Sacred Heart Tigers fight with heart
Sacred Heart Greenwich’s varsity basketball team this season. Courtesy of Stephanie Jordan ’18
This February and March, Sacred Heart Greenwich varsity sports teams played with heart as they concluded their winter seasons in multiple championship tournaments.
This past winter season, the Sacred Heart Tigers’ varsity basketball team ranked third out of eight teams in the Fairchester area, qualifying to compete in the Fairchester Athletic Association (FAA) championship tournament. In the quarterfinals February 21, the Tigers competed against the Greens Farms Academy Dragons at Sacred Heart.
Trailing the entire first half with an 11-point deficit at halftime, the Tigers revived their defense during the second half. Junior Laura Holland scored ten points with 13 rebounds and junior Erin Clearly scored 12 points, enabling the Tigers to take the lead with eight minutes and 40 seconds left in the game. Under the leadership of senior captains Kristen Davis and Mackenzie Jordan, Sacred Heart won the game 49 to 43.
Courtesy of Ms. Beth A. Wilson-Jordan
The Tigers then faced off against the Greenwich Academy (GA) Gators February 23 during the FAA semifinals. Sacred Heart lost to GA 56 to 42, concluding its season with a record of ten wins and 11 losses. Head coach Mrs. Jessica Branosky, with the assistance of associate head coach Mr. Justin Bourne, guided the team.
“I’m really proud of the way the team played this year. Everyone contributed both on and off the court, which positioned us well to work together fluidly on the court running plays successfully both from last year and many more new plays. We became a competitive team where even when we lost it was still close, sometimes by four or five points,” Mackenzie said.
On the squash courts, the Tigers’ varsity squash team participated in the US Squash Team Nationals Tournament February 10 at Westminster School. In the 1st round of the tournament, Sacred Heart played versus New Haven Varsity, winning the match with five wins and two losses. Sacred Heart players Katie Keller ’20, Tory Huchro ’18, Erin O’Connor ’20, Sophia Georgas ’20, and Haley Davis ’17 won their matches. This win qualified the team for the quarterfinals of the tournament.
In the quarterfinals February 12, the Tigers played against the Agnes Irwin’s School Owls’ junior varsity team. The Tigers won three matches while the Owls won four matches. Katie Keller ’20, Tory Huchro ’18, and Erin O’Connor ’20 won their matches.
The team then played against the Hackley School in the consultation plate. Sacred Heart lost to the Hackley School four to three. Cameron Calcano ’20, Caroline Featherston ’19, and Haley Davis ’17 won their matches.
Courtesy of Olivia Monahan ’18
This past season, senior captain Haley Davis, head coach Mrs. Celia Pashley, and assistant coach Mr. Peter Kearney helped the Tigers win 16 matches and four losses total.
“Our team reached our goal for the season because we achieved the best record we have ever had 16 to four and placed second in the FAAs. We also placed 9th out of 16 in division one for New England which is a great improvement as we placed 14th last year,” Haley said.
The Tigers’ varsity swimming team participated in the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council (NEPSAC) invitational Swimming Championships March 4 and 5 at the Hotchkiss School. Sacred Heart’s varsity swimming team swam in the Invitational Trails round March 4. During this meet, junior Kalyna Carroll and sophomore Katelin Ulmer qualified to participate in the Finals round March 5. In the Finals round, Kalyna participated in the 50 Free event and Katelin competed in both the 100 Fly event and 100 Breaststroke event. In the 100 Breaststroke event, Katelin set a new personal best time of one minute.
Courtesy of Genevieve Capalongo ’17
Overall, Sacred Heart placed 12th out of the 13 teams competing in the invitational NEPSAC Swimming Championships.
Senior captains Genevieve Capolongo and Ally Grusky guided the team through the tournament along with head coach Mr. Brendan Heller and assistant coach Mr. Abdel Eli-Kettani. The Tigers concluded their season with eight wins and two losses.
“This group of girls does nothing but love and support each other. From the beginning of the season, I could see that. They would cheer for their teammates even if they were a freshman, a senior or anywhere in between. This is by far the closest group I have ever encountered and I’m so glad to have been able to lead this incredibly talented team,” Genevieve said.
Additionally, the Sacred Heart varsity diving team competed in the NEPSAC Division I Diving Championships March 1 at Deerfield Academy under the leadership of head coach Mr. Joe Somma. Freshman Piper Van Wagenen placed fifth overall out of 30 girls, while sophomore Olivia Wise placed 20th at the diving tournament.
– Katie McCabe, Staff Writer
