Just like that, the spring season has come to an end for the Penn Charter boys lacrosse and tennis teams, while the postseason has arrived in the form of the PAISAA tournament for our girls lacrosse, baseball and softball teams. Additionally, both PC track teams are preparing for their own PAISAA event this weekend, while the crew program gets set for its penultimate competition of the season—the Stotesbury Cup Regatta, the largest scholastic regatta in the world. It’s sure to be a thrilling conclusion to an action-packed spring campaign, so let’s take a closer look at where each individual team stands as we approach the finish line for 2023.

Note: This report covers Penn Charter athletic events between May 11-16.

Girls Track & Field

For the second consecutive year, the Quakers left the Inter-Ac Championship meet ahead of the rest of the field. PC scored 180 points to top Episcopal, who finished in second place with 141. 

“It means a lot for the program,” head coach Candice Lee said. “A great accomplishment that is proof that all of the girls have bought in. It has created a winning attitude and culture that also spreads to the cross-country and indoor track seasons. They want to continue this string of success.”

Alli DeLisi picked up first-place finishes in both the 800 and 1600 and was a member of the victorious 4x400 relay team along with Michaela Poland, Dani Shipon and Alex Jaffe. The 4x400 crew set a new league champs record in the event, finishing the race in 3:59.51. Poland also had a big day, winning the 400 while finishing second in the 200 and third in the 100. Jaffe placed fourth in both the 400 and 800 and was a member of the winning 4x800 relay squad along with Zady Hasse, Aisling Brady and Grace Neuwirth. Shipon ended up third in the 800, while Sam Jaffe finished fifth in the 400.

Elsewhere, Kaylinn Bethea had strong showings in both the 100 (fourth place) and 200 (third), while helping the 4x100 relay team secure a second-place finish (along with Ci’Nya Vincent, Haley Lewinski and Olivia Roland). Nieve Keitel had top-five finishes in 1600 (fourth) and 3200 (third), and Neuwirth and Hasse ended fifth and sixth, respectively, in the 3200.

The Quakers did excellent in both the 100 and 300 hurdles: in the 100, Veronica Lentz (second), Roland (fourth) and Lucy Sokoloff (sixth) placed in the top-six; in the 300, the order went Roland (second), Lentz (third) and Sokoloff (fourth).

In field events, Louella Whitaker achieved a fourth-place finish in the pole vault and Sokoloff finished fifth in the long jump. Mariah Mays was second in the discus, javelin and shot put, while Zsuzsi Pollock ended two spots behind Mays in the javelin. 

Now that the Quakers have earned back-to-back league championships, they will look to accomplish the same feat in the PAISAA championship, to be held May 20 at Malvern Prep. 

“We are definitely aiming to finish strong,” Lee said. “We have a lot of quality athletes and are just deeper than most of the other schools.”

 

Boys Track & Field

A year after finishing in last place at league champs, the Quakers rose to third in 2023, compiling 83 points to finish behind Episcopal (162) and SCH Academy (98). In his first season as an outdoor track athlete, Zahir Kalam Id-Din had a standout performance in scoring 26 points—he finished fourth in the 100 and third in the 200, and was also a member of the first-place 4x100 and third-place 4x400 relay teams. 

Elsewhere, the 4x800 relay quartet of Nate Johnson, Jack Frank, T.J. Zwall and Wes Trautwein finished first and broke the league champs record in the event with a time of 8:08.32. The members of that team also had strong showings in individual distance events: Trautwein finished fourth in both the 1600 and 3200, while Johnson placed fifth and third, respectively, in the same races; Frank was sixth in the 800 (he also ran on the third-place 4x400 relay), and Zwall returned from an injury sustained in the Penn Relays with a gutsy performance in the 3200, finishing sixth. Luis Rincon finished fifth in a very competitive pole vault field.

Ohifame Ijeboi finished third in the 100 one spot ahead of Kalam Id-Din, while Davin Barnett capped off his PC track career with a sixth-place triple jump finish and a gold medal as a member of the 4x100 relay squad. 

Along with Kalam Id-Din, several other first-year outdoor track athletes helped PC score critical points. Trey Shinholster secured third place in the high jump, while Isaiah Grimes was not far behind in fifth. Mark Butler took fifth in the long jump, and both he and Grimes were members of the victorious 4x100 relay team. Jaxon Adams finished sixth in the 400 and was on the third-place 4x400 relay team; Britton Armbrister earned a third-place finish in the 110 hurdles; and Oliver Jackson placed fourth in the 300 hurdles while running on the 4x400 squad.

“We competed in most of the events,” head coach Steve Bonnie said. “The spirit of the team was much better this year.”

After going “full blast” at league champs, Bonnie said that the Quaker contingent at this weekend’s PAISAA championship (May 20 at Malvern Prep) will be smaller. That being said, the longtime head coach believes his 4x800 relay team could very well win a state championship, and it should be a positive day for all of those competing regardless of results.

“When you’re not in line to win this event as a team, it’s mostly experiential,” Bonnie said. “It’ll be the last race for the seniors who go, and it’s an opportunity for members of the younger core group to come out and do their best.”

 

Softball

The Quakers are playing their best softball of the season as the team gets set for its first PAISAA tournament under first-year head coach Charles Warren. PC won its final five games of the regular season, including an impressive 6-2 victory over Baldwin in the finale on May 12, avenging a 12-8 loss to the Bears on April 18. 

This time around, Ryan Hatty continued her recent strong run in the pitching circle, firing a complete game gem with nine strikeouts while allowing just one walk and one earned run. Hatty made 10 starts during the regular season, posting a 7-3 record while striking out 59 and walking 16 across 72 innings. At the plate, she hit a sizzling .556 (30-for-54) with a team-leading 11 doubles.

“Ryan started off a little rusty this season but has found her groove just in time,” Warren said. “She feeds off the success of the defense, which has played with great energy behind her. She’s a well-rounded player.”

Warren also gave credit to catcher Macie Bergmann, who calls Hatty’s pitches instead of Warren himself and has built strong chemistry with the pitching staff. Bergmann also doubled, tripled and knocked in two runs against Baldwin, while shortstop Maddie Bergmann added an RBI triple of her own. Maddy Wray continued to serve as the table-setter atop the PC lineup by getting on base and scoring a run in all three of her plate appearances. Wray’s first-inning double served as a spark plug that led to an early 2-0 lead that the team never relinquished. Wray is batting .500 with a team-leading 27 runs scored and is also tied for the lead with seven stolen bases.

“She gives us the selectiveness and patience of a true leadoff hitter,” Warren said. “She and Maddie Bergmann, who bats second, give us an advantage as a strong one-two punch.”

The third-seeded Quakers (10-7, 4-6) will look to stay hot as they prepare for a May 19 PAISAA quarterfinal game in which they will square off against Baldwin for the second time in a week, First pitch is scheduled for 4:30 p.m.

“Our approach is to stay within ourselves and treat it like any other game,” Warren said. 

 

Baseball

The Quakers, winners of four straight to close out the regular season, are also peaking at the perfect time as the team gets ready for PAISAAs. 

The hot streak began with a 6-3 victory over Germantown Academy on May 12. Will Vieira pitched 5 ⅓ shutout innings and struck out six, while outfielders Sammy Davey and Gavin Ruta each delivered two-run doubles at the plate.

PC then hosted a pair of talented Catholic League opponents on May 13 and May 15, respectively. First up was current league frontrunner Father Judge, with the Quakers securing a back-and-forth 6-5 victory. Gavin Ruta got the start on the mound, allowing just one run in four innings while striking out four, while Christian Clauss and Scott Doran slammed the door shut in relief. Kyle McKernan and Liam Rowan each had two hits and an RBI at the plate. Then, two days later against Neumann-Goretti, Clauss picked up where he left off by striking out 12 in six dominant innings on the mound. Doran earned the save in relief for the second straight game, and Ruta led the way on offense by going 3-for-3 with a stolen base in the 3-0 win. 

The Quakers wrapped up the regular season with a huge 10-7, extra-innings win over SCH Academy on May 16, pushing three runs across in the top of the ninth after the Blue Devils had tied the game with a two-out, two-strike hit in the home seventh. The win deprived SCH of an outright Inter-Ac title, as PC’s local rival will instead have to share the crown with Malvern Prep. Colin Schumm scored the go-ahead run thanks to some heads-up baserunning, and Mason Avrigian delivered a clutch RBI single later in the ninth. Ryan Conrad delivered a quality start on the mound, while Doran again entered in relief with excellent results, hurling four shutout frames with five strikeouts. The win was payback for the Quakers, who had not forgotten about the Blue Devils beating them on their home field on April 11 in another game that went nine innings.

“We played the role of spoiler on their Senior Day, and our kids respectfully embraced ruining that party,” head coach Justin Hanley said. “The two schools are separated by two miles, so we always want to beat each other. It was a great, back-and-forth battle.”

Aside from PC’s 7-0 start to its season, the team is playing its best baseball right now heading into the postseason. The sixth-seeded Quakers (17-8, 5-5) will host Shipley on May 19 at 4 p.m. in a first-round PAISAA game, with the winner advancing to next week’s quarterfinals at third-seeded Haverford School. Coincidentally enough, Shipley dealt PC its first loss of the season back on April 3, while the Fords eliminated the Quakers in the semifinals of last year’s tournament. The two teams split a pair of games during the regular season.

“We are pretty confident,” Hanley said. “We just took out the best team in the league with its full arsenal of pitchers, so our kids should believe they can win a championship. At this moment, we’re doing everything right. We’ve been close all year in scratching the surface as a good team trying to become a great one. We feel that everything is falling into place.”

