The "Ultimate" Showdown

Here are three interviews with members of the Middle School Ultimate Frisbee team: Will Purtill, Ben Pinheiro, and Ob Peter. They give insight on the outlook of this season's "Ultimate" team. They will explain how one throws a Frisbee in a game, what it takes to be an Ultimate Frisbee Player, and how well Mr. Newcomb coaches the sport. These following interviews will also attempt to shine some light on a sport that very few people know much about. Enjoy!

The Captivating Cole and the Spectacular Coach Silvi

We recently caught up with 8th grade wrestling sensation, Cole Testauti, and sat down with him to chat about the upcoming season, pump up songs, and his experience on the mats.

As an added bonus, we also interviewed Coach Silvi. His words of wisdom regarding a lifetime in the wrestling room will benefit all who give a listen.

POLO anyone?

In this video, we find out how to play water polo...and now we know how to "polo it up" because of the great advice we received from some of the EA players themselves.

Our Fearless Leader

We had a chance to interview the new Middle School Althetic Director, Mr. Borgerson. We asked him about how he is dealing with being the golf coach and the new athletic director, and also about his interesting college football career.

Woah.. Molly Giles made A Team!?!

Molly Giles, 6th grader, made A Team Field Hockey this year. We talked to a few other members of her team, including Kailey Radcliffe, Courtnie Williamson, Gracie Dugery (and her gnome Stewie), Darby O’Grady (8th graders), Corinne Zanolli, Kelly Flynn, and of course, Molly Giles. We asked them each a few questions, on how they felt about having Molly on the team! Enjoy our video.
By Sonam Saxena and Colby Gallagher

CrissCross: An indepth look at EA's XC course

For Cross Country we interviewed Derby Allman she is a Cross Country runner and the Inter-ac championships are coming up and she hopes to do well in them. We went to the cross country course and got a beautiful view. The cross country course has many hills and circles the entire campus. Our video was on Cross Country.

High Hopes

What is your NFL Favorite Team?
Eagles-76.99%
Patriots-7%
Steelers-5%
Colts-5%
Falcons-2%
Ravens-2%
Giants-2%
Redskins-.01%

How Far Will the Eagles Go this season?
Super Bowl Champs-11%
Super Bowl-5%
NFC Championship-21%
Divisional Round-37%
Wild Card Round-5%
NO PLAYOFFS-21%

Who is Your Favorite Eagles Player?

DeSean Jackson-35%
Mike Vick-30%
LeSean McCoy-10%
Nnamdi Asomugha-10%
Jeremy Maclin-5%
Brent Celek-5%

What will there Record be?
15-1 9%
14-2 0%
13-3 9%
12-4 19%
11-5 9%
10-6 29%
9-7 14%
8-8 0%
7-9 0%
6-10 0%
5-11 4%
4-12 0%
3-13 4%
2-14 0%
1-15 0%

A Dream Interview

This is a video about a kid that is attending a very boring class. He goes to sleep and dreams about interviewing Michael Vick. The boy is the interviewer of a fake Michael Vick. He asks many questions about the year up coming. Michael Vick is played by his classmate. He interviews him in the middle of an Eagles practice.

Chasing Chase

Journalists Cole Testaiuti and Matt Blommer had the privilage of interviewing football player Frank Langfitt and superstar Chase Markman. During the interviews we got an inside opinion as to what the football season will be like this year. Frank Langfitt gave us a little hint as to the stars on the team while Chase Markman has some different thoughts. See this story unfold here.

Nadiyah Browning: VARSITY Tennis Player

Nadiyah Browning is the only eighth grade tennis player who made it on the varsity tennis team this year. Her hard work and dedication got her to where she is today. We met up with Nadiyah to ask her a few questions.

________________________________________________________
Q: Does it feel weird being on a team with all upper school?
A: Some people might think that it’s socially awkard but all the girls on the team make an effort to include me in the drills and the exercises...they are actually all really cool.

Q: What’s a typical night (homework wise) for you?
A: It’s pretty hard to balance out my work and my play because we practice from 3:45 to 6:00 and sometimes I have tennis outside of school, so I’m up pretty late every night. I usually go to bed around 11:00 nowadays.

Q: How do you think you got to where are today?
A: I spend a lot of time practicing each day. I was at the tennis courts every day this summer and it took hard work, training, and dedication towards my tennis.

Q: Do you have a sponsor yet? If so, who is it? If not, who would you want it to be?
A: I don’t have a sponsor yet, but if I could I would probably choose adidas.

Q: Are there any other sports beside tennis that you like to play?
A: Tennis is my main sport so its what I focus on.

