Darien High School Spring Sports Preview 2011

8/7/2019 Darien High School Spring Sports Preview 2011

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Darien High School Spring 2011

Sports Preview


2/8

THE DARIEN TIMES, THURSDAY, APRIL 7, 2011Page 2D

By Steven Buono

Times Sports Editor

In one national poll Darienboys lacrosse is ranked pre-

season No. 3. In another itsNo. 4.But at this point, all that

means to the Wave is that itneeds to live up to its billing.

Obviously, were comfort-able with always being one ofthe targeted teams, said Wavecoach Jeff Brameier. Thisyears no different.

Whats different this yearthough, could be the legionof super heroes type rosterthat gives DHS depth equal toanything its seen since goingundefeated in 2005.

Weve got a strong nucleusof players coming back andhighly recruited junior classand senior class, Brameier

said. And it goes with the ter-ritory. When you start doingwhat weve been doing the lastsix to 10 years, people standup and notice.

What opponents will fastnotice is just how loaded DHSis this spring. For most, it willfeel like going up against acast including a fantastic four six in fact up front, Wavesilver surfers all around, Thortossing lightning bolts fromthe face-off, Captain Americashielding the defense.

All to say, this team isstacked.

Heres how they stack up.The only newcomer is

senior Dylan Torey who startsin goal. Still, with the type ofsupport hell be given, expecta unique rookie season fromhim.

Hes got big shoes to fill,but hes a Division I com-mit going to Quinnipiac nextyear, said Brameier. Andhes worked real hard in theoff-season to put himself ina position to step into thoseshoes and do a great job.

Torey has played on the elitesummer Charger team.

Hes got good clearing, agreat stopper, said Brameier.Its just a matter of gettingconfidence.

Backing him up, freshman

Phil Huffard and senior DylanHurd.Defense?Its as strong a six-man

defensive group as wevehad, said Brameier.

All-American senior cap-tain Eric Parnon going toMaryland next season headsup the defense.

He is obviously one of thedominant defensive players inthe country, Brameier said.And we look forward to hav-ing him for one more year.

Christian Kolderup(Villanova) is back as seniorstarter, at close defense, withjunior Tony Britton (Cornell)and captain all-state long

pole middie Baylis Treen(Hamilton).

His (Treen) sidekick, play-ing long pole middie D andalso our fifth pole subbing forall the other guys, is JustinShaw (Loyola) who started lastyear, Brameier said. Thenwe have two other very abledefensive long poles.

They are juniors CoreyEppley and Tommy Lyons.

Those will be the mainguys in the heat of the battle,

Brameier added.All-stater and captain JP

Walsh (Lehigh) is at defensiveshort stick and likely start-ing beside him is sophomoreBrendan Hathaway and seniorScotty Waters.

Face-offs: returning starter,injured at times last season,senior Brandon Coley (RPI).

Junior Clay Barker will bein the mix on face-offs.

And the pair will play someshort stick D middie.

Dariens most artful dodg-er, senior Graham Maybell(Villanova) is back as stalkingstallion on offense.

And Darien returns one of its

strongest outside shooters injunior Henry West (Cornell).

The third middie on the firstline is junior Bobby Weaver(Princeton) who started ondefense last season.

The second mid-line is stillup for grabs, Brameier said,but includes juniors TimmyMurphy and Jon Magnuson,sophomore Sean Foley andHathaway.

Other middies in the mix:senior Darius Majd, juniorGeorge Gregory.

Attack, and fantastic, at thefore, all by himself, is juniorreturning leading scorer,Duke-bound Case Matheis.

Hes had a great first twoyears, said Brameier of histop scorer who had 55 goals,94 points last year in 22 games.And were just happy hes gotanother two here with us.

Case can not only scorefor himself, but he can set thetable for others.

West scored 34 goals andfinished with 54 points in 19games in 2010.

And two seniors have bidedtheir time and are ready to stepinto major starting roles.

Richard Gregory (Union)is going to take over the leftyattack spot, I dont think weregoing to skip a beat withRichard in there he brings a

lot of toughness and great fin-ishing ability, Brameier said.And (senior) Ben Preston(Trinity) has probably got thelead on righty attack.

Others vying for sniper timeare Alex Brown (Colgate),sophomore Kevin Seiler,junior Jamie Kerr.

Obviously, its a very deepteam, said Brameier. Forteams like it, youve got togo to 2005, and that team hadphenomenal offensive fire-power.

Cooper MacDonnell, KyleHollingsworth and WhitMcCarthy fired the guns of05.

And Brandon Buchmayr

and Jack Ryan and KevinPeters in midfield, saidBrameier. So, you know,that was a pretty formidableoffense.

Chris Madalon in goal sewedit up at the back, with BillyHaire leading the defense.

I would say that team, of allthe teams, probably set the barpretty high, said Brameier.And every team is just kindof chasing it. Because they(went) perfect.

Perfect means taking states,and FCIACs.

