Boys Volleyball Takes Title

By Sara Shaker - The Boys Volleyball team beat Staples 3-2 on Friday at 7 p.m. at Fairfield Ludlowe High School for its first FCIAC championship. Staples won the first game, but Darien came out with fire and took the second. Staples also won the third game, but Darien won the last two, earning the title. “We were really excited to be in the FCIAC Championship so we gave it our all,” junior Matt Lee said. “And we knew we had the ability to beat them, so we came out with a ton of intensity and played perfectly in the fifth game.” Come support the team in the State quarterfinals this Friday (6/3) at 7 p.m. at home.

Girls Lacrosse Loses In a Close FCIAC Championship

By Marguerite Morgan - The Girls Varsity Lacrosse team took on Wilton last Friday in the FCIAC championship at Brien McMahon High School at 4:00 p.m and came away with a close loss of 12 to 15. Wilton scored the first goal within the first five minutes of the game yet Darien retaliated by winning the draw and scoring a goal directly after. This back and forth momentum was foreshadowing for the rest of the game. About halfway through the first half, Darien was up 3 to 2 for the first and only time they were beating Wilton throughout the entire game. At halftime Darien was losing 5 to 7 but shortly into the second half, Darien regained its confidence after scoring two goals to tie the game 7 to 7. Sophomore Taylor Hardison scored 4 goals throughout the game, helping to maintain Darien’s close chase after Wilton. Senior goalie Claire Dickson played in goal throughout both halves. Sophomore Caylee Waters, the other Darien goalie, ended up playing on the field in the second half for the first time since the beginning of her high school lacrosse career. Come support the girls in their first round of State games this Thursday versus Joel Barlow at 5:00 p.m.

Darien Takes Home Three FCIAC titles

Volleyball will meet Rival, Staples, in Final

By Danno Rizzuto - Rally Leads Wave Mens Volleyball to FCIAC final on Wednesday May 26, 2011, the Mens Volleyball team beat Bridgeport Central 3 to 1 to advance into the FCIAC Finals. Bridgeport started out the stronger team, winning the first game. “We didn’t play well at all in the first game,” junior Matt Collier said. However, after this game, Darien turned it around. They rebounded to win the second match. “In the second game we began to play more as a team and to play together,” said Matt. The Wave kept strong through the third and fourth game dealing with strong competition from their opponent. But, Darien was able to tough it out and won both these games to advance to the final, which will be played on Friday May 27th against Staples.

Caption: Junior Matt Lee sets up a Team-mate for a Kill

Boys Golf Finishes Undefeated

Boys Golf finishes its season with an undefeated record (17-0-1) after beating St. Joe's. This was the first undefeated season in golf team history as they finished first in the FCIAC. "Now we just have to take care of business next thursday," Senior Tri-Captain Chris Carmody said. Next Thursday is the FCIAC championship where Darien will look to capture their first title since 1932.

Boys Lax Proceeds to FCIAC Finals

On Tuesday May 24^th, the Darien boys lacrosse team played Wilton at Brien McMahon high school in the FCIAC semi finals. Darien prevailed 9-6 over the Warriors, winning its 26^th straight game over Wilton. The scorers were, Richard Gregory 3, Bobby Weaver and Ben Preston 2, Graham Maybell and Case Matheis 1. Darien will play in the FCIAC finals against Ridgefield on Friday night at 7 o’clock, again at Brien McMahon high school.

