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Spartan News
Friday, March 2, 2018:
In Thursday’s Athletic Action…..Congratulations to the Girls Varsity Basketball Team (19-10). They beat Carrollwood Day School to win their 5th consecutive State Championship. Below is an article by Bill Daley in the Miami Herald.
One wondered whether it was the usual “coach speak” when Miami Country Day girls’ basketball head coach Ochiel Swaby warned anybody listening at a press conference the day before his 4A state championship game with Tampa Carrollwood Day that “this will be a tough, challenging game for us,” or if he really meant it. Turns out Swaby was right on the money. A Country Day team that for the past four years has practically owned Lakeland, winning its previous nine state games by an average of 32 points, did no such thing Thursday afternoon. With a state-tying record fifth consecutive state championship on the line, the Spartans got pushed to the absolute limit before rallying for a 57-45 win against Carrollwood Day at the RP Funding Center. And with the win, they matched Jacksonville Ribault’s five titles in a row from 1999 to 2003.
Country Day (19-10) not only trailed at halftime, but when Jaden Harris dropped a three-pointer at the 5:05 mark of the third, they found themselves in a 38-31 hole. “It had been frustrating for the girls up to that point, but there was no panic because what happened today was why we went out and put together such a tough regular-season schedule,” Swaby said. “We took our lumps early on and actually think we lost three in a row at one point, but ultimately going through something like that prepares you for what they had to dealt with today when things did not go well early on.” Country Day struggled in the first half and was just 10 of 36 shooting from the floor at halftime. But, with junior Koi Love leading the way, the Spartans didn’t panic and battled their way back, going on a 13-2 run after the 38-31 deficit to take a four-point lead before a Carrollwood three-pointer made it 44-43 going to the fourth. Love continued to drive the lane and force the action in the fourth and not only finished with a game-high 25 points, eight of those coming in the fourth, but the leading rebounder, as well, with 13.
“We definitely scouted this team and had a game plan, so obviously when we were down seven, we weren’t doing what we were supposed to be doing,” said Love, who has multiple college offers but is uncommitted. “It was just a matter of talking to the rest of the team during timeouts and keep pushing. We just kept stressing defense, to just keep playing defense and the offense eventually would come and it did.” One member of the team who has gotten awfully used to collecting championship hardware is junior guard Maria Alvarez. Making the team as a seventh-grader, she is the lone Spartan to be a part of all five championship teams. “I feel so fortunate because nobody wins championships by themselves,” said Alvarez, the team’s three-point sharpshooter who had a quiet day with just six points (0-for-4 from beyond the arc) as the Patriots (28-4) concentrated on keeping her from getting good looks. “You have to play for a great coach, and we have one in Coach O (Swaby), and also be around a lot of special players, as well. This year was especially tough because we really had to work hard to bring the chemistry together early on, so to be here today is really something.” Said Swaby: “The first one is always special and will remain so, but I think we’re going to relish this one more than any other because of everything we had to battle through this year and the way we battled back today and got tested. When you have to fight like we did today, it makes it awfully special.”
MCD: Love 25, Berry 10, Shaw 9, Alvarez 6, McCormack 3, J. Theodule 2, Taylor 2. CD: McGill 10, Harris 10, Gary 9, McMillan 7, Mays 7, Dizon 2. Three pointers: Harris 2, Love, Shaw, McCormack, Gary. Rebounds: Love 13. Assists: J. Theodule 5. Steals: Alvarez 6. Half: CD 31-27.
In Other Action…..The Boys Middle School Tennis Team (4-0) beat Gulliver 5-2. Max Castanon, Daniel Tzalik, Efe Destri, and Luica Donayre all won their singles matches, and Daniel and Efe won their doubles match. The Girls Middle School Tennis Team (2-2) lost to Gulliver 4-3. Brookie Kovacs, and Remi Rosenfeld each won their singles matches, and Scout Hudson and Nina Vara won their doubles match. The Boys Junior Varsity Lacrosse Team (1-1) beat Belen 5-3. Ryan Mendelson led the way with 2 goals and an assist, Kyle Garg, Julius Klepach, and Elliot Surnamer all scored, Ethan Mayer-Perez added an assist, and Sasha Carrillo and Zachary Babil played well. The Varsity Lacrosse Team (0-4) lost to Belen 15-3. Evan Mendelson and Noah Reines each had a goal and an assist, Zachary Hart scored, and Sean Fuller, Noah Florin, and Alex Sayfie all played well. The Middle School Baseball Team (0-1) lost to Doctors Charter 11-4. Avi Murphy and Yoav Haiat each singled and drove in 2 runs, and Jake Goldberg threw well.
In Today’s Athletic Events…..The Girls and Boys Varsity Tennis Teams travel to Westminster Christian at 3:15pm, the Varsity Lacrosse Team travels to Martin County High School at 7pm, and the Varsity Baseball Team hosts SLAM Academy at 7pm.
On Saturday….The Boys Middle School Baseball Team hosts Marathon in a double-header at 10am/12:30pm, the Middle School (JV) Lacrosse Team travels to Belen at 9/10:30am, the Middle School (Varsity) Lacrosse Team travels to Palmer-Trinity at 10:30am/12pm, and the Girls and Boys Water Polo Teams have their Community Service Project beginning at 9am.
Winter Sports Awards Ceremony…… Just a friendly reminder that the Winter Sports Awards Ceremony will take place on Wednesday, March 7, at 6:45pm in the J. Calvin Rose Athletic Center. We will be serving food at 6pm, the slide show will start at 6:30pm, followed by the awards ceremony at 6:45pm. For those who are new, we will collectively begin in the gymnasium. Hope to see everyone there!