The challenge doesnt everchange, said Brameier. Justprepare to battle for the FCIAC

and state championships.Things get tough a lot ear-lier than that, as always.

Along the way we haveprobably one of the hardestschedules weve ever had,Brameier said. Thats thechallenge of every year, butthis year is exclusively harder.

Number one, the preseasonranking, that puts a big bulls-eye on your chest. And No. 2you have a phenomenal sched-ule, with the likes of Haveford,which is the No. 1 team in thecountry.

Darien travels to Haveford,Penn. on April 16 and playsSt. Anthonys, No. 4 nation-wide, for the first time as a

program in Melville, N.Y. onApril 27.

And Manhasset (May 5)is 15th in the country, saidBrameier. And thats not talk-ing our own FCIACs.

And what of the FCIACs,where six-time state champDHS is looking to regain thecrown?

Youve got a very experi-enced team in Greenwich thatwon the FCIACs last year,Brameier said. And a heavily

senior laden team in Wiltonthat, this is their year, in theiropinion. And they certainlyhave a lot of firepower com-ing back.

And New Canaan is alwaysgoing to be a big game for us.Then there are others that arejust getting better.

One is St. Joseph, whoDarien opened the seasonagainst home on April 6.

Its just a real challeng-ing schedule, said Brameier.And thats a good thing.

For Darien, going 19-3 lastseason, losing to the Cardinalsin the FCIAC semis, the pastperfection of six years ago willnot be a distraction.

You know, if we dont gowith an undefeated season, itwont necessarily be the worstthing, Brameier said. Aslong as we can take care of

business once we hit the play-offs.

Playing the outside powersof Long Island and Penn. hastaken on a life of its own,almost becoming little cham-pionships along the way.

We take pride in playinga tough schedule, thats whyI go and play these outsideteams, Brameier said. Youwin, you win you lose, youwin. Just by playing that kindof talent.

We have a great rivalry withManhasset and with Yorktownnow. And those are as impor-tant as our rival games withNew Canaan and Greenwich

and Wilton.I think its big for Conn. Wewant to go out and prove to therest of the country that Conn.can play top level lacrosse.And weve been doing that.

Unique slate of dates

4 p.m. Wed. 4/6St. JosephDHS STADIUM FIELD

3 p.m. Sat. 4/9GreenwichAway

4 p.m. Tue. 4/12DanburyDHS STADIUM FIELD

4:30 p.m. Thu. 4/14WiltonDHS STADIUM FIELD

TBA Sat. 4/16HAVERFORDAway

4:30 p.m. Wed. 4/20Yorktown (N.Y.)DHS STADIUM FIELD

1 p.m. Sat. 4/23Brien McMahonDHS STADIUM FIELD

7 p.m. Wed. 4/27

St. Anthonys (N.Y.)

3 p.m. Sat. 4/30Niskayuna (N.Y.)DHS STADIUM FIELD

7 p.m. Tue. 5/3Fairfield LudloweTaft Field

4:30 Thu. 5/5Manhassett (N.Y.)DHS STADIUM FIELD

4 p.m. Sat. 5/7New CanaanDunning Stadium

4 p.m. Tue. 5/10Fairfield Warde

Tetreau/Davis Field

4 p.m. Thu. 5/12WesthillDHS STADIUM FIELD

1 p.m. Sat. 5/14NorwalkDHS STADIUM FIELD

4:30 p.m. Wed. 5/18RidgefieldDHS STADIUM FIELD

Most lethal mix in six years

MAY-HEM Graham Maybell (left, No. 22) spins away from the Rams defense in 2010 postseason play.(Darien Times/Steven Buono photo)

Boys Lacrosse

Spring 2011Wave Preview

Give us a click: Blue Wave spring sportscan be found daily at DarienTimes.com/sports


3/8

THE DARIEN TIMES, THURSDAY, APRIL 7, 2011 Page 3D

Wave boys lacrosse ace Case Matheis (right, No. 4) paced DHS cranking up 55 goals, 94 points last season. (Darien Times/Steven Buono photo)

By Steven Buono

Times Sports Editor

Ten returning seasonedsailors lift the Wave over theSound this spring.

The team is looking greatthis year, said DHS sailingcoach Britt Hall. We have10 returning sailors and eightnew to the team. All athletesare experienced racers so there

is a lot of depth.Captains are Olivia Crane,

Bobby Johnston and SarahSmith.

This is our third week ofpractice and the team is look-ing very solid, said Hall, whois assisted by Patricia McGarry.We are looking forward toour first (races) on April 2against Greenwich HighSchool, Staples High School

and a Stamford group.New hurdles await last

years champs.This years team has a few

challenges, Hall said. Sixteam members from the verysuccessful 2010 team graduat-ed. However, this years teamcaptains, have exhibited greatleadership to bring the teamup to the very high bar set in2010.

