Congratulations to this week’s Athletes of the Week!
Varsity Football: The Offensive Line (Tommy Hale, Brandon Scott, Shane Graves, Justin Masella, Nate Chong, and Matt Donovan)
Throughout the Cheshire game and the entirety of the season, Deerfield’s offensive line has been a key cog in the operation. Captains Thomas Hale ’17 and Brandon Scott ’17 are supported by tireless efforts from Justin Massella ’17, Nate Chong ’17, Matt Donovan ’17, and Shane Graves ’17. This group has made big plays in every one of Deerfield’s games this season. They come to practice each day with great attitudes and they are looked at as leaders on the team and in the community. Each student athlete plays a different role on the line, but they work as one to create great opportunities for the Deerfield offense. We are lucky to have these guys leading us up front and they should help to push us forward against Choate this week.
Boys JrB Soccer: Nic Labadan, 9th grader
Nic Labadan is our athlete of the week, for his spectacular goal against Bement.
Boys Water Polo: Scorekeepers (Ally Bazarian, Rhyan Brode, Ellie Koschik, and Doris Zhang)
Scorekeepers Ally Bazarian, Rhyan Brode, Ellie Koschik, and Doris Zhang earned praise all season from Brad Peavey, the most experienced water polo official in New England. He often cited the precision and poise the girls showed even in moments when cheering for the home team might have been easier than correctly tracking the game
Girls Cross Country: Helen Downes, 11th grader
Wearing her game face from the very start of the meet, Helen Downes scored a major performance improvement during a team victory for Deerfield over neighboring rival NMH. She dashed into the Deerfield middle varsity pack, jumping ahead of NMH’s 4, 5, 6, and 7 runners, and never relented her lead. Her strong finish earned her a berth on the New Englands varsity team next week at Exeter, NH.
Boys JV Soccer: Jarod Harrington, 9th grader & Devin Mao, 11th grader
Jared Harrington and Devin Mao have both had great weeks as members of the Boys JV Soccer team. Fast, dynamic, and versatile, Jared is a rock-solid defender who has made the most of his opportunities to get forward into the attack, playing so well that he’s earned more playing time at wing. He made critical contributions to our wins against Avon and NMH. Devin is a smart, skillful defender, an excellent passer, and he has become an increasingly effective ball winner. One of our most improved players, Devin has been a key part of a defense that has now played three straight games without yielding a goal.
Varsity Field Hockey: Libby Wenners, 12th grader
Libby has been a stellar leader on and off the field this season. She plays with a tremendous amount of heart and fire and is the anchor of our back line. This past week, Libby played two of her best games of the season. She earned the praise of her teammates after our 2-1 loss to Sacred Heart because she was the first to every ball and made smart plays all over the field. On Sunday, Libby’s leadership in the back helped limit Greenwich Academy to just three shots the entire game. She has been an asset to our program and we look forward to her strong play in the final two games of our regular season!
Girls Varsity Soccer: Bailey Cheetham, 10th grader
Bailey is like the energizer bunny… On the soccer field she is a high energy, skilled play maker who is reliably where she should be and can often found where you don’t expect her as well; she is always on the go! We have all appreciated Bailey tireless work ethic, her boundless energy and her positive cheer.
Boys Varsity Soccer: Tim Gerber, 12th grader
This week’s boys varsity soccer Athlete of the Week goes to Senior Captain Tim Gerber ’17. Tim has been outstanding in goal all season long and has given the team a chance to win every game. His work ethic and his ability to lift the team up when we have been down will be sorely missed next year. Tim made several key saves in last Saturday’s game against Williston and Wednesday’s game against NMH that gave the team some much needed energy.
JV Volleyball: Claire Quan, 9th grade & Alexia Baker, 10th grader
Freshman Claire Quan and Alexia Baker are both the athletes of the week. For both of them never playing volleyball before, they have come a long way.
Claire is a back row player and she’s struggled with getting her serves and back row attacks over the net. This past week, Claire has been working extremely hard to improve; asking for help from both me and her supportive teammates. In our game against St. Paul’s, she was able to score her team some points from her killer serves and also got a few digs for the team to return.
Alexia is an outside hitter, but plays all around. She is a basketball player and has used her skills to jump high and get some kills for the team. She was not able to get her serves over the net at the beginning of the season, and now she has an amazing jump serve!
Thank you Alexia and Claire for working so hard and never giving up!
Girls Thirds Soccer: Chelsea Egu, 10th grader
Chelsea Egu ’19 has been critical to the success and, more importantly, the improvement of the girls’ thirds soccer team this season. Chelsea brings a tremendous amount of field awareness to every practice and game. Her teammates and coaches rely on her to see the field from her position as a defender and act accordingly, calling for the team to switch fields or mark up, to beat back attacks from opposing teams, and to be the first one to errant balls. However, Chelsea’s attitude is even more important and valuable to the team than her skill. Her practice and gameplay are characterized by maturity, motivation, and focus. For these reasons, Chelsea is the kind of athlete all Deerfield coaches dream of having on their team, a player who demonstrates commitment to improvement, good sportsmanship, and a love for and respect of the sport. Thank you, Chelsea! It has been a wonderful season, in no small part thanks to you!
Boys Cross-Country: Neil Nie, 10th grader
Neil Nie ’19 is the Boys XC athlete of the week. Running in only his second varsity race, Neil ran his second PR in as many weeks, breaking the 19-minute barrier for the first time. Considering that Neil entered the season with a goal to break 20 minutes for the 5K, this was a major step forward and indicative of the trajectory of the team at this point in the season. Way to go, Neil!