September 2015
sports
the stentorian I ncssm
1st Hunt secures big win in
soccer IM championship
By Andy Hoang
Sports Editor
For the second year
running, the men’s intramural
soccer championship featured
3rd East and 1st Hunt
battling it out for the trophy.
Last year, 1st Hunt won the
Chancellor’s Cup and 3rd East
won the soccer championship.
Coming into the final game
in September, both teams
sported flashy offenses with
undefeated records.
Tejas Dalvi, a midfielder
from 1 st Hunt commented that,
“Tempers were flaring; it’s the
biggest rivalry in the entire
school,” in describing the hype
for the game. Captains Reid
Herrera (1st Hunt) and Tanas
Gangadhar (3rd East) created
a Facebook event to publicize
the showdown with over 100
people showing interest.
“Last year’s game was
marred by dirty play,” Dalvi
says, but this year both sides
wanted nothing more than a
clean, fair game.
The sports rivalry was
intense last school year. 3rd
East won three intramural
championships yet lost the
Chancellor’s Cup to 1st Hunt,
despite 1st Hunt winning only
one Intramural Championship.
Additionally, 3rd East’s
March Madness basketball
team won the 2015 March
Madness Tournament earlier
this year. During the aimual
Junior-Senior basketball game
at the end of last school year,
1st Hunt’s Trey Duvall hit
the game winning shot as
time expired. The intensity of
competition between 1st .Hunt
and 3rd East has also spilled
outside of sports. Leading up to
the Intramural Championship
and during the game, trash talk
was the vernacular between the
two sides.
Gangadhar said, “1st Hunt
too scared they’d disappoint.”
For the game, 3rd East
played without their best
player, senior striker Ayo
Ilesanmi. Furthermore,
midfielders Vishal Naik and
Prathmesh Patel were slowed
down with illnesses. Defender
Andy Hoang was sidelined
with a low-grade fever and
headache for the game. 1st
Hunt played with full strength
and arguably took advantage
of 3rd East’s weakened roster.
Cole Kirkpatrick, of 1 st Hunt,
commanded the midfield,
but every attempt to shoot at
the goal only was met with
speed and skill by the 3rd East
defensive team, led by Josh
Krause and goalie Suhas Rao.
By halftime, the score was
still 0-0.
In the second half,
the troubles for 3rd East
continued. Rao was ejected
from the game after receiving
a red card from referee Brian
Gonyeau. 1st Hunt did not
hold back, reminding 3rd
East and spectators about
the infamous red card that
Gonyeau, referee of the 2014
Championship Game, gave to
Tanas Gangadhar.
The dramatic second half
of the game ensued as more
spectators arrived looking to
root for both teams. Michael
Newbauer, 1st Hunt’s SLI,
cheered for his hall. With less
than five minutes to go of the
game, both sides subbed in
their starting lineups to finish
off the game. 3rd East had a
clear shot at the goal, only
for it to be craftily defended
by Isiah Fleming, 1st Hunt’s
goalie. Later on, 1 st Hunt had
a one-on-one opportunity but
missed the potential game
winning goal.
0-0 Final Time.
In penalty kicks, the drama
continued as 3rd East’s team
played first in the shootout.
Three kicks for each team.
First up for 3rd East was
Vishal Naik. Naik’s shot was
well hit but missed the target
completely. 3rd East would fail
to score on any of their three
attempts.
Now, goalie Josh Krause,
the substitute for the befallen
Suhas Rao, would have the
daunting task of defending all
three of 1st Hunt’s shots just
to send the game into another
overtime period.
1st Hunt’s offense turned
out to be too powerful for
Krause, as William Oles’s
shot ricocheted off Krause’s
hands and into the back
of the net to give 1st Hunt
the Championship win and
reclaiming their title as the
team to beat in IM soccer.
3rd East
residents face off
against 1st Hunt
residents in the
championship
intramural
soccer match. 1st
Hunt triumphed,
claiming the title
3rd East earned
last year.
photo courtesy of Tanas
Ganghadar
NCSSM volleyball improving after
rough beginnings
By Gabriella Williams
Sports Editor
The NCSSM volleyball
team has improved after a
rough start and, according
to assistant coach Sue Anne
Lewis, is “expecting to have a
strong finish to the season.”
Senior Night is coming
up on Oct. 13 at 6 p.m.. The
Unicorns will face Bunn
High School. The night will
honor the three senior players,
Colette Cambey, Erica Mullis,
and Kendall Williams, as well
as the two senior managers,
Carrington Metts and Chandler
Gay.
The season got off to a
rough start with a few hard
losses. It is always difficult for
fall sports teams at NCSSM to
bond; players have to be able
to make quick connections
with their team because games
start as early as the second
week of school.
“This year, we have 6
juniors and 3 seniors, so it
has taken time for everyone to
learn how each,other works on
the court and to build the trust
needed in volleyball,” said
Lewis, “We’re still growing.”
The team met another
bump in . the road early on: it
was discovered that no one on
the team had ever played the
setter position. Luckily, junior.
Trinity Morrow stepped up to
the challenge and is working
hard to learn the new skills
necessary to assume this role;
so far, she is doing well.
At press time, the team’s
conference record was 5-3.
NCSSM volleyball
players prepare
to return the ball
to their opponents
in a match in the
PEC gymnasium
in September. The
team struggled
at the beginning
of its season but
is regaining its
footing.
photo courtesy of Sophia
Chizhikova