Sailors include seniors DaveBigelow, Will Kerr, juniorsMac Bartam , Nick Connery,Sarah Graves, sophomores IanCrane, Julia Fuller.

New to the team, are 10thgraders Nick Cohen, CarolineFeehan, Jack Fisher, ConnorNackley, Ben Sickenger,Marya von Schmidt, andfreshmen Jackie Haranzo andHaley Okun.

Our returning team mem-bers Dave Bigelow, Will Kerr,Mac Bartam, Nick Connery,Sarah Graves, Ian Crane andJulia Fuller are our strong

foundation for the makings ofa great team this year, saidHall. All new members are apleasant surprise as they comewith a lot of racing experienceand a solid commitment to theprogram.

Schedule is online atdarienps.org/darienathletics/

Crane, Johnston and Smith will captain the Wave over the wavesSailing


By Steven Buono

Times Sports Editor

The Blue Wave girls trackteam is the favorite to take theFCIAC East. And the Wavemay take it further than thatthis spring too.

The FCIAC Championship

team title is a strong possibil-ity, said Darien coach SteveNorris. Danbury has a slightedge over us. We should goundefeated until we meetDanbury in the final tri-meetof the season at Danbury. Bothteams will be keyed for thatdate, May 16.

Darien captains are seniorsAlex Iqbal, a sprinter/hurdler,third in the FCIAC 300 hur-dles, Charlotte Phillips, sprint-er/jumper, fourth in CIACindoor Class L pole vault,Lee Bolton, vaulter, secondindoor Class L, Megan Keane,first in indoor Class L 1000and Caroline Kapustynski, athrower.

Darien went 11-1 in 2010in dual meets, was second atthe FCIAC meet, to Danbury,third at Class L and seventhat open.

Graduation losses includedistance runners Hannah Lyons(competing at Hamilton), KellyBrophy, sprinters MeredithJordan, Meg Murphy, SamSimon (competing at OhioWesleyan), jumpers ChristieGasparino (competing atClemson), Mackenzie Jones,Robin Bone (moved toCanada), throwers Aimee Rich(competing at Conn College),Annarae Anderson.

Norris begins 103rd seasonat Darien, distance coach isDavid Ott, sprint coach EllaLong, throwing coaches BenBartol and Patty Leasure, vaultGlenn Crafford.

Key athletes also includeseniors Julia Boulton, distancerunner, Elizabeth Crafford,indoor Class L championSarahDailey, high jumper, AmandaDobler, first team All-FCIACcross country, Katie Kirkman,

long/triple jumper; juniorsLexi Ashburne, sprinter, LivyAshburne, sprinter, Catie

Bartone, distance runner,Elizabeth Benitez, thrower,Katie Close, sprinter, EmmaDavis, distance runner, KatieDonovan 400/800, ClaireGaffney, 400, Sherry Gilronan,sprinter, Victoria Kominek:javelin thrower, Natalie Metzdiscus, shot, Alex Pear dis-tance, Katie Southworth vault-er, Niya Wright shot put, LeslieYuen distance; sophomoresJenny Bealle distance, SarahColon distance, Katie Farrendistance, Grace Loh distance,Sophie Long sprinter, EleanorSmith jumper, Brittany Tianothrower, Caroline Weihs dis-tance; freshmen CatherineLacy, Class L indoor jumpingchamp.

Jumps are a main strengthas always.

In Crafford, Bolton, andPhillips, we have three ofthe best five vaulters in theFCIAC, Norris said. Lacy isamong the leagues top threein high jump and long jump.

Distance running is alsowhere points will be found.Keane is indoor state cham-pion at 1000m, Norris said.Our 4 x 800 relay teamproved to be the second bestteam in Conn. during theindoor season.

Individuals from that team Amanda Dobler, Katie

Donovan, Grace Loh willwin races.At javelin, Victoria Kominek

hopes to improve on her 2010FCIAC fourth place finish, inshot put, Kominek and NiyaWright were among the topseven FCIAC throwers.

Darien is looking for moreshort sprinters.


Girls Track


Jumps and distance events to pace girls track to FCIAC Eastern heights

A BOLTON OUT OF THE BLUE Julia Bolton is one of several leading vaulters for DHS.(Darien Times/Steven Buono photo)


4/8


DEMAIO DELIVERS Jess DeMaio is back on the mound for DHS this spring. (Darien Times/Steven Buono photo)

Back in contention for Buch, four junior-led DHSBy Steven Buono

Times Sports Editor

Darien softballs motor hasbeen its underclassmen inrecent years. This seasons the

same, but the experience isbeginning to grow.

Were getting a little oldernow, the bulk of our startersare juniors, said Wave coachNick DeMaio. And (senior)Nicole (Buch) is captain, andweve got four assistant cap-tains who are juniors.

They are pitcher JessicaDeMaio, Courtney Bell, KellyFahey and Olivia Gozdz.

