Congratulations to this week’s Doors of the Week!
JV Field Hockey: Rose Manning ’26 & Lalwani Surpitski ’26
JV Field Hockey would like to nominate Rose Manning and Lalwani Surpitski as our Doors of the Week. Because of their speed, fearlessness, and versatility, Rose and Lalwani are two of our most valuable players this season. The two of them play nearly every minute of every game and have fantastic range in their field sense and stick sills, playing integral roles in both our defensive and offensive lines. Because of their speed, they are quick to the ball and hard to beat. As flyers during defensive corners, they bravely run full speed toward swinging sticks in order to intercept drives from the top of the circle. Despite their seriousness as athletes, they never forget to have fun, often helping to lift the mood when our team is feeling low.
Varsity Field Hockey: Ella Davies ’24
Ella Davies ’24 is the FH DOTW. Ella has been a force in our backfield all season and she played two fantastic games against NMH and St. Paul’s this past week. Ella scored two beautiful goals off corners in our NMH game and scored the OT winner on a shot from the top of the circle in our game against St. Paul’s. We are so proud of her efforts and strong play, and look forward to her continued leadership in the coming weeks.
Boys Junior A Soccer: Luka Kokosadze ’25 & Victor Kibuuka ’26
After a strong season on Thirds last year, Luka reasonably had ambitions to move up to JV this year. But when that didn’t work out, his coaches expected that this player who always brings strong emotions to the soccer field might need a few days to handle the disappointment. But he surprised us by arriving early to the first practice and telling us he was ready and excited to get to work. He’s been a leader on and off the field ever since, helping younger players understand how to play as a team and how to represent Deerfield on the road. A highlight of his season came on Wednesday when he broke the team out of a funk, sinking a beautiful shot to give us the lead we would never relinquish.
A tough cut from JV, Victor didn’t wallow in disappointment. Instead, he wasted no time stepping up as a model of commitment to team and self-improvement. He’s a leader in the huddle and on our offense, and his head’s up play has positioned him as the team’s leading scorer. He knows how to win with grace and take lessons from losses. We’re lucky to have him back with us this year, and his future in the program is bright.
Varsity Volleyball: Zoe Galaburda ’26
For varsity volleyball, our DOTW is Zoe Galaburda. Zoe has made a great transition this year to Deerfield and to the varsity volleyball team, stepping in as a solid defensive specialist and an excellent teammate. She is incredibly supportive of her teammates and is always looking for ways to improve her own skills.
Boys Jr. B Soccer: Ryan Stenzler ’27
Quad squads DOTW is Ryan Stenzler! Ryan has been a dominant force on our defense this year. He has consistently shown impressive field awareness, speed to the ball, and powerful kicks. Ryan moved into the sweeper position in our last game and showed awesome grit and determination.
Football: Willem Thurber ‘25
The football team’s DOTW for this week is Willem Thurber. Willem led DA with 5 catches for 65 yards and some tough running after the catch. His physical runs with the ball in his hands and extra effort blocking were instrumental to the offensive success. Despite coming up short in the game we are excited to see Willem continue to grow and contribute.
JV Volleyball: Olivia Smit ‘25
Olivia Smit ‘25 has been a force to be reckoned with all season: aggressive at the net, she not only puts up an impenetrable wall as a blocker, but this season she’s been tipping strategically and hitting kills from the middle. At practice, she is always focused and ready, and every day she radiates positivity that clearly motivates her teammates.
Boys Water Polo: Kenan Cakir ’24
Despite the polo team’s recent narrow losses, goalie Kenan Cakir ’24 has continued to defend and lead with poise. Frustration easily can detract from a team’s chemistry, but Kenan continually finds a way to focus his peers’ attention forward to the next challenge. His play also inspires renewed effort. For example, he made 18 saves in Wednesday’s overtime loss to Choate.
Girls Cross-Country: Campbell Fealy ’24
Campbell Fealy is a superstar! Permit me a bit of background on this incredibly talented athlete before getting into the accolades: Campbell joined the cross country team last fall, knowing that she LOVED to run based on her stellar experience with track and field. What she knew, however was that she LOVED running the 400 & 800 meter races. What she did not know last fall was that she didn’t, in fact, LOVE running much, MUCH longer than 400&800 meters. However, when Campbell commits, she fully commits! She gradually increased her mileage in practice throughout the fall last season, and she has continued to build and grow and increase her stamina and speed, and just this past weekend Campbell successfully completed her first 5K race on the challenging St. Paul’s course! She has been patient with herself and with her growth as a runner since she joined XC, and it was SO exciting to see her cross that finish line! In addition to this amazing achievement, Campbell brings so much more than mileage and speed to this team! She is an ever-positive force, she has a super-contagious smile, she is welcoming to new runners on the team, and she showers her teammates with positive and cheerful encouragement! We are so incredibly lucky to spend our fall afternoons with this talented athlete, caring teammate, and dedicated runner! She is truly a star of the brightest sort!
Boys Cross-Country: Robbie Hua ‘24
This week’s Door of the Week is co-captain Robbie Hua ’24, who executed a tactically brilliant race by staying composed through two miles before cranking a very fast last mile to lock down second place. This effort comes after weeks of consistent, very serious training, and he’s done a terrific job of leading the team by example.