Girls Track: 2nd place finish in FCIACs, 4x800 breaks school record

By McKinley Stauffer - The Girls Outdoor Track and Field Team made their way to the finish line yesterday in Danbury, the team as a whole winning second place in the FCIAC championship (May 24th). As the girls boarded the bus after the meet, Coach Steve Norris announced to the team that they had scored 101 points in total, losing to Danbury. The first race of the day was the 4 by 800 meter, which was run by junior Katie Donovan, sophomore Caroline Weihs, senior Amanda Dobler, and senior Courtney Wynne. The 4 by 800 meter team took second place to Staples, finishing in roughly 9:32 - the fastest time in DHS outdoor track history. The team's 4 by 400 meter finished in roughly 4:03, coming in fourth place, but scoring the third fastest time for this event in DHS outdoor track history. Freshman Catherine Lacy made it to the finals in the 100 meter dash, taking third place overall in the meet for this event. Many girls, individually, achieved personal records at FCIAC's. Senior Amanda Dobler finished her last season of track with a 60 second flat 400 meter. Sophomore Grace Loh came in fifth place in the 1600 meter, with a personal record of 5:17.08. Junior Meredith Ott qualified for States in the 3200 meter race, finishing with a personal best of roughly 12:16. Come cheer the Girls Outdoor Track and Field Team next Thursday, June 2nd, in Danbury as they compete in the State Championships.

picture caption: Freshman Catherine Lacy on the starting line for the 100m dash finals

Boys Track is Off to the Races

By Julia Cobb - The Darien High School Boys Track Team finished 7th out of 14 teams yesterday at the FCIAC Finals at Danbury High School. The Boys Track Team finished with a total of 42 points. Senior Graham Hotchkiss won first place in the high jump with a jumping height of 6 feet 2 inches. Senior Stockton McMullin finished 3rd in the men’s triple jump and second in the long jump. Other medal winners include sophomore Will Lochtefield who received sixth in the discus, and Matt Pik who came in fifth in the 400. The Boys Track Team has their next meet next Thursday June 2nd at Middletown High School where they will compete for the Class L State Championship title.

Girls Golf finish season strong on Senior Day

By Katherine Minion - Though heavy thunderstorms were expected, the sun stayed out long enough for the Darien Girls Varsity Golf Team to defeat both Fairfield Ludlowe and New Canaan in a home match at Country Club of Darien on Tuesday May 24th. The team had a combined score of 181. Senior captain Nicole Granath shot a 42; Senior captain Kendall Kyritz and sophomore Izzy Lee both shot 44’s, senior Corinne Teschner shot a 51, and senior Perrin Brown shot a 53. This match improved the girls’ rankings in both the FCIAC and State tournaments. “Everyone played extremely well today and we are looking forward to continuing on with low scores into FCIACs and States!” Kyritz said. Be sure to come support the team in their next match, which is FCIACs, at the Rolling Hills course in Wilton next Tuesday, May 31st.

Girls Softball Trumps Warde in Extra Innings

By Emily Close - The Girls Softball Team pulled off a nail biter in the double inning’s to beat Fairfield Warde 5 to 4 on Tuesday May 24th. The Wave was down by one run in the final inning of the game, but junior Kelly Fahey quickly rallied, hitting a single that sent junior Olivia Godz at third base to score the tying run. Both Farfield Warde and Darien battled through 2 more innings until the bottom of the 8th when Olivia Godz stole home on a wild pitch to give the girls softball team yet another win. Junior and Assistant Captain Jess DeMaio said, “It was a really intense game it felt really good to win in extra innings, we had a lot of key hits when the pressure was on and made a lot of important defensive plays.” This win will carry them into the FCIAC semi-finals on Thursday (5/26) against Stamford at 5pm, @ University of Fairfield.

Photo Caption-
Junior Olivia Godz sprints to first base on one of her many trips against Warde.
Photo Cred- Samantha Wood

Recent Bad Weather Doesn’t Help Blue Wave Teams

By Collin Shay - The saying is “April showers bring May flowers,” not, “April showers continue into May!” The rain in Connecticut has been coming non-stop, and it’s starting to have a big impact on Blue Wave Teams.
The Girls’ Softball Team has had three of its games post-poned in the last week, which causes an inconvenience for the entire conference. When one match is off, every match is off. “They don’t want to give any team the advantage of having a day off when another team has a game,” said senior softball player Samantha Wood.
Among other teams which had games post-poned or cancelled were Boys’ Varsity Baseball, Girls’ Lacrosse, Boy’s JV Lacrosse, Girls’ JV Tennis, and Girls’ JV Golf.
The forecast for this week calls for more thunderstorms, with temperatures in the 70’s, with rain continuing into the beginning of next week. But worry not, DHS, we’ll surely be done with this wet spot by the time June comes.

