Varsity Spring Teams are Wrapping Up Their Seasons
From Athletics Director Andy Pogach:
We are nearing the end of the 2024 spring regular season, and our student-athletes are preparing for the home stretch run. Here are updates from each of our nine varsity teams and important upcoming dates:
Varsity Boys Baseball (7-7, 3-3 TISAC)
DA varsity boys baseball is on a roll after sweeping a three-game series from conference rival Cary Academy. The Diamond Cavs took tight one-run wins over the Chargers early last week and finished with a decisive 16-7 win at Cary. In the first game’s 3-2 home victory, the Cavs rallied from a 2-0 deficit with two runs in the fifth and a walk-off walk from sophomore Charles Roederer in the bottom of the seventh. Sophomore Brady Pollard was the offensive star, going 3-for-4 from the plate with two runs scored and an RBI. Senior CW Hollenbeck pitched six strong innings, giving up just one earned run while striking out 10. In the second matchup, the Cavs and Chargers were locked in a pitchers duel as senior Emmet Christian was phenomenal on the mound, going eight innings and giving up just two runs while striking out 12. Each team scored a run in the third, but the Cavs struck for two in the ninth thanks to a Hollenbeck RBI. Pollard, who had thrown out the would-be winning run at the plate in the seventh, came in to secure the final three outs and preserve the one-run win in nine innings.
Last Friday night in Cary was anything but a pitchers duel, as the Cavs and Chargers scored as many runs in the first three innings as they did in the previous 16 innings of the week. Trailing 5-3 in the third, the Cavs would outscore the Chargers 11-2 the rest of the way thanks to a three-hit and four-RBI night from senior Thomas Pollard. Hollenbeck, junior Amare Burrus and eighth-grader Zach Plavnik each had two hits, while ninth-grader Austin Gunsch and Hollenbeck each drove in three. Plavnik earned the first win of his career by pitching three innings in relief, giving up just one run and two hits. On Tuesday, the Cavs dropped the first game of a three-game set with North Raleigh Christian Academy, which extended its unbeaten streak in conference play to seven games with a 6-5 win in eight innings. The Cavs and Knights will meet Thursday at DA before their rubber game Friday in Raleigh.
Varsity Boys Tennis (9-5, 2-1 TISAC)
The varsity boys tennis team also took three wins last week, including conference victories over both NRCA and Ravenscroft. Nine different Cavs appeared in the lineup in their 9-0 sweep at North Raleigh. The duo of junior Jet Bilsborrow and sophomore Eli Werness took an 8-0 win at first doubles before each winning straight-set singles matches on the top two courts. Juniors Andrew Lim (court 3), Justin Kim (court 4), Aneesh Patkar (court 5) and Joel Tapper (court 6) also won their singles matches in straight sets. Lim and sophomore Andy Ye won 8-1 at second doubles, while ninth-grader Everett Sun and junior Sarp Erden were 8-2 winners at third doubles.
Last Thursday in Raleigh, the Cavs and Ravens played as tight of a high school match as you will see — with the Cavs ultimately taking three of four third sets in singles play to win 6-3. The Cavs took wins at second doubles (Werness/Ye) and third doubles (Tapper/Erden) for a 2-1 lead. The Cavs trailed early in singles play as only Werness on court 2 and Kim on court 6 won their first sets. Lim on court 5 was the first match off as Andrew rallied for a 2-6, 6-1, 10-5 victory. With Kim’s straight-set victory on six, the Cavs needed just one more singles match for the team win. Werness was the clincher as he battled for a 6-2, 3-6, 11-9 victory. Bilsborrow added the sixth point with an impressive third-set rally. He trailed his third set 0-6 and 2-8 before coming back to win 12-10.