 

Girls Lacrosse

After splitting a pair of league contests to close out the regular season, the Quakers will now aim to defend the program’s first PAISAA championship.

On May 12, PC earned a 9-8 payback win at Germantown Academy after the Patriots had won by the same score at Penn Charter on April 25. Grace Walter led the scoring attack with three goals, while Aditi Foster and Alex Glomb netted two apiece. Gracie Shoup and Ava Diaz each scored once while Kayla Joyce made 14 saves in goal.

On May 16, Agnes Irwin turned a tight 6-5 halftime advantage into an 11-5 win, holding PC’s offense scoreless the entire second half. Walter had another multi-goal game with two, while Foster, Shoup and Molly Dougherty all scored once. Joyce made 17 saves as two of the league’s top three teams split a pair of regular season meetings.

“We had 16 or 17 turnovers against Agnes Irwin, just too many against a really good team,” head coach Colleen Kelly said. “We need to get better in five key components: effort, energy, focus, discipline and relentlessness. We’re going to move past it and look forward to how we can get better in the next game.”

Kelly described the season as “a rollercoaster,” and while the Quakers (13-9, 5-5) have been inconsistent at times, they have also played some exceptional lacrosse against top-flight talent both locally and outside of the area. The slate is wiped clean heading into the PAISAA tournament, and PC’s first shot at defending its title will come as the No. 2 seed on May 19 when the team hosts league rival Notre Dame in a quarterfinals game at 4:30 p.m. The Quakers went 2-0 against the Irish during the regular season. 

“I do believe in our players and I always will,” Kelly said. “We have to learn from this last loss fast, and we don’t need to have a mentality where we feel the need to be perfect. But we can have perfect energy and attitude with eternal belief in each other at all times.”

Additionally, the Inter-Ac announced its 2023 All-League team this week — Foster, Shoup and Joyce were selected to the First Team, while Bea Buckley and Nora Maione were named to the Second Team. It was the third straight all-league selection for Shoup, who was named to the Second Team in both 2022 and 2021; meanwhile, Joyce was honored for the second straight year after making the Second Team in 2022. 

 

Boys Lacrosse

Penn Charter closed out the 2023 season with a 14-7 win over Germantown Academy on May 12, which happened to be the final game of a long career for head coach Pat McDonough, who is retiring from coaching after 21 seasons in charge of the program. While he will continue in his role as a middle school science teacher, McDonough felt like this was the right time to leave his coaching post. McDonough won 216 games as head coach. 

“I re-evaluate where I’m at at the end of every season, but this time with my youngest son (Patrick, a PC lax player) graduating, it just felt like the right time to try something different,” he said. “My older two are in college, and I haven’t been able to see them as much as I would like.”

After telling his own family of his decision, McDonough said he told his team the news the next day before PC’s game against Malvern Prep on May 9, which he called “a hard moment.” While the Quakers (8-13, 2-8) lost to the Friars that day, it was only fitting that they delivered the longtime head coach a victory over GA, the school’s biggest rival. 

Being able to serve in the same role at a place like Penn Charter for more than two decades filled McDonough with gratitude, especially because few coaches at any level get to stick in one place for as long as he did.

“To be here that long means a lot to me,” he said. “Seasons come and go just like wins and losses do, but the relationships are what stay with you. I’m fortunate to still be connected to the majority of my players, whether that’s seeing them at weddings or alumni events, or hearing the announcement of one of their children being born. I’m forever grateful and blessed.”

McDonough said his biggest point of pride was not how many games his teams won or how many goals his players scored; rather, it was using lacrosse as a vehicle to prepare them for the next four years of their lives, whether they played college lacrosse or not. 

Of course, he has more than enough memories to carry him through retirement. McDonough may not miss the grind of what he said has become “a 10-months-a-year job, if not more,” he will miss his PC kids as he gets set to spend more time with his own. 

“I’ll take all the friendships with me — nothing can change those,” he said. “I got to coach my youngest son at Penn Charter. How many people can say they got to coach their son through high school? That’s the icing on the cake for me. I’m looking forward to spending more time with my kids and having more of those experiences and moments with them, and I’m sure I’ll fill the time with other things, too.”

 

Boys Tennis

The tennis season came to an end on May 11 with a 5-2 loss to Germantown Academy, who shared the 2023 Inter-Ac title with Haverford School. 

As he has done all season, No. 1 singles player and Inter-Ac singles champion Nate Arnold ended his brilliant sophomore campaign with another decisive, straight-sets victory (6-1, 6-1). The Quakers’ other victory in the match came from the No. 4 doubles team of Alex Zoldan and Ben Greenblatt, who shook off a 6-1 loss in the first set to take a tight second set 6-4 before closing out the match in a third-set tiebreaker. 

Penn Charter finished 3-10 overall and 2-8 in league matches, but the team often played better individually than the final score indicated. In addition to Arnold, Justin Cockerham and Justin Gantz gave themselves and the Quakers a chance to win nearly every time they stepped on the court, and Gantz especially made tremendous strides as the No. 3 singles player as a junior after spending most of his sophomore season at second and third doubles. The four PC doubles tandems all displayed major progress as the season went on.

“The individual performances improved more than I could've expected at the beginning of the season,” head coach Philip Stevens said. “We won matches at every position on the team, and I am really satisfied with the progress they all made.” 

It’s the end of the road for the program’s six seniors: Cockerham, Zoldan, Eric Liriano, Ethan Cohen, Ryan Packel and Steven Bernstein. Cockerham received all-league honors as a sophomore and junior with an announcement for this year’s selections still pending, while Liriano has been a program mainstay since middle school. Cohen and Packel improved dramatically since their freshman year, and Bernstein and Zoldan each cracked the varsity lineup for the first time as seniors. Stevens will have plenty of roster replenishment to address between now and next season, but will return Arnold and Gantz, two of the team’s top three singles players, in 2024. Other returning players, such as juniors Jevyn Dyer and Ege Gungor, are names Stevens said to keep an eye on next season.

“There will be opportunities to get involved and make a mark on the program quickly,” Stevens said. “Six of our top 12 players will graduate, so there will be open spots all over the place. The kids will need to arrive ready and willing to grab hold of them.”

 

Crew

Following the program’s best-ever 13th-place finish at the PSRA City Championship that took place on May 6-7, the Quakers were idle from competition last week as the team is now conducting final preparations for the 96th Stotesbury Cup Regatta, to be held May 19-20 on the Schuylkill River. According to the event’s official website, Stotesbury will feature 184 schools and 896 boats with more than 4,000 athletes competing in the two-day race. 

More information on the competition, which will be recapped in next week’s SportsZone report, can be found here. 

It’s hard to believe that it’s already mid-May, meaning we have just about reached the end of the regular season road for our eight Upper School varsity spring teams. Some will play their final league contests this week, while others will do so the week of May 15. And while the Inter-Ac playoff structure is a little different than how other leagues typically do things, there will be some kind of postseason for a majority of our Penn Charter teams. 

So, while summer is knocking at the door, it’s not time to answer just yet. Let’s take a team-by-team look at where things stand as we begin to enter the homestretch of what has already been an exciting and accomplished spring campaign.

Note: This report covers athletic contests played between May 5-10.

 

Crew

At the PSRA City Championships on May 6-7, Penn Charter finished 13th out of 74 competing teams—the best finish at this event in program history. 

Per head coach Katherine York, the Quakers had 32 rowers compete in the two-day event. There were 13 total boats—10 of the 13 boats advanced to the next stage, and nine qualified for finals, the most ever for PC at City Champs. Four boats medaled, and the Quakers had multiple boats in two of the finals races. 

The results for each race that the Quakers competed in are listed below:

Saturday, May 6:

• Boys Freshman/Novice 2x: Liam Haines/Rainer Malhotra—1st place, 5:37.89

• Girls Novice 4x: Caroline Sumner/Hannah Aldinger/Penelope Gray/Liliana DeMartinis—3rd place, 6:12.87

• Boys Novice 4x: Ross Lee/Alexander Brown/Avi Mondgock/Tiernan Perkins—13th place, 5:54.54

• Boys JV 1x: Jack Davey—8th place, 5:55.70

• Girls JV 2x: Claire Lewis/Zoe Page—1st place, 5:47.28; Grace Agosto/Grace Magee—5th place, 6:14.41

• Girls JV 4x: Ali Sweeney/Safiyah Muhammad/Brea Turner/Inaya Edwards—11th place, 6:04.33

• Boys JV 4x: Elias Moulton/James Foley/Jack Bowen/Mac Haines—5th place, 4:56.39

• Girls Varsity 1x: Charlotte Baker—5th place, 6:46.80

• Girls Varsity 2x: Ellie Choate/Ella Bretschneider—1st place, 5:47.45; Merrill Gadsden/Lindsay Gadsden—4th place, 5:53.88

• Boys Varsity 2x: James Glomb/Scott Sweeney—2nd place, 5:02.84; Harrison Signorello/Matt Clarke—13th place, 5:32.44

 

Sunday, May 7:

• Boys JV 1x Semi-Final: Jack Davey—4th place, 5:59.78

• Boys Varsity 2x Semi-Final: James Glomb/Scott Sweeney—1st place, 5:14.86

• Boys Freshman/Novice 2x Final: Liam Haines/Rainer Malhotra—1st place, 5:46.06

• Girls Novice 4x Final: Caroline Sumner/Hannah Aldinger/Penelope Gray/Liliana DeMartinis—1st place, 6:04.29

• Girls JV 2x Final: Claire Lewis/Zoe Page—2nd place, 6:50.43; Grace Agosto/Grace Magee—4th place, 7:00.05

• Boys JV 4x Final: Elias Moulton/James Foley/Jack Bowen/Mac Haines—4th place, 5:22.07

• Girls Varsity 1x Final: Charlotte Baker—5th place, 7:34.36

• Girls Varsity 2x Final: Ellie Choate/Ella Bretschneider—3rd place, 6:39.99; Merrill Gadsden/Lindsay Gadsden—6th place, 7:07.15

• Boys Varsity 2x Final: James Glomb/Scott Sweeney—4th place, 6:00.10

“We are so proud of all of our rowers,” York said. “It was an incredibly exhilarating, rewarding weekend.”

