Girls Indoor Track Team Starts the Season Strong

by Caroline McKay

On Friday, 12/20, the Girls Indoor Track Team had a New Haven Invitational meet at Hillhouse High School in New Haven, followed by a developmental meet at Staples on Saturday 12/21. Several girls qualified for CIACs, including junior Maddie Schneider in 55 meter hurdles, senior Brittany Henry in the 50 meter dash, senior Taylor McDonald in shotput, and Schneider and senior Jess Thornbury in the pole vault. Four other girls qualified for FCIACs.

“The meet went really well, and looking at all the girls who qualified I think the team will be pretty solid this year,” junior Amanda Lee said.

Next the girls have an away meet at Wilton High School against Ridgefield, Fairfield Warde, Stamford, and Norwalk on Saturday 1/4.

A panorama shot of the action during the 12/20 meet

FCIAC Basketball Returns: Quantifying Home-Court Advantage in the State's Toughest Conference

by Stephen Barston

As basketball season returns yet again, the Blue Wave Boys Basketball team looks poised to make an impressive run in regular season play. The support for the team has increased dramatically in recent memory, with attendance at games growing and the environment in the Main Gym becoming more raucous each season. However, the question arises, how can one quantify home-court advantage in the FCIAC and where does Darien rank? Now the answers can finally be determined.

Modeled after a similar project done by the Harvard Sports Analytics Club, I calculated home point differential and away point differential over five seasons of each boys basketball team’s FCIAC regular season play, a total analysis of over 1700 data points. I then subtracted the away differential from the home differential to determine the cumulative points added at home for each team in the conference over the five-year time period. Divide this number by five, and one can  determine the home-court advantage points added per season (see table to the right).

Prior to seeing the data, Norwalk High School JV coach Kevin George gave his guess as to which team would be number one.

“My guess is Ridgefield or Danbury second [due] to distance. Of course [it] depends on where you’re coming from,” he said.

Senior captain Matt Staubi also thought Ridgefield would be at the top.

“I've heard that Ridgefield shows out to their games and the student section goes hard. I heard they made a kid cry or something so I would think they had the best home court advantage,” he said.

“I would say that Greenwich is high on the list. A good amount of kids come to the varsity games [there],” sophomore Charlie Dean, a member of last season’s DHS freshman basketball team, said, in what would turn out to be the most accurate guess out of all the interviewees.

Topping the list are the aforementioned Greenwich Cardinals, who finished two games above .500 last year (with an FCIAC record of 10-8), possibly thanks to their court environment. The expansive bleacher section creates a considerable amount of fan noise and the large gymnasium maintains this volume.

The Wilton Warriors, who play in a relatively nontraditional location for a basketball game, come in at second on the list. The fieldhouse (as it is called) at Wilton High School has a basketball court surrounded by a track and separated from the outer walls of the gymnasium by a large distance, perhaps 30 or 40 feet. This daunting environment, from past experience, throws off court vision for all players and disturbs depth perception and the overall shooter’s eye.

Furthermore, teams facing Greenwich and Wilton must endure long-distance trips, meaning that players will focus on things other than the game later that night, like dealing with that inevitably large amount of homework. Also, fans might not want to travel such a long distance. Danbury, the northernmost school in the conference, falls in at third most likely for the same reason (see image to the right).

Perennial powerhouse squads like Trinity Catholic, St. Joe’s, and Ridgefield find themselves towards the lower end of the rankings (9^th, 10^th, and 13^th respectively), but this can be explained by the teams’ incredible road performances during the five year span in which data was collected. The same can be said for both Fairfield Warde and Bridgeport Central, the two teams that have negative home-court advantages, as each of these two programs—amazingly enough—performed better in away games than in home games.

Darien can be found at number 11 on the list, but has had significant statistical improvement in recent years. The most important fact for members of the DHS community, however, is that the Blue Wave is located one spot above the rival New Canaan Rams.

As for improving this DHS basketball environment in the future, Staubi had something important to say to the self-proclaimed Blue Wave Superfans.

