Spring Sports Recap

By Nick Batlle

On the eve of summer vacation, the rain wiped out regional playoff games for both baseball and softball last Saturday, the only spring-sport teams still alive at ETHS*.  As for everyone else, this season was full of highlights and disappointments.

A confident boys tennis team went into sectionals with nothing to lose.  Despite a valiant effort by the #1 doubles duo of juniors Andy Schneider and Youssef Ben Ismail, the Kits failed to gain a berth in the state tournament.  Regardless, the team is built with a foundation of young players and has a lot to take from this season.

"This was probably one of the strongest seasons we've had in a long time," said senior captain Jeremy Daniel, who will attend Bradley University next year.  "As coach Ware probably would say, this team could have potentially gone on to state."

Joining Daniel in the graduating tennis class this year are fellow seniors Mike Miszczak (Depaul University), Tyler Johnson (Northwestern University), and Jared Mahler (Case Western Reserve University).  As a foreign exchange student, Ben Ismail will return to Tunisia this summer, but there will be a lot of familiar faces on the courts next year.

"The strength is in the doubles," said Daniel of the team for next season.  "Hopefully coach will keep the same doubles teams as we had for sectionals this year."           

Before the season started, coach Marx Success knew that this year would be a challenge for his girls soccer team.  The shortage of seniors trying out combined with a tough conference led by State title contenders Glenbrook South (GBS) and New Trier seemed like reasons enough to take a rebuilding approach.  Even with season-ending injuries to top contributors Amelia Monar and Linea Carlson, his goal stayed the same: win another State championship.

In the end, Success didn't quite reach that goal, but he still found a lot to be proud of after his girls battled top seeded GBS in the first round of sectionals, falling 2-1.  In his eyes, it was obvious why his team did not win.

"We weren't able to finish, and teams that can't finish, can't win," said Success. 

Looking ahead to next year, Success likes what he sees.  Although seniors Brigit Larson (University of Wisconsin-Madison), Monar (McGill University), Natalie Fenn (Emory University), Anna Johnson (Colorado College), and Torie Runzel (Vanderbilt University) are leaving this year, there will be a lot of returning players.

"We're graduating just 5 seniors, and we have 7 sophomores and three freshmen.  So the future looks real good," said Success.  "I'm very proud of what we've accomplished this season."

In an attempt to motivate his team in the off-season, Success has already named juniors Carlson, Kristine Horwitz, and Anna Kennedy as the new captains.

The girls waterpolo team was riding on high expectations going into their playoff matchup against 

St. Ignatius, a team that finished second in State last year.  In the end, St. Ignatius got the better of the Wildkits, taking the game by a score of 8-5. 

"It was a really tough game.  Everyone contributed, but in the end we just couldn't score enough goals," said senior captain Grace Hatcher (Marist College), whose brother Brett is the head coach.  "They have a star player who is unstoppable, but we were kind of able to hold her back."

Senior captain Alex Wich (Princeton University) received second-team All-State honors, while Hatcher was third-team All-State.  The team will lose a lot of talent with Syd Werd (University of Iowa) also leaving this year, but Hatcher is optimistic.

"There's still a lot of talent on the team," said Hatcher.  "It wasn't just seniors who were running it.  They should be excited because the program is only getting better."

The girls lacrosse season ended abruptly on May 17, after Lake Forest, a team that Evanston beat earlier in the year, took the State quarterfinal match, 12-10.

With All-American senior goalie Colleen Speth moving on to play Division I lacrosse at the University of Massachusetts, this year looked like Evanston's best opportunity to make a run at the State championship.  The loss of fellow senior Jessica Chukwu (Wesleyan University) makes it that much tougher for the Kits next year. Looking at the squad for next year, top scorer Catherine Novak will return along with Sarah Angell.  The biggest question is who will compensate for the loss of Speth in goal, the team's defensive security blanket.

After beating Wheaton Warrenville South in the first round of the playoffs earlier in the week, boys lacrosse failed to pull off a little magic against powerhouse Loyola Academy, losing 13-2 last Thursday.  Senior Sam Alden (Adrian College) scored both Evanston goals.

The team was without senior attackman Troy Clesen (University of Missouri), which helps explain the lack of offense from the Kits.  In the end, the Ramblers were just too overpowering.

"With all the injuries and setbacks that we've had this year, we really came together at the end as a team and we learned how to play as a team," said Clesen.  "We just missed a lot of guys this year."

The team will miss the presence of seniors Andrew Day (Northwestern University) and Jim Trippi (University of South Illinois), but they like what they see with sophomore Tyler Hall leading the squad.

Going into the playoffs, boys volleyball was riding high on momentum after winning the Evanston Spring Fling Championship to end the regular season.  They continued their hot streak with a first round win against Niles North, but the fire went out against Glenbrook North (GBN) in the regional championship.

They took the first game by a score of 25-23, but GBN responded in the second with a 25-16 win.  Evanston played better in the third game, but GBN was relentless, pulling away and winning by a score of 25-20. The team will be without seniors Cris Higgins (Quincy), Justin Perkins, and Glenn McFadden (Tufts University) next season, but first-year head coach Mike McDermott can breathe easier knowing he has junior David Sippel and sophomore Asher Stamell returning.

The reign of girls track as State champs has finally come to a close, with Barrington taking the crown this year.  Evanston placed 15th at the State tournament, but the girls insist that the ranking does not reflect how successful their season actually was.  The biggest loss for the squad is Maxandre Balthazar (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign).
*both games were rescheduled for Monday.

Girls Lacrosse Team Fifth in State

After a first round bye, the fourth-seeded Wildkits hammered Oak Park 14-5 in the second round of the state tournament.  Goalie Colleen Speth stopped 8 shots and Jessica Chukwu led the scoring charge with 7 goals. 

The Wildkits lost a close match in the quarterfinals to fifth seed Lake Forest, 10-12.  Cat Novak had 4 goals, and Caitlin Guthrie and Jessica Chukwu each added 3. The Wildkits girls lacrosse team claimed fifth place in the state, finishing with a conference record of 4-1, and an overall record of 18-8-1.