Weve got a number ofquestion marks still, becauseweve got a few new peoplewho have come in, DeMaiosaid. And we are trying toshake out positions. Its like

putting a puzzle together.Gozdz is back at catcher,

Buch plays short, EmmaHamilton is in right, while theother two outfield spots arein contention early. Although

Fahey will play outfield.Starter Emily Blosio and

Sammy Wood are looking atsecond base.

New to the team is BrittanyOsborne who could go at firstbase.

If she can handle first basethat will free up Kelly Fahey,said DeMaio.

Darien has freshmen JuliaDomiziano and DanikaHornick, and Ally Aparicio allhaving a good look as well.

Jess DeMaio is Darienssecond year, standout starter

on the mound. And shell haveback-up, or maybe more, fromKelly Nicoletti.

What are the teamsstrengths?

Well, last year we strug-gled hitting, said DeMaio.The hitting was supposed tobe our strength but it didntturn out that way.

Any way you turn youmay be able to see Dariensstrengths this spring.

I think this year were justgoing to be sound all the wayaround, DeMaio said. Were

going to be sound defensively,were going to be sound onthe mound, were going to besound hitting not a lot ofdepth.

Darien went 16-4 last sea-son and was in the FCIACfinal four, losing to Westhill.The Wave was knocked out ofstates by Windsor in the early

rounds.The Wave looks to be send-

ing seven players out whoplayed last year, and loses oneto graduation.

I think if we play the way

we are capable of playing,well be very competitive,DeMaio added. We went 17-3 the year before, 16-4 lastyear, so thats our goal. To bethere, and when we get to theplayoffs see if we cant winsomething.


Softball


By Steven Buono

Times Sports Editor

The Darien boys tennis team

returns with many a questionmark. Because after upsettingGreenwich in the quarterfinalslast year, and going 10-6 in theFCIAC, the Wave now findsitself rebuilding, having losthalf its 2010 ediface.

We graduated half of ourteam, said fourth year coachTom Stepkoski. We are veryyoung this year but hope toplay our way into the season

and of course try to make theFCIAC playoffs and have agood representation in states.

Darien graduated six players

leaving as many open spots.We finally settled on ourteam and I am very excited,said Stepkoski, with 12 onthe team. We are very youngwith sophomores and juniors.The only seniors are our tri-captains Miller Schweizer,Malcolm Willis, and RupertHansford. And, no spot issolidified yet.

This could go on a while.

We are still in laddermatches and trying to decideour line-up, he added. Onlyone player on the team has

three years experience.Everyone else has two yearsor less experience. That beingsaid, this season is going tobe a rebuilding one where wewill look to mature with eachmatch.

According to Stepkoski,Willis will most likely be inthe doubles mix. Hansfordwill probably be in the singlesmix and Schweizer can do

both doubles and singles.The real excitement will

come from the new players

that are extremely hungry toland a spot in the starting line-up, Stepkoski said. Alongwith the other three returningplayers, Ryo Usami (sopho-more), Cal Kevorkian (junior)and Briton Dailey (junior).

Up from last years jv areJeffrey Sload (sophomore),Dom Hansford (sophomore),Will McCoy (sophomore),Charlie Khachian (junior) and

Donald Brown (junior). AndJunior Gavin McNulty joinsDarien as a transfer student.

We might go through somegrowing pains this year buthopefully the boys will learnsomething from the 2011 cam-paign to help us in 2012,Stepkoski said. It does not

mean we wont vie to winFCIACs or Class L. That willalways be our goal.

More importantly though,its good to go in with a real-istic goal and anything weachieve better than that willbe icing on the cake.

And it should be a fun sea-son, no matter the develop-ment curve.

Theres no pressure so the

boys can just concentrate ongetting better with each matchthey play, Stepkoski said.Making the FCIAC semis lastyear and placing three of ourindividual teams in the Class Lquarterfinals were big accom-plishments for us in 2010.But, this year, the team has a

whole new look. Hopefully,chemistry will build through-out the season and players willimprove.

Im real happy to be backwith this great team, the boys,their parents, our school, ath-letic director and assistant.They make the season allworth while.


Boys Tennis


Its a refit for the boys court

Senior captain Nicole Buch (left) slides into third at states last spring. At right, catcher Olivia Gozdz peeks out from behind her mask. (Darien Times/Steven Buono photos)


5/8


SOPHOMORE WITH MORE Underclassman Izzy Lee is coming off a strong rookie season last year. (Darien Times/Steven Buono photo)

Granath, Kyritz, Lee top three girls on the linksBy Steven Buono

Times Sports Editor

Dariens best season yet in2010 is going to be hard torepeat.

Its tough, because we aretrying to replace Stephanie

Ko, said Darien girls golf

coach Brian Zeyer. And shewas our lowest team deferen-

tial last year.

And the several-seasons-No. 1 was about the top girlsgolfer to come down the greenfor DHS.

Yet, the Wave returns every-one else, including severalstandouts, so, equaling lastyears success might not be

out of the question.

