Shipley Girls’ Volleyball Earns 2nd Place in the Independent Schools League

The Shipley volleyball team ended their season 2nd in the Independent Schools League. They fell to Agnes Irwin on Thursday, February 14 by a score of 3-1. Individual game scores were: 25-27, 15-25, 25-19, and 19-25.

Leading the Gators were freshman JB Loomis and senior co-captain Christina Zipf. Loomis had 15 kills, a 0.176 hitting %, 15 digs, 1 solo block, and 2 aces. Zipf had 25 assists, 9 digs, and 2 aces.

Also contributing were senior co-captain Helen Edwards with 11 kills, a 0.241 hitting %, 3 solo blocks, and 9 digs, and juniors Jess Stokes and Jennifer Nichols. Stokes had 14 digs, 6 kills, and a 0.143 hitting %, and Nichols added 13 digs.

The girls ended their season with a record of 13-3, the best record the team has had in over 8 years. The Gators look forward to next year with the return of 4 starters leading a very talented group of underclassmen.

Shipley’s Boys’ and Girls’ Swim Teams Compete in Friends Schools League Championships

The Shipley swimming teams swam very well at the Friends Schools League Championships, hosted by Friends Central on Saturday, February 16.
 
Senior Laura Butera and sophomore Kelly Sullivan led the girls with several excellent performances. Butera finished 5th in the 100 back. Sullivan placed 3rd in the 100 free and 4th in the 50 free. Sophomore Caroline Smith dropped 10 seconds off her 100 free time. Senior Kendall Graham trimmed some time off her free and breaststroke events. Sophomore Camille Gaynus broke the 40-second milestone in the breaststroke leg of the medley relay. Freshman Nicole Surman and junior Kayleigh Butera were not yet fully recovered from being sick, but each squeezed out a best time—Surman in the 100 free and Butera in the 500 free. Seeded 5th in her heat, Butera passed two swimmers in the last 50 to grab 2nd place in the race.
 
The boys were dropping their times in big chunks. Juniors Will Strathmann and Ian Dombroski led the team with top-six finishes in four events. Strathmann finished in the top six in the 50 and 100 free. Dombroski dropped his time by 4 seconds to place in the 100 fly. The team of Strathmann, Dombroski, freshman Carter Brown, and sophomore Andrew Ramsey captured 2nd place in the 400 free relay.
 
Brown and Ramsey had very big days: Brown swam a total of 800 yards. In the 500 free, he smashed through the 7-minute mark by turning in a time of 6:43. Ramsey chopped 15 seconds off his 200 free and almost 5 seconds off his 100 free relay split.
 
All the boys made impressive improvements. Freshman Nate Colgan chopped a total of 14 seconds off his times in the 100 free, 50 free, and 100 back. Sophomore Chris Sfedu dropped his times in the 50 free and 100 free. Junior Brendan Pailet swam a best time in the fly leg of the medley relay.
 
On February 22 and 23, Will Strathmann, Laura Butera, and Kelly Sullivan will swim at Eastern Championships at LaSalle College.

Shipley Girls’ Basketball Takes Home Friends Schools League Title

Last year, Shipley entered the Friends Schools League Championship with an undefeated league record, favored to win the title. A loss to Abington Friends left them with a bitter taste in their mouths. Though the Gators found themselves in a similar position going into the championship round this year, they enjoyed a different result with a 51-42 victory over Germantown Friends.

The focus and determination of both sides was easy to see from the tip. Neither team was willing to back down and let the other pull away with any kind of decisive lead. Although Shipley led by 11 at half, the game was never in hand. Scoring 20 of Shipley’s 27 first-half points were juniors Alisha Fairfax and Alex Lennon. Fairfax connected on two 3-point buckets and was a perfect four for four from the free throw line in the first half. Lennon did most of her work on the inside, and was also a perfect two for two from the line. Shipley’s defense is what really allowed the team to get out to an early 11-point advantage, with Lennon consistently swatting away GFS shots.

In the second half, things tightened up quickly. GFS cut the Shipley lead to 3 points by the end of the third quarter. Leading the way for GFS was Nina Voith, who scored 11 of her 21 points in the third. Voith’s 21 points also helped her eclipse the 1,000 point milestone, with her senior year still to play.

The Gators were able to weather the storm in the third and came out on fire in the final period. Alex Lennon’s shot-blocking and rebounding had given GFS fits all night, and never more so than in the final 8 minutes of the game. Lennon and the stifling perimeter defense of the Gators held GFS to only one field goal the entire fourth quarter, with the 7 other points coming from the line. Lennon also made some big buckets down the stretch to complete her night with 23 points. Along with Lennon’s 8 points in the fourth, junior Mo Gentry was a cool 5 for 6 from the foul line in the game’s closing moments. Gentry finished with 9 points. Also chipping in offensively for Shipley was Fairfax with 10, sophomore Brianna Ross with 7, and junior Alex Davis with 2.

The girls had a bye in the first round of the PA Independent State Tournament, and will face #7 Mercersburg on Wednesday, February 20 at 4:30pm in Yarnall gymnasium.

Sean Costello, Asst. Coach

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