League Wins for Girls Swimming and BKB, Squash Celebrates Seniors (2024)

League Wins for Girls Swimming and BKB, Squash Celebrates Seniors

Thegirls swimming and diving teamknew heading into the Episcopal meet that it would be their toughest of the year. EA was just behind Penn Charter in the final standing at Easterns last year, and they would be ready to swim fast in their home pool. The PC girls started strong with a Medley Relay win by Lane Murray, Sally Foley, Ayana Opong and Camille Weiss. Weiss and Foley brought home wins in the next two individual events (200 Freestyle and 200 Individual Medley), and Sam Boyes secured a second-place win in the 50 Freestyle. In the diving events, Avery Myers stepped up with a big win after several beautiful executions. Coming out of the diving break, the Quakers were ahead by three. In the 100 Butterfly, Gabby Lopez-Ona (1st), Lane Murray (3rd) and Ayana Opong (4th) had tremendous swims and helped cushion the Quaker lead, now at nine points.

The tides began to turn as the EA girls gained valuable points in the 100 Freestyle and 100 Backstroke. Heading into the last individual event, the PC girls were down by five. Sally Foley and Marissa Lopez-Ona stepped up with a one-two finish to pull the team within one point of EA heading into the final relay. That relay matched EA's top four swimmers against PC's top four in the event that would decide the entire meet. Sam Boyes led off with a great swim. Gabby Lopez-Ona and Camille Weiss kept a comfortable cushion, and Foley, the anchor leg, brought home the relay and the overall victory. The team showed great effort, depth and character in their hard-earned victory over EA.

On Tuesday, theboys swimming and diving teammet the same fate as many other Inter-Ac teams this year, losing to a dominant performance by EA. Although PC had some stellar swims, the boys were outnumbered and outscored. Henry Langford had a great day on the diving board, nailing some new maneuvers for the first time in competition. Bret Brogan, Zion Weeks and Cooper Berkoff all showed well in their individual events.

Girls basketballdefeated Baldwin 56-35 in Dooney Field House on Wednesday. After a closely contested first half, the Quakers turned up the heat in the third quarter. Three-pointers from Emma Maley and Kait Hnatkowsky helped the Quakers raise their lead to nine points by the end of the third. Hayley Hunt kept the momentum going into the fourth quarter, picking up several rebounds and putting away a layup. Hunt proved crucial to the offensive effort, with 10 rebounds and seven points total. Freshman Amani Rivers sank a three-pointer late in the fourth to bring the final score to 56-35. Senior Carmen Williams had a well-rounded game with 16 points, four rebounds, four assists and four steals; likewise for senior Kait Carter, who had nine points, five steals and three assists. Eighth grader Kelsey Bess scored 13 points, suggesting she will be a great asset to the team for many years.

Boys basketballfell to Inter-Ac rivals Germantown Academy by a score of 65-51 on Tuesday. The Quakers trailed by a single point at halftime, but the Patriots outscored the Quakers 17-9 in the third and 20-14 in the fourth to pull ahead. Senior Dylan Topaz and junior Ryan Holmes were the leading scorers for PC, with 12 points each. Eighth grader Mark Butler scored 11 and junior Aaron Reisman put up eight.

Girls squashheld their own against a mighty Agnes Irwin team on Wednesday in the Kline & Specter Squash Center. The Quakers fell 6-3 but secured wins in the top three seeds thanks to senior Elisabeth Ross (3-0), sophom*ore Amanda Cowhey (3-0) and senior Alexa Lenfest (3-1). The depth of the AIS roster, which included nine nationally-ranked players, caused the Quakers to falter as they advanced further down the ladder. Despite the loss, the girls put forth a solid effort against AIS, which will likely be the number-two seed at the National Championships. And spirits were high as five PC seniors – Ross, Lenfest, Hatti Specter, Mia Bezar and Lexie Kaiser – were recognized for their service to the program. The girls host Shipley this afternoon.

Boys squashlost 6-3 to public school challengers Conestoga High on Tuesday. PC took home wins in the top three, represented by senior Max Lubowitz (4-1), sophom*ore Ryan Yeatman (3-2) and freshman Hyun Su Price (3-2), but the team was outmatched in the next six positions. The boys travel to Malvern for league play on Jan. 17.