“People haven't consistently come to games and seemed to lose faith in our team last year, and towards the end of the year we barely had people at games. I think that we have players who get behind the crowd and who play better in front of a big group of people, and if we have a consistently good and loud student section it'll help add to the success of our season,” he added.

With a squad full of returning players and indications of renewed passion within the program, look for the DHS basketball team to take another step in the right direction this season, contingent on help from the Blue Wave fan base.

Wave Lose Nail-Biter in Home Opener

by Brad Magnusson

The DHS Boys Basketball Team lost to the Fairfield Ludlowe Falcons this past Friday night in their highly anticipated home opener. The team came out strong and held a promising 28-20 lead at halftime but couldn’t hold on in the second half.

The Wave struggled from the free throw line and missed a few opportunities to run away from the Falcons after clawing back from a 6-point deficit in the fourth quarter. Senior Matt Staubi led all scorers with 18 and was accompanied by senior center Chima Azuonwu, who got yet another double-double in an impressive performance. Look for the Blue Wave to rebound from two early-season losses and repeat as champions in the annual La Vista Tournament.
Darien plays again next Friday at home against Staples at 3pm.

Senior Matt Staubi steps up to the free-throw line
during yesterday's action against Fairfield Ludlowe

Blue Wave Basketball Falls to Wilton

by Reed Barthold

On Wednesday, December 18, the Darien Boys Basketball team took on the Wilton Warriors at Wilton. Unfortunately for the Wave, Wilton came away with the victory with a 58-44 lead over Darien.

Despite a seemingly Wilton-controlled game, Darien was able to hang on throughout the first half and into the third quarter. At the end of the half, Darien was down 23-20 and it remained a one-possession ball game.

Senior captain Matt Staubi showed off his skills throughout the night, shocking no one. Chima Azuonwu threw down a few slams throughout the night and showed off the power a 6'11”, 300-pound man can generate. Along with the senior duo, freshman Alex Preston stepped up and showed his potential with a few solid rebounds and scores.

Darien plays again next Friday, the 27th, at home versus Staples as part of the annual LaVista Tournament.

Senior Chima Azuonwu battles for the ball during Wednesday's action

Wave Squash Beats Greenwich, 1-1 on the Season

Darien High School’s Boys Varsity Squash team took on Greenwich High School at Chelsea Piers on Wednesday the 18th in the second matchup of the season. The Blue Wave was looking to bounce back after last week’s upset loss against Bronxville High School.

Though the Wave was without #1 freshman Harrison Gill, who sustained an injury in a US Open tournament, the depth of the team was unbeatable. Sophomore Connor Wind and senior Zach Basu, who played in the #2 and #5 spots, respectively, remained undefeated on the season, both winning their matches in a three set clean sweep. Sophomore Toby Hansford, freshman Walker Wind, and senior James Teschner all chalked up their first wins of the season. Senior Andrew Morgan tested his Greenwich opponent in a nail-biting five set match, coming up just short. Fortunately for the Wave, the loss didn’t matter as the team won by a final score of 5 games to 2.

Senior captain Zach Basu said of the match, “The fact that we were able to win without a lot of our key players is a testament to the depth of the team.” Underclassmen make up the majority of the top 5 so the future is bright for Blue Wave squash.

Darien’s next matchup will be on January 1st at Chelsea Piers against rival New Canaan High School.

Darien Native Returns to Help Boys Hockey Team

by Annie Sullivan

Kevin Sullivan is a senior at Union College and plays Division One hockey. Before Union, he played varsity hockey at DHS for two years and then went on to boarding school.

Now that Kevin has a week off from school, he's spending his time relaxing and, of course, playing more hockey. During his break, he will be attending some of the hockey team’s practices to help out the Wave Puck players. "It's cool coming back to Darien and seeing the hockey players in action! It brings back a lot of great memories,” Sullivan says.  Sullivan wants to make an impact on the players, hoping to help them on their game. "A few of the kids have siblings that are my age, so it's fun helping out their siblings and seeing them play hockey for a change,” he added. 

