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2010 Winter Sports

2010 Winter Sports

The Wildcats’ 2009-10 winter sports featured unprecedented success. The biggest highlight of the winter season was that both the girls’ and the boys’ teams won a state championship in the State Association of Independent Schools (NYSAIS) tournament—the first time ever that both the girls’ and boys’ RCDS teams of the same sport have been state champions. For the girls’ team this was the second state championship in a row. On the hardwood of the squash courts, the Wildcats also had success: the boys’ squash team had its most successful season, finishing as the sixth-ranked team in all of New England. The RCDS athletic program continues to grow and improve; for most Wildcat teams the season record was as strong as or better than the previous season. Many individual RCDS athletes garnered recognition for their efforts within the Fairchester Athletic Association (FAA) and the region. At the end of each season, each RCDS team honors two team members – one with the Wildcat Award, which is given to the most valuable player of the team as voted by teammates, and another with the Coaches’ Award, which is given to the student-athlete who, in the opinion of the coaches, epitomizes dedication, improvement, and sportsmanship. Perhaps the team that had the most success this season for RCDS was the girls' basketball team, which, after starting the season at 4-3, won 14 of their last 16 games to finish with a record of 18-5 and its second consecutive NYSAIS championship. In the championship game the Wildcats, who were seeded fifth, defeated the number one- seeded team, Immaculata, by a score of 38-24. Senior Alexandra Osborn-Jones and freshman Carolyn Binder were named to the FAA All-League team, and junior Stephanie Binder was named All-FAA Honorable Mention. Osborn-Jones finished her career with 1474 points, 1131 rebounds, and 506 blocked shots, all school records. Her on-court excellence earned her the team’s Wildcat Award for her third time—she has also won the team’s Coaches Award in a previous season. Osborn-Jones, who will graduate as the most decorated RCDS basketball player in school history, is headed to Yale University next fall. Freshman point guard Carolyn Binder was the team’s Coaches Award recipient. The loss of seniors Osborn-Jones, Katie Sandling, Hillary Stock, Bridget Stock, Delaine Powerful, and Justine Anderson will hurt next year’s squad, but the return of Carolyn Binder and her sister Stephanie, junior Kim McCoy, and sophomore Megan McDonough will help keep the RCDS team in contention for another state title and league championship. The boy’s basketball team finished with a record of 16 – 8 and won its first ever State Championship in its first time qualifying for the NYSAIS tournament. The third- seeded Wildcats defeated Friends Seminary from Manhattan, the top-seeded team, winning by a score of 58-42. Key league wins over Brunswick—the Wildcats’ first win against the local rivals in over a decade—and St. Luke’s helped the Wildcats achieve an FAA record of 9 – 5. Led by seniors Brian Glazewski, Jason Rogers, Andrew Shapiro, Patrick Manus and Alex Rieger, the RCDS cagers improved all season long and became a tough defensive squad. Rogers was voted the team’s Wildcat Award winner for his diligence in the paint and his leadership on and off the court. Rogers also earned All-FAA honors, and sophomore Alex Gendelman was All-FAA Honorable Mention. Patrick Manus earned the Coaches’ Award for consistent hard play. In spite of losing many seniors to graduation, a solid nucleus will return from this year’s championship team, including, juniors Cedric Osborne, Lowes Moore, Brenton Howland, and sophomores Darren Douglas, Alex Gendelman, Jeff Grasso, and Garrett Washington. The Wildcats 2009-10 wrestling season was again successful with many highlights. The team’s dual meet record of 11-5, which was an improvement from last year’s 5-9 record, included a second place finish at the FAA tournament. At the NY State Prep tournament, RCDS finished in third place. The Wildcat grapplers won the Martin Luther tournament and finished a respectable 5th place at both the Canterbury and Edgemont tournaments. RCDS earned the "Sportsmanship Award" at the Edgemont tournament for their exemplary demeanor. Many individual achievements were earned, as well. Seniors Obinna Nwakeze and Mike Pollinger and junior Mike Rosenfeld all received first team All-FAA honors by their finishes at the FAA tournament, while sophomore Ben Lust earned Honorable Mention. At the NY State Prep tournament, the following wrestlers placed in their respective weight classes: Ben Lust (6th@125), senior Nick Bronson (4th@140), sophomore Andrew Miller (5th@145), junior