Varsity Girls Lacrosse (8-4, 5-0 TISAC)
Fourth Consecutive Conference Championship
After starting their season 0-3, the DA varsity girls lacrosse team rattled off eight straight wins — including five over conference foes — to win their fourth straight league title. In fact, the Cavs have not dropped a TISAC contest since April of 2019, a run of 24 straight conference wins. Last week, the Cavs went on the road and defeated St. Mary’s 15-11 in Raleigh. The game was tight in the first half before the Cavs pulled away in the third quarter thanks to hat tricks from seniors Evelyn Guyer, Fleming Burkert, Kyla Newkirk and sophomore Sasha Bilsborrow.
DA’s senior night win over Ravenscroft saw the nine DA seniors play a big role in the 14-9 victory. The trio of Newkirk (five goals), Guyer (four goals) and Burkert (three goals) led the way. For Coach Debbie Rebosa, who recently won her 100th game as coach of the Cavs, her team is peaking at the right time. Guyer leads the Cavs in goals this season with 46, while Newkirk has 33 and Burkert has added 23. Senior Maisie Moylan (18) and junior Saia Rampersaud (14) are second and third on the team in ground balls only behind the team leader Guyer (32). Junior Stella Edwards has been stellar in goal with 64 saves and a 37% save percentage.
Varsity Boys Lacrosse (9-5, 3-0 TISAC)
The varsity boys lacrosse team is in the drivers’ seat for a conference crown following a 6-5 comeback win at Ravenscroft. Sophomore Camden Hughes scored four goals, including the game-tying and go-ahead goals in the fourth quarter. Senior Clay Meredith scored twice and junior Connor Corbett added two assists as the Cavs survived the tough Ravens test. In last week’s 14-1 win at NRCA, the Cavs scored early and often and used this opportunity for the entire roster to get some action on the field. Senior Jude Ng Cashin led the way on the offensive side with four goals and one assist while Meredith, Corbett and junior Will Putman each scored twice. Putman was also 14 for 17 on face-offs. Junior Gage Rogers made three saves in goal.
Varsity Softball (0-12, 0-7 TISAC)
The softball team played one of their most competitive games of the season in a 23-12 home loss to Ravenscroft. After spotting the Ravens 11 runs in the top of the first, the DA bats went to work with eight runs in the bottom of the first and then three more in the second to cut the Ravens lead to 12-11. While the Cavs couldn’t quite complete the comeback, there were a lot of offensive highlights. Ninth-graders Stella Teis and Ry Tarpey were each 3-for-4 at the plate with two RBI. Seventh-grader Claire Lynch had two hits and an RBI, while junior Matelon Barber and eighth-grader Vera Ruth each had two RBI. Teis and junior Maya Patel combined to strike out five Ravens. Last Tuesday, the Cavs fell 17-2 to St. Mary’s in Raleigh. The Cavs’ 13 runs in a 28-13 loss to Grace Christian School was a season high. Junior Whitney Wiles drove in four runs, while classmate Kate Ryan had two RBI. Teis and Wiles combined for three strikeouts.
A special congrats goes out to head coach Emily Sword, who gave birth to her second child last week. We appreciate the dedication of Coach Sword, who coached the softball team all the way up until the final days before the arrival of her son Wesley.
Varsity Girls Soccer (4-6-1, 3-4 TISAC)
Coach Ellis’s girls soccer team has been hit by the injury bug this year, but the Cavs are still battling as they hope to garner a home game in the upcoming state tournament. The Cavs split TISAC games last week, taking a 4-0 road win against St. Mary’s before falling 4-2 to Ravenscroft on their senior night. Sophomore Anna Morris has been a scoring machine for the Cavs as she had two goals in the win over the Saints and the opening goal in the loss to the Ravens. Morris scored in the second minute as her speed was the difference, beating multiple Saints defenders before scoring on a beautiful finesse finish midway through the half to put DA up 2-0. Sophomore Lylah Camire also added a goal in the second half for the Cavs. Last week, Morris put the Cavs on the board midway through the first half and thanks to some key saves from sophomore Morgan Yohn, the Cavs held a 1-0 lead at the break. The Ravens answered with two goals in the second before a great finish from junior Beckett Moylan tied the game up at two. A win over the Ravens was not meant to be, as the opposition scored twice in the final 13 minutes to spoil the DA senior night.