Softball eyes FCIAC title

By Sam Wood - Although the rain last week was like a flood for the town, it made a drought for the Blue Wave Softball team. With all the postponements, the schedule for the team became very jumbled. The game against Westhill was moved from Monday (May 16) to Sunday (May 22), and the game against Bridgeport Central was postponed from Wednesday (May 18) to Saturday (May 21). Wave’s game against Fairfield Warde was the only one that was played on time, Friday (May 20). The softball girls had had nothing but practices for seven days straight, which is unheard of this late in the season. After that drought the team had a tough time getting back into the rhythm, and they lost to Warde 1-0. With solid pitching and defense, the Mustangs shutdown the FCIAC's best offense and pulled out a close win. Junior Jessica DeMaio was the tough loser, scattering five hits over six innings. Senior captain Nicole Buch and sophomore Emma Hamilton were the lone bright spots offensively with two hits each. But the Wave was able to pick it up with the game against Bridgeport Central the next day, where it won 19-2 in five innings. The team had 13 runs in the first inning, where it went through the batting order twice. Junior Kelly Nicoletti got her first varsity win of the season with nine strikeouts. With the win, Darien locked up the #2 seed in the FCIAC tournament. This pitted them against Westhill, the #1 seed in the FCIAC, the next day. But the outcome on Sunday was anything but exciting. After two solid innings, Westhill exploded for a five-run third inning, highlighted by Allison Macari's three-run homerun. Nicoletti went five innings, giving up eight runs, four of them earned. Junior Emily Blosio was two-for-three with the Wave's only run. Junior Kelly Fahey reached base three times, and Nicole Buch and junior Olivia Gozdz each reached base twice. With this huge upset, the Wave tries to put the pieces back together as it heads to the FCIAC tournament. The rematch against Fairfield Warde, scheduled for Monday (May 23) was postponed, to be played at home 4 p.m. Tuesday (May 24).
Photo: Kelly Nicoletti pitching against the Warriors (photo courtesy Darien Patch)

Boys Golf Keeps Up Undefeated Record

By Sam Nelson: On Monday (5/23) the undefeated Boys Golf Team took on Greenwich and came away with the victory to improve to an outstanding 16-0-1 to capture the regular season FCIAC title. The team got very consistent play from everyone on the team. The lowest score on the team was by senior captain Andrew Winter who shot a 39. Next best was sophomore Kieran Suri who came in after nine with a 40. Freshman Cam Van de Graaf came in with a 40 as well. Senior captains Chris Carmody and Brian Curry rounded up the team by each posting a sold 42. Its next match will be against Watertown today (5/24). We hope they can continue its hot streak.

Girls Varsity Lacrosse Advances into FCIAC Final

By Shelby Penfield
The girl’s varsity lacrosse team went up against Staples in the FCIAC Semi-Finals, defeating them with a whopping 19-5 lead. With Staples being the number one seed in FCIAC, this win for Darien was huge and automatically landed the girls in a superior position in FCIACs. The first half of the game started out strong, with 13 goals being scored by Darien. Darien’s offense was on fire and included goals from junior Brynn Gasparino who scored four, senior Ellie Bullit who scored three and freshman Dillon Schoen who scored four as well. Offense weren’t the only ones showing off their skills, the defense also seemed to be playing their best despite the high level of competition. The team will advance into FCIAC Finals at Brian McMahon, their opponent is TBA. Be sure to see if the team wins the FCIAC title this year at 4:30 pm on Friday the 27th.

