Contributors: Bria Irizarry, Colleen Gunning and Ryan Killen
Twitter: @daathletics
Instagram: @dacavsathletics
Cross-Country
On Thursday, the boys cross-country team hosted Cary Christian School and Trinity School of Durham and Chapel Hill. Junior Stuart Roessler scored first for the Cavs and third overall, with a time of 19:20, followed by sophomore Roger Brooks, who finished in 10th place overall. The Cavs came in third place with a total of 53 points.
On Saturday morning, both the boys and girls teams traveled to WakeMed Soccer Park for an early contest vs. Cary Academy. The boys scored three runners in the top 5 of the A race to give them the edge over the Chargers, 25–30. Senior Jay Shanahan led the group with a time of 16:24, finishing in second place. Behind him were seniors Kabir Khwaja and Ryan Norris in third and fourth place. Sophomore Aaron Caveney crossed the finish line in seventh place overall, and junior George Linney rounded out the scoring for the Cavs in ninth place.
On the girls side, ninth-grader Allison Hall and senior Anna Catherine Wilson participated in the A race and earned times of 18:44 and 19:46. This ultimately put them in first and second place among all the female runners. In the B race, senior Lucy Steiner completed the race at 21:40, which was fifth place overall, and classmates Maggie Chambliss and Abby Goldman crossed the finish in eighth and ninth place to give the Cavs the boost over Cary Academy 25–30.
Both teams face off against Wake Christian Academy at home today at 4 p.m.
Varsity Field Hockey
The Cavs were back on Moylan Field this week for the first home games of the season vs. Cary Christian and Ravenscroft. Despite a 1–0 loss to Cary Christian, the Cavs played tough on both ends. Junior goalkeeper Mirella Kades made crucial saves to slow the Knights’ momentum and only let one up in the final eight minutes. DA battled to the end with a number of last-minute pushes on offense, but nothing came of it, leaving the Knights’ goal unanswered.
The Cavs also hosted Ravenscroft on Monday in an exciting overtime win on Senior Night. Big contributions from senior Cecile Meredith on the defensive end and senior Katherine Lantzy on offense kept the Cavs competitive. A quick Ravens goal 25 seconds into the second half gave them the first lead of the game. DA picked up the pace on offense, earning multiple good looks off corners, but the Cavs were unable to get any past the Ravens’ goalkeeper. With the clock expiring, a big play by sophomore Siri Oehler found sophomore Annie Waters upfield to earn another corner for the Cavs. Lantzy took this opportunity and drilled the ball to the back boards to tie the game with two minutes remaining. Meredith kept the Cavs defense strong, despite the advancing Ravens offense, sending the game into overtime. After a few minutes of back and forth, Lantzy again wove through the box, drew the foul for a penalty shot, and sank one in the net to end the game 2–1! The Cavs are now 1–2 on the season heading to Raleigh on Friday to face Ravenscroft again at 5:15 p.m.
Varsity Girls Golf
The varsity girls golf team remains undefeated after Tuesday’s 242–295 win over TISAC opponent Cary Academy. Eighth-grader Saia Rampersaud broke a DA school record with a 74 at Hope Valley Country Club. Sophomore Ona Lukes (78) and eighth-grader Chloe French (90) also brought in scores for DA. The Cavs look to stretch their winning streak to four matches when they host North Raleigh Christian Academy for 18 holes on Tuesday.
Varsity Girls Tennis
The Cavs defeated the Ravens by a score of 6–3 on Tuesday night. Senior Ameya Bellamkonda and ninth-grader Godiya Mangai defeated the Ravens’ top pairing 8–4 after falling to them earlier this season. It was a fantastic bounce-back performance from the duo. Junior Mukta Dharmapurikar and ninth-grader Kiersten Hackman also won their matchup 8–4. DA led 2–1 after doubles, needing just to split singles 3–3 to get the win. Wins on courts 3–6 from Mangai, junior Chloe Bayer, junior Fiona Jenkins and Hackman ensured the victory for the Cavs. The 6–3 win over their conference rival puts DA at 4–1 on the season. The girls are back in action at home today against Saint Mary’s School at 4:15 p.m.
Varsity Boys Soccer
Boys soccer fell short on Tuesday night to Ravenscroft, losing 2–1. The Cavs came out with the majority of the possession to start the evening, but Ravenscroft soon started to gain control of the game. The Cavs defended well to keep the score at 0–0 at the end of the half. Senior Walker Benjamin registered the Cavs’ sole shot on target in the half. Ravenscroft came out of the gate flying in the second half, notching two goals inside the first nine minutes. The first was a long-range effort that barely snuck past sophomore goalkeeper Collin Thornburg’s front post. The second was a well-executed corner kick. Sophomore Robert Hillhouse nearly made a great goal-line clearance, but he couldn’t quite get enough contact on the ball. Midway through the second half, the Cavs started to create some shots and chances, but Ravenscroft held firm. With about two minutes to go, the Cavs drew a penalty, which Benjamin was able to convert, despite the keeper getting a hand on it. The Cavs pushed to get another, but it was too little too late. The loss puts DA at 1–1 on the season, and the team will be back in action on Thursday against Wake Christian.
Volleyball
DA volleyball remains undefeated after back-to-back wins vs. Ravenscroft and Cary Academy this week.
The Cavs earned a decisive 25–17 victory in the first set vs. the Ravens on Monday night, but the Ravens continued to fight as the game wore on. The Ravens pulled within four in the second set, but DA held out, winning 25–21. The Ravens inched closer in the third set, but the Cavs were able to secure the win 25–22 to overcome the Ravens on the road.
On Wednesday, the Cavs came out strong with junior Stacey Kang on the serve, earning the team the first six points on the board. The Chargers regrouped and showed some aggressive offense to tie the game at 12, but the Cavs answered back with tough defense on the net to win the set 25–19. DA maintained their energy and got out to a sizable lead to go on to win the second set 25–17. Things did not come as easily in the third set. After multiple lead changes, and notable defensive play by Hannah Kohn, the Cavs came out on top, 25–13.
The Cavs return to the court on Tuesday when they host Grace Christian Academy at 5:45 p.m.
Keeping up with the Cavs
As always, you can keep up with the Cavs on Durham Academy’s website and the Durham Academy App (available on the Apple App Store).
- For a list of all teams, their schedules and directions to games, visit www.da.org/teams.
- Click on an individual team to subscribe to automatic alerts about athletics results, postponements and cancellations, calendar and athletic event reminders. You can also import team schedules into your electronic calendars.
- All information about the daily athletics schedule is also available on DA’s Athletics Hotline: 919-489-2534 (ext. 5).
The DA App: Schedules and Results
- The DA App allows you to keep up with athletics wherever you are. You can download the app from iTunes at http://bit.ly/DACavaliers. The DA App pulls athletics content directly from the DA website and delivers it to iOS-based devices including iPhone and iPad.
- The Athletics portion of the DA App (after launching, click Menu, then click Athletics to open) features results of recent games, a list of upcoming contests and team records.