Kevin is skating alongside the boys over his Christmas break. “Kevin is a great example for our squad because he has experience at the Division One level,” senior Robbie Juterbock says. Kevin hopes to help his alma mater in terms of learning new skills and stay in shape at the same time! “Everything he does on and off the ice makes an impact on his game and our game as a team. From Sully’s saucy passes to his quick dangles to the way he moves with the puck, our team looks at him like a pro,” Juterbock added.

The hockey team’s next is against Fairfield Prep on Saturday at 1:00pm.

DHS alumnus Kevin Sullivan and senior Robbie
Juterbock outside the Darien Ice Rink after practice

Tis the Season to Volunteer

’Tis the season for the Darien YMCA House Basketball League. While many high school students are looking forward to playing in the league, some volunteered to coach. There are 12 Darien High School girls who voluntarily coach younger girls.

Out of six 7th/8th grade girls House Basketball teams, three are coached by DHS seniors. Seniors Maggie Murphy and Morgan Sawitsky coach the Tarheels, seniors Kiki Martin and Liz Stile coach the Volunteers, and seniors Colleen Keating and Mary Kate McCarthy coach the Bulldogs.

Juniors Jessie Halstrom and Izzy Scribano coach the 4th grade girls House Basketball Hurricanes.

Two out of the six 3rd grade girls House Basketball team are coached by DHS students. Sophomore Susie Ropp and junior Emily Nixon coach the Mustangs and senior Katie Shanahan and junior Mary Brown coach the Owls.

Coaching is a good way to learn leadership skills and to connect with younger students. It is a fun experience for both the coaches and the younger players. If you have any interest in coaching a house basketball team next season, make sure to contact Joe Marzano at the YMCA. 

Senior Colleen Keating has been coaching for two years now and she said, “It is nice to be on the coaching side versus playing. Seeing the girls improve is an accomplishment.” 

11/12 House Power Rankings: Game 2, Sunday

By Anthony DiMeglio

1. LAKERS (2-0)

The Lakers have been victorious the first two winning in dramatic fashion, 48-16 in the first game 38-26 in the second game.  Granted the Lakers have won both games while the top players from each opponent have been out, they still have what it takes to be the best team in the league with players like junior TJ Adiletta, senior Zach Basu, junior John Mackie and junior Matt Sherwood.  Adiletta, a 3 point specialist, hit a three in Sunday’s game and celebrated with a somersault on his way back to his side of the court.  Basu is just too much for any team to handle with his shooting ability and athleticism, not to mention he is fierce while pulling in rebounds.  Mackie and Sherwood feast on the boards and use put-backs for points, not to mention they also have the aptitude to shoot from beyond the arc.

2. CELTICS (2-0)

The Celtics, in my opinion, are one of the best teams in the league, as their team is extremely athletic and big in the paint, with ruthless players fighting for the key offensive rebounds.  This starts with big man junior Jack Feeley.  Not only can Feeley grab any rebound he wants to, he can also shoot from any spot on the court.  Feeley is not the only player that contributes to this team as teammates like junior Matt Pettit and senior Luke Mangan also control the floor. Pettit, comparable to Feeley, is a ferocious defender, blocking and stealing the ball with his incredibly long arms.  Mangan was all over the Nets defense, finding his way through lanes and knocking down shots inside the paint.  Junior Phil Rech also contributed to the team’s efforts with a few points of his own in the Celtics win over the Nets.

3. WIZARDS (2-0)

The Wizards have been shocking the league within the first two games of the House season.  With a major win in their first game with only four players, the team added two key players to the team in senior Graham Helgans and junior Peter Archey.  Junior Michael Maccarone continued to impress, while putting up 16 points after a solid 22 points in the first game.  Junior Jack Garfield followed up his 24-point game with another extraordinary performance, dominating the boards.  Even though it is early in the season look for the Wizards to make a run into the playoffs, as they thrive in every part of the game.

