Four varsity teams competed in tournaments the weekend before the winter holidays. The four teams have all performed relatively well up to this point in the season. For the most part, the teams were wildly successful at their tournaments with Boys’ Varsity Hockey, and Girls’ Varsity Basketball, reaching the championship game in their respective tournaments.
Boys’ Varsity Hockey
Boys’ Varsity Hockey had a successful weekend at the Lawrenceville Hockey Tournament, which it has been attending for more than 60 years. This year, the boys brought energy and talent, which resulted in a championship game appearance. They went 3-0 in group play, with wins over Belmont Hill (3-2), Lawrenceville (2-1), and Upper Canada College (3-2). Each game, different players stepped up and filled crucial roles.
Solid goaltending from Tyler McDermott ’20 was a big factor in the team’s success. Andrew Carmody ’21, said, “Tyler is definitely a key part of our team. He keeps us in games with his spectacular play, and is always there to lift guys up on and off the ice.” Unfortunately, they faced a talented Taft team that got an early lead and kept it throughout. Overall, it was a learning experience for the team; it was filled with many positive notes, and it was a great turnaround to a somewhat slow start to the season.
Girls’ Varsity Hockey
The girls won every game leading up to the tournament, but were unable to come away with a win from the tournament itself. This weekend was an anomalous slip up for the team. The girls lost to Hotchkiss, Andover, and Kent, who all have relatively strong teams. Kaitlyn O’Donohue ’19 consistently put Choate on the scoreboard over the weekend, but the team failed to come away with any wins. Kaleah Haddock ’19 said, “We have been able to win crucial games and will hopefully be able to bounce back and continue our early-season success. I think this has been one of the strongest teams I’ve played for at Choate.”
Girls’ Varsity Basketball
Girls’ Varsity Basketball participated in the annual holiday tournament at Deerfield Academy, which has become a tradition for the team. Their results at the tournament were excellent, continuing their undefeated season.
The highlight of the tournament was definitely their impressive 88-40 win over Deerfield —Choate dominated the entire game. The girls finished with a 58-44 win over St. Paul’s School due to solid defense, team play, and excellent performances from Chloe Blanc ’19, and Sam Gallo ’19. The team also came away with a close win against the Berkshire School, sneaking away with a 52-48 win.
Boys’ Varsity Basketball
The boys’ team played at the Tabor Academy tournament and started off with an excellent win over a strong Belmont Hill team. In its second game, the team played Tabor, who may be the strongest team they have played all year. Choate ended up losing a heartbreaker to Tabor, 64-61. They were down at halftime and came back with a shot to tie the game on the last play, which ended in an unfortunate miss. The team hit a lot of key foul shots, but Tabor was lights out from the three-point line. Choate kept chipping away at Tabor’s lead, but, in the end, it wasn’t enough for Choate to come out on top. On Saturday, the team played Nobles, a tough, well-coached opponent, and was able to win the game handily.
