High School
Sports
2013-2014
Boys’ Varsity Basketball:
This year the Hawks Varsity basketball team says goodbye to one
of the great classes of athletes our school has seen in some time.
Just an incredible, tightknit group of boys whom we have watched
come up through the system from 6th grade on. In the beginning of
the season the goals were clear. Win our own Scott Satran
Memorial Tournament, get back to the final 4 of the League’s
playoffs and make it in to the National Red Sarachek Y.U.
Tournament as one of the top teams in the country, but more
importantly, to enjoy the “ride”, the “hang” for the very last time.
The Hawks 13 Seniors and 2 Juniors made it
in to the league’s final 4 and got in to the
Saracheck Tournament with a 12-2 regular
season record and reached the Tournament’s
Semifinals. The year was highlighted by our victory
in our very own Scott Satran Tournament, where we
defeated eventual league champions North Shore
Hebrew Academy – a championship that is
memorialized for all time by the beautiful banner that hangs above
us. We got to raise the championship trophy in front of our home
crowd – a moment that we will never forget. While we fell short of
our ultimate goal of winning our league championship, losing in
the Final Four, the year was still filled with great successes and,
more importantly, great memories that will last us a lifetime. Our
trip to Memphis was another great time that we shared together as
a team. We played some great basketball, went bowling, enjoyed
some great barbequed pizza, had a great time overnighting in
Atlanta and just enjoyed talking and laughing and just hanging
around with each other for 5 days.
Thank you to our team Captains Mark Spivak and Alec Schonfeld.
You were both true leaders on and off the court and you have
earned your team’s trust and gratitude.
To all of you - Good luck as you move forward to the next stage of
your lives. Always remember the great times that we shared during
this very special year. Steve and I will truly miss you and will
always be here for you.
Boys’ Junior Varsity Basketball:
The HAFTR boy JV basketball team had a very successful season
and finished with a record of 6-4. In one of the deepest teams in
years we had contributions from over 10 players and all players
were vital to the teams success. The team was led by returning
players Max Rosner, Sammy Mandel, Justin Glickman, Sasha
Stern, Brian Nathan, Jacob Siri, Ezra Appel, Alex Schlesinger and
Daniel Iliyasayev.
The team was injected with talented freshmen led by starters Zach
Schwartz and Jason Mishkin. The other freshmen to contribute
and play big roles were, Oliver Stern, Jeremy Schneider, Noah
Fruchter and Eli Fishman. We started as 16 individual kids and
became a team of brothers by the end. Our pre game huddle and
chant in the playoffs was a testament to us becoming a unified
team with one common goal. We will always remember this team
from the buzzer beater vs. North Shore to begin our season to the
tears we all shared as our season concluded. Good luck with
everything in the future and we know it will be a bright one.
Girls’ Junior Varsity Basketball:
The 2013-14 team had only three returning
players and two new coaches- Rachel
Nierenberg & David Levy. With so many new
faces, expectations were not very high at the
start of the season. But that didn’t stop the
Lady Hawks from working hard and
surprising everyone! Led by Captains- Maggie Rosenthal & Chloe
Thall with fellow Starters- Emily Gellman and Joelle Vilinsky
they started the season winning their first 6 games. After losing
two key players, Sara Kaufman and Leana Thurm stepped in and
played impressively down the stretch.
Courtney Baker, along with freshmen Evie Blinder, Emily
Kornblum, Jenny Moskowitz and Maia Schlussel all improved
during the season. The future looks bright for next season's JV
Lady Hawks Girls’ Hockey Team!
Girls’ Varsity Basketball:
This year’s HAFTR Lady Hawks Varsity team was a team in
transition. For the first time, there were no seniors on this year’s
squad. And the team featured 7 juniors and 4 soph0mores. While
we thought that it would be a difficult adjustment for the team,
thy performed above expectations. The team finished with a 10-2
regular season record, with the only losses coming to Ramaz, the
eventual league champions. We were able to secure home court
advantage for the first round of the playoffs but unfortunately
could not advance to the second round. With the same personnel
returning next year and potential additions from the JV, we are
expecting a very strong squad for the 2014-2015 season.
While the goal is for team achievement, there were many
individuals that had standout years. Our team MVP was Rachel
Gelnick whose stellar play and leadership were instrumental in
our strong performance.
Our Coaches Award, which is given to the player who carries out
the team’s work ethic and determination to the highest levels,
was awarded to Emma Alpert. Other mentions
go to Allie Kuritzky one of All-Star selections
and Eva Decter who was the team MVP at our
Florida tournament. Both were key
contributors and helped our successful
season. In addition, Ruthie Hoffman, Emily
Wanderer and Amanda Jedwab shared in the starting lineup and
gave us tremendous efforts on both the offensive and defensive
boards. Most important was our bench which was the strongest
in the league. Carly Schreiber, Julia Schwartz, Anna Zbrowoski
and Jordan Levy were all key contributors specifically on defense
where they presence increased our pressure meaningfully. We
expect more improvement next year and we hope to bring a
championship to the school at this time next year.