"Wait, What?"

Favorite Sports Memories

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Becca and Matt

What if.....?

We asked our fellow Middle School students one simple question:

"There are a lot of sick athletes here at EA - but what if they played a different sport? Can you picture....
Tre playing Ice Hockey?
Tyler Will on the Wrestling mat?
Mickey playing Football?
Becca Archambault playing squash?
Michael Jolaoso playing track?
Or courtney Williamson running Track?

Each student was asked which one of the athletes would have the greatest impact in their new sport...the results are below...


(click to enlarge)








The graph below shows the results of thisof what other sports our middle school athletic stars could play. The votes turned out to be pretty interesting, look at the graph to find out, and see what you think!

New Sport?: Middle School Kronum

1st EA MS Select Kronum Team
After watching the video of Kronum attached to this article, we decided to form EA MS’s first Kronum team. Speed, agility, and ball handling skills are all required for this newly-created, insane game. We chose to field a team of 13 players, all of whom are great athletes in their grade.

This is a mixed gender team, consisting of 8 boys and 5 girls. Here is the starting lineup:

Mickey Watson -Soccer prodigy. Has insane speed, a strong foot, and unbelievable soccer skills.

Mike Jolaoso – Basketball god #1 . Has ball skills, speed, and agility.

Trevaughn Wilkerson- Basketball god #2. Has speed, intimidating size at 6’7’’, and strength.

Tyler Will- best 7th grade athlete. Has speed, strength, and ball handling skills.

Colin Reder- Unbelievable all-around athlete. Has great speed, agility, and strength (just watch him play hockey or lacrosse).

Cam Walling- One of the top EA MS soccer player. Has good soccer skills, ball handling, and speed.

Maria Kilcullen- Best girl MS athlete. She is tall, strong, and has soccer skills.

Bella Dimarco- Also a great athlete. Has speed, size, and soccer skills.

Christy Palazzese- One of the better 8th grade girl athletes. Has speed and is athletic.

Courtnie Williamson- Best 7th grade girl athlete. Has speed, ball handling and agility.

The Reserves
Chris Cusack- lax bro. Has the intimidation factor and is a monster.
Quinn Dudek- Best 6th grade athlete. Has speed and ridiculous agility. Can jump to the moon.
Corinne Zanolli- impressive 6th grade athlete. She has lightning speed and cat like agility.

Athletes of the Week

The Star of the Boys' A Lacrosse team, Curtis Zappala, and one of the Middle School's best hurdlers, Kathryn Wilson,were this week’s Athletes of the Week.

We caught up with them after Chapel to talk about their awards and accomplishments.

Phillies SurPHey

Who’s going to be the best starter this year for the Phillies?
Roy Halladay 49%
Cliff Lee 35%
Roy Oswalt 6%
Cole Hamels 5%
Joe Blanton 4%

How far do the Phillies go this year?
World Series Winner 44%
NLCS Winners 33%
NLDS Winners 9%
Division Winner 2%
Wild Card Winner 2%
No Playoffs 11%

Who’s your favorite MLB team?
Phillies 66%
Red Sox 15%
Yankees 7 %
Orioles 4%
Mariners 2%
Marlins 2%
Indians 2%
Mets 2 %

Who’s your favorite Phillie?
Victorino 29%
Ruiz 19%
Utley 17%
Lee 10%
Blanton 10%
Halladay 5%
Howard 2%
Oswalt 2%
Polanco 2%
Manuel 2%
Fransisco 2%

The Flame Throwers

Allen Barry and Michael Nickolas aren’t only the two best players on the Middle School A Baseball Team, they are the best pitchers. Before a May 3rd game this year vs. Penn Charter, we interviewed them. We asked them what pitches they throw and how they grip them. Although you can’t see them throw, this is a good video for aspiring pitchers to watch as you can see the grips that give their pitches spin, dive and curve. Enjoy!

"I put the team on my back"

We had the opportunity to interview and go through the 6 goal performance of 8th grade girls lacrosse stud Bella “Beef” DiMarco. Bella has been playing lacrosse since the 2nd Grade and enjoys the thrill of playing the sport. She hopes to play Division 1 for Duke University. Bella is currently the leading scorer for A team girls lacrosse and hopes to have plenty more goals. Check into this video for a recap of the remarkable performance by Bella and, turn your computers up because of the wind.

Girls Lax vs. Boy's Lax. Who Ya Got?

Over the past Week, we have asked people around the campus what type of Lacrosse they liked better, Boys or Girls. After asking about 30+ Students and Faculty the winner was Boys Lacrosse. Watch the video to see what some of them had to say.

