Whether you’re a die hard fan and go to every game or have no idea what’s going on when it comes to sports, we should ALL be proud to be a Yellowjacket, especially after the amazing sports season we have just had! This winter season went really well for all of our UR athletic teams (which, in case you were wondering, includes basketball, swimming and diving, squash, as well as track and field). I for one am always interested to hear about how all our teams are doing, and I figured after finding out I would share it with all of you! Every team has so much to be proud of, and as a student body I feel like we should be proud of them too.
Next, on to women’s basketball! Our women’s team is still finishing an incredible season, currently 20-5 they have moved on to the NCAA tournament (which is taking place this weekend)! The girls finished second in the UAA tournament, led by captains Brynn Lauer, Tylar Guerrieri, and Kelsey Hurley. Coach Scheible expresses his excitement for this weekend, “we played arguably our strongest schedule ever this year and feel it has prepared us for the NCAA’s,” he also said how the team as a whole is pumped for this opportunity. I would also like to give a huge shout out to Alexandra Leslie who was named one of the UAA Co-Players of the Year. Good luck this weekend!
The men’s swimming team, led by captain Dylan Sharkey, also had a strong 2015-16 season. The team had a strong second place finish in Liberty Leagues. At the UAA meet, Elliot Schwinn had some amazing races, obtaining records in the 1000 freestyle, 1650 freestyle, and 400 individual medley. Another standout performance came from Max Adler, who was able to qualify for the NCAA Regional diving meet.
Now onto the Liberty League champions, our women’s swimming and diving team! Led by captains Emily Simon and Ellen Swanson, they too had a very strong season. Danielle Neu also was able to qualify for the NCAA Regional diving meet. The girls also broke several records at the UAA meet including; Alex Veech 100 breaststroke, Vicky Luan 100 freestyle, and Jen Enos 1650 freestyle. Alex Veech is also heading to nationals in the 100 breaststroke!
This year’s Squash team proved to be one of the strongest in school history! After beating Yale, beating Harvard, and almost beating Trinity in season they were well prepared for the National Tournament. During the tournament they were able to beat Penn (a team they had lost to during season) and Trinity in order to make the tournament finals. They ended up second overall in the National CSA Tournament, losing to Yale 5-4. Yale definitely had a home court advantage, but we truly put up a strong fight! Our Top 5 Athletes, which include captains Neil Cordell and Ryosei Kobayashi, as well as Mario Yanez, Tomotaka Endo, and Lawrence Kuhn have advanced to the Individual National Tournament which will take place this weekend! It should be an exciting tournament, last year they came home with 4 All American athletes. Sending out lots of luck to them!
Last but not least we have indoor track and field! I could honestly write so much about both our men’s and women’s accomplishments, but I will try to keep it brief. The men had an awesome season and were able to extend their winning streak with their third straight NYSCTC title! This past weekend they had an extremely strong meet breaking several records in the process of re-claiming their title. Leading the team are captains Jonathan Kuberka, Ronald (RJ) Morrow, Nathaniel Kuhrt, and Jeremy Hassett. Several athletes are moving forward to the ECAC regional meet this weekend and even to the NCAA meet next weekend. Our coaching staff was also named Coaches of the Year! Senior Patrick Rice was also named field athlete of the meet, after an incredible heptathlon performance where he tied or bettered his personal records in each of the seven events, placing him third in the nation! The team is extremely proud of the season they had, as well as the many strong finishes at the state meet. Good luck to those of you moving forward!
The women also had an extremely strong season overall, we bettered last years third place finish and were able to come home with a second place finish from last weekends NYSCTC meet. Senior captains Emily VanDenburgh, Cameron Edwards, Amanda Hall, and Catherine Knox led our chase against Ithaca, and we truly put up a good fight. We also broke multiple records over the course of the weekend, sending many athletes to the ECAC and NCAA meets. Yvette Ibokwe was named the track athlete of the meet, following her incredible record smashing performances in the 60m dash, 200m dash, and 4x200m relay! Kylee Bartlett, a freshman multi-event athlete was named rookie of the meeet, after finishing second in pentathlon, third in the open 60m hurdles, and putting up a strong performance in high jump (as if she had not done enough events already!) Great job and good luck moving forward ladies!
Overall every team truly had an awesome 2015-16 season with many great accomplishments! I know we are all really looking forward to the upcoming seasons. Way to buzzzz sting ’em UR!