Girls’ Field Hockey
The field hockey team finished its regular season undefeated. The team marched into the semi-finals with captains Liz Agatucci, AG Whitaker and Leah Hurwitz leading the way, and lost to Charlotte Catholic 5-1. The girls improved their skills and athleticism, but the biggest takeaway is the communication the girls gained from bonding this season.
“I think this is the closest we’ve ever been in my four years of playing,” said senior captain Liz Agatucci.
— Zoe Hiemstra
Girls’ Tennis
The girls’ tennis team had a successful season, finishing 16-3 and undefeated in conference play. They were conference champions and advanced into regionals before getting defeated by New Hanover. They grew most in supporting each other and having fun, but this wasn’t without hard work.
“The whole tennis team has worked really hard to become the team we are,” sophomore Christina Ahn said.
— Shay Wisdom
Cross Country
The cross country team finished its season strong, sending several runners to the state meet. Freshman Margaret Sept led the girls team, placing fourth in the state meet, while Irish Farrell and Daniel Oren led the boys team this year with their top times of 16.34, and 17.10, respectively, in the 5k.
“The runners have made great progress over the season, and many of the younger runners have improved greatly,” head coach Stephen Marquis said. “Overall, I was very pleased with their growth, and am eager to see how they perform next year.”
— Paul Johnson
Girls’ Volleyball
The girls’ volleyball team ended the season with an 18-8 (11-3 Big 8) record. Coach Rachel Kline was “hoping [their] season extended all the way through November 9th,” the state championship game, but the team ultimately lost to D.H. Conley in a third-round playoff game in late October.
“For next season, if we can come in as confident, committed and focused as we are skilled, then we are going to have a breakthrough season,” said Kline.
— Ryan Murphy
Football
The football team saw great improvement this year in the eyes of Coach Brian Nunn, finishing with a 2-9 (2-5 Big 8) record. A major issue last year was the margin of defeat, losing games by 20 or 30. This year their losses came by an average of seven. Nunn believes that they could see major improvement next year if they can become “bigger, faster and more athletic” during the offseason.
“I want to be more aggressive… We haven’t had the athletes we need in the program to be as aggressive as we want to be. I think we have that now,” said Nunn.
Although many improvements need to be made, the season did have one major highlight – they beat Chapel Hill for the first time in 16 years by a score of 32-27.
— Ryan Murphy
Girls’ Golf
This season was one of growth and improvement for the girls’ golf team. There were 13 new players, with captain and conference player of the year Nayoung Kim as the only returning player. This was a big change from last year’s team, which only had six members. Coach Henry Essey said the new players will “hopefully show a lot of improvement next year.”
Despite almost all players being new, East received second place in the second match at the Occoneechee Golf Course Sept. 16. Kim was the only player to go to regionals, however, and she believes they will go as a team next year. Both the coach and players look forward to next season’s developments and opportunities.
— Sophie Evans
Boys’ Soccer
Although they did not make it to the semifinals as they did last year, the men’s soccer team made it all the way to the third round of playoffs this season. East finished with a 16-7-3 record and had several new members on the team this year who will lead the team next year.
“I’m looking forward to seeing the players really get at it and grow into their roles as leaders next year,” team captain Will Masica said. “We had a lot of juniors this year, so a lot of them will be seniors next year.”
— Sam Kornylak
