Athlete of the Week

CHRISTINE DRPICH ’10
GIRLS DIVING TEAM
2/22-2/28

Coach Judy Sides wrote the Athletic Department excitedly with great news for the Kent family earlier this week!

“Christine Drpich won the Founder’s League competition! In doing so, she scored a Miss Porter’s School pool record 342 points, performing 11 dives beautifully, and was truly the only competitor to stand up to the Championship pressure.”

“It is quite a challenge to do this many dives at once- almost double the dual meet number of 6. Naturally, I nominate Christine for the “Athlete of the Week”! We can’t wait for the New England’s, where I am hoping for a good, solid top-ten finish!”

Congratulations, Christine!

AKIM JEAN-CHARLES '09
JV BOYS BASKETBALL
2/22-2/28

Coach Jonathan Voorhees writes: “Akim Jean-Charles saved his best game of the year for the last matchup with Trinity-Pawling. His leadership and strong play made the difference, as Kent eventually pulled away from T.-P. in the second half, to notch an impressive 53-31 victory on the road.”

“Akim was a major factor, finishing the game with a season-high 12 points. Both hid defense and offense, including two crucial three-point baskets, provided the catalyst for the victory.”

“Akim also hit a last-second three-point shot against Taft in a recent upset victory. As one of the squad’s Captains, Akim has provided leadership and consistent play all season. He is the best defender on the team, and his decision-making on the court was an important part of a fine 10-4 record this year.”

Congratulations Akim!

KIRK SMITH '10
JV BOYS HOCKEY
2/14-2/20

Coach Jesse Minneman writes: “The J.V. hockey coaches would like to nominate Kirk Smith, a fifth-form goaltender. In a pair of one-goal wins on the road, 3-2 at Hotchkiss, and 4-3 at Deerfield, Kirk proved the deciding factor”

“Kirk’s consistency has proven remarkable throughout the year. He is always in position, and reacts quickly to the puck on both routine saves, and more challenging shots. His work ethic, focus, and self-discipline are exemplary. Kirk has improved steadily throughout the year, and this past week proved a culmination of his hard work all season.”

SONIA OCCHIONERO '09
BRITTANY CASEY '09
GIRLS VARSITY HOCKEY
2/14-2/20

Coach Cheryl Setchell has chosen to nominate 2 of her team leaders as “Athletes of the Week”.

“I nominate Sonia Occhionero for her performance and outstanding efforts in our two games last week. She had one goal in our 3-2 loss to rival Hotchkiss on Wednesday, and scored 2 goals in our 3-3 tie against Kingswood-Oxford on Saturday.”

“As team captain, Sonia has led her team all season through hard work and determination, always putting the team first. Sonia played both Defense and Wing last week, and is selflessly willing to do what is best for the team.”

“Brittany Casey also had a strong week. She had an assist in the loss to Hotchkiss, and a beautiful goal against K.O., where she skated through several players, to slide the puck past the keeper. Britt has been consistent, and the anchor to our defense throughout this winter season.”

COLETTE SALVATORE '10
GIRLS VARSITY SWIMMING
2/09-2/14

Colette Salvatore was nominated by the girls swimming team through her captains. She had an awesome performance against Kingswood-Oxford School last week.
“Our meet against KO was very, very close, and the lead changed hands several times between the 2 teams.” stated Coach Zurolo. “ Our chances to win came down to the last 2 events- the 100 yard breaststroke, and the 400 yard relay.”
Colette swam her heart out in the 100 breaststroke, placing second to Joni Kung, and beating the 3rd place finisher from KO by less than 0.10 seconds! Colette kept inching up on the KO swimmer, until they were dead-even on the last lap. They both swam a great race, but Colette was just that much better, securing the Kent team win.”

Congratulations, Colette, and thank you for your dedication and determination!

ZACK HOWARD '10
VARSITY DIVING
2/09-2/14

Coach David Greene writes: “Zack Howard, Fifth Form, and completely new to diving, finished his regular season last Wednesday against Hotchkiss with a strong diving performance. Learning how to dive from scratch only 2 months ago, Zack quickly became a competitive diver.”
“He has demonstrated remarkable athleticism, learning to gain more height off the board, and to control inward and reverse somersaults and flips. His coaches have been very impressed with him all season, and are hopeful that he will learn four more dives, to be able to compete in the Founder’s League championships.”

Congratulations Zack!

ALEXA PIEPUL '11
GIRLS JV BASKETBALL
02/03-02/11

Alexa has been a leading member of the 2009 JV Basketball team all season long. She leads the team both in scoring and in rebounds. Alexa arrives at practice early every day, and she works on foul shooting on her own. This extra practice paid off in a spectacular performance on February 11 in a game at Hotchkiss. The game was close all the way, with Hotchkiss leading by 3 at halftime. Alexa played almost the entire game and made seven baskets while pulling down 15 rebounds. The most remarkable statistic, however, was her foul shooting. She went to the line twelve times and was successful on ten of the twelve attempts, contributing to a 42-36 Kent victory. Alexa’s 24 points was the highest total for an individual this year.
Alexa’s home is in Ridgewood, New Jersey.

CORY GREVER '09
BOYS VARSITY SWIMMING
02/03-02/11

After three years of coming up short against rival
Kingswood-Oxford including last season’s loss by the
slimmest of margins, team captain Cory Grever led this
year’s squad to victory. Cory’s medley relay team (also including Jason Adams, Benton Bair and Jeff Yung) led
off with a win in the 200 meter medley relay. Cory
followed that up by winning both the 50 meter freestyle
event and the 100 meter freestyle event. Additionally,
his 400 meter freestyle relay team (including Shaw Bridges,
Benton Bair and Jason Adams) won the final event of the
meet. Throughout the season, Cory has trained hard and set
a high example for his teammates and their dedicated efforts carried them to this special victory.
CONGRATULATIONS, CORY!

