Congratulations to this week’s Doors of the Week!
Girls JV Basketball: Nainika Lebaka ’24 and Lucy Linnenbach ’27
Nainika: The Door of the Week for Girls JV Basketball is Nainika Labaka ’24. Nainika is one of the most focused and dedicated players on the court. During a game her usual laid back and friendly demeanor is replaced by a serious and fierce opponent. She is a great defender, despite her occasional foul. On offense she is equally strong, and she has been one of our top scorers of the season. As one of the three seniors on the team, she is also a wonderful leader. She brings a great attitude to practice and is always ready to give her all.
Lucy: The Door of the Week for Girls JV Basketball is Lucy Linnenbach ’27. Despite it being her first year on the team, Lucy has already made a massive impact. She comes to practice each day excited to play and ready to work hard. Her fun attitude is complimented by strong skills. Lucy has great instincts in the game. She is constantly aware of her opponents and teammates and thus is a fantastic passer, often setting up shots for others. She is a great shooter herself and has been one of the top scorers this season. We cannot wait to see what the remainder of the season holds for Lucy and what she accomplishes in the next 3 years.
JV Swimming: Ella Davies ‘24
This week JV Swim would like to nominate Ella Davies ‘24 as our DOTW. Ella had a fabulous meet this week against Eagle Hill and Bancroft, swimming personal bests in each of her four events! She dropped nearly 15 seconds in the 200 yard freestyle, 3 seconds in the 100 yard freestyle, half a second in her 50 of the 200 yard freestyle relay, and a three tenths of a second drop in her 100 of the 400 yard freestyle relay at the end of the meet. Beyond Ella’s consistently stellar performances in meets, she’s served as a level-headed, kind, gritty, and resilient captain for us this season. She leads by example, coming to each practice with a positive attitude and a growth mindset. We’re so excited to see what she does this season and will miss her next year!
Boys Thirds Basketball: Howard Jin ’27
Howard Jin has made huge strides on the court. He is developing more confidence in his shot – recently dropping 13 against Eagle Hill – and he is becoming stronger with the ball and on defense. Coaches love seeing his constant responsiveness to feedback and look forward to his continued growth as a hooper.
Drawing & Painting: Elena Tskhvitaria ’25
Name: Elena Tskhvitaria’25
Title: Untitled
Medium: Watercolor on paper
Music Concentration: Kwasi Adu-Gyamfi ’26 and Skye Georgiadis ’25
Pianist Kwasi Adu-Gyamfi ’26 and drummer Skye Georgiadis ’25 are the foundation of the pit band for the winter musical theater production of Alice By Heart. We could not put on this show without their hard work, reliability and professionalism. They are the linchpin holding together every musical aspect of the production and are doing excellent work.
Boys JV Hockey: Jack Welch ’26
This week Boys JV Hockey would like to recognize Jack Welch for his 3 goal performance in Saturday’s game against Hotchkiss. With a lineup in flux due to injury and illness Jack has steadied the ship with strong two-way play and producing lots of offense at the same time. Jack scored the team’s first three goals helping his team beat a talented Hotchkiss squad 4-3. His hard work and no-nonsense approach to team-first hockey has been A big help to his team in recent weeks. Keep up the good work Jack!
Community Service (Greenhouse): Emily Bruno ’25
Emily Bruno, for her unfailing positivity, ingenuity, good planning, and earnest desire to connect the DA community with the residents at Charlene Manor, an assisted living facility in Greenfield. Seeing her engage with folks there is heartwarming, and her leadership of the two different groups of Athletic Concentration students we take each week has been strong.
Boys Varsity Swimming & Diving: Ben Levai ’24 and Patrick Zhang ’26
The 2023-24’ Boys Varsity swim season is having a great season with a record of 5-2 to date! Even with that success, one of the more powerful lessons we have learned this season is the many ways you can win. As the venerable Coach O told the team after one of our meets – noting the growth mindset, “You’re only not winning when you’re not learning.”
Ben Levai and Patrick Zhang are our Doors of the Week because of they give the team 100% of their attention and are always eager to learn. Both have stepped into new roles to help the team this season. For Patrick, that meant coming out of retirement and diving for the team at Exeter. For Ben (a perennial sprinter), that meant swimming the 500 freestyle for the first time ever against Andover and achieving an excellent time of 5:18. The team’s success is in part due to the selflessness of its members – Patrick and Ben have shown that dedication and willingness to do what is best for the team since day one. Coach O and I could not be more proud and excited to nominate Patrick and Ben for Doors of the Week!
Girls Varsity Hockey: Peyton Wierl ’26
Peyton Wierl is the girls’ hockey Door of the Week for her strong performance last week in our games against Pomfret and Andover. She did a great job of modeling consistent effort and smart, simple hockey. Because of her excellent work on the PK pressuring and blocking shots, and her ability to generate offense in both games, she was a force in all areas on the ice for us, notching 2 goals and an assist on the week. Peyton has had a lot of growth in her skillset because of her hard work and effort, and we’re excited to see her game really coming together for her. We’re grateful for her effort and consistency last week, and are looking forward to seeing what she does in the remainder of the season!
Theater: Lillian Regal ‘24
Accurate, articulate, and capable, Lillian Regal is an asset to all aspects of the Alice by Heart experience. From adeptly delivering the tender words of Alfred’s mother to performing skillful dance and prop manipulation, to interpreting, anticipating, and identifying problems and solutions, there is no one we would rather have in our company than Lillian. Lillian leads by example and excellent focus on the details which help a production run smoothly.
Girls Varsity Basketball: Charlotte Coody ‘26
Our door of the week is Charlotte Coody ‘26. In our last two games, she has come to play, elevating her scoring and rebounding to be a major contributor for the team. Her intensity in the post has sparked our offense. Charlotte’s positioned well to help our team with the later half of our season.