Darien Girls Softball FCIAC Champs!

By Kate Fitzmaurice

Darien Girls Softball is once again FCIAC champions. They beat Westhill on Saturday (5/26). The final score of the game was eight to five. Darien was ready to fight for the win after having lost to Westhill in the regular season. The team worked together to end in a victory. Hitter Erika Osherow scored three runs, seniors Jessica DeMaio and Olivia Gozdz both contributed two hits. And junior Emma Hamilton made crucial catches.  Overall the team was very successful this season, and accomplished their goal of repeating and FCIAC title!

Outdoor Track: Girls Get Second, Boys Get Fourth at States

By Chris Janson

            The Girls and Boys Outdoor Track teams competed in Class L States this past Tuesday, May 29th, at Middletown High School, coming in second and fourth respectively. Both teams improved from their ranking at 2011 States, the girls moving up from fourth to second and the boys shooting up from 25th to fourth.

            It was a hot day to go running, with a recorded high temperature of 88 degrees. Senior Meredith Ott said, “I think the heat definitely affected the meet, especially for people running in the later races because they had to sit in the heat for 6 hours.” It did not, however, prevent Darien runners, throwers, and jumpers from achieving some spectacular results.

            Juniors Caroline Weihs and Grace Loh came in fourth and fifth, respectively, in the 800 Meter, with times of 2:24.58 and 2:24.94. Loh also placed third in the 1600, running it in 5:13.89. Sophomores Leah Hotchkiss and Catherine Lacy one-two’ed the high jump, each reaching a height of five feet two inches. Darien also dominated the pole vault, with freshman Madeleine Schneider and sophomore Jessica Thornbury coming in first and second by clearing ten feet of height.

            Darien boys were strong in the 400 Meter Dash events. Seniors Matt Pik and Harlan Smith placed third and fourth in the individual competition, running 49.88 and 50.88 seconds. The Wave’s 4x400 relay team of Pik, Smith, senior Elliot Helgans and junior Spencer McMullin came in second with a time of 3:23.76. Sophomore Nick Lombardo placed second in the long jump, clearing 21 feet, 9.5 inches.

            Outdoor Track Opens will take place on June 4th at Willowbrook Park in New Britton.

Pictured: The Girls Outdoor Track seniors

Above: Sophomore Katherine Lacy runs at States

Boys Golf Team Prepares for FCIACs

By Will Steinthal

On Thursday, May 31, 2012, the Boys Golf team will participate in FCIACs, after an impressive regular season. The team has shown incredible improvement from the beginning of the season, and has ended with a very respectable 11-7 record.

At FCIACs, the five golfers who will represent the team are: Cameron Van de Graaf, James Burgoyne, Kevin Steinthal, Kieran Suri, and Max Rothston. The four best scores will determine the score of the team. These four have worked together over the course of the season, and have prepared for this day.

“Thursday will be a very exciting day for all of the team, we have been looking forward to playing in the FCIAC Championship all year and we know we can compete with the best teams at the end of the day," junior Kieran Suri said.

On Monday, the Boys Golf Team will start States. The team has struggled in the past, but can rally together to hopefully perform well in these coming playoffs.

Pictured: Kieran Suri practicing his drive for FCIACs.

Girls Golf: The Gummaris Tournament

By Holly Gordon

Darien High School’s Girls Golf team was well represented at the Gummaris Tournament on Thursday, May 24^th. However, this tournament was unlike all other golf matches the team has played in. It only required the top two players of each team in Connecticut. Juniors Izzy Lee and Courtney Kyritz were among 18 other teams from around Connecticut. Lee and Kyritz teed off at approximately 1 p.m. Both players were excused from school at 10:45am in order to attend a lunch with all other participants of the tournament. The lunch was held directly before the tournament started at 1 p.m. 

“It was fun because we got to see all the people who we were playing before,” Kyritz said.

The tournament was played at the 36-hole Lyman Orchards Club golf course in Middlefield, Connecticut. In the end, both Lee and Kyritz shot a 44. Kyritz felt they did not play as well as they had hoped. With the best score a 41, the tournament was definitely challenging and competitive. Two teams tied for first. 

