SDJA spring sports season comes to a close.
By Sammi Dorfan (‘18)
Five sports teams have spent the past season plunging, poaching, putting, and perspiring and are now ready to dry off, stretch out, and spring into summer. From CIF advancements in Men’s Varsity Tennis to the inaugural season of co-ed Track and Field, it’s safe to say that this has been a season filled with adventure, endurance, and success. Members from each team agree that while this season may not have been one in which they demolished their opponents or came first in every race, it was one bursting with small victories, like learning the art of pole vaulting and discovering new talent.
The SDJA Swim Team dove into their second season ever with more experience and commitment than last year. Now that the members are accustomed to the early morning practices and can navigate the underwater world, their second season ran more smoothly than their first. Rachel Kornberg (‘19) confirms that this is because the coaching was better and “practices were more organized and helpful.” Rachel believes that her and her teammates, who include Jonathan Bielaz (‘18), Seth Novom (‘19), and Andrea Gorodezky (‘17), received better training this year. This was especially evident when the team beat Army & Navy Academy on April 4th.
That same fateful day, all three singles players on the men’s tennis team, Josh Langman (‘18), Casey Kroll (‘17), and Alex Cohen (‘17), won all three of their matches with scores of 6-0 every time. This unbelievable victory secured the team their first league championship title in three years. Furthermore, there was one doubles team, Jack Ross (‘18) and Alan Podolsky (‘18), and one singles player, Josh Langman (‘18), from SDJA who placed in the individuals CIF tournament and traveled to Barnes Tennis Center to compete against winners from different leagues. These weren’t the only victories for the tennis team. David Lombrozo (‘18) confirmed, “we won more than half of our matches.”
Although the baseball team faced more adversity this year than they did in years past, as Gabe Mayer (‘18) said, the team “put up a good fight” and “is headed in a good direction.” Before the seniors departed, the team had an exciting victory against Calvin Christian in which Brennan Rubin (‘18) hit a double walk off. It was easy for the players to feel dejected once the seniors were no longer there to help carry the team, but Sebastian Mayer (‘18) is “really enthusiastic about years to come” and knows that they “can only go up from here.”
Golf team member, Mackie Deverett (‘18) shares Sebastian’s sentiments about the future of his team and is optimistic about the unmatched “dedication, hardwork, and teamwork” that he saw this year. Deverett also shared that he “met some new, less experienced players.” However, despite the disparity in playing levels, each golfer established his own goal. Kevin Qin (‘19) shared that his was just “to hit the ball.”
After years of requests for a Track and Field team, the idea finally materialized. Though the committed athletes had a couple of kinks to work through, such as learning how to perform in some of the events and becoming accustomed to the off-campus practices, as Racquel Lyons (‘18) said, they “did very well and were very competitive within the league.” Rachel Kornberg (‘19), for example, placed within the top 10 every time for the 100 meter race. Lyons and Kornberg, along with the rest of their teammates, enjoyed the competition and are optimistic about the future of their team.
While excited about the summer, fans, coaches, and players alike are even more excited for this time next year when they’ll take to the pool, the court, the diamond, the greens, and the field to prevail once more.
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