Taft Sports News

Evans '10 Nabs League MVP

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Chris Evans '10 was named the most valuable player of the Western New England Basketball League. Evans, who became Taft's single season scoring leader with 537 points, averaged 22.4 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game. The 6'3'' senior was also named a New England all-league performer in football in the fall. Evans and the Taft basketball team earned the #1 seed in the Western New England Basketball Tournament and will face Salisbury on Wednesday March 3rd in quarterfinal action. Tip-off in the Cruikshank gym is set for 3:30PM.

Evans is set to continue his student-athlete career at Sacred Heart next fall.

Bowdoin Bear Snags Honor

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Junior Brendan Reich '07 is leading a National power right when it counts. With the playoffs looming mere days away, Reich is playing some of his best hockey. The the Bowdoin Polar Bears ranked in the top 15 in the country, every win counts. On the weekend of the February 13th, Reich scored three important goals and tallied an assist in a 2-0-0 weekend that put Bowdoin atop the NESCAC rankings. Proclaimed a "special teams specialist", the former Taftie has netted six power play goals, included five against NESCAC opponents. However, his overall point production is far from unbalanced. On the year for the Polar Bears Reich has scored eight goals and setup others with seven assists ranking seventh on the team for overall points, and third in scoring for Bowdoin defensemen. Currently in sole possession of the #1 spot, Reich and Bowdoin are poised to host the NESCAC tourney and go deep in the NCAA's.

Boys' Hockey Plays for a Cause

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The 2009 – 2010 Varsity Boys’ Hockey Team is a little different than the varsity hockey teams of recent memory. One way in which they have distinguished themselves from previous teams is that they are a varsity team comprised of no postgraduates. Rather than a team of one year players, the 2009-10 team is led by a group of twelve seniors of which nine of the twelve are in their third or fourth year at Taft! It is this point that I believe resonates with the Taft community. This is a group of young men that take tremendous pride in playing for their school, but also playing for the school motto “Non Ut Sibi ministretur sed ut ministret / Not to be served, but to serve.” In fact, the 2009 – 2010 varsity boys’ hockey team has taken on three causes for charity this season to support those that are in need and to show that they are truly thankful for playing hockey at Taft.

The first charity event that the boys took part in was the “Prep School Winter Classic” at Fenway Park. When the team found out that they would be given this unique opportunity and that Cam Neely was instrumental with providing them with this opportunity, Captain Thomas Freyre, and Assistants John Barr and Mike Petchonka immediately said “How can we show our appreciation?” Two ideas which came up were to sell commemorative “The Game – Winter Classic” t–shirts and sweatshirts that was spear-headed by Coach Dan Murphy’s brother-in-law Graham Leveston and to wear “Retro” jerseys for the game and then sell them to members of The Taft Community at the end of the season with all the profits from the sales going to the Cam Neely Foundation (http://www.camneelyfoundation.org/).

The second event this year’s team participated in was a Breast Cancer Awareness game against Choate Rosemary Hall that was sponsored by Choate and the thought of Choate senior hockey player Dan Linnell. As participants in this game, thanks to Dave Hinman, Taft’s Athletic Director, and Ginger O’Shea, Taft’s Assistant Athletic Director, the Taft team all sported “Pink” hockey socks to support the cause, and as a result both schools and teams pulled off a memorable night for all those that were involved. In all, the event at Choate raised close to $15,000.00 for Breast Cancer Awareness.

The third contribution the “skating rhinos” made was to Partners in Health for relief of the January 12th earthquake disaster in Haiti. Upon hearing about the tragic event in Haiti, again the senior class responded with the question “what can we do to help?” They decided to have all the monies generated from snack bar sales from the weekend games against the Canterbury School and Northfield Mt. Hermon to be donated to Partners in Health, which resulted in a team donation of $700.00! This team’s altruistic mindset has not stopped at the aforementioned events. The team is also doing their share this month with Taft’s participation in the “Green Cup” challenge by practicing with the lights in Odden Arena on low to help conserve electricity!

The efforts that the 2009-2010 Boys’ Varsity Hockey team will not end when the season concludes this winter. The team will continue to sell their retro “Fenway Jersey” until supplies are exhausted. If you would like to purchase the Fenway commemorative jersey, or contribute to any of the hockey teams endeavors, please contact Head Coach Dan Murphy via e-mail @ dmurphy@taftschool.org

Taft “Fenway Jersey” can be purchased with or without a number on the back.
The pricing is as follows:
Jersey with no number: $150.00
Jersey with number: $175.00

City Squash Visits Taft

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The intercity New York squash program called "City Squash" is providing a great service both to its involved youth but also for prep schools. The programs takes underprivileged youth from New York City and places them in the realm of athletics. Although squash may have the air of elitism to some, City Squash is taking those who normally would have no exposure to the sport and teaching them how to be skillful artists on the court. City Squash's youths are recruited to some of the best Prep Schools in the Northeast. The support given to the fortunate and driven few that manage to navigate the demands in courts and in the classrooms of City Squash are given an education and life that otherwise would have been a mere dream.

Taft is benefiting from one worthy graduate of City Squash. Andrew Cadienhead '13 is in his first year at Taft and has already made a splash in the squash circuit. On a team that just recently placed 5th at the 2010 Squash Team Nationals at Yale, Cadienhead has held the #5 or #6 spot on the talented team. Most importantly, Andrew is working hard both in the gym and in the classroom - a testament to the program that introduced him to Taft.