  

 Pictured: Courtney Kyritz, one of two golfers from DHS who participated in the Gummaris Tournament

Boys Baseball Wins 4-0 over Cheney Tech

By Matt Brown

Despite a lackluster regular season, the talented Boys Baseball qualified for the state tournament after beating up on Fairfield Ludlowe on Senior Day, and then winning a play-in game last Saturday four to one.

In the first round of the tourney, the Blue Wave was pitted up against the number one seed, Cheney Tech. On Monday May 29^th the team lugged up to Cheney Tech, and despite a two hour bus ride and distractingly humid weather they did not fail to perform. While in most state tournaments the number one seed would come with a formidable opponent, Cheney Tech is more an example of a tech school coming undefeated out of a weak league.

In the top of the first inning, the Wave offense was able to load up the bases but left the runners stranded failing to convert on the opportunity. In the bottom of the inning tension ran high yet again as junior Mackenzie Glavin felt the heat and Cheney loaded up the bases. Cheney, like the Blue Wave, failed to convert, and the Wave left unscathed. After this early scare, Glavin, the lengthy ace settled in nicely and let up no runs for his whole outing.

In the top of the fourth, the youngster sophomore Brendan Donohue reached on an infield single and advanced to second on a bad throw. Clutch as always, senior Thomas Carruthers ripped a line drive over third base batting in Brendan. With Carruthers on second base and ready to run, senior captain Bryan Previte came to the plate and hit a line drive passed the shortstop to knock him in.

With a two run cushion and Glavin sweating away on the mound, Cheney Tech put some men on base, however, Glavin dug deep and worked himself out of trouble. Then in the top of the 6^th, some of the talented seniors of the squad assert themselves, as a Carruthers triple, Previte single, and senior captain Sam Gillespie double extended the lead from two to four..

As if he had not done enough already, Carruthers came in to relieve the exasperated Glavin on the mound. To put it simply, Carruthers got nasty for two strikeouts and the save letting Blue Wave Boys Baseball roll into the second round of the tournament, and most importantly live to play another game. While they may of not lived up to expectations this regular season, if the talent on this team keeps showing up like this they will be a tough out.

Success in the FCIAC Championships

By Julia Cobb

With the end of the 2012 school year comes an end to the Darien High School spring athletic season. It is at this time that spring athletic teams battle it out for both the FCIAC and CIAC championship titles. This spring, DHS has been crowned with three FCIAC championship titles thus far. The Girls Varsity Softball Team defeated Westhill 8-5 to capture the FCIAC championship this past Saturday at Sacred Heart University (5/26). The Girls Varsity Lacrosse Team avenged their regular season loss to Greenwich by defeating them 17-14 to win their eleventh FCIAC title (5/25). The Girls Track and Field Team was also able to capture the FCIAC championship title at the FCIAC championship meet in Danbury (5/22). Congratulations to these spring sport teams and Neirad wishes all of the spring athletes the best of luck in the upcoming CIAC tournament. 

Girls Varsity Tennis Triumphs Over Staples

By Reed Barthold

            Last night (5/22) the Girls varsity tennis team played Staples for the second time this season. Last time the two teams played, Staples came out on top with a 2-5 match win and fortunately for the girls, this time, Darien came out on top with a 4-3 win.

With the bus leaving at 4:30pm on a rainy Tuesday afternoon, the team didn’t return to DHS for almost six hours due to the multiple games and cross-matches that needed to be played. The matches are played in best-of-seven series. Varsity players Mollie Riegel and Caroline McGuire agree that last night’s performance was one of the team’s best and the defeat of Staples really helps the team’s momentum.

The girls play Greenwich today (5/23).

Boys Volleyball Beats Staples in FCIAC Semifinals

               

By Sara Shaker

                 The Boys Volleyball team beat rival Staples 3-2 yesterday (5/23) in the FCIAC semifinals. After losing to the undefeated Staples twice in the regular season, the boys proved themselves in one of the best games of the season. The team won the first set 25-19, lost the second two sets 25-20 and 25-21, won the fourth set 25-17, and finally, won in the last set 15-13, coming out with a big win.