Madness in March Madness

Bracket Tournament Results


1st – Woody Nimointyn – 97 pts


2nd – Brooke Baxter -91 pts


3rd –Charlie Jordan -77 pts


Teacher winner- Mr. Novak-75 pts

Worst bracket- Maddie Donatucci-29 pts




The NCAA Basketball Tournament this year was wild, exciting, and full of upsets. As you may know, only two people picked the Final Four teams correctly on ESPN’s Bracket Challenge, which has millions of brackets submitted every year. This year, Mr. Gibbs’ Sports Journalism Class held its own Challenge. Before we get to those results, here is an overview of the tournament:
In the first round, seven lower seeds beat a higher seed. 11 seed Marquette beat 6 Xavier, 9 Illinois beat 8 UNLV, 12 Richmond beat 5 Vanderbilt, 13 Morehead St. beat 4 Louisville, 11 VCU beat 6 Georgetown, 10 Florida St. beat 7 Texas A&M, and 11 Gonzaga beat 6 St. John’s. All 1 and 2 seeds advanced, and three 11 seeds advanced as well.
The second round was full of drama as well. Marquette again advanced by beating Syracuse, a heavy favorite. Although they were the higher seed, Richmond beat Morehead St. to advance to the Sweet 16. In one of the most dramatic games of the year, Butler beat Pittsburgh on 2 last-second free throws by Matt Howard, Butler’s best player, after he was fouled by Denier Robinson. Florida St. pulled off another huge upset by beating Notre Dame, and VCU, a small school in Virginia from the CAA, beat Purdue. Other than Pitt and Notre Dame, the rest of the 1 and 2 seeds advanced.
In the Sweet 16, Arizona beat 1 seed and reigning champ Duke, while VCU and Butler won again. UConn beat San Diego St. The most notable game of the round was 4 Kentucky vs. 1 overall Ohio St., who was picked by many to win. Kentucky advanced in an epic game, pulling off yet another upset for the tournament.
The Final Four was set when 3 UConn beat 5 Arizona, 8 Butler beat 2 Florida, 11 VCU beat 1 Kansas, and 4 Kentucky beat 2 UNC. To advance to the National Championship, UConn beat Kentucky, 56-55, in an exciting game. The other game was a matchup of underdogs. Almost no one picked VCU to get there, but with excellent coaching and tremendous play from Joey Rodriguez, they made it. Butler made the National Championship against Duke the previous year, but lost by 2 points. Butler won the game, 70-62, to advance to a 2nd straight National Championship.
The National Championship game did not follow in the footsteps of the other games in the tournament. There weren’t many exciting threes, flashy dunks, and there certainly wasn’t a high score. Some called it the worst National Championship game they had ever seen. The score at the end of the 1st half was 22-19 with Butler on top. But Uconn roared back in the second, ultimately smashing Butler, 53-41, to take the title. Butler’s shooting percentage , 18.8, was the worst in a title game. They shot 1-25 in the paint with 2 points. The tournament MVP was Kemba Walker. In all, this year’s tournament was one of the most exciting in history.

Stats from our Bracket Challenge
Best Bracket Score-97 (Woody Nimointyn)

Worst-29 (Maddie Donatucci)

INTERVIEW WITH FACULTY WINNER: Mr. Novak-75 pts







Last, but certainly not least...well, I guess it is the least in terms of score. Here is an interview with 6th grader Maddie Donatucci, explaining the method behind her madness:

Chris CusAC the Lax ManiAC

We had the enjoyement of interviewing 8th grade defensemen Chris “Lax Maniac” Cusack about what fuels him in the game of Lacrosse. Chris switched from baseball to start a new career in Lacrosse. This is Chris’s first year of playing and he hopes for it to be a good one. Check out this video to get the inside scoop on the decision of the lacrosse maniac!!

Tennis Trickedy Trick Shots Designed to Trick the Mind, Body, and Spirit

This video shows some of the coolest tennis trick shots. Some of these shots are real and some are made up. We hope you enjoy and use them in your next match. To learn how to execute these shots, come see any of us.



By: Justin Shah, Trevor Roberson, Aaron Kim and Chase Markman

Trackin’ With The Coaches

This week we had some time to sit down with Coaches MacArdle and Smith and asked them a few questions about the track team’s abilities, and their opponents. We also asked the coaches about their running experience.

Check it Out!!!

Coach MacArdle


Coach Smith

It’s Rowing, Not Crew

By Mike Jolaoso, Aaron Kim, Perry Avgerinos, and Matt DePillis

Just last year, Crew, or Rowing, was introduced to the Middle School, and Mrs. Konopka has become the head coach of the Upper School Varsity Rowing Program at EA. Mrs. Konopka has a history in Rowing. She attended the University of Pennsylvania, and competed there. She was a letterwinner in 1988. Now Mrs. Konopka has a chance to share her passion with Middle Schoolers, and we interviewed her to find out her thoughts about Rowing.