On February 15th, Taft hosted the City Squash program. "As a school, it was great to give something back to a program that has given so many kids unbelievable opportunities," said Boys' Varsity Squash Coach WT Miller. Both the Girls' and Boys' programs played with visiting City Squash players. The squash portion of the visit culminated with Taft's #1 boy and girl, Zeyad Elshorfy '12 and Sachika Balvani '12, taking on Tim Wyant, the Executive Director of City Squash, in matches. Afterward, the two Taft teams escorted the New York youngsters to the newly renovated dining facilities. City Squash's visit to Taft was capped with an overnight next to the squash courts. "City Squash is such a great program. It was really nice to have them at Taft and see the smiles on their faces," said junior Boys' team captain Andy Cannon. "It was a special afternoon for us."

City Squash Visits Taft

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The intercity New York squash program called "City Squash" is providing a great service both to its involved youth but also for prep schools. The programs takes underprivileged youth from New York City and places them in the realm of athletics. Although squash may have the air of elitism to some, City Squash is taking those who normally would have no exposure to the sport and teaching them how to be skillful artists on the court. City Squash's youths are recruited to some of the best Prep Schools in the Northeast. The support given to the fortunate and driven few that manage to navigate the demands in courts and in the classrooms of City Squash are given an education and life that otherwise would have been a mere dream.

Taft is benefiting from one worthy graduate of City Squash. Andrew Cadienhead '13 is in his first year at Taft and has already made a splash in the squash circuit. On a team that just recently placed 5th at the 2010 Squash Team Nationals at Yale, Cadienhead has held the #5 or #6 spot on the talented team. Most importantly, Andrew is working hard both in the gym and in the classroom - a testament to the program that introduced him to Taft.

On February 15th, Taft hosted the City Squash program. "As a school, it was great to give something back to a program that has given so many kids unbelievable opportunities," said Boys' Varsity Squash Coach WT Miller. Both the Girls' and Boys' programs played with visiting City Squash players. The squash portion of the visit culminated with Taft's #1 boy, Zeyad Elshorfy, taking on Tim Wyant, the Executive Director of City Squash, in a match. Afterward, the two Taft teams escorted the New York youngsters to the newly renovated dining facilities. City Squash's visit to Taft was capped with an overnight next to the squash courts. "City Squash is such a great program. It was really nice to have them at Taft and see the smiles on their faces," said junior Boys' team captain Andy Cannon. "It was a special afternoon for us."

Lloyd Gets Conference Nod

Sat, 13 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

For the second time this winter, a Taft Hockey alum was named the New England Small College Athletic Conference Player of the Week. Former Taft standout skater Geneva Lloyd '09 was honored by the NESCAC for her play for Amherst College last week. Lloyd scored twice and had two assists in a week that the Lord Jeffs went 3-0-0 at the pivotal close to their season. The Jeffs have been ranked #1 for much of the season, and are serious National Title contenders thanks to the play of Lloyd.

Starting the season as a defensemen, Lloyd recently switched to forward with no lapse in point production. Lloyd currently ranks ninth in point scoring for the entire NESCAC and second first-years. Not only does Lloyd score goals, she is integral to the Amherst office. Lloyd is first on the team in scoring and assists. Her assist totals rank third overall in the league with 16 assists in this year's campaign.

The Jeffs are heading into an important part of their season. Amherst faced rival Williams in the final regular season matchups. Amherst and Lloyd took the first game 6-3 to end first in the league. As a result the Jeffs will host the NESCAC Tourney next weekend.

World #27 Pro Dazzles

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Miguel Rodriguez, PSA #27 in the world, came to Taft on Thursday, January 28 to work out with our boy's Varsity and JV squash teams. Miguel is from Colombia and he was in town playing in the Tournament of Champions at Grand Central Station. Miguel wowed us with his amazing shot making and showmanship. He was an incredibly fit athlete and he gave the boys some valuable lessons in how to approach athletics. It was a fabulous afternoon of squash, fun and laughs. We hope to have Miguel come back next year.

World #27 Pro Dazzles

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Tender Earns Player of the Week

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Michigan native Becca Hazlett '09 has made an immediate impact on Hamilton's Hockey program. Starting almost every game for the Continentals in net, Hazlett has amassed some impressive statistics. She is currently ranked 2nd in the league for Save Percentage with .942 (373 saves with 23 goals against). One week in particular set the Big Red alumnus apart. In a three game week, Hazlett recorded 104 saves against Rochester Institute of Technology (49), Colby (20), and Bowdoin (35). Although Hamilton went 1-2-0 overall on the weekend, for her standout performance Hazlett was named the NESCAC Player of the Week - her first distinction of this kind.

After being a standout tender for the Big Red, Hazlett joined a Hamilton program with high aspirations. With just four games left in the regular season, Hamilton is ranked sixth in the NESCAC and looking to make a splash in the NESCAC tournament.

Grads Earn NESCAC Honors

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

In the spring of 2009, Taft had one of its best golf season ever. At 14-1 and a first place finish at the Founders' League Championships, the Taft Boys' Golf program is establishing itself as a premier program in New England. As with all sports, Taft's present success is heavily due to past seniors and captains that have graced the Watertown links. Three such players have earned distinction for their seasons at the next level.

Senior Reid Longley '06 decided to continue his golf and academic career Trinity College in Hartford, CT. He was joined as a Bantam two years later by teammate and Sophomore Alex Bermingham '08. Junior Brad Roche '07 chosen to compete against his fellow Tafties and joined Hamilton's team after his time at Taft. All three players were named to the 2009 New England Small College Athletic Conference. Both Roche and Bermingham earned 1st Team All-NESCAC distinction while Longley was named to the 2nd team.

The 2009 All-NESCAC Men's Golf Teams and Distinctions