Fall Sports Wrap-Up/ Winter Sports Preview

Alexander “Paper Raptor” Ganias, ‘20

November 2019

As mentioned previously, sport never ceases. In the case of the Public Schools Athletic League (PSAL), the fall sports have wrapped up and winter sports are starting. For BHSECM, every fall team has had interesting seasons. An in-depth review of each season can be found below:

Girls Volleyball:

The volleyball team came into the season with arguably mixed levels of expectation. On the one hand, they were coming off an 8-4 2018 season, and a playoff berth. On the other hand, they had lost five seniors from last year’s team, and that playoff berth ended in a first round exit. Despite this, the team was not going to let those setbacks deter them from their path to the playoffs. The chemistry was there, and the work ethic was very much present; unfortunately, there was one thing missing… wins. The team went a rather abysmal 1-9 in 2019, a huge step back from last season. Now it’s easy to point the fingers at the players or the coaches, but they weren’t the problem. The fact of the matter is, they were playing in a new division, with different teams. Their old division pitted them against schools like Norman Thomas and Washington Irving (a combined 11-53 from 2016-18); but the new division had more schools with winning records, like Hunter College HS. When asked if this switch had anything to do with the lack of success on the team, Coach Carly Arpaio responded “There are many factors that go into the reasons behind a team record at the end of each season, especially ours.” She continued, by mentioning the distance of travel that increased this season, and how some significant roster changes affected the team: “This was very much a rebuilding year… ”. Regardless of their record, the team still had an amazing time playing their opponents and even in recreational matches. On November 15th, the team hosted a co-ed pickup style volleyball game against a co-ed team from the Simon’s Rock campus of Bard College. Everyone had a fun time, and there are hopes to have another similar event take place in the future. Sadly, the volleyball team will lose six (6) seniors as part of the graduating class of 2020. It’s never easy to bounce back from a 1-9 record, AND the loss of so many teammates; but goonies never say die, and the BHSECM volleyball team will be back to play another competitive season with fresh faces. There’s nowhere to go but up.

Girls and Boys Soccer:

Last year, both BHSECM soccer teams qualified for the playoffs. The boys’ 5-6-1 record was enough to earn them the 29th seed in 2018 and a subsequent first round playoff exit, much to the dismay of the team. This season however, the Manhattan A division was not split up into two like last season; what was once two divisions with about 7 teams, became a division with 13 teams. And, with a twelve game season, the boys soccer team only played those in their division, making every match more valuable in the long run. Whether it was despite this new change or because of it, the team went 4-8, which isn’t a steep departure from last year; but because of their new division, they finished 10th place this season, as opposed to last season’s 4th place finish. Was this shift to blame for their sub-.500 campaign? Head coach Thomas McVeigh says it’s a possibility: “Our record is indicative of a few things but mainly the change in division alignment”. He would go onto mention the increased difficulty of the opponents they faced. These opponents were some of the highest ranked in the state of New York, let alone NYC. So yes, the boys had a rough season, but a lot of it was out of their hands. The girls team on the other hand went 9-3 and received the 8th seed in the A division playoffs. This was a slight departure from their 11-1 campaign the season prior, which resulted in a 7 seed. That team reached the quarterfinals; this team fell just short of that threshold, losing to Curtis High School from Staten Island in the round of 16. They too played in an expanded division, but it didn’t seem to affect them as much as the other teams. Both soccer teams will lose some key seniors, but there’s no reason for that to affect them. With gobs of underclassmen on each roster, the cores should stick around to help each team succeed for years to come.

Girls and Boys Cross Country:

Cross country is an odd sport. Other sports in the PSAL have seasons involving matchups with other individual schools, records indicative of a team’s success against those individual schools, and a bracketed playoff for the championship. Cross country has none of those things. Matchups are usually tournament style with several schools in one race, with the goal being to qualify for the borough championships, and subsequently the city championships. Last season, the boys team lucked out; they had reached the city championships despite placing sixth in Manhattan (other teams in other boroughs finished with worse times). This success was short-lived however, as they placed 21st of 25 schools in the city championships. The girls did not qualify for cities last season, but they had numerous positive showings from individuals and the team alike. The girls team was the only one to lose any seniors of the two, but both rosters seemed primed and ready to qualify again. Unfortunately, despite some impressive times, the boys and girls both missed qualification for cities. The boys finished 5th, which was better than last year, but the crossover rule (what had gotten them into the cities last year) could not save them this time. The girls finished eighth; out of twenty teams this isn’t a terrible finish, but it wasn’t enough to qualify for cities. These early exits are disappointing, but the youth of the team is looking towards the future. Isaac Rosenthal (9th) had this to say:  “... we will be losing a lot of Y2s, but we have a lot of potential in the freshmen.” Despite the aforementioned seniors leaving each team, the goals remain the same, and the expectations are there for a push to the cities.