Darien finished up at 11-2in 2010 when it was second atFCIACs and third at states.

Whats up for 2011?Captains are Kendall Kyritz

and Nicole Granath.Returning with them are

Izzy Lee, Corinne Teschner,

Molly Marren, Perrin Brown.

Most of the girls have beenplaying together the past threeyears and are willing to helpthe younger players, saidZeyer.

Granath looks strong earlythis year.

So our top three are set,

Zeyer said. Izzy Lee, Kendall

Kyritz and Nicole Granath.Thats a guarantee.

Freshman Margot Sweeneywill also be competing for aspot.

We have a lot of goodkids, added Zeyer.

Schedule is online at

darienps.org/darienathletics/

Girls Golf


By David DesRoches

Times Reporter

Aluminum bats are crackingand leather gloves are popping asthe Darien High School baseballteam prepares to make 2011 ayear of redemption.

After putting up four wins tostart the 2010 season, the BlueWave boys ended last year at8-12. In at least 10 of those loss-es, however, Darien led or tiedat some point. This year, coachMike Scott hopes that the Wavewill capitalize on any tight gamesand keep the wins from slippingaway.

Weve got a good core offensethis year, Scott said, after toss-ing batting practice on a coldThursday afternoon. Our guysare working hard. They know thegame and how to approach thegame.

The departure of first base-man John Gardner left a gapinghole in the Waves attack, Scottsaid. He was a huge part of ouroffense, he said. Gardner batted.453 last year and hit a majorityof the teams RBIs.

Also leaving the diamond thisyear are southpaw pitchers DavidHickey, whos now tossing forYale, and Ricky Hodges, whofound a home at Virginia Tech.This leaves the Wave with onlyone left-hander for the mound,sophomore Ricky Miller.

Weve got a lot of new facesthis year, with a lot of poten-tial, Scott said. Team co-captainAndrew Hurn is the number onepitcher this season.

Were looking pretty good sofar, Hurn said. Weve got a

lot of guys trying to win theirspots.Dillon Duncan returns to the

mound as the number two pitch-er. Scott added that many pitchersare vying for the number threeslot, and the talent there is excep-tional.

Leading the offense is seniorco-captain Dan Pidgeon whostarts at shortstop. Our offensehas improved a lot since last

year, Pidgeon said. I know Ididnt swing the bat like I wanted

to last year, but this summer I gotmy swing better.During practice, Pidgeon

whacked several solid base hitsand even took the coachs nastydeuce to the outfield.

Both captains will continueplaying Americas pastime nextyear in college Hurn signed onto play for Amherst and Pidgeonwill take the field at Stone HillCollege.

Also returning this year issenior Justin Pryor, who playsthird base and leftfield. SamGillespie is back behind the platefor the Blue Wave, and, alongwith Pidgeon and Pryor, will bethe offensive backbone for theteam, Scott said.

Theyll put themselves inscoring position, and if we canget some guys to hit around themand drive in some runs, well bein good shape, Scott said.

The defensive middle looksstrong, starting with Pidgeon atshortstop and Bryan Previte incenterfield.

Dariens baseball program hasseen its ups and downs, but sinceScott took the helm the boysare steadily finding their nichein the competitive FCIAC divi-sion. Last year we had a prettystacked opposition, Scott said.There were a bunch of [DivisionI] pitchers in the league.

In their only playoff game from2010, the Wave nearly defeatedFairfield Ludlowe, which laterwent on to win the conference.

The Blue Wave head into the2011 season on April 6 when theybattle Bassick High School atSeaside Park in Bridgeport. Thehome opener is April 7 againstNew Fairfield.

Schedule is online at darienps.org/darienathletics/

Baseball


Scott: Weve got a lot of new faces this year, with a lot of potential

TAKING THE LEAD Dan Pidgeon is Wave leading batter and a captain this spring.(Darien Times/Steven Buono photo)


6/8


By Steven Buono

Times Sports Editor

Its a beat up team thatheads out onto the Blue Waveboys track.

Injuries have decimatedthe team, said Wave coachTyson Kaczmarek. KevinKeller (back) and John Conley(knee), two of the teams topathletes are out indefinitely.

That is trouble.Currently rehabbing injuries

are David Watson (leg) andJudson Bergman (back). Bothwill begin the season on thesidelines.

And Darien was hit withtragedy.

On top of physical ail-ments, the team was shookemotionally with the pass-ing of teammate Andy Penajust as the season started,Kaczmarek said.

Darien went 14-3 last sea-son. Kaczmarek is in hiseighth season and is 92-26-3all-time.

Also last year, the Wave wasfirst in the FCIAC East, fourthat FCIACs, eighth in ClassMM, 37th at the state open.

Top returning athletesinclude captain Stockton

McMullin.He is a big time jump-

er, Kaczmarek said. AnFCIAC champ in the longjump indoor, he should be anoutstanding long jumper andtriple jumper.

