The varsity lacrosse, track and field, golf, softball and tennis teams competed in the spring Southwest Preparatory Conference Championships, with two teams earning first place, one walking away as runner-up and two finishing in fifth place.
Lacrosse
Varsity lacrosse won the SPC Championship for the second year in a row, defeating St. Andrew’s Episcopal, Kinkaid and ESD. The lacrosse team played in Dallas on April 26 and 27.
In preparation for SPC, lacrosse focused on offensive plays as well as special defense and ran during daily practices. Additionally, the pressure to defend the 2022 title motivated the players.
“When we were on the field, we played with a lot of determination because we really wanted that title,” senior co-captain Mia Carley said.
Throughout the season, team breakfasts, dinners and time spent together at school enabled lacrosse players to bond, which translated to their cohesiveness and ability to work well together on the field. Lacrosse also stayed focused on improving their game.
“We had to remember to still play our game because we still have teams to beat as people are going to come for our title,” senior co-captain Grace Hoverman said.
With the team’s 2023 slogan, “level up,” the players felt a responsibility to keep pushing themselves and expanding their skill sets.
“There is definitely stress that for every team we play, they will play their best game, so we need to level up and play ours,” Hoverman said.
Overall, Carley said she was thrilled with lacrosse’s SPC performance as it was a culmination of their hard work throughout the season.
“I’m really proud because I feel like we played one of the best games we’ve ever played. That was really fulfilling,” Carley said.
Track and Field
Track and Field walked away as back-to-back SPC Champions after competing in Fort Worth on April 28 and 29.
After losing team members to injury, track and field athletes stepped up to do their part for the team.
“Everyone showed out,” senior co-captain Lola Isom said. “People placed when it wasn’t expected and got points when they weren’t seeded to.”
Track and field held team bonding as a high priority this season.
“At the end of practices, we broke out with ‘one, two, three, family’ to reiterate the bond and build a sense of community,” senior co-captain Caroline Petrikas said.
The team also used breakfasts, dinners and training in the fitness center to become a close-knit family.
“We are each other’s biggest fans,” Isom said.
Because of the stressful nature of track, Isom and Petrikas said they strived to keep the team energized and minimize tension.
“We’d bring speakers to the meets and blast super loud music,” Petrikas said. “We had dance parties, and although we wanted to win, it was important that we weren’t putting pressure on ourselves.”
During the tournament, track and field created lasting memories as they spent time together at the hotel.
“It was really nice to see everybody come together, and even though we weren’t all best friends before, we became very tight,” Petrikas said.
Isom and Petrikas said they are grateful they ended their last season on a win and left a legacy for track and field.
“Everyone wanted to do their part to help the team, and it’s really encouraging to see everybody come together,” Petrikas said.
Golf
Golf finished as runner-up in the SPC tournament after competing in Houston on April 17 and 18.
To prepare for SPC, the team went to the course at Brookhaven three times a week and practiced nine holes.
Getting to travel around Texas throughout the season allowed the team to grow closer and enjoy fun, memorable times together.
“We had great team dinners, and on the bus rides, we played games, listened to music and did karaoke,” senior Asha Gudipaty said.
During practices, the golf team broke off into groups and had the opportunity to talk with teammates while they practiced.
“Our practices are unique because we get to go off in groups and play on the course,” Gudipaty said.
Aside from the runner-up trophy, golf obtained necessary experience in adapting to fluctuating weather.
“The first day of SPC, we played in brutal sun, whereas the following day, we played in the rain,” Gudipaty said. “The rain was a big challenge because we had never played in that type of weather before.”
Reflecting on SPC, Gudipaty said the team bonded further in the hotel as they watched shows and enjoyed spending time together.
“I’m satisfied with our season and how we did,” Gudipaty said. “It felt nice to end on a good note for my senior year.”
Softball
Softball earned fifth place in SPC after playing Kinkaid and Greenhill. Softball competed in Fort Worth and Dallas from April 27 to 29.
In addition to practice, softball relied on games as a primary source of preparation for SPC.
“We were scheduled to play against teams that were out of our league in order to see where we stood with them, to know better how we would stand at SPC,” junior co-captain Sofie Santana said.
Before SPC, softball focused on defense, the parts of the game that were most detailed and coming together as a team to support each other.
“During SPC, we became really close by spending time together at the hotel and at meals,” senior co-captain Maia Hartley said. “We had a ‘no phones’ rule at dinner, which allowed us to focus on spending time with the team.”
Although softball lost its first SPC game, this pushed them to embody their team word “fight” to defeat Greenhill for fifth place.
“I think the initial loss was a wake-up call that allowed us to get focused,” Santana said.
Hartley said the team chose “fight” as the team word to motivate everyone to be their best self. Reflecting on softball’s SPC performance, Hartley said the team demonstrated an immense amount of fight and a desire to win.
“Everyone was really excited during our last game and I’m happy that we ended on a win,” Hartley said. “The whole team played really well.”
Tennis
Tennis finished in fifth place after an initial loss to St. Stephen’s Episcopal and subsequent wins against Episcopal and John Cooper. Tennis competed in Fort Worth from April 27 to 29.
Throughout the season, the tennis team’s training through daily practices allowed them to win the majority of their matches and become a supportive community.
“We played both singles and doubles to get a feel for hitting all the strokes, practiced footwork and went to the fitness center on a weekly basis,” senior Caraday Martin said.
Throughout the season, tennis used the motto “energy is everything” to keep them motivated.
“Our motto pushed us to do our best in the matches and stay energized early in the morning [during SPC],” Martin said.
Tennis incorporated a restful week right before SPC to ensure they were not stressed or overworked prior to the tournament.
“We did a pickleball tournament with our parents to bond more,” junior Sophia Fowler said.
Additionally, tennis grew closer as a team through dinners and breakfasts. Although they faced a loss at the start of the SPC tournament, they said it only motivated them to work harder and win the rest of the matches.
“We were disappointed with our results in the first match, but we converted our mentality from focusing on the loss to going and watching everybody else and staying supportive, positive and happy,” Fowler said. “We had been playing really well, so we wanted to prove that this loss did not define our season.”
To Fowler, the most memorable part of SPC was winning the last matches on Friday and Saturday.
“I feel like we played our best, and this has been the most fun season yet,” Fowler said.