Varsity Boys Golf — 6th in NCISAA D1 Rankings
The boys golf team has had success in their dual matches this year, defeating conference foes Cary Academy (307-322), Ravenscroft (155-167) and NRCA (308-311). In addition, the team finished second out of 20 in the prestigious Keith Hills tournament (eighth-grader Milan Rampersaud placed second and sophomore Hall Chapman placed fourth individually), ninth out of 18 at the Treyburn Invite and ninth out of 17 in the Wesleyan Invitational at Grandover. In their annual trip to the Palmetto tournament in Pawleys Island, the Cavs held their own. In a stacked NCISAA Division I field, the Cavs sit sixth as a team with the following individuals ranked in the top 60: Rampersaud (15), Chapman (16), sophomore William Linney (28), junior Miles Moore (53) and sophomore Tate Duensing (65).
Varsity Boys and Girls Track
The DA track teams each placed second behind host Cary Academy in a meet featuring the Cavs and Chargers, as well as Grace Christian School and St. Mary’s. Individual event winners included:
Ninth-grader Charlotte Gunsch – 200m
Senior Margaret Hulka – shotput and discus
Junior PJ Jeffries – high jump and long jump
Sophomore Atlas Lad – discus
Junior Ali Laros – high jump and pole vault
Senior Kate Parker – 400m
Senior Evan Pfeil – 100m
Junior James Saunders – 110m hurdles and 300m hurdles
Junior PJ Jeffries – high jump and long jump
Girls 4x200 (Giovanna Nogales-Norero, Olivia Rivers, Cleo Parisi, Haley Duncker)
According to athletic.net, here are the Cavs who are ranked in the top 10 of their event in NCISAA 4A:
Varsity Girls:
100m hurdles – Ama Mensah-Boone (7th)
300m hurdles – Ama Mensah-Boone (4th)
Shot Put – Margaret Hulka (4th)
Discus – Margaret Hulka (6th)
High Jump – Ava Rose Turek (4th), Ali Laros (4th), Charlotte Gunsch (10th)
Pole Vault – Ali Laros (1st), Anna Savage (6th)
Varsity Boys:
400m – Zylen Campbell (7th)
110m hurdles – James Saunders (2nd), Jason Hugh (6th)
300m hurdles – James Saunders (3rd), Jason Hugh (10th)
Discus – Atlas Lad (8th)
High Jump – PJ Jeffries (2nd)
Long Jump – PJ Jeffries (4th)
Thank you to all who attended our spring SIGNING DAY on Apr. 18 as we celebrated Emmet Christian (Baseball-Tufts), Allison Hall (Track/XC – Tulane), Kate Norry (Volleyball-Bates), and Thomas Pollard (Baseball-Kenyon).
IMPORTANT UPCOMING DATES:
Weds 5/1 – Golf Senior Day
Thurs 5/2 – Boys Lacrosse and Boys Tennis Senior Days
Friday 5/3 – Baseball and Softball Senior Days
Tuesday 5/7 – Golf TISAC Championship in Raleigh, NCISAA 1R Contests
Thursday 5/9 – NCISAA 2R Contests
Friday-Saturday 5/10-11 – TISAC Meet at Ravenscroft
Saturday 5/11 – NCISAA Quarterfinal Contests
Mon-Tuesday 5/13-14 – NCISAA State Golf Championship at Bryan Park in Greensboro
Tuesday 5/14- NCISAA State Semifinals
Friday-Saturday 5/17-18 – NCISAA Meet at Cary Academy
Saturday 5/18 – NCISAA State Championships
Sunday 5/19 – Spring Varsity Athletics Awards Assembly – Horton Hall
Thank you as always for your support of our student-athletes!
Andy Pogach
Athletics Director