                “We did a really good job of focusing,” sophomore George Phillips said. “We entered the game confident and I think that really made the difference.” With great games from Phillips, senior captain Sam Bryant and senior captain Matt Lee, seniors Matt Collier, Ryan Stracuzzi, and Tommy Nichols, and junior Sean Lee.

                The boys face Ridgefield in the FCIAC Championship tomorrow (5/25) at 7pm at Fairfield Ludlowe High School in hopes of defending their 2011 FCIAC Championship.

Wave Tennis Hits Playoffs

By Amanda Sload

            Monday (5/21), the Boys Varsity Tennis Team took on Ridgefield on indoor clay courts at the Ridgefield Racket Club due to rain. The unexpected surface adjustment added to the fierce competition of the Ridgefield team led to a loss for the Darien boys in FCIACs.

            The score of the match was 0-4. However, FCIAC rules suspend play after a team wins four matches. Because of this, the score does not accurately represent the team’s performance and how close the match really was, as it could have ended 3-4. In the first four matches to finish, in singles, junior captain Ryo Usami lost a tough match as the first seed, as did senior captain Briton Dailey playing number four singles and freshman Sammy Alptekin at number five. The first doubles team of juniors DJ Brown and Dom Hansford lost 2-6, 1-6.

            Despite these losses, the rest of the matches were in fact ahead when the match was suspended. Junior Alex Swords led after winning a set in a tie break at the number two singles spot, and in number three singles, senior captain Cal Kevorkian was up after winning the first set 6-3. The second doubles team of junior Nick Howe and senior Charlie Khachian was also up.

            Although the team lost, Usami is positive about the season overall. “As far as the season goes, we did much better than last year because we ended with a regular season record of 10-6, and made the FCIAC tournament.” This was an improvement from last year when they ended the regular season 8-8 and failed to qualify for FCIACs.

            The tennis team hopes to finish its season strong in States, which is an individual tournament. The team is sending four singles players, Kevorkian, Dailey, junior Jeff Sload, and Khachian. Three doubles pairs will also compete: Usami and Swords, Hansford and Brown, and Howe and junior Will McCoy.

            Wish the team luck as it heads to Yale for the first round of States on Thursday May 31^st!

Pictured: Swords in action

Above: Howe, Usami, and Sload in the team’s away uniforms

Boys Track Places 4th at FCIACS

By Kat McKay

Yesterday (5/22), the Boys Outdoor Track and Field Team battled through rain to place fourth at FCIACs. The Wave lost out to perennial powerhouse Staples, who came in first, and Danbury and Greenwhich, who came in second and third, respectively.

Senior captain Matt Pik said of the team that they “had a solid day. A handful of our guys were sick yesterday so some guys didn’t compete.” Standout performances include Pik, who came in second in the 400 meter dash with a time of 49.80 seconds, and senior Harlan Smith, who placed third in the triple jump with a distance of 42 ft and 6 inches. Junior Will Lochtefeld placed third in discus and fourth in shotput.

Overall, Darien scored 55.5 points, just slightly behind Greenwich’s total of 57 but well behind frontrunner Staples score of 147.5. The most important thing, though, according to Pik, was that the team beat New Canaan, who came in sixth.

Pik emphasized the importance of focusing on next Tuesday’s (5/29) state meet in Middletown. “We’re looking forward to next week,” said Pik, “where we can place better.”

Pictured: Senior Tyler Gould starts the 100 meter dash.

Complete results can be found here: http://paynescornertiming.com/uploads/3/0/5/3/3053070/fciac_outdoor_2012.htm

Boy’s JV Tennis Season Wrap-up

By Colin Sullivan

            The Boy’s JV Tennis season came to an end last week, ending the season with an impressive record. The team finished with a record of five wins and three losses. This is an improvement from last year's record, and the future of the team looks bright as many of the team’s best players are returning for next year's season.

            “Our team competed with teams that we didn’t come close to last year,” sophomore superstar Graham Helgans said regarding the team's performance. This was Helgans' first year being on the tennis team. Last year he played on the freshman lacrosse team, but decided to take up tennis this year. Helgans also said triumphantly that this season, “We even beat our rival New Canaan.” Helgans went on to say that “Darien tennis is taking a step in the right direction and the future looks bright.”

