How Did the lacrosse Trip to Florida Go and What do the Varsity Girls and Boys Lacrosse teams Look Like?
A tremendous amount of thanks goes out to Mr Sandoval and Mrs. Schwam for making all the arrangements for what turned out to be an amazing spring training trip down to Disney. Portledge students got to play twice a day under blue skies with an average temperature of about 75 degrees. The Girls and Boys teams competed against squads from Maryland, New Jersey and Colorado, and the whole experience was superb. Many times the process of hanging out together and getting a chance to bond is underrated in the development of the team. All the athletes were very well behaved and the commitment of the coaches to their programs should also be noted. Plans for a trip next spring are already beginning with the possibility of expansion to other sports, such as golf, tennis and baseball.It is tough to look past the Varsity Girls Lacrosse team as the top team on campus this spring. Talk about an athletic team, this group is loaded. The team's midfield is skilled and fast with Junior Alex Siwiec and Sophmores Claudia Rogers, Addie Reilly and Chelsea Caracciolo leading the way. Junior Siena Falino, already a four year starter, returns to orchestrate the offense, while the defense has solid leadership in the form of Seniors Ashley Gilchrist, Yola Yu, Liz Lanza and goaltender Jess Sarrantonio. The girls were twice beaten by one goal while in Florida, but their competition, in the form of the Calverton School from Maryland and the J.K. Mullins School from Colorado was outstanding. The Lady Panthers opened their regular season schedule yesterday against perennial NYSAIS powerhouse the Trinty School of NYC and posted a convincing 17-9 victory. The dominating Addie Reilly led the way with six goals, while Caracciolo and Falino added four and three, respectively. Claudia Rogers created many of the chances and finished with three assists. Next up is the Brearly School of NYC. This match will be played on Friday @ 4:15 on the Asphalt Green field (90th and York). Also, make plans to see the Portledge girls take on defending state champion Hackley next Saturday, April 19th @ Home (12:00).
Can the Varsity Boys Lacrosse Team Equal or Better Their Amazing Run of Last Spring?
As the weather got warmer last May the play of the Varsity Boys Lacrosse team became hotter and hotter, hotter and hotter. After qualifying for the NYMLA Play Offs, the Panthers rolled off victories over Horace Mann and Poly Prep, before finally losing to the eventual league champions Fieldston in the semi finals of the post season tournament. The question of whether the Boys can repeat, or better, this outcome is a fair one because the league is very competitive and many of the other schools have fine teams. The chemistry needed to have a successful lacrosse team is also a very fickle thing. Sometimes it doesn't matter how much talent you have, if the lax stars don't align properly for you. Thus, there is a sort of cosmic nature to a lax season that is really undefinable in its character. It can only be experienced and hopefully enjoyed, but as many of us who have played and /or coached the game know, that is not always the case. The two things you can control is your degree of commitment and level of effort. With a strong group of returning players there is nothing to stop the Panthers from understanding these concepts and reaching their full potential as a squad. Junior midfielder Aaron Lee is the engine that drives the Portledge lax machine. Lee takes faceoffs and orchestrates the extra man offense. He ha been a Varsity player since the eighth grade and his drive and quickness are well known around metropolitan lacrosse circles. Senior Austin Prey will be along side of Lee picking up grounders and firing his patented bouncers into the opposing nets. Other key midfielders will be Senior Zach Lombardy, returning to the game after a two year hiatus, Sophomore Sal Magliocco and a host of talented Freshmen that is made up of Blake Martin, Steven Dourmashkin and lefty Pat Condon. In my opinion, the evolution of this latter trio will be a critical component to the overall success of the team. One key strength this team has is the play of long pole midfielders Alain Mathieu and John Hambrook. This Senior and Sophomore combine to give the Panthers a fast and physical presence all over the field. Up front the Portledge attack is manned by some dynamic players. Juniors Tim Morison and Renny Kraft are gifted offensive players who should both put up some big numbers. Morison scored a total of seven goals in the two games the Panthers played while in Florida, while Kraft had two plus three assists in the big 14-3 win over the Dwight Englewood School of NJ. Senior Christian Works and Freshman sensation Ben Lobley will also contribute to the offense, while you will also see Lombardy play some attack from time to time. It is the defense, however, that has fourth year Head Coach Marcelo Sandoval most excited. Anchored by returning Senior starters Alfred Vitsentzos and Cam Cromer in combination with Juniors Trevor Wolfson and Anker Johansen this unit has the potential to dominate opponents. Add in the incredible play of new starting goalie Dan Duffy and back up Eric Mathieu, as well as the quality defensive depth provided by Junior Peter Vasilakos, Sophomore Miles Works and Freshman dynamo Ryan Murray and you have quite a crew. The Panthers open up today @ Home v. St. Joseph's, then travel to Rye for a critical league contest against Country Day on Saturday @ 3:30. Go get em boys!
How Will the Varsity Baseball Team Do in its Second Year of Varsity Competition?
History was made on Opening Day at Broxmeyer Field when Senior Reid Ericson twirled a No Hitter against the Knox School. Ericson was perfect through 4 and 1/3 innings and finished up the game with 14 strikeouts. He was supported by Sophomore shortstop Mark Dourmashkin who went two for two, including a triple, and two walks, and catcher Mike McCloskey who handled the catching duties throughout Ericson's gem. The team is much improved over, and more experienced than, last year's squad. Junior Adam Kravietz will also handle much of the pitching, while Seniors Kai Stoll and Dan Leavey provide great play at the corner infield spots. The starting outfield in the first game was made up of Juniors Matt Ardito and Chris Gerry and Sohpomore Ben Shapiro. The Panthers will finish up their IPPSAL series with Knox this Friday when they travel out to St. James for a 4:00 start. While the Upper Room and Our Savior teams look to be the cream of IPPSAL this spring, don't be surprised if this group of Panthers comes up and chomps one of the big two come play off time.
Is the Varsity Boys Tennis Team Ready to Repeat as IPPSAL Champs, and Challenge for the Coveted ACIS Championship?
In his final year as Head Coach of the Varsity Boys Tennis team Alex Rudback will rely heavily on the singles trio of Senior Paul Wirkowski, Junior Steven Pardo and 8th grader Clark Ruiz for victories. In yesterday's opening match v. ACIS foe the Dwight School of NYC the Panthers used doubles combinations of Freshman Eddie Huai and Senior Corey Axelowitz and Senior Mete Seker and Junior Ryan Axelowitz. The Panthers went down by an overall match score of 4-1 with Pardo gaining the only victory at #3 singles. It will be a challenging year for the boys as they compete in the difficult ACIS league and try to fend off rivals for their IPPSAL crown.
What Does This Year's Varsity Golf Team Look Like?
Even having lost an outstanding player because of medical reasons, Junior standout David Wilson will miss this golf season while he recovers from hip surgery, the Portledge Varsity Golf team looks to be stronger and deeper than ever. Senior Ray Weinmann, who was among the top five independent school golfers in the state last year, is back to lead the Panthers one last time. Ray got his handicap down to zero last summer, so his matches against the opposing #1 players should be something to see. Following Ray is returning two year letter winner Junior John Litke. This is a player who is always working on his game and is really ready for the opportunity to compete against some of the other top players from the metropolitan area. Then there are the players who are new to the team, but bring great promise for the future of Portledge golf . This list includes Sophomore Lindsay Krause and the Freshmen trio of Steven DiBartolomeo, Tom Parisi and Ryan Gottfried. There is another 10 or so individuals working out with the team, so the development of the program is well under way. Special thanks go out to Mr. Pat Myers for his leadership and drive towards the evolution of Portledge Golf.
