It's a Wrap! Winter Sports 2010

Director of Athletics Rich Mazzola offers this winter season-wrap: From beginning to end, the winter athletic season was full of wonderful moments. We hosted a slew of exciting home games here, starting with a thrilling win by the boys’ varsity basketball team over Santa Paula High School on the first weekend of play, and ending with a tough loss to Bishop Diego by the girls varsity basketball team in the CIF playoffs. Both of those games featured some inspired play on the court, and wonderful fan support in the stands. In fact, after that final game, the Bishop Diego coach said that the Toads’ crowd was the loudest the Cardinals had played in front of all season: “We’d be up by 15, they’d make a free throw and it would get so loud I had to check the scoreboard to make sure it wasn’t closer than I thought.” The packed and raucous gym was a testament to the fact that Thacher’s school spirit is alive and well.

But those spotlight games were no more wonderful than many other highlight moments that happened before smaller crowds. I recall a rainy Saturday afternoon when I had the pleasure of seeing three lower level games that featured indelible moments of joy.

The first was a JV girls’ basketball game, which I had the honor of seeing from the bench (or rather while pacing in front of the bench) as coach of the team. It was against Ojai Valley School’s team, which is always a great match-up with respect to competitive equity and sportsmanship. On this day, they were no match for one of our girls, though: Paule Voevodsky simply could not miss. And she led the charge in our 27-21 victory. I remember looking across the gym at fans whose eyes widened and mouths fell agape when she hit her fourth three-pointer on the way to her 16-point game. I saw Aaron Mieszczanski, coach of the boys’ 3^rd team, watching the game as they waited to take the gym floor next, talking to one of his players who tapped his shoulder and pointed to Paule while yelling, “She hit another one!” Coach M. turned with a wide smile, as he said “No way!” As Paule hustled back to play defense, she let a smile curl up on her face as if to simply reply, “Way.”

The Boys 3^rd Team game that followed was chock full of great offense by the Toads in their 47-23 win vs Cate. But the highlight of that game, for me, was when newcomer to the sport, Michael Cho, flung up a 3-pointer that found the mark. Before it had slipped through the net and hit the floor, his teammates on the bench were jumping, roaring and pumping their fists toward the ceiling – it was the perfect response to Michael’s first basket of the season.

All the while, down on the lower field, Thacher and Cate’s 3rd boys’ soccer teams were creating a beautiful mess. The rain and mud added to the fun of the game and our Toads seemed to have a slight edge over the Rams in those conditions as we took a 1-0 lead into the waning minutes of the game. But with that small margin, it was, of course, still anybody’s game. That is, until Frank Hernandez stepped up to take direct kick from some 30 yards out – much too far for him to have a viable shot at the goal in those conditions, right? Wrong. Frank bent the ball just over the line of Cate defenders, just over the outstretched hands of the goalie, and just beneath the crossbar, so it found the back of the net. It was a brilliant goal and it sealed the third Thacher victory of another great day in what was a great winter season.

Girls’ Varsity Basketball

“This young team,” wrote Coach Derick Perry (assisted by Mike McGowan), “played a tough non-league schedule to get ready for a season that promised to be full of lessons for the future.” It was, in ways both typical and not, as DCP goes on: “The very first lesson did not even come on the court. It was a lesson about fortitude in the face of adversity as senior co-captain [with Remy Fisher] Emily Combs fought to return to play after a catastrophic knee injury suffered last year. Her grit and determination provided a tremendous example for the younger players. Another lesson came in the form of playing experienced teams with many veterans. The savvy of these opponents taught our players that tenacity and toughness were as important as a feathery touch from the field. All of the Thacher players learned that to win, each of them has to play hard – every minute of every game. In another moment of learning, they found out that every game, every week, every season has an ebb and flow from euphoria to despair. They now know that these highs and lows must be moderated with a view towards the big picture, and they must face the inevitable chaos of the season with grace and aplomb. Finally, they have learned to trust each other. With 11 of the 15 players returning next year, they must have confidence in each other to rebound from tough defeats, and they must have the confidence to recognize the seeds of greatness within them. The seniors this year—Emily, Remy, Katharine Gifford, and Ashley Sauvain—were instrumental in helping this team through a tough season. Their encouragement, humor, and play made the team better both in the moment and in the future.” Voted Most Valuable was sophomore Lauren Butler; Most Improved, Katharine Gifford; Most Inspirational, a three-way tie among Emily and juniors Noelani Nasser and Mackenzie Boss.

