2015 LFA Fall Sports Recap

2015 LFA Fall Sports Recap

Obaid Ansari, Features Editor

The 2015 LFA Fall sports season was an extreme success as most teams finished with a winning record. It is important for a school to be well rounded in academics, athletics and the arts. The teams proved that LFA is just as strong in the athletic department as they are academically. So we decided to take a closer look at each team’s season.

Girls Varsity Swimming

Record: 7-1

The LFA Girls Swimming team was virtually unstoppable as they had only one dual meet loss. The team was coached by Head Coach Natalie Shawel and Assistant Coach Loring Strudwick and led by two junior captains, Zeynep Kivanc and Marilou Cameron.

“Watching the team’s comrade and spirit was my favorite part of the season,” said Strudwick, “Whether it was Z(Zeynep) breaking a new record or Shreya Singhvi(sophomore) dropping 10 seconds on the 500m, everyone was always supportive, it wasn’t like you were out their swimming on your own.”

The team hopes to duplicate this success next year as they will have no seniors and will therefore lose no one on the team.

Girls Varsity Volleyball

Record: 18-11

The Girls Varsity Volleyball team completely flipped the switch from last year as they went from a 10-20 season to an impressive 18-11. The team was led by their three senior captains, Ryan Williams, Maria Pereira and Maggie Meyer. Head Coach Maggie Boomgaarden was especially impressed with the girl’s mental toughness throughout the season as they cam back games they were losing and won the game. The team also suffered many injuries to key players during the season. Boomgaarden was happy to see younger players step up into big roles and allow the team to play at the same level even with some of there better players out.

Golf – Coed Varsity

Record: 7-2-1

The Golf team had a big challenge as they had to find new players to replace the five seniors they lost last year. Head Coach Jonathon Freeman was a little worried that the team would not have the same success as they did last year. To his happy surprise new and returning players stepped up and were able to achieve an even better dual match record than they had last year.

“The high point was beating Northridge Prep for the third year in a row, said Freeman, “all those matches have been extremely close.”

The fifth and sixth golfers on LFA came through and gave them a come from behind victory. The golf team will be losing 6 seniors this year so it will be another tough task replacing them for next year.

Senior and captain Collin Moody gets ready to tee off.
Photo by Jack Zhong
Senior and captain Collin Moody gets ready to tee off.

Boys Prep Hockey

Record: 8-2-1

The Prep Hockey team has gotten off to a fast start with an 8-2-1 record and want to continue their success into the winter season. The team is currently being led by two senior captains, Michael Thomas and Gaston Adam, along with junior captain, Cameron Judge. Head Coach Darrin Madeley said his favorite moment so far is Gaston scoring his first goal off the crossbar.

“Our biggest challenge is our depth, we don’t have a lot of players,” said Madeley, “then Morgan Baylor(senior) went down with a concussion and we were forced to move Gaston to a forward.”

Gaston has stepped up and will have to continue that for 6 weeks which is when Baylor will be cleared to play again.

Cross Country – Coed Varsity

Record: N/A

Cross Country competed in 8 meets this year all of which had 8-15 schools and therefore a record is not available. However, against schools with under 1000 students the team almost always finished around third place. Cross Country started off really strong as they won their first two home meets and continued that success throughout the season. The top five runners averaged 1 minute faster than the top five runners from last year. Head Coach Joe Ward’s favorite meet was the Latin Prep Classic. The freshman and sophomore boys finished second out of ten teams and many other beat their personal best.

“Another neat moment was on our team trip this year,” said Ward, “they all were sitting at the top of the hill talking to each other about why they run and sharing what motivated them.

Boys Varsity Soccer

Record: 10-8-1

The LFA Boys Varsity started the season off steady as their record stayed around .500.

“We were beating the teams we were expected to beat but losing to the ones we were expected to lose against,” said Head Coach Paul Makovec, “I want to beat those big schools that we expected to lose.”

They were able to turn their season around and started to beat big public schools like Warren, Neuqua Valley, Hinsdale South and Lake Forest High School, games that they were “supposed to lose”. A big challenge that hindered the teams season was injuries to a lot of key players such as senior captain Jarrett Galigher who battled through injury the entire season and junior captain Nat Shattock. However, the team was able to bounce back and win five of their last seven games.

“One of my favorite games was beating Lake Forest High School at their place on their senior night”, said Makovec.

 

The Boys Varsity Soccer team celebrate junior Stephan Kostov's goal versus Stevenson.
Photo by Jack Zhong                                                                                                  The Boys Varsity Soccer team celebrate junior Stephan Kostov’s goal versus Stevenson.

Girls Varsity Field Hockey

Record: 17-4

The Girls Varsity Field Hockey had a very successful season despite losing four games in their first week. All the games were tough losses as they lost by only one goal in each of those four losses. Through the leadership of their three senior captains, Lexi Silver, Emily Conklin and Caroline Miller, they were able to bounce back and win 13 straight games.

“I think beating New Trier in overtime was a defining moment for us,” said Head Coach Diane Cooper, “it kind of said yeah we got this.”

New Trier has not lost a game in over a year and beating them was a huge moment for the girls. The team unfortunately ended their season in the quarter finals against Lake Forest High School in a thriller of a game. Even though the team did not go as far as they hoped it was  still a very successful season.

Girls Varsity Field Hockey halftime talk during the St. Ignatius game
Photo by Jack Zhong                                                                                               Girls Varsity Field Hockey halftime talk during the St. Ignatius game.

Girls Varsity Tennis

Record: 13-1

Girls Varsity Tennis had an unbelievable season as they only lost one game and that was to Stevenson, a school with over 4000 students. The loss came early in the season, only their second match and after powered through the season ending with a 12 game win streak. The team was led by senior captains, Lillian Chung and Catherine Kvam.

A big challenge throughout the season was attendance. Many players missed matches and practices not only for injuries and health issues but for college visits as well. Head Coach Kimberley Graham said it was hard to get a full lineup for each match when there were a few people who were unable to play. However, the team was able to come together and produce and excellent season.

“My favorite match would be the one against Lake Forest High School because of how unified we were,” said Graham.

Boys Varsity Football

Record: 3-5

“Our overall record may not have been what the men wanted but they had a goal to be a close team going into the season,” said Head Coach Robin Bowkett, “I think we achieved that as they stuck together through various moments of adversity.”

The Varsity Football team did have the insurmountable challenge of having a low number of bodies. They were forced to play many younger guys in key roles and others had to play on both sides of the ball. Senior captains, Daniel Joseph, Thomas Shaffer, Dom Haubner and Luke Grumhaus served as mentors for the younger guys. This allowed those younger players to grow over the season. The team’s growth over the season was very evident as they won there last two games.

“By far the best moment was when Maxwell Wang(junior) told us, after a few weeks of his mom not letting him play football, that she finally said yes and the room erupted when they heard the great news,’ said Bowkett.

This is a great example of how close the team was with each other and how every single player was valued.

Boys Varsity Football coming out of the locker room before there Homecoming game against St. Joseph.
Photo by Jack Zhong                                                                                               Boys Varsity Football coming out of the locker room before there Homecoming game against St. Joseph.