Lions Prepare for Championships

The Varsity Water Polo team won its 14th straight Regional Championships on Saturday, April 18, at the Westside Aquatics Center in Lewisville. They beat Denton Guyer (19-2), Denton Ryan (21-1), and Flower Mound (16-4) en route to the championship. Nathan Ondracek ’15 and Tim Simenc ’15 were named 1st team All-Region, Mason Smith ’15 was 2nd team, and George Lin ’15 was 3rd team. Coach Oprea was also named North Region Coach of the Year. Then this past weekend, the JV Water Polo team won its 6th straight JV Regional Championship and our Middle School team also won their Regional Championship. A great two weeks for our Water Polo teams! The Varsity and MS teams will now travel to Austin this weekend to compete in the TISCA Water Polo State Championships held at the University of Texas Swim Center. The Varsity team is the defending State Champs attempting to repeat. 

 

The Varsity Tennis team lost a very close contest to Greenhill by a score of 3-2 on April 14. The team rebounded in excellent fashion, defeating Trinity Valley 5-0 on April 17. Then last week, the team took on Oakridge and ESD, beating both 4-1, and finishing the SPC counter season with an 8-1 record and the #2 seed in the SPC North Zone. 

 

The Varsity Baseball team took on Greenhill on April 14. St. Mark’s threw 5 different pitchers (James Kyle ’15, Reece Rabin ’18, Hunter Alexander ’16, Jackson Cole ’16, and William Caldwell ’16) and they combined for a complete game shut-out. Diving play by Reyes highlighted defensive efforts. The offense scattered hits and took advantage of a few Greenhill miscues to score 4 runs. Trinity Valley was next on the schedule. The Lions scratched a run in top of 1st with Cole's infield single. Caldwell threw four shut-out innings before game was suspended in the top of 5 with score 1-0 for the Lions. The resumed play on Monday with Caldwell again dazzling on mound and threw a two-day one-game no hitter. The SM offense was stifled by the TVS starter, but 1 run proved enough. Then last Tuesday, the baseball team hosted Oakridge. Behind for much of the game, the Lions managed to take the lead in the bottom of the 6th inning and held Oakridge scoreless in the 7th to pull off the 4-3 victory. In the final SPC counter game, the Lions faced ESD. Fortunate to get the game in before the big rains last week, the Lions played well, beating ESD 5-0. The win cinched the #1 seed in the SPC North Zone and the very important first round bye in the SPC tournament this weekend in Ft. Worth.

 

The Varsity Lacrosse team played Highland Park on Friday, April 17. In a very competitive game that took parts of 2 days to complete due to weather delays, the Lions fell to the Scots 7-11. Then last Tuesday, the Lions traveled to Coppell in an important THSLL game that had playoff implications. Tied 4-4 late in the 4th quarter, Michael Fletcher ’15 found Garrett Mize ’18 in front of the crease for the game-winning goal with under 3 minutes to play. On April 23rd, the Lions hosted Allen on Senior night. In another tight game, the Lions found themselves down 1 and had possession with 1 minute to play. The offense worked well but the Allen goalie made a spectacular kneeling save to thwart the Lions comeback. The team will take the field again Tuesday, this time traveling to play the same Allen team who spoiled their senior night….this time they are in the playoffs and the winner advances to the Super Regionals this weekend. 

 

The Varsity Crew team rowed in the Texas Rowing Championships in Austin, TX on April 17 & 18. The Varsity Quad made up of Luke Hudspeth ’15, Matt Woodberry ’15, Taylor Rohrich ’16, and Alden James ’16 finished 4th in the state. The JV Quad (Ian Fitzgerald ’17, Cameron Bossalini ’17, Parker McWatters ’17, and Aiden Blinn ’17) came in 3rd. The Novice Quad (James Hancock ’17, Jesse Zhong ’18, Brayden Womack ’18, and Riley Sanders ’18) finished 5th in their division. In the Varsity Double, Luke Hudspeth and Alden James finished 4th. The Varsity Quad and the JV Quad will be making the trip to the Central District Youth Rowing Championships in Oklahoma City, OK on May 2 & 3. 

 

The Varsity Golf team finished round 1 of the SPC Golf Championships this afternoon at the Northgate Country Club in Houston, TX. The Lions finished with a score of 307 after round 1, just 7 strokes off the lead. Round 2 will begin tomorrow morning. 

 

The Varsity Track team had their final intersquad meet on Saturday. Next up, the SPC Championships this Thursday and Friday at All Saints in Ft. Worth. 

 

Follow the various St. Mark’s teams this weekend on Twitter.

 

SMTXathletics – general results for all teams

 

Or go to www.spcsports.org to find the tournament brackets and start times.