8
August 2016
SPORTS
The Stentorian I NCSSM
Student Athletes Look Forward to
Another Winning Season
By CLAIRE YIN
With fall comes chilly
weather, warm colored
landscapes, and the excitement
of many sports. Several
NCSSM teams excelled last
year, and many show promise
for this upcoming season.
Expectations will be high
for some teams this season.
Last year, the competitive
cheerleading team placed
first at the NCHSAA
Invitational and were named
state champions. They
accomplished this through
collaboration and hard work,
even without a coach.
Their dedication last year
will likely bring them far once
again this year. Returning
senior Ayanna Webster
expresses her enthusiasm for
the upcoming season: “Last
year, hearing our school’s
name called as champions was
an unbelievable experience. I
look forward to bringing even
more excitement to our squad
this year.”
TTie cross country team
faces similar pressure. The
team ranked first in the
conference last year, with the
men’s team winning the state
2A championship for the third
year in a row. Led by Coach
Charlie Payne, the team is
known for its welcoming,
devoted members who •
constantly push each other
towards improvement.
As they have shown
immense talent for several
years, there is no doubt that
this trend of domination will
continue, especially with
the many returning seniors.
According to senior Skanda
Sastry, “last year, [team
members] were all really
focused on running and our
team dynamic struggled early
on. This year, as a captain, [1
want] to pay special attention
to the team atmosphere^ as well
as the success of the team.”
Hopes are also high for
the men’s soccer team, led by
Coach Joe Shields, which was
undefeated in its conference.
Last year’s Men’s Cross Country team takes first place at the NCHSAA 2A State Championship.
JSNCSSMATHLETICS
The team entered the playoffs
as ninth overall in the state and
a four-seed, but this unlucky
seeding led to an unfortunate
loss in the first round to
Croatan High School, a 28-
seed that was ranked seventh in
the state. Going into overtime,
the game was a nail-biter
that showcased our team’s
incredible perseverance and
eclectic skills. Many returning
seniors show optimism for
this coming season. D Conner
Borkowski, a returning senior,
says that “[team members]
need to fill some spots Irom last
year, but there are high hopes
and goals from eveiybody.”
Their first home game will
be on September 12 against
Southern Vance.
The women’s tennis team,
consisting of a varsity and a
developmental team, showed
extreme dedication, had stellar
team dynamics, and continued
to exhibit their talents last
year. Coach Robert McClenny
occasionally held practices
at Whippoorwill, a park
approximately seven minutes
away from the school, in order
to have more courts and more
practice. Although the team’s
success next year will depend
on the quality of the incoming
juniors, returning senior Lizzy
Yang is confident that the team
will be just as successful, as
they “[have] dominated [their]
conference for a while now.”
Last year, women’s
golf finished their season
successfully. However,
as about half of the team
graduated last year, they will
require consistent passion in
order to continue developing.
Returning senior Claudia Sisk
does not believe that the team’s
loss of members will inhibit
success. “Even though we
lost a lot of seniors, our team
still has a lot of talent and is
determined to be a competitive
force in our conference this
season,” commented Sisk.
Under Coach Davene
Mainwaring, the women’s
volleyball team expects to
see improvement from the
previous season. Returning
senior Louise Batta believes
that “this year of volleyball
is shaping up to be a really
great year; [the team has] a lot
of great talent and finally...a
setter!” This year may just
be the breakout year for the
diligent athletes. The team’s
first home game will be held
against Durham Academy on
August 24.
While lots of students
participate in fall sports,
others still support the teams
in other ways. Uni-Fans is a
student-run group dedicated to
attending games and cheering
on fellow classmates. With
almost 100 members in their
Facebook group, the Uni-Fans
truly epitomize the school
spirit characteristic to our
student body.
NCSSM ATHLETICS
Members of last year s Women s Tennis team celebrate their
regional championship.
CELESTE MfFARLANE
With Ayanna Webster on top, the NCSSM Competition Cheerleading team takes first place at last
season's NCHSAA State Championship.
THE STENTORIAN
North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics
1219 Broad Street, Durham, NC 27705
Editors-in-Chief: Claire Yin, Margaux Winter,
Avra Janz, Amruth Sriperumbudur
Staff Writers: Samantha Gonski, Adithi Rao,
Vaishnavi Siripurapu, Julia Wang, Ren Zhang
Illustrator: Grace Steffen
Advisor: John Kirk
Please forward comments, inquiries and corrections to
stentorianl 23 @gmail. com.