The Quakers will next be in action on May 19-20 in the Stotesbury Cup Regatta, their penultimate race of the season.

 

Baseball

The Quakers fell into an early 1-0 hole against Episcopal on May 5, a team that had beaten PC 5-1 back on April 18. Penn Charter starting pitcher Will Vieira gave up a second-inning run but limited the damage thereafter. He pitched 4 ⅓ strong innings, allowing three hits while striking out six.  

PC finally broke through with three sixth-inning runs to earn a huge 3-1 victory over the Churchmen. Colin Schumm tied the game with an RBI single before Liam Rowan gave the Quakers the lead for good with a run-scoring double. Ryan Conrad pitched the final 2 ⅔ innings and held EA scoreless to earn the win in relief.

Penn Charter dropped a 7-5 non-league loss to Archbishop Carroll the following day, but the final score was secondary to the team commemorating the occasion by honoring the seven seniors on the roster—Rowan, Schumm, Scott Doran, Cliff Harling, Oliver Zulick, Shawn Flynn and Tim Ford. 

On May 9, the Quakers hosted Malvern Prep and led the Friars 1-0 after three innings. However, Malvern blasted a pair of two-run home runs in the fifth inning and a solo shot in the sixth; meanwhile, three Friars pitchers teamed up to hold PC to just two hits in the eventual 5-1 Malvern victory. The Quakers dropped a pair of hard-fought battles this season to the reigning league champions. 

Penn Charter (13-8, 3-5) has four games remaining on its regular season schedule—two league contests and two of the non-league variety. PC will look to sweep the season series at Germantown Academy on May 12 (4 p.m.) before hosting Father Judge (May 13, noon) and Neumann-Goretti (May 15, 4 p.m.) in a three-day span. The Quakers will close it out on May 16 at SCH Academy (4 p.m.) before the team turns its attention to the PAISAA Tournament, which begins on May 19. PC advanced to the semifinals a season ago.  

 

Softball

With one game left on their regular season schedule, the Quakers are playing some of their best softball of the season. Penn Charter followed a four-game losing streak from April 25 to May 3 (three of the defeats were to Inter-Ac opponents) with three straight victories in the past week, giving the team momentum as it gets set for its first PAISAA Tournament under the direction of head coach Charles Warren. 

The win streak started with a May 5 contest against Notre Dame, with the Quakers breaking through against the Irish with a dominant 16-1 win. Lauren Gedraitis allowed just two hits over four scoreless innings, while it was a big day at the plate for both Ryan Hatty (three doubles, six RBI) and Jordan Simon (two doubles, four RBI). 

“The confidence went up for sure,” Warren said. “It’s always good to get back to playing the right way and doing the things we need to. Notre Dame is having a down year and we knew it was a good opportunity for us to take care of business.”

PC followed its win over Notre Dame with a 10-4 victory over St. Hubert on May 8. Macie Bergmann (three doubles, four RBI, four runs scored) and Maddy Wray (two doubles, three runs, two stolen bases) had major impacts offensively, while Hatty went 4-for-4 at the plate with four RBI while firing a complete game victory with 10 strikeouts and no walks from the pitching circle. Hatty is now hitting a blistering .569 on the season with a team-leading 11 doubles; she’s also started nine games at pitcher, picking up six of the team’s nine wins. 

“She’s willing to take it on her shoulders and accept responsibility,” Warren said of Hatty. “And as a sophomore, her potential is still untapped. Whether she’s pitching or hitting in the middle of our lineup, she answers the call and does her job.”

Finally, the Quakers (9-7, 3-6) secured a huge 7-6 win at Germantown Academy on May 10, avenging a 9-6 loss to the Patriots on April 25. PC set the tempo out of the gate by batting around in a five-run top of the first inning, highlighted by a two-run home run off the bat of Maddie Bergmann. The Quakers scored twice more in the fourth on a two-run single from Payton Handler, and while GA slowly chipped away at the lead, Hatty stranded the tying run on second base by inducing weak contact from the Patriots’ cleanup and five-hole hitters in the seventh inning. The team had a strong defensive effort, with Simon making several good catches in right field and Maddie Bergmann and Ellie McKernan sealing off the middle infield. 

The Quakers have one Inter-Ac game remaining against Baldwin at home on May 12 (4 p.m.) before shifting their attention to the PAISAA Tournament, which begins on May 18. It’s a young team that has had its share of peaks and valleys, but Warren loves the way the Quakers are playing as they prepare for their first postseason run together.

“We’ve started playing more complete games for all seven innings,” he said. “We’re in a pretty good spot. We aren’t going to win the Inter-Ac, but I’m looking at this through a wider lens over the next two to four years. It’s trending in the right direction, and we have everybody returning next season. But before then, we still feel like we have a statement to make.”

 

Boys Track & Field

Just like the girls, the boys track team competed in its final meet of the regular season on May 5 at the 2023 Henderson Invitational in West Chester.

Ohifame Ijeboi secured the highest PC finish of the event, placing third in the 100 with a season-best time of 10.89. Isaiah Grimes picked up a 10th-place finish in the high jump (5-8), while Mark Butler was 10th in the long jump (20-10.5). Christian Black had the team’s other top-15 finish, placing 15th in the triple jump at 39-0. 

The team will have the same Inter-Ac Championship schedule as the girls squad: trials at Penn Charter on May 11, throwing events at Germantown Academy on May 12 (3 p.m.) and finals in all of the other events on May 13 back at Penn Charter (10 a.m. for field events; running events begin at 1 p.m.). The Quakers went 2-1 in league dual meets this season and will look to improve upon their last-place finish at last year’s league championship event. 

 

Girls Track & Field 

The Quakers had their final regular season meet on May 5 at the 2023 Henderson Invitational in West Chester. Alli DeLisi finished first in the 800 in 2:09.66, improving upon her school-record time in the event. Michaela Poland secured a sixth-place finish in the 200 (25.63), while Mariah Mays placed eighth in the shot put (33-0).

Elsewhere, both Kaylinn Bethea (12th, 12.76) and Poland (13th, 12.77) were top-15 finishers in the 100, while Lucy Sokoloff placed 11th in the 300 hurdles with a personal-best time of 49.15. 

“Overall, the team had an excellent meet preparing themselves for the upcoming champs meets,” head coach Candice Lee said. 

The Inter-Ac Championship, which PC won last year, will unfold across a three-day period: trials at Penn Charter on May 11, throwing events at Germantown Academy on May 12 (3 p.m.) and finals for all other events on May 13 back at Penn Charter at 10 a.m. Lee said that PC’s strongest events should be the 1600, 800, 400, 200, hurdles and high jump, as well as all of the relays. A detailed champs recap will be featured in next week’s report, and Lee is confident in her team’s chance to repeat.

“The entire team is definitely locked in and focused on defending the title,” she said. “I believe that PC is the most complete team in the league and we can pick up points in almost all of the events. I just want all of the athletes to compete to the best of their abilities.”

 

Boys Tennis

The Quakers have had a busy few days of competition following Nate Arnold winning the Inter-Ac Singles Championship on April 27. The team went 1-2 over a three-match stretch with some strong tennis being played within each contest.

On May 5, PC dropped a 5-2 decision to Germantown Academy. Arnold continued his dominant play this season with a straight-set 6-3, 6-1 victory. 

A few days later on May 8, the Quakers completed the season sweep of Malvern Prep with a convincing 6-1 win. All three singles players—Arnold, Justin Cockerham and Justin Gantz—picked up easy wins, as did the No. 4 doubles team of Alex Zoldan and Steven Bernstein. Penn Charter also secured well-fought, tight triumphs from its No. 1 (Eric Liriano & Jake Morgan) and No. 2 (Ethan Cohen & Ryan Packel) doubles teams.

On May 10, the Quakers (3-9, 2-7) fell 4-3 to SCH Academy. Arnold and Cockerham cruised to victories, while Gantz outlasted his opponent in a 10-7 third-set super-breaker win. 

The team’s last match of the season—May 11 vs. GA—will be recapped more thoroughly in next week’s report. It will be the final match in the careers of seniors Bernstein, Cockerham, Cohen, Liriano and Packel. 

“Definitely a successful season in terms of individual growth as players, support of each other in practice and matches and a whole lot of fun,” head coach Philip Stevens said on the eve of the finale. “This has been a really hard-working bunch of guys who set about getting better every day. There’s not much more a coach can ask for from any team.”

 

Girls Lacrosse

The Quakers continued their recent stretch of strong play, winning three of their four games that took place between May 5-10. The team has now won 10 of its last 13 games dating back to April 11. 

This recent four-game stretch began with a 16-5 win over Notre Dame on May 5. PC jumped out to an 11-3 halftime lead and never looked back in completing the season sweep of the Irish. Aditi Foster and Grace Walter each scored four times, while Bea Buckley, Gracie Shoup and Ava Diaz all netted two goals apiece. Molly Dougherty and Harbor Campbell rounded out the scoring, and Kayla Joyce made 11 saves in goal.