            The future of tennis is definitely headed on the right path. The tennis team here at Darien High School has a reputation of being a lot of fun and fairly casual. As a result, many students at DHS who are looking to have a lot of fun are eager to try out for the team. Each year, many new players who do not want to deal with the time and commitment of some of the other sports at DHS, and players who love tennis, tryout for a spot on the team.

The JV team this year was filled with a variety of talent. This year, the tennis team welcomed three new faces, sophomores Dan Murphy, Graham Helgans, and Patrick Nelson. These are three of the team’s best players, and certainly contributed to the team’s great record. Helgans and Murphy were doubles partners and had one of the best winning records on the team. Chris Rehm and Timmy Scolaro are two of the team's returning sophomores, who were also of great value to the team. Rehm and Scolaro were also doubles partners, and like Helgans, Murphy, and Nelson, they were two of the best players on the team.

The JV team was mostly made up of sophomores. Next year, the majority of these sophomores will move up to the varsity level. The Varsity Tennis team will surely benefit from this new talent, and the upcoming freshman and sophomores next year will have to step up in order to make sure the JV team continues to head down their winning track.

The future of the DHS Tennis Team is heading in the right direction, and it will be interesting to see how the team turns out next year.

Caption: Sophomore Chris Rehm dominating the tennis court at practice one day.

Girls Track Wins FCIAC

By Conciatori, Kyra
On Tuesday, May 22, the Darien High School Girls outdoor track team captured first place at the FCIAC meet in Danbury. The day was a long and tiring one for the athletes--it began at 11:45 am when they were released early from school and ended with a bus ride back to DHS around 8 pm. The weather was less than appealing, with sporadic intervals of pouring rain, but the team only proved to shine despite the gray skies. Sophomore Jessica Thornbury was the star of the pole vaulting event, successfully clearing ten feet. Junior Grace Loh placed 3rd in both the 1600m and the 800m, with times of 5:15 and 2:22, respectively. Freshman Catherine Lacy took home 1st in the high jump and long jump along with 3rd place in the 200m. The team will compete again in Middletown next Tuesday, May 29th, at States.

Pictured: From left to right: Senior captains Claire Gaffney, Sherry Gilronan, Katie Donovan, Katie Southworth and Victoria Kominek celebrate with Coach Norris.

Freshmen Track Stars Elisabeth Lowe and Anne Johnston

By Annabel Schneider

 Every year sports teams lose great seniors from the year before. This year, the girls track team, besides losing some great seniors, gained many stellar freshmen. Two of this year’s star freshman runners are Elisabeth Lowe and Anne Johnston. Both of the girls are long distance runners and run the same events: the 1600m and the 3200m.

 “I love to run track because it’s a chance to meet new girls that have the same interest. We are all so close but so competitive at the same time. I also enjoy setting goals and trying to reach them,” said Johnston.

Off the track the two are friends. As a result - on the track they are the each other’s biggest supporters. “We never have to compete against each other, luckily,” Johnston said. During meets one of them will run the 1600m and the other will run the 3200m. “Even though we are competitive we are always cheering for each other and I am definitely hoping Elisabeth does the best she can,” Johnston said.

As of now the girls have never competed against each other. However, this Tuesday (5/22) is FCIACs and both will be running the 3200m.

The girls did phenomenally this year and have more goals for the future. “I would love to keep improving my times and keep running all the time. I just want to do the best that I can,” said Lowe.  Make sure to check out Elisabeth, Anne, and the whole track team at its FCIAC finals meet Tuesday (5/22) at 2 in Danbury.

