BRUISERS Play to Win

The Bruisers were off to an impressive start this fall with the state championship win from our VARSITY SOCCER TEAM. After amassing a 14–2–1 record this season, with another top 10 ranking in the country from MaxPreps.com, the GPS Bruisers defeated the Briarcrest Christian School Lady Saints from Memphis 4–1 in the final game in October to capture the state title.

GPS welcomed Alfie Dodd back to the sidelines for VARSITY VOLLEYBALL. Coach Dodd previously led the Bruisers in 2016 and 2017, and he returned this year to take charge of a program full of potential. The varsity team battled a challenging schedule throughout the fall and the JV team gave GPS fans reasons for optimism in the years ahead.

Katherine Potts qualified for the Division II AA State Golf tournament as an individual and represented the Bruisers at the championship in Sevierville. As a freshman, Potts gained valuable experience for future seasons on the VARSITY GOLF TEAM.

Our VARSITY BLUE CREW supported McCallie with a deep run into the Division II AAA football playoffs. While the Blue Tornado finished one game short of reaching their third straight state finals, our girls were a big part of another memorable season on the gridiron.

Athletes from our MIDDLE SCHOOL TENNIS program won the USTA Middle School State Championship in October, marking the second year in the row that the Bruisers have garnered this title.

Our VARSITY CROSS COUNTRY

TEAM finished fourth in the state meet in Hendersonville, Tennessee, and two Bruisers—Gilly Shumate and Frances Bohner— were recognized as all-state runners after their finish in the top 15.

GPS wrapped up a successful winter VARSITY SWIM AND DIVE season with a second-place finish at the 2023 TISCA State Meet in Knoxville. The Bruisers finished with 204.5 team points, almost 30 points better than last year’s total that also netted the Bruisers a runner-up finish. Senior Keller Williamson ended the day as the top scorer for GPS with 29 points in individual events; Scout Chapin finished second. Both Williamson and Chapin were part of two high-performing relay teams as well.

For the first time in school history, GPS fielded a VARSITY SQUASH TEAM this winter with a roster of 16 girls who picked up two wins in six varsity competitions. The Bruisers defeated Louisville Collegiate, 6-1, to earn the first win in school history in squash, and promptly followed that up with a gutsy 4-3 win over John Burroughs from St. Louis the following day.

The 2022–23 athletic calendar officially wrapped up in May with Spring Fling in Murfreesboro and the SRAA Nationals taking place in Oak Ridge. Our TRACK AND FIELD TEAM represented the school well at the Division II AA State Track and Field Championship, with nine girls qualifying for the meet in five events. Scarlett Kelch qualified as the Division II AA East Region Champion in the discus and took third place at the state meet. Our 4 x 800 meter relay team, composed of Frances Bohner, Tessie Braman, Mariah Ivery, and Gilly Shumate, also finished first in the region and third at state. Our 4 x 400 meter relay finished fourth in Murfreesboro, while Allie Walley finished tied for fifth in the pole vault.

Bruisers played the role of Cinderella in the TSSAA DIVISION II STATE BOWLING CHAMPIONSHIP. Even though they entered the tournament with a 3-8 season record, GPS was able to knock off Pope Prep in the opening round, 17-6, and then defeat St. Benedict, 14-9, in the state semifinals. The win over St. Benedict was especially impressive when you consider that the Eagles were a perfect 9-0 on the season prior to their meeting with the Bruisers. GPS dropped the title match to a very strong team from Friendship Christian as the Commanders won their third straight state championship.

BASKETBALL played through a rebuilding year that unfortunately included a few injuries to key players on the roster. However, with a lineup that featured two eighth-graders and four freshmen, the future looks bright for these Bruisers. GPS was supported throughout the season by the VARSITY CHEERLEADERS who benefited from the leadership of its four seniors—Lily Kate Botts, Santana Etchison, Lydia Long, and Olivia Noll.

Our CLIMBING PROGRAM competed in the city climbing league once again and fared well against local competition. This team had almost half of its roster composed of seniors, and we are grateful of the contributions that they have made to our program. This was the final year of coaching climbing for Dr. Sean Caulfield, who retired from teaching in the classroom two years ago. Andy Arick will take on the role of varsity climbing coach next year.

Our MIDDLE SCHOOL ATHLETES enjoyed memorable seasons of BASKETBALL, SWIMMING, DIVING, CHEERLEADING, and SOCCER. For the third year in a row, our MIDDLE SCHOOL SWIMMING AND DIVING TEAM won the NW Georgia Championships in Calhoun, Georgia. We enjoyed recognizing them at Chapel and honoring two of their team members— Molly Ransom and Allie O’Donnell—as Athletes of the Week during their season.

Our SOFTBALL TEAM wrapped up a tremendous season under first-year head coach London Cornelius. GPS defeated Ensworth and Lipscomb on the way to Spring Fling, where the Bruisers were eliminated by Chattanooga Christian School. Earlier in the season, the Bruisers won first place in the Silver Bracket at the Hixson High School Softball Tournament in March and finished third in a challenging region that featured three of the top four teams in the state.

We had a fantastic finish to our fall and spring ROWING SEASONS . Our quad entry finished as the top scholastic team in its event on the final day of racing at the Head of the Hooch in the fall. In the spring, the Bruisers’ entry in the JV 4x at the high school nationals finished second against some of the top scholastic rowers in the country! The silver medalwinning boat was composed of a crew of juniors and sophomores—Eileen Nash, Grace Macziewski, Isabel Ponce, and Cat Feeney. Their finish at this event was the best in school history for our program. Emma McDonald ’23 placed 10th in the Varsity 1x.

Our LACROSSE TEAM reached the TGLA State Semifinals for the second year in a row, falling to the eventual state champion, Harpeth Hall. Senior Reagan Ziegler was named to the All-State team and finished her GPS career with more than 300 goals scored.

GPS TENNIS reached the state quarterfinals after defeating Harpeth Hall 4-0 in the opening round. In April, the Bruisers had the top mark at the Chadwell Invitational in Nashville with wins over Ensworth and Hutchison.