Following a 9-6 win over visiting Manheim Township on May 6, PC had a couple of days off from competition before reconvening at Penn Charter to face Archbishop Carroll, the No. 7 ranked team in the nation on May 9. In a hard-fought battle, PC fell 10-8, with Foster and Buckley finding the back of the net twice each. Dougherty, Grace Walter, Eva Walter and Alex Glomb rounded out the scoring, while Joyce was again strong between the posts in making eight saves. This marked the final regular season home game for the program’s nine seniors—Buckley, Glomb, Shoup, Joyce, Sydney DelBello, Bella Toomey, Casey Jones, Olivia Summers and team manager Kayla Pham. 

Penn Charter didn’t have to wait long to get over the Carroll loss as the team traveled to Downingtown on May 10 to play a night game at Bishop Shanahan, ultimately securing a 13-8 victory after jumping out to a 9-2 halftime advantage. Foster scored six times, Grace Walter netted four goals and Shoup tallied a pair of scores. Dougherty also scored a goal, and Joyce made 11 saves.

The Quakers (12-8, 4-4) will close the regular season with a pair of Inter-Ac road showdowns. First, the team will hit the road for a May 12 game at Germantown Academy (3:30 p.m.) as PC seeks payback following GA’s 9-8 win at Penn Charter on April 25. The finale will be at Agnes Irwin, a team the Quakers knocked off in overtime on April 21. That one will also be played at 3:30, and after that PC will look forward to defending last year’s PAISAA title, with that tournament set to commence on May 18. 
 

Boys Lacrosse

The Quakers were in action three times over the past week, dropping a pair of league battles while securing a dominant non-league victory.

Penn Charter dropped a 13-6 decision to Episcopal on May 5, with Owen Black leading the way with three goals and an assist against the Churchmen. Gavin Michener continued his sterling junior season with a pair of scores, while Casey Felter also found the back of the net twice. George Glomb won 18 of 24 faceoffs and Noah Dacanay came away with nine saves in goal. 

After scoring a season-high 19 goals in a 19-7 win over Allentown Catholic on May 6, PC hosted its final home game of the season on May 9 against Malvern Prep. The Friars, ranked No. 25 in the country by USA Lacrosse Magazine, completed the season sweep with a dominant 18-4 victory. Black scored twice and added an assist, while Felter and Casey Weinstein each netted one goal. Chet Kempinski contributed an assist.

The loss to Malvern marked the final home game for the program’s seniors: Black, Glomb, Kempinski, Dacanay, Patrick Rullo, Seamus McCain, Patrick McDonough, Nick Walter, David Comitale, Ryan Egan and Lance Kay. 

The final game of the season for Penn Charter (7-13, 1-8) will be played May 12 at Germantown Academy (4 p.m.) when the Quakers will look to finish strong and complete the season sweep of the Patriots. 

Note: This SportsZone report covers athletic events played between April 24-28.

Boys Tennis

It was a lighter week than expected for the Quakers, whose April 28 match against Germantown Academy was postponed by rain and will be made up on May 11. Not only that, but a May 2 match with Malvern Prep was moved to May 3 due to inclement weather, and then that match was postponed too. It will now be made up on May 8.

Prior to the postponements, it was still a fantastic week for the team, as sophomore Nate Arnold won the Inter-Ac Singles Championship that was played on April 27 at Episcopal Academy. Arnold won the tournament a year after finishing as runner-up to Penn Charter teammate Liam Birnie OPC ’22. After a first-round bye, top-seeded Arnold mostly cruised through his first three matches—he defeated Josh Miller from SCH Academy 8-0 in Round 2, scored an 8-4 win over Haverford School’s Phinneas Manogue in the quarterfinals and picked up another 8-0 shutout, this time against Germantown Academy’s Aiden Swartz, in the semifinals.

“Nate played with a great mix of patience and aggressiveness, recognizing the openings available to him and pushing his opponents into defensive positions,” head coach Philip Stevens said. “He played the big points really well, shutting the door on his opponents at those key moments.”

The final against third-seeded Max Olsen of Haverford was a much more competitive bout. Arnold staked himself to a 5-1 lead before Olsen rallied, setting up a thrilling tiebreaker conclusion that Arnold—the only freshman selected to the all-league First Team a season ago—finished with an 8-7 victory. 

“The final few games were tense and momentum shifted repeatedly,” Stevens said. “Once Nate got up in the tiebreaker, however, he moved his opponent around easily and caused several unforced errors and easy put-aways. Nate had answers for everything that was thrown at him and he was able to execute his game plan effectively and confidently.”

Arnold and the Quakers (2-7, 1-5) will be back in action on May 5 at Germantown Academy for the first of two meetings between the two rivals.

 

Girls Track & Field

The Quakers had an excellent showing at last week’s Penn Relays, running a total of four relay races over the course of two days. First up on the morning of April 28 was the 4x100 relay team of Cassie McCusker, Kaylinn Bethea, Olivia Roland and Michaela Poland, who finished in 49.53 seconds. According to head coach Candice Lee, the girls ran well and missed qualifying for the next round by a second. Even so, it was the fastest time all season for PC in that event.

Later that afternoon, the distance medley relay team consisting of Dani Shipon, Poland, Alex Jaffe and Alli DeLisi finished in fifth place out of 15 teams despite it being only the second time all season that the Quakers had raced that particular event. The key, according to Lee, was shifting Shipon to the leadoff leg, which in this case was the 1200-meter portion. Shipon ran “an incredible leg” in 3:48.30 even though it was her first time running the 1200 this season. Poland ran the next leg, the 400, and performed well as expected in 59.79. Lee called Alex Jaffe “the missing piece we needed for this relay,” running the 800 in 2:25.17. Then it was up to DeLisi to bring it home, which she did by finishing the 1600 in 5:04.75.

“Alli was able to run another incredible leg and moved us up into fifth place, allowing us to bring home a medal,” Lee said. I am so proud of all of the athletes on this relay and how they have continued to improve and show up.”

The next morning, the team of Veronica Lentz, Shipon, Poland and DeLisi linked up to win the 4x400 Philadelphia Academic relay, finishing ahead of 12 other schools in 3:59.05, almost 10 seconds faster than the next closest team. 

The win advanced the Quakers to the 4x400 Philadelphia Area race later that afternoon, and Lee said due to senior prom commitments that evening, she had to replace Lentz and Shipon with Alex and Sam Jaffe. Despite the reconfigured lineup, PC placed third, setting a new 4x400 school record by finishing the event in 3:55.47, with just a little over a second separating the Quakers from the first-place team. 

“This race was very competitive and came down to the anchor leg with Alli moving the team from sixth place to third, blazing down the track with a 55.61 split, the fastest in the race.”

On May 2, the team reconvened for a dual meet at Episcopal, with EA coming away with a 57-56 win. It was the first Inter-Ac loss of the season for Penn Charter, and Lee rested DeLisi, Poland, Shipon and Lentz to keep them fresh ahead of the league championship meet at Penn Charter on May 13. Before then, the Quakers will compete in the Henderson Track Invitational at Henderson High School in West Chester at 3 p.m. on May 5, a final tune-up meet heading into the postseason.

“I am very impressed how the team has progressed this season,” Lee said. “We had a lot of first-time runners who have continued to improve. I like where we stand, and my goals are to win league champs and states.” 

 

Boys Track & Field

The boys track team sent a pair of relay teams to compete in the Penn Relays on April 27. In fact, the 4x800 squad of T.J. Zwall, Nate Johnson, Wes Trautwein and Jack Frank kicked off the 127th iteration of the event by running the very first race at 9 a.m.

Unfortunately, the Quakers were unable to finish after an accidental mid-race collision during a handoff took Zwall out of the event. While collisions happen occasionally in track, it was still an unfortunate occurrence, but one that head coach Steve Bonnie said is just a part of the sport.

As a result, Zwall, who was set to run as the anchor leg in the 4x400 Inter-Ac race later that afternoon with Jaxon Adams, Oliver Jackson and Zahir Kalam Id-Din, was replaced by alternate Mason Knight. The altered relay team finished fifth out of the six competing teams in 3:37.29.

“Mason is a fine young man who stepped up for us, but I think all of the kids were maybe a little distracted by what had happened earlier,” Bonnie said.

Things got much better for the Quakers on May 2 as the team defeated Episcopal 87-39 in the final Inter-Ac dual meet of the season. Bonnie called the Churchmen “a tremendous, excellent team,” so it was a big win for PC as it heads into the final few events of the 2023 season.

Bonnie praised the efforts of Ohifame Ijeboi, who won the 100 by almost a full second in 11.05 and narrowly edged six of his PC teammates in the 200, finishing that race in 23.66. Ijeboi also anchored the 4x100 relay team that won the event in 44.62. Elsewhere, Jackson performed well in the 300 hurdles, winning in 43.60, while Britton Armbrister had a strong 16.87 showing in the 110 hurdles. The jumpers were also solid despite cold, windy and rainy conditions. 

Just like the girls' team, the boys will compete in the Henderson Track Invitational at Henderson High School in West Chester at 3 p.m. on May 5, a final tune-up meet heading into league champs and PAISAAs. 

“The main thing this time of year is to keep everyone healthy,” Bonnie said. “In track, you throw a lot of stuff at the wall and hope that some of it sticks. We’ll see what happens, but more than anything we need health in order to participate and compete.”

 

Girls Lacrosse

Girls lacrosse split a pair of league bouts over the last week, beating SCH Academy on April 27 before falling to Episcopal on May 2 in identical 9-8 final scores.

