While many of us were spending time with their families and friends during winter break, four Choate varsity teams were competing in tournaments along the east coast. All varsity ice hockey and basketball squads represented Choate against some of the best schools in their respective sports. Boys Varsity Basketball hosted the first annual Eight Schools Holiday Boys Tournament on December 15th. The girls traveled to Hotchkiss to play in the Eight Schools Girls Tournament. Boys Varsity Ice Hockey competed in the Lawrenceville Tournament, while Girls Varsity Ice Hockey played at the Taft Girls Ice Hockey Tournament. Even though much of the student body was off campus, Choate hosted successful tournaments and took an important step toward finalizing the eight school association league.
Basketball Tournaments
After hosting the first annual basketball tournament, Choate’s athletic department was excited to see the fruits of their labor. “The initiative to support the Eight Schools competition has been a high priority for the athletic department and also for the Headmaster, so it was nice to get the ball rolling and host one of the tournaments,” noted Ned Gallagher, Choate’s Athletic Director. The tournament started off well, but the wintry weather caused the school to shorten the tournament. “We had really bad weather coming in Saturday night and Sunday morning, so both of the eight schools tournaments were abandoned,” explained Gallagher. Although being shortened due to bad weather, the tournament was highlighted by both squads defeating Andover. The boys beat Andover 54-39, but lost 67-38 to Northfield Mount Hermon. On the other hand, the girls dominated the Big Blue by the score of 42-31. “We were committed to doing the best job we could. Most of the feedback we got was positive, and I think the other schools appreciated the food and hospitality,” added Gallagher. When asked about the games being rescheduled, Gallagher said it would be unsuitable as many schools have very busy schedules towards the end of the season.
As for the future, Gallagher is unsure if future tournaments will be hosted by Choate, but he said Choate is committed to finding ways to expand the Eight Schools events. “It was slow going to get these first tournaments off the ground, and it will probably take a lot of work to get to the next level, but we’re hoping it will continue,” said Gallagher. Though the whole process was not seen as very time consuming, it was hard work and commitment by the athletic office that made the tournaments so enjoyable for both the teams and spectators. Feeding the players, finding officials for the games, ordering t-shirts, and getting all the schools involved were all great achievements made by Choate according to Gallagher. Overall, the tournament was a success.
Ice Hockey Tournaments
Both hockey teams did respectably in their tournaments. Boys Ice Hockey took third place in the Lawrenceville Tournament after winning a big game against The Nichols School by the score of 3-1. The boys also defeated Canterbury in an exciting overtime shoot-out, but the game was recorded as a 2-2 tie. Later on, the boys lost a close 2-1 game to Belmont Hill.
Girls Ice Hockey also had a good tournament at the Taft School. The girls won 2-1 against the North American Hockey Academy, but lost 2-4 against Taft and Tabor respectfully. Three weeks later, on January 12th, the girls hosted Taft in a 3-1 payback win that evened the season series to 1-1. Choate will travel to Watertown, on February 16th, to play the Rhinos for the third time this winter.
As we look forwards to more chances of involving the eight schools association, Choate has taken the leadership towards hosting holiday tournaments. Everything was well organized and the teams had a chance to battle their rivals on the playing arenas. The next step will be finalizing the Eight School League and hosting regular events involving the schools throughout the year.
Nick Justiz ’08 drives to the hoop for a lay-up against NMH. Boys Basketball, lead by Coach Finkelstein, has already won as many games as last season. PHOTO/Ian Morris
