Teams Kick-Off The Spring Season With High Hopes A Preview of the Spring Squads - Part II
By Rohit Shankar '09, Rohan Hong '09, and Chip Lebovitz '10
News Staff Writers
Baseball
The upcoming season for the Boys Varsity Baseball team will be one of many fresh obstacles. After an 11-8 finish to last year’s season, the Boars graduated several key members including Tim Brettingen ’06, a star pitcher and hitter. But with all the key losses come new faces that will fill each missing position. The newcomers’ inexperience will be balanced out by the experience of returning players. Co-Captains Ryan Corcoran ’07 and Dan Cohen ’07, Brad Welch ’07, Chris Mullen ’07, Scott Barchard ‘07, Ben Pascale ’08, Matt McCullough ’08, Johnny Ball ’08, and Sam Wheeler ’08 will all prove to be important players in the lineup. New key additions to the team include shortstop Logan Welch ’09, pitcher Greg Malley ’07, Mike Bozzi ’08, and infielder Nolan Stewart ‘09. Malley has been hampered by a shoulder injury which may cut his season short, but the team is confident in the rest of the pitching staff to put up good performances in key games.
The team bonded during their preseason trip to Florida, working on their basic fundamentals and playing scrimmages against many local schools. Their hard work has shown in the beginning three regular season games. The squad began the season with an 18-7 win of Worcester Academy, and a 13-10 win over Taft. However, last Saturday, the boys suffered a tough loss by a score of 12-11 at the hands of Avon Old Farms. The team looks to rebound from this loss when they travel to the Hotchkiss School this weekend in hopes of adding a game in the winning column.
Softball
Coming off an 8-7 season from last year, the Varsity Softball team is poised to improve by great lengths this spring. The team lost very few seniors from last year’s squad and is returning seven starters. There are also several new faces who will be immediate contributors. The squad has been coached by Jim Irzyk for over 14 years. His experience as a coach will be vital to the team’s success this season. Key players who are returning from last year’s unit are Captain Katie Mackinnon ’07, 1st Baseman Bridget Vaughn ’08, 3rd Baseman Jaclyn Salzillo ’08, catcher Emily Vitale ’08, shortstop Josephine Pucci ’09, 2nd Baseman Lindsay Hillas ’09 and right fielder Maura Leahy ’09. New sophomore pitcher Carly Evans and freshmen center fielder Kelly Sheehan will also play an important role. Players coming off the bench will make vital contributions as sparks to rallies. Choate will face some tough competition this year from teams like Miss Porter’s, Suffield and Deerfield.
The squad is already off to a solid start to the season. After playing in several scrimmages, the team has started the season with an 8-0 shutout win over the Stoneleigh-Burnhan School. This dominating win shows what the team is capable of for the upcoming season. Pitcher Carly Evans performed tremendously, striking out ten batters in the win, and recorded her first shutout win of her Choate career. In addition to the strong pitching, the team was backed offensively by the powerful bats of Hillas and Vitale.
By starting off the regular season in such a decisive manner, the Girls Varsity Softball team shows there are many more good things to come.
Boys Track & Field
Boys Varsity Track looks to improve from last year’s 3-4 record. Because all eleven meets will be away this season due to the construction of the rack, it will be difficult for the team to perform at the best of their ability. The team also looks to improve from its 9th place finish in New Englands last year. Although the team does not have a home game all year, Co-Captains Steven Kwizera ’07 and Tyren Bynum ’07 are confident it will have a successful season. According to Josh Torain ’07, if Choate’s main sprinters stay healthy, then the team has a legitimate shot at winning New Englands altogether. Torain also predicts that the 4x100 relay team will also win New Englands. The 4x100 team includes Torain, Bynum, Uchenna Nwogu ’08, and Jae Nam ’07 or Andrew Lee ’07. The team also consists of good throwers. Despite losing Greg Borelli ’06, the team will return Kwizera and Patrick Thurston ’07. The amount of seniors in the team improves the chances of the team succeeding in the postseason. The team will travel to Simsbury, CT where they will face Westminster and Trinity Pawling, the reining Founders League Chamions.
Boys Volleyball
Boys Varsity Volleyball opened its new season with many goals. The team wants to make its defense as consistently impressive as its offense is already. Also, the team wants to defend its title of New England Champion from last season. Last year the team gained a 10-2 winning record and won the New England Championship, defeating tough rivals including Andover. “It is important to find a way for our players to engage in the team’s performance,” says Rod Mobley, the squad’s head coach.