The Blue Devils had defeated Penn Charter in PC’s first game of the season back on March 21, which interestingly enough also ended 9-8 on the scoreboard. This one against SCH went to overtime, with Gracie Shoup’s third goal of the contest serving as the overtime game-winner. Aditi Foster led the way with four goals, while Bea Buckley scored twice. The Quakers were without starting goalie Kayla Joyce, and backup Maeve Magarity stepped in to make 13 critical saves.

“It’s a huge pressure situation for a freshman goalie and Maeve came up huge, making some big saves at the end of a close game,” head coach Colleen Kelly said. “SCH is a huge rival for us and there have been so many intense games with them. There were momentum switches the entire time, and we stayed composed and disciplined and made big plays when we needed to.”

Kelly called the 9-8 loss to Episcopal “a huge improvement” from the first meeting, when EA dealt PC one of its most lopsided defeats of the season. The Quakers actually led the reigning league champs by two goals late before ultimately taking a close loss. 

“We lost, which tells me we still need to raise the bar at practice,” Kelly said. “What caused us to lose was unforced turnovers that we can’t make when playing a team as good as EA. I told our team, ‘Hey, we’re right there,’ and I think we just need to hold ourselves more accountable because those little things matter.”

The Quakers (9-7, 3-4) have six regular season games left—three non-league and three against Inter-Ac opponents, beginning with a May 5 home game against Notre Dame at 3:30 p.m. PC will also host Manheim Township on May 6 at 2:30 p.m.

 

Boys Lacrosse

After battling injuries all season, the Quakers are as healthy as they’ve been all year as they get set for the final four games of the regular season. 

PC dropped a pair of Inter-Ac games over the past week to SCH Academy and Haverford School, but the final scores of both games are an indicator of how far the team has come in a short amount of time. First up was an April 27 game against the Blue Devils, who had defeated the Quakers 19-11 on April 11. Penn Charter did spot SCH a 10-2 first-half lead before finishing strong with a 9-3 second-half scoring advantage in the eventual 13-11 loss. Casey Felter and Owen Black each scored three times, while Lucas Weinstein netted two goals. Gavin Michener, Chet Kempinski and Eian Kilpatrick all had one goal, while George Glomb won 20 of 27 faceoffs and Noah Dacanay made 11 saves.

After losing 15-4 to Haverford on April 14, Penn Charter and the Fords, the sixth-ranked team in the nation according to US Lacrosse Magazine, were tied at 12 to start the fourth quarter on May 2 before the Quakers ultimately fell 16-12. Michener scored four times, including his 100th career goal with his junior season still in progress. Kempinski, Black and Nick Walter all had two goals, while Felter and Ben Zaberiek netted one apiece. Glomb won 19 of 31 in the faceoff circle, while Dacanay was again strong between the posts with 14 saves.

“The Haverford game was as close to being fully healthy as we’ve been,” head coach Pat McDonough said. “It was a 12-12 game with five minutes left. All of a sudden, we’re putting pressure on a team that doesn’t play under pressure all that often with the season they’re having. The result is what it is, but just great effort by our kids, who fought hard and played as complete of a game as we could have asked of them.”

Photo Caption: Michener and McDonough celebrating the former's 100th goal.

McDonough also praised the leadership and maturity of Michener, whose older brother, Colin (now playing lacrosse at Villanova), had a record-setting senior season a year ago. Gavin, who has assumed the role of leading scorer vacated by his brother, was under the weather against the Fords but still powered through. He now has 43 goals on the season.

“I appreciate his grittiness and toughness,” McDonough said. “His brother reached excellent heights by his senior year, and Gavin is in the midst of that process now as a junior. I can’t speak more highly of his character and the leadership he provides. He is one of our best players and does a great job of being that rock for us. He’s a player who makes others around him better, and he hasn’t reached his full potential yet. He has a lot more in him, which is scary.”

The Quakers (6-11, 1-6) will look to finish their season strong, beginning with a 4 p.m. road game at Episcopal on May 5 and on Saturday, May 6, a home match at 11 a.m. versus Allentown Central Catholic. McDonough said that if the team wins its final three league games then there’s a good chance it will qualify for the four-team Inter-Ac postseason. 

“If it goes in our favor, great,” he said. “If not, we put our best foot forward and can always feel proud of our effort the last couple of weeks.” 

 

Softball

Head coach Charles Warren and company went 1-2 over the past week, dropping a pair of Inter-Ac contests before picking themselves back up with a non-league win.

SCH Academy improved to 2-0 against PC this season on April 27 by claiming a 6-1 victory. In two meetings, the Quakers have managed just three runs against talented eighth-grade Blue Devils pitcher Sam Snyder. Lauren Gedraitis was solid over six innings for Penn Charter, allowing three earned runs while striking out four. She had the only RBI of the game on a single in the first inning. Maddy Wray went 2-for-3 at the plate, but Snyder made life tough for a strong PC lineup.

“Tip of the cap to Sam, who handles herself with extreme poise,” Warren said. “They get a lot of runners on base and don’t play from behind often. They put pressure on us with runners on and capitalized on our mistakes. We had runners too, we just didn’t cash them in.”

On May 2, PC fell 12-4 to an Episcopal team that has not lost a game this season. Like they did against Germantown Academy on April 25, the Quakers fell into a huge early hole but showed admirable fight thereafter. This time, EA built a 7-0 lead after three innings before Penn Charter got three back on the strength of RBI doubles by Wray and Macie Bergmann. PC got to within 7-4 later on thanks to consecutive doubles by Maddie Bergmann and Ari Willis before EA blew it open with five runs in the top of the seventh. 

“We knew what we were up against and were ready for the challenge,” Warren said. “The game was a lot closer than what the final score showed. We didn’t capitalize when we needed to, but these are all learning moments we can take into the PAISAA tournament. Our team played great, and they understand what they need to do moving forward.”

The Quakers (6-7, 1-6) rebounded with a 7-3 win at Lawrenceville on May 3. Ryan Hatty tossed a complete game with seven strikeouts, and PC broke a 3-3 tie with four runs in the top of the seventh. Maddie Bergmann had a two-run single, and Gedraitis went 3-for-4 on the day with two RBI. The team is now 5-1 in non-league contests. A team with no seniors on the roster continues to improve, and Warren is excited for the rest of this season while already looking ahead to the 2024 team’s potential. There have been growing pains as the team builds chemistry, but the foundation has been set during Warren’s first season in charge.

“A smooth sea never made a good sailor,” Warren said. “We’ve taken our lumps, but facing adversity is only going to make us better in the long run. We’re right on track, and every loss has been a bright spot that we have learned from.”

PC will next be in action on May 5 when the team hosts Notre Dame at 4 p.m.

 

Baseball

Playing for the first time in almost a week following an April 27 rainout at SCH Academy (which has been rescheduled for May 16), the Quakers suffered a 7-2 defeat on May 2 at the hands of Haverford School. The Fords avenged a 14-7 PC win on April 14 at Haverford.

Penn Charter did produce 10 hits from eight different hitters but struggled to cash in against Haverford pitching. Garrett Mathias and Kyle McKernan each had multiple hits for the Quakers (12-6, 2-4), with McKernan knocking in one of the two runs. Gavin Ruta laced an RBI triple, and Christian Clauss pitched extremely well in relief, allowing just one hit and striking out three over 3 ⅔ innings.

There are just five regular season games left on Penn Charter’s schedule before the PAISAA Tournament, with four of them being Inter-Ac contests. The team will be at Episcopal on May 5 for a 4 p.m. first pitch before returning home the next morning to take on Archbishop Carroll at 11 a.m. 

 

Crew

The Quakers were idle from competition last weekend and will return to the Schuylkill River on May 6-7 for the PSRA City Championships. 

More information on the event, including a livestream link to watch the May 7 races on YouTube, can be found here. 

Note: This SportsZone report covers athletic events played between April 20-26.

Crew

The Quakers competed in the 5th Flick this past Sunday, marking the first time in head coach Katherine York’s nine seasons that PC has competed in all five Flicks to start the season. Some highlights/standouts on the day, according to York, were:

• Both of PC’s novice squads “improved tremendously,” according to York. In the Boys Novice 4x, Liam Haines, Avi Mondgock, Alexander Brown and Tiernan Perkins finished fifth, while the Girls Novice 4x boat consisting of Caroline Sumner, Hannah Aldinger, Penelope Gray and Liliana DeMartinis earned a first-place finish. 

• The Boys JV 2x boat consisting of Ross Lee and Jack Davey flipped heading up the course but were able to get back in with only a little help, booked it to the start, turned and started back down the course for the race, ultimately finishing 18th. “They showed incredible grit and determination and we're really proud of their composure and maturity,” York said.

• The Girls JV 2x tandem of Zoe Page and Claire Lewis took second place overall. “Crushed it,” York said. 

• Girls JV 4x—Ali Sweeney, Safiyah Muhammad, Grace Agosto and Inaya Edwards—“Again they had their best race ever and are learning how to push out of their comfort zone by developing positive self-talk,” according to York. This quartet finished seventh. 

• The Boys JV 4x boat of Elias Moulton, James Foley, Jack Bowen and Mac Haines had a tight race, finishing fifth, but were 0.1 seconds from fourth and less than four seconds off second place. 

• Girls Varsity 1x, featuring Charlotte Baker, finished fourth despite having only two practices as a 1x. “To row up to the starting line alone and then face off against girls who have been rowing a 1x for years takes incredible courage and composure,” York said. 

• Two Girls Varsity 2x boats each won their heats across two races. The first boat consisted of Ellie Choate and Ella Bretschneider, while the second featured Merrill Gadsden and Lindsay Gadsden. “It was so exciting to watch PC come in first two races in a row,” York said. 

