Congratulations to this week’s Athletes of the Week!
Varsity Girls Cross-Country: Victoria Patterson, 9th grader
Ninth grader Victoria Patterson finished first in the Division I girls’ race at the Canterbury Invitational at the Canterbury School in Connecticut on Saturday. She took the lead before the quarter mile mark and never looked back, expanding the differential to over 30 seconds by the finish. She led Deerfield to a very comfortable second place team finish, besting ten other teams.
Varsity Boys Cross-Country: Alex Weinman, 10th grader
The boys’ XC athlete of the week is Alex Weinman ’19. A newcomer to cross country, Alex has made an immediate impact on our team by virtue of his strong cardiovascular base and his toughness. The latter was particularly on display at the Canterbury Invitational on Saturday, when Alex raced to a 40 second PR despite suffering from a very painful case of plantar fasciitis. Alex finished 40th overall and was our fifth, and final, scoring finisher as Deerfield captured 3rd place overall.
Varsity Field Hockey: Liv Mikesill, 9th grader
Liv Mikesill played her third ever field hockey game in the varsity contest against the perennial New England leader, Hotchkiss, on Saturday. It didn’t look like she was new to the game or lacked any skill or confidence. At 11:00 in the morning (just several hours before the game start) she received the news that her painful wrist was not broken (only badly bruised) and she wrapped it up and came ready to win on our turf. She stood confident in the goal and saved attempt after attempt, keeping the score to 0-0 at the half. With poise and confidence, she relayed information to her defenders and kept the circle in front of her marked up and solid. She is quick and reliable and very coachable. The girls depend on her speed, intuition, and poise. She is a great new member of the 2016 Deerfield squad and we’re thrilled that she’ll have three more years to defend our cage.
JV Field Hockey: The Blake sisters, Lucy ’19 and Maddie ‘17
Lucy Blake ‘19 was a rock as JV Field Hockey’s goalie this past Saturday, facing one of our toughest competitors on Saturday, namely Hotchkiss. From the outset of the game she was calm, focused, and a force to be reckoned with as she saved close to a dozen shots on goal in just the first half of the game. Her teammates said she was “calm, cool and collected” during a game that put an intense amount of pressure on the defense, particularly in the first half, during which she and the defense held Hotchkiss scoreless. With continued pressure from Hotchkiss during the second half, they were able to sneak two goals past Lucy, but not without a fight. Even after the second goal was scored, Lucy kept her head in the game and did not allow Hotchkiss to undermine her determination. She never let down and showed Hotchkiss—and all of her teammates—that she will play with intensity until that final whistle is blown, and will do so with humility and great appreciation for her fellow defenders.
Forward Maddie Blake ’17 kept us in the game against Hotchkiss, perennial field hockey powerhouse and always one of our season’s toughest opponents. Over the last several years DA’s JV field hockey team has lost to Hotchkiss more times than we’ve won—so the tie on Saturday certainly felt like a win. Maddie made it happen. She scored both goals: the first, a few minutes into the second half (after Hotchkiss had dominated the first half) with an assist from midfielder Ashley Manning ‘19, and the second, with an assist from forward Valerie Ma ‘17, after Hotchkiss had tied it up with one goal and then pulled ahead. That second goal with minutes to go pulled us up even—surprising Hotchkiss and taking the wind out of their sails. With Maddie’s perfect timing and ability to finish the drive, we came away with the tie—sorely disappointing Hotchkiss, and continuing the great spirit and momentum of our season. She and her sister Lucy ‘19 are DA JV Field Hockey’s Athletes of the Week. Congratulations, Maddie and Lucy!
Reserve Field Hockey: Emmeline Flagg, 11th grader
Emmeline Flagg has been a hard-working and quiet leader since the start of the season. As a sweeper, she doesn’t ever get the public recognition of scoring goals or racking up assists, but Emmeline works hard every day to improve her skills. Her positive attitude is infectious, and her support for her teammates is fantastic. She’s particularly patient and encouraging to her teammates who are new to the sport. She never gets frustrated with them when they make mistakes; she merely offers a reassuring word of encouragement.
In both games this week, Emmeline was a rock in the defensive circle. Against Amherst, she was the primary reason they never got a shot on goal, and against Hotchkiss on Saturday, she came up with the big plays in the defensive end that we needed. Every time Hotchkiss gained momentum by getting past the rest of the defense, Emmeline was there with her steady poise to come up with the ball and get it out of danger. Emmeline is a self-less team player who leads by example.