He will also sprint and isall-state indoors two years ina row, plus holds the schoolrecord in the 100.

Captain Conley ran theequivalent to 9:35 in the 3,200indoors.

Keller is all-state and all-

New England indoors.Captain Peter McDonoughis coming off an injury indoorsbut will run the 400 and throwshot put.

He is ready for a big sea-son, Kaczmarek said.

Captain David Watson brokehis leg during the indoor sea-son and could return in May.

Charlie Baird: An excellent1,600 and 3,200 runner, saidKaczmarek. Much improvedfrom last year.

Michael Johnston is a soliddistance runner who went

10:00 in the 3,200 indoors.Kaczmarek thinks Michael

Coe is poised for a breakoutseason after his big seasonindoors.

Matt Gentile returns frominjury indoor to add depth tothe distance events.

Matt Pik, all-state and all-New England indoors, isexpected to have a big sprint-ing season in the 100, 200 and400.

Graham Hotchkiss is anoutstanding jumper thought toexcel in high jump and triplejump, while Harlan Smithis seen as an excellent highjumper that will also add depthto sprints.

Will Lochtefeld ads strengthat discus and shot put. Willwill have a big season,Kaczmarek said.

Key Additions: JaredMurphy in throws, EliConverse distance, WillDeRocco pole vault, ReedCoots throws, Windsor Hallpole vault, Elliott Helganssprints, Geoff Leeker sprints,Greg Leeker hurdles, OscarParsons throws, Billy Siemerssprints/mid-distance, Will

Ardery sprints/hurdles, JudsonBergman sprints, Spencer

McMullin jumps, AndrewXiong distance, Peter Kreuchdistance, Nicholas Lombardosprints/jumps, George Phillipssprints/jumps.

The team will be lookingfor athletes to step up andreplace the injured competi-tors, said Kaczmarek. Theteam will feature a balancedattack.

Senior McMullin will leadthe jumpers. He was a two-time all-state athlete indoorand an all-New England run-ner. He was also the 2010FCIAC Champion in longjump indoors.

Adding to that event issenior Graham Hotchkiss

and freshman NicholasLombardo, said Kaczmarek.Both athletes are new to theseevents. Hotckiss best eventwill be high jump where heis already matching personalbests from last year in prac-tice.

He will be joined by HarlanSmith and Geoff Leeker.

Spencer McMullin will alsocompete in both triple andlong jump.

Stockton McMullin also

returns to anchor the sprintingas the best 100 runner on the

team, says Kaczmarek, whilePik, an all-state and all-NewEngland runner indoors, willbe another of the teams toprunners in the 100, 200 and400.

He will be joined byPeter McDonough as hereturns from injury in the200 and 400, Kaczmarekadded. Lombardo, SpencerMcMullin, Geoff Leeker, WillArdery, Elliott Helgans andSmith will add depth to theteams sprinting.

The distance runners areanchored by Charlie Baird,Michael Johnston, MichaelCoe, Matt Gentile and EliConverse.

The fivesome generallyexcel at the 3200, but will adddepth to the 1600 and 800.Mid-distance runners BillySiemers, Andrew Xiong andBurton Palmer will providehelp in the 4x800.

McDonough returns tothrowing outdoors after anexcellent season in the shotput indoors.

He will be joined by WillLochtefeld whose best event isdiscus. Reed Coots and Jared

Murphy returns in all threethrows as well as the addition

of Oscar Parsons.Lack of depth will hurt

Darien in only a few events,Kaczmarek said. Pole vaultduties will be handled by WillDeRocco, Windsor Hall, andJ.T. Fucigna. Hurdles willbe done by the up and com-ing duo of Greg Leeker andArdery.

Injuries could be overcomefor when it counts most.

We want to be ready forthe end of the season, saidKaczmarek. We cant worryabout the guys that are hurt.We have to step up and filltheir shoes.

There should be plenty offeet ready to do so.

Im always optimistic,Kaczmarek said. I knowthere are plenty of guys outthere who will surprise us withtheir performances this sea-son. That is what is excitingabout coaching.

The team will honor AndyPena on Thursday, April 7, at4:00 prior to their home meetagainst Wilton.


Boys Track


Kaczmarek: Injuries have decimated the teamLANDING IN SAND Track standout senior Kevin Keller, above in 2010 action, is out hurt to start the season. (Darien Times/Steven Buono photo)

By Steven Buono

Times Sports Editor

Darien boys volleyball is captained by all-stars CalderBillhardt and Austin Cockerill.

Both are senior, four-seasonstandouts and two of the bestup front blasters in the league.

Luke Hill is the Waves othersenior.

Juniors include KevinKoenitzer, Sam Bryant,Tommy Nichols, Matt Lee,

Matt Collier, Ryan Stracuzzi, Jay Alter and Ryan Gregory.Sophomores on the team are Sean Lee, Marcus Iqbal,

Raleigh Cockerill.Making it as freshmen, Brian Alter and Andrew Morgan.The Wave is coming off an FCIAC finalist year, losing 3-1 to

Staples, largely intact and back for another crack at the title.I think the big difference between us and Staples was that,

theyve been here year after year, said Billhardt at the time ofthe established Wreckers.

