ThisWeek Community Newspapers Upper Arlington
June 16, 2011
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Girls Lacrosse
Rebuilding process was quick for UA By PAUL BATTERSON
By Chris Parker/ThisWeek
Upper Arlington’s Megan Hansel takes a shot June 3 against Hudson in a Division I state semifinal. The Golden Bears advanced to the state final for the fifth consecutive season, losing to Medina 14-13 in double overtime.
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At a glance
The Upper Arlington High School girls lacrosse team appeared to be facing a rebuilding season this spring given that it had to replace 10 starters from its 2010 squad, which went 173-1 and was the Division I state runner-up. Instead, the Golden Bears reached the state final for the fifth consecutive year and came within a goal of capturing the state championship, as they lost to Medina 14-13 in double overtime in a rematch of the 2010 state final on June 4 at Gates Mills Hawken to finish 16-5 overall. “We were such a young team,” coach Kim Rocheleau said. “We had really a brand new group of girls trying to be cohesive and they made it to the championship game. It was a great achievement.” Junior midfielder Megan Hansel wasn’t shocked by the Bears’ success. “When we were in fifth or sixth grade, a bunch of us were on a team that did really well in the Ohio Cup,” Hansel said. “This team reminded me a lot of that team. Because we were so young, we knew we needed to step it up, but we all knew how each other played.” That’s not to say that the Bears didn’t experience some growing pains early in the season. They lost their opener against Brooklandville (Md.) St. Paul’s School for Girls 22-7 on March 27, representing the most goals UA has allowed during Rocheleau’s threeyear tenure as coach. “It took them a game to be comfortable with each other,” Rocheleau said. “Once they did, the communication kicked in and they solidified (defensively).”
•Record: 16-5 overall, 4-1 (second) in OCC-Buckeye •Seniors lost: Emma Frair, Adriane Ghidotti and Elizabeth Sega •Key returnees: Lauren Drake, Samantha Farwick, Sydney Farwick, Megan Hansel, Sally Holbert and Maggie Morrison
According to Rocheleau, the Bears’ cohesiveness was evident in a 10-6 win over Medina on April 30 in the Cleveland Heights Invitational. “(Our players) showed what they were made of the first time we played Medina,” Rocheleau said. “That was such a huge rivalry for us. They stepped on the field and played so cohesively. We just knew the potential there. We saw we could play with anyone.” UA opened the postseason with a 19-0 win over Liberty Township Lakota East in the second round of the Division I South/Central Region tournament on May 18. It then defeated Cincinnati Ursuline Academy 191 in a regional semifinal on May 23, Cincinnati Sycamore 20-11 in a regional final on May 26 and Hudson 13-11 in a state semifinal on June 3 before falling to Medina. The loss to Medina marked the third year in a row in which the Bears lost in the state final. UA, which won its last state title in 2008, lost to Cincinnati Sycamore 7-6 in 2009 and lost to Medina 15-9 last year. “One of our slogans for the year has been ‘dig,’as in dig down deep,” Hansel said. “In (the double-overtime loss to Medina), everyone gave every ounce of everything they had. Looking at the faces of the girls after that See LACROSSE, page C2
Track & Field
Girls coach excited about team’s future By PAUL BATTERSON ThisWeek Community Newspapers
At a glance
Olivia Menden of the Upper Arlington High School girls track and field team already has starting thinking about next season. But right now, the junior is looking forward to taking some time off after finishing 11th in the 1,600 meters in 5 minutes, 6.66 seconds and 12th in the 800 in 2:21.7 in the state meet June 4 at Ohio State. “I’m determined to make (next season) a good year, but one of the most important things I can do right now though is take a break,” said Menden, who also runs cross country and plays basketball. “I feel I should be with the (girls basketball) team (participating in summer workouts) right now, but taking some time off is important because I want to be healthy the whole season.” Also representing the Golden Bears at state was freshman Dorry Jaffe, who placed 15th in the 3,200 in 11:46.55. UA did not score at state but scored 100 points in the OCCCentral Division meet May 12 and 14 at Hilliard Davidson to finish third, behind Dublin Coffman (164.5) and Davidson (131) and ahead of Hilliard Darby (88), Thomas Worthington (84.5), Worthington Kilbourne (55), Central Crossing (26) and Westland (10). The Bears then finished fourth (78) in the 13-team district 3 meet that concluded May 21 at Hilliard Bradley behind champion Dublin Scioto (139) and finished eighth (24) in the regional meet May 25 and 27 at Pickerington North behind champion Reynoldsburg