4. NUGGETS (2-0)

The Nuggets came out on top Sunday and improved to 2-0 on their season with a win over the Mavericks.  Seniors Austin Crane and Brad Magnusson did most of the damage, as the Mavs just couldn’t find a way to stop them.  Crane continuously beat the Mavs inside the paint and dished the ball out to Magnusson who hit some clutch threes to seal the deal for the Nuggets.  Junior Daniel Traver had an outstanding Wednesday raking up 8 steals.  Look out for him to be the force on defense for the Nuggets, as he will do damage week in and week out.  The Nuggets have exceeded expectations so far and they look like they aren’t going to take it easy on a team anytime soon.

5. NETS (1-1)

Despite the loss the Nets suffered on Sunday, they are a talented team that is hard to match up with.  They have the height in seniors Christian Cochran and Andrew Boe and athleticism in point guards Dan Murphy (senior) and Vinny Puzio (junior).  Sharpshooter and junior Colin Cochran hit two threes in his first game with the team.  A major loss for the team is the absence of last year’s house MVP, junior shooting guard George Reed, as he suffered a broken hand in the State Football game Saturday.  With a healthy lineup, I can assure you that the Nets will roll into the playoffs and be one of the most lethal teams in the league.      

6. KNICKS (1-1)        

The #1 preseason team showed people on Sunday why they deserved to be number one then.  After watching the Knicks take their first win, it’s evident that there are few teams that will be able to stay with them throughout the season.  The Knicks may have struggled a little bit in the first game of the season but came together in game two and it showed in the play of senior point guard Dylan Carruthers and his stellar shooting ability from three point range.  Another standout player from the Knicks is senior Robbie James, a tall, strong player underneath the rim constantly hauling in offensive rebounds and consistently putting them back up for points, keeping his team in the game.  With that advantage the team is able to take risky shots, as they rely heavily on their big man.  Senior Jack Foley, another shooter on the Knicks, is able to knock down shots from anywhere and also racks up the assists with multiple options to pass to, including seniors Chris Chiamulera and Carter Watt.  Look for the Knicks to make a surge into the postseason with their aggressive play. 

7. BULLS (0-2)

The Bulls may be 0-2 in the standings, but it is still very early in the season, and they have the type of team to power through the rest of the season, if every player shows up.  With the combination of the two Pendo brothers and junior point guard Calvin Crosby, the Bulls could be serious championship contenders.  Crosby, in the first game, was unbelievable beyond the arc, but was quieter in the second game, leaving the Pendo brothers to do all of the work from three.  Despite their performances on Sunday, the Wizards responded well and were simply too much for the Bulls. 

8. JAZZ (1-1)

Coming off an upsetting loss to the Wizards, the Jazz came back in the second game and played an overall stellar game.  With the return of senior Nick Kunze and junior Dylan Cunningham from a long football season, the Jazz acquired exactly what they needed in order to succeed.  Senior Harry Gillespie and Cunningham took over late in the game for the Jazz after the Heat got off to a strong start, and Kunze was huge on the offensive boards.  Seniors Matt Plank and Brian Alter were able to contain the Heat on the defensive side of the ball and contributed on offense when the situation called for it. This Jazz victory was unexpected, however they deserved it after a performance like the one they had on Sunday.

9. CAVALIERS (0-2)

The Cavaliers matched up well with the Knicks, and hung with them the whole game, but in the end, the Knicks outplayed the Cavs to beat them by one.   This loss for the Cavaliers puts them at 0-2 for the season, however, like the Bulls, they have the potential to be one of the more dominant teams in the league.  This all begins with junior point guards Stephen Barston and Brian Walsh.  Both of these players are lights-out from three and with contributions from senior Colin Meier, the points add up and keep them in the games.  The defense for the Cavs all starts with the intensity of junior Timmy Grozier, followed by the long arms and height of junior Alex Hager and his six blocks in the first half of Sunday’s game.  Teams also can’t sleep on senior forward Blake Lange, as he is an all-around offensive and defensive strength for the Cavs. 