That is something the Laurie LaRusso coached program is,year after year, quickly catching up on itself.

The fifth seed Wave (13-7) lost 3-0 to No. 1 Masuk 3-0 inthe Class M semis.

Schedule is online at darienps.org/darienathletics/

Boys Volleyball


Billhardt and Cockerill sparkreturning 10 FCIAC runner up

Calder Billhardt (left) and Austin Cockerill (right) on t he ball in the FCIAC final. (Darien Times/Steven Buono photo)


7/8


By Steven Buono

Times Sports Editor

Darien girls tennis is cap-tained by seniors LonnekeEenkma van Dijk and AmandaBrodsky.

We have a lot of work todo before our first home matchApril 6 against Trumbull, saidWave coach Davin Gebauer.The line up is pretty wideopen. But we will figure it out.

The girls are ready to play.Returning players include

the two captains, seniors KateMorant, Ellie Riegel, SophieDoering, and sophomoresJenna Murray, Sarah Alptekin.

New players: senior KyleMcCoy, junior Abby Becker,

freshmen Libby Feingold,Caroline McGuire, MollieRiegel.

Darien loses to graduation,Alex Budd, now playing ten-nis at Amherst, Sarah Gorski,Emily Hough and Francesca

Chiamulera.Lost to injury is Katie

Critelli, a senior who was 13-6at No. 3 doubles last year.

We will miss her hustle anddesire, Gebauer said.

Darien finished 12-4 FCIAC

last season and was the No. 5seed at the tournament, losingto Fairfield Warde in the firstround.

The Wave lost 4-3 to Wiltonin the semifinals at states.

Losing the leadership ofAlex Budd and the doublesplayers (No. 2) Sarah Gorski(18-2) and (No. 1) EmilyHough (13-6) certainly makesthings difficult in that our line-up this year is wide open,

said Gebauer. However, Ihave a lot of confidence in thereturning players.

Darien has a four-seasonstar starter coming to the forein Eenkema van Dijk.

Lonneke most likely willplay No. 1, Gebauer said.

She spent the summer inSpain training and is lookingto have a good year.

Brodsky has been one ofDariens best doubles playerslast few years.

She played with Emily lastyear, so we need to figure outwho will be a good matchfor her as a doubles team,Gebauer added.

Morant and Riegel shouldbe a formable doubles team.

And Sophie Doering (17-3 at No. 3 singles in 2010)is a tough competitor, saidGebauer. However she iscoming off shoulder surgery.We need her mental toughnessback, so im hoping the nextfew weeks she gets her shoul-

der loose and footwork back.Murray and Alptekin will

play large parts.They are in the mix to

play a lot of singles matchesfor us, said Gebauer. Imhoping they step it up. Bothare playing well. Both need toplay with lots of confidence.

Gebauer is confident of hisprospects.

Im very excited aboutour new players to the team

this year, he said. KyleMcCoy returns after a oneyear absence. Great doublesplayer, so I need to find a spotfor her.

Abby Becker is a steadyconsistent player. Shes aplayer I can use in doubles or

singles.And the three freshmen are

all players that im looking for-ward to having for the nextfour yrs. I expect one or twoof them to get a lot of playingtime his year.

New waters, but Darienstays on course.

Our goals remain thesame, said Gebauer. Toqualify for FCIACs and atleast get to state finals.

I think we can do it. Imexcited about this team.Darien was scheduled to

begin the season at home vs.Trumbull on Wednesday.


Girls Tennis


Wait over for Eenkema van Dijk, 4-year starter No. 1

By Steven Buono

Times Sports Editor

Darien 22-year coach TomODonnell enters the seasonone of eight finalists for theNational High School GolfCoach of the Year award.

The winner is to be announcedat the National High Schoolcoaches Association banquetin Grand Rapids, MichiganJune 20-22.

Between then and now,though, here is how things areshaping up on the links.

The Wave is led by seniorcaptains Andrew Winter,Brian Curry, Chris Carmody.

They are joined by juniorreturning varsity player JamesBurgoyne.

Darien is coming off of a13-5 season in 2010 whenthe Wave was seventh at theFCIAC tournament, 13th inDII at states.

Key losses include SeanFahey, Tim Westcott, JamesTyrrell.

Returning jv players com-peting for varsity spots are

Kevin Steinthal (junior), JimAnderson (junior), Kieren Suri(sophomore), Andrew Morgan

(soph), Nick Stratton (sopho-more).New faces include, fresh-

men, Jake Arevalo, TrevorMcGovern, Matt Ross,Cameron Van de Graaf, MacKoorbusch.

The three seniors and JamesBurgoyne give us a solid var-sity nucleus, ODonnell said.