Reserve Volleyball: Steph Martinez, 9th grader
Steph is a 9th grade thirds volleyball player that is new to the sport. Steph comes to practice each day ready to work and learn. She has perfected her over-hand serve and now has one of the hardest serves on the team. She is an incredibly accurate passer. Steph is a quiet leader of the thirds volleyball team and I am looking forward to her being one of our leaders on the court for our first game this Saturday 10/1 against Walker’s.
JV Volleyball: Uwa Ede-Osifo, 11th grader
Uwa has shown tremendous hard work over the past couple weeks, from wanting to learn different positions on the court, to acing her serves. Her dedication to her team shows me she wants to be out on the court playing her heart out. Thanks Uwa!
Varsity Volleyball: Georgia Quesnelle, 10th grader
Georgia is a second year sophomore on the varsity volleyball team and has proven we can count on her for yet another year. Although Georgia did not see the court much in the first few games of the season, her attitude remained positive and her work ethic diligent. She came to practice every day with a huge smile, ready to improve, and played the entirety of our last two games as a result. She contributed tough serves and hits resulting in several aces and kills, and we look are confident this is just the beginning. Great job, Georgia!
JV Boys Soccer: Kevin Hendrick, 11th grader
Smart, competitive, athletic, and disciplined, Kevin’s performance and leadership have been keys to two consecutive victories this season. In 160 minutes of play, we’ve given up few effective scoring chances and no goals, and Kevin is a big part of the reason why.
Reserve Girls Soccer: Steven Li, 10th grader
Steven has been the true unsung hero of the team since joining girls’ thirds soccer as our manager. Not only is he prompt and prepared with all of our equipment so that we can focus on upping our game, but Steven goes the extra mile for the team, helping with warm-up routines and drills, keeping our injured players company while they watch practice, and always at the ready to run up to the stockroom for a forgotten radio or to move our goals around the field. Steven is always cheerful yet focused, and has made a real effort to be a part of the team rather than simply dropping off the equipment and leaving, and the girls clearly value his hard work and appreciate his presence. He makes a point of keeping himself updated on team members’ health, and today during practice demonstrated his willingness to give his all to the team: when a player took a ball to the face and came off the field with a bloody nose and split lip, Steven tore his shirt sleeve off and donated it to the cause of the stopping the player’s bleeding. Though he doesn’t seek it, Steven completely deserves recognition for all he does for the girls’ thirds squad! Thank you, Steven!
Varsity Boys Soccer: George Fair, 12th grader
The boys varsity soccer athlete of the week goes to senior striker George Fair ’17. George has helped the team get off to a strong start this season by scoring six goals through the first four games. More importantly however, is his willingness to help the team by playing a variety of different positions as he is often asked to forget about his offensive duties to help defend from the top of the field. It will take that willingness to put the team first in order for the team to continue to be successful for the remainder of the season.
Varsity Girls Soccer: Annabel Gerber, 9th grader
Annabel Gerber is the Athlete of the Week for the girls varsity soccer team. Annabel is a selfless teammate. Since the beginning of the season, she has been playing in a new position as an outside back for the Big Green. Annabel comes to practice every day with a smile on her face and determined to get better. From her defensive position, Annabel contributed to DA’s big win over Westminster on Wednesday by assisting all five of the Big Green goals! We look forward to Annabel’s continued contribution to our team’s defense and attack over the course of the season!
Varsity Boys Water Polo: Graham O’Brien, 10th grader
Sophomore goalie Graham O’Brien has demonstrated poise in the cage in the opening weeks. With the defense in front of him just beginning to intensify, Graham has not wavered in the face of strong shots from the opposing teams challenging him at the end of counterattacks. He’s shown “grace under pressure.”
Varsity Football: Bubba Fairman, PG
Cole “Bubba” Fairman, a first year member of the Varsity football team and a post graduate student athlete who has quickly bought into his role on the football team. Fairman brings a contagious attitude and relentless work ethic to every practice and those attributes helped lead the defensive secondary on the field on Saturday. Against Suffield, Bubba had two interceptions, one of which he returned for a touchdown, to go along with that he was one of the leading tacklers and returned kicks. He can be seen and heard all over the field and the team has fed off of his juice and energy. Bubba will continue to be a guy to watch and hear this fall as he continues to lead the Deerfield football team.
Go Big Green!