Calloway Cox, an 8th grader, has been rowing for 3 years. We interviewed her on why she likes to row. She said that it is fun, she likes to row and run, it has taught her discipline, and it has given her upper body strength.

Who likes to lax? We do. We do.

Athen Iannucci was born April 15, 1982 in Canada. Currently he is the coach of the Episcopal Academy a team and is also on the Philadelphia Wings. He is the leading goal scorer in the MLL. This is his first coaching job and I think so far he likes it. He stared playing professional lacrosse in 2007. He plays forward for the team. We have not had a game yet for middle school lacrosse but the team and Athen looks forward to hopefully having a great session.

Super Softball Superstars...who are super!

We are happy we had a chance to interview 3 of the softball stars of the Episcopal Academy Middle School: Julianne Longen, Julia Thompson, and Dana Giles. Check out the video below to see the interview.

All Out Athletes

Syndey Maple-Girls C Basketball Most Improved
Scott McConnell-Boys A Squash Most Improved
Nina Pagano-Girls B Basketball Leadership
(Left) Lauren Repke-Girls A Basketball Most Improved
Julia Thompson-Girls A Squash Leadership
John Ruth-Boys C Basketball Leadership
Eric Haab-Boys B Squash Leadership
Curtis Zappala-Boys A Basketball Most Improved
Corrine Kneizys-B Dance Leadership
Christopher Redden-Wrestling Most Improved
Avi Shah-Ice Hockey Most Improved
AJ Marcucci-Boys B Basketball Leadership

Dodge, Dip, Duck, Dive,Dodge...and Duprez

This past week the Athletes of the Week took on the faculty in a dodge ball game that quickly turned into survival of the fittest. The Athletes of the Week had a much bigger team, arguably an advantage, and yet they lost all three games played. The faculty all brought their “A” game, but one member stood out: Sr. Duprez. He was pegging children left and right; some not even in the game and was showing no mercy. This week we caught up with him and asked him about his captainship, his feelings towards his team’s domination, and his teams recruiting program. Check it out!


Below are a few of the many innocent bystanders who were brutally injured by Sr. Duprez. The first is the exchange student from Macedonia who will not be returning to America after his dodge ball experience.


The next video is of Ramon Gallegos, who is now hospitalized in the nurse’s office for his dodge ball atrocity.


This last video of Julianne Longen explains how dodge ball scarred her emotionally.

An Athlete of the Week Marathon

A Grapplers Lunch

This past week we were able to catch up with two EA wrestlers during lunch. It is a consistant struggle for wrestlers to maintain a constant weight. Some wrestlers including, second year veteran, Aaron Bogle attempt to lose weight, while others like rookie all-star Misha Melnik work at gaining weight.

The "Spring is (almost) Here" Survey

What is your favorite spring sport to watch?
36%-baseball
31%-Lacrosse
13%-Tennis
13%-Intramural Squash
7%-Track

Which adrenaline socks do you like better?

52%



48%

What is the best thing to do before a game?
Team Huddle-4%
Listening to music-16%
Break stuff-12%
Chillax-32%
COD-16%

After winter sports are over, what would you rather have?
Fun practices with team-45%
Study hall-25%
Talent show-20%
Free Period-10%

A Steaming Plate of Squash

Sean: Super Squasher

One of Z block sport’s finest reporters, Will Ruggiero, had the opportunity to sit down with the number one squash player in the Episcopal Academy middle school, Sean Hughes. Sean told us about some important and intriguing parts of his life, like being one of the best squashers in the country and his experience trying out for varsity this year. We enjoyed listening to his experiences from the past and all of us from Z block sports wishes him the best of luck throughout the rest of his career.

Athletes of the Week!!!

We are getting caught up on some of the recent athletes of the week.

CLICK ON EACH OF THE POSTERS TO SEE THE FULL SIZE!!!

U-L-T-I-M-A-T-E!!!!!!!!

We talked to Mr. Newcomb and asked him what the rules and basic strategy of ultimate frisbee. Then we tried it out ourselves.
The rules of Ultimate Frisbee:Two teams, 1 frisbee, and the field varies in size

***Two end Zones and you must catch the Frisbee in the end zone to score

***You can only take three steps when you have the Frisbee

***You start of the game with something called a “huck” (similar to a kick off in football; it has the same rules except you throw the Frisbee instead of kicking it)

***If the Frisbee hits the ground, or is intercepted there is a change if possession and the team that intercepted goes the other way (also like football).