10. MAVERICKS (1-1)

After a win that stunned the league on Wednesday, the Mavericks just couldn’t find a way to control the Nuggets on Sunday.  Junior big man James Fox did all his teammates could’ve asked for and grabbed multiple rebounds leading to baskets for the Mavs.  Floor general and junior Danny Siemers coordinated the tempo of the game and used his knowledge of basketball to do everything he could in order to try and get his team the victory, but unfortunately they fell short.  The Mavs are a type of team that can be very shaky and inconsistent, but overall a very talented team that can put a dent into the league. 

11. HEAT (0-2)

It has been a truly disappointing start for the Heat, and what looked to be an auspicious year has started off on the wrong foot.  The Jazz stunned the Heat in the second game of the season and junior Charlie Travers’ house return.  Travers put up 23 points and was automatic from 3, but it just wasn’t enough to get the win.  Senior Chris Rehm came up clutch in situations per usual, but his efforts came up slightly short as well.  Overall the Heat have not been what people wanted to see so far, but with their talent they can spark at any time during the season and beat any team. 

12. THUNDER (0-2)

The Thunder simply don’t have anything going their way at this point in the season.  Junior Conor Davey, the team’s obvious stud wasn’t on his A game during game one due to a hamstring injury and wasn’t in attendance during game two.  Aside from these past two weeks, Davey will eventually break out and be one of the most dominant players in the league.  Taking Conor’s place in game two was junior Jamie Schwartz, contributing to the team’s point total with several threes.  Overall the Thunder’s season doesn’t look too promising but anything can happen, especially this early in the year.

Girls Basketball: Stamford Defeats Darien in Home Opener

By Kiki Martin

Stamford beat Darien 67-57 in the girls’ basketball home opener on Friday December 13^th. The Wave had a strong game from sophomore Kaeleigh Morrill and senior captain Kelly Karczewski who scored a team high of 28 points. Darien trailed 14-10 after one quarter, but was ahead 32-26 at the half, and still held the lead, 46-41 after the third quarter. Senior captain Emily Stein was another stand out player scoring five field goals, and was 2-for-2 from the line for a total of 12 points. Stein worked the boards extremely hard, grabbing rebounds on offense and defense to maintain possession for the wave. Sophomore Erin Karczewski also had a strong game finishing with 10 points for the wave. However, Stamford came out strong in the fourth quarter and the wave could just not hold on to the lead. This tough defeat adds to the record making the team 0-2 so far this season.

“Compared to our first game of the season against West Hill, we saw a huge improvement in our shooting game and ball movement on the court. We came out really strong and kept the fast pace that we like because of our speed but started to lose it in the second half. We are a very small team this year height wise and numbers wise but I think as the season progresses we will pull out some wins,” junior Avery Maley said.

Come support the team at the next home game at 7:00 on December 18^th as the girls take on Wilton!

Caption: Senior captain Kelly Karczewski dribbles around the defense at a game last season

Photo: J. Gregory Raymond of the Stamford Advocate

Girls Winter Indoor Track Preview with Lindsey Holek

by Ashley Mailhot

Girls winter track is starting up again and has previously been named the champion or runner-up in the CIAC Class L State competition in each of the past 10 years. Also, Darien has won the FCIAC Eastern Championship 10 years in a row. “Last year our team did really well! We had a relay team make it really far and all of the girls who were in the relay are back this year. We even had a few girls go to nationals last year, which was awesome,” Junior Lindsey Holek said, who is running the 600m, 200m and some relays this coming season.

The new captains this winter track season are Brittany Henry, Catherine Lacy and Dillon Schoen. However, this season is going to be missing some members of its team due to last year’s graduation, including Grace Loh, Kate Farren, Ellen Bauer and Sarah Colon. “We have a really strong team this year and I think we are also going to have a lot of good new runners this year. Luckily we didn’t lose too many runners from last year so I think we will have a lot of success this year too,” Holek said.