Mike Rosenfeld (3rd@152), sophomore Chibueze Nwakeze (1st@160), senior Zach Tax (3rd@171), senior Mike Pollinger (6th@189), junior Owen Gray (6th@215) and Obinna Nwakeze (1st@285). Nwakeze, the school’s most accomplished wrestler ever, surpassed the 100 career win mark when he won the NY Prep tournament final for the third time. At the NY/NJ Regional Qualifier for Nationals, three Wildcats qualified: Obinna Nwakeze, Mike Pollinger and Chibueze Nwakeze; unfortunately, a large winter storm prevented the wrestlers from attending. Obinna Nwakeze was voted the team’s Wildcat Award winner, while Zach Tax earned Coaches’ Award honors. The seniors Bronson, Tax, Pollinger and Nwakeze all had winning records and often placed in tournaments.Their leadership and wrestling prowess will be hard to replace, but with so many young wrestlers already having success, the 2010-11 wrestling season promises to be successful. The Girls' Varsity Team concluded one of its best seasons in recent years by posting an 8-9-2 record. Returning to as the defending 2009 champion of their Holiday Tournament, The ‘Cats remained champions for the 2010 Tournament defeating Princeton High School and Landsdale Catholic (PA). The team also finished in third place in the nine-team Women’s Ice Hockey League of the Metropolitan Area (WIHLMA), which consists of teams from New York, New Jersey, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. The team’s high scorers were freshman Elizabeth Wulf, who scored 26 goals and 12 assists, and senior Kayti Faustini who scored 20 goals and 11 assists. The 2011 team will miss the seniors who have been excellent role models and players for so long: seniors Isabel Beshar, Katie Cordiano, Hannah Loewentheil, who have been one the team for four years, and six-year member Kayti Faustini, who was this season’s Wildcat Award winner. Next year’s squad will rely on the continued excellence of Elizabeth Wulf and goaltender Nicole Grosser and dedication from players such as junior Nicole Aronson, who was the team’s Coaches’ Award winner. The 2009-10 boys varsity hockey team finished the season with a record of 10 wins and 10 losses. The Wildcats had a number of important wins against local competition, Blind Brook, Iona Prep, Clarkstown North, John Jay, and Rye High. RCDS played close games against many of its prep school opponents; some highlights include rallying from three goals down to beat the (MA.) in the third period to earn its first win at the Brooks/Pingree Tournament; beating twice, and having close, one goal losses to Portsmouth Abbey (RI), Kents Hill (ME), and (PA). This young team, 13 freshman and sophomores, exceeded expectations in many respects and was lead by an outstanding group of five seniors: Captain Cole Kleinberg, Alternate Captain Tomo Yokose, Jeff Horowitz, Chris Seter, and Chandler Grinnell. The Wildcat team, in addition, had to deal with adversity throughout the year, as several key players were lost to injury for significant parts of the season. The RCDS boys never complained or gave excuses; they just kept working hard to improve. Cole Kleinberg was the team’s Stahlin Award winner (the team’s version of the Wildcat Award) and second leading scorer as a defenseman. Tomo Yokose was the team’s most versatile player, playing both defense and forward. Winger Jeff Horowitz, the team’s Maria Effinger Award (the team’s Coaches Award Winner), finished with over 20 goals and scored several game winners. Next year’s team will rely heavily on the continued growth of junior forwards Shayne Bingham, Sam Fleischman, and Sam Gordon; defensemen, freshmen Michael Rocco, Alessandro Bianchi, and Tommy Garry; and, of course, freshmen goaltenders Omeed Alidadi and Jack Carroll. The 2009-2010 RCDS girls’ squash team finished a successful campaign with a 15-9 record. The squad earned impressive wins over Rye High, Greens Farms, Hackley, St. Luke’s, Chapin, Holy Child, Hopkins, Millbrook, Kingswood-Oxford, and Westminster. In February, the Wildcats headed to the High School Nationals to compete with 125 other teams around the country. The girls earned their way into the A division and placed 14th in the nation. At the end of the season, the team braved the snow to travel to for the Division A New England Tournament. In their second trip to the A draw, the team improved on last year's 14th place finish, coming in 13th out of 16 teams. Each member of the team had success in her individual draw in the New Englands: senior Nealy Nimocks placed 9th in the number-five draw, freshman Liz Judd came in 10th in the seven draw, sophomore Taryn Clary came in 11th in the three draw, sophomore Abby Doud placed 12th in the six draw, and senior Lindsay Haut, senior Katie Yates, and junior Hadley Chu each placed 15th in the