JV Girls’ Basketball

Seniors Trudy Park and Sophie Subira captained this team to an even 4-4 season record (3-2 in the League), while Rich Mazzola paced courtside as coach. He submitted this report: "Our three tenured JV Balla veterans—Trudy, Sophie, and Laurel Poolman— set the tone this season as they led by example: working hard and laughing harder throughout the winter. But newcomers also played a large part in the team’s success. In her first year playing the sport, Laura Benard emerged as a force to be reckoned with in her low post play, and Katie Taylor balanced tenacious defense with a deadly outside shot. Paule Voevodsky had some stellar performances, the most impressive being a 16-point game against Ojai Valley School in which she sunk four 3-pointers. Each member of the team contributed to a wonderful season. When the nets quivered to stillness, it was Paule who had won MVP; Laura and Katie, Most Improved; and Sophie, Most Inspirational.

Boys Varsity Basketball

This team came off the boards after the last buzzer with much to be proud of. Beyond the numbers (a Condor League record of 10-2, and 12-5 in season play)—or, rather behind them—was an enthusiasm to rock the rafters of Hoit Gymnasium, a spirit emanating from players, coaches (Jason Carney, Aaron Snyder), and fans. In his season wrap-up, Coach Carney had these words: “We had wonderful senior leadership—starting with the Captains Austin Krause and Casey Wyman and moving through Nick Kohli, Joel Reimer, Will Waste, and Stephen Yih—which contributed to spirited team play and kept the team focused and driven throughout the very successful season. Team highlights included a season sweep of Cate (7-1 against them over the last four years); a thrilling, opening-season win against Santa Paula in which Austin (our ultimate MVP) scored a team-record (since I’ve been coaching, at least) 39 points; leading power-house Besant Hill (defending CIF Champion featuring two Division I players) after one quarter, having played just sensationally. Austin led us in scoring, rebounding, and steals; Casey (Most Inspirational) led us in assists, charges taken and free throw percentage; Stephen was our best 3-point shooter; and Nick (who won Most Improved) led us in blocked shots and field goal percentage. Other Awards: Top Defender: Stephen, and 6^th Man (a.k.a. Best Bench Player): sophomore Lucas Currie.

Boys JV Basketball

Under Coach Bill Omansiek’s direction, this team racked up a winning season they could be proud of, 4-1 in the Condor League, and 5-3 all-told. The seniors—Morgan Krey, Charles Hancock, Trent Holden, Tae Soo (Tom) Kim, Jackson Berler, Evan Praetorius, Brandon Tate, and Sean Ongley—led the younger lads in head, heart, and hands; by the end of the season, several had earned their peers’ highest esteem in awards voted: MVP (Tom), Most Improved (Jackson and Trent), and Most Inspirational (Evan). Highlights, according to their coach’s report:

•Biggest win? Against Dunn, we had only seven players. Then Brandon was injured early in the first quarter leaving us with six. The four guards and two forwards pulled out a tough victory. Jack Sligh and Jackson Berler got nearly no rest throughout the game and played especially well on the defensive side. The guards scrapped and fought hard for every loose ball and each took a turn playing the other forward spot. It was a special game to see.

•The boys pulled out a big win against the younger Toads. This was likely the best defensive game my boys played all year and one of the best in the last four years.

•A cumulative achievement by Tom Kim. Over his four years playing on JV, he has become the all-time leader in points, assists, steals, 3-point baskets, free throw attempts, free throw completions, and games started. Morgan, Evan, and he finished their JV careers with a record of 31-17, winning 65% of their games over that period.

•One last highlight: the vast improvement made by Jack, Trent, and Jackson over the course of the season. Their hard work and determination paid huge dividends during game situations.

Boys 9^th-10^th Basketball

“From the first whistle of the first practice,” said Coach Aaron Mieszczanski, “to the final buzzer at the end of our last game, all eighteen guys worked hard.” Captained by sophomores Will Kirkland (Most Inspirational) and Michael Xu (Most Valuable), this squad racked up an undefeated record on the League, besting a mix of JV and 3rds teams in season play. Coach went on to say, “Our play was characterized by an intense full court man defense termed ‘Controlled Chaos,’—a tactic that created many turnovers for the other team and easy baskets for us. The success of our style showed in our results, as over the course of those six games we averaged 59 points per contest, making us the highest scoring team on campus. (Our opponents managed to score on average only 38.) Every single player on the team contributed to our great success. Everyone improved their skills and awareness on the court, we had a lot of fun in both practices and games as a group encouraging each other, and through it all, I can proudly say that the boys exhibited good sportsmanship and integrity every time they stepped on the floor. It was a pleasure to coach them.” Most Improved honors went to freshman Michael Cho.