Girls’ Hockey:
This years Lady Hawks is a very special team. Freshman,
Sophomore, Junior or Senior an outsider would never be able to
tell a rookie from a veteran on this team. The camaraderie on
this team was really amazing. The heart that every girl showed
on and off the court really is what HAFTR hockey is all about. To
see the leaders of our team taking sophomores and freshman out
to celebrate after a win was not something you see everyday in
High school.
The HAFTR Hawks story begins with our Assistant
captain and goaltender Rebecca Gross, who before
last season never picked up a hockey stick. She
has come through big time and really is the
backbone of the team. This year as a senior,
Rebecca is our team leader and and inspiration to
all of our players. Our captain Amanda Solomon and Maggie
Rosenthal are the epitome of 2 players with chemistry. They
probably have the most goals between the two of them, than any
other two players in the league. They are able to focus on offense
with the solid defensive play of Senior Amanda Kanefsky and
sophomore Emily Gellman, who both make offensive opponents
pay when they try to get near their goaltender.
They also have the tremendous support of Assistant Captain
Ruthie Hoffman, Captain Abby Alon, Seniors Tamar Siri, Tamara
Heller and Elizabeth Berger, who have all be strong forces and
important pieces of this seasons puzzle. As this season comes to
a close we start looking forward to the new and exciting young
prospects on our team like solid defenseman Shani Bach, Goalie
Alyssa Fuchs and offenseman Sarah Kaufman, Sorah Krown and
Rebecca Steinfeld. Thank you all for your commitment to the
team. Let's win the championship!!! Go Hawks!!!
Boys’ Junior Varsity Hockey:
The 2013-2014 JV Hockey Hawks coached by
Kenny Gluck and Josh Ernst had another great
winning season. Led by team captain Zachary Kramer along with
assistant captains Ryan Gluck and Yehuda Segelnick, the team
finished in 3rd place with a winning record of 7-2-1 - an
improvement over the prior season. We started the season with
some impressive wins beating Westchester on the road 13-1
followed by an 8-1 win over HANC in our home opener. Ryan
Gluck, one of the top goaltenders in the league, enjoyed 2
shutouts this season, the biggest one against rival DRS 2-0
during the final game of the season. Gabe Perl made the switch
from offense to defense and was solid. Jake Berger switched from
defense to offense and it instantly paid dividends. Practices this
year were held twice weekly and the commitment to working
diligently as a team helped us achieve our projected goals.
Each and every individual on the team, no matter what his role
may have been, contributed to this year’s success. We defeated
Frisch in the opening round of the playoffs and came so close to
beating Rambam in the Semis. It was a fun season and the
quest for a championship will undoubtedly continue next season.
Boys’ Varsity Hockey:
Entering the season as the favorites there was still that huge
cloud hanging over this group of Hawks. Having lost the last 6
Semi Final Games, never beating a HALB/DRS team in 7 seasons
and also having no HAFTR Hockey team ever win a game at
TABC, including this version of the Hawks who lost the last 2
Semi Final games there, it would be a long hard road to finish as
champions.
As the season played out, once again the Hawks lost both regular
season games to DRS, which happened to have been their only
losses of the season. Those losses also put the Hawks back at
TABC for the Semis if they made it. After a bye and a
dominating performance vs. Kushner in the Quarters, a
showdown against TABC Match up was set. Trailing in the game
and then tying it late in the 3rd the Semi Final Game went to
overtime.
Despite a hostile crowd and a bad history, this special group
came out hard and did the unthinkable: an Overtime victory at
TABC to go to the championships.
Now, finally at the big game against, guess who?
With getting the two big monkeys off their backs
(getting to the big game and beating TABC in
their building) there was no stopping the
Hawks. A storybook season was going to have a
storybook ending. Even trailing 1-0 all 400 +
people in the building knew how dominant the
Hawks were playing in this game and it was only a matter of time
before they tied the score. Once again, Overtime. Three plus
minutes in, it was over.
Hawks 2 / DRS 1. Haftr Hawks. 2013-2014 MYHSAL Varsity
Champions. March 23rd, 2014. A date that will live forever in
the lives of the 2013-2014 Varsity Hawks and their future
families to come.
Girls’ Softball:
The HAFTR Girls Softball team is one of
the most entertaining teams in the
league. The girls have such a great time
on and off the field that a bystander
would have no idea if they were up or
down 10 runs. Win or lose, the
opponents constantly praise our girls for
their jovial attitude and fun-loving
nature. The camaraderie of this team
truly embodies what it means to have
fun playing the game.
