Congratulations to this week’s Doors of the Week!
Varsity Volleyball: Hayden Cwiertnia ’29
Door of the week this week goes to Hayden Cwiertnia (’29). Hayden is one of the many new players to join varsity volleyball this year. Hayden comes to practice every day ready to improve and takes all feedback to heart. While she is normally a pin hitter, Hayden has stepped up to fill in as a middle multiple times this year. She never complains and uses it as an opportunity to improve her blocking and footwork. In our first matches of the year, Hayden was called on unexpectedly to fill in for an injured middle. She finished the game, even scoring a point to secure the victory for Deerfield. Congratulations Hayden.
Boys Cross-Country: Jason Ko ’27
Always selfless, humble, and hardworking, Jason Ko has been putting in the work required of achieving distant goals. At Brush this past weekend, Jason soared to a terrific 11:12 3k result, a time that puts him in the top 20 all-time list, but more importantly, Jason also always brings his teammates along with him in his efforts to help the team towards its objectives.
Boys Jr. B Soccer: Marshall Whalen ’29
Our DOTW is Marshall Whalen. As a 9th grader, playing in his first game for DA, Marshall had a huge game against Bement, scoring two goals. Additionally, he brings a great attitude and work ethic to practice each day. We’re looking forward to a strong season from him!
Girls JV Volleyball: Willow Tugume ’28
In just the first two games of the season, Willow Tugume has truly shown what an all-around player she is. She is a force in the front row and has proven she can be as effective as a middle hitter as she is as an outside hitter. Against Eagle Hill, she played both positions and secured kills in every set. What is more impressive, however, is Willow’s defense and her ability to save plays with her speed and agility. Willow is also one of the most positive players on the team and brings lots of happiness to the court with a smile and an infectious laugh. Willow brings the skill and the fun, a winning combination.
Strength & Conditioning: Tyler Easterbrook ’26
We nominate Tyler Yeong Easterbrook, from strength and conditioning, since we have met as a group Tyler has had perfect attendance, has shown great work ethic and taking tremendous strides to be ready for the spring baseball season.
Dance: Linnea Knox ’27, Skye Maves ’27, and Jean Meza ’26
I would like to nominate the newly selected Captains for Fall Dance: Linnea Knox, Skye Maves, and Jean Meza. They were elected by their peers and teachers to serve as leaders for the Dance program based on their exemplary participation in dance thus far and their commitment to continued growth.
Boys JV Soccer: Jack Wagner ’26
Senior captain Jack Wagner has been the backbone for this team thus far. Clearly a leader who upholds respect, kindness, and integrity, Jack is vocal in the huddle about our conduct toward each other, referees, and opponents. He understands that leadership is service and does the small things like creating a schedule for who carries the equipment to/from the field each day. Because he is versatile on the field, he often doesn’t start the games and yet from the bench, he makes the team better with good talk. In the games, regardless of his position, he plays tough on the ball and communicates assertively. We don’t often gel as a team so early in the season and we can confidently attribute our early success to our outstanding captains, Jack Wagner in particular this past week.
JV Field Hockey: Rose Manning ’26 and Elan Bonham ’27
This week JVFH would like to nominate Rose Manning and Elan Bonham as Doors of the Week.
Rose is effortlessly fast and skilled, consistently impressing us with her field sense and athleticism. She is one of our most important playmakers, assisting our only goal against Berkshire and scoring one herself in our game today against Pomfret. As one of our captains this year, she leads with a balance of quiet intensity and deep-rooted love of play. She’s always asking us to run the drill “one more time!!” so she can get the final shot in. We love her and feel so lucky to have her leading the team this year.
After our only goalie graduated last year, we were feeling nervous about the fate of JV goal-keeping this season. Lucky for us, Elan arrived to save the day! After asking all 26 of our players if they were willing to try goalie, Elan was the only one to answer a hesitant yes. That hesitancy melted away as soon as she got into the pads. Her enthusiasm and fearlessness have deeply impressed us. She’s been quick to develop the totally foreign set of skills required to play field hockey goalie and has maintained a glowingly positive attitude each and every day. She had a number of big saves in our first game against Berkshire and has been a necessary and steady voice on the field, leading the defensive unit and helping the entire team play a more cohesive game.