Varsity Boys Soccer

Even with the legendary Derf Nameloc, Viking Warrior* as coach and senior triumverate Kyle Dietrich, Alex Macmillan, and Cole Ryder at the captains' helm, this team had its hands/cleats full in what many perceived as the most competitive Condor League soccer season in history. The nine seniors (in addition to the captains, Emmanuel Camarillo, Arjun Dutta, Max Hoffman, Nick Orr, Javier Quiroz, and Tim Reed) were critical to the squad’s 5-3-2 record, which put them third in the League. According to Coach, “Four teams struggled mightily to secure one of three available berths in post-season play, and when the smoke cleared Thacher was still standing.” Although the Toads lost in the first round of CIF to Arrowhead Christian (winner of the Christian League), the lead-up featured games full of memorable sportsmanship and valiant effort. Highlights from Derf: “Junior Kyle Griffith led the scoring with 10 goals and Tim Reed had the most assists (5). Cole Ryder, along with junior Andrew Kim, dominated the central midfield, and Max Hoffman, Derek Gulick-Stutz, Javier Quiroz, and Patrick Coughran patrolled the flanks effectively throughout the season. Our defensive unit—the famous ‘Bandits’—included Alex Macmillan, Arjun Dutta, Will Callan, Kyle Dietrich, Jesse Garrett, and Emmanuel Camarillo and were reliably good, allowing only 10 goals during a 12-game regular season. Super-substitutes Fidel Lopez and Theo Richardson-Omamo played many effective minutes off the bench. All of these boys had to overcome the loss of senior midfielder and playmaker Nick Orr early in the season and, later, Will Callan (both to shoulder injuries). Although we did struggle to score as a team, the boys played an attractive style of possession soccer that was fun to watch, and never more so than in the playoff game v. Arrowhead Christian.”

Voted both Most Valuable Player and Best Sportsman was Alex Macmillan; Kyle Dietrich garnered Most Inspirational honors; and Most Improved was junior Andrew Kim. Elected to the captaincy (to be shared with another player voted next winter) was Will Callan.

*known, less mythically, as Fred Coleman

Boys JV Soccer

A winning season (5-1-1) was just reward for long practice days on the New Field. Under the coaching of Michael Mulligan and Pete Fagan, and with senior co-captains McCoy Becker and Charlie Sun leading the moose laps, the JV boys’ winter on the pitch contained two especially memorable highlights: Beating Cate 4-0 in their second game on our Lower Field; and coming from a two-goal deficit to beat Villanova 4-2, with all four goals scored in the 2nd half. Declared Coach Mully, “This team really improved over the course of the season. They got VERY good.” Most Valuable Player honors went to Charlie, while Carson Land earned Most Inspirational. The team as a whole wore the Most Improved mantle.

Boys Third Team Soccer

It was, according to Coach David Harris, “a season of extremes: either very easy or very challenging matches, as we played varsity or jv teams of other schools. Our last game was very tough, but the Toads played some of their best soccer and showed great heart and intensity; they kept their heads up throughout the game.” And created a 3-1 record for themselves. Captaining the crew were seniors Doug Coughran (“very fast and tenacious”) and Tom Wilkinson (“quick and talented”); the other senior on the team was Hampton King.

Varsity Girls Soccer

Toby Elmore and Kara Hooper coached this young team in a highly competitive Condor League (both Laguna Blanca and Cate went on to CIF quarterfinals play). Captained by MVP Kelly Schultz, and the Most Inspirational duo of Natalie Swift and Sarra Wynn (with seniors Kelly Timmes and Claire Frykman also contributing their leadership), the squad was long on tenacity and drive, even in three heartbreaking losses to Nordhoff, Dunn, and Laguna Blanca in these games’ final few minutes. Said Coach Elmore, “It was a season of tremendous progress and growth for a fairly inexperienced team. And it’s a great group returning—including the four freshmen who made it this year.” The promise of a fine 2010-11 winter shimmers on the horizon. Hannah Norman, a junior, was also voted MVP, while sophomore Anouk Ackerman snagged Most Improved Player honors.

Girls JV Soccer

Coached by Heather Grant, Erica Jones, and Peter Sawyer and captained by seniors Sarina Patel and Teresa Findley, and junior Grace Lowe, this team lettered in making sure, discernible progress, one game into the next. By the end of the season, they were playing what Coach Grant called “some pretty soccer” and winning games in ways that were a delight to witness: in the victory over Cate, for example, Gracie Farese had one of her nearly-a-hat-trick points deflect into the goal off of classmate Kallie O’Connor. (OK, it was a bit of a scuffle, but it secured a win over the Rams.) In addition, wrote the coach, the girls displayed “solid defending, swift and energetic play in the midfield, heartfelt runs to goal, and good natured cheering on the sidelines.” They ended with a Condor League record of 3-1-2. Most Valuable Teresa Findley was also Most Inspirational; Lucy Han and Zoey Poll shared Most Improved Player honors.

Photography: Rob Dunton (Cate School), Joy Sawyer-Mulligan, Christopher Land, Robert Leiter.