Girls Lax takes down #1

Girls Lax takes down #1 seed Staples 19-5 in FCIAC semi-final

BOYS GOLF UPSET GREENWICH and

BOYS GOLF UPSET GREENWICH and improve to 16-0-1 and take hold of first place in the FCIAC (161-164)

Boys Lacrosse Take Care of Business

By Darius Majd - Despite a dominant streak of six straight State Championships, the Darien Boys Lacrosse team has amends to make in the FCIAC playoffs. After beating Ridgefield 13-9 to win the FCIACs in 2008, the Blue Wave have stumbled each of the past two seasons; in 2009, they fell 7-6 in OT to Ridgefield in the championship game, and in 2010 they were stunned 8-7 in the semifinals by a Greenwich team they had beaten 9-2 just a week earlier. “Bringing the FCIAC title home to Darien is a huge goal this year because it is the most competitive conference in Connecticut, and one of the toughest in the Northeast,” senior captain Baylis Treen said.

This year’s campaign started off on Saturday (5/21) without a hitch for the Wave, as they beat eighth seeded Fairfield-Ludlowe 17-1 at home. 10 different players scored for the Wave, which was led by a strong performance by their attack trio of seniors Ben Preston (4 goals, 3 assists) and Richard Gregory (3,2), and junior Case Matheis (2,2).

On Tuesday (5/24), the Boys’ Lacrosse team will face fifth seeded Wilton (who beat fourth seeded New Canaan 12-5 in their quarterfinal game) in the semifinals at Brien McMahon High School (time TBA). Rest assured, the team will be well prepared: “I think this year we have really prided ourselves on bringing out the best we have every game, and the FCIAC tournament is no different. There are no easy games in the tournament, especially with a hot Wilton team riding high on eight straight wins. We are looking forward to this game, and hopefully moving on to the FCIAC finals,” Treen said.

Editors Note: Senior, Darius Majd, scored his fifth goal of the season.

Boys Baseball finishes regular season on four-game win steak

By Jay Alter - The Boys Baseball team is headed into the State tournament with a four-game winning streak to end the regular season strong. The wins (score in parenthesis following team) came against Danbury (11-1), Westhill (4-1), Bridgeport Central (6-0), and Fairfield Warde, who had a record of 15-5. The team has been led by pitching and the two aces on Darien's staff are Senior Captain, Andrew Hurn, and Junior, Dillon Duncan. The four wins brings the team to an overall 10-10 record to end the season as they head into the state tournament.

DHS Rugby Wins MET Division

By Jay Alter - The Darien Boys Rugby team came from behind to beat St. Peters to finish their regular season with a 4-0-1 record. Darien, in only their fourth season of having a rugby team, captured the title over well developed teams that have had programs around for many years, like Keio, Xavier, and Delbarton. All of those teams are in the MET league, but were not able to beat Darien as they finished the season at the top of the standings, capturing them the title. The team was led by senior, captain Sam McCarthy (pictured), who has converted most of the tries this season for the Rugby team. The Blue Wave's season is not over, they still will compete in the State tournament which takes place on May 29th.

Boys Golf Keeps Winning

By Taiki Miki - The Blue Wave Golf Team (15-0-1) killed two birds with one stone yesterday when they beat both Wilton and Fairfield Warde yesterday. The team shot a combined 164 while Fairfield Warde shot a 173 and Wilton shot a 177. The team was plagued with a couple of unlucky breaks and their scores reflect their sub-par performance. Senior captains Chris Carmody and Andrew Winter had the best scores of the day with 40s. Senior captain Brian Curry shot a 41. Underclassmen also contributed greatly to the victory. Freshman Cam Van de Graaf shot a 43 and sophomore Kieran Suri shot a 45.

“We didn’t play out best today, but we’re happy to have come away with two quality wins and continue our undefeated streak, “ said Curry.

Come cheer on the Darien Golf Team on 5/24 at 2:15 p.m. at Crestbrook Park as they take on Watertown.

DHS starts Ultimate team

By Collin Shay - Ultimate is a sport that is growing quickly in America, and that has recently spread to Darien High School. Thanks to sophomore Andy Mogenson, unofficial coach and intern Mr. Joseph Stadel, and coach and staff adviser Mr. Kyle Marian, the DHS Ultimate team is up, running, and throwing to get ready for next year.

