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Boys Basketball
By Ethan Sloan ’15 | Staff Writer
Boy’s Basketball is starting up again this year, hoping to improve on their 5-16 record from last year, said Head Coach Troy Glasser.
The first game of the season is December 13th at North, Glasser said.
“It’s not how I would like to start the season, it will be a tough game to win,” said Glasser.
Practice began on Monday, November 18th, Glasser said.
“I want to improve on last year and develop a program with pride that is more competitive, I want it to be exciting for the students and staff to attend,” said Glasser.
As a team the boys did a lot of summer training, Jack Strachan’14 said. The team went to a basketball camp over the summer, and also played in some summer leagues.
“It (last season) was disappointing, a lot of games were neck and neck in the end, but we were outplayed,” said Strachan.
The team is looking good so far, there are a lot of good juniors and seniors coming back, Strachan said.
“I’m looking forward to our North game, it will be a lot of fun even though it’s at North,” said Strachan.
Boys Swimming
By Andrew Czajka ’15 | Staff Writer
South Boys swimming starts a new season with a championship meet in Saginaw against seven other teams in the state of Michigan.
“It should be a good challenge to start our new season because some of the teams are not easy competition,” said Patrick Jackson ’14.
The season’s toughest meet will be at Ann Arbor skyline because the team’s biggest rivals will be competing there, said Nicholas Yoo ’14.
The team’s goals for the new season are to beat many of their previous school records, said Jackson.
“For this season, we want to achieve one of the top three places in the state for their relay, because last season we were only able to get sixth place,” said Jackson. “We also want to get top 10 in the state and maintain a better record than last season.”
The biggest bright spots for the team this season are the returning members of the state team, said Yoo.
Traditions that have been key bonding moments for the team include the infamous Blue Devil hair bleaching and devil’s week, said Yoo.
To prepare for the season, the whole team has been lifting weights weekly while half of the team also has been swimming for Grosse Pointe Gators, said Jackson.
Girls Varsity Hockey
By Julia Fox ’16 | Staff Writer
After a tough loss at the State Finals last year, the girls’ varsity hockey team is planning on rebuilding and coming back better than ever.
The team had tryouts Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, Nov. 5-7.
“Our players have been working really hard over the past couple months,” said assistant coach Liz Rabidoux. “I’m confident that the girls who started playing last year are going to be much better this year, and the girls who have been playing for a while have also been working hard. The deciding factor will be what brand new players can we get to pick up the game and to be confident and to contribute a lot by the end of the season?”
The team lost ten seniors last year including their All-State goalie and some of their top scorers who previously led the team to the state finals, she said. After losing these leaders, it will most likely be a rebuilding year for the team.
Despite this loss, the team’s numbers are now greater than ever, she said. Approximately thirty girls tried out, and the coaches have decided that they will not be cutting any players because they want to promote the sport as much as possible.
“We can’t have thirty girls on the bench during a regular game, it’s against the rules,” said Rabidoux. “Last year we had five or six girls each game who sat in the stands and watched the game with their jerseys on and we would rotate them each game. This year, we might have even more. Those girls have the opportunity to play in the ‘B-team’ games against new players from other teams, like scrimmages.”
There are about ten girls who have never played hockey before plus only two returning seniors and thirteen returning players, she said. Both the new and old must work together to mesh and play like a team.
“I’m most excited to see how our team will start coming together as the season progresses,” said three-year captain Tenley Shield ‘14. “We have a long way to go at this point, but I definitely think we have the tools to have a successful season.”
Practice began Sunday, Nov. 10 at the City Ice Arena in Detroit, said Rabidoux. The first game of the season is Tuesday, Nov. 19 at Eddie Edgar Arena against Northville High School.
Girls Basketball
By Alexa Scheppler ’14 | Staff Writer
Returning from the last years season with a record of 25-2, the girls varsity basketball team are coming back with stamina and excitement for this season said assistant varsity coach Bruce Pelto.
“I think we are going to have another exciting season; we have a lot of talent. We are very athletic and I think we really can get after people defensively and create some offensive opportunities for us,” said Pelto.
All three basketball teams had try outs last week, and the decided varsity team consists of only one senior, four juniors, and six sophomores.
“We are planning on carrying 11 on the team. We have very interchangeable players which will help us immensely.”
The girls have been working, and lifting three times a week with trainer Mike Fox; they have been putting a lot of time into open gyms as well, said Pelto.
“Try outs were not the first time they touched the ball so hopefully that gives us an advantage,” Pelto said.
Last year, the team put together 25 wins in a row before losing in overtime in the state championship game. Everyone’s goal is to get back to East Lansing and win that title.
“I am looking forward to all of our games and having fun with my team throughout the rest of the season,” said returning varsity player Katie Kish ’15.
This past weekend the girls traveled to Columbus to scrimmage 4 different teams.
“This gave the girls a chance to compete and bond with one another,” said Pelto. “Next weekend we have 32 teams for scrimmages here at south and will be here from 8 in the morning till 8 at night, playing three games in the afternoon with Junior Varsity playing three in the morning.”
The team lacks a little size this year so rebounding is going to be a concern said Pelto, but he believes the team will have a very success season.
Boys Varsity Hockey
By Joey Diehl ’15 | Staff Writer
“Anything short of a state championship is considered a failure to me,” said Captain Andrew Bigham ’13.
Winning states is the team’s number one goal for the season, Bigham said, and a very realistic one.
Bigham said that goal can be achieved through the team’s strong points, which are shown in their goal tending, and accompanied by a strong experienced group of defensemen.
