GATOR NEWS

CHAMPIONS PREVAIL IN WINTER SPORTS SEASON
Moira Vyner, Junior Editor
Greenwich Academy Press, May 2004

This past season BASKETBALL had six wins and eleven losses, an improvement from last year’s record. Mrs. Jane Finch, coach of the varsity basketball team along with Ms. Jenn Spaulding, said of the seniors, “Their leadership and talent on the court were the catalysts to the team’s overall success this year. They will be greatly missed next year. There is plenty of potential and athleticism among these remaining players, and the coaches are very optimistic that next season will be one of continued growth.” GA also hosted a charity basketball game with Holy Child, Claws vs. Jaws, to raise money for cystic fibrosis research. An anonymous donor and a former Jets quarterback, Boomer Esiason, each pledged $100 for each person who attended. 1,421 people came and, in the end, $284,000 was raised.

The JV basketball team stats were ten wins, two losses, and first place in the JV tournament. The ninth grade team had four wins and eleven losses. The ICE HOCKEY team had a season with seventeen wins and ten losses, including winning the quarter-finals and semi-finals, but falling (2-3) in a spectacular final against Brooks Academy.

Coaches Moe Tarrant and John Ludwig said in an interview with The Greenwich Time when GA moved onto the semi-finals, “We’re playing our best offensive hockey of the season right now. The girls are really clicking well going to the net. Julia [Ireland, IX] just had an awesome game. Steph [Holmes, X] has kind of taken her under her wing, and they’ve got something pretty good going.”

But the most dominating season came from the SQUASH team, which had an undefeated season and won the New England tournament for the eighth year in a row. Coach Karen Schmidt-Fellner said, “We have gelled as a team over the last few months. They have worked hard and produced fabulous results: another undefeated season. Overall, the girls were tremendous. Each one bettered her technique and strategy. My teams just keep getting stronger and stronger.” The final varsity statistics were thirteen wins, zero losses, first place in the FAA Tournament and New England Champions. JV squash statistics were twelve wins and zero losses and thirds squash had thirteen wins, two losses and one tie.