LOUISA DRAKE '09
GIRLS VARSITY SQUASH
01/25-02/02

Louisa extended her season long personal match record at #2 on the girls varsity squash ladder to 10-0 with a stunning three game win over a hard-hitting, tenacious, opponent from Millbrook (11-9, 11-7, 11-8). As the match got under way, it was clear that though both girls hit solid shots, it was Louisa who won the tough points. This comes on the heels of her outstanding, come from behind, victory against her Choate opponent where she was down 0-2 in games and came back to win, on Choate’s courts, a thrilling 5 game victory. The Choate coach commented that he was impressed by Louisa’s tenacity—she responded to the pressure of the match by fighting through the fatigue of 5 games and actually getting faster as the match wore on. The team continues to improve and Louisa’s personal effort is a great example of leadership.

CONGRATULATIONS, LOUISA!

GRAY PERKINS '11
BOYS JV BASKETBALL
01/25-02/02

Gray tallied 12 points in Kent’s win over Canterbury
this past Saturday raising his point total to 52 over the
past 3 games—all Kent victories. In addition to his offensive prowess he has been a team leader in rebounding and is
also a stalwart on the defensive end of the court. His selfless pay and hustle have won him the respect of teammates and
opponents alike.

CONGRATULATIONS, GRAY!

ERIN DANIELS '10
GIRLS VARSITY SWIMMING
01/18-01/24

Erin Daniels had a stellar performance for the girls swim team in the 500 freestyle against Williston on Saturday. She was behind their second swimmer for 18 of the 20 laps, slowing inching up on her until they were even for the last couple of laps. Every person in the pool area was on their feet screaming for the swimmers—an occurrence that rarely happens in this long event. Even though the Williston swimmer fought back and touched Erin our right at the end, we are extremely proud of the toughness Erin showed for this grueling swim. In the end she scored several points for Kent, helping us win the meet while improving her time by several more seconds. A great swim by a very hard-working swimmer. CONGRATULATIONS, ERIN!

MIKE DOMSODI '09
BOYS VARSITY HOCKEY
01/18-01/24

Throughout the season Assistant Captain Mike Domsodi has been a leader both on and off the ice for the varsity hockey team. This week, however, he has been particularly effective with his on ice play. In the two games against two of the top teams in New England, Mike had a goal and an assist against Hotchkiss as well as a goal against fourth ranked Salisbury. Mike leads the team in power play goals and hits, and his aggressive solid play continually jumpstarts our team. His goal on Saturday night against Salisbury was particularly noteworthy as he gathered in a pass from his line mate and watched as the Salisbury goaltender (who is committed to go the Cornell to play hockey) slid across to make a save, but Mike out-waited him and then calmly shot the puck into the left corner to tie the score and give Kent a later first period jolt. Coach Combs puts it best when he calls Mike “the heart and soul of this team.”
CONGRATULATIONS, MIKE!

HILLARY COLLINS '10
GIRLS JV HOCKEY
01/14-01/17

A terrific leader of the girls JV team, Hillary has taken her game to new heights in the New Year improving her shot, skating and stick skills. Against Rumsey Hall, she opened the scoring and assisted on the second d goal. On Saturday the team traveled to Simsbury to square off with a solid Simsbury High team. Showing creativity, hard back-checking and aggressive fore-checking, she was again a menace to the opposition. She set up a line-mate to give Kent an early 1st period lead. After Simsbury tied the game in the second she lead the fore-check that got us back in front. In the third period she scored again to give us a 3-2 lead then in overtime she fed center Erin Lidl a great pass in front of the net for the game
winner.

CONGRATULATIONS, HILLARY!

THEODORE BOYOMO '10
BOYS VARSITY BASKETBALL
01/14-01/17

In three wins over Founders League opponents this week, Theodore averaged 19 points, 18 rebounds, and 9 blocks per game. An intimidating presence on both ends of the court, he forces teams to adjust to him. Also an Honor Roll student, he works hard off as well as on the court. With these victories—over Trinity-Pawling, Loomis Chaffee and Taft the team is in the hunt for a league championship and post season tournament berth.

CONGRATULATIONS, THEODORE!

JASON ADAMS '10
BOYS VARSITY SWIMMING
01/10-01/16

In his first swim meet at Kent and the season opener against Loomis Chaffee, Jason Adams broke two school records. He established new records in the 200 yard Individual Medley with a time of 2:05.66 and in the 100 Yard Butterfly with a time of 53.03. Additionally, he also placed first in both the relays he swam: the 200 Yard Medley Relay (along with teammates Cory Grever, Benton Bair, and Jeff Yung) and the 400 Yard Freestyle Relay (with teammates Cory Grever, Shaw Bridges, and Benton Bair). Jason’s excellent swimming helped set the tone to keep the meet very tight against a fast Loomis team.

MATHILDE FOGELSTROM '11
GIRLS VARSITY BASKETBALL
01/10-01/16

Mathilde has had an excellent week playing well on both the defensive and offensive side of the court. In
Monday’s win vs. Loomis Chaffee, Mathilde scored six points and had four rebounds. On Wednesday vs. Ethel Walker, she scored 12 points and added two assists to go along with three steals. Mathilde has worked hard on
developing her skills all season. Her continued improvement was more than evident this week.

CONGRATULATIONS, MATHILDE!