She is hoping to make it to “FCIACs and states in the 600m”. Even though she has previously made it to FCIACs for cross-country in the fall, she thinks it “would be really cool to go to states for track”. “There are a lot of key runners on other teams from different schools [that will] push us this season,” Holek said. Good luck to the Girls Winter Track team this season!

Caption: Catherine Lacy, this season’s new captain, running the 55m dash in last year’s FCIAC indoor track championships in New Haven.

Girls House Basketball Change: After Christmas Instead of a Practice, Two Games a Week

by Caroline McKay

House basketball is a fantastic alternative for those who are not up for the commitment of playing on the school team, but still wish to continue with the sport. For 9th through 12th grade girls, a one hour practice during the week and a 40 minute game on Saturday is perfect.

The Boys House Basketball League has double the amount of participants as does the Girls League, and the teams are split up by grade. The 9th and 10th grade boys play together in one league, and the 11th and 12th grade boys have their own league. Boys do not have practices; rather they play one game on Sundays and one game every other Wednesday.

After Christmas break, the Girls League is making a transition to a similar structure. Gone are the weekday practices—instead there will be games on Thursdays in addition to those on Saturdays.

“I think it’s great because it allows people who have conflicts on the weekends to get in an extra game before playoffs and I find games are more intense and exciting than practices,” junior Elizabeth Fucigna said.

While some are enthusiastic, others are skeptical of the change.

“I think that it takes away from the fun of house basketball where you have practice with your teammates and make a lot of new friends,” junior Christy Conley said.

Only time will tell what this new change will bring, but surely the House league that is beloved by so many will continue to be a favorite winter activity.

The schedule shows a sole practice after winter break, and then only games.

Top 3 Rookies in the NFL This Season

by Stephen Barston

There has been no shortage of surprises thus far in the 2013 NFL season. The Houston Texans went from 12-4 last year, even winning their first game in the playoffs, to the unequivocal loser of the league. Nick Foles of the Philadelphia Eagles has overtaken the versatile Michael Vick and become one of the best passing quarterbacks in the NFL, simultaneously leading his team to a first place position in the NFC East (at the time of publication). There have been some incredible performances by rookies so far as well; below I have listed the top three rookies in the league this season.

1. Sheldon Richardson, New York Jets DL

Richardson has been the number one rookie on Bleacher Report's rankings since Week 7 and has proved to be a spark on an otherwise-lackluster Jets team. He has had a Pro Bowl-caliber season, currently ranking third out of all defensive lineman in terms of combined tackles (70). He consistently stops the run, and for the 13th overall pick in the draft, has easily had the greatest impact on his respective team. Although everything else about this season has been bleak for Rex Ryan's squad, Jets fans have something to cheer about for years to come, as Richardson is currently locked in to a four-year contract, with an option for a fifth.

2. Eddie Lacy, Green Bay Packers RB

With Aaron Rodgers' injury, several other players on the Packers have had to step up to compensate for his absence; Eddie Lacy is one of these players. He is the only rookie with over 1000 yards rushing this season (and seventh overall in the league), with eight touchdowns as well. He has carried the load on a team usually known for a dominant tendency to pass and has allowed for some pressure to be taken off of the shoulders of replacement quarterback Matt Flynn. At this point, Lacy looks like a lock for 2013 offensive rookie of the year.

3. Keenan Allen, San Diego Chargers WR

Allen has been an integral part of the Chargers relative success this season and has kept them in playoff contention despite a 4-6 start to the year. With a somewhat-reliable running attack, Philip Rivers has been able to find Allen time and time again, who has been targeted 90 times and has accumulated 931 receiving yards and seven touchdowns. If he can continue to perform as he did in the much-needed victory against the Broncos (scoring twice on two receptions—talk about efficiency), the Chargers might secure a wild card spot and make a surprising run in the playoffs.

Jets lineman Sheldon Richardson has been a formidable
presence for a disappointing Jets team this season