Raina Kuzemka ’20
Lola Quigley’20
Lacrosse
The girls’ lacrosse team is coming off of a strong season last year where the team tied for the Inter-Ac title. Coach Tomaino explains that, “we have a lot of returning strong upperclassmen but also a significant amount of young, eager underclassmen.” Among the returners are co-captains Olivia Dirks ‘19 and Izzy Rohr ‘19 who shared, “we had a really strong season last year, but we are always looking to improve. We tied to win the Inter-Ac last year, but this year our goal is to win it outright.” Despite the rough weather so far this season the players are doing everything they can to achieve their goal. Rohr said that, “the team has been doing a combination of stick work, fitness, team building, and game play to prepare for the upcoming season,” and Coach Tomaino added, “the girls have been working very hard and practices have been very efficient. We’ve been very lucky to have a clear turf to play on, thanks to our amazing grounds team!!” The girls lacrosse team cannot wait to get out on the field and show everyone what they are made of.
Softball
The Episcopal softball team returns this year with all of the starters from last year’s team. Grace Smith ‘19 explains that last year “We had a team that was majority underclassman so it was definitely an off year to grow and hone in on our personal skills.” Head Coach Kelly Edwards is excited about the start of the season saying, “We have an incredibly talented group returning with a few key additions. The program continues to grow, so this year we will field a full JV team.” The team is already showing a great team dynamic as Smith ’19 shared, “Everyone is so individually talented that when we come together we really just flow. Outside of practice we are all friends already. One thing that is awesome is that we are super close to our coaches as well.” Coach Edwards joked “I don’t want to jinx it, but I have high hopes for the girls this year. Inter-Ac champs?”
Golf
The EA girls golf team made history last year with an undefeated season and the Inter-Ac title, while also placing third in the PAISAA tournament. The team is led by head coach Kim Farrell and Tri-Captains Cam Stapleton ‘19, Minjee Cho ‘19, and Grace Reilly ‘19. Stapleton explained, “Because it is so cold out, we haven’t had an opportunity to go outside. The other captains and I are hoping that our spring break trip to Florida is going to bond us and give us an opportunity to see how we play together.” While indoor practice is not ideal for the golf team, they are making the most of the space with a circuit of workouts, putting, and learning the major rule changes in effect this year. Farrell explains of the season till now that “Although we just started – so far so good. I think we have a nice mix of returning players and new golfers. I think the coaches and captains are mindful to keep our energy levels up despite not being able to be outside playing.”
Crew
The 2019 Girls Crew team is coming off a great 2018 season with a second place win for the Varsity quad at scholastic nationals and stotesbury with a first place win for the national schools regatta. Luckily, three of the four boat members are returning this season. The novice girls eight won the City Championships and the majority of the eight girls are returning as well. The start of the season has looked “very promising” so far according to Gantt ‘19. Despite the freezing temperatures,“everyone is coming very excited to go out on the water.”. As far as preparations go Gantt says “so far the team has been working on technique and overall fitness through running and erging”. This year, Gantt hopes to lead her quad to win Cities and Stotesbury which she believes is just in their reach. She would love for the Thunderdome to come and support: “it’s a lot of fun to be by the river when it’s warm and sunny”.
Track
The 2019 Girls Track team lead by captains Nina Petillo ‘19, Celeste Graham ‘19, and Caitlin Jorgensen ‘19 are looking to fill in last years loss of speed with talented freshmen. The team has been limited to indoor space some days but the coaches are keeping them up to speed with lots of “core circuits and other exercises”. Coach Goens adds that practices “have been positive” despite the cold, and “they’ve worked hard, so I am off to a very proud feeling for the attitude and the spirit of the team”. The captains explain that the girls “warm up together everyday and talk as a team before running”. They feel very strongly about the upcoming season with large groups of both returners are newbies, so “there is talent spread across all distances and events”. Coach Goens added “the upcoming season will be challenging as it always has been” due to the hard competition in the country and especially in the Inter-Ac.