Andrew Winter has the mostvarsity experience and hasbeen an excellent performer

in the big time postseasonevents.Curry played in seven varsi-

ty matches last season and hadthe lowest average on the jvteam, while Carmody playedin six varsity matches.

Both have shown the abil-ity to play well at the varsitylevel, said ODonnell. In

addition, there is solid com-petition between returning jvplayers and new faces for var-

sity playing time.This years team featuresa nice mix of players readyto compete this season for theFCIAC and state titles as wellas a solid young group lookingto build for the future.


Boys Golf

Spring 2011

Wave Preview

ODonnell starts 22nd season on links a finalist for coach of the year

TOP OF THE ORDER Lonneke Eenkema van Dijk is the likely No. 1 for the team she and Amanda Brodsky captain. (Darien Times/Steven Buono photo)


8/8


By Steven Buono

Times Sports Editor

Its different this year, Ionly have three returning start-ers, said coach Lisa Lindleyof her players not lodged ingoal. So, the gist of it is, Ihave talent, but, its inexperi-enced. A lot of these kids havenever played varsity before, ornever started before.

Wave girls lax loses nearly

10, mostly standout players,to graduation 19 start-ers moved on in the last twoyears.

Darien went 15-5 overalland 11-2 in the FCIAC in2010, its season ending in theNo. 8 seeds 11-9 loss to No. 5Greenwich in the DI semis.

The Wave lost 17-16 toWilton at FCIACs.

So we have to see howeveryone reacts to that chal-

lenge, Lindley said.Lots of players are respond-

ing already. Darien fields alarger squad than last seasonwith 30 players suited up.

The thinking being, I dontknow who is going to develop,

when, Lindley added. Whois going to step up, so, in oneway its exciting. Because,for the kids, Ive never hadsuch a wide open (roster). Forcoaches, its deciding on howdifferent kids react.

Some kids react youknow they love the chal-lenge. So it will be interest-ing.

Darien returns two goalies

in sophomore Caylee Watersand senior Claire Dickson.Both played last season.

I would say right now, mystrongest part of my team ismy goalkeepers, Lindleysaid. Early on Im not reallyprepared to choose a startinggoalie, at the moment. I dontknow if that will become moredefined as we go through.

Waters positioning hasimproved, said Lindley, which

means her goaltending isdeveloping apace.Wave senior captains are

defenseman Emma Getsinger,at attack Ellie Bullitt anddefender Emma Tuzinkiewicz,all serious physical presenceson the field.

Theyre great kids, theyregood captains, theyre goodleaders, Lindley said. So fartheyve done a really goodjob.

Darien picks up some mphin the midfield.

Im happy that I have morespeed in the midfield, Lindleysaid. That is evident. I havesome young kids that can run,which is nice. Because thatwas one of our weaknesseslast year.

The Waves overall attackis not what it was last yearthough.

Because, I just dont have

any pure goal scorers, saidLindley. It will be interestingto see, if anyone picks thatup.

The captains will need topick the team up every game.

Emma Tuz is very aggres-sive, said Lindley. Shellplay high defense and EmmaGets, shes floating between ahigh defensive position and amidfield position. Both havespeed.

Bullitt will run the attack.Shes more effective com-

ing around the net than outfront, Lindley said. But shehas a nose for the goal.

Bullitt is going to needsome scoring support as shereloads.

Also on attack, ParkerSchram, Brynn Gasparino,Charlotte Stevenson, CatherineLincoln while midfield willsee Emily Tropsa, Christy

Gilbert, Dillon Schoen, EmilyStein and on defense CammieKirby, Julia Cobb and GalenRohn, Lauren Pryor.

And theres freshman EllieBennett, out with a hamstring.

Shell see some time, downlow on D, said Lindley.

Taking face-offs?Different people, midfield-

ers, said Lindley. Gilbert,Tropsa, Schoen, Lincoln.

Lindley expects New

Canaan and Greenwich to bethe strongest out there. Butbeyond the county Dariensseason stays just as tough.

The Wave opens the seasonvs. Suffern 3 p.m. at home onApril 9 before playing at NewCanaan 6 p.m. on April 13.

And also we have GardenCity, Manhasset, Farmingdale,so we have a lot of big teams,Lindley said. You know, itsgoing to be hard. And well

definitely be tested early.All grist for the mill of post-season.

I think realistically, if wecan go .500, Id be happy,and in a position to make amove in the playoffs, Lindleyadded.

Darien was last both leagueand state champion in 2009.


Girls Lacrosse


Strange terrain: I have talent, but its inexperienced

TUZ ON THE RUN Captain Emma Tuzinkiewicz clears the zone in playoffs action in 2010. (Darien Times/Steven Buono photo)

SOPHOMORE STOPPER Goalie Caylee Waters is a sophomore starter, her positioning improved from her rookie year. (Darien Times/Steven Buono photo)

Darien High School Spring Sports Preview 2011

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