• Finally, the Boys Varsity 2x duo of James Glomb and Scott Sweeney finished fourth. “There's still some speed to be found in this combination, and we're looking forward to trying out some tactics at practice to get them in the best possible position,” York said. 

The team will resume on May 6-7 in the PSRA City Championship. 

 

Girls Track & Field

Last Saturday went about as well as could be expected for the Quakers at the Father Judge Relays, as the team finished in first place out of 26 competing schools. Some highlights of the day included:

• Alli DeLisi scored a first-place finish in the 800, running it in 2:10.40, a record for the Father Judge Relays in its 34th year. Dani Shipon was not far behind in third place, finishing in 2:20.11. DeLisi and Shipon were also half of a victorious 4x400 relay team—the others being Veronica Lentz and Michaela Poland—that finished with a time of 3:57.04.

• Mariah Mays finished fourth in the javelin with a personal record (PR) of 88-11. Additionally, Mays placed second in the discus (87-7) and third in the shot put (32-11.5). 

• Mays was also part of a 4x100 relay team consisting only of throwers—also Emelia Malhotra, Sydney Raza and Zsuzsi Pollock—that finished in first place with a time of 1:00.02. “The throwers had an impressive relay considering they rarely run,” head coach Candice Lee said. 

• In a separate race, the 4x100 team of runners Cassidy McCusker, Lucy Sokoloff, Olivia Roland and Michaela Poland also fared well, finishing third (49.65).

• Lentz was third in the 100 hurdles (15.62), while Roland finished in third place in the 300 hurdles (48.87). Roland also secured a second place finish in the high jump (5-2).

• Other top-10 finishes on the day consisted of Poland in the 200 (sixth, 25.78) and Grace Neuwirth in the mile (seventh, 5:45.67).

“It showed me that the hard work is paying off,” Lee said. “The practice is translating into their performance, and the girls that are learning new events are applying the lessons.”

Next up for the Quakers will be the Penn Relays on April 28 and 29 at the University of Pennsylvania’s Franklin Field. The Quakers qualified in three relays that will run across Friday and Saturday: McCusker, Roland, Poland and Kaylinn Bethea will run the 4x100 on Friday at 11:15 a.m., followed by the distance medley relay team of Shipon, Poland, DeLisi and Alex Jaffe at 4:25 p.m. On Saturday, the 4x400 team consisting of Lentz, Shipon, Poland and DeLisi will compete at 11:30 a.m. 

“This event is very significant to me,” Lee said. “It’s the oldest relay event in the country and we are fortunate that it happens in our hometown. I realistically expect the distance medley relay to place in the top eight and for the 4x100 and 4x400 to make it to the next round of competition.”

 

Boys Track & Field

Boys track and field also completed a successful showing at the Father Judge Relays on April 22, finishing ninth out of 34 competing schools. Some standouts from the day consisted of:

• Luis Rincon placed first in the pole vault with a new PR of 12-3.

• T.J. Zwall was fourth in the 800 (1:59.61), while Nate Johnson finished eighth (2:02.67). Zwall broke two minutes in the event for the first time, according to head coach Steve Bonnie.

• Christian Austin finished fourth in the shot put (41-11) and Owen Larrabee was also in the top-10 (ninth, 39-9).

• The 4x100 relay team consisting of Mark Butler, Zahir Kalam Id-Din, Ohifame Ijeboi and Isaiah Grimes secured a fourth-place finish in 44.45. Kalam Id-Din’s leg of the race was “one of the best I’ve ever seen a PC kid run,” coach Steve Bonnie said.

• Butler was sixth in the triple jump at 38-3.5 and Christian Black was 10th (36-10), while Grimes finished seventh in the long jump (19-5.25).

• Kalam Id-Din earned a 10th-place finish in the 100 (11.45).

Bonnie said the team “didn’t run as hot” at Father Judge as they had a week earlier in the Fords Track Classic, but it was still a solid effort heading into the Penn Relays on April 27. The 4x800 relay team of Zwall, Johnson, Wes Trautwein and Jack Frank will run in the event’s first race early on Thursday morning, and the 4x400 team of Zwall, Jaxon Adams, Oliver Jackson and Kalam Id-Din will compete in the afternoon, with Mason Knight joining as an alternate. 

“Penn is fun for the kids and coaches to see competition they haven’t seen in front of a big crowd at Franklin Field,” Bonnie said. “I’d say we’re at least a year or two from hitting our peak, but the goal is to go, have fun, compete and finish in the highest place possible.”

 

Softball

PC softball split a pair of contests over the last week, starting with a 10-4 non-league victory over Archbishop Carroll on April 21. Macie Bergmann went 2-for-3 with a home run, double and four RBI, while Maddy Wray was 3-for-4 with a double, two RBI and three runs scored. Ryan Hatty earned a complete game win in the pitching circle.

“The energy was good, and we were able to bounce back in a positive way after losing a league game to Baldwin last week that we probably should have won,” head coach Charles Warren said.

Jordan Simon had two hits in her first start of the season, while Francesca Luzi, normally a corner outfielder, played so well defensively in center field against Carroll that Warren called her “a ball hawk, shutdown center fielder.” Simon and Luzi have taken advantage of unforeseen opportunities, a big positive for those two and the rest of the team that features no seniors on the roster.

On April 25 against Germantown Academy, the Quakers (5-5, 1-4) fell into a 9-0 hole before exploding for six runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. It was too little too late in the eventual 9-6 loss, but the surge provided a valuable lesson: no matter how many runs the team is losing or winning by, the game is never over.

“We can’t take our foot off the gas when we’re up big just like we can’t give up when there’s still a lot of game to play,” Warren said. “The good news is that we can score six in an inning. We have a lot of fight, and we need to. We’re coming with something to prove—that we are a true contender and a very tough opponent to everyone we play.”

The Quakers are at SCH Academy on April 27 before returning home on May 2 to host Episcopal Academy, with first pitch scheduled for 4 p.m. in each. 

 

Baseball

The Quakers had dropped four of five games heading into a busy stretch of league and non-league games alike. Their first test was a loaded Malvern Prep team that came into the April 21 game with a 16-2 record. Head coach Justin Hanley had said the Quakers would have to play a near-perfect game to beat the Friars, and while that result didn’t happen, PC still left Chester County feeling good about where they were headed.

The game was scoreless through five innings before Malvern struck first thanks to some luck. The Friar batter lofted a foul ball down the third base line that the PC fielder caught, only to have the umpires rule he had caught the pop up standing about six inches out of play. The next pitch, Malvern laced a two-run double in an eventual 4-2 loss.

“I’m not typically a moral victory coach,” Hanley said. “While we lost, it wasn’t totally devastating. We had them on the ropes and needed to deliver a knockout blow that didn’t come. I told the team after the game that we’ll see them again in two weeks and now we have a blueprint on how to attack them.”

The Quakers got back on track the next day with a pair of victories in a non-league doubleheader. First, they beat Roman Catholic 5-3 in the morning before returning a few hours later to defeat Ridley 13-5. For a team that has struggled at times to string hits together, PC had 18 knocks in the second game. Hanley said the doubleheader served as an opportunity to get every single player on the team at least one at bat and also allowed the Quakers to end the week strong while entering a new one with renewed confidence.

The weekend certainly carried over to PC’s next league game on April 25, a huge 4-1 victory over Germantown Academy. Scott Doran twirled a complete game gem with eight strikeouts and needed only 80-some pitches to do it, lowering his ERA to 1.51 in the process. Liam Rowan caused havoc on the basepaths with three stolen bases (he’s 11-for-11 on the year), even stealing home in the third inning to put the Quakers up 3-0. 

“That was the best I’ve seen Scott pitch in three years,” Hanley said. “He was incredibly efficient. On offense, our Achilles heel this season, has been not getting going until the fourth or fifth inning, but this win started with us striking first.”

Prior to Saturday, the Quakers (12-5, 2-3) had scored a total of four first-inning runs all season, a number they equaled in the past three wins alone. The team has rediscovered its mojo after a midseason slump, and Hanley is looking forward to the second half of the Inter-Ac schedule.

“Pitching wins in this league, and Scott’s complete game allows us to set up our pitching for the rest of the week,” he said. “Anyone can beat anyone in this league, so if we adhere to the one-game-at-a-time cliche then we feel like we control our own destiny.”

Following a 6-0 win at Springfield Township on April 26 behind five shutout innings from Gavin Ruta to run the team’s win streak to four, the Quakers will be at SCH Academy on April 27 before returning home on May 2 to host Haverford School, scheduled for 4 p.m. in both. 

 

Girls Lacrosse

PC stretched its win streak to six last week after a thrilling 8-7 overtime win over Agnes Irwin on April 21, followed by a 15-8 non-league triumph the next morning at Mount Saint Joseph Academy. Those two victories made it eight wins in the past nine games.

Against Agnes Irwin, Aditi Foster scored five times, including the game-winner in OT. Foster has now tallied 52 goals in her first season at Penn Charter after transferring from Upper Dublin, and her offensive firepower has been huge for a team that graduated 12 seniors, including three of its leading scorers in Maddie Shoup, Darcy Felter and Charlotte Hodgson.

“Aditi is amazing,” head coach Colleen Kelly said. “A true goal-scorer, which we needed to have. She can put it in the back of the net, so our job as coaches is to turn her into an all-around complete player. When she does that, she’ll be even tougher to stop.”

Kelly also praised the efforts of goalie Kayla Joyce, who made 16 saves against Agnes Irwin, including a huge one in overtime that came on the defensive possession before Foster’s game-winner. 