Girls Tennis:

There are two truths to be told here. The first is this: The girls tennis team is very, VERY good. They had expectations of contending for the B division title, with previous two seasons seeing them fall just short of that goal. They finished the regular season 12-0, their third straight undefeated stretch. THREE STRAIGHT!! One could cite quality of opponents, or the odd questionable call as the reason for their continued success. But three straight undefeated seasons (32-0 throughout) is nothing to scoff at. The team finished with the 3rd seed in the B division*, which resulted in a first round bye, and two playoff wins to bring them to the semifinals. Which leads to the second truth: The girls tennis team seems to have a semifinals bug. As mentioned before, the girls tennis team went undefeated in the regular season, the third time in a row they had accomplished this. The last two seasons also saw them reach the semifinals, which they achieved this season as well. Unfortunately, despite these three consecutive amazing campaigns, they have lost three straight semifinal matchups. This year, they met defeat at the hands of Ft. Hamilton High School, but to have such great seasons in three straight years end in the same way, it can raise some eyebrows. Coach Kara Studwell on this year’s defeat: “Ultimately, the Fort Hamilton team was able to adjust and respond to us more consistently than we were able to”. The girls tennis team will bounce back from this, no doubt; with a capable roster and a now veteraned coach, we can expect more deep playoff runs for years to come. But will they be able to get rid of the bug? Only time will tell

*(my last sports preview article in September claimed that they were in the A division; they are not, and I apologize for this mistake).

The fall season has been the host of many interesting and incredible runs, but time slows down for no one. The winter sports are coming in hot and fast, here’s how they stack up… 

Boys Basketball:

There always seems to be an outlier in any group of data. The only team that didn’t make any sort of playoff last season, of any season (fall, winter, spring), was the Boys Basketball team. Coming off back to back seasons where they missed the playoffs by three games, it seems like the team is stuck in limbo. The previous season was a tale of two halves: in the first seven games of the season, the boys went 4-3. With only three wins needed to make the playoffs, they looked poised to capture them. Then the second-half spiral hit; the team went 0-7 in their last 7 games, and missed the playoffs. This was one year after a 4-game winning streak was nullified by a 2-8 unraveling. Two straight seasons of disappointing collapses is not easy to bounce back from, but lo and behold, there is hope for a great season. “When everyone associated with the team shares the same goals and demonstrates a willingness to… prioritize what’s best for the team, we will succeed” said Coach Charles Sewell on what needs to change for them to be successful. It obviously takes more than hoping and wishing, but with how the season is going so far, playoffs is well within the range of possibilities. The team may have lost five seniors last season, but there are newcomers in every grade, making the roster rife with both rookies ready to learn, and veterans ready to teach them. The season has just started for these boys, and there’s no telling what may happen at the end.

Girls Basketball:

On the complete other side of the spectrum, the last two seasons for the girls basketball team were very successful. Two years ago, they finished the regular season with a 9-4 record, which was enough to secure them the division title for Manhattan B South 1, and the 19th seed in the B division playoffs. They won in the first round, but were ousted in the second round by Jamaica. The next season, they finished 12-4. This wasn’t enough for the division title, but it got them the 29th seed in the playoffs, before they were unfortunately defeated in the first round by R.F.K. This is a team that can make the playoffs, and the belief is there. Bianca Agosto (Y2) says that the loss of three seniors is tough, but the roster is still filled with talent new and experienced: “Once all of us start to practice more as a new team, we’ll become more exposed to each other’s skills, allowing us to gain a sense of how to play together in the best way possible”. With new freshman, and even some new upperclassmen, the girls team has expectations of the playoffs, and what better time than now to prove that those expectations are justified.

The basketball teams both have exciting and intriguing seasons ahead of them, and to top it off they both have a new set of uniforms. The boys have already started their season with a couple of hard-fought scrimmages and games. The girls don’t start until December, but they’re just as prepared. There will be one final sports review/preview article in the spring, so keep your eyes peeled for it. But for now let the prayers commence: may the wins be plentiful, may the teamwork be exceptional, and may the ball never lie. Amen.