Wave Sail Season Review

By Libby Markham

Darien High School’s varsity sailing team has finished their season very strong. I spoke to sophomore Lauren Miller to get an idea of how well the team performed this season, as well as her thoughts on the team as a whole.

“This season for the Darien High School Varsity Sailing Team was certainly one the most memorable ones so far. We competed with confidence and skill to pull out with 2nd place overall in our division.  Whether it was rigorous work out on the water, or informative chalk talks on land, we were always here for the long haul and remained concentrated all throughout the season. Communication, leadership, teamwork, applying knowledge, and determination were some of the key concepts our coach Connor Brady taught us to tailor into our practices and races everyday. Our team was very focused and had our goals set in place since the beginning of the season and I believe that is what led us to victory. Even with our toughest competitors, such as Fairfield Ludlowe and Brunswick, we managed to come together and race with ceaseless courage. I believe that when we worked our hardest without thinking about our placement, we stayed in the necessary focus or ‘race mode’ that was essential to reach our high rankings. We really could not have managed to pull this off without our talented seniors so with that comes one of the hardest goodbyes. A truly amazing job this year and thank you to everyone who participated and contributed numerous hours to this demanding sport that we will all come to miss,” Miller said.

The team at their end of season banquet 

Baseball, Softball and Girls Lacrosse Class LL CIAC Tournament Games At Home This Afternoon

Spend the afternoon at DHS to follow state tournaments for Baseball, Softball and Girls Lacrosse.

Baseball begins at 3:30 against Danbury, Softball at 4:00 against New Britain, and defending state champions and current FCIAC champions Girls Lacrosse meets Southington at 4:30.

Come spend a few hours cheering on the Blue Wave.

Girls Softball Beats Ridgefield 4-1 in FCIAC Quarterfinals

By Taylor Davis

On Friday, May 19, 2017 the Girls Softball Team won 4-1 against Ridgefield. The game started off a little rough for the team. However, eventually they found success. “It was a good win, but it took us a while to get our bats going,” Senior Captain Cassidy Schiff said. The team has been very successful this year, and they hope that this will continue throughout the rest of the season, specifically in their next game against Fairfield Ludlowe. “We’re hoping to keep our momentum in our next game against Ludlowe. We have been doing well, so we just have to keep playing like we can. Ludlowe beat us in the regular season, but we just have to bring a lot of energy,” Schiff said.

Girls Softball Beats Norwalk 9-6

By Taylor Davis

On Wednesday, May 17, 2017 the Girls Softball team won 9-6 against Norwalk. Senior captain Cassidy Schiff played extremely well as she secured the victory for the wave. Other players with outstanding performances include junior Hailey King who had 4 hits and scored 4 runs and senior Kristen Picard who had 2 hits. Norwalk was confident in the top of the sixth inning as they had a 6-3 lead. However, Darien did not let this stop them from fighting for the win. Darien had two more runs and entered the 7th inning down by one run. In the 7th inning Schiff brought home the win with a walk-off three-run homer.

The team huddles before the game 

Blue Wave Baseball Bests Trumbull in Late-Inning Blowout

By Johnathan Stimpson In one of the final games of the regular season, Darien (11-8) faced off against Trumbull’s struggling St. Joe’s team (7-10) this past Wednesday, May 11th. For the first four innings the game remained close, with St. Joe’s gaining a two run advantage on a series of singles. Trumbull’s lead, however, was a short-lived affair, quickly evaporating in the fifth inning, at the hands of Darien’s most productive sluggers: junior and catcher Sean O’Malley jacked a hard hit 3-run homerun to center-right, a feat which was followed by a solo-shot from junior Finn Batson. The remainder of Darien’s lineup continued to add to the team’s hit total, bringing the final score to a commanding 8-2 victory. Complementing Darien’s offensive prowess was its pitcher Henry Williams, a sophomore who tossed a complete game, giving up only an impressive two runs in the process. Blue Wave’s defense was also effective, letting up only one error. Commenting on Blue Wave’s third victory in a week, senior Peter Marren, a team captain who alternates between third and second, said, “We weren’t trying to do too much... just put the ball in play, get runners on..as we always try our best to do.” The team, which is verging on playoff contention, will next play against Norwalk’s team away, the last game of the regular season. Regarding Darien’s chances, Marren was hopeful: “we’ve been on a hot streak, and I think we’ll be able to keep building on our previous success.”