Ultimate is played on a 40 by 70 yard field. The object of the game is to catch the disk in the end zone, without being able to run with the disk in hand. Teams play seven on seven, throwing forehands and backhands in a similar style to tennis. The game is played to 15 points, with a two hour time limit.

While Ultimate is not a CIAC sport, there are up to 20 clubs in the state. The current DHS team is made up of 11 sophomores and one freshman. “Our goal for the fall is to start scrimmaging other teams, and then the season starts in the spring,” Mr. Stadel said.

Darien High School first acquired an Ultimate team when Andy Mogenson approached Mr. Stadel about starting up a club. Now they practice three times a week, and have grown as a team. “Everyone’s improved this year, and that was our main goal,” Mr. Stadel said. “You can find a spot for anyone in this sport. It’s about effort and practice.”

Mr. Stadel played Ultimate for five years at the University of Connecticut, and another four years in Club Ultimate.

“The culture of ultimate is very inclusive. There are no referees, everything is self called, and this makes up what is called the spirit of the game. Because while the sport is very competitive, there’s also a respect that comes with it.”

While the Ultimate team won’t be competing this year, look out for them in Spring 2012.

Boys Volleyball Finish Season Strong

By Allison Wetterauw - The Varsity Volleyball Team won it's last game of its regular season against Harding High School of Bridgeport(May 18th). They won the first three games and finished the match early, not needing to play out the last two games of the match. Senior Calder Billhardt, and junior Sam Bryant, the outside hitters played really well. Another standout was senior Austin Cockerill, a middle hitter. Matt Lee a setter, set a lot of easy hits for the team as they improved to 17-1 on the season. After winning this match they are now 2nd in the state to Cheshire, who is now undefeated. With the win, they have clinched a tie with Staples for the first place in the FCIAC and the future of the team looks good. "We have really good team chemistry this year, we have never been ranked this high going into FCIACS and as long as we can play together as a team, we can take it all the way to FCIACS and states." senior Austin Cockerill said.

Girls Varsity Lacrosse Secures Win for Senior Day

By Lily Boe - On Monday (5/16), Girls Varsity Lacrosse defeated Greenwich Academy 18-10 at the DHS stadium. The team was celebrating senior day, and prior to the game, there was a brief announcement in honor of the five seniors: Ellie Bullitt, Claire Dickson, Emma Getsinger, Emma Tuz, and Trisha Vossler. The girls had to bring their energy early on when GA scored within the first minute of the game. Darien followed up with 2 quick goals. With a minute and a half left in the first half, GA had one free position but Senior Goalie Claire Dickson made a quick save. The girls finished the first half up 7-2.
Junior Brynn Gasparino made the first goal in the second half, followed by a solid second goal by freshman Hollis Perticone. With nearly twelve minutes remaining in the game, Sophomore Kristy Gilbert made a swift goal that was immediately followed by a shift over to defense where Dickson made two fantastic saves. The game was an immense triumph for the team, especially the seniors. Following the game, Senior Captain Emma Tuz commented positively on the team’s success. “Our fast breaks were great. We were great on the draw, and we came out with intensity.” The team’s next game is home against Westhill on Tuesday (5/17) at 5:30 p.m. Come support the team as it strives for its second win of the week!

Boys Vollleyball Eyes #1 Seed

By Ben Preston - On Monday, May 16, 2011, the Blue Wave Boys Volleyball team won its 16th game over Trumbull. The Wave boys volleyball team climbed to 16-1 overall, 13-1 FCIAC with a sweep of Trumbull on Monday. Darien took the game 25-11, 25-10, 25-11. The Wave is second to defending champion Staples (14-1), which it defeated this season, in the league standings. Tommy Nicholls made 25 assists. Senior captain, Calder Billhardt led with 12 kills, junior Sam Bryan had seven, and senior Austin Cockerill five. The team wraps up its season against Harding on Wednesday (5/18) and with a win should be the #1 seed in the FCIAC and CIAC tournament.

