2023 Loomis Chaffee Winter Sports Preview
Helen Lu ’27, Contributor
After an extremely successful and record-breaking fall season with almost all of Loomis Chaffee’s teams ending top 8 in the New England Division 1 class, the Pelicans are excited to continue their success and hard work on the ice, the courts, and in the pool. Everyone, get prepared to cheer on the sidelines excitedly as the Pelicans win their games one by one this winter!
Girls Swim and Dive
With a stacked-up schedule, having almost two meets every week, the girls work tirelessly every day with two-hour practices as they strive for the Founders and NEPSSA Championships. The team is led by head Coach Bob Deconinck and assistant coach Liz Bucceri and Janelle Li as well as two captains: Charlotte Sorensen ’24 and Mckayla Marohn ’24. After defeating Miss Porter’s, Sacred heart, Kent, Hopkins and placing second at the Hill School Relays, they are at a record of 4-1 and look forward to the meet against Phillips Exeter Academy.
“I really enjoy being around the swim team. It’s challenging but rewarding and I love seeing my teammates every day, ” said Lucia Zhang ’25.
Boys Swim and Dive
The boys swim and dive team also successfully defeated Avon Old Farms and are practicing hard. After their exciting back-and-forth meet that was dependent on the last relay on January 20th, winning to Hopkins, they are now 3-2. Led by Coach Grant Gritzmacher and Assistant Coaches Aiden Winn and Ed Pond, the boys are excited for all their upcoming meets, especially Founders and NEPSSA at the Hotchkiss School and Phillips Andover Academy, respectively.
Girls ice hockey
The girls ice hockey team was a NEPSAC Elite Eight Quarterfinalist last year with a record of 14-6-4 and hopes to improve on that title this year.
So far, they’ve won all of their last ten games even though that started with just a few loses. Now they are 11-3.
“[Our goal this year is] to work to compete at the top tournament at the end of the year,” said Head Coach Liz Leyden. “This is not an easy goal and will require commitment and effort from everyone on the team. We also are looking to be successful in the Founder’s League as well. [I believe that we] will continue to be competitive and will play fast, skilled hockey. Every team in the league is solid and we will have many close games. If we come together as a group we will find success.”
Boys ice hockey
After their trip to Europe and a winning streak of three successful games against Brunswick, Trinity-Pawling, and Pomfret so far this season, the boys ice hockey team looks forward to their next games. Last year, the team was the Founders League Champion and a New England Large School Tournament Quarterfinalist. Many of the team’s talented seniors left last year but the team accepted the challenge and is still playing just as well.
Girls Basketball
The girls basketball team has an impressive record of 10-3 winning almost all of their games. Their next game, against the Taft school will be an away game as the girls try to improve on their record with 12 games to go. As the defending Class A New England Champions and Founders League Champions, the team aims to keep up this winning streak and claim the titles this year as well.
Boys Basketball
The boys basketball team won their game against Avon Old Farms on Dec 8th with a final score of 60-47. Now after a few games they are 7- 6. With both new freshmen and experienced seniors, the well-connected team is a threat to other schools. Hoping to boost their 2-2 record, the team is training tirelessly for their next 21 games and hope to regain their titles of Class A New England Champions and Founders Champions from 2020.
Skiing
Varsity alpine skiing gained a lot of interest this year with a more than expected number of participants seeking to either improve their skills or learn new ones. So far, the varsity ski team has only been doing lift as they wait for enough snow to ski on. They will start training diligently after winter break with both GS and slalom races at Ski Sundown.
“I’m extremely excited to meet the team on the mountain and we are all so excited to start skiing and training!” said Katherine Geoghan ’27.
Due to the large amounts of rain blocking the highways to Ski Sundown, most of their training had to be canceled and so were all of their races so far. With slushy and icy conditions on the snow, it makes it really hard to train properly with gates and get ready for races. However, they are diligently finding ways to improve in order to do well in their next 5 races, one of the most important being the NEPSAC class B championships and the Carl Williams Slalom Championships.
Girls Squash
The girl’s varsity squash team has many experienced members and some newcomers. To Coach Rachel Nisselson, she expects the girls to play hard, improve, and see how far they can go. The whole team looks forward to the Williston Northampton game in February and the all Founders League games. “The energy and enthusiasm is what makes this team special,” said Coach Nisselson. Last year, the girls went 9 and 8 for the season and finished 12th in the NEPSAC Championships. The girls are looking forward to the National Squash Championships at the end of February. For the girls, their co-captains Ashanti Amastal ’24 and Charlotte Tobin ’24 are currently placed 1 and 2 on the team and look forward to lead the team to a successful season. Now, they are off to a very successful start of 8-3 with 6 more games to go.
Boys Squash
The boys varsity squash team is at a record of 4-5 with their next game against Kingswood Oxford School. The boys hope to bring up their wins in their last few games and look forward to the National Squash Championships as well.