four, two, and one draws. Yates and Chu earned All-FAA, while Clary earned All-FAA Honorable Mention. Chu earned the Coaches’ Award, and Yates was the team’s Wildcat Award winner. The team will miss seniors Lindsay Haut, Nealy Nimocks, and Katie Yates next year, but with much of the ladder returning, including sophomores Emily Sacher and Samisha Bansal who will move up to help fill some of the gaps, the Wildcats should continue to enjoy success next season. During the 2009-2010 season, the Rye Country Day Boys’ Squash team enjoyed one of its most successful seasons ever. The team finished with an impressive 17-5 record, boasting fantastic wins over boarding schools such as Loomis Chaffee, Trinity- Pawling, , Lawrenceville, Groton, Millbrook, and Hotchkiss. In addition, they came out victorious against area schools such as Rye High School, Horace Mann, St. Luke’s, Hopkins, Greens Farms, Hackley, and King. In February, the team traveled to Yale University to play in the A Division of the High School National Championships;; this meant that U.S. Squash rated them as one of the top sixteen teams in the country. After four days of incredible squash, the team came away with an impressive 13th place finish out of 125 teams. At the end of the season, the team made the long journey to Exeter Academy to play in the Division 1 New England Championships. The Wildcats’ play during the New England tournament was some of its most spirited squash of the season. Throughout the weekend, the ‘Cats executed impressive drop shots, diving winners, and perfect rails, while carrying themselves with class and character. Junior Thomas Galluccio led the way as he earned third place in the fourth flight. Senior Dan Judd, the team’s Wildcat Award winner, had an impressive showing as he finished 6th in the number one flight, while Harry Razook, the team’s Coaches’ Award winner, also earned 6th place in the number five flight. Senior Grayson Clary finished his career on a high note, with a spectacular win in the number six flight to earn 7th place. In addition, Freshman John Shuck made it clear that he is going to continue to be a key to the team’s future successes, as he earned 8th place in the seventh flight. Sophomores Matt Stevens and Michael Walsh continued to demonstrate their impressive talents, while earning 13th place in the second and third flights respectively. After three days of non-stop squash, the Wildcats came away with a 6th place finish out of 40 teams, which is the highest ranking an RCDS Boys' Squash team has ever achieved. On the fencing strip the RCDS boys’ foil team, under the leadership of seniors Matt Rose and Eugene Vinitsky, fought hard against its competition and earned an overall record of 9-8 and a third-place finish in the ISFL tournament. Wildcat fencers proved to be a formidable force to deal with in the Fencing League (ISFL). Vinitsky was a medalist in the ISFL tournament and earned the team Coaches’ Award. Matt Rose earned the Hartman Award, given to the programs’ (boys’ and girls’) top fencer. The seniors will be missed but strong returning fencers, sophomores Andrew Razman and Andrew Mollerus, should enjoy continued success next season. Under the leadership of returning captain senior Kristi Licare, who won the Wildcat Award for an unprecedented third consecutive season, the girls’ foil team finished with a 11-8 record, improving on last year’s win total of ten. Senior Deelan Ayhan won the team’s Coaches’ Award for the second consecutive year. Senior Maria de Lera will also be missed next year, but young captains, sophomore Katie Dean and Bonnie Ishiguro, will provide leadership for years to come. Determined to return to excellence, the 2009-2010 RCDS epee team overcame early season struggles to finish with a respectable 7-8 record. Senior captain William Gleysteen had an outstanding individual record and was the team’s Wildcat Award winner. Freshman David Yelsey, who represents the future of the epee, won the team’s Coaches Award. The loss of seniors Scott Wieman, Alex Zavoluk, and Jon Madorsky leaves a lot of holes in next year’s lineup. The Rye Country Day Wildcats winter sports season will be tough to match, but the school’s athletic program continues to grow and add independent school championships and improve its standing within the New England prep school ranks. Next winter season, expectations will be high as the team’s look to add to their past successes. As for those graduating seniors, the coaches and the RCDS community wish them well as they continue their athletic careers at the next level. Now, though, the student-athletes of RCDS are preparing for another successful spring season on the diamond, on the links, on the courts, and the field.

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