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SPORTS THE RUBICON - APRIL 2023
SHORTS TIME
SPRING SPORTS AND CLUBS BEGIN SEASON PLAY
Lacrosse dynamic? It’s all about leadership NORA SEIFERT STAFF WRITER
Despite losing a lot of experienced seniors, Spartan Lacrosse has gained many new and enthusiastic players. Captain Julia Colbert comes into the season with positivity: “My hope is just a super fun season, that a lot of the new players come back,” she said. The three captains, Ivy Raya, Julia Colbert, and Charlotte Goings handle
their leadership roles well. The trio can be found talking to all of the players at practices, no matter their grade level or their relationship with them outside of lacrosse. Swing player Franny Wagner joined the team this year, and said the captains “...made sure I was included and were very nice even though I was very bad at lacrosse.” Wagner plays for both varsity and JV. Freshman Dia Chaney
joined the team last year as a middle schooler: “It helped that everyone was really nice, but it was a little scary at first,” she said. Listening in on practice, the focus starts with people: “Go around and say a fun fact about us,” Colbert said. The coaches also encourage the players to interact with each other often and cheer on their teammates. While the team is dominantly SPA students, it is a co-op with
St. Agnes. “There’s only three St. Agnes girls this year, but they’re all really nice.” Chaney said. Despite not going to school with the other players, they’re able to connect with them and the coaches and have fun at their practices and matches The next game is Apr. 25 vs Waconia at 5 p.m. at home.
Ultimate fights for club visibility in athletics GREYSON SALE STAFF WRITER
Ultimate Frisbee is one of three club sports in spring, alongside sailing and trap shooting. The group is led by captains Theo Bonin and Henry Hilton. Due to both its uniqueness as a sport and its varying levels of success and popularity, Spartan Ultimate has a complicated history.
The club has been subject to changing coaches, team format, and—to the dismay of many team members—practice time and location, as they often resort to off-campus practices on short notice. “It’s a mess,” parent and club adviser Karissa Baker said. Spartan Ultimate began as an entirely male team; a girl’s ultimate team was created due to a high female interest in the sport. However, with
fewer numbers and a gender imbalance, the team transitioned to coed last year and has remained that way this season. Members feel like they are treated unfairly by the athletics department, considering their popularity and success. They believe they deserve to be an official sport, to have convenient practice space, equal resources, and for the captains to be pictured on the Team Leaders wall.
The common consensus about these complications is overwhelmingly frustrated, especially for cutter David Kopilenko: “Tell them to make us an official sport,” he said. Despite the setbacks the team is still one of the most successful spring sports, placing 9th overall in the state last year. read more clubs coverage at the:
RUBICON online
Tennis team preps with state win in mind LANI NGONETHONG STAFF WRITER
In the too-early-forspring 80-degree heat, Spartan Tennis faced off in a friendly scrimmage against the Wayzata Trojans. Passionate cheers followed by pumping fists from both sides of the court raised the heat. But this lighthearted
training is to prepare for something more serious: State Champs. After winning the State Class A championships last season, expectations are naturally higher for the team compared to previous years. Captain Leo Benson feels the pressure: “Winning that state title, it kind of puts a target on your back,” he said. The team is taking
on the challenge of state again this year. “We’re making our schedule pretty hard [to train for state]. We’re filling it with a bunch of AA teams.” Captain Maik Nguyen said. Wayzata is one of their new challenges added this season. Teams like Wayzata in the schedule helps the boys prepare for state mentally and physically.
“Adding these AA schools can help us in moments where we’re under pressure,” Mahmood said. The pre-season scrimmage marks the start of their season and a journey they hope will end with another state championship. Their next match is Apr. 25 vs Minnehaha Academy at 4:30 p.m at home.
Softball goals remain constant in new co-op NORA MCKOY STAFF WRITER
TEAM SPIRIT. Ivy Raya and Kavita Deo (LACROSSE), Dylan Tan Stephenson and Gabriel Bangoura (ULTIMATE), Leo Benson and David Schumacher (TENNIS), Tamari Christopher and Greta Magnuson.
New team, same dream. That’s the mindset of the new softball co-op. After joining a new coop last year, the team had a rocky start. But going into their second season as a co-op things are going much smoother. Out of the 23 players
on the team, 16 are from SPA, six are from TCA, and one player is from Great River. Infielder Poppy Ploen agrees that starting a new co-op delayed the teams community: “It took a second for us to warm up to each other because we’d all been playing on teams separately,” she said. But the co-op has it’s
advantages, “We are significantly stronger than we have been in some of our past years,” Ploen said. Tamari Christopher is only in eighth grade but has been playing varsity since the beginning of middle school. She is excited for a fresh start, “...learning new things and meeting a bunch of people,” Chr-
ristopher said. Despite the issues with late snow and wet fields, the softball team has gotten solid practice time and won their first two games Apr. 10 and 14. Their next game is Apr. 25 at 4:30 p.m. vs. Minnehaha Academy at home.