Boys Golf Continues Dominance

By Sam Nelson - On Monday (5/16) the Blue Wave boys golf team took on rivals New Canaan. For the first time in 11 years, the Blue Wave were able to come away with a huge win to improve to 13-0-1. The team was rewarded by spectacular play by the two underclassmen playing on Varsity. Freshman Cam Van de Graaf checked in with a 39 and sophomore Kieran Suri finished with a 39 as well. The other three members of the team were the three captains, seniors Andrew Winter, Brian Curry, and Chris Carmody. Winter recorded a 41, Curry with the team best 38, and Carmody with a 46. The match was held at Country Club of New Canaan and Darien took the match by six strokes (163-157). Its next match will be held on Wednesday (5/18) against Greenwich at Griffith E Harris Golf Course.

Track Sets Personal Bests, but Falls to New Canaan

By Danno Rizzuto - This past tuesday, May 10th, the Boys Track Team lost its meet against New Canaan at New Canaan. The final score was Darien seventy, New Canaan eighty. Junior Matt Pik said, "We had about 60 personal bests, which is always good, and our team battled hard through some injuries. But credit to New Canaan, they were the better team."The boys next track meet is this tuesday, May 17th against Danbury and Norwalk at DHS.

Softball Wins Again

By Caitlin Shea: The varsity softball team won their game 3-2 against Saint Josephs on Monday despite being down 2-0 going into the 5^th inning. Pitcher Jessica DeMaio started off well by pitching a perfect first inning but Saint Josephs’ quickly redeemed themselves by scoring a run in both the second and third innings. At the top of the fifth inning sophomore Emma Hamilton got a hit that allowed junior Olivia Gozdz to score the first run for Darien. Saint Josephs did not score during the sixth inning. Freshman Brittany Osborn had an RBI at the bottom of the sixth and junior Emily Blosio ran home to tie the game. Later in the inning freshman Julia Domiziano walked with the bases loaded bringing in Olivia Gozdz to win the game. Come Cheer for the girls at their next game this Wednesday against Brien McMahon at 4pm at Darien High School.

Wave Volleyball upsets Staples

By Kate Fitzmaurice - Last Friday May 6th Darien Boys Volleyball went for another win against Staples. Darien redeemed their title after losing to them last season. Darien had a rough start having to fight for every point. The score was tied until 13-13 but with Staples strong hits and sneaky tips Darien couldn’t manage to keep it up resulting in a loss of 19 to 25 in the first game. Darien was up at the start of the second game and continued to fight for their points throughout the second and third games. With the help of kills from senior Austin Cockerill, and junior Sam Bryant and sucessful blocks by Calder Billhardt, the team was able to win both games with scores of 17 to 25 and 22 to 25. Darien’s impeccable ball control was a big factor in the win of the last game. They were ahead almost the entire match until the end when staples put up a big fight but Darien stayed strong and ended up winning with a final score of 20 to 25. Darien Boys Volleyball next home game is this Wednesday May 11^th at home against Greenwich. (Key Moment of Game: Matt Lee's dump to win the Blue Wave the third game)

Boys' Baseball Downs Black Knights

-By: Taiki Miki-

Yesterday, the Blue Wave baseball team (7-6) came away with a close 4-2 win against rival Stamford (7-7) to end a two game losing streak yesterday. Senior captain, Andrew Hurn, gave up two runs in the first inning. However, he would regain his composure to keep them scoreless for the rest of the game. In the 2nd inning, the Blue Wave was able to comeback, with much help from the opposing pitcher. The inning was fueled by three straight walks and then a wild pitch, which allowed senior Ian Sullivan to score. Junior Thomas Carruthers also drove in a run with the only hit in the inning and then junior Sam Gillespie also drove in a run with a popup to left field. The game was ended with a fantastic double play between Carruthers, senior Tommy Farren, and junior Alex Yergey. Senior captain Dan Pidgeon did not play due to a lingering hamstring injury.
“I think we definitely held on in the face of a tough first inning and to keep thing going we just have to keep hitting and fielding as aggressively as we did today, “ said Hurn. Come support the baseball at their next game on Monday at 4pm at St. Joseph High School.