Caption: Anne (left) and Elisabeth (right)

Darien Girls Lacrosse Celebrates Exciting Victory Against Rival New Canaan

By: Marguerite Morgan

Darien Girls Lacrosse defeated New Canaan 15 to 9 on Monday, May 21 at New Canaan High School in FCIAC semi-finals. The girls broke New Canaan’s undefeated record under the pouring rain and made up for their loss to New Canaan during their regular season. Both New Canaan and Darien started out strong with Darien only up by one goal in the first 11 minutes. Senior Brynn Gasparino had two goals and junior Kristy Gilbert had one making the score 3 to 2 Darien with only 8 minutes left in the half. Gilbert scored again one minute later followed by junior Taylor Hardison’s goal leaving the score 5 to 2 Darien with 6:47 left in the half. Uneasy at Darien’s lead, New Canaan called a timeout. However, after the break Darien came out even stronger. Sophomore Dillon Schoen won the draw, and Darien controlled the ball around the crease for some time. Senior defender Cammie Kirby won the ground ball when New Canaan finally brought it down to the other side of the field. New Canaan scored on an indirect foul shot with 3 minutes and 34 seconds left in the half. Two minutes later, Gasparino intercepted the ball from the New Canaan goalie and Hardison scored with just a minute left. Haridson quickly followed up with another goal off of a foul with just 1 second left in the half leaving the score 7 to 3 Darien at halftime.

            Darien began the second half with just as much fire and energy as the first. Gasparino scored off a foul one minute into the half putting Darien further in the lead 8 to 3. Following Gasparino’s goal, Darien won the draw and brought the ball down, leading to Schoen’s goal just 10 seconds later. One of the highlights of the game came when Hardison passed to Gilbert who faked the shot, then scored from the corner of the goal with so much momentum that she somersaulted afterwards. Darien rejoiced at the 10 to 3 lead. Junior goalie Caylee Waters saved a shot, rebounding the ball off her stick, but New Canaan fought back with a goal. Junior Jenna Fritts, Hardison, and Gasparino followed up with three more goals leaving the score 13 to 4. New Canaan intercepted the ball, sprinting down the field only to be stopped by senior Emily Tropsa. Kirby further proved the strength of the Darien defense with an interception just a few minutes later. New Canaan fought strong for a comeback at this point and scored 4 goals to Darien’s 1 goal within this time period by senior Charlett Stevenson. With 46 seconds left in the game, New Canaan scored another goal, slowly catching up to Darien but not in time. One of the most outstanding goals all game was the very last goal when Kirby brought up the ball from defense, leading to a perfect passing sequence ending with Gasparino wide open in front of the net. Gasparino scored with 7 seconds left making the final score of the game 15 to 9. The girls sprinted onto the field with excitement after the final whistle under the steady drizzle. FCIAC final game this Friday (5/25) evening at 4 PM at Brien McMahon when they take on Greenwich!

Varsity Baseball Celebrates Senior Day With a 9-1 Win

 By Chris Janson

              On Thursday May 17th, the Varsity Baseball team defeated Fairfield Ludlowe 9-1 in its last home game of the season. Ludlowe jumped out to an early 1-0 lead with an unearned run in the top of the first, but the Blue Wave was quick to strike back. The team tied the score in the second inning and rode an explosive seven-run fourth inning to victory.

                With the bases loaded and no outs in the fourth, junior Andrew Maley hit a grounder up the middle that was bobbled by Ludlowe’s second baseman. Two runs scored on the play, giving Darien a 3-1 lead. Three batters later, senior Bryan Previte knocked in another run with a solid single to center. The rally continued with a 2-RBI double from senior Sam Gillespie and was capped off by a 2-RBI infield single from senior Mike Stovall. The team left the inning with an 8-1 advantage and would never look back.

                This offensive outburst in tandem with a great start from junior pitcher Mackenzie Glavin was enough to give Darien a clutch win, improving the team’s season record to 8-12. The win allows the team to compete in the CIAC State tournament, which will start on May 26th.

                Gillespie said of the game, “it was great to end the season with a win, especially in a game this important.”

                Previte added, “I thought that this was our best game of the season. Our offense was the best it has been all season and the fact that it was senior day and the last home game made winning the game even better.”

                Before the game, a short ceremony recognized the 11 departing seniors on the team, which include:

Tucker White, Dillon Duncan, Nick Scott, Scott Plank, Alex Yergey, Tommy MacLean, Jonathon Dehlin, and captains Sam Gillespie, Bryan Previte, Thomas Carruthers, and Mike Stovall

Boys Volleyball Falls in Final Home Game

by Ryan Barthold

The Varsity Boys Volleyball team fell 2-3 to Ridgefield on Friday night (5/11) in their final home game of the season. The Blue Wave got off to a good start, winning the first set. However, the Tigers came roaring back, winning the next two sets. Darien cruised to a fourth set win, forcing a decisive fifth set. The Tigers proved to be too much for the Blue Wave in the fifth set, taking the set and the match. It was the final home game of their careers for senior starters Matt Lee, Matt Collier, Tommy Nichols, Sam Bryant, and Ryan Stracuzzi. The Wave now look to finish the season with two games on the road, the first St. Joseph on Monday (5/14) at 4 p.m., the second at New Canaan on Wednesday (5/16) at 43 p.m.