Boys Junior A Soccer: Cole Higgins ’26
The legend of Cole Higgins began on the Quad Squad field, where he played his first three seasons of Deerfield soccer. Last year he set the team’s all-time scoring record, and it was clear that he had outgrown the level. That earned him a promotion to Thirds on Choate Day. When this year’s tryouts concluded and he was invited to join the team, the lure of being a four-year Quad Squad star was strong. But he adopted a Deerfield-first attitude and accepted the position as Thirds striker. And since then? Well, all he’s done is score: a hat trick in our scrimmage at NMH, followed by another in our season-opener at Eagle Hill on Wednesday. Even better than his virtuosity as a finisher, Higgins has helped set a productive tone, modeling commitment and work ethic where a less mature player might fall short when faced with the demands of senior fall and serving as a proctor. We’re fortunate to have Cole as a leader on the team this season and look forward to him delivering lots of victories from here to Choate Day.
Boys Water Polo: Yong Ding ’27 and Wes Thomas ’28
The water polo team would like to nominate our goalkeepers, Yong Ding and Wes Thomas, for DOTW. In our games against Loomis, we saw two goalie performances that were nothing short of fantastic. Our team runs a drop defense, which means we force the opponent’s offense to shoot from the outside perimeter; this defensive strategy is only successful if the team can rely on the goalie to block those outside shots. Varsity goalie Yong Ding had an astonishing 18 blocks and held full command of his teammates. JV goalie Wes Thomas had 11 blocks in perfect balance with the 11 goals his offense scored, some of which were 1 on 0. A goalkeeper needs to be resilient and aggressive, and ours handled the constant pressure with poise and hunger. Great job Yong and Wes! You should be proud of yourselves!
Girls Thirds Volleyball: Liv Cederholm ’28
Liv has increasingly become a standout leader on our team. She leads by example, showing her teammates what it looks to communicate, to focus, and to support one another. Liv herself has shown her own improvement as a player in both her serve receive and her hitting. Our team has grown from her voice and her example.
Varsity Field Hockey: Lilly Oliver ‘26
This weeks DOTW for VFH is Lilly Oliver ‘26. Not only has she been an enthusiastic and thoughtful assistant captain so far this season, she has also led by example with her skilled play and consistent intensity. This past weekend, she scored three goals in our game against Berkshire, the third of which carried us to a 5-4 OT victory in our first contest. We look forward to her continued leadership this season both on and off the field!
Varsity Football: Andrew Rivera ‘26
The Varsity Football teams’ door of the week is Andrew Rivera. Andrew paced the offensive and defensive efforts for the Big Green in their opening victory over a tough Loomis Chaffe team. He was the leading receiver where he had 8 catches for 68 yards and a receiving touchdown. He also added a big 15 yard run on a reverse that set up the game winning score. Andrew was very productive on the defensive side of the ball as well where he notched the team’s first turnover of the season with an interception and return. We are excited to see Andrew continue to compete this fall. Go Big Green!
Girls Varsity Soccer: Magda Curylo ‘26
We give a shout out to Magda Curylo ’26 as this week’s girls varsity soccer Door of the Week! This past week, Magda has been focused and working tireless in the midfield to defend as well as create scoring opportunities for the Big Green. In Saturday’s one-goal game, she stepped up in the final few minutes of play to manage the game and slow the game down to ensure that Milton did not have the ball. Furthermore and extra noteworthy was her willingness and ability to step into the center back position this week and do an exceptional job. She seamlessly stepped into and anchored the backline with her 1v1 defending, communication and competitiveness in Wednesday’s game vs. Westy. We will continue to lean on Magda this season and are eager to watch her continue to grow her game and leadership!
Girls Cross-Country: Margot Harris ’29
Margot completed her first race this past week and crushed it. Besides winning her first 3k race at the Brush invitational, Margot’s positive energy and hard work ethic is contagious at practice. We are so proud of her can can’t wait to see the great things she does this season!