Julia Baggini ‘25 and Alexis Fuscaldo ‘22
EA/AIS/Haverford weekend, taking place on November 13th, After a one year hiatus, will be returning, bringing excitement to students, athletes, and faculty alike. As the fall sports season comes to an end, we honor our student athletes in a competitive and enjoyable environment through this event. Although The Episcopal Academy community was heartbroken to have this cherished event canceled due to COVID last year, the return of the games is creating enthusiasm among our school. For many, this year’s EA/AIS/Haverford Day will be their last, which is both exciting and bittersweet.
Varsity Girls Tennis Coach, Whitaker Powell says “I think for me it[EA/AIS/HAV Day] is a great way to culminate the season, not just our sport, but all the fall sports and to celebrate all at one place over one weekend. I think for the girls it provides them with an opportunity to compete in front of a large crowd which tennis teams usually don’t get to do, but for me it[EA/AIS/Haverford Day] is a sense of community.” To Andrew Fraggos, Varsity Girls Soccer Coach, AIS Day is more important than winning a game, “It is about history, tradition, and having the opportunity to represent the school in front of our entire community.” This has always been an opportunity for athletes to play the sport they love, and to showcase their talent under the name of The Episcopal Academy.
Courtesy of Ethan Wyatt-Wang
All grades are united in their desire to retain both the Sweater and Banner. The freshman and sophomores finally have the opportunity to participate in the games as highschoolers. For the juniors, it is another occasion to show off their skills and athletic prowess. Ultimately for the seniors, it is their last chance to represent Episcopal. Co-captain of the Varsity Field Hockey team, Olivia Corrato ‘22 says, “I’m really excited to be back with my girls and do all the festivities like painting our faces and it’s really just the little things.”
Co- Captain of the Boys Water Polo team Nic Staley ‘22 comments, “For the seniors, it’s our last hurrah. On top of the fact that we didn’t have the game last year, which creates an electric atmosphere for our team.” Co-captain of the Varsity Football team, Jake Fant ‘22 adds, “I think it means a lot to us seniors because we missed out on it last year when it was most of our first year playing varsity.” In addition, Jake Jaszcz ‘22, also Co-captain of the Varsity Football, said “It’s definitely very special, not being able to play last year and the different format of the Haverford Day sports and to be able to get back into it and have that hype and tradition and the whole week event is definitely something I looked forward to.”
EA/AIS/Haverford Day focuses on the achievement of the students, so coaches are not typically in the spotlight. But fall sport coaches play an immense role in EA/AIS/Haverford Day, and without them, there would not be any teams. Coaches help athletes with their confidence, while also assisting them to achieve their goals as a supportive and patient leader on their sides.(Coaches are recognized on the side)
Head of school, T.J Locke believes that losing a year made the EA community value the games even more. He comments, “We have the sweater and the banner so we are defending our titles, but more importantly I think that we all appreciate it more because of what we lost. It was so hard last year not being able to do the things we wanted to do.”
The coaches participating in the EA/AIS/Haverford Day are, Todd Fairlie (Varsity Football Coach) , Whitaker Powell (Varsity Girls Tennis Coach), Andrew Fraggos (Varsity Girls Soccer Coach), Max Kelly (Varsity Boys Water Polo Coach), Douglas Borgerson (Varsity Boys Golf Coach), James Farrell (Varsity Boys Cross-Country Coach), Lauren Finnical (Varsity Girls Cross Country Coach), David Knox (Boys Varsity Soccer Coach) and Stefanie Fee (Varsity Girls Field Hockey).