Varsity Tennis has enjoyed a rainy but successful season so far. The team has used the opening week’s practices before first matches to shake off some winter rust, develop consistent groundstrokes and tune up serves. The team’s ladder remains fluid but has a strong core of singles and doubles players who use friendly competition against teammates to improve their games as well as their rankings. The hard work has resulted in dividends in the first-half of the team’s schedule. Although the team suffered a season-opener loss in a non-traditional (mostly doubles) match versus Renbrook, the team enjoyed wins against Millbrook, Berkshire and Kent JV squads in quick succession after that, evincing the team’s determination and ability to hold our own against high school players. In general, our team has outplayed and outlasted competitors in those latter matches where the lack of our team’s experience is made up by smart, consistent play.
 
Softball due to the intermittent weather in the spring, our softball team has not had the full-opportunities to practice. We faced our toughest challenger this season this week which resulted in a loss against Mount Everett School. This marked our first game playing with all the rules, including dropped third strike and infield fly balls, making the game an invaluable learning experience. Maddy Lodowski pitched a great game with 9 strikeouts, and Una worked tirelessly as catcher for the first three innings against an aggressive offense. The girls were a bit low on energy to start the game, and quickly gave up two runs. At the bottom of the second inning, both Greta and Emma were able to steal bases, moving themselves into scoring position. Then, Lily was able to earn 2 RBI’s off of a bunt when the Mount Everett catcher made an unforced error attempting to get the out at first. The third inning was our toughest by far. Mount Everett earned 4 runs due to multiple dropped third strike errors in addition to a grand slam, earning them 8 runs in 13 batters. Despite our efforts, a number of unforced errors and facing an aggressive offense resulted in a loss of 14-4. Throughout the game, our girls kept their spirits high, supported each other, and never gave up, proving that our girls are winners through and through.
 
JV Boys Lacrosse team met the Berkshire Country Day (BCD) school for the second time this season. While our team had a fuller bench than their last meeting, it was tough to get into a routine on the field. After a slow start, our team found themselves behind quite early. Despite stellar saves in net by 6th grader Russell Soja, BCD climbed to an early lead. The second half was a different story. Back-to-back-to-back goals scored by Oliver Pzynski, Finn Churchill, and Branson Figueroa allowed the Falcons to climb back into the game. With Whit Hager replacing Russell in net, the Falcons continued to put the pressure on. A few more goals by our team, including one from regular defender Owen Bredahl, allowed our boys to keep it close. Unfortunately, despite some solid defensive plays by Ryan Alwhat, Whit Hager, and Victor Morales to name a few, the game ultimately ended in a 10-5 loss for the Falcons. We’re back on the field this Wednesday in another home game against Renbrook.
 
Varsity Boys Lacrosse has suffered two losses against Westminster school and the Rumsey Hall School despite the efforts and hard work the boys have put in. Through these losses Coach Abendroth cites that while the team is extremely proficient in running plays and stellar teamwork all around, our team needs further work on the mental side of the game. An area of improvement is not allowing our opponents dictate the tempo of games and to have the ability to exploit weaknesses. These will be areas for improvement moving forward.
 
Varsity Baseball this season features a 6-9th grade squad who has braved some tough varsity opponents. The team recently won a close contest, staving off a last-inning comeback from Mount Everett School with a play at home plate with one out. Emile Miller finished the game with a strike-out, earning the win. In JV contests, IMS has prevailed over Eaglebrook School, tying Renbrook, and going down to Rumsey by just one run. The team boasts a talented young group who is led by ninth grade captains, Keenan Wysocki and Tai McBride.
 
Varsity Girls Lacrosse has continued to fall victim to inclement weather which resulted in a game cancellation with Berkshire. The subsequent games versus Hotchkiss resulted in a win with shots where it counted. With fewer turnovers as well, the girls are much more confident for their upcoming game versus Millbrook.
 
Golf has been braving inclement weather throughout the season. Despite this, the team continues to perform strongly competitively. With a recent win over the Master’s school further enhances the confidence and encourages our large golf team to compete for the 6 spots in the teams starting lineup. With an excellent roster of players, our golf coaches are very confident that the team will continue to find success on the course.
 
JV Tennis has a close win over the Kent center where the team played extremely hard to achieve this result. With this win, the JV team has certainly gained much needed confidence and a renewed sense of purpose during practice. The coaches comment that while many of the team’s players have solid strokes and serves, the mental aspects of the game should be improved moving forward. Aspects such as not losing points to errant serves is an area that if improved, can propel the team to find more success moving forward.
 
JV Girls Lacrosse has been practicing extremely hard this season working on fundamental techniques and working to play effectively as a team. With varying levels of skill and temperaments on the team, coach Perkins is pleased with how the team play so far. However, with the recent loss to the Berkshire Country Day School coach Perkins will continue to encourage the girls to build up their teamwork and not to allow our opponents exploit our weaknesses. Moving forward, coach Perkins is confident that success will come from unexpected places.
 
Developmental Tennis started their season with a hybrid home and away match against Washington Montessori where a handful of developmental players went to (for the first time) to put their knowledge and skills to practice. Skills such a backhand, forehand, lob, volley, drop shots and footwork were all put to test. Coach Lam is extremely impressed with the level of seriousness and attention the players had before and after the match. Moving forward, the players that did attend the match have a new found sense of where they can improve to play tennis at a competitive level.