Badminton

By Chris Werner

Sports Editor

2019 was one of the most successful seasons in recent memory for the ETHS badminton team.

Evanston beat New Trier in a dual match for the first time in at least five seasons after coming back from a 5-0 deficit to win 10-8. The Kits sent the doubles teams of Jill Collins/Anna Perloff and Phoebe Porter/Clara Lynk to sectionals along with Ana Bunas and Monica Hill, who competed in singles. Hill advanced to the state finals for the second year in a row and finished in the top 32.

Baseball

By Hailey Fine

Sports Captain

Although the baseball season hasn’t turned out the way the Kits wanted, recent improvement has the team optimistic for the postseason.

“Our goal every season is to win a regional championship, and this year we’ve had a lot of ups and downs,” senior outfielder and pitcher Chris Wolfe said. “We have come a long way in the last two weeks and are giving ourselves a good shot to win a regional.”

The relatively inexperienced team had a tough start to the year but the underclassmen adjusted well to the varsity level.

“We had a really young team this year, so gaining experience through games was difficult, and we really had to find out who we were as a team because it wasn’t defined before the season,” Wolfe said.

Boys Gymnastics

By Chris Werner

Sports Editor

Evanston’s boys gymnastics program is on the rise.

Even though the Kits scored only one varsity dual meet victory, coming against Maine East on April 10 by a score of 119 to 113, the team was mainly underclassmen with Rafael Salinas as the lone senior on the roster.

“We scored the highest team score (129.5) in at least seven years at ETHS,” coach Frank Erwin said. “That score puts us at the midpoint for schools in the state. We’re mostly freshmen and sophomores on the varsity so there is a lot to look forward to.”

Boys Lacrosse

By Hailey Fine

Sports Captain

Despite a small amount of seniors on the roster, boys lacrosse beat the odds this year and had a successful regular season.

“We were able to rally together and have a much more focused team,” senior Brett Swanson said. “We came in second in the CSL and swept both the Glenbrooks, something that we haven’t done in a while. I think we surprised a lot of people.”

The postseason began on May 20.

Girls Lacrosse

By Peter Barbato

Staff Writer

After jumping out to a 7-0 start to the season, girl’s lacrosse will be full steam ahead going into IHSA playoffs.

“We’ve all been eager to be here and get better from day one, which I think contributes to a lot of the success we’ve had this season.” senior Grace Tabet explained.

With a predominantly younger team than previous years, the team had confidence but was unsure how they’d fair in regular season play. After blowing out there first 7 opponents with a total of 127 goals scored and 36 goals allowed, it’s become apparent this team is nothing to mess with.

With the IHSA state title as the Kits’ end goal, they’ll look to keep up this momentum through the end of their season.

Girls Soccer

By Chris Werner

Sports Editor

After an impressive regular season record of 12-5-2 for the girls soccer team, the Kits turned their attention towards capturing the regional title for the sixth year in a row.

The team came away with two hard fought victories by scores of 2-0 over Von Stueben and 1-0 over Chicago city champions Lane Tech.

ETHS counted two goals from freshman Brealyn Viamille and one from junior Callista O’Connor in the two contests. Sophomore goaltender Caitlin Fitzpatrick has not allowed a goal since the team’s 1-1 draw with Maine South on May 3.

Softball

By Peter Barbato

Staff Writer

Softball’s cold start ended in a fiery finish as they racked up a nine game win streak in the heart of their season.

“My goal for each player is to improve from the beginning of the year to the end of the year. We want to continue the commitment and hard work that the players in the past year have established,” coach Amy Gonzales explained.

After previous coach, Katie Perkins, stepped away from the program last season, three-year assistant Gonzales was promoted to the head coach.

Boys Tennis

By Chris Werner

Sports Editor

The boys tennis team has performed better this season than what the program has seen in recent years.

The Kits captured a first place title at the Crusader Invite on April 13 and defeated CSL foes Maine South and Glenbrook South on back-to-back nights on May 6 and 7.

Evanston sent Gunnar Anderson and Alex Robinson to sectionals as singles players as well as the doubles pairings of Alec Avery/Ben Ward and Max Johnson/Max Shephard.

Boys Track & Field

By Benji Fervoy

Staff Writer

A second place finish in both the CSL conference meet and the sectional competition at Niles West continues a legacy that includes 12 straight top three finished at sectionals.

Even with the great track record, the team hasn’t let up or taken previous success for
granted.

“Every man and every point counts [to win a conference title]. Every athlete knows they have to do their job,” head coach Don Michelin said.

The team is loaded with talent including long distance runner Max Peterson and sprinter Isaac Hunter who competes in four events each meet.

Girls Track & Field

By Gordon Redfield-Gale

Staff Writer

Injuries are an unavoidable part of sports, and the girls track team knows this better than anyone as the injury bug has hit them hard this year

The team has refused to allow this to derail their season, and they have adopted a “team effort” mindset that resulted in a qualification for the state title.

“Everyone is really doing their part,” senior captain Abby Osterlund said. “Some of the freshmen and underclassmen have really stepped up.”

These talented underclassmen are a key piece of this resilient squad, and their efforts this season show signs of a bright future for the team.

Boys Volleyball

By Hailey Fine

Sports Captain

After a 9-24 record, the boys volleyball team plans to revamp for next season.

“Our season has been very disappointing,” coach Mike McDermott said. “We were hoping that, even though we had a very young team, we would be able to turn around our record from last season, but our inexperience and lack of confidence hurt us much more than we thought.”

Although the record didn’t represent their goal for the season, the Kits held their heads high.

“The coaches are very proud of how the team kept fighting, each and every match, and never gave up through a difficult season,” McDermott said.

Boys Water Polo

By Michael Barthelemy

Sports Captain

The boys water polo team headed into postseason play with a final record of 19-8-1, good enough for a third place finish in the CSL.

While this year’s group did not live up to the expectations set from last season’s eighth place team, this season is not viewed as a failure in any way.

“When you lose two quality guys and their leadership, it’s hard to fill that void,” head coach Kevin Auger said. “These guys have done a great job, they certainly performed to or above my expectations for them.”

Girls Water Polo

By Zach Myers

Staff Writer

Girls water polo finished their season 19-11-1, after a heart wrenching loss by one goal in overtime to New Trier in their sectional championship game.

“Our team goals from the start of the season were to play smart, play hard and play together,” head coach Andy Miner said. “Since the first day of practice, this group did those three things every single day. It didn’t yield the wins we wanted, but this group never lost sight of what we needed to do each day to put ourselves in the best spot to be competitive at the end of the season.”