***The sides switch every time you score.

***Defenders have to stay an arms and Frisbees length away from the thrower ( it is similar to man on man defense in basketball)

CHECK OUT THESE SIIIIIIIICCCCK HIGHLIGHTS!!

Ice, Ice BABY!!!

This week we got the inside scoop on winter track. Callie McAvoy and Charlie Malone had a lot to say about the outdoor track in the snow, the gear to wear when running in the cold, and the coaches’ running ability. Click on the video below to see what winter track is all about!

Dynamic Diving Duo

The Owsiany brothers, Josh and Andrew, are the two best divers at the Episcopal Academy. During our recent interview, we asked them about their greatest and worst moments as divers. These brothers had some enthusiastic things to say and we hope you enjoy the interview.

Athlete of the Week - Boys C Team Hoops

Tyler Manion accepts his coveted prize...

Alden Park: Doin' Work

Alden Park, an eighth grader who is wrestling varsity, recently pinned his opponent in the Haverford match which won the battle for EA. He has only been wrestling since sixth grade, and he is already one of the top wrestlers on the Varsity team. This week we had the opportunity to sit down with him and ask him a few questions about his life, his wrestling career, and his match against Haverford.

Little "Squashers"

When thinking of the EA middle school girls squash team, one would assume the top four players would all be eighth graders, however the top four consists of three seventh graders and one sixth graders. These individuals are Julia Thompson, Madison Soukup, Colby Gallagher, and Grace Doyle. Every day they amaze us all with their super squash skills. We were fortunate enough to have an interview with all of the girls, getting the inside scoop on the middle school girls A team squash.

1) When asking the girls about how they felt about leading the team as seventh and sixth graders, they responded with adjectives like exhilarating and pressuring. They went on to say that they are never intimidated by members on the squash team that are older than them.

2) Colby Gallagher, Julia Thompson, and Madison Soukup are all close friends so it is extra tense on the court. The girls said that when on the court they show no mercy, and don’t take their friendships into consideration, but when the match is over, they’re “best friends again”.

3) All of the girls in the top four say that Princeton is their dream college and they all hope to go there and play squash.

4) Lastly, when asked the question what order do you think you’ll be in when juniors and seniors, they answered probably about the same order in what they are now, depending on how much each girl improves.

Hockey Sensation: Colin Reder

Colin Reder is the leading goal scorer for the Episcopal Academy middle school hockey team. However, he is not just any leading goal scorer, he is a defenseman and some defensemen don’t even score in a game. Not only is he an athlete, but he has a family and a dog and a rabbit who he cares very much about. Some of his weekend hobbies consist of boogie boarding while wearing flippers and dressing up as a sailor and singing songs.

Double Trouble....in the pool.

This past week we sat down with the Baturka twins. Ben and Sarah both have the fastest times on the Middle School swim team. We asked them about their prime strokes, their swimming career, and their favoritism in the family.





Ben’s STATS and FUN FACTS
• 50 Free: 25.8 sec
• 50 Back:28.02
• 50 Breast:36.4
• 50 Fly: 32.6
• 100 Free:57.3
• 200 Free: 2:01
• 100 Back: 1:03
• 100 IM: 1:04
• 200 IM: 2:30
• Height: 5’6”
• Weight: 128 lbs
• Favorite stroke: Back
• Favorite food: pizza
• Eye color: Brown
• Favorite Event: 50 Back
• Favorite Color: Purple
• Inspiring message: You can do it!

Sarah STATS and FUN FACTS

• 50 Free: 26.4
• 100 Free:58.9
• 50 Fly: 29
• 50 Back: 29.6
• 50 Breast: 36.2
• 100 Back : 106.7
• 100 I.M: 107.1
• 200 I.M: 232.3
• 200 Back: 239.7
• 200 Free: 212.6
• Height: 5-3
• Food: Oreos
• Color: Yellow
• Restaurant: Panera, Starbuck, and Five Guys
• Message: Thank you for being so supportive and loving <3

Best Trip EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Are you looking for a great time with friends or just a way to get out of your house? Well I have the perfect anser for you. Mr. Schafer is hosting a Vermont ski trip to Mount Killington Vermont. I just went there over brake and I can asure you it is a great mountain and a lot of fun. If you are a skier or snowboarder that likes big air and steep hills or if you prefer long greens, Killington is perfect for you. It is February 11-13 and all you need is some skiing experience. If you are interested go to Mr. Schafer for information, but hurry space is limited!

click here to visit the Killington webpage