The fall 2020 athletics season was unlike any other in Durham Academy’s history. Each game, match and meet was treated as a gift by the student-athletes and coaches — knowing how fortunate they were to compete, given the uncertainty cast by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The return to practices and eventually interscholastic competition was made gradually, with great care and with abundant safety protocols in place.
While being able to compete again was a significant victory in and of itself, the Cavs found much success on the field, court and course. With the conclusion of the fall season, DA was in third place in the 4A division of the Wells Fargo Cup, which is presented to the independent schools that have the best overall interscholastic sports program at the end of the year in each of the four classifications: 1A, 2A, 3A and 4A.
In a fall season that was not guaranteed, three Cavaliers teams — field hockey, girls tennis and volleyball — earned a spot in the state semifinals; the girls golf team earned a state runner-up finish; and 24 Cavs were named All-Conference.
Cross-Country
DA boys cross-country took fourth place at the 2020 N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association state championship meet. The team ran a close race with Covenant Day School but lost the tie-breaker to secure 84 total points, despite four out of seven Cavaliers running season-best times. Senior Jay Shanahan placed third overall with a time of 15:58, nearly 30 seconds faster than he ran the course last year at states. Senior Ryan Norris crossed the finish in 13th place at 16:49, and classmate Kabir Khwaja placed 19th with a time of 17:08, more than 30 seconds faster than last year. The Cavs finished with runners in 21st, 28th, 37th and 49th place.
DA girls cross-country took sixth place at the NCISAA meet. The team was led by ninth-grader Allison Hall, who crossed the finish at 19:00, in second place overall. Five DA runners completed the race with season-best times to score a total of 173 points, just behind Triangle Independent Schools Athletic Conference opponent Cary Academy, which scored 151 points. Senior Anna Catherine Wilson was the second runner to score for the Cavs, crossing the finish line at 19:30 and in seventh place overall. Senior Lucy Steiner finished in 25th place overall with a time of 20:49. The rest of the girls team placed 66th, 68th, 72nd and 75th.
Boys Soccer
The varsity boys soccer team advanced to the state quarterfinals, where the Cavs gave it their best effort but ultimately fell to Wesleyan Christian Academy. From the start of the first whistle, the Cavs went on the attack. Senior Charlie Robb had the Cavs’ best chance of the game in those first minutes as he snuck in behind the Wesleyan defense, but his shot was saved by the goalkeeper. Wesleyan started to get a better hold on the match toward the end of the first half. For about a 10-minute segment in the second half, the Cavs threw all they had at Wesleyan with shot after shot and corner kick after corner kick, but just couldn’t quite find the back of the net. Wesleyan played a high back line all night, almost tempting the Cavs to beat them in behind on a through ball, but other than the early breakaway from Robb, the Cavs just couldn’t quite find that decisive pass.
With about 10 minutes remaining in the game, Wesleyan started to go on the attack, and with a little over seven minutes remaining, they found the all-important first goal of the game. It came from a right-side cross along the ground, right into the path of an attacker who slotted the ball into the corner of the net, leaving no chance for senior goalkeeper Sam Datin to make a save. Datin did make a couple of incredible saves to keep the score level, but the one goal would be all Wesleyan needed to get the win. It was an unfortunate way to end the season in a game that could have gone either way. DA finished the year with a 6–3 record.
Volleyball
The Cavs had an outstanding performance in the state quarterfinal, topping the Wake Christian Bulldogs 3–1 (28–26, 23–25, 27–25, 25–19) at home to advance to the state semifinal. However, DA volleyball saw its season come to a close in the NCISAA state semifinal at Cannon School when the team lost its second match of the year 3–1 to the Cougars. The Cavs got off to a great start, going on a 9–1 run in the first set and eventually leading 10–5. After some monumental serves by sophomore Hannah Kohn, DA took the first set 25–19.