“Tonight we’re facing off in the season opener at City Rink in Detroit against Trenton at 6:30 pm,” Bigham said. “They’re another powerhouse team in the state like us, but no doubt we can take them like we did in the state quarterfinals in the 2011-2012 season.”
“Our weaknesses are that we try too hard, and we care too much,” said Andrew Hyde ’13, “so it seems that our weaknesses also turn into great strengths.”
The team has a lot better chemistry than last year, Andrew Wright ’13 said. The offseason gave them a great look at how well they can work together.
This season will all come down to how hard the team works, Hyde said. No doubt the skill is there, they just have to put in the effort.
Wrestling
By Zach Due ’15 | Staff Writer
Last year, the boys wrestling team finished with a record of 5-14 and 4-4 in the conference.
“I have high hopes this year for the team, since they’re all working hard and trying to find a new coach to help them,” said Joseph Kurta ‘16.
They all are very healthy and eager for the season to start, Kurta said.
To get ready for the season, they have been working out after school and training very intensely.
The team often eats and prays together during the season to prepare for their meets.
So far they haven’t figured out their captains yet, although they will have them soon after their first meet, Kurta said.
If the team has an on sight weigh in then they don’t eat together because they’re all trying to make weight.
“Making weight is very hard because you do have those times you have to diet,” said Kurta.
This year they are all very healthy and ready to wrestle, hopefully their hard work will pay off.
Gymnastics
By Alexandra Boucher ’16 | Staff Writer
Whether it be on beam, bars or floor the combined North and South gymnastics team is looking forward to a great and successful season, head coach Courtney Schafer said.
“We should have a really strong team this year between our returning gymnasts and several new gymnasts who are coming on the team with a lot of experience,” said Schafer.
Every year the coaches have four main goals for the team, Schafer said. Those are, having all the team members compete in at least one meet, qualify as many gymnasts as possible for the regional finals, placing in the top three at regional’s, and qualifying for states.
“As a senior, it would be amazing to finish out my final year with a state championship,” said Meagan Curran ’14, a North student.
This year the only thing they hope to change is the team’s presentation and polish at the beginning of the season, Schafer said. Along with that the team hopes to improve on their bar routines. To improve, they will include more releases and handstands.
“Our approach to practice and competition will probably be very similar to past years,” said Schafer. “What we do seems to work well so far.”
On Dec. 4, the team will have their first meet, Schafer said. The meet could prove to be a big challenge in that the gymnasts will not have much time to prepare. After this first meet, the team’s toughest league competition will be Birmingham.
“Birmingham just joined our league and that meet is going to be a tough one,” said Schafer. “There will be a few non-league meets against some of the top teams in the state as well, where we will again be faced with tough competition.”
Having North and South combined has been one of the greatest parts of being on the team, Curran said. There is no rivalry between the two schools. Bringing them together has made the team much stronger as a whole.
“I love how North and South work together,” said Maria Troscinski ’17. “It really shows that deep down the schools have so much in common.”
Synchronized Swimming
By Jennifer Maiorana ’16 | Copy Editor
All information from Ms. Peck (coach).
Coach’s Quote: “I expect to see many new swimmers this season; I’m excited to see the swimmers continue improving and having throughout the year.”
Last Year’s Record: placed 4th at States (out of 4).
1st Meet: Sometime in the beginning of January.
Traditions: pasta parties, annual holiday party, T-Shirt making parties.
Cheer
By Francesca DiJulio ’14 | Page Editor
Cheerleading completed this year’s try-outs last week, welcoming Catherine Hartz ‘15 onto the varsity team.
“This year’s competitive team is working really hard and working on getting new skills so that we can reach our goal: going to regionals,” said Team Captain, Rachel Montgomery ’14.
The team is eager to begin working on new cheers and routines, Montgomery said.
Varsity meets after school, during which time they train intensively, perfecting throws, steps and various other aspects of routines. These routines are used when cheering for South’s various sports teams, like football and basketball, among other things.
Their hard work is evidently paying off; last year, the girls were 1st in the MAC division, and they eventually went on to compete in districts.
Their first competition is Dec. 11 at Lakeview, but it is a crossover competition, meaning it is not a part of their three MAC competitions, Montgomery said.
At MAC competitions, unlike others, there are normally four to six other teams competing, team member Aynslie Fritz ’14 said.
All this success doesn’t come without a price; last season, the girls experienced many hand and finger related injuries. Thankfully, despite cheerleading being a fairly dangerous sport, no girls were severely injured.
The team stays unified through one very important tradition, Montgomery said.
“We have a rope bracelet in blue and gold,” said Montgomery. “Before every meet, Brianna Harris, captain, goes around and puts it on our left wrist and says ‘good luck’. The bracelet really is the most important tradition we have together.”
Figure Skating
By Olivia Baratta ’16 | Staff Writer
Rivals join forces today as Grosse Pointe South and Grosse Pointe North combined girls figure skating team begin their season.
Though their season is just officially beginning, the girls have been practicing with their personal coaches all throughout the off-season, Julia Barnes ’16 said.
This year, there will be about 10 girls on the team, Barnes said. The team only competes at the varsity level, but the girls on the team need to reach certain requirements to actually receive their varsity letter.
The team is in a new district this year, Coach Shelly Rosinski said. Rosinski is unsure of who the teams biggest competition will be this year.
“It will be a new and interesting experience to compete against new teams,” said Rosinski.
Coach Rosinskis goals for the season are to put the teams best elements into each competition, and to be successful as a team.
“I think our first competition will be the most important because it sets the tone for our season,” said Rosinski.
The teams first competition will be December 17 in Hartland, Michigan.