Boys’ Varsity Softball:
We are a week away from closing out the regular season, and we
have already had several memorable moments to remember. Who
can forget our opening day, freezing temperature, win versus
DRS, 1-0, where “LL Cool Matt” struck out 11, and Eli Kleinworm
scored the winning run on an error? How about the second game
against MAY, which featured a web gem by their outfielder to rob
Jordan, followed by a one-handed pick and throw to third to nail
the runner, to help preserve Johnny’s 5-3 pitching gem. Or
maybe it was the game against HANC, which featured a very
questionable tagging up early call, 10 hits and a memorable walk
off home run against a team without a second baseman.
That of course leaves the best for last…A come from behind 9-6
victory in the late innings over DRS, sparked by two HRs and
pretty solid fielding all across.
It has been a very satisfying season for me, as I am sure it has
been for you. Many of you have become better hitters and fielders
almost overnight. You have also exhibited great Middos and team
qualities, working with one another and encouraging each other,
even if it is at the expense of your own possible glory. Let’s hope
that the trend continues and we can bring one home for HAFTR,
BE”H. I just wanted to thank all of you for a really great season.
Everybody, and I mean everybody has contributed in a positive
way. Good luck next year in Israel and for those of you that are
juniors, looking forward to another great year next spring as well.
Girls’ Junior Varsity Volleyball:
Coming off last year’s season, everyone was ready to start from
scratch. That’s exactly what we did. We moved to our new
home, the Hawks Nest, and we concentrated on a different skill
set and the payoff was almost immediate. If the level of
improvement seen this year is any sign of what’s to come, there
is no telling how far this team will go next season.
Girls’ Varsity Volleyball:
This year’s team, which was comprised mostly of
seniors, was led by captains Arianna Kushner and
Amanda Kanefsky. Their leadership was valued
and will be hard to replace. Sara Fuchs is the only
graduating player to survive four full years on this
team. This level of dedication is an asset that will
pay off on and off the volleyball court. As much as I will miss the
seniors, it is easy to see that next year’s Varsity team will be one
to reckon with.
Boys’ Varsity Volleyball:
Due to circumstances beyond this teams’ control, this year we
have had a record few full team practices. Yet, so far the only
loss we suffered this year was against the only undefeated team.
Our season is shaping up to be an exciting one. With David
Stein’s leadership and newfound skills of Matt Rosenberg, Sam
Genack and Jonathan Greenberg, we will have one of the
toughest teams in the league.
Girls’ Varsity Soccer:
The HAFTR girls varsity soccer team had an up and down season.
Playoff participation was still a possibility going into the last game
of the season. It was not to be, however, as Ramaz defeated
HAFTR.
The highlights of the season were the two wins against rival NSHA.
The team looks forward to improving next year, with some
promising under classmen on the squad.
Boys’ Varsity Soccer:
The HAFTR boy’s varsity soccer team is having a terrific season.
They are in the playoffs, with an upcoming game against Magen
David. The team finished the regular season with a 5-3 record,
punctuated by a key win against NSHA, as well as home and away
victories against HANC.
The team will be losing some key players to graduation. However,
a talented freshman group portends good things for the boys going
forward.
Girls’ Tennis:
It's tennis season once again at HAFTR
High School. Over the years, HAFTR has
developed the reputation of taking tennis
seriously and competing on a high level.
This year, for our girls’ team, we are in a
rebuilding mode with our eyes squarely
focused on the future. Maya Schlussel,
Emily Kornblum, Jennifer MoskowitzThese are the new freshmen that are
competing and contributing to the team. We've moved some of our
girls that have played doubles in the past and they are competing
at a higher level in singles. In particular, Nikki Mayer gives it her
all on the court. Harlee Miller and Jessica Weinberg are also
contributing as singles players. Shelbey Mandel and Shari Mayer
continue to anchor the team at first doubles. We've had some very
nice contributions from Aleeza Waxman and Olivia Rudensky, who
have always made themselves available. The future looks bright.
Boys’ Tennis:
Our boys’ team has gotten some wonderful contributions from Max
Sternberg and Mark Spivak. Jacob Brickman, along with his dad,
has been very supportive of the tennis program and Jacob has
been one of my top players. Aaron Fruchter and Michael Weissman
have also, since ninth grade, been on the winning side of the
equation as far as their doubles matches are concerned. Sam
Genack is an injury reserve due to a finger injury (who said tennis
was not a contact sport). Some of our new comers have already
competed in their freshman such as Daniel Fruchter and Julian
Sterberg and Zach Rindenow. Russel Charnoff and Eric Weitchsner
have fought in lengthy matches, pouring their hearts out, for a
HAFTR victory. Most of our matches are played at USTA, where the
U.S open is held at on a yearly basis. Our players play on the same
courts that are used by the pros during those 2 weeks in August. I
could not be more proud of my girls or boys team. They have
played their hearts out and we will leave the season with close
matches and fond memories.