Congratulations to this week’s Doors of the Week!
Boys Varsity Soccer: Cooper Johnson ’26
An injury in the early summer, and he is working hard to come back as soon as possible. He’s basically a fourth coach for us, speaking his insights on how to play, what to do, etc. He has also not missed a single practice or game – or the preseason training. He’s all in!
Boys Cross-Country: Leo Friedman ’26
The Door of the Week is Leo Friedman for winning his first ever Deerfield cross country race in the 3k event. Good job, Leo.
Conditioning for Athletes: Cooper Lawson ’26
Cooper arrives every day with a positive mindset. He is calm, centered and focused on improving and achieving his goals. Cooper’s work ethic motives and inspires the class.
Girls Varsity Soccer: Ava Carvel ’25
Ava Carvel is this week’s Girls varsity soccer Door of the Week. Ava exemplifies a leader by example through her grit, work ethic, kindness, care, communication and team first mentality. It has been fun to watch her compete and connect with her teammates to start this season. Simply put, Ava is soaking up every minute, moment and opportunity in her senior season! In the opening couple of weeks of the season, Ava has willingly stepped into a new position, positively shouted out her teammates and has sought out new teammates to make connections! It has been a joy to watch Ava compete and help lead this fall!
Varsity Field Hockey: Chloe Cleaves ’26
The VFH DOTW is Chloe Cleaves ’26. Chloe is a fast, skilled, and driven player who hustles in every single drill and game. She is the ultimate competitor, and we love the intensity and grit she brings to the field. Chloe has been a powerhouse offensively, scoring a hat-trick in our scrimmage against Brooks, and adding two more tallies in our Berkshire and Pomfret games. We love coaching her and look forward to her strong play the rest of the season!
JV Volleyball: Travis Gerst ‘26
Travis Gerst has burst onto the DA volleyball scene bringing with her good experience and all-around play. She has skill at multiple positions in the front row and has shown herself to be a consistent passer and server in the back row, She proved her skill most impactfully by serving 6 aces and netting 3 kills in only 2 sets of play against Eagle Hill this week!
JV Field Hockey: Edie Huffard ’25, Charlotte Steffensen ’25, and Emily Bruno ’25
This week JV Field Hockey would like to nominate our captains, Edie Huffard, Charlotte Steffensen, and Emily Bruno as our Doors of the Week. From day one, these three have been exemplary leaders on our team on and off the field. They are patient, generous, and kind teachers to the numerous players on our team that are new to the game and work tirelessly to foster the supportive and silly team community we all hold so dear. We can always count on them to offer astute observations about our team’s play or to volunteer a fun team-bonding activity for us to end practice with! In our first game against Berkshire, Emily, Charlotte, and Edie logged some serious game time, holding down the offense, midfield, and defense respectively. We are so grateful for all they give to this team!
Boys Jr. B Soccer: Emmett Aho ’27
The Quad Squad DOTW is Emmett Aho! Emmett returned to the team this season with enthusiasm and a clear desire to improve his skills and make a big impact on the field. He’s shown up to practice every day ready to work hard and set an example for those around him. We can’t wait to see everything Emmett accomplishes this season!
Boys Water Polo: Barron Celli ’25
Acting as a true captain, Barron has stepped up this season into the role of goalkeeper. In our game against Loomis yesterday, he made over 10 saves! With Barron’s poise in the goal, we were able to secure our teams first victory of the season.
Varsity Football: Liam Appleton ’25
Liam Appleton is the Football DOTW for this week. Liam was a force with the ball in his hands in the opening tilt for the Big Green. He stepped up as the primary ball carrier to display his combination of power and agility. Liam rushed for 135 yards and scored all 3 touchdowns on the afternoon while also hauling in a 24 yard reception and being one of our leading tacklers on the defensive side of the ball. We are excited to watch Liam continue to compete this fall. Go Big Green!
Boys JV Soccer: Andrew Lewis ’25
Andrew has been a stalwart leader for this team early on. This is his fourth year in JV soccer and I, personally, am inspired by his unrelenting commitment to this program. His effort, leadership, sportsmanship, and willingness to play anywhere on the field is amazing really. He is a role model of the highest order and we are so grateful to have him yet again this season. His game-winning goal against Suffield last Saturday was a banger too! What a burst of speed. What a boot. Just in time.
Girls Thirds Volleyball: Anne Kelly ’27
The Door of the Week for Girls Thirds Volleyball is Anne Kelly ’27. As one of five returning players, Anne has been an important and positive role model for her teammates. She played especially well at the net in our opening game against Suffield Academy, making several tricky tips over the net and saving balls others had given up on. Beyond that, Anne is a great DJ and welcoming personality at practice. She is always supporting her teammates and willing to help with whatever is asked. We are so happy to have her on the team again this year!
Girls Cross-Country: Alia Marquardt ’27, Lucy Linnenbach ’27, and Heidi Liang ’28
This week the girls’ cross-country team has three doors of the week: Alia Marquardt, Lucy Linnenbach, and Heidi Liang. These three ran the Brush Invitational 3k on Saturday, which was their first race as a part of DAGXC! They each always come to practice with a smile and a positive attitude. We love seeing how much they’ve improved in the last few weeks and can’t wait to see what they accomplish later this fall!
Varsity Volleyball: Gracie Spencer ’25
The door of the week this week for varsity volleyball is Gracie Spencer ’25. Gracie has put in tremendous work while in the Deerfield volleyball program, starting on thirds and moving up to JV and now varsity. She will be a tremendous help to the Deerfield defense. Every day she continues to work on her passing, digging, and serve receive and shows no signs of slowing down in her improvements. Her calmness on the court helps settle our defensive play whenever we call on her. Congratulations Gracie.