•Finishes: Boys — Fifth in OCC-Central, seventh in district, 32nd in regional; Girls — Third in OCC-Central, fourth in district, eighth in regional •Seniors lost: Boys — Robert Bridger, Connor Bruce, Kenton Bueche, Wes Ewing, Andrew Mariotti and Alex Michael; Girls — Marguerite Beck, Michelle Botomogno, Alexis Koon, Julia Melvin, Leah Moody, Grace O’Brien and Simone Richards •Key returnees: Boys — Sam Colachis, Chase Dunivan, Frank Epitropoulos, Greg Hickey, Ben Kompa, Ryan McSheffery and Victor Pataky; Girls — Natalie Bayer, Leigh Anne Drake, Dorry Jaffe, Maren Levering, Olivia Menden and Halle Trabue
(88) as 40 teams scored. “One of the things I’m going to remember is the character that showed through on the girls team,” coach Joel Cutler said. “We had girls who competed through injury and competed through outlandish weather, whether it was freezing cold temperatures or torrential downpours. The girls competed with such tenacity. I’m very proud of our girls and how they finished things off.” UA loses seven seniors, including three regional qualifiers in Marguerite Beck, Julia Melvin and Leah Moody. At regional, Beck anchored the 800 relay (13th, 1:47.54) and Moody and Melvin were on the 3,200 relay (sixth, 9:35.63). “I really adore (this group of seniors) because they were willing to buy into a new philosophy,” Cutler said. “I loved their hard work and energy they brought to practices every day. Without them, we couldn’t have
advanced as a team.” Menden and Jaffe are expected to return, as are regional qualifiers in junior Mary Jones (800 relay and 1,600 relay), sophomores Natalie Bayer (300 hurdles), Leigh Anne Drake (800 relay) and Maren Levering (800 relay and 1,600 relay) and freshman Halle Trabue (1,600 relay). “I’m extremely excited about what our future looks like,” Cutler said. “I feel like we can make a run for the OCCs next year. I don’t know any reason why we can’t compete with the Davidsons and Coffmans of the world.” •One-fourth of an inch was all that kept junior Frank Epitropoulos from qualifying for state, as he placed fifth in the long jump at regional by going 21 feet, 8 inches. Canal Winchester’s Antonio Whitfield placed fourth in 21-8 1/4. The top four in each regional event advanced to the state. Epitropoulos also competed at regional in the 400, finishing 13th (52.09). The boys team’s only other regional qualifier was sophomore Ben Kompa, who finished 10th in the discus (131-10). UA scored four points at regional to finish 31st behind cochampions Thomas (37) and Westerville North (37) as 39 teams scored. The Bears placed fifth (49) in the OCC-Central meet, behind Davidson (170.5), Coffman (158.5), Thomas (129.5) and Darby (96.5) and ahead of Central Crossing (20), Kilbourne (19) and Westland (13), and finished seventh (45.5) in the 16-team dis-
The Upper Arlington girls crew varsity 8 boat placed fifth in the Scholastic Rowing Association's national championships in Camden, N.J. Team members include (from left) Summers Hammel, Grace Tucker, Zoe Ribar, Emory Bergdoll, Ceri Turner, Angelina Caradonna, Ashley Holden, Olivia Miltner (alternate) and Ashley Williams. Not pictured: Kate Lowes and coach Andy Wimmer.
Rowing
UA’s junior 8 girls boat places fifth at nationals By JARROD ULREY ThisWeek Community Newspapers
For the Upper Arlington High School boys and girls rowing teams, this season was about taking a step forward despite having large numbers of young competitors. Both squads believe they did just that. At the Scholastic Rowing Association of American (SRAA) Nationals held specifically for high school teams May 27 and 28 on the Cooper River in Camden, N.J., the Bears had five boys See TRACK, page C2 and two girls boats competing.
The junior 8 girls boat featuring juniors Emory Bergdoll, Angelina Caradonna, Zoe Ribar and Ceri Turner, sophomores Ashley Holden, Kate Lowes, Grace Tucker and Ashley Williams and coxswain Summers Hammel finished fifth (5 minutes, 23.1 seconds) in the grand final. The junior 8 race was specifically for underclassmen. “The semifinal was probably more exciting than the grand final because we had to turn it on just to make it to the grand final,” said Andy Wimmer, who has coached the team the last two seasons. “That was kind of exciting for
the junior 8 boat. The girls did awesome. It was good to know that we were the fastest out of our region at nationals.” The girls also had their freshman 8 boat finish sixth (5:33.16) in the grand final, which Wimmer believes is the highest finish for that boat at Scholastic nationals. None of the boys team’s boats advanced to grand finals. The senior 4 and lightweight 8 boats each failed to advance from their heats, while the junior 4, the lightweight 4 and the See ROWING, page C2