“Kayla’s been phenomenal, and it really helps against strong teams when your goalkeeper continuously comes up with great saves,” Kelly said. 

Unfortunately, PC struggled in the second half on April 25 against Germantown Academy. The Quakers (8-6, 2-3) led 6-3 at halftime but managed just two second-half goals in the 9-8 defeat. GA’s only lead of the game came during the final 22 seconds after the Patriots had tallied the go-ahead goal. It was a tough result for a team playing some of its best lacrosse of the season, but the Quakers still have a tremendous opportunity coming up to exact revenge against SCH Academy and Episcopal, the other two Inter-Ac teams that have beaten them this season.

“What matters is how we finish, not where we are right now,” Kelly said. “We know we can compete with and beat the best. But we’ve also shown we can lose games that we should win. We’ve shown our potential, now it’s just about doing it more consistently.”

The Quakers are at SCH Academy on April 27 and at Bishop Shanahan on April 28 before returning home on May 2 to host Episcopal Academy. All three games are scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m.

 

Boys Lacrosse

The Quakers split a pair of Inter-Ac games over the last week. First up, Penn Charter faced a strong Malvern Prep team in the midst of a six-game win streak on April 20, dropping that contest 20-5. Chet Kempinski continued his stellar season by scoring three of the team’s five goals, while Gavin Michener and Nick Walter each found the back of the net. Backup goalie Harrison Quinn was pressed into starting duty against one of the top teams in the area and played well.

“He let in a lot of goals, but he also made a bunch of saves that quite frankly should have gone in,” head coach Pat McDonough said. “He put himself out there and his teammates supported him. Out of adversity comes growth when you have a good core culture as we do.”

PC was able to snap a four-game league losing streak the next time out with an 11-8 victory over Germantown Academy on April 26. Michener scored four goals and tallied three assists, bringing his totals to 41 and 14, respectively, for the season. The junior has scored 40-plus goals in consecutive seasons and has also netted at least one goal in all 15 of Penn Charter’s games this season. Casey Felter scored three times against the Patriots, while Kempinski had two goals and four assists. Zach Curtain and Owen Black also found the back of the net, while George Glomb won 17 of his 23 faceoffs. Back between the pipes, Noah Dacanay made nine saves.

“Always nice to get a win against GA,” McDonough said. “Guys are getting healthier, and it’s showing. We made some plays and found a way to put the ball in the back of the net a few times.”

The Quakers (6-9, 1-4) will next be in action on April 27 at SCH Academy before returning home on May 2 to host Haverford School. Both contests begin at 4 p.m.

 

Boys Tennis

It’s been a busy couple of days for the Quakers, who sandwiched the George Shafer Doubles Tournament between two league matches.

First, the team dropped a 6-1 match to Haverford School on April 21, with the lone win for PC being a come-from-behind rally from the No. 2 doubles team of Ryan Packel and Ethan Cohen (2-6, 6-4, 10-8), the second consecutive victory for that duo.

“Ethan and Ryan have definitely raised their games,” head coach Philip Stevens said. “They've started playing more aggressively and consistently. Over the past two matches they have lost the first set before digging in, working together and ending with third-set tiebreaker wins. It has been great to see them work hard for each other and the team.”

The Shafer Doubles Tournament was held April 22-23 at Episcopal Academy, “an annual event that attracts some of the strongest teams from Boston to D.C.,” according to Stevens. The four PC pairings were: 

• No. 1: Nate Arnold and Justin Cockerham

• No. 2: Justin Gantz and Eric Liriano

• No. 3: Jake Morgan and Cohen

• No. 4: Packel, Ege Gungor and Jevyn Dyer (a rotation of players is allowed at the No. 4 slot)

Arnold and Cockerham started the day against the top-seeded team in the tournament—and eventual champions—Delbarton School (NJ), playing tough before succumbing 8-3. Gantz and Liriano matched their opponents from Blair Academy (NJ) game-for-game before pulling ahead to close out the match 8-5, earning the Quakers their only victory on the day. The Nos. 3 and 4 teams played well and showed glimpses of confident, aggressive tennis, but ultimately lost to excellent competition.

Finally, PC dropped a tight 4-3 match to Episcopal on April 25. All three singles players—Arnold, Cockerham and Gantz—earned straight-set victories. The Quakers (2-7, 1-5) will close out the week with the Inter-Ac Singles Championship at Episcopal on April 27 before welcoming Germantown Academy to campus on April 28 for a 4 p.m. match. 

As May approaches, we’ve reached the unofficial halfway point of the spring athletics season at Penn Charter. Let’s take a look back at the last week of competition to see how our eight Upper School varsity squads fared.

Note: This report covers athletic events that were played between April 13 and April 19.  

 

Girls Lacrosse

After an 0-4 start to their season against some extremely tough competition, the Quakers have found their mojo by winning six of their last seven games. The scariest part for the rest of the opponents on the team’s schedule is that head coach Colleen Kelly still thinks PC has another gear to hit.

The Quakers won three non-league games in the past week. On April 13, PC hosted Georgetown Visitation Prep from Washington, D.C., a squad on the fringes of the top-25 national rankings that has a win on its resume against McDonogh (MD), currently the No. 2-ranked team in the country. Penn Charter raced out to a 9-3 lead before holding on to secure a thrilling 12-11 double overtime victory, with junior Grace Walter scoring the game-winning goal, her only tally of the game. Aditi Foster had four goals and Bea Buckley three.

“Our confidence is definitely the highest it's been after that game,” Kelly said. “But even after that, I know we can play better. Part of being a competitor is never settling and always wanting more. We’re confident, while also knowing we haven’t reached the top — not even close.”

The Quakers followed that victory with a pair of wins over two talented teams from the area: 12-8 over Lawrenceville on April 15 and 9-6 over The Hill School on April 17. Foster had four goals, Gracie Shoup three and Alex Glomb two against Lawrenceville, while Kayla Joyce made a season-high 17 saves in goal. Against Hill, Foster scored three more times, while Ava Diaz found the back of the net twice—Diaz’s fourth straight game with at least one goal. In her first season with the program, Foster has a team-leading 41 goals and has scored in every game this season, with all but one being multi-goal efforts.

“I think we could have won both games by wider margins if we played at full speed the entire game,” Kelly said. “We’re still figuring out how to keep that momentum going, but we’re getting closer to reaching our potential, which is exciting.”

Next up for the Quakers (6-5, 1-2) is a huge home game against Agnes Irwin at 3:30 on April 21. The Owls entered this week as the top team in the area, having started their season 7-0 before losing 5-4 to defending league champion Episcopal on April 18. PC and Agnes Irwin have played some close, spirited battles over the last few seasons, and Kelly is hoping a win will get the team back in the league title conversation (EA leads the Inter-Ac with a 4-0 record, followed by Agnes Irwin at 3-1 and SCH Academy at 4-2). 

“All league games matter, but this one is super important for us,” Kelly said. “A win would make things more exciting going forward, and we’ve developed a huge rivalry recently with Agnes Irwin. We need to play a complete game.”

 

Boys Lacrosse

The Quakers have played three games since our last weekly check-in, sandwiching a non-league victory around a pair of Inter-Ac losses.

On April 14, PC fell 15-4 to Haverford School, a team currently on a five-game winning streak, including a 3-0 start to league play. The Fords are the only unbeaten team left in the Inter-Ac and are looking to unseat Malvern Prep as league champion. Gavin Michener, Owen Black, Nick Walter and George Glomb all scored for PC, while goalie Noah Dacanay matched his season-high with 19 saves.

The next day, Penn Charter rebounded with a thrilling 11-10 victory over Moorestown High. Michener scored four times, as did Chet Kempinski, who tallied the game-winning goal. Black scored twice, while Walter had a goal and two assists. 

Finally, the Quakers hosted Episcopal Academy on April 18, competing hard but ultimately dropping the game 11-7. Walter continued his strong week by scoring three times, while Lucas Weinstein had his first multi-goal effort of the season with two. Michener and Kempinski, the team’s two leading scorers with 36 and 22 goals, respectively, each scored for PC (5-8, 0-3). Michener has scored at least one goal in all 13 games this season. Dacanay made 11 saves against the Churchmen to move over 100 for the season, while George Glomb won 14 of 22 faceoffs (he’s won almost 72 percent of his draws this year). 

Following a 20-5 loss to Malvern on April 20, the Quakers will look to bounce back when they return home on April 25 against Germantown Academy at 4 p.m.

 

Girls Track & Field

An already strong season for the Quakers continued last weekend in the Fords Track Classic at Haverford High School on April 15 with a plethora of impressive finishes: 

• Michaela Poland finished in first place in the 400 (59.08) and second in the 100 (12.91).

• Alli DeLisi set a school and personal record (PR) in the 800, winning the event in 2:10.72.

• Nieve Keitel placed first in the 1600 in 5:27.46, a then-PR for her.

• Veronica Lentz was second in both the 100 hurdles (15.65, PR) and 300 hurdles (48.05).

• Mariah Mays earned three top-five finishes in throwing events: second in shot put (34-11); fourth in javelin (84-10); and fifth in discus (89-3.5).

• Zsuzsi Pollock also had a strong day, finishing sixth in javelin (68-0) despite it being her first time ever participating in the event. Pollock was also eighth in the shot put (26-10.7) and 17th in the 100 (14.55), both of which were PRs for her.

On April 19, the Quakers returned to Inter-Ac competition with a dual meet at Notre Dame, winning by a score of 106-43. PC has now earned convincing league victories over Notre Dame, Agnes Irwin, Baldwin and Germantown Academy. Against the Irish, Keitel made it two PRs in one week in the 1600, this time finishing in 5:27 flat. Grace Neuwirth was victorious in the 3200, while Mays established a PR in the javelin at 97-3.75. 