Girls Varsity Tennis Trumps St. Joseph High School

by Marielle Ravosa

The Girls Varsity Tennis team beat St. Joseph High School 7-0 this past Thursday at 4pm at Darien High School (5/10). The girls played very well and dominated their opponents. Freshman Clair Kelley defeated sophomore Amanda Quiles 6-1, 6-1. Junior Jenna Murray dominated a match against sophomore Nicole Keklik 6-4, 6-2. Sophomore Caroline McGuire and sophomore Libby Feingold beat juniors Jen Novak and Alexandra Waizenegger 6-0, 6-1 in their doubles match. Junior Sarah Alptekin and her partner, freshman Catherine Hatfield, won their match 6-1, 6-2.

 “I’m seeing some improvement in all the players, especially amongst the doubles teams. They are really starting to click,” the Darien Varsity Tennis coach, Davin Gebauer, told “The Darien Times”.

Come watch the Girls Varsity Tennis team play against Greenwich High School on Monday at 4pm at DHS (5/14). You’ll certainly see some exciting matches!

A Sunny Day and A Bright Future for Boys Varsity Golf

By Courtney Kyritz

The boys went into their home match this Monday afternoon with a record of six wins and one loss. The match was a tri-match, where three teams would compete with the boys out in groups of three (one player from each town). With junior Captain Kiran Suri shooting a 39 for the front 9, senior Captin James Burgoyne shooting a 42, and sophomore talent Cameron Van de Graaf coming in with a 40, the boys gave undefeated Greenwich a run for their money. Unfortunately the varsity team was unable to beat Greenwich but they were still able to come home with a solid win against St. Joes. Now with a record of seven wins and two losses, junior Andrew Morgan looks forward to upcoming matches; “We played okay but there is definitely potential to improve going into out match on Wednesday,” Morgan said. Morgan is currently recovering from a shoulder injury and will be returning next week to help the team keep its solid record.

Boys Golf Wins at Home

By: Will Steinthal

            Last Thursday (4/26), the Boys Varsity Golf team won its game against Fairfield Ludlowe. The overall score was 168 for Darien, and 178 for Fairfield Ludlowe.

            The team played great, with a five-person team of Cameron Van de Graaf, Jim Anderson, Kevin Steinthal, Max Rothston, and Kieran Suri. The individual scores were 42 for Van de Graaf, 45 for Anderson, 45 for Steinthal, 41 for Rothston, and 40 for Suri. “Our team is optimistic, and have a depth. We hope to continue our strong streak in the future.”

            The team is having a strong season.

Pictured: Cameron Van de Graaf preparing to hit his drive.

Girls Outdoor Track: O’Grady’s Invitational

by Kyra Conciatori

This past Saturday, April 28, the DHS Girls Outdoor Track and Field team participated in the O’Grady Relays Invitational meet and came in 2^nd place overall, beat only by Simsbury. The Distance Medley Relay did particularly well, earning second place in the event. The four runners, seniors McKinley Stauffer and Katie Donavan, junior Grace Loh, and freshman Elisabeth Lowe were pleased with the race. Stauffer PR-ed in the relay, with an 800 split of 2:28, and Loh had the fastest mile split of 5:22. “The meet went well considering the cold and windy conditions. The relays are always super fun-- especially watching the steeple chase,” Loh said. The DHS steeplechasers also had a great meet, with freshman Anne Johnston finishing first. The team faces its next meet on Wednesday here at DHS.

 Pictured Above - From left to right: Grace Loh, McKinley Stauffer, Katie Donovan, and Elisabeth Lowe proudly wear their 2nd place medals after the Distance Medley Relay.