By Ron Coleman '07, Rohit Shankar '09, Paul Scarcini ‘10, Rohan Hong ‘09, and Peter Conforti ‘10
News Reporters
Boys Basketball
The Boys Varsity Basketball team, led by a strong group of seniors, hopes to repeat last season’s magic with tough defense and efficient offense. Captained by Conor Meehan ’07 and Mike Mackie ’07, the team hopes to make its second straight appearance in the New England post-season tournament. The 06-07 team has two returning starters and several other key players, but the loss of Cooper Stroman ’06, Lewis Dawson ’06, and other seniors has changed the team’s offensive game plan. Conor, last year’s leading scorer, has moved to point guard. This change in position and responsibility of being the primary ball handler has not stopped Conor from averaging over twenty points per game. Corey Sherman ’07, Daryl Wells ’07, and Jesse Reisner ’08 join Conor and Mike to round out the starting line up. According to Meehan, “the team has to be able to play hard for 32 minutes and cut down on turnovers” in order to improve upon their slow start to the season. After winning several pre-season scrimmages, the team lost its first two games. The team played arguably its best basketball of the season on Saturday in a close 56-51 loss to Kent. Phil Opamuratawongse ’09, Mike Bozzi ’08, and PG Coree Moses ’07 have been key contributors off the bench.
Meehan also notes that the new head coach Adam Finkelstein has bonded well with team and brings a lot of energy to every practice. “He really knows his X’s and O’s and has the ability to confuse the other team,” said Meehan. The team’s first home game of the season is on January 6th against Phillips Academy.
Girls Basketball
The Girls Varsity Basketball team is off to a good start to the season beating Greenwich Academy and Kingswood-Oxford by a combined total of 39 points. The rather young team is captained by Kelsey Craig ’07 and Jill Mastroianni ’08. Coach Davidson should be proud of how well the team has played since its loss to Tabor in the first game of the season. Since then, everyone has stepped up and played well. Claire Monagan ’08, Katherine Luby ’08, Rachel Romanowsky ’07, freshman sensation Allie Zeoli ’10, and Kina Kulubya ’09 have all been key contributors to the team’s recent success. Kelsey and Jill are providing great leadership on and off the court. Kelsey has taken over the team’s rebounding duties and is on pace to break the school record single-season record for rebounds. “Compared to last year we are very young,” says Jill, “but we have a lot of height and even more skill.” Winning two out of its first three games, the team hopes to build upon its early success. The combination of the team’s talent and the coaching of Mr. Davidson and Ms.Lease should be all the team needs to make a run deep in the playoffs.
Boys Ice Hockey
After perhaps the most thrilling game of the year so far, a 5-2 win against Deerfield Academy, the Boys Varsity Ice Hockey team looks to make good off their momentum. Ryan Corcoran ’07 leads the team as its captain, but he is not the only one who shows leadership. The twelve seniors on the team will carry much of the weight throughout the season.
Coaches Dennehy and Velez agree that “this year’s team seems to have a lot of depth and potential.” Mr. Dennehy also commented, however, that “the team needs to focus on defense and stay consistent.”
Post-graduates Greg Malley ‘07, Todd Keats ‘07, and Scott Barchard ’07 will definitely add to the team’s success. Returning players Dan Cohen ‘07, Mark Nemec ‘07, and Connor Goggin ’08 add a physical presence to the squad. Also, new sophomores Marc Goggin ’09 and Bill Rivellini ’09 will add young flair to an otherwise experienced squad. The team seems to have a good balance between the offensive lines and according to Mr. Dennehy, “it will help us greatly in future games.”
With a record of 2 -1 so far, the team looks ahead to games against high quality teams such as Taft, Avon Old Farms, and Salisbury.
Girls Ice Hockey
The cold weather is a welcome feeling for this season’s Girls Varsity Ice Hockey team. This year the team has a very solid lineup. It is lead by Hilary Knight ’07, a member of the U.S’s Women’s 22 and under national hockey team. In Choate’s first regular season game she scored all five goals. Also helping to lead the charge are goalie Jocelyn Yokow ’09, Emily Vitale ’08, Maggie McNamara ’09, and Maura Leahy ’09. The team will have its fair share of tough matches, facing perennial powers Berkshire, Pomfret, and Noble & Greenborough. Coach Courtney Riepenhoff, a former Choate Hockey player herself, hopes that her team will continue to improve each and every day. She said, “I hope the team takes steps forwards instead of backwards.” Her goal for the team this year is for them to qualify for the New England Tournament. Already the team is off to a quick 2-0 record after beating Exeter 5- 1 and defeating Greenwich Academy 7-6. The Girls Ice Hockey team is poised for another strong season and they hope to beat all their competition. As Emily Vitale ’08 says, “the team is awesome this year.”
Boys Squash
The Boys Varsity Squash team, led by new coach Will Morris, anticipates a successful season this year. Led by Captains Zach Remsen ’07 and Michael Koh ’08, the team looks to be a strong one. The varsity players will have intense practices, half focused on physical training and the other half on game control in the season. In addition, the team contains many new varsity members, who are mostly seniors and from last year’s JV ranks. “All of them are adept to the Varsity team, and they will be our most important players in the season,” says Zach, “the squad seems less experienced than last year’s, but we will work hard to make it up.”
The team aspires to achieve the top five in a New England championship, and furthermore, Coach Morris has goals for every player of the team: to work harder than all of their opponents, to develop a strong sense of team, and to compete with sportsmanship. During the season, Boys Squash will launch a new start with a new approach and different goals from the last season. While coaches Gallagher and Morris have subtle differences in coaching styles, both stress heavily the idea of sportsmanship. Thus far, the team is eager to improve and achieve their goals for the season.
Girls Squash
The 2006 Girls Squash Varsity Team looks to be an outstanding unit. Led by coaches Thomas Foster, David Loeb, and Emily Brenner, the team already has two decisive wins under its belt against Exeter (7-0) and Taft (6-1). Coach Brenner feels very good about the team’s position in the league this year and says, “The team will challenge every opponent they come across this year.” Lily Cohen ‘07, Maggie Remsen ‘09, and Ellie Foster ’08 currently hold the top three ladder seats with Captain Anne Cheng ‘07 close behind in fourth. “These four are likely to move around in the top positions,” says Brenner, “and we probably won’t see them in these same seats for the entire season. I hope they challenge each other every week and really push each other to do better.” There are new freshmen on the JV and Varsity teams that the coaches will keep their eyes on. Mary Foster ’10 currently holds the number eight seat while Hannah Koh ’10 and Liz Ruben ‘10 hold numbers thirteen and fifteen respectively. “There is a nice combination between JV and Varsity,” says Brenner, “they really work together more now than in the past. It really adds to an already great program.”
Boys Swimming & Diving
The Boys Swimming & Diving team, led by a new coach Sara Massa, expects the coming season to be another successful one. A number of swimmers have already shown tremendous improvement. “Individual swimmers’ improvement will eventually contribute to the team’s victory,” says Captain Jay Li ’07. “We want to be ranked in the top three of the New England Championship this year.” Tri-captains John Adams’ 07, Aleks Oumarbaev’ 07, and Jay Li’ 07 will lead the team. However, the team will depend on strong junior and sophomore groups for another successful season. Juniors Chris Mitchell ‘08 and Ray Li ’08, along with Connor Murphy ’09, Dan Fallahi ’09, and David Lim ’09, will support the seniors. Also, newcomer Patrick Li ‘10 has proved strong by winning the 200m relay against Suffield. Ms. Massa, who was a professional swimmer, coaches new techniques and strokes to Choate swimmers during each practice. Furthermore, because her practices not only focus on the physical training but also the psychological part of swimming, the team is full of hope despite being defeated by Suffield in their first meet of the season. In Diving, G. Galluzzo ‘08 and Tyler Makepeace ‘09 are both key contributors to the team. Against Suffield, they proved a strong combination, taking the top two spots. Their next meet is on January 6th when they host Phillips Academy.
Girls Swimming & Diving
Led by co-captains Caroline Davis ‘07 and Val Atwood ‘07, and coaches Sarah Massa, Mr. Curry, and Ms Perkins, the Girls Varsity Swimming team looks very strong after dominating Suffield Academy in their first meet of the season. The Wild Boars beat the Tigers by 73 points. The young team will depend mostly on the underclassmen since the team graduated many key members, including Lena Gayraud ‘06 and Kendall Dacey ‘06. Good performances from Caroline Wilson ‘09, Ariel Baugh ‘08, Julia Fram ‘08 and Emily Hunter ‘08 will be key to the team’s success this year. The team also has a very strong third form class including Katie Kaspar ‘10, Cori West ‘10, Michelle Choi ‘10, and Yuliya Oumarbaeva ‘10. On the Diving side, however, the team has plenty of experience. Carlin Dacey ‘08 and Captain Grace Kelly ‘07 will be a strong one-two combination throughout the season, as they won the top two spots against Suffield. The team will host Phillips Academy on January 6th.
Boys Wrestling
This upcoming season will be a new challenge for the Boys Varsity Wrestling Team. With many new wrestlers joining the team this year, it is vital that the squad gains valuable experience in the first matches. The grapplers arecaptained by 5th formers Christian Duffy and Cameron Banks and coached by Coach Chris Milmoe. The team looks to achieve a high standing in Class A of the New Englands. Both the team and the wrestlers made it their goal for the season to achieve a winning percentage above .500. These are high standards but this is the only way the team will advance to the post-season. Of the thirty or so members on the team, there are 11 starters, including Cameron Banks ’08, Christian Duffy ’08, Miguel Vargas ’09, David Lam ’09, Will Hedley ’09, Chris Douglas ’08, Amos Yuen ’09, Kamsen Lau ’07, Lane Franklin ’09, and Nick Ciborowski ’10. Each of these competitors is in line to have a fine season. With Duffy absent because of a nose injury, the team currently stands with a 1-2 record. As the year progresses, the team will continue to improve and become more experienced.