“We had a very successful meet and are looking forward to the upcoming meet on Saturday,” head coach Candice Lee said.  

Penn Charter will compete in the Father Judge Relays on April 22, the team’s final tune-up heading into the historic Penn Relays the following weekend, now in its 127th year. Speaking of the Penn Relays, the Quakers have already qualified in the following events:

• 4x100 relay: McCusker, Bethea, Roland, Poland

• 4x400 relay: Lentz, Shipon, Poland, DeLisi

• Distance medley relay: Shipon, Poland, A. Jaffe, DeLisi

 

Boys Track & Field

The boys track & field team also competed at the Fords Track Classic on April 15, continuing to improve as the season progresses. Some standout performances included:

• Zahir Kalam Id-Din won the 200 in 23.07 and continues developing as one of the team’s best sprinters.

• T.J. Zwall, one of the top distance runners for PC, won the 3200 in 9:54.73. Ben Berger secured an eighth-place finish in the same event (10:58.79); Zwall also captured second place in the 1600 at 4:22.74, while Wes Trautwein was eighth (4:30.57).

• The 4x100 relay team of Mark Butler, Kalam Id-Din, Davin Barnett and Isaiah Grimes finished in second place (44.65), while the 4x400 crew of Jaxon Adams, Mason Knight, Kalam Id-Din and Oliver Jackson placed fourth (3:33.38).

• Adams was fifth in the 400 at 52.69.

• Jackson finished in fifth place in the 300 hurdles at 43.10.

• Luis Rincon secured a second-place finish in the pole vault (11-0), while Aiden Trautwein was fourth (9-0).

• Grimes finished third in the long jump (20-8.5), while Butler placed eighth (19-2).

• Barnett earned a top-five finish in the triple jump, placing fourth at 38-10.2.

“It was an amazing team effort and there were some outstanding performances for the day,” assistant coach Dave Tidey said. “A majority of our athletes ran personal bests, and it is a testament to all the hard work and progress we have made thus far.”

Like the girls team, Penn Charter will be at Father Judge on April 22, the team’s final event before the Penn Relays the following weekend, where the 4x400 and 4x800 teams will compete.

 

Softball

During a three-game losing streak from March 29 through April 6, the Quakers scored just four total runs. In the four games since—three of which ended in wins—Penn Charter has scored 56. It’s safe to say the team’s lineup has gotten into a groove.

After a 20-5 win over Notre Dame on April 11, PC kept bringing the thunder with its bats by picking up a pair of non-league victories over Friends Select and Villa Joseph Marie on April 13 and 17, respectively.

Against Friends Select, Ryan Hatty tossed a complete game with six strikeouts in an 11-3 win. On offense, the Quakers posted five runs in the first inning and never looked back, highlighted by back-to-back doubles from Lauren Gedraitis and Hatty. Maddie Wray had a strong day at the plate, going 2-for-2 with a triple and two runs scored. 

Hatty picked up where she left off the next time out at Villa Joseph Marie, pitching another complete game, this time with 10 punchouts in a 13-5 triumph. Offensively, Macie Bergmann went 4-for-5 with a 2-run homer and three RBI, while Maddie Bergmann hit a bases-clearing triple. Eighth-grader Ellie McKernan scored four runs.

“We found a lineup that works, and the girls are feeding off each other,” head coach Charles Warren said. “Hitting is contagious, and it helps the offensive explosion when you’re consistently able to look up and there always seems to be runners in scoring position.”

The Quakers traveled to Baldwin on April 18, and while the team lost 12-8, the runs still continued to pile up. Gedraitis went 3-for-3 with a pair of home runs and a double, knocking in five. Hatty was 3-for-3 with three doubles while recording the final five outs in relief as Penn Charter (4-4, 1-3) attempted to rally. 

“Shoutout to Baldwin for sure,” Warren said. “They had a girl who hit a three-run home run in each of her first two at-bats. Going down 6-1 early took the wind out of our sails, and our rally was a little too late.”

The Quakers will host Archbishop Carroll on April 21 before returning to league play on April 25 against Germantown Academy. Both games are scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.

 

Baseball

The Quakers played twice over the course of last week, splitting a pair of league matchups with Haverford School and Episcopal Academy. 

The team snapped a three-game losing streak with a 14-7 victory at Haverford on April 14. The Quakers scored a combined seven runs in those three defeats, and head coach Justin Hanley had lamented last week that PC was having good at-bats and getting on base yet struggling to find timely hits that put some crooked numbers on the scoreboard. 

For one day, that issue was abated in PC’s first league win of the season. The Quakers actually fell behind 4-0 early in the game but rallied back thanks to a pair of two-run singles by sophomores Kyle McKernan and Rowan Griffith. Penn Charter scored four in the sixth inning and five more in the seventh, as senior Colin Schumm hit a pair of home runs and now has a team-leading four round-trippers on the season. Tim Ford and Garrett Mathias also homered, while Ryan Conrad picked up a win in relief, allowing just two hits and one run while striking out three in four innings of work.

“After falling behind, the kids realized the sky was not falling and that no lead was safe at Haverford’s field, which has shorter dimensions,” Hanley said. “The confidence we picked up as the game went on spread through the lineup, and credit to them for being aggressive and finishing strong.”

On April 18, the Quakers unfortunately ran into one of the hottest teams in the area in Episcopal, a squad that has won 11 of its 13 games thus far. The score was 2-1 Churchmen after six innings, so PC was right with them before EA broke through for three runs in the top of the seventh. Penn Charter’s top starting pitcher, senior Scott Doran, threw five quality innings on the mound.

“We didn’t come up with the big hit when needed, and also committed some defensive miscues,” Hanley said.

There will be no let-up for the Quakers (8-4, 1-2), who will hit the road on April 21 for a game at defending league champ Malvern Prep. The Friars are one of—if not the top—teams in the area, having won 16 of their 18 games this season. However, they did lose a 5-2 game to Episcopal, so Hanley knows his team can keep it close just like it did against EA through six innings. And, as the head coach said, if you want to have any chance to win a title in the Inter-Ac, you’ll have to figure out a way to beat Malvern.

“The margin for error against them is so thin,” he said. “If you give them extra outs and are not clean and crisp on defense, they start smelling blood in the water. I think against EA we laid the groundwork for a game plan on how to beat them. Our league is incredibly tough, and I love the fact that every game matters so much.”

 

Crew

Following a week off from competition, the crew team was back on the water for the 4th Flick on April 16. A highlight of the event, according to head coach Katherine York, was the 4th Flick serving as the first race for the team’s two novice squads. 

The Girls Novice 4x Flight 2 boat consisted of Caroline Sumner, Hannah Aldinger, Penelope Gray and Liliana DeMartinis, while the Boys Freshman 4x Flight 1 boat featured Liam Haines, Tiernan Perkins, Alexander Brown and Rainer Malhotra. 

“Our goal for our two novice boats was just to make it down the course safely, which they did,” York said. “Both boats learned a lot about steering, racing and rowing together.”

Additionally, Penn Charter had first- and second-place finishes in a pair of races: The Girls JV 2x Flight 1 boat featuring Zoe Page and Grace Magee was first with a time of 6:27.28, while the tandem of Claire Lewis and Grace Agosto was right behind at 6:31.61. Elsewhere, in the Girls Varsity 2x Flight 3 race, Ellie Choate and Ella Bretschneider placed first with a time of 6:01.44 and the duo of Charlotte Baker and Lindsay Gadsden were second at 6:20.00. 

“We were better prepared at the starting line, and more ably handled the quick start,” York said. “Boats reported feeling more confident to row at higher ratings. We can still improve at getting off the starting line quickly. It's good to have closing speed, but it's beneficial to get up and stay up, so we'll be working on that in practice.”

On the boys side, the Varsity Pair Flight 4 with Eli Moulton, James Foley, Jack Bowen and Mac Haines finished second at 5:47.91 and the JV Quad Flight 2 with James Glomb and Scott Sweeney finished second at 5:04.97.

Penn Charter will next compete in the 5th Flick on the Schuylkill River on April 23.

 

Boys Tennis

Last week, head coach Philip Stevens lauded the efforts of No. 1 doubles team Eric Liriano and Jake Morgan when the duo clinched a 4-3 PC win at Malvern Prep by capturing a pressure-packed third set tiebreaker. Stevens said that he hoped the team’s other three doubles teams—who, like Liriano and Morgan, started with a strong first set against the Friars before losing in three sets—learned by watching how their teammates conducted themselves under pressure with all eyes on them. 

Stevens said when the pressure ratchets up for more inexperienced tennis players, they have a tendency to make unforced errors and play into the opponent’s strengths rather than exploiting weaknesses. It’s a natural human instinct, but the way that Liriano and Morgan started strong, then struggled only to finish strong and deliver a crucial win could have a trickle-down effect on the rest of the doubles teams.

On April 18, a short-handed Quakers squad fell 5-2 to SCH Academy, but more progress was made on the doubles side. The No. 2 team of seniors Ryan Packel and Ethan Cohen “won a dramatic third set tiebreaker to cap their 1-6, 7-5, 16-14 comeback victory,” according to Stevens. Additionally, the third doubles squad of juniors Ege Gungor and Jevyn Dyer scored a more decisive 6-2, 6-1 win for Penn Charter (2-5, 1-3). 

The Quakers will host Haverford School on April 21 at 4 p.m. before spending the remainder of the weekend competing in the Shafer Doubles Tournament at Episcopal Academy. The Fords defeated PC 6-1 at Haverford on April 4.