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sport Winter Wrap-up ‘99 Boys’ Squash The Taft Boys’ Squash team continued to rewrite the record books this year, extending their amazing three-year undefeated run. Once again, the Taft boys played at another level in terms of the prep school squash ranks, posting a 19-0 dual meet record and running away with the New England tournament for the third year in a row. As New England champions for four of the last five years, Peter Frew’s teams have built a legacy of winning that may not be duplicated again. And perhaps more importantly, the Taft players have always been held in the highest esteem for their sportsmanship and fair play; their conduct on the court, no matter how heated the match, has always been as impressive as their record. Leading the way in both categories for the past four years has been senior captain Nick Kyme. He leaves behind a career of accomplishments that is staggering, including one individual NE title, three team titles, a four-year undefeated dual meet record against NE prep schools, and a 2nd place finish at this year’s NE tournament. He has played at the top of Taft’s ladder for four years, yet it has not been easy for Nick to hold onto the number one spot with teammates
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Spring 1999
Ryan Byrnes, Max Montgelas, and Aftab Mathur knocking on the door. Fellow seniors Montgelas and Mathur have never lost a match in their careers at Taft, and both have won back-to-back individual NE titles. Next year’s captain, Ryan Byrnes, playing in the number two spot this year, has won an individual NE title for the past three years and lost fewer points than any player in NE this year. With captain-elect Brynes, undefeated upper middler Ross Koller, and undefeated, New England champion Eric Wadhwa, Taft should again compete for the top spot in NE.
Boys’ Basketball Measured by wins and losses, it wasn’t a very good year for Coach John Piacenza, captain Marc Greggs and the rest of the varsity basketball team (1-18). However, a lot of good things happened during the season. The team got better as the season progressed, they never gave up, and they played some of their best basketball during the last three weeks of the campaign. They finally won their seventeenth game—a hard fought battle versus Kent. Many of the underclassmen saw significant playing time, and there are some
bright stars in the future. Eric Rhynhart, a sophomore, led the team in scoring and rebounding. Juniors Michael Baudinet and Thomas Smythe proved that they could shoot from the outside as well as anyone in the league; Baudinet even finished third in the league in three-point shot percentage (38 percent). Also, junior Marc Greggs, second on the team in points and rebounds, showed that he could lead the team through the toughest of times.
Girls’ Basketball With only one senior and a relatively young squad, this year’s girls’ basketball team could not expect to reach the heights of the past few years. However, with the one senior Emily Townsend, described by Coach Dick Cobb as “the best athlete to play basketball at Taft in the past 25 years,” and solid underclassmen, the team was frustrated with a 1-6 beginning. Several of these close opening losses, to top New England teams, proved to be the stepping stone to an impressive finish to the season. Led by captain Townsend and Adriana Blakaj in scoring, Taft went on to win 7 of their final 12 games, posting an 8-11 record and earning a share of the Western New England League Title with Kent. Perhaps their best overall game