Since few of the schools in Choate’s league have volleyball teams, the squad will face several public high schools with strong programs, such as Masuk High School, Amity Regional High School, and Joel Barlow High School. To win as many games as possible, the team will focus on several types of drills during practice. “We still need to figure out who is playing in what position in the defense drills,” says Coach Mobley. “Our new defense is not perfect, but it will get better soon. It’s coming.”
The core of the team will include Ken Mizuhara ’07, Fred Seddon ’07 and Napat “Kid” Jatusripitak ’07, all of whom have been selected as All-Conference players for their positions. In addition, Joel Reitz ’07 and Dan Thomas ‘08 will be important figures in the squad. “Since we have five very experienced players, we could easily build an offense and defense,” says Coach Mobley, “It is important to note that everybody plays a big part in our team because we only have eight players on the squad.”
The team’s specialty is offense. Having six capable hitters gives the squad many advantages. Many teams have a few good hitters; thus, their offense range is very limited.
The first real test will come when the team hosts Andover on the 21st of April. Phillips Academy is returning many seniors from last year. This early season match-up could potentially determine the seeding during the New England Championships in May. Before then, the Wild Boars will travel to Windsor, CT on April 14th to play the Loomis Chaffee School.
Girls Track & Field
After finishing with a record of 6-1 last year and 3rd place in the Founder League Championships, the Girls Varsity Track & Field team will look to repeat last season’s great performance. The loss of Jaleesa Murrell ’06, Molly West ’06, and Peggy Ekong ’06 will be difficult to replace; however, Co-captains Caroline Davis ’07 and Yaneve Fonge ’07 are both very confident on the team’s ability to win vital meets. Paige Seaborn ’08, Juliana Hernandez ’08, Kelsey Cameron ’07, Emi Hawkins ’09, and Jessica Millman ’07 are all returning to another season, and adding much experience to the squad.
Even though the squad is often separated into sections since the athletes compete in many different events, the team’s sense of unity is promising. The fact that the Boars must travel to Lyman Hall High School to practice everyday does not help the team to focus on improving. However, the sacrifice of having practice on campus will pay off when the new track is finally ready to be used. The track is expected to be ready during late spring or early summer.
The team will most likely depend on the performances by the throwers. Last season, Fonge became the 3rd best shot-putter in Choate Rosemary Hall history and the 4th best with the new javelin. Hernandez also made a mark with her new javelin setting the 5th best toss. For example, in a last season matchup against Hotchkiss, the girls secured 30 out of a possible 33 points in the throwing events. These marks will be key to the team’s success this year. The squad will face the Westminster School tomorrow, April 14.
Girls Water Polo
Despite the loss of nine senior players from last year, Girls Varsity Water Polo looks forward to a successful season. Last year, the team finished the season with an 11-2 record and second place honors in the New England Tournament. This year, the squad hopes to return to the final four during the playoffs. To accomplish this goal, the team will need to help its younger players improve. The majority of the team is brand new. Captain Val Atwood ’07 is the lone senior. The new core members played JV last year. Do they have the experience necessary to meet their goals? “At this point, it’s hard to tell. But it is true that all members have played water polo before,” says Coach Bill Berghoff. The new core group will include Val Atwood, Emily
Hunter ’08, Ariel Baugh ’08, Caroline Wilson ’09, Kristy Zera ’08, and Stephanie Choi ’09.
“I want to teach them how to play the game. The instinct and the ability to anticipate during the game will be important factors in our practice,” says Coach Berghoff. “I’m starting from scratch. I need to teach young players rules and basic concepts.” Coach Berghoff will focus on the players’ mental toughness and physical conditioning, since water polo is a sport that has much contact between players. “Most kids on our team are not used to being physical,” says Coach Berghoff. Thus, making young players tough will be a prominent goal for the team this season. “Our players are fast and athletic,” added Coach Berghoff. On April 4, the team faced off against the Loomis Chaffee School, which is known as the strongest competitor in the league. Despite the 7-12 loss, the team has learned that the players can seriously compete against the toughest and most experienced rival. This year, the lack of experience is a weakness and an obstacle that the team must surmount. The players, however, are eager to defend the good season record from last year.
Varsity Softball enters full swing PHOTO/Ian Morris