The Cougars matched the Cavs’ intensity, jumping out to an 11–5 advantage in the second set. DA could not recover from the early deficit and lost the second set 25–12. DA began the third set neck-and-neck with the Cougars. Sophomore Olivia Kohn had some offensive firepower on serve, but, again, the Cougars outscored the Cavaliers 25–14 to go down two sets to one. The fourth set was a battle for the lead between both teams, with the score tied up at 4, 9, 13 and 17 before Cannon eventually took the set 25–19 and the match 3–1.
DA volleyball ends the year with an 8–2 overall record and 6–1 conference record. Senior Elizabeth Kohn ends her DA career with a team-high 130 kills on the season, while junior Gabby Marchese finished with 20 serving aces and sophomore Hannah Kohn finished with 153 digs for the Cavs.
Girls Golf
Girls golf finished 4–2 in the regular season, losing only to NRCA in two matches. In one of those matches, sophomore Ona Lukes and eighth-grader Saia Rampersaud tied the school record for nine holes with a one under par. Rampersaud continued the pace to set a new school record for 18 holes with an even par 72.
DA took second place in the TISAC Championship match. Lukes shot a 75, Rampersaud followed with 77, and Kayley Kim shot a 93 to score for the Cavs. Rampersaud and Lukes were named All-TISAC players — their second and fourth time, respectively.
The Cavs finished the season strong, earning a state runner-up finish in the NCISAA tournament at Greensboro’s Bryan Park. Lukes remained even through 16 holes to place fourth overall with a score of 74. Rampersaud also placed for the Cavs, tying for eighth with 77. Kim came in with an 85 to tie for 16th and round out the Cavs’ scoring for a second-place finish. Additionally, senior Lydia Norman (90) tied for 20th, eighth-grader Chloe French (91) placed 22nd, and ninth-grader Evelyn Guyer (107) tied for 32nd out of a total 38 golfers.
Field Hockey
DA field hockey had an impressive postseason run this year, with an exciting quarterfinal win over Cary Christian School before falling to Providence Day in the state semifinals. In the matchup vs. Cary Christian, both sides were evenly matched and the game remained scoreless until the final four minutes.
With the clock winding down in regulation, the Cavs lined up for another opportunity to score off a corner. Junior Talbot Waters played the ball in to junior Emmie Savarino, who found senior Katherine Lantzy to send a hard shot past the Knights’ goalkeeper for the 1–0 lead. Junior Mirella Kades was big in goal for the Cavs, stopping all nine shots on goal and keeping Cary Christian from a last-minute equalizer.
DA advanced to the state semifinals in Charlotte but fell 8–0 to a very strong Providence Day team. The Cavs closed out the season with a 5–3 record.
Girls Tennis
The DA girls tennis team took down conference rival Ravenscroft 5–1 in the quarterfinal round of the NCISAA 4A state tournament. The Cavs’ third win over the Ravens this year pushed them into the state semifinals for a remarkable sixth consecutive season. After a solid 8–2 win on court three by ninth-grader Kiersten Hackman and sophomore Aerin Borden, the Cavs top court duo of senior Ameya Bellamkonda and ninth-grader Godiya Mangai lost 8–3. The pivotal second doubles match saw junior Mukta Dharmapurikar and sophomore Allison Preble battle back from 3–4 down to take an 8–6 win. Junior Chloe Bayer was the first off the court in singles play with a 6–0, 6–1 win on court four. Dharmapurikar was next off, with an impressive 6–0, 6–3 win over an opponent who had beaten her twice during the regular season. Preble clinched the match 6–2, 6–2 on court five.
The Cavs’ season came to a close when top seed and defending state champion Charlotte Latin handed the Cavs a 5–0 defeat in the state semifinals. This was the third straight year facing Latin in the state playoffs. Dharmapurikar was the only returning player from last year's state finalist team, while the Hawks returned their entire lineup and played like the defending state champs. The Cavaliers fell behind quickly in all three doubles matches, and despite some late-match energy from the third doubles team of Borden and Hackman, DA could only muster a total of seven doubles games between the three courts. In singles play, Mangai won her first set on court three, while Preble on five and junior Fiona Jenkins on six were very tight with their opponents when the Hawks clinched the match. The Cavs finished with a 9–2 record on the season with a state semifinals appearance.