Caption: The team celebrates its victory

Wave Crushes Rams With Second Half Surge

By Darius Majd - Last week was critical for the Darien Boys’ lacrosse team, as they faced three nationally ranked teams from New York with their national reputation on the line. After going 2-1 during the three game stretch, the team was ready for an even more important task this week: Ram Week. “Ram Week”, a phrase coined by some of the players on the team, of course refers to the important showdown with New Canaan, and the hard work in practice in the days ahead. All of the excitement and preparation of the week culminated at 4 PM on Saturday (5/7) at Dunning Stadium in New Canaan, in front of a packed house and a live broadcast for MSG Varsity.

After a tense first quarter, in which Darien fell behind early, the score was 1-1. But from that point on, the Blue Wave took control. Middies Bobby Weaver (junior) and Graham Maybell (senior) fired in blistering shots as Darien took advantage of two extra man opportunities. Darien stretched the lead to 5-2 before New Canaan scored off a rebound with one second left in the half. Whilst Darien’s defense continued to fluster the Rams, New Canaan’s senior goalie Jimmy Joe Granito (18 saves on the day) kept his team in contention, trailing only 7-4 late in the third quarter. But in a startling run of play that lasted less than a minute, Darien struck the winning blow with a quick 1-2-3 punch to end the quarter with a 10-4 lead. The two teams traded goals at the start of the quarter, before Darien began to hold the ball and run off the clock, clinching an 11-5 victory over their archrivals.

The Darien defense, led by defensemen Eric Parnon (senior), Christian Kolderup (senior), Tony Britton (junior), LSM Baylis Treen (senior), and d-middie JP Walsh (senior) was dominant in the victory, causing turnovers, which led to several transition goals. Senior d-middie Scotty Waters was particularly strong in transition, and finished with a goal and an assist. On the off chance that a New Canaan player was able to slip through, senior goalie Dylan Torey was their to make the save (Torey had 14 in all). On offense, the story was senior attackman Richard Gregory, who netted a game-high five goals. Gregory expertly cut to the goal for scores, and was also formidable dodging one-on-one. Overall, the team was happy to get another commanding win over their rivals. Maybell was very happy with the effort: “We were solid in all aspects of the game. Bobby Weaver is starting to come out of his shell and is lighting it up. The defense as usual disabled NC's offense with very limited opportunities. When opportunities did arise, Dylan Torey shut them down immediately.”

The Darien Boys’ Lacrosse Team will be back in action next week as they continue their pursuit for a seventh straight state title. The Blue Wave will next play at Fairfield Warde on Tuesday (5/10) at 4 PM.

Darien 3-1 over Staples volleyball,

Darien 3-1 over Staples volleyball, now share the lead in the FCIAC with one loss each, to each other

Darien Vball beating Staples 2-1.

Darien Vball beating Staples 2-1. The re-match of last years FCIAC championship is headed into its 4th game with Darien holding lead

Rugby Mid-Season Report

By Kevin Cassidy - The DHS Rugby team has had an impressive first half of their season. The currently stand at the top of their division with a record of 2-0-1. The team has been aided with the help of veteran players as well as first year players. Veteran player and senior captain Sam McCarthy has led the way for the Blue Wave. First year players such as seniors Charlie Kunze and JJ Holmgren have been key contributers to the team. "Rugby is dope", Kunze said. The team has their end of the year Division I state tournament coming up at the end of May. "It has been an impressive first half of the year, and we hope to continue it into the second half of the year and State Tournament" senior Michael Sawitsky said. The teams next game is next Tuesday May 10th at home verse Fordham Prep. We wish the team luck on the second half of its season.

Picture will be sent tonight.