Wave Baseball Drops One to the Rams

By Will Pegler

Casey Brown belts a homer against Staples earlier this season
(Courtesy Darien Times). 

The varsity baseball team took on New Canaan this past Monday, May 8th at Meade Park. The game was competitive throughout and the Wave's hitting was on full display. Junior Sean O'Malley and senior captain Casey Brown each hit three run homers that fueled the Blue Wave, O'Malley said: "Everybody contributed with the bats and on the base paths; we played a great game overall". Senior Jake Geddes pitched and was able to hold the Rams from tying the game for six innings; unfortunately though, the Rams offense finally woke up in the 7th inning. Heading into the bottom half of the last inning New Canaan was down 10-7, but was able to complete a 4 run rally and win in walk-off fashion.

The Blue Wave look to rebound on Wednesday, May 5th when they take on St. Joe's.

Rams Can't Swim

By Julia Clarke

Girls JV Tennis played an 8 game pro set against New Canaan High School and defeated DHS’s biggest rival. The match was home and DHS won by 7-1, with one loss in a 7 point tie breaker. Annabelle Mueller and Abby Stravato play first line and stayed intense throughout their whole match. “The whole team played amazingly. Everyone was focused and ready to win”, said co-captain Grace Wakim. The Girls JV Tennis team has only one lost match in the whole season to Fairfield Ludlowe, but redeemed themselves by winning their rematch 5-4. The team’s next match is this Tuesday against Greenwich and it is going to be a close match.

Junior Emily Neuner in action (Courtesy Darien Times). 

Boys Lacrosse Takes Down New Canaan

By Arden Cohen

The boy’s lacrosse team took on rival New Canaan this past Saturday and emerged victorious. “The game was a nailbiter,” said senior fogo Jack Beatty. Outstanding games for the Blue Wave attackmen. Logan Mcgovern scored his fourth goals to give the boys a lead going into the fourth quarter. The Wave’s defense can overall be described as “lockdown”. Despite minor hiccups, each player dominated his matchup. Jake Bieler dominated the area in front of the goal, while Quinn Fay locked down NC’s UVA commit Jackson Appelt. Other impressive games from Seniors Kevin Lindley, Riley Stewart, and Finlay Collins. “They just work so well together as a team,” said senior attackmen Matt Meyjes. Meyjes had a beautiful assist to Collins for his step down ripper. It is a busy week for the boys who have three upcoming games consisting of Staples on Tuesday, St. Anthony’s on Thursday, and Ridgefield on Saturday.

Senior goalie Ryan Cornell sets his feet to make a save. (Courtesy Darien Times)

Wave Girls Varsity Tennis Continues Their Winning Streak Against Wilton

By Grace Feingold

Varsity Girls Tennis killed their match on April 26, 2017 against Wilton, winning all 7 of their matches. “This year has been a great year for every single player on our team” senior and captain Mia Durst said. Number 1 singles player, senior Kateri Martin, won her match 6-0, 6-0. While, the number 1 doubles players, senior Mia Durst and junior Daphne Gray, won their match 6-1, 7-5. “This year has been great playing number 1 doubles with Mia. The previous years she has played number 2 singles, but I believe she has improved as a player this year” junior Daphne Gray said. Come out and support the Varsity Girls Tennis team on Monday, May 1, 2017 at 4:00 p.m. against Fairfield Ludlowe at the DHS tennis courts.

Senior captain Mia Durst takes a backhanded shot 

Blue Wave Softball Defeats Ridgefield

By Ellie Nelson

On Friday, April 28th, Blue Wave Varsity Softball took on the Ridgefield Tigers away and came home with a close victory of 7-6. The game was a fight to the end; Darien scored the majority of their runs during the beginning of the game while Ridgefield played hard and desperately attempted to catch up during the final innings. This win marks the team’s ninth of the season, polishing their current record out to a solid 9-3. With a current win percentage of .75, the team ranks 31st in the state. Under the inveterate Coach Demaio, the team is guaranteed a long run in both this year’s state and FCIAC tournaments. Led by five seasoned seniors (Sophia Barbour, Kristen Picard, Jess Carlo, Cassidy Schiff and Brittany Pierce), the girls have had a solid performance both behind the bat and in the outfield. Come support the team at their next home game on Wednesday, May 3rd, against Fairfield Ludlowe.