By Ethan Hudson
As the 2024/25 school year comes to an end for Greenwich Country Day School (GCDS), so does the spring 2025 athletic season, one that proved to be very successful for GCDS. With a season that yielded a coveted New England Preparatory School Athletic Council (NEPSAC) championship, GCDS Athletic Director Tim Helstein had high praise for the Tigers, declaring the season as one of the most successful the school has ever had.
The GCDS Boys Varsity tennis team was among one of the most victorious Tiger programs this spring, capturing the Fairchester Athletic Association (FAA) Tournament team championship (the first in program history), regular season tournament championship, and NEPSAC championship. With a 15-0 regular season record, head coach Steve Feder credited the consistent winning to his players’ attitudes, saying, “I am so proud of our team for their commitment to each other. Tennis is usually an individual sport but our players are completely invested in our team’s success.”
Undefeated seasons for the GCDS spring sports programs do not stop there. Joining the Boys Varsity Tennis team with perfect regular seasons are the Boys Varsity Golf team (11-0) and the Boys Varsity Lacrosse team (16-0). The latter ended the season with a FAA regular season championship, the second in the last three years for the Boys Varsity Lacrosse program. The team benefited from strong veteran leadership throughout the season. “Our senior class in particular deserves a lot of credit – they are flat out winners both on and off the field,” said head coach Andrew Copelan.
In addition to the boys varsity team, the GCDS Girls Varsity Lacrosse team capped off an impressive season, qualifying for the FAA semifinal. Senior Ella Wilner made history this season becoming the first player to score a 200th career goal in GCDS Girls Lacrosse history.
Although not all programs were fortunate enough to go undefeated in the FAA, athletes from all respective teams still turned out some impressive performances this spring. Junior Grace Gapen, a member of GCDS’s track and field team won first place at the NEPSAC Track and Field championships, winning both shot put and discus.
Yet the individual accolades for the Tigers do not stop there. After every athletic season, GCDS distributes their “Pride Award” for each sport, one that goes to a student-athlete who has overcome adversity, shown true dedication, and growth throughout the season. For Varsity Baseball, Bryce Hill and Mason Zuniga received the award. For Varsity Softball, Gabby Zarro was the recipient. For Boys Varsity Tennis, Julian Toub received the award. For Girls Varsity Tennis, Brynn Forlizzi and Jane Loverro were the recipients. For Boys Varsity Golf, Brennan Cunnion received the award. For Girls Varsity Golf, Charlotte Datwent was the recipient. For Boys Varsity Lacrosse, Parkin Overbay received the award. For Girls Varsity Lacrosse, Chloe Morris was the recipient. For Varsity Rowing, Cate Auerswald and Sof ia Orr received the award. For Varsity Sailing, Harrison Thompson was the recipient. For Varsity Track and Field, Romell Sarsoza and Annetta Solari received the award. For Girls Water Polo, Fiorella Deus was the recipient
As important as performance is for athletes during games, their behavior after the final whistle is something that GCDS does not take lightly. That’s why, similar to the Pride Award, one student-athlete from every team is selected as the recipient of the “Coaches Award,” which goes to an athlete who demonstrated exemplary sportsmanship throughout the season.
This year, the Tigers truly showed their sportsmanship stripes. In fact, some teams had more than one recipient, such as MD Mutescu and Katherine Salce of the Varsity Rowing team, Liam Kennon, Mia Secko-Thompson, and Charlie Maloney of the Varsity Track and Field team, William Bugbee, Steve Carre, and Griffyn Flood of the Boys Varsity Lacrosse team, Bianca Amen and Ella Wilner of the Girls Varsity Lacrosse team, and Kathryn Byxbee, Talia SandhuZach Cole, Nico Della Pietra, and Austin Nelson of the Girls Water Polo team. Landon Ristau of the Varsity Baseball team received the award, as well as Peter Manuel of the Boys Varsity Golf team, Alex Darwent of the Girls Varsity Golf team, Grant Zucconi of the Varsity Sailing team, Sophia Schwartz of the Varsity Softball team, Felipe Miguens of the Boys Varsity Tennis team, and Abby Greenlatt of the Girls Varsity Tennis team.
Because of so many notable individual seasons this year, GCDS will be graduating 20 senior student-athletes who have committed to play their respective sports at the college level, ranging from NCAA Division I to Division III.
Ben Bilden will be playing soccer at Dartmouth; MD Mutescu will be rowing at Northeastern; Austin Nelson will be playing water polo at George Washington; Eli Rosen will be running track and field at Emory; Ella Larken will be rowing at Villanova; Brianna McDermott will be playing basketball at Holy Cross; Owen Chickering will be sailing at Northeastern; Dylan Kellan will be playing lacrosse at Notre Dame; Wyatt Lupo will be playing golf at Hamilton; Mia Rodgers will be playing golf at Wesleyan; Emily Behr will be swimming at Trinity; Bobby Jones will be playing lacrosse at MIT; Griffyn Flood will be playing lacrosse at Wesleyan; Danielle Braver will be playing soccer at William Smith; Brennan Cunnion will be playing football at Dennison; Luca Corsano Leopizzi will be playing football at Johns Hopkins; Stephen Carre will be playing lacrosse at Sacred Heart; Jackson Anderson will be rowing at Princeton; Elle Price will be playing hockey at Albertus Magnus; Ella Wilner will be playing lacrosse at Clemson. These former Tigers are sure to keep dominating, regardless of the color of their uniforms.
The spring 2025 athletic season resulted in a plethora of medals, trophies, and memories for GCDS student-athletes. Helstein expressed his content with this year’s athletes, saying “It was a pleasure to watch you practice and compete with pride and purpose. It is without question that I can say, ‘You have earned your stripes!’ Go Tigers!”
