play really solid defense, and are patient and unselfish on offense, we’re good enough to beat anybody on our schedule.” Co-Captain Conor Meehan ’07 also showed confidence in the team and its chances in the New England championships. “I know we can play with anyone. [Trinity Pawling] is number one and we only lost to them by three...We actually do believe we can win the whole thing if we play the way we know how to play.”After a crushing five-point loss to Cushing on February, 11th, the boys traveled up to Salisbury on February 15th to get their competitive edge back on the road. Despite the long bus ride, the boys came away victorious 52-34. On February 17th they headed to Ms. Porter’s school to face Avon Old Farms and again took care of business on the road by a score of 61-48 capped off by a game-ending dunk by Mackie, who led the team with 20 points. The boys finish their regular season today with a game at Deerfield and start the New England tournament on Wednesday and depending on their seed, and distance from their opponent, will determine whether the game is at home or on a neutral court. They look to bring their fierce competitiveness and chemistry into the early stages of Spring Break and come back to school boasting the first New England championship in Boys Basketball for the school.