Girls Varsity Lax Lose in Over-time to Ridgefield; Fall to 3-2 in the FCIAC

By Shelby Penfield - The girls’ varsity lacrosse team went up against Ridgefield this past Wednesday. They unexpectedly lost in overtime 10-11. The team wasn’t expecting the competition to be so strong, but they were able to stick their ground throughout most of the game. Freshman Emily Stein was standout, scoring two of the goals. Freshman Dillon Schoen (pictured), senior Ellie Bullit, sophomores Taylor Hardison and Jena Fritts, and juniors Emily Tropsa and Brynn Gasparino all scored goals as well. The Defense played a tough game, defending Darien’s goal from Ridgefield’s aggressive offense. The next game will be away at Fairfield Ludlowe on Friday at 4 p.m. Be sure to check it out!

Boys Track Almost Reaches a Win

By Marguerite Morgan - The Boys Varsity Track Team took on various teams at O’Grady Relays this past Saturday April 30 at Danbury High School. The boys put up a good fight although Danbury ended up winning the boys portion of the meet overall. The meet did not count towards the boys’ record and only sprinters and field event athletes participated. Some of the relays included the Distance Medley Relay, the 3 by 300 meter hurdles, the 4 by 200 meter, the 4 by 400 meter, and the Sprint Medley Relay. Juniors Elliott Helgans, Matt Pik, Billy Seimers, and Geoff Leaker ran the 4 by 400 meter in 3 minutes and 40 seconds, receiving first place in their heat. Darien held its own in the field events as well. Senior Stockton McMullin, freshman Nick Lombardo, and Senior Christian Neilson came in first place overall in the long jump. The boys are hoping to keep up their fast paces and strong momentum at their next meet against Fairfield Warde and Bridgeport Central. Come support the boys this Tuesday at the DHS track at 4pm as they take on Fairfield and Bridgeport!

Girls Lax Dominates the Field

By Sam Nelson: On Monday (5/2) the Blue Wave Girls lacrosse team earned a well earned victory over Fairfield Warde, winning 21-4. The game was played at Tetreau Field in Fairfield. There was no competition during the game as the girls dominated in every aspect of the game. Starting in goal for the domination was senior Claire Dickson, who was outstanding in the first half leading the Blue Wave to a first half score of 14-3. Taking over for Dickson was sophomore Caylee Waters who was also solid in the net. With the win, the girls improve its record to 3-5. The Blue Wave girls will take on Danbury in its next game on Wednesday (5/4) at 4:30. The game will be played in Danbury at Danbury High School.
Pictured is junior Brynn gasparino

Boys Hockey Coach, Vieira, Will Not Return Next Season

BREAKING NEWS: Larry Vieira has decided he will not be returning for his third year at Darien High School. The boys hockey team reached the States and FCIAC this year and made a historic run to the state semi-final in Vieira's first year. AD, John Kelleher, confirmed the rumor this morning that "No. He (Vieira) will not return next year."

(Report: Jay Alter)

Darien Girls Varsity Softball Defeats Greenwich

Lily Boe

On Friday (4/29), Darien Girls Varsity Softball procured its ninth win of the season. The girls defeated Greenwich 12-0 at the DHS Varsity field. The team started the game off strong both in the field and at bat. In the first inning, Junior Pitcher Jessica DeMaio struck out two players, while Sophomore Brittany Osborne made a quick out at first base. At bat, the girls played solidly from the start, beginning when Junior Olivia Gozdz hit an amazing 2 run homerun that ended the inning with a score of 2-0. “I think we played well, we got our bats going early with Liv hitting a homerun,” Junior Courtney Bell said.
In the second inning the girls were hitting strong again. Bell and Sophomore Emma Hamilton both hit doubles into the outfield. After the second inning, the girls were up 8-0. The team sent in 4 more runs during the third and fourth innings, earning their winning score of 12-0. After playing the top of the fifth inning, giving Greenwich one more chance at bat, the game ended by the ten run mercy rule.
The girls felt confident after their staggering win. “We jumped out ahead and got some new people out playing,” Bell said. The next game is Monday (5/2) home at 4 p.m. Come support